Digital Leonard Blog

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and former governor of Bayelsa state, Chief Timipre Sylva sends warm felicitations on this year’s independence celebrations, describing it as an opportunity to evaluate our patriotism as well as a moment of deep national pride. Our history, as diverse as our great nation, Sylva is certain, constantly reflects the relentless spirit of our people. We fought for a sovereign nation and on that spectacular night in 1960 we took the Union Jack off our poles for the national flag. We survived socio-political anxieties, we survived a war that almost undid our foundations and yet here we are: a united, proud nation with numerous highlights of glowing successes we can all be proud of. Chief Sylva urges Nigerians, young and old, and of every religion and creed, to keep the flame of patriotism burning as it has been, and still is, the key fulcrum of our greatness. Beyond our deepening sense of nationhood, Sylva is excited, too, about the huge reservoir of ...

Buratai stated this on Monday in Abuja during a spiritual warfare seminar at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre with the theme, "Countering insurgency and violent extremism in Nigeria through spiritual warfare." The Army chief, who was represented by the Chief of Administration, Maj. Gen. Sani Yusuf, urged Islamic and Christian clerics across the Army formations to join the fight against terrorism, and reorient the people against negative ideologies. Buratai said, “It is easier to defeat Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists than their ideology because, while we degrade the terrorists and their havens, the narrative of the ideology grows the group. “Therefore, communities, families, and groups should join in the fight and narratives to reject and prevent the ideologies of the terrorists and extremist groups. “Religious bodies and organisations in particular who interface regularly with the grassroots should be at the forefront of this spiritual battle and fashion out ways of steppi...

Cross River youths under the auspices of Northern Cross River Youth Coalition (NCRYC) on Monday congratulated Cross River State Governor, Sir Ben Ayade over the President Muhammadu Buhari's approval of the Bakassi Deep Sea Port project. The group in a statement signed by Comr Emaluji Sunday Michael thanked the governor for his passionate and selfless pursuit for the project to be certified. According to Emaluji, the Bakassi Agro Deep Seaport legacy project for the people of Cross River, that would open a new vista of industrialization, job creation, wealth distribution and economic boom for the country. The statement reads in part, "Our Digital Governor, Prof Sir Ben Ayade, the Digital Governor of Cross River State, we in Northern Cross River Youth Coalition (NCRYC) heartily and greatly Congratulate you for the passionate and selfless achievement of the Bakassi Agro Deep Seaport graciously approved by President Muhammadu Buhari. "We are really elated for the great achieve...

I felicitate with fellow Nigerians at home and abroad on the occasion of the 59th Independence Anniversary of our dear country, Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in Abuja pledged that his administration will continue to adequately fund the judiciary to enable it discharge its responsibilities. The President also said it is the collective duty of the three arms of government to ensure fair justice delivery and safeguard the rights of all Nigerians. The President spoke at the commissioning of the annex building of the headquarters of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Area 3, Abuja, which also marked the valedictory session of the President of the Court, Justice Babatunde Adejumo. President Buhari said: ‘‘You will all recall that in 2014, the entire budgetary allocation to the judiciary was N68 billion. ‘‘Today, the judiciary budgetary allocation has gone up to N100 billion. Rest assured that we shall continue to adequately fund the judiciary to ensure it is enabled to discharge its responsibilities.’’ The Nigerian leader used the occasion to appeal to the three arms of government to continue collab...

Minister Of State For Petroleum Resources and Former Governor of Bayelsa state, Chief Timipre Sylva, has expressed optimism that the All Progressives Congress and her standard bearer in the state would usher in the much needed progress. Speaking at the launch of the Lyon/Degi Campaign Secretariat to an impressive mass of change seekers, top party hierarchy and journalists, Sylva was confident that the pair of Chief David Lyon and Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo as Governor and Deputy Governor respectively are up to the task of positioning the state for a positive next level. 'Today is just a tip of the iceberg' Sylva enthused while affirming that he will not say much about the elections because he knows that APC has won already. Sylva, who is the Leader of the APC in Bayelsa State, continued 'I want to tell you a new chapter has been opened in the history of Bayelsa State. I want to tell you prosperity is coming and I want you to know that the dark days and locust years ...

