World Bank postpones $90m Uganda loan over anti-gay law

The World Bank has postponed a $90m (£54m) loan to Uganda over its tough anti-gay law, which has drawn criticism from around the world.

World Bank officials said they wanted to guarantee the projects the loan was destined to support were not going to be adversely affected by the law.

The loan was intended to boost Uganda's health services.

Ugandan government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said the World Bank "should not blackmail its members".

The law, enacted on Monday, strengthens already strict legislation relating to homosexuals.

It allows life imprisonment as the penalty for acts of "aggravated homosexuality" and also criminalises the "promotion of homosexuality".

'Eliminate discrimination'

The law has been sharply criticised by the West, with donors such as Denmark and Norway saying they would redirect aid away from the government to aid agencies.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has called the law "atrocious". Both he and South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu compared it to anti-Semitic laws in Nazi Germany or apartheid South Africa.

A spokesman for the World Bank said: "We have postponed the project for further review to ensure that the development objectives would not be adversely affected by the enactment of this new law."

9jawedey

The loan was supposed to be approved on Thursday to supplement a 2010 loan that focused on maternal health, newborn care and family planning. The World Bank's action is the largest financial penalty incurred on the Ugandan authorities since the law went into force. In an editorial for the Washington Post, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim warned that legislation restricting sexual rights "can hurt a country's competitiveness by discouraging multinational companies from investing or locating their activities in those nations". He said the World Bank would discuss how such discrimination "would affect our projects and our gay and lesbian staff members". In his view, he adds, fighting "to eliminate all institutionalised discrimination is an urgent task". But Mr Opondo said not everything the West said was correct and there should be mutual respect for sovereign states. "There was a time when the international community believed slave trade and slavery was cool, that colonialism was cool, that coups against African governments was cool," he told the BBC. "I think the best way forward is constructive engagement but... I think Uganda and Africa in general should stand up to this blackmail." President Yoweri Museveni signed the anti-gay bill earlier this week, despite international criticism. Ugandan authorities have defended the decision, saying President Museveni wanted "to demonstrate Uganda's independence in the face of Western pressure and provocation". Uganda is a very conservative society, where many people oppose homosexuality.****

9jawedey

9jawedey Send your press release/articles to 9jawedey

PHOTO: Lady Stripped Naked In Broad Daylight For Wearing A Mini Skirt

Uganda is currently a hub of controversies in the region. Just days after assenting to Anti-rape law which outlawed miniskirts and banned those including exposing cleavages, Museveni signed the anti-gay bill which now gives life imprisonment to homosexuals. In the wake of new laws, Ugandans have now taken the law enforcement into their hands.

A young lady headed to her place of work was stripped off at the heart of Kampala, the country’s capital, she was accused of donning a miniskirt and exposing her thighs, ”she has really big buttocks and thighs, she provoked my feelings and that is what we don’t want, I could easily rape her” shouted one of the rowdy members who undressed the lady exposing her nakedness.
What do you make of this…

9jawedey

9jawedey Send your press release/articles to 9jawedey

Why EFCC Can't Probe NNPC's Missing Funds Now - Lamorde

Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde

SAN FRANCISCO, February 27, (THEWILL) - The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr.

Ibrahim Lamorde, Thursday declared that the commission can only commence probe of the alleged missing Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) $20billion oil money, only after Senate must have concluded and turn in report of its investigation.

He also informed that the anti-graft agency would need the report of the forensic audit promised by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela, in its investigation of the alleged missing funds.

Lamorde spoke when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes to defend the commission's 2014 budget.

The EFCC boss noted that since the Senate Committee on Finance was already investigating the alleged missing NNPC funds, the commission would wait for the Senate committee to conclude its work.

The committee headed by Senator Victor Lar, had sought to know why the EFCC had not taken up the investigation of the alleged missing $20 billion NNPC funds.

Lamorde told the committee that criminal investigation into the allegation could only commence at the conclusion of the Senate probe when necessary foundation for the commission's investigation must have been laid.

He said it was also necessary to establish the exact figure involves in the issue.

'The issue about the NNPC is already being investigated by the National Assembly.

