Today's Newspapers Headlines [20th May, 2015]

NGF asks Okonjo-Iweala to account for $20bn
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has demanded explanations from the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on $20bn being accruals for the Excess Crude Account for two years.
This was part of a communique issued at the end of a 4-hour meeting in Abuja. The communique was read by the Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, who announced that the NGF has reconciled and reunited as a single association of the 36 state Governors of Nigeria regardless of region.
He said the forum was demanding explanations on how accrued and how it was disbursed.
Amaechi said, “In the light of the fact that funds in the Excess Crude Account were last disbursed in May 2013, there is need for the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to provide explanations for accruals to this account from June 2013 to April 2015 which is estimated at over $20 billion.”
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Govs uphold Amaechi’s election as NGF chairman
The crisis rocking the Nigeria Governors Forum has been resolved following the adoption of Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, as the Chairman of the forum.
Amaechi had won the last NGF election with 19 votes to defeat his main challenger, Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang, who had 16 votes.
The forum was thrown into crisis when the 16 mainly Peoples Democratic Party governors rejected the outcome of the election and went on to form a faction of the NGF.
Signs that the meeting would succeed showed up early, as Jang, the factional chairman, was said to have sent an apology over his inability to attend the meeting, fueling speculations that he would not object to decisions reached at the meeting.
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Jonathan govt incurs N5tn domestic debt in five years
In the over five years that President Goodluck Jonathan has presided over the affairs of the country, the Federal Government has borrowed N5.04tn from the domestic debt market.
Jonathan became Nigeria’s acting President on February 10, 2010 and substantive President on May 6,2010 following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua on May 5,2010. On May 29, 2011, he was sworn in as an elected president.
Records at the Debt Management Office showed that the domestic debt of the Federal Government stood at N3,466,360,000,000 (N3.47tn) as of March 31, 2010.
The latest debt statistics from the DMO as of March 31, 2015 showed that the domestic debt had risen to N8,507,545,474,000 (N8.51tn).
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PDP didn’t win elections in S’East – Kalu
Ex-Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, says the Igbo did not vote for the Peoples Democratic Party in the last general election in the South-East, maintaining that the PDP massively rigged the election in the region.
Kalu, who was an ardent supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan before the elections, said out of the five states in the South-East, the PDP only won elections in Ebonyi and Enugu states, therefore, it would be unfair to accuse the Igbo of voting en masse for the PDP.
Kalu said the people of Abia State voted against the PDP because of their feelings towards Governor Theodore Orji and the overbearing nature of the President’s wife, Patience Jonathan.
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APC unveils Buhari policy roadmaps
A two-day conference where the policy direction of the incoming government of the General Mohamadu Buhari would be unveiled is due in Abuja tomorrow and Thursday, according to the All Progress Congress.
Themed “Implementing Change: From Vision to Reality”, the dialogue is a brainchild of the Policy, Research and Strategy Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.
The event would mark the winding up of the Directorate as the inauguration of the new government is almost a week a way now.
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Alleged cover for gangs: You’re hypocrite , Fayose tells Falana
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayo Fayose has faulted Mr Femi Falana’s claim that he (Fayose) was providing cover for armed gangs to operate in the state, saying such a comment is ridiculous and nonsensical.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, the governor wondered why the Lagos-based lawyer would always stand truth on the head.
The governor, who was reacting to a comment by Falana that the governor was the one sponsoring armed hoodlums to operate in the state described Falana as a hypocritical political merchant, who always kept silent whenever APC controlled States are involved.
He asked; “Is this not hypocrisy? And Falana did not find it important to ask those All Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled states what they have done with their workers’ salaries if truly he is a human rights activist as he claims to be.
“Hypocrisy has made Falana not to say a word on the collapse of the judiciary and the legislative arms of government in some APC controlled states. Or is the judiciary in Rivers working? And has Falana said a single word on the collapse of the judiciary in Rivers State?
“Falana should be ignored because he is fond of beating about the bush and his utterances are always dictated by the percentage of stomach infrastructure from his paymasters.
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Boko Haram: Buhari slams military for hiring mercenaries
The President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has expressed disappointment with the way the military handled the war against insurgency in the North East. He wondered why the military could not secure 14 out of the 774 local government councils in the country without the assistance of “South African mercenaries.”
According to Buhari, Nigerian soldiers needed not wait for South Africans before confronting Boko Haram insurgents and winning the war in parts of the North East.
His words: “The military has never been so incapacitated like now. It is a shame that the Military cannot secure 14 out of the 774 local governments in the country.