Why I TURNED DOWN EFCC’s invitation – Tompolo

The former Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, reacting to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC’s plan to declare him wanted in connection with an alleged fraudulent multi-billion naira contract.

Mr. Ekpemupolo said in a statement Saturday that the EFCC merely resorted to “self-help” after failing to appear before a court in an earlier case he filed against the anti-graft agency.

Mr. Ekpemupolo said he went to court after the commission froze his company’s accounts since August 2015.

He said if there were questions regarding the contracts awarded to him, they should be directed to the federal government bodies that approved and awarded them.

His full statement:

EFCC’s ACCUSATIONS AGAINST ME AND THEIR RESORT TO SELF HELP

I, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo wish to state that my attention has been drawn to a news story on Channels Television of 10th December 2015.

The impression being conveyed is that I was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and I failed to honour the invitation or even respond by letter to the invitation.

On the contrary, nothing could be further from the truth. On the 24th of November 2015, I was informed at about 4pm that a letter of invitation had been dropped at my home in Warri, inviting me to EFCC’s office in Lagos by 10am on the 25th of November 2015.

I responded by a letter from my Solicitors, Messrs Jakpa, Edoge & Co. The letter dated 25th of November 2015 was received by one Uduak Ouot, a staff of EFCC on the 3rd of December 2015, after several attempts to deliver. I have proof of delivery from the courier company.

I was therefore not a little surprised that the EFCC – an otherwise reputable institution – would stoop so low as to lie to Nigerians.

As my Solicitor’s letter indicated I am already in court with the EFCC in Suit No: FHC/W/CS/152/2015. EFCC had been served with the court processes since 20th of October 2015 but they refused to attend court on several occasions, or to file any court papers, only to appear for the first time on 30th November 2015 without filing any court papers. They even asked for the matter to be adjourned to 17th December 2015, the date they are now inviting me to appear before them.

In fact, EFCC only invited me two months AFTER I sued them. In my Solicitor’s letter I informed them that as soon as the court decides one way or another, I would honour their invitation.

So the attempt to harass me by their reminder of 9th December 2015, which was leaked to the media on the 10th of December 2015 , the same day as it was delivered to my house in Warri is an unnecessary and face saving effort at brinksmanship.

As a full blooded Ijaw man and citizen of Nigeria, I have done everything in my power to follow the laws of Nigeria. Since the amnesty declared in 2009 by late President Yar’ Adua I have strained myself to ensure that we all live in peace in this country. Those who think they can push us to war must rethink the necessity of such a war.

How can a law-abiding Government declare a man wanted who is in the law courts with them?

They froze our business accounts since August 4th 2015, but we have not quarrelled with anybody. We sued them to court, they refused to come to court. Now they are threatening to declare me wanted.

I know why they are after me. It is not the alleged multi-billion naira property transaction. Afterall, it went through due process and was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). And as such if there are any questions to answer, it is the people at the FEC, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Federal Ministry of Lands and Survey, Federal Ministry of Transport, NIMASA, etc who approved the transaction that should be answering such questions.

The real reason this All Progressive Congress (APC)-led Government is after me is that I bluntly refused to join APC and to support their Governorship candidate in Bayelsa State. We cannot all be in APC. Our people have always believed in the Nigerian project and had always hoped to join hands with this administration to move this project forward, but the conditions being attached are not acceptable. I insist on believing in the Nigerian project unconditionally!

We will continue to pursue our court case. The threat to declare me wanted is an unnecessary attempt to heat up the polity. I will go about my daily business, usual.

Finally, let me say this: if people can come from Sokoto, Katsina or Lagos to campaign in Bayelsa, why can’t I, a full blooded Ijaw man, go to my Bayelsa to campaign?

I will only add this: let the will of the people of Bayelsa prevail. Nobody should attempt to force the outcome of the election. We have kept faith with our promise to Nigeria, we expect no less from this country. So if anyone tells you that Tompolo is on the run, tell him Tompolo is not going anywhere.