Engr. Musa Wada, as he is popularly known and called, is an indigene of Odu in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State. Born into the family of Alh. Wada, his mother Hajya Hauwau hails from Idah Local Government Area of Kogi State. He attended LGEA Primary School, Okura-Olafia and Government Secondary School, Dekina before proceeding to the School of Basic Studies at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He had his first degree B.Sc. in Building from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and his second degree M.Sc in Transport from Ogun State University (now Olabisi Onabanjo University). He has a Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Akure and a doctorate degree (PhD) in Environmental Science from the University of Calabar, Nigeria. A Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Shipping, Engr. Musa Wada is a Member of several professional bodies. They include the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Institute of Building, amongst others. He is an Officer of...

Wednesday was a helluva day. Filled to the brim. We didn’t call it a day till 9 p.m (2 a.m Nigerian time), and it was with all pleasure that I dived into bed about an hour later. Sweet embrace. Sleep. William Shakespeare calls it “sweet nourisher in life’s feast.” We must give glory to God for creating sleep. That’s why it’s not good to murder sleep. Serious trouble. How did Wednesday go? President Muhammadu Buhari met with the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The latter said it was always inspiring for him, each time he sat near the Nigerian President. Purpose of the meeting? Portugal would be hosting Europe-Africa Forum in Lisbon next year, and the Nigerian leader was being invited to declare the event open. “Please come, we’ll like to see you” de Sousa said. “We’ve been waiting for you for three years. Please come, even if it’s for just half a day. Many African leaders have visited us, but we want Nigeria. Please come to Lisbon.” The President said our own President w...

On our website publication of  Monday, September 23, 2019, we published a story titled “N90bn FIRS Election Fund: Osinbajo’s problem, not 2023 politics.” We have since discovered that the story lacks factual substance and we hereby retract it in its entirety. We tender our profound apology to  Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on whom the story touches directly and the All Progressives Congress, APC, for any inconvenience or embarrassment the publication has occasioned them. We hold Professor Osinbajo, SAN, in the highest esteem.                                                                           Editor.

 "P&ID only used my Office Space & Funds that I provided them, I don't really know them." GEN. TY DANJUMA

$9.6bn Judgement: P&ID case, a scam, says Buhari at UN President Muhammadu Buhari warned on Tuesday that Nigeria would not tolerate attempts by persons and organisations he called international criminals to defraud the country. He also stressed that his administration would sustain its anti-corruption fight.  Buhari cited the Federal Government’s prosecution of Process and Industrial Development over the controversial $9.6bn judgment it obtained from a London court against Nigeria as an example of  “a scam.” He was speaking at the General Debate of the ongoing 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Buhari told the session that the world was facing various crises, including financial crimes, and called for collective efforts by all countries to address the problems. He stated, “Organised criminal networks, often acting with impunity across international borders present new challenges where only collective actions can deliver genuine results. “This ...

Governor Ahmadu FIntiri has constituted the governing board of the Adamawa State University Mubi four years after the last board was disbanded by the state government. FIntiri approved the constitution of ADSU's Governing Council after his meeting with the management and union leaders of the institution who paid him a courtesy visit at the government house Yola. The governor, also used the occasion of the visit to reiterate his administration's commitment to revamping education in the state. He said the administration beside launching and implementing the  government's free education policy, in the state, also secured N3bn in funding meant for high impact intervention for the state University. The reconstituted governing board of ADSU, named Auwal Tukur, a former member of House of Representative and stalwart of the People's Democratic Party who represented Yola North,  Yola South and Girei Federal Constituency, as chairman of the governing board. Others on the board ar...

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has declared his readiness to waive his constitutional immunity to “enable the most robust adjudication” of several baseless allegations, insinuation and falsehoods against his person and office. Laolu Akande,Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Office of the Vice President in a statement said Prof. Osinbajo made this declaration in a tweet he personally authored this afternoon. Below is the full text of his tweet: “In the past few days, a spate of reckless and malicious falsehoods have been peddled in the media against me by a group of malicious individuals. “The defamatory and misleading assertions invented by this clique had mostly been making the social media rounds anonymously. “I have today instructed the commencement of legal action against two individuals, one Timi Frank and another Katch Ononuju, who have put their names to these odious falsehoods. “I will waive my constitutional immunity to enable the most robust ...