For every investigation, once the National Assembly is on it, we have to wait until they conclude.

'The fuel subsidy investigation through which we charged so many people to court, the son of the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman is one of the people standing trial, we did not go into the matter until it was concluded by the National Assembly and forwarded to us.

'We can't jump into an issue that is still being investigated by the National Assembly.

'It is not a mob kind of thing.
There must be a sequence of events that would lead us to taking decision.

'Let the hearing of the National Assembly be concluded.

Normally when it is concluded it is forwarded to us for investigation.

'I think people are in a hurry.
What people want to hear is that just because there is an issue today, tomorrow you are shouting kill him, stone him.

'We don't do investigation by the media.
When we are ready to charge the individual to court we would do so.

'But when the investigation is going on let the investigation be conclusive.

Otherwise we will jump into what everybody is saying.

'It is like the market place where everybody is shouting at the same time.

Law enforcement investigation is not like that.
'It is supposed to be systematic and you work towards getting evidence to sustain your case if eventually you go to court.

'You can't just go to court based on assumptions.
We have gone very far with some of our investigations.

Very soon when we are ready you will see us in court.

'It is very easy to say the anti-corruption agencies should look into it.

When this controversy started we had about three figures.

'One figure would emerge today, it would change to another figure tomorrow and we arrive at another figure the next day.

'Now we have settled more or less on 20 billion.
'The Minister of Finance said that they want to commission an audit firm to do a forensic auditing of the finances of the NNPC.

'You need a professional firm to handle this.
This is not a common investigation.
These are very technical things.
'Let the audit be carried out.
Let's know exactly what we are talking about, understand what the figures are and criminal investigation can follow.

'You can't start an investigation on nothing.
You need a foundation.
You can't put a super structure without a base.
So we need that base to put our own investigation on it.

'You can't do a parallel thing when the Minister of Finance has said that an independent firm would be contracted to do a forensic audit of the NNPC accounts.

It is the same documents that the auditors would use that we will also use.

' EMMA UCHE, ABUJA

9jawedey

9jawedey Send your press release/articles to 9jawedey

Tweets by @9jawedey

Rout the cowardly terrorists{ ragtag and bobtail } – Leadership

Even as the nation mourns with the parents and relations of 50 to 60 male pupils of Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, in Gujba LGA of Yobe State, who were callously murdered by armed bandits on Monday night, and with the people of Adamawa State whose relations were murdered by the same evil people yesterday, our gallant soldiers must be cheered as they pursue the cowards to the ends of the earth. Boko Haram terrorists have shown, by their tactic of invading hapless villagers and students on the fringes of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, that they have no agenda other than to cause fear and sorrow. If it is to prove that Nigeria is incapable of protecting its own citizens, they have failed. Everybody must now join hands to root them out as quickly as possible. It is of no use arguing over who was right or wrong between Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno and the Presidency: our troops are superior to Boko Haram. The latter is composed of wild animals or timid beasts that seek to destroy innocent children, old men and women. They have been driven to the caves, mountains and forests where they, like other wild beasts, deserve to live in. The dastardly pre-dawn killings in villages like Bama, Izge and Malari in recent times suggest, however, that the wicked terrorists are facing defeat and therefore wanting to go down with hundreds of innocents. At least 360 lives have been lost this month alone in these villages. In some cases, several school maidens were taken away as prisoners to satisfy the sinful desires of the gunmen who have no morality and pay no allegiance to any religion. Only deranged fanatics, as President Jonathan described them, would deploy explosives, AK 47 rifles and rocket launchers in a 'war' with unarmed kids and villagers. No doubt, the emergency rule in the three north-east states has not been useless. But this time calls for a change of strategy. The brazen and unhindered ease with which the insurgents capture 'secured' places of worship and barracks highlights the failure of intelligence. For instance, a traditional ruler in one of the villages attacked last week narrated how he put a call to an army commander when he got information about the presence of the terrorists. The phone rang, but, rather than pick his call, the commander switched off his phone altogether for the four or five hours during which the murderers operated. Similarly, a checkpoint near the college in Buni Yadi was dismantled a few hours before the assailants moved into the school on Monday night. Soldiers manning checkpoints in Adamawa fled yesterday on sighting the terrorists. Is the mask of 'Boko Haram' coming off? That the sect has members in the armed forces is no longer in doubt. But why have all the Judases not been spotted and eliminated? Are some people prolonging this war because of monetary gains? In all the counter-terrorism designs so far experimented with, the military has not been able to connect the dots in terms of intelligence. And that explains why they have been caught napping at times. The timing, logistics, firepower and technical competences may favour our military, but the ultimate victory will come from good intelligence. The top echelons of the military should wake up to their responsibility, stop playing the ostrich and to the gallery, and halt the marauding forces. Failure in this anti-terror war is not an option.

