N255m car scandal: Finally, Jonathan moves against Stella Oduah

President Goodluck Jonathan may have finally succumbed to public pressure to  move against the embattled Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, who is currently being probed over the N255m  bulletproof cars bought for her by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

The development came to the fore with the last-minute decision to stop Oduah from signing the much-publicised Bilateral Air Services Agreement with Israel.

The ceremony was given by Presidency officials as the  main purpose of her inclusion in the President’s entourage to Israel for this year’s Christian pilgrimage.

In her stead, Minister of State I, Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, signed the agreement on behalf of the Federal Government while the Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr. Zeer Elkin, signed on behalf of the Israeli government.

In Israel, Jonathan, govs, 3,000 others fast, pray for Nigeria

The symbolic city of Jerusalem in Israel, yesterday stood still, as over 3, 000 Nigerian pilgrims, including President Goodluck Jonathan gathered to offer prayers for the country. The church service tagged: “A Day with Jesus for Nigeria In Israel,” had in attendance state governors, ministers, members of the National Assembly, led by the Senate Deputy President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, clergymen and regular pilgrims to the Holy Land.
The church service was the climax of a fast observed by over 3, 000 Nigerian pilgrims in Israel, including President Jonathan. The church service, which kicked off with prayers, hymns and songs, was led by high ranking clergymen, including the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.
The 1st reading was taken from the Book of Psalms 122: 1-7 and chapter 125: 1-3. The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ekweremadu took the reading. According to the passage of the scriptures, ‘as the mountains Jerusalem, so will God surround Nigeria.’

I can be world’s best – Enyeama

Super Eagles  goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama believes he can be  the best shot-stopper  in the world.

The Lille star  kept another clean sheet in the 1-0 defeat of  Nantes  in the  French Ligue 1 on Friday to help   Les Douges to the second place in the table.

“It’s about work, work and even more hard work. I believe in hard work,” he told the club’s official website, www.losc.fr.

Enyeama is enjoying the best spell of his professional career and he took the time to explain the steps he has taken to get to the top.

The former Enyimba keeper said, “I have been watching videos and looking at (my) mistakes. I keep striving day and night to correct them.

“When I make a mistake, I am hard on myself….more than I could get on someone else if he made the same mistake.

“That’s the way I am. I have set very high standards for myself. I believe I can be the best goalkeeper in the world.”

Enyeama has been capped 86 times for Nigeria since making his debut for the Super Eagles in 2002.

We’ve been monitoring Iran —Eaglets

Golden Eaglets assistant coach Nduka Ugbade says the  team have been working on plans to beat Iran in their UAE 2013 FIFA  Under-17 World Cup Round of 16 clash in Al Ain City on Tuesday, after monitoring their last game.

The Eaglets, who have won the  tournament  three times, face a tough task to beat the hard tackling   Iranians  to reach the quarterfinals.

“We have been keeping tabs on all our likely opponents and I paid so much attention to the game between Iran and Austria on Friday,  which they won 1-0,” the former Super Eagles defender,  who captained Nigeria to win the maiden edition of the Under-17 World Cup in China  in 1985, said.

“The Iranians are a good side no doubt, but with all modesty, we should be able to cope well against them.”

The Tunisia’94 Africa Cup of Nations winner said the  Eaglets were  determined to win the tournament for the fourth-time, saying the players would give their best against Iran.

Bulletproof cars: We don’t have documents, NCAA tells Falana

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has denied having any documents relating to the  two BMW bulletproof cars it bought for the Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah.

The denial came two days after Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), gave seven days ultimatum to NCAA to supply his law firm with the information.

Falana’s request, dated October 21, 2013, was made on the strength of the provisions of the Freedom of information Act.

But a copy of the reply to the request dated October 23, 2013 by the NCAA Director-General, Mr. Fola Akinkuotu, was obtained by our correspondent on Sunday.

In his reply through the NCAA Legal Adviser, Mr. E.K Chukwuma, Akinkuotu also claimed not to have in the possession of the NCAA any documents relating to previous purchase of such cars.

Leave PDP now, Wike dares Amaechi

THE Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, on Sunday dared the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, and his supporters to leave the Peoples Democratic Party for another political party.

Wike said Amaechi and his supporters should go to another party if they believed they were popular, promising that he (Wike) and his followers would celebrate the exit of the governor from the PDP.

The minister, who made this remark during a rally organised by the Grassroots Development Initiative in Port Harcourt, said they would resist any attempt to rig the 2015 election.

He explained that Rivers State Government had collapsed, adding that a revolution was taken place in the state.

Wike said, “If you think you are so popular, why not join another party. The day they join another party, we will do thanksgiving. We will have to celebrate their exit and we will tell them that nobody can rig elections in Rivers State any longer.

NCAA DG, others earn N4.2bn yearly

The Director-General of the troubled Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, nine directors of the agency and 956 other members of staff earn N4.2bn as salaries and allowances annually.

This personnel cost represents 27.92 per cent of the annual budget of the NCAA, which stood at N15.3bn this January.

The “Certification” page of the NCAA’s 2013 budget, which our correspondent obtained in Abuja on Sunday, read, “The management of the NCAA, under the supervision of the Minister of Aviation, is hereby authorised to spend the sum specified in the schedule outlined here from the funds of NCAA during the year ending 31st December, 2013, not exceeding N15,316,850,000.”

A copy of the document was also lodged with the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation investigating the N255m bullet-proof cars the NCAA bought for the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah.

The agency has nine directors on its payroll, taking home N164.07m yearly. This is broken down into N18.6m (basic salary) and N142.4m (allowance).