President Muhammadu Buhari recently set up an Economic Advisory Council to replace the country’s Economic Management Team. He also moved some departments and agencies of government to the new Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. I don’t see why this should become a source of agitation and frustration for some Nigerians. The Economic Advisory Council is chaired by Prof. Doyin Salami, a seasoned intellectual. The members are persons of great technocratic ability with a track record of achievement as economists and policy wonks. The Council will meet every month and meet with the President every quarter. The Nigerian economy can certainly benefit from new ideas and perspectives. It is also refreshing to see the President put together a team that is not made up of party members, dead woods, or sycophants. Each member of the Economic Advisory Council inspires confidence. There is a consensus that the President got it right with the list. What the Adv...

Q - As one of the national leaders of the APC, what is your take on the news making rounds of an attempt by some power brokers to remove Vice - President Yemi Osinbajo? A - The Vice-President is busy doing his job and nobody is planning to remove him. How can anybody say they are planning to remove him? What offence has he committed? Q - There are reports that cabals in the Presidency are behind his travails… A - (Cuts in) Which cabal? People are just playing politics. As far as I am concerned, there is only one Presidency, not two; the President and the Vice- President. Since 1999, there has not been a smooth working relationship between the President and Vice- President like we have now between Buhari and Osinbajo. So, what is the proof that they want to remove the Vice President or reduce his powers? Is it because of the Economic Advisory Team set up by the President? What is wrong with that? He did that to smoothen operation and to ensure that we move to the Next Level. In the stru...

The senator representing Ogun central Senatorial District, Distinguished Sen. Ajibola Basiru congratulates Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa SAN on his promotion to Senior Advocate of Nigeria today by the Nigerian Bar Association. The Senator in his words said, "As you seek new challenges and make your dreams come true, may this awarding be a reminder of all that you can do. Now that you have been promoted to the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, I look forward to hearing tremendous amount of advocacy for the people. Another silk for the people's Advocate" The Senator also appreciated the Nigerian Bar Association for rewarding hard work and dedication.

The attention of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, has been drawn to publication in some online and daily newspapers by a certain Comrade Timi Frank, the former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who claimed that the FIRS supported the`APC, through the  Vice President Yemi Osinbajo with a phantom N90 billion. The FIRS wishes to state as follows: 1.      That  the entire allegation being spread by one Frank  Timi  that the  Federal           Inland Revenue Service spent N90billion to fund the last election is           mendacious, wicked, malicious and a calculated attempt to smear the image           of the Service and that of his Excellency, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi           Osinbajo. This campaign of calumny and villifying false claims are           entirely, libellou...

First Lady of Nigeria Mrs (Dr)Aisha Buhari calls for more funding, political will to end TB First Lady of Nigeria and Global TB Ambassador, Dr. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari has called for more funding to Fast track efforts to end Tuberculosis. She made the call during the UN High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis at the UN Headquarters, New York on Sunday, 22 September, 2019. Suleiman Haruna ,Director of Information to First Lady of Nigeria in a statement said She challenged leaders to increase political Commitment and be accountable to their promises of increasing resources and supporting effective 0and sustainable partnerships to end TB. She was represented at the meeting by Dr. Hajo Sani, Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria. The meeting was aimed at promoting multi-sectoral Action to take forward the Commitments made last year at the United Nations High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis. Mrs. Buhari made reference to the last meeting of African First Ladies alongside the African ...

So let us set some of this orchestration of lies, and rife speculations about the Vice President straight 1. Yes, the President in the exercise of his powers has formed a new Economic Advisory Council and replaced the Economic Management team otherwise led by his beloved VP. This is really a change in strategy and not a reduction of the statutory functions of the VP. 2. As the Chairman of the constitutionally created National Economic Council, the VP will continue to play a leading role in matters Economic in singular support and assistance of his Principal, Mr. President. 3. Only last Thursday the VP at the NEC meeting clarified that both NEC and the new EAC will interact. 4. On the issue of agencies under the VP, the truth is that NOTHING IS CHANGING & THERE ARE NO NEW DIRECTIVES. This is because nothing has gone wrong at all. A Presidency Statement already clarified this. 5. All the other stuff you read are all lies! 6. Let us review some of the lies so far. That the new preside...

