Nigerian detained in US, our findings - Abike Dabiri

The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora has given more insight into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of a Nigerian, Mr Okufolajimi Abegunde in US since June 25, 2018 even though till date there was no official correspondence to the effect from the family.

2. However, that notwithstanding, these are the facts of the matter :

(a) A US  department of Justice has since June 2018 arrested and charged eight   people including Mr Abegunde for cybercrime and business email compromise conspiracy.

(b) They were alleged to have defrauded some US Companies and individuals to the tune of $15 Million USD.

(c) However,  Mr Abegunde claimed innocence, saying his address was used by a friend of his, Mr Ayodeji Ojo, who has apparently been previously charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and is currently at large.

(d) Mr Abegunde along with the 7 others, currently have a criminal case against them in the US, . Mr Abegunde had his detention hearing on June 25th.

(e) However, when the Nigerian consulate in Atlanta became aware of the detention of Mr Abegunde, who claimed innocence,a letter was written to the West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason, Tennessee (where he is detained) requesting consular access.

3. The consulate in Atlanta is awaiting response  for consular access to Mr Abegunde through the US Department of State in Washington. , without which the mission cannot visit him

Nigerian detained in US, our findings - Abike Dabiri

The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora has given more insight into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of a Nigerian, Mr Okufolajimi Abegunde in US since June 25, 2018 even though till date there was no official correspondence to the effect from the family.

2. However, that notwithstanding, these are the facts of the matter :

(a) A US  department of Justice has since June 2018 arrested and charged eight   people including Mr Abegunde for cybercrime and business email compromise conspiracy.

(b) They were alleged to have defrauded some US Companies and individuals to the tune of $15 Million USD.

(c) However,  Mr Abegunde claimed innocence, saying his address was used by a friend of his, Mr Ayodeji Ojo, who has apparently been previously charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and is currently at large.

(d) Mr Abegunde along with the 7 others, currently have a criminal case against them in the US, . Mr Abegunde had his detention hearing on June 25th.

(e) However, when the Nigerian consulate in Atlanta became aware of the detention of Mr Abegunde, who claimed innocence,a letter was written to the West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason, Tennessee (where he is detained) requesting consular access.

3. The consulate in Atlanta is awaiting response  for consular access to Mr Abegunde through the US Department of State in Washington. , without which the mission cannot visit him

'We reject your plan to Impose new taxes on Nigerians' - PDP tells President Buhari

The PDP Presidential Campaign Organization has condemned plans by President Buhari to impose new taxes on Nigerians who they say are 'already overburdened, impoverished and pauperized by his incompetent, insensitive, uncaring, vindictive and corrupt administration'.

The party in a statement said, 'It is disheartening that instead of President Buhari to seek ways to recover the over N14 trillion looted under his cover by APC leaders and the cabal in his Presidency, Mr. President is seeking to inflict more pain on distraught Nigerians, by imposing new taxes on them in the coming year'.

Nigeria’s Green Africa Airways Orders 100 Boeing 737 Max 8 - Travel -

NIGERIA’S GREEN AFRICA AIRWAYS ORDERS 100 BOEING 737 MAX 8

LONDON – Nigerian start-up Green Africa Airways has today confirmed a commitment for up to 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, split into 50 firm orders and 50 options.

The deal is worth an estimated $11.7 billion at current list prices, making it the largest Boeing aircraft order from an African carrier.

The announcement comes in as the airline begins to finalize proceedings to launch commercial operations.

Babawande Afolabi, Founder, and CEO at Green Africa Airways said that “Today is a historic day for the Nigerian and African aviation industry, this landmark deal takes us much closer to our long-held dream of building a world-class airline that will unlock a new realm of positive possibilities for millions of customers.”

“This deal is a bold symbol of the dynamism, resilience and soaring entrepreneurial drive of the next generation of Nigerians and Africans,” he added.


Based in Lagos, Nigeria, Green Africa Airways has been established with the goal of providing “quality and affordable air travel and to be a significant contributor to the economic development of Nigeria and the African continent.”

AIRLINE INDUSTRY HEAVYWEIGHTS JOINING IN
The Nigerian carrier has recently been awarded its AOC from the Nigerian authorities.

Helped by a group of industry professionals, led by Tom Horton, former Chairman/CEO of American Airlines; William Shaw, Founder and former CEO of VivaColombia; and Virasb Vahidi, former CCO of American Airlines, the Nigerian startup has a group of knowledgeable and successful experts behind it.

Atiku: $1bn Fuel ‘subsidy’ In 2019 Budget Is Buhari’s Campaign Slush Fund - Politics -

• Berates NNPC for abuse of financial procedures
By Segun James


The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has come down hard on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over what he described as huge abuse of financial procedures in the running of the state oil company, alleging that the $1 billion voted in the 2019 budget to fund the under-recovery in petrol price was simply a slush fund to finance President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election campaign.

A statement issued yesterday in Abuja by Atiku’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, said “the secret and opaque re-introduction of subsidy in the prices of petrol even before it was provided for in the 2019 budget without any budgetary approval by the National Assembly was proof of the colossal amount of embezzlement and rip-off that have now become the hallmark of the Buhari administration”.

Atiku recalled that at the beginning of 2018, the federal government illegally diverted $1.05 billion (N378 billion at N360 to a dollar) sourced from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) dividend funds to secretly fund subsidy payment on petroleum products.

He noted that details of the diversion became public following accusations by the National Assembly that the NNPC had a $3.5 billion subsidy fund it was spending without appropriation by the legislature.

In October, a motion by Senator Biodun Olujimi, (Ekiti-PDP) had triggered debates in the National Assembly on the purported $3.5 billion fund alleged to be managed by the NNPC.

ASUU Strike: Union threatens to boycott future meetings, accuse FG of deceiving Nigerians

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says it may not honour further calls by the federal government for a meeting on the way forward over the current strike by its members.  

The union’s National President, Biodun Ogunyemi, said this on the sideline of a news conference on the update of the union’s struggle to salvage the country’s public universities from deterioration on Sunday in Lagos.  

According to Ogunyemi, to ensure that the agreements were implemented, the union had held a series of consultative meetings with the government and written series of letters with little or nothing to the effect.  He noted that it was against this backdrop that union resumed strike on November 4.

50 Cent buys himself $440k Rolls Royce for Christmas, posts receipt (Photos)

American actor and rapper, 50 Cent, paid $440k cash to buy a brand new Rolls Royce as  Christmas gift to himself.

The rapper whose real name is Curtis Jackson III posted a photograph of himself posing with the luxury car and wrote: 'If I like it I’m getting it, if you don’t like it ??‍??don’t watch. Positive Vibes.' 

Scott Disick takes his ex-Kourtney Kardashian and current girlfriend Sofia Richie to Mexico for family vacation (Photos)

Over the weekend, Scott Disick, 35, headed off to holiday to Cancun in Mexico with his three children, their mother Kourtney Kardashian, 39 and his current girlfriend Sofia Richie, 20.

At one point, Scott's ex Kourtney and his girlfriend Sofia were enjoying each other's company as they looked at something on Kourtney's phone.