Here's the puzzle:

Here's the puzzle:

"Three guests check into a hotel room. The front desk officer says the bill is N30,000, so each guest pays N10,000. Later the front desk officer realizes the bill should only be N25,000.

To fix this, he gives the attendant N5,000 to return to the guests. On the way to the room, the attendant realizes that he cannot divide the money equally. Since the guests didn't know the total of the revised bill, the bellhop decides to just give each guest N1,000 and keep N2,000 as a tip for himself.

Each guest got N1,000 back: so now each guest only paid N9,000; bringing the total paid to N27,000. The attendant has N2,000. And N27,000 + N2,000 = N29,000 so, if the guests originally handed over N30,000, what happened to the remaining N1,000?"

Please, feel free in your urgent comment......

Supreme Court reinstates impeached Taraba deputy gov

Sanni Danladi

The Supreme Court has ordered the immediate reinstatement of Deputy Governor of Taraba State, Alhaji Sanni Danladi, who was impeached by the state House of Assembly in October 2012.

In a unanimous judgment, the Supreme Court held that the impeachment panel set up by the House of Assembly to investigate the allegations against Danladi violated his rights to fair hearing.

The impeachment panel was said to have gone ahead with its proceedings without hearing Danladi and recommended his impeachment, while the panel snubbed his court papers which he served on it to challenge its composition.

Justice Sylvester Ngwuta who delivered the lead judgment held that there seemed to be conspiracy between both the Taraba State High Court and the “kangaroo” impeachment panel to frustrate the appellant.

He held that set aside the judgments of both the Court of Appeal and the Taraba State High Court, which had dismissed Danaladi’s suit.

The apex court held that the two lower courts ought to have resolved the issue of fair hearing in favour of Danladi.

Danladi was impeached about a month before the governor of the state, Dambaba Suntai, was involved in an air accident.

Garba Umar, who was appointed to replace Danladi, was later elevated as the acting governor, following Suntai’s ill health that resulted from the crash.

Assembly crisis: Oshiomhole, Fayose exchange hot words

Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole

Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole and his Ekiti State counterpart, Governor Ayodele Fayose, on assembly crisis exchanged hot words over the state of the legislature in their respective states.

While Oshiomhole told Fayose not to drag his (Oshiomhole) name into the “political gangsterism that has become peculiar with the Ekiti State Governor,” the Ekiti governor said his Edo counterpart lacked the moral right to question developments in Ekiti when he had not managed well the crisis in his state legislature.

The Edo governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Peter Okhiria, said there was no crisis in the Edo State House of Assembly, and that 15 of the 24-member Assembly were members of the All Progressives Congress, while the other nine were of the Peoples Democratic Party.

He explained that out of the nine PDP members, three were on suspension while the seat of another member had been declared vacant.

But Fayose, who also reacted through his Special Adviser on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, on Thursday, insisted that Oshiomhole allegedly perpetrated illegality by shifting the sitting of the Edo Assembly to the Government House and that he should face the administration of his state and stop meddling in the affairs of Ekiti.

Okhiria’s statement read, “We find it utterly laughable and as the height of political childishness for the Ekiti State governor to hide behind his media aides and seek to drag the name of the Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, into his crude gangster tactics, which he has re-introduced into Ekiti politics less than two months after assuming office.

“If the Ekiti governor is too lazy to read and too politically-illiterate to know what is happening in Edo State House of Assembly, we expected his psychedelic media aides to simply shut their loud mouths rather than behave like capering neophytes.

“Even a kindergarten knows that 15 is greater than 5. So if five PDP members decide to sit with three suspended members and another, whose seat was declared vacant, in a chamber which is undergoing renovation, then we can at best regard that as the height of crass legislative irresponsibility.

“It is ridiculous to even contemplate that the Ekiti governor and his media aides do not know that 15 is greater than five. For sure, they seem engrossed with their stomach infrastructure mantra, such a dubious contraption which can only be contrived by an ideologically-clueless and gluttonous administration.

“But for the kind of democracy we practice in Nigeria, where the PDP promotes and condones all manners of illegalities, inanities and shenanigans which have become the second nature of that party, Ayodele Fayose would have been cooling off his heels in gaol rather than brandishing the appellation of being a governor.

“We are thoroughly ashamed that Ekiti, hitherto known as the fountain of knowledge, is being reduced to a mindless bubble by a man running her affairs without a discernible direction like a drowning man clutching desperately at flotsam.”

