Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, and the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr James Entwistle, have again failed to appear before the House of Representatives

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, and the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr James Entwistle, have again failed to appear before the House of Representatives Committee investigating allegations of sexual misconduct brought against three members of the House.
The two were supposed to face the committee on Wednesday, July 20, but did not show up, making it the second summon they would fail to honour.
In his defense, the Minister explained in a letter written to the Committee that the time for the investigative hearing coincided with the Federal Executive Council meeting in the Presidential Villa.
Onyeama had also excused last week in another letter, saying he was travelling to Kigali, Rwanda, for the extra ordinary meeting of the African Union and asked for another date, which forced the Committee to fix Wednesday (yesterday) for the hearing.
However, the Committee heard from the three accused lawmakers, who denied the allegations of sexual misconduct against them.
Onyeama is said to be expected to appear before the Committee on Thursday (today) as the hearing resumes.
The House Committee Chairman on Capital Market, Rep. Yusuf Tajudeen, had challenged the U.S Embassy to come forward with proof that the accused lawmakers were indeed engaged in solicitation for sex while in the US on official assignment.
But the US ambassador, who claims to have video evidence to back the allegations against the lawmakers, has failed to show up before the Committee.
Two All Progressive Congress (APC) lawmakers, Mohammed Gololo and Mark Gbillah, and one Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker, Samuel Okon, were alleged to have solicited for sex and sexually harassed a hotel housekeeper in Cleveland, Ohio.

Rivers state police command has successfully foiled a planned attack on the Liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility

Rivers state police command has successfully foiled a planned attack on the Liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility. An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) filled with dynamite had been recovered on Thursday last week and defused by the Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD).
The information was made public by DSP Omoni Nnamdi, Public Relations Officer of the command on Monday, July 11. In a separate development the police officers arrested a man on suspicion of kidnapping and being a member of the gang, which ambushed and killed the assistant superintendent and two policemen.
The officers were also engaged in a gun battle in Etche local government area with the yet to be identified robbers. However, two of the criminals managed to escape with gunshot injuries. The police spokeperson called on the general public to timely report any suspicious person in the area to ensure safety.

Special Adviser to Nigerian President on Niger Delta has expressed worries over the Federal government

The special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta, Brigadier General Paul Boroh (rtd) has expressed worries over the federal government’s late payment of stipends to ex-militants in the region. In a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and signed by Piriye Kiyaramo, the Bayelsa Liaison officer, presidential Amnesty programme, Boroh, the Coordinator of the programme, was quoted to have described the delay in payment as unfortunate. While assuring that the payment would be made soon since the three-day public holidays are over, the statement quoted Buhari’s man as saying” “I must say that the hiccups which were brought to my attention during the long public holiday by the Central Bank of Nigeria have been sorted out.”
Some of the ex-militants had on July 4, blocked the popular East-West road at Mbiama after they had been owed a backlog of unpaid stipends. He added: “I want your cooperation as the present administration under President Muhammadu Buhari proffers lasting solution to the problems in the region.” In a rather unfortunate development, reports credited to Vanguard have it that the Niger Delta Avengers will prevent President Buhari from exporting crude oil out of their region. The militants who have been unrepentant with their vandalisation of oil installations and pipelines in the Niger Delta region are roaring that since the president has refused to have a real dialogue with stakeholders in the region, they’ll keep stopping the president’s plans. In fact, they have threatened that their struggle has entered an advanced phase since the president has showed that he prefers to win the battle and lose the war.

The war continues between Ikpeazu and Ogah

The Nigerian Governors Forum has expressed worry about the power tussle in Abia State between the Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and Uche Ogah, urging the warring parties to respect the rule of law.
The Federal High Court siting in Abuja had annulled the election of Ikpeazu as governor for allegedly presenting a fake tax clearance to the People's Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2015 governorship primaries in the state.
Ogah, who came second in the PDP primaries, was declared the rightful occupant of the Abia governorship seat - but Ikpeazu maintained that he remains the state Governor.However, the Federal High Court in Owerri had on July 9 declared that Ikpeazu's tax clearance papers were genuine.
Speaking on Sunday, July 10, while addressing traditional rulers from Abia State, the Chairman of the forum and Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, the 36 state governors in the country are worried about the political crisis in Abia State, adding that they are working to ensure there is no breakdown of law and order in the state.The monarchs paid a condolence visit to the State over the death of top politician, Umaru Shinkafi.