Thank you!
Signed
High Chief Government Ekpemupolo.

Nigeria sliding towards revolution, Ekweremadu warns Buhari, APC

Deputy Senate President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has warned that unless the downward slide of the Nigerian economy is halted, the country may witness a revolution by citizens.

Speaking at the opening of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) South East Zonal Executive Council meeting, Mr. Ekweremadu expressed dismay at the handling of the Nigeria’s economy by the All Progressives Congress, APC-led federal government.

He listed the reduction in value of the Naira which exchanged for about N250 to a dollar at the parallel market as well as lack of clear-cut economic blue print as major causes of hardship on the populace.

“Traders who depend on forex are now trapped,” he said at the event in Enugu on Saturday. “In the next six months Onitsha and Alaba markets will shut down. If government does not do anything, I’m not a prophet of doom, but I believe if nothing urgent is done to reverse the ugly development, we will have revolution in our hands.”

“Both our nationals and foreigners are worried; we need to inform APC that Nigerians are dying, unless APC changes style, Nigerians will in 2019 be begging PDP to come back,” he said.

The Deputy Senate President said

MAN PERFECT RESPONSE TO A RACIST WHITE LADY

Joe Christie saw a woman drop a tenner in the street, he did what all good Samaritans would do – and picked it up to return it. 

The musician was walking down Streatham High Street in south London when he saw a £10 note fall from a woman’s jacket pocket. 

He quickly grabbed it off the floor and approached her to give it back

But, before he had chance to explain, she replied with a shocking response. 

Posting on Facebook, he said: “20 minutes ago i was on Streatham high street in South London. A woman about 3 metres in front of me no older than 30 dropped a £10 note from her jacket pocket.

“I picked it up,walked up to her an said ‘Excuse me luv’

“Before i had a chance to finish my sentence she said “Sorry I’m not into Black boys” and walked off in a hurry.”

But, despite the her unbelievably rude response, he didn’t let it get him down – and made the most of it. 

The post was accompanied by a picture of the remaining £7.05p – and ended with him chirpily adding: “Thanks for buying me lunch.”   culled from y news

AMBODE COMMISSIONS NEW POLICE PATROL VEHICLE FOR BETTER POLICING OF LAGOS STATE

IN HIS GOVERMENT BID TO INSURE THE SECURITY AND WELL BEING OF THE STATE
COMMISSIONED   Among the items commissioned include 100 4-Door Salon Cars,55 Ford Ranger Pick-Ups, 10 Toyota Land Cruiser Pick-Ups,15 BMW Power Bikes/Cycles,100 Power Bikes,Isuzu Trucks, 3 Helicopters , 2 Gun Boats


5 Armoured Personnel Carriers Revolving Lights, Siren and Public Address System, Vehicular Radio Communicators Security Gadgets, including Bullet Proof Vests, Helmets, Handcuffs, etc Uniforms, Kits, etc; and OTHERS........

IS HE JUST ADMIRING HER DRESS

THEY WANT TO KILL MY BROTHER NNAMDI KALU SISTER RAISES ALARM

The sister of detained director of Radio Biafra, Princess Chinwe Kanu, has cried out about how the Department of State Services (DSS) plans to kill his brother, Nnamdi Kanu, in detention

Speaking to Daily Sun, at her father’s compound in Afara Ukwu, Umuahia in Abia state recently, Princess Kanu said the way she saw her brother on Monday during the trial blatantly displayed that the DSS wants to kill him while in their custody. She said:

“Honestly, the way they are going about this case I’m not comfortable with it because when I saw my brother, he looked like a shadow of his former self. He looked pale and anaemic and he has physical pain as a result of torture, starvation and the hardship he is going through in the hands of the DSS operatives.“After the court session, when he (Nnamdi) came out, as the IPOB members and the Biafrans were outside the gate while some were in the court premises hailing him and chanting: “Nnamdi, Nnamdi ka anyi ga-eso”, the way the DSS man roughhandled him, he almost fell down. I don’t know what his reasons were, but I’m happy Nnamdi never challenged him.