Olayinka’s statement, sent to Rev4mation's World, said in part, “Is it proper for a state House of Assembly to sit in the Government House? Should a state House of Assembly complex be put under lock and key for six months? And can actions taken at the sitting of a House of Assembly held inside the Edo State Government House be said to have the stamp of legality?

“Here we are with a supposed progressive comrade governor perpetuating illegalities in Edo State with lawmakers of his party, APC, sitting exclusively in the Government House where he resides with his wife and children; and instead of his aides to remove the timber in their boss’ eyes, they are getting concerned with the toothpicks in another person’s eyes.

The reality is that whether the APC lawmakers are 15 or 5, the lawmakers cannot sit anywhere else apart from the state House of Assembly. Or are they saying that the National Assembly can also relocate to Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos?

“It is our advice that Governor Adams Oshiomhole should solve the problems in the Edo State House of Assembly and stop meddling in the Ekiti State affairs because on June 21, 2014, the people elected their governor in person of Ayodele Fayose, and millions of APC evil machinations cannot stop him from governing Ekiti State for four years.”

APC ticket: Senator asks Buhari, Atiku to withdraw

former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Head of State, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.)

The senator representing Kano South Senatorial District, Kabiru Gaya, appealed to a former Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); and a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, to step down for Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso in the struggle for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress.

Gaya, who was also a former governor of Kano State, stated this in an interview with journalists in Abuja.

He said since Buhari and Atiku were elder statesmen, they should allow a younger Kwankwaso to be the candidate of the APC.

Gaya said, “I am not trying to introduce politics into the situation but we have to tell ourselves the truth. Governor Kwankwaso was a minister of defence, and now a serving governor. He was a legislator, once being a deputy speaker of the House of Representatives.

“He was also Special Adviser to the President on Dafur. He was a member of the Niger Delta Development Commission, hence he has the credentials. He is a young man too. He can work for 18 hours a day.

“I believe that all our elders and leaders in the APC would support him. If you look at the situation in other countries, their citizens are going for young people to become their president.

“Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama for instance were young men who became president, having youthful hair but grew grey hair in power because of mainly the external problems that their country was facing.

“We won’t mind if Kwankwaso is elected president, he will grow grey hairs in the course of tackling Nigeria’s internal problems. Look at how he had ensured peace in Kano. He will do the same for the country, being a former minister of defence.

“As governor, his budget is 75 percent capital project while 25 percent is for recurrent expenditure. If he can come to the federal level and replicate that, Nigeria will be very happy. Kano is the most beautiful state in Nigeria today, both during the day and at night.”

Tambuwal suspends presidential bid, to pick gov form

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on Tuesday bowed to pressure and opted out of the race for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress.

The Speaker made his decision public in a statement he signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja.

Tambuwal said the decision to suspend his bid was taken after due consultations and considerations of the overall interest of the party.

He equally noted that going ahead with such a bid at this time, would alter calculations on the political chessboard of the party.

The Speaker, however, stressed that he had what it takes to be the President of the country.

This, he said, led him to embark on extensive consultations towards taking a decision as to whether or not to participate not to actualise a personal ambition, but rather to actualise “our dream for a new Nigeria.”

The statement partly read, “Having consulted widely, taking into consideration the concerns of some elders of the party, I have decided to suspend my participation in the presidential contest for now.

“I have done so as a sacrifice for the cohesion and unity of the APC. I am suspending my participation in the presidential race for now, because I do not have any inordinate ambition to occupy any office. Nigeria is a country too great to sacrifice on the altar of partisan politics and personal ambition. What anyone becomes in life is exclusively in the hands of God. Only God gives power to whoever He pleases.”

He noted that since the news of the possibility of his participation in the presidential contest got into the public domain, it had generated monumental interest, analyses and commentary.

Although he made no direct reference to his next political move, Tambuwal said, “I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and interest. On my part and with the greatest sense of modesty and responsibility, I wish to assure Nigerians that I am fully prepared, ready, willing, determined, available and armed with the requisite plans, programmes and ability, to undertake the great mission of rescuing our dear country from the clutches of institutionalised corruption, gross incompetence, greed and divisiveness.

“I am prepared for the great task of rescuing Nigeria from the security problems, the scandalous youth unemployment, and the economic and social malaise that plague her.”

The Speaker expressed confidence that when given the chance, an APC government would operate a clean, corruption-free, competent and purposeful government to deal with the inexplicable paradoxes that had held the nation hostage for over 100 years.

