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BREAKING: Akinyemi opens can of worms on USAID! *They were dropping weapons for B’Haram
Bolaji Akinyemi, Nigeria’s former Minister of External Affairs, on Monday added flesh to the revelation that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was involved in equipping and financing Boko Haram, one of the terrorist groups responsible for devastating attacks that have left thousands of Nigerians dead in recent years.
Scot Perry, a US congressman, had last week, named the dreaded group as one of the terrorist groups the aide agency had sponsored in foreign countries using US tax-payers money during a congressional hearing, an exposé that raised a lot of dust within Nigeria and beyond, with Ali Ndume, foremost Bornu Senator calling for probe.
A guest of The Morning Show, a breakfast programme on Arise News Television, Akinyemi, who returned recently as the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), a body which he once headed as Director General (DG), the foremost international scholar, spoke on how locals in the Boko Haram affected areas had reported of helicopters piloted by “white men,” were used to drop catches of weapons and cash for the terrorists at night.
He said at the point the committee set up by Goodluck Jonathan, former President of Nigeria to look into the terrorist group in which he was a member, had thought that the white men in question were French nationals, but Perry’s revelation had now confirmed who the collaborators were, adding that the main goal must have been to destabilise the country.
Hear him: “I served on the committee on Boko Haram and villagers kept telling us that in the middle of the night, helicopters piloted by white people kept landing and offloading guns, goods and money to these people. Now villagers didn’t even know who these people were. And they had no reason to lie to us. Now, we made a mistake, when I say we, some of us on the Boko Haram Committee, made a mistake.
“We thought it was the French that were doing this. Now we have an American congressman, saying no, it was the Americans who were doing this. Now when you add that to the (Barak) Obama’s administration refusing to sell weapons to Nigeria on the grounds that we had human rights violations in the way we were dealing with Boko Haram, not in the way we were dealing with ordinary Nigerians where there were no security issues.
“Now, we got a plane to go and buy weapons in South Africa, someone tipped-off the South Africans. It wasn’t Nigeria who tipped-off the South Africans. Who tipped-off the South Africans? You’d have to come to the conclusion that it has to be a power that had access to information that was able to do that. They not only did that, they also penetrated our armed forces.
“Behind the scene, our boys told us that there were times when they would have Boko Haram people in the sight of their guns and they would now ask their headquarters for permission to open fire, only for their superior officers to tell them to pull back and not open fire. That shows the extent to which there was penetration and destabilisation of our security forces.
“Now, who would do this? Who would destabilise our own security forces? There were Nigerians also who were involved. Now this is where I have to be careful. I’m not going to mention names. But people who were going to the United States, who were leading delegations to the United States during this period. Our ambassador there, unfortunately he’s dead now, but he wrote reports about the activities of these Nigerians, some of them governors, who were involved with the State Department and who were also involved with the White House and what they were doing.
Now, who were the people who organized trips for Hilary Clinton and John Kerry who would ignore Abuja and fly over Abuja to go and hold meetings with political operatives in parts of Nigeria without clearance with own Aso and our own phase office?
Obioma Obikeze, an internationally-acclaimed medical doctor will on April 1, assume duties as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive officer (MD-CEO) of Healthnomics HMO Plc, in a move the organisation, said is to tap his huge experience in healthcare policy and financing as well as strategic leadership and expertise in health insurance and managed care operations.
A statement by the organisation, announcing the appointment, cited Obikeze’s background including his transformative roles at the Federal Medical Centre Yenagoa, where he led significant operational enhancements in health insurance and managed care programmes, saying his commitment to excellence in healthcare leadership remained evident from his recent tenure as Acting Head of Clinical Services and Training at his institution.
The statement, signed by Kenneth N. Ozoilo, a Professor and Chairman, Board of Directors, said further relished the quality of the new organisation’s boss, saying with a medical degree from the University of Nigeria, a fellowship of the West African College of Physicians, and a master’s degree in epidemiology and medical statistics from the University of Ibadan, fitted perfectly into the company’s desires and mandate.
“Obikeze was also a World Bank Exchange Scholar at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, Massachusetts, USA, graduating with a master of science (MS) in International Health Policy and Management. He also holds certifications in Health Care Financing for Universal Health Coverage from prestigious institutions like the World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, and Heidelberg University, Germany.
“We are pleased to have Dr. Obioma Obikeze lead our team. His exceptional expertise, track record, and uncommon commitment make him the perfect candidate to guide our organization towards impactful healthcare solutions for our clients,” Ozoilo, said.
On his part, the new MD-CEO, was quoted as saying: “I am thrilled to lead Healthnomics HMO Plc on our mission to redefine healthcare quality through responsible and accountable purchasing arrangements. Our dedicated team is focused on enhancing health outcomes, elevating the patient experience, and fostering positive collaborations and accountability with our stakeholders.”
