MASSOB pledges allegiance to Niger Delta Avengers

The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Saturday, pledged total allegiance to the Niger Delta Avengers and other pro- Biafra groups from the Niger Delta region.
The Avengers, a militant group, has been claiming responsibility of series of bombings in the Niger Delta.
It has also been making demands for the release of Radio Biafra Director and leader of IPOB, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.

In a statement signed by the national leader of MASSOB, Comrade Uchenna Madu, he stated that MASSOB was glad that the Avengers had been consistent in the struggle for the liberation of Biafra.
“The consistency, selflessness and pragmatism of these Biafra warriors gladdens our hearts.
“It shows and proves the positiveness and acceptability of Biafra by our brethren across the Niger. It also rubbished the earlier diversionary, cowardice, stupid and negative comments / statements and position of some leaders of Ethnic nationalities of the South South who are brainwashed by Hausa Fulani Yoruba oligarchies against Biafra”, he declared.
Madu further stated that “the activities of the current Niger Delta Warriors is a natural confirmation that Biafra stretches towards the gulf of Guinea. The natural inhabitants and indigenous people of these lands are Biafrans by birth but Nigeria by citizens.

“MASSOB has made it open that we want Biafra though we choose non violence approach. We shall also support every genuine, legitimate methodology and approach chosen by any group towards Biafran self determination.
“Because of our non violence approach, the Nigerian security forces have killed thousands of MASSOB members and other groups members since 1999 when the current struggle started.”
The group lamented that the Nigerian government and the international human rights organisations as well as the Western world “seemed to have turned blind eyes over atrocities being committed against Biafrans who are agitating for self-autonomy but posited that time shall come when the Nigerian government will beg Biafrans and the detained Nnamdi Kanu of the IPOB.
“These extra judicial killings of non violent, unarmed Biafra agitators have gone unchecked by Nig Government and international watchdogs against human rights abuses, brutalities, genocides and pogroms including United Nation.
“The Western world seems not to react against the Ethnic cleansing of our people because of economic and diplomatic interest in Biafra natural treasures which they aligned with Nigeria and kept their hypocritical eyes closed against the fate of over 60 millions Biafrans.
“Nigeria and her likes understand the only language of violence. Today, Buhari’s military soldiers are being disgraced, economic power block is being dismantled, diplomatic relations being shattered, his Government in disarray even himself is confused because of the activities of Biafran agitators in the Eastern region.
“Our comrades from Niger Delta who are more United and focused than groups from Igbo based hinterland should not relent as the knees of our oppressors shall bow soon. They will beg Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and others”.

Nigeria recovers Sh919 billion in stolen money and assets

Nigeria has recovered $9.1 billion (Sh919 billion) in stolen money and assets, its information and culture minister said on Saturday.
President Muhammadu Buhari has continued a crackdown on corruption against the backdrop of the country's worst economic crisis in years.
Buhari was elected last year largely on his vow to fight corruption and recover "mind-boggling" sums of money stolen from the oil sector. He said public coffers were "virtually empty" when he took office last May.
Since then the country has endured an economic crisis caused by the sharp fall in global oil prices, making the need to recoup lost money more acute. Crude sales account for around 70 percent of national income.
In a statement, Information Minister Lai said cash and assets recovered between May 29 last year, when Buhari took office, and May 25 this year totalled $9.1 billion.
The government has said it plans to generate 3.38 trillion naira ($17 billion/Sh1.7 trillion) this year from non-oil sources to help fund the $30.6 billion (Sh3 trillion) budget signed into law by Buhari last month.
It was not immediately clear how much outstanding money in total is still being sought by the government.
"All these are monies recovered from individuals and entities who had either hidden, stolen, diverted or were in possession of monies belonging to the nation," the minister's special adviser, Segun Adeyemi, told Reuters.
"These recovered funds include monies withheld by past government officials, monies kept in private accounts, monies diverted to private pockets and monies in possession of government officials not disclosed after leaving government."
The information minister told Reuters he could not name any individuals from whom money had been recovered for legal reasons.
He said some of the money came after companies that had failed to pay taxes were forced to do so retrospectively.
The ministry also said a total of $321 million (Sh32.4 billion) was yet to be recovered from Nigerians in Switzerland, the Britain, the United States and the United Arab Emirates or their assets held in those countries.
Last month Buhari urged other countries and the United Nations to speed up the process of repatriating stolen money held abroad, which he said was becoming "tedious".

President Buhari is ill

President Muhammadu Buhari is ill and is being treated at the presidential villa, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report.
The president has an infection in his left ear, otherwise called Meniere Disease, a challenge which has drastically reduced his outings in the last one week.
As a result of the infection, the president now suffers hearing impairment and routinely complains of severe pains and unusual sounds from that ear, those familiar with his condition told PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr. Buhari had on three recent occasions cancelled official trips within and outside the country due to the infection and was represented at those events by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
A statement by the presidency on Friday said the vice president would again represent the president at the 48th Ordinary Summit of Head of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) holding this weekend in Dakar, Senegal.
The statement by Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the vice president, said Mr. Osinbajo would leave for Dakar on Friday and was expected back in Abuja on Sunday.
Multiple sources in the Presidency told this newspaper Friday that the president got the ear infection about two weeks ago.
Our sources said apart from his family, only a few high profile individuals who visited at the Presidential Villa in the last one week were aware of the president’s illness.

Mr. Buhari, who clocked 73 last December, was said to have confirmed it to some dignitaries who visited him in the past days, explaining to some of them that that was why he was unable to visit Lagos and Rivers as scheduled.
He was also said to have told some of his guests that he was struggling to give his failing health a major attention.
He is currently being treated by his personal physician and other experts from the State House Clinic, our sources said.
An official said the president might seek treatment abroad if his condition does not improve in the next few days.
Despite hearing difficulty, the president, our sources said, managed to attend Jumaat service and host some important visitors, including former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan as well as some clergymen on Friday.
Presidential spokespersons could not be reached to comment for this story on Friday night.
While calls to the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, failed to go through, Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant on media and publicity did not answer or return calls.
Media reports first hinted of the president’s illness two weeks ago when he was billed to visit Lagos.
Mr. Osinbajo represented him on that visit.
The vice president also represented the president in Papua New Guinea last weekend where the 8th Summit of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States held.
Mr. Buhari on Thursday put off his scheduled trip to Rivers State where he was billed to kick off the cleanup of Ogoni land as recommended by the United Nations Environmental Programme.
Again, Mr. Osinbajo represented him at the event.