“I have carefully considered the concerns expressed by some of our leaders, whom I deeply respect and whose support and counsel I enjoy, to the effect that my entry into the presidential race at this point may necessitate having to rework some equations on the political chessboard of the party,” he said.

While pledging his loyalty to the APC and the five presidential aspirant – Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Governor Rochas Okorocha and Mr. Sam Ndah- Isaiah, Tambuwal appealed for understanding.

Inquiries from the APC National Secretariat on Tuesday evening, revealed that eventhough Tambuwal was speculated to be eyeing the governorship of Sokoto State, he had yet to pick an expression of interest or nomination forms.

Things falling apart within Lagos PDP

George and Obanikoro

In this piece, ENIOLA AKINKUOTU examines the conflict within the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party ahead of the 2015 elections

On June 22, 2014, the day Mr. Ayodele Fayose was declared the winner of the Ekiti State governorship election, it seemed the fortunes of the Peoples Democratic Party in the South-West had changed for the better.

Weeks later – precisely on July 11, 2014 – Fayose arrived at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, Ojota, along with several leaders of the PDP on a ‘thank you’ tour to Lagos State. Many observers, however, believe that the aim of the event was to create awareness for the PDP and mock the All Progressives Congress, which has been ruling the state since 1999.

At the event, some PDP leaders such as the then Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro; the Chairman, PDP Mobilisation Committee in the South-West, Chief Buruji Kashamu; and six other governorship aspirants in the state; made it clear that their mission was to wrest Lagos State from the APC.

Another event involving the Lagos State PDP held on August 29 at the National Theatre, Iganmu, in honour of the leader of the PDP in the state, Chief Olabode George, when the Mandela Award was bestowed on him by the National Association of Nigerian Students. At the event were the Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko; a former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel; a former Governor of Oyo State, Adebayo Alao-Akala; a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole; a former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope; a former Minister of Works, Mr. Adeseye Ogunlewe, and many other party leaders in the state. Their mission was clear; they wanted to ‘rescue’ Lagos from the firm grip of the APC.

George did not mince words when he stated that Lagos was being run by a former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who has been largely responsible for the success the APC has always enjoyed at the polls in Lagos State.

The PDP leaders, who referred to Tinubu as the ‘Lion of Bourdillon,’ said just as the late South African leader, Nelson Mandela, freed his country from apartheid after spending 27 years in prison, George, who is also a prison returnee, would free Lagos from the firm grip of Tinubu.

Mimiko, who is of this view, said he had a ‘spiritual revelation’ that the PDP would win Lagos next year. Mimiko said, “I can see; I have the gift of clairvoyance that by 2015, we shall come to celebrate with Chief Bode George when he has produced the next governor of Lagos State. You better believe it. I am speaking under divine inspiration.”

On his own part, ex-governor Daniel, who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for alleged financial impropriety, said it was unfortunate that Lagos had never been ruled by the PDP despite the fact that George is an indigene of the state.

He said, “In 2000, the Yoruba nation was in a quandary and we had a President (Olusegun Obasanjo), who had no political support in his home. So, Chief Bode George led us to tour Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti and everywhere and the PDP won everywhere in 2003 but Bode George’s state. It now behooves all of us to understand the concept of one good turn deserves another and now that he is no longer as strong as before, we must stand by him to ensure that he can inaugurate the next governor of Lagos.”

Three months later, however, it seems the PDP’s attempt to ‘sack’ the APC and Tinubu has suffered a setback, following emerging acrimony and infighting between the supporters of Obanikoro and another governorship aspirant, Mr. Jimi Agbaje.

Agbaje, who is alleged to be enjoying the strong support of George and Ogunlewe, was said to have been promised the governorship ticket long before he joined the PDP from the Democratic People’s Alliance, which was deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Since Obanikoro was still a minister at the time, it was believed that with the support of such influential leaders of the party, Agbaje would be accepted by other aspirants.

However, the political calculation changed when Obanikoro resigned his ministerial appointment and joined the governorship race. Since then, it had been allegations and counter-allegations between the two camps.

A source close to Obanikoro, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, “When Agbaje joined the PDP and declared his intention to run for governor, he was highly favoured by the party leadership and was rumoured to have the President’s backing. They probably believed that Obanikoro would not contest. But now that Obanikoro has declared, it has now dawned on them that things will not go as smoothly as they thought.”

As the crisis deepens, the warring parties which have the Agbaje, Ogunlewe, and George camps on the one hand; and Obanikoro on the other hand, have not had a direct confrontation. They have not traded accusations in the open. However, various groups have sprung up in support of each of the two major factions, issuing press statements on their behalf.

