Newspaper of the Year
APC, PDP, SDP, Accord in war of words over Oyo NEWS Page 8
News PDP okays Ajibola for Kwara P11 Sports Keshi: friends’ve abandoned me P41 Business CBN defends naira devaluation P31
•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper
VOL. 9, NO. 3079 MONDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2014
•www.thenationonlineng.net
TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH
N150.00
Missing $20b: Buhari demands release of audit report
A
LL Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has demanded the relaese of the forensic audit on the missing $20 billion oil cash. Gen. Buhari, in a statement yesterday, said the report must be released “in the spirit of the war
By Bunmi Ogunmodede
against corruption”. The APC presidential standard bearer accused the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of “digging graves in search of rumours” to confuse the voters. The statement, signed by the Director of Communication of the Buhari Campaign
Organisation, Mr. Dele Alake, reads: “There is a clear linkage between the billions of naira lost to corruption and the poor living conditions of our people: it is the resources meant for the development of our people that are diverted to service the greed of a few. It is the fear of the unknown in a country where both family
and government social welfare have collapsed that fuels the avarice of those in offices to steal for generations unborn. It is indeed true that, by sheer force of personal examples, I and my running mate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, have demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that it is possible to live above
the greed that dominates the system. “I believe our spiritual anchors as men who fear The Almighty and are resolved to live our lives according to His admonitions have played very critical roles in developing our capacity to lead. As Christians go and return from churches, as Muslims and men of other
faiths observe their spiritual obligations, we believe our individual commitments to serve our Creator will inspire us to shun corruption. “We say this fully conscious of the need to strengthen these spiritual values by creating a system that cares for the poor Continued on page 4
•INSIDE: 2015: APC ’LL ENSURE VIOLENCE-FREE POLLS P5 FAYOSE GETS KNOCKS OVER WORKERS’ PAY P8
Revealed: What Jonathan, Babangida discussed President woos Emirs, leaders
AirAsia plane with 162 passengers missing
From Yusuf Alli, Abuja
F
ORMER military President Ibrahim Babangida made no commitment on the 2015 presidential poll to President Goodluck Jonathan at a meeting in Minna on Saturday, The Nation learnt yesterday. Gen. Babangida only raised issues on how to keep the nation united during and after the general elections – contrary to the widespread insinuation that he endorsed Jonathan’s bid for another term. Buoyed by the visit, Dr. Jonathan has started reaching out to key emirs and leaders of the North to back his re-election bid. He may soon visit these leaders as part of his action plan to reduce the influence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. The details of the meeting between Jonathan and Gen. Babangida were revealed in Abuja by one of the key aides of the former military leader. The talks between the two leaders in Minna created ripples in the North, with many highly-placed Northerners bombarding Gen. Babangida with calls on what actually transpired. The aide, who was at Gen. Babangida’s Hilltop mansion when Jonathan visited, said the talks had nothing to do with the general elections. The source said: “It is true that the President visited Gen. Babangida at his Minna Hilltop mansion but the nature of his message was based purely on unity of WILL THE the country and not CHIBOK GIRLS about 2015 presidential KIDNAPPED election. ON APRIL 15 EVER RETURN? Continued on page 4
T
HE search for an AirAsia plane carrying 162 passengers, including 17 children, was yesterday called off for poor visibility. The aircraft lost contact with Indonesian air traffic control early yesterday. Before communication was lost, AirAsia Flight QZ 8501 asked to deviate from its planned flight route — from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore — because of weather conditions, AirAsia said in a statement. There was conflicting information about when exactly the aircraft went missing. AirAsia said contact was lost at 7:24 a.m. yesterday (7:24 p.m. Saturday ET), but Indonesian aviation authorities said it happened earlier, at 6:17 a.m. “At this time, search and rescue operations are being conducted under the guidance of the Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority,” AirAsia said. Of the people on board the Airbus A320-200, 156 are Indonesians, three are South Koreans, a Frenchman, a Malaysian and a Singaporean, the airline said.
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•A GONY •AGONY GONY:: Relatives of the passengers in the missing plane crying...yesterday.
PHOTOS: EPA
Continued on page 4
•POLITICS P17 •SPORTS P23 •JOBS P35 •CEO P37 •MOTORING P39 •FOREIGN P55