Obasanjo reveals how Yar’Adua refunded $750m for refineries

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has given an insight into how his successor, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, said he was pressurized into reversing the sale of the nation’s oil refineries which he had concluded before leaving office in 2007.
Still in his serialized interview with the Channels Television programme: ‘Book Club’, monitored in Abuja on Wednesday by DAILY POST, Obasanjo lamented that Yar’Adua did not only cancel the sale, but also refunded the $750m paid by business mogul, Aliko Dangote, who led a consortium of investors to buy the troubled facilities.

Noting that the Federal Government was finding it difficult to manage the facilities as at then, he posited that the investors had paid $750m for two of the refineries, asserting that both refineries will hardly be sold for more than $250m as at now, since they have become very old.
He, however, regretted that instead of the Yar’Adua administration to consolidate on the sale so that the investors could turn around the fortunes of the refineries, his successor succumbed to pressure and reversed the sale of the oil facilities.
The former President explained that most people, especially leaders, always fail to analyse the decisions of those before them before upturning those decisions, pointing out that most leaders yield to sentiment than informed opinions.
His words, “The refineries are old and Dangote and some investors paid $750m for two of the refineries. My successor came to office and reversed the sale; he even refunded the money they paid.
“So, I went to him and said ‘why did you do this’? He said it was because of pressure. So, I said ‘so the pressure of some people was more important than the interest of the whole nation’!
“Right now, you will hardly be able to sell the refineries for more than $250m because they are very old”.
Daily Post





Taliban Leader, Mullah Omar, Is Dead
Latest report from CNN says the Afghan Government has confirmed the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, dead.

It quoted the government as saying he died in April 2013.

The Afghan Government had earlier said it was investigating reports of death of the Taliban leader.

The government’s response comes after reports of the death of reclusive Taliban leader.

In a news conference on Wednesday, President Ashraf Ghani’s deputy spokesman said the government was aware of the reports of his death and was in the process of assessing them.

Afghan government and intelligence sources reported earlier that Omar had “died two or three years ago”.

The U.S. State Department’s spokesperson, John Kirby, said the U.S. cannot confirm Omar’s death.

Omar was born around 1960 in rural southern Afghanistan. He reportedly rose to power as a commander who fought the Russian occupation around the city of Kandahar.

Source: Al-Jazeera, CNN

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NDLEA nabs China-bound man with drugs in Lagos
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 44-year-old man, Chide Chibude, for attempting to smuggle 1.185kg of cocaine to China.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, Head, Public Affairs, NDLEA, on Wednesday in Lagos.

The statement said the NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, Mr Hamza Umar, noted that Chibude was arrested by NDLEA officers at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

It said the arrest was effected, while the suspect was attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to China where drug trafficking is punishable by death.

According to the statement, the suspect ingested 1.185kg of whitish substances that tested positive to cocaine.

“We discovered from our investigation that the suspect sold his property in Enugu and invested the proceeds in drug trafficking due to wrong counsel from friends.

“He was apprehended during outward screening of passengers on Qatar flight. The cocaine found on him weighed 1.185kg,” it said.

The statement said the NDLEA Chairman, Ahmadu Giade, described drug trafficking as criminal and warned that those who seek wealth from criminality shall end up in prisons.

“NDLEA is combating drug trafficking with every resource at its disposal. Drug trafficking is criminal and the gains of a drug-free society is priceless.

“The lesson to be learnt from this case is that those who seek quick wealth from drug trafficking will end up in prison,” the statement quoted Giade as saying.

It added that the suspect’s case was particularly instructive because he invested N2m in drug trafficking which would have led to his untimely death if he was caught in China.

The statement said confessing to the crime, the suspect who hails from Enugu State, said he invested N2m in drug trafficking because he wanted to earn N4m profit in return.
Punch
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