MAKING SENSE OF ALL THE FAKE NEWS ABOUT VP OSINBAJO So let us set some of this orchestration of lies, and rife speculations about the Vice President straight 1. Yes, the President in the exercise of his powers has formed a new Economic Advisory Council and replaced the Economic Management team otherwise led by his beloved VP. This is really a change in strategy and not a reduction of the statutory functions of the VP. 2. As the Chairman of the constitutionally created National Economic Council, the VP will continue to play a leading role in matters Economic in singular support and assistance of his Principal, Mr. President. 3. Only last Thursday the VP at the NEC meeting clarified that both NEC and the new EAC will interact. 4. On the issue of agencies under the VP, the truth is that NOTHING IS CHANGING & THERE ARE NO NEW DIRECTIVES. This is because nothing has gone wrong at all. A Presidency Statement already clarified this. 5. All the other stuff you read are all lies! 6. Let us ...

The Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, H. E Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva has unveiled his roadmap and deliverables for the oil and gas sector and has expressly sought and received the commitment of the Agencies of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to deliver on all fronts. H.E. Timipre Sylva listed the priority areas to include: Implementation of the reduction of Federal Government’s equity stakes in Joint Venture (JV) participation to 40 per cent, Curbing petroleum products cross border leakages, Completion of the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme, Increasing crude oil production to 3million barrels per day and Reducing the current cost of crude oil production by at least 5 per cent. Other priority areas include; Aggressive promotion of the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB); Promotion of inland basin exploration activities; Promotion of deep offshore exploration activities; Collaboration with the private sector to aggressively increase domest...

NNPC says the rehabilitation of the refineries is to ensure that the nation’s refineries deliver real time value and address the petroleum needs of Nigerians The group managing director Malam Mele Kyari says the rehabilitation of the refineries will help the corporation to refine crude oil at optimum capacity by 2022 Kyari notes that making the refineries to operate at optimal capacities is a mandate that NNPC as a corporation actualiseThe nation’s refineries are located in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna. The group managing director Malam Mele Kyari disclosed this on Saturday in PortHarcourt during a facility tour to the Port Harcourt refinery, The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. “I believe that with the support that we have from the shareholders – government of this country, the entire staff of this company and the contractors, I believe it is doable and we will deliver the project,” the GMD said.

Add caption Naija politics Cafe have gather that Chief Allen oyeama the air peace CEO is taking advantage of the xenophobic attack on Nigerians in South Africa to showcase himself in politics in the nearest future or he is sending a message. An undisclosed  staff of Allen oyeama disclose this in an interview with our correspond, he went further to tell naija politics café that Allen oyeama is a close associate of the Jonathan's . Allen may have carried out the philanthropy act to totally separate himseft from petience and ebele Jonathan, the Jonathan's have since been accused if been the real owner of air peace . Is Allen Oyeama a Proxy? Follow us and like our page for more is coming  on this matter.

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswll Akpabio has directed the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to complete on-going projects including the on-going headquarters building project before awarding contracts for new ones.  Senator Akpabio gave the charge when in the company of the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Festus Keyamo they paid a working visit to the headquarters of the Commission in Port Harcourt on Friday. During a meeting with the management and staff of the Commission, Senator Akpabio disclosed that the NDDC had more than 12,000 on-going projects across the nine states of the Niger Delta region which experienced funding challenges. The Minister said it was not a coincidence that two Niger Delta sons were selected by President Muhammadu Buhari to superintend over the affairs of the Niger Delta but a conscious effort at ensuring effective development of the region especially in the areas of infrastructural and human capital development. ...

Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has suspended with immediate effect payment of N3, 700 levies in all public schools in the state with immediate effect. Abiodun’s administration had come under heavy criticism in the last few weeks over the levy issue, as the governor, on Friday, during a stakeholders forum with the theme “Repositioning Education for Outstanding Performance”, cleared the air that his government inherited the levy from the previous administration.“I have been criticized in the media about the N3,700 PTA fee. I did not introduce the fee. It was proposed by the PTA and accepted by the previous administration. The fee negates the free education policy of this administration. It is like payment through the back door.

As part of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s sustained drive to open up Edo State to investors and tourists, commercial airline operator, Aero Contractors has reopened flight operations on the Benin-Lagos route, as the maiden flight arrived the Benin  Airport  on September 16.  Commissioner for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Osaze Osemwengie-Ero, who witnessed the arrival of the flight on Monday, said the airline has been assigned the official flight carrier for the 2019 National Festival for Arts and Culture (NAFEST) holding in the state from October 19th to 26th.

‪ “Let me say, as a house, as an institution we cannot understate our disappointment that the service chiefs are not here.” — Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila