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[OPINION]: Wike The Wicked - By Tola Adeniyi

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<b>Nobody expected it to be so soon. Hardly had Barrister Nyesom Wike taken office as Governor of oil-rich Rivers state that his people were reported to have given him a new alias. Words came from some indigenes of the state that their newly sworn in governor is now called <i>Wike the Wicked</i>. I thought it was a joke until my attention was drawn to many activities the governor had reeled out since assuming office that were believed could only have emanated from a sadistic mind!</b></div>
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First was the very crude and uncivilized manner the governor was reported to have pursued the issue of property recovery from some members of the immediate past government in the state. All the newspapers and not a few television stations reported the ugly scene of the invasion of the residence of the state’s former Commissioner of Information.</div>
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With close to a battalion of heavily armed police men and sundry security operatives, the peace of the home of the said commissioner was rudely assaulted by heavy forklifts and pay-loaders to physically ‘arrest’ and impound vehicles alleged to be government property. The poor woman ex-commissioner was not at home when the invaders arrived, and without a Warrant, brutishly carted away two vehicles.</div>
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The question on the lips of most impartial observers was, ‘why the show of such quantum of naked power?’ If government had any reason to suspect that some vehicles were in the possession of unauthorised persons or quarters, a more decent way to recover such property was to invite the possessor to explain why the vehicles or any government property should be in their possession. A simple procedure of courtesy.</div>
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It bothers on brigandage and rough-neckedness for a man occupying exalted office of the Chief Executive of a state to get associated in whatever form with such act.</div>
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Almost in a rampage, a mass sack of 344 lecturers and others employed at the Rivers State Polytechnic, Bori since September, 2014 by the state’s immediate past administration led by Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi has also been reported.</div>
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So also was the disbandment of the Rivers State Road Traffic Management Authority (TIMA-RIV) and other actions bordering on witch–hunt and outright victimization which have made the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) to believe that the new governor of the state, Barrister Nyesom Wike, was out to play politics of vendetta. The Congress posited that such actions would not be in tandem with what the nation in general and Rivers State in particular needed at the moment.</div>
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The General Manager of the State Television has also been booted out in a manner that really outraged the people of the state. The woman head of the station was believed to be a thorough professional who discharged her duties with the best ethics of her calling. Her only offence as narrated by people in the state was that she served under Wike’s purported enemies.</div>
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Every public officer in the state now lives in fear and trepidation that the rampaging axe of the Wicked may descend on their neck any time soon!</div>
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Matters have now come to a head to warrant non-indigenes in Rivers State under the aegis of Endangered Non Indigenes Forum in Rivers State (EINFRS) to cry out to President Muhammadu Buhari, pleading with him to come to their rescue following an alleged threat by Governor Nyesom Wike to crack down on them as part of his determination to deal ruthlessly with associates and loyalties of the immediate past government.</div>
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The concern of this writer is not whether Wike has a right to settle scores with his perceived political enemies. Politicians have their own peculiar way of dealing with each other. And Nigerian politicians are a special breed when it comes to extremisms.</div>
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The Rivers state has probably not known peace for almost 3 years now. The immediate past governments at the Federal and state levels flexed muscles to no end, and the fall-out of the maddening drama may be the visit of wickedness and high-handedness on the losers in the long-drawn battle.</div>
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This scenario does not however justify unmitigated wickedness and sadistic display of power. Even in armed conflict, winners are still expected to be civil to their victims. There is a minimum level of human decency expected in all human relationships. And people who wield temporary and ephemeral power are reminded to always bear in mind that power is transient.</div>
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It does not speak well of any one in power to behave as if drunk and intoxicated. It is the height of insensitivity and cruelty for some one in authority to derive joy in inflicting pain on those under his authority.</div>
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Governor Wike surely will not like to be remembered as a wicked, vengeful and sadistic governor. And the earlier he calls his overzealous aides to order the better for the reputation he would like to carve for himself and be remembered by. ‘Wike the Wicked’ should not be allowed to stick.</div>
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After all, whatever be the case, he has triumphed, so to say. He is currently the governor unless the tribunal decides otherwise. He should therefore have no cause or reason to be vindictive or allow people to run away with a name his parents did not give him.</div>
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It is also not too late in the day to make amends. If vehicles needed to be recovered, simple, decent procedure can still be followed. If appointments needed be terminated, there are better and less painful ways to go about it. But a situation where a leader deliberately uses or mi-uses power to oppress or victimise or inflict pain on others is certainly not acceptable.</div>
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I don’t think I want that alias to stick. And I don’t want the Yoruba speaking people to dub him ‘Wike weke-weke’!</div>
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<b>The Opinion</b></div>
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[OPINION]: Wike The Wicked - By Tola Adeniyi

Nobody expected it to be so soon. Hardly had Barrister Nyesom Wike taken office as Governor of oil-rich Rivers state that his people we...