“They held him so tight that he screamed and I felt bad. Because his health is deteriorating by the day, I am calling on rights activists, the international crime code, the Amnesty International, the UN and the British commission to come and rescue their citizen in the hands of the DSS. They are so mean and wicked, they will kill him if care is not taken.

“I have confidence in what Eze Chukwuokike Abiama (God) will do because He is not a man that He will lie neither is He a man that He can disappoint us or deceive us and because His word is yea and Amen and because He is the one that brought His son out, He will not abandon or leave him that’s what I believe in.

 “My brother was assaulted publicly in the court premises and I’m standing here with an evidence to show the world what is going on the injustice and nepotism that is going on in Nigeria. I’m afraid of my live and that of my family with the way things are going. Will someone help tell President Muhammadu Buhari that this is a democratic dispensation, not autocratic government where he was the General?”

Meanwhile, Igbo leaders had a meeting in Enugu some days ago and decided to set up a delegation of elders to meet President Muhammadu Buhari concerning the marginalisation of Igbos in Nigeria.

6 CAREER HACKS THAT WILL PUT YOU AHEAD

We must all start being more active in our career and its management. We must start to own our experience. And when we own our experience, and are active in the management of our career, we must do six simple things.

1. BE PAID BY THE “YES”

We all work with people. People who need us in some way. And we need them. It is very simple. To build our careers and manage them effectively, we should be the people that are known to say “yes.” Now, I am not by any means advocating that you say “yes” to everything in your professional life. What I am saying is that when you are the person that people know say “yes” more than “no,” you set yourself up for more plumb assignments. Then, down the road, you’ll get an opportunity to ask for a “yes” in return for what you need.

2. CONSISTENTLY CURATE YOUR WORK

Do you have any idea how many amazing things we do every year in our jobs? Probably not, because we aren’t curating that great work anywhere to revisit it. Our documents, spreadsheets, reports, project plans, ideas, presentations (you get the idea) just sit on a server or in the trash never to be revisited again. The miss here is that when we revisit our best work quarterly, we are better equipped to see what we are really good at and what brings us the greatest sense of accomplishment. There are countless places for you to store this work in a cloud. Check out Dropbox, CredHive, GoogleDrive or OneDrive and start curating your work.

3. BUILD YOUR NETWORK

A strong network is a no-brainer in this day and age. But the hack here is to build your network all the time, not just when you are having a bad day at work or looking to change jobs. Trust me, employers notice when people start updating their profile with new skills or new connections en masse. It is considered telltale that you are unhappy at work if you suddenly update your skills and profile and add a bunch of new connections. Therefore, we need to be more active in building our network and be more consistent about it.

4. ASK FOR HELP

Finding a mentor will bring serious rewards. Want to learn a new skill? Identify a mentor and learn everything you can from them. Asking for help is a difficult skill for people because they believe it shows weakness. But, to others, it shows initiative to grow and stretch. Knowing everything can be boring, getting help, mentors, and new experiences is exciting. Be exciting – ask for help.

5. ALWAYS ANSWER THE DOOR

Opportunity will knock throughout your burgeoning career – open the door. Even if you are really happy in your current role, it never hurts to listen to other opportunities and build relationships with new people. These relationships may go nowhere, but you never know how you will cross paths in the future. Always be open to new opportunities and people, plus it is a nice ego boost to get noticed.

When you do answer the door, always ask how you were found so you can continue to build your profile on that channel. And if the position is not for you, try to connect them with someone who might be a fit. Paying it forward never hurt anyone.

6. SCHEDULE TIME TO DO THIS

Lastly, and most importantly by far,  schedule time to do all of these things. Put them on your calendar. Make a note once a month to save your best work into the cloud. Put an event on your calendar weekly to revisit your network. But by all means, make these hacks a priority in your career. You will not regret the time you spend managing your professional career