For example, a group, the Lagos Integrity Watch, told Obanikoro to forget his bid for the party’s ticket. The group slammed Obanikoro for allegedly criticising George over the conduct of the ward congress in the state. The coordinator of the group Olarinde Onitolo, in a statement, said, “We read with alarm and disgust the outrageous claim of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, alleging that our national leader, Chief Olabode George, was somehow partisan in the ward congress held in Lagos State. This is unfair. It is crude, illogical and foul. The fact of the matter is that Obanikoro is a rejected aspirant. The stakes are too high. Obanikoro should apologise immediately to our party and Chief George for this gross indiscretion.”

However, another group, which is loyal to Obanikoro, The Patriots, berated George for being a dictator in the party. The group, while adopting Obanikoro as its sole candidate, said it believed that George was planning for the PDP to fail because he wanted to remain the leader of the PDP in Lagos. The group explained that if a PDP governor emerged next year, the governor would assume the leadership of the party and thus make George redundant.

The Organising Secretary of the South-West PDP, Mr. Femi Carenna, who is a staunch supporter of The Patriots, said, “Only Obanikoro can face Tinubu and even Tinubu knows this. Obanikoro is the only person that can take the PDP to Alausa Government House next year. We saw how he performed in Ekiti and even in Osun. We are sure that he is the only one capable of fighting the opposition.”

As the fighting intensified, another pro-George group, asked an Ikeja High Court to stop the governorship ambition of Obanikoro over an alleged falsification of age. Besides, the group asked the court to determine Obanikoro’s citizenship, alleging that the ex-minister had acquired the citizenship of the United States without renouncing his Nigerian citizenship.

Specifically, the respondents, Michael Babatunde Ogun, Suleiman Olayinka Saheed and Wasiu Adeniyi Odusan, all PDP members in the state and initiators of the suit, asked the court to determine Obanikoro’s eligibility to participate in the party’s governorship primary fixed for December 8, 2014.

They also asked the court for an injunction barring Obanikoro from accepting what they called “the PDP’s candidacy or nomination” to contest the next year’s governorship election in Lagos State until the matter was favourably disposed of.

However, another group, The Group of Concerned Lagosians, slammed Ogunlewe and George for sponsoring a campaign of calumny against Obanikoro. The group, in a statement by its coordinator, Olayinka Sotade, on Monday, said it was mischievous for them to have brought up the issue of citizenship a few weeks to the PDP primary even though Obanikoro had served as a minister and an ambassador. The statement read in part, “Let it be made clear that Obanikoro is a natural born citizen of Nigeria and nowhere else, not USA, not UAE, not Outer Mongolia. Instead of meeting him at the party primary, desperate individuals are resorting to the same dirty tricks they used in years past to, at the most, frustrate his aspiration, and, at the least, confuse the electorate.

“We are solidly behind Senator Obanikoro and wish to let Bode George and his cohorts know that Obanikoro is a true son of Lagos, who has served Lagos decently all through his public service career without any criminal record, accusation or litigation. He will not be intimidated by half-baked politicians who are already afraid of meeting him at the primary.”

Responding to the crisis within the PDP, a former Minister of State for the Interior, Mr. Ademola Seriki, who was a vice chairman of the PDP in Lagos State, before defecting to the APC, said the disunity in the Lagos PDP was expected and that it would affect the party’s chances next year.

He said, “They have not and cannot win Lagos because they are not united and can never be. They have never had power in Lagos before and don’t know what it is like to have it. So, when power is approaching, all of them will be hungry. It is like putting food in front of people that are not just hungry but starving. You know, when they see the food, they can just start slapping one another because no one would want to be cheated. That is what is happening now.”

In a move seen largely as a bid to unify the party, President Goodluck Jonathan visited the state last month when he reportedly charged the party leaders in the state to come up with a consensus candidate or prune the large number of aspirants to three so that the party could forge ahead.

This seemed to be more difficult than expected as only one aspirant, Dr. Ade Dosunmu, dropped out of the race to contest the Lagos-Central senatorial ticket. Reacting to the crisis, the Publicity Secretary of the Lagos State chapter of the PDP, Mr. Taofik Gani, said the party was aware of the infighting. He, therefore, warned those disparaging George to be careful as they risked being sanctioned by the party. Gani said there was no reason to believe that George was supporting anybody and reaffirmed George as the leader of the PDP in the state.