Ozoilo, who described the company as described as a visionary Health Maintenance Organisation driven by its mission to enhance access to quality and affordable healthcare services to individuals, families, and corporate organisations at affordable costs. We work to improve health outcomes, enhance responsible patient experience, and make a positive impact on our communities.
Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, Senator representing Ebonyi North Senatorial District, at the National Assembly, is still talking tough hours after raining expletives on Oby Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education, calling her a thug, an old woman with smelly mouth among others during an engagement in the Senate, on Tuesday.
The ugly encounter took place at the sitting of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions during the commencement of hearing on the petition of sexual harassment brought by Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Senator representing Kogi Central against Godswill Akpabio, Senate President.
Contrary to the belief in some quarters that he spoke in the heat of the moment and on reflection would be regret the words he used at the former Minister, before then Vice President of the World Bank for Africa, Nwebonyi, palpably still burning with anger, told his host on Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television on Tuesday evening, that he had no such regrets.
Justifying his obstinate position, he accused the former Minister of bringing the insults on herself deservedly for ordering him to shut up, even when she knew she was speaking to a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, adding that such insult to his person would never be allowed.
Hear him: “It started when she was asked to be an oath because she said she was a witness. She said, ‘no she can’t be on oath, she can’t oath.’ As a person, I said I am willing to be sworn on oath so that I can give my own evidence. I was addressing the presiding office. She turned to me and said, ‘Will you shut up your mouth, you are a hooligan.”
Absolving himself of blame at the choice of his word in which he thundered: “How can I regret the scenario? I gave it to her. Is it fair for her to address me that way? As a former minister of the federal republic and a grandmother, ask her first.”
Oby Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education, on Tuesday, gave further details on the altercation between her and Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, Senator representing Ebonyi North, at the National Assembly, during the commencement of hearing of the sexual harassment case filed against Godswill Akpabio, Senate President by Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Senator representing Kogi West.
At the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, the two had engaged each other in a shouting match, using unprintable names, with the Senator virtually going overboard to as much as calling the former Vice President of the World Bank, a whore.
A guest at Prime Time, a public affairs programme of ARISE NEWS Network, hours after the incident, the former Minister admitted telling the Senator to shut-up, but explained that it was because the team of Akpoti-Uduaghan, was overly stressing Senate rules over the constitution and giving undue preference to the Akpabio camp.
Giving a detailed account of the encounter, she said: “I was there as the Chair of the global body known as the Women Political Leaders. It is based in Brussels, but it is a global body for all women who have been Presidents or former Presidents, Prime Ministers, parliamentarians and members of cabinet of countries.
“So, it is a global flagship for women political leadership. And so, I was there as a witness on her side on the basis of the expert knowledge that we have over this issue around the world. It is based on data that this is a problem. One out of every three women, has faced one form of sexual-based violence or the other. And so, a lot of countries are paying serious attentions to it, because it is inimical to the society.”
The former Minister who was present at the hearing alongside Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, lawyer to Zubairu Yakubu, who raised the petition on behalf of the Kogi Senator, one in the four females in the 10th Senate, narrated how the petitioners raised the issue of bias against the committee, said she became more displeased, when the committee tried to dismiss the Natasha team as unserious.
“In fact the words they used was that ‘we do serious things here, we don’t have time for unserious things.’ At that time, I had my hand up and I said, ‘I actually think that was a wrong use of words, we are not unserious people, this is a serious matter.’ Many conversations went on. Eventually, the Senate Ethics Committee, decided that based on the fact that the petitioner was saying that he wasn’t going to go into his main petition until they assured him that on the two objections that he had, they said, it meant we were not ready to engage on the matter.
“Then, suddenly, they also said, by the way, this matter is sub-judice because there are two cases in court and they mentioned the case of the wife of the Senate President and that on the basis of that they actually really shouldn’t… it was at that point that Dr. Abiola said, what’s the point, why are we here?
“When all that was going on, then, this Senator, who I would not acknowledge by mentioning his name, he then said if they are not ready about giving any testimony, I am here representing the Senate President as a respondent. I’m prepared to speak because we can’t continue with this. Then I said to him, ‘can you please shut up?’ Because we were just told that we couldn’t speak. And you have been speaking without any form of an equivalent treatment.
“You said we couldn’t speak because we were not ready to go into any conversation without our objections being addressed. Yes I said that. But he was already provoked, by the fact that he felt that we were not serious. Part of what inflamed it was that the petitioner said, by the way, it is this Senator that made a lot of statements about my Senator in words that were not complimentary.”
Obikeze, globally-acclaimed medical doctor, becomes Healthnomics’ MD-CEO
I don’t regret my insult on Oby Ezekwesili, she deserved it – Nwaebonyi
Why I asked Nwaebonyi to shut up – Oby Ezekwesili
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