“As a forum, we are concerned about what is going on in Abia and we are working to ensure all sides respect the courts, and uphold peace. Abia is known for peace, as such we should not do things that would disturb the peace of the state,” Mr. Yari said''

Shinkafi the former director of General of the Nigerian security organization is dead

Alhaji Shinkafi died on Wednesday in London at about 4:07 pm Nigerian time. A top source who spoke in confidence said the late Marafan Sokoto had initially received treatment at both St. Nicholas Hospital and Reddington Hospital, Ikeja in Lagos before he was flown abroad in January after a health relapse,The Nation reports:

    “We lost Shinkafi in London at about 4pm where he was flown to in January with some members of his immediate family and three medical doctors. In the last six months, he had been battling with his health. But it has pleased Allah to call him home. From Allah we came and unto Him we shall return. Arrangements are being made to bring his corpse to Nigeria for burial on or before Friday because of flight logistics.”

Shinkafi was a former Director-General of the Nigerian Security Organization (NSO), now Department of State Security Service ( DSS) from October 1979 to November 1983.xxxHe is survived by three wives and five children including, Zainab, wife of Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu and Hadiza, wife of Zamfara State Governor, Abdul Azeez Yari.may his soul rest on with Allah

A militant group has vowed to attack Governor Dickson for not paying salaries of workers in Bayelsa state

A militant group, Joint Revolutionary Council has issued a chilling warning that it will attack Governor Seriake Dickson if he refuses to pay salaries of workers. The oil-rich Bayelsa state reportedly owes civil servants about seven months, local government workers for over 13 months, pensioners for about nine months and workers in the only state university, Niger Delta University for about seven months.

The Nation reports that the group in a statement in Yenagoa said it will continue to attack more oil flows as a way of showing its displeasure towards the state of things in the Niger Delta region. The statement read: “We are warning Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state, without further delay commence the final payment of all workers including the old pensioners been owed their several months of salary. Dickson is to pay these workers/pensioners in full and not 50% or half of half of their legitimate salaries.
“He will not claim of no funds to pay them. The funds are with him based on the allocations he received from the federation account which is known to the people. No fund but the government is busy doing projects and building personal buildings within and outside the state, while these workers are dying in abject poverty in the state. “This is unacceptable and it must stop forthwith in the region because our parents, brothers and sisters are not to suffer as a result of their effort in government. “Enough is enough, he should go and bring the money wherever he is keeping it and fully pay these workers and pensioners before the end of this month or otherwise, what he is looking for in the state he shall see it from us”.
“If the government said there is no money, it should without delay auction those properties it and its relatives amass with the state funds within and outside Bayelsa now to pay the workers immediately. “We’ll go after any of Dickson’s relation and political appointees who have given wrong advise to the Pharaoh (Gov. Dickson) of Bayelsa state to cripple the state. “Since the governor cannot pay workers in the state, by avoiding the oath he took and his constitutional responsibilities, he should leave the seat of power in the state by avoiding bloodshed. Whoever that attacks us in words will also go for it. “If Dickson undermines us what he saw while serving as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of the state on that fateful day of April, 27th 2007 were we came and sacked President Goodluck Jonathan then governor of the state at government house, will experience same but this time around it will be disastrous and head will roll, whoever that confronts us”. The group said it would attack oil installations in the region as they were the hindrance to the development in the region. “The Nigerian securities who are claiming they are securing the oil facilities in the region should stay as their dwelling places and see whether their safety will be guarantee by the music on those days. “We thanked the Minister of state, Petroleum Resources for the bold steps he personally took to resolve the injustice created and sponsored by the wicked companies and government in Nigeria.
Our struggle is beyond monetary gains and we cannot be bribe by the Nigerian government to the detriment of our suffering people and the struggle is unstoppable until justice is done to the region. “Our Field Commanders have been instructed what to do and those who are on standby in Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Edo, Delta Cross River await after Bayelsa state operations. “We further warned that, henceforth, any attack on Ijaw communities or person(s) by the military or para-military body in the region, we will not hesitate to order our shoot-at-sight squad of any uniform personnel in the region.