He said, “The Lagos PDP is reading the Riot Act to all those who are out to foment trouble in the name of any aspirant or group. Issues that are meant to be resolved within the party should not be discussed on the pages of newspapers. Let it be known that the activities of the aspirants and their groups in the open or secret are being noted by the party. Elections are approaching and this is not the time not to be seen as united.

“We are not precluding that people can agitate for rights and privileges but they should not be overambitious. We particularly condemn any aspirant or group that has come to put a bad label on Chief Olabode George, he remains the leader of our party but that is not to say that his opinion will always be final. Anyone that continues to attack him will not only suffer punishment but may lose some privileges and will be labelled a mole of the APC and Tinubu.

Fayose has sealed my office, says Speaker

Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin

The Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin, said on Tuesday that Governor Ayodele Fayose had ordered the sealing off of his office.

This, the Speaker claimed, followed the action of seven PDP members of Ekiti State House of Assembly who illegally sat to attempt to change the leadership of the House, but only succeeded in approving the reconstitution of the local government caretaker committees and confirmation of the commissioner-nominees sent to the House of Assembly last week by Fayose.

A statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Wole Olujobi,ý said the governor had earlier employed threats and coercion, including freezing the accounts of the Assembly, cutting off the electricity supply from the Speaker’s Lodge and stopping statutory votes for the Speaker’s upkeep and protocol to intimidate Omirin and have firm control of the House.

He added that on Tuesday, the governor announced the sacking of the Speaker’s aides, ýincluding that of the Deputy Speaker and Majority Leader.

Olujobi claimed that the Speaker’s official vehicles had been demobilised because their keys had been taken to the office of the governor, while his official drivers had been redeployed.

Efforts to get the state government reaction to this failed.

But Fayose had earlier denied involvement in the purported removal of the Speaker of the Ekiti House of Assembly.

The PDP lawmakers had cited the absence of the Speaker and his deputy, Taiwo Orisalade, as reasons for the appointment of the Acting Speaker for the Monday’s business.

Although, the PDP has seven, members in the Assembly, 10 persons attended the plenary on Monday including three whose identities remained unknown as of press time.

The APC on Tuesday maintained that only seven members of the Assembly including three ‘fake’ legislators sat at the plenary when it required nine members to form a quorum.

The party challenged the governor to name the 10 lawmakers that sat on Monday and to provide the video recording of the proceeding.

The situation is already generating heat in the state.

But Fayose’s Special Assistant on Information, Mr. Lanre Ogunsuyi, on Tuesday said the government would not allow the situation to degenerate into a crisis in the state.

Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti, Ogunsuyi said the Speaker had yet to brief the governor on the incident.

Maintaining innocence of the governor, he said Fayose had once saved Omirin from impeachment.

He said, “We are waiting to see if the Speaker was removed or not. But we know the Assembly is empowered to appoint a Speaker extempore. What happened yesterday (Monday) was an affair of the Assembly. He (Fayose) has no hand in it. He is not a beneficiary of any of the action.

“When they need us they will come to us. Up till now the Speaker has not come to the governor.”

Ogunsuyi, however, said what happened at the Assembly with the approval of the three commissioner nominees was in the interest of the state.

He said the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice was needed to draft document for the state to access the N220bn Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises’ Development Fund of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He added that the Commissioner for Works also needed to represent the state at a World Bank event.

Ogunsuyi said the government did not expect a smooth relationship with the Assembly because of party differences.

“We don’t expect the relationship to be very smooth because of the party differences. But honestly speaking, the Assembly is for the state. They have the right to reject a thing if it’s not in the interest of the state but they don’t have the right to reject a thing if it’s not in their party’s interest.

“Nobody should use the government platform to advance party’s interest.”

The governor’s aide also frowned on the branding of the Ekiti people that went to witness the Assembly’s sitting as thugs.

He said, “My people should not be addressed as thugs anytime they take interest in the activities of government. They are no thugs. They were the people that voted and are interested in the government. Some of these people have their business under threat while some have their shops locked by the former government.”

Ogunsuyi also justified the sacking of the aides of the Speaker by the government.

According to him, the last administration made a law that the governor will appoint aides for the principal officer and Local Government chairmen.

“What happened was that the Governor had to revalidate the appointments. It is left for the Speaker to put heads with the governor. If he is interested in retaining those people, the governor would appoint them for him.

“But he passed that law knowingly or unknowingly that the governor would appoint aides for him.”

The Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, who also attended the briefing, recalled that former Governor Kayode Fayemi did the same thing by sacking all the political appointees on assumption of office.