9jawedey

9jawedey Send your press release/articles to 9jawedey

Tweets by @9jawedey

Is Nigeria's President A Terrorist?

I am in a quandary

"Every Nigerians Do Something......"

Send your views to 9jawedey On Twitter... @9jawedey

9jawedey

9jawedey

Tweets by @9jawedey

UNICEF condemns recent killing of students in Yobe

UNICEF says attacks on children and schools are unacceptable
The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, on Thursday, condemned the killing of at least 45 children by unidentified gunmen at the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe.
This was in a statement by the Head, Media and External Relations of UNICEF in Abuja, Geoffrey Njoku.
UNICEF said attacks on children and schools were unacceptable under any circumstances as such deprived them to their right to education and basic needs to life.

9jawedey

9jawedey

Tweets by @9jawedey

Adamawa Attacks Update: 13 feared killed, 2 banks, police station, burnt.

Boko Haram Attack in the North

The Boko Haram sect has intensified attacks in the North-East region in the past few days

At least thirteen people were killed late Wednesday when gunmen, believed to be members of the extremist Boko Haram sect, launched surprise attacks on Michika town in Adamawa state, residents and security sources have said.

Two banks – First Bank and Union Bank – were torched and might have been burgled by the attackers, while the main police station in the town was also burnt.

Some of the residents said on phone on Thursday that the attackers arrived the town around 9 p.m to unleash the mayhem for about five hours.

“They burnt three banks, police station, shops and part of the Michika Local Government Council secretariat. They came in nine Toyota Hilux vans firing guns and throwing explosives,” a resident who simply identified himself as Fide said.

Fide said he saw corpses of two victims whose remains were recovered on Thursday.

“One of the dead bodies is that of a staff of Bank of Agriculture,” Fide said.

The attackers reportedly raided Kirchinga, Kubla and Shuwa villages on their way to Michika.

“They burnt places of worship and the house of a former commissioner, Idris Nuhu, in Shuwa village,” said a resident, Sule Idris.

Confirming the report, the spokesperson of the 23rd Armour Brigade, Yola, Ja’afaru Nuhu, said the insurgents attacked communities in Madagali and Michika Local Government Areas.

Mr. Nuhu also promised to give details of the attacks later.

The lawmaker representing Michika constituency in the state House of Assembly, Admu Kamale, also confirmed the attacks.

Both officials however declined to provide information on casualty.

The gunmen had on Wednesday night raided three villages in Madagali and Michika local governments in the North-east state.

The chairman of Madagali Local Government, Maina Ularamu, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES over the telephone Wednesday night, said the attackers, suspected to be members of the extremist Boko Haram sect, first attacked Kirchiga Village before proceeding to Shuwa town both in Madagali Local Government Area.

“They came to Kirchiga at a little after 8p.m and opened fire sporadically at the people,” he said.

He however could not confirm any casualty‎ figure as at midnight on Thursday.

Mr. Ularamu added that the gunmen also‎ attacked neighbouring Shuwa town, adding that the sounds of gunfire could still be heard in the town as at the time we spoke to him.

Also, a resident of Michika town, who declined to be named for security reasons, told PREMIUM TIMES that he could hear gunshots in the town.

He reported intermittent sounds of gunshots and said most people in the town had run home for safety.

9jawedey

9jawedey

Tweets by @9jawedey