[REVEALED!!!] Buhari Won't Name Ministers Until September

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<b>For those that are eager to hear President Muhammadu Buhari name his cabinet members, they will have to tarry awhile because the President’s cabinet members may not be announced until the end of August or early September.</b></div>
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A source very close to the President confided in <i><b>The PUNCH </b></i>on Sunday that Buhari would not form any cabinet until the “rot left behind by the past administration” is cleared.</div>
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“Mr. President is reluctant to build on a rotten foundation he inherited from the Peoples Democratic Party administration. You cannot even begin to imagine the situation we have met on the ground; almost everything is in a state of decay.</div>
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“There is absolutely no way the new government can hope to achieve anything long-lasting without first building a new foundation,” the source said.</div>
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The source added that clearing the PDP rot was not a month’s job and said those that had been heckling the President over lack of cabinet were politicians looking for jobs.</div>
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“They have tried doing it other ways and those haven’t worked. They only want their cronies appointed to ministerial posts anyhow and they are fuelling the agitation,” the source said.</div>
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He also said Buhari was taking his time to know the ministries that would survive government’s planned pruning and the desire to cut cost of governance.</div>
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The source likened President Buhari’s plan of action to that of a doctor, who first has to break a poorly set bone afresh, before resetting it to allow for smooth and proper growth.</div>
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Over the past week, Buhari has come under criticism because he had yet to appoint his cabinet members, despite having more than three months since his election, including a month since his inauguration.</div>
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The President was sworn in on May 29, exactly one month ago today.</div>
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Responding to the criticism, the source pointed out that it would be impossible to appoint ministers to portfolios without first knowing which portfolios exist and which will be abolished.</div>
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He said, “The President plans to cut down the number of ministries and parastatals. He wants to cut down the cost of running government. He wants to make sure that all the loopholes that enable corruption to thrive are blocked. All these are procedures that require time and careful planning. You cannot do it in a rush.</div>
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“Remember that he has to make sure that all this is done without any job losses or mass retrenchments. All this is not a day’s or one-month job.”</div>
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He added that Buhari could not have realistically commenced the process of forming a cabinet without first receiving the full report of the transition committee and ascertaining exactly the situation his government faced.</div>
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The source also denied news reports which stated that President Buhari’s lack of cabinet appointments had grounded the government, insisting that civil servants had been supervising the day-to-day running of ministries and that Permanent Secretaries of the various ministries all have full access to the President.</div>
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The source concluded by referring to the current crisis in the National Assembly as one more reason why forming a cabinet would be impossible until further notice.</div>
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“Look at how they are fighting among themselves. The Senate has now adjourned till July 21. That means no one to scrutinise or approve any ministerial list until the end of July,” he submitted.</div>
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But when reminded that the Senate had agreed to reconvene to consider the President’s ministerial nominees as soon as such list was ready, the source asked our correspondent to await the President’s intervention in the crisis between the party and the National Assembly. </div>
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“The President wants to walk his talk on stable politics and being a leader for all. He has a plan for the National Assembly,” he said.</div>
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When contacted on Sunday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the information at the disposal of<i> The PUNCH </i>was “not far from the truth.”</div>
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“This narrative is the nearest to the truth than all others that are being peddled around. It is not far from the truth,” Shehu said.</div>
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Meanwhile, our correspondents learnt in Abuja on Sunday that Buhari would adopt the recommendation of the Ahmed Joda-led transition committee of the All Progressives Congress to prune down the number of ministries to 19.</div>
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<i>The PUNCH </i>learnt that the President would appoint 19 senior ministers and 17 ministers of state as recommended by the Joda committee.</div>
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It was also learnt that besides adopting the recommendation, the administration would place emphasis on the appointment of technocrats to man some ministries, including education, finance, works, housing and environment</div>
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The 18-man committee inaugurated on April 27, 2015 to prepare the ground for Buhari’s inauguration on May 29, 2015 submitted its report on June 12.</div>
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There were 28 ministries and corresponding number of ministers manning them under the immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.</div>
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The Jonathan administration also appointed 14 ministers of state.</div>
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A reliable source, who is familiar with the activities of the new administration, said the President, no doubt, had accepted and had been working on the recommendations of the Joda committee on the number of ministries to remain.</div>
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The source, who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak on the issue, said though the President had not made his proposed ministerial list open, the President had not hidden it from top presidency officers, including the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, that “the President will be guided by the Joda committee’s report.”</div>
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The source said, “I can confirm that the President is going to work with the recommendation of the Joda committee, which means he will operate only 19 ministries to be manned by 19 ministers.</div>
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“There will also be 17 ministers of state so that the President will not run afoul of constitutional requirement, which expects him to appoint ministers from all the 36 states of the federation.</div>
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“Top officers in the Presidency, including Vice President Osinbajo, are aware that President Buhari is going to adopt the 19-ministry recommendation.”</div>
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The Joda-led committee had recommended that the new Buhari administration should operate only 19 ministries in the spirit of cutting down the cost of governance.</div>
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The committee recommended that the President should appoint only 19 senior ministers and 17 ministers of state to fulfil the constitutional requirement that the ministers constituting the Federal Executive Council must be drawn from the 36 states of the federation.</div>
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The Joda committee recommended 19 ministries, some of which would be products of merging of some of the existing ministries.</div>
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Those to be retained in their present form are just nine- Trade, Industry and investment; Education; Defence; Federal Capital Territory; Labour and Employment; Finance; Justice; Foreign Affairs; and Budget and National Planning.</div>
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Others would either me merged or subsumed under others.</div>
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[REVEALED!!!] Buhari Won't Name Ministers Until September

For those that are eager to hear President Muhammadu Buhari name his cabinet members, they will have to tarry awhile because the Presid...

Nigeria Traces Looted Funds To Switzerland, UK, US, Others

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<b>The Federal Government has started tracing looted Nigerian funds to foreign nations with the aim of recovering and repatriating them.</b></div>
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The Federal Government specifically targets the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and other European jurisdictions where it believes corrupt officials have been stashing public funds.</div>
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This move came on the heels of the declaration by President Muhammadu Buhari on his first day in Aso Villa office that he inherited an almost empty treasury from his predecessor, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, thus vowing that his administration would recover all the looted funds stashed in foreign banks by corrupt Nigerians.</div>
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“The next three months may be hard, but billions of dollars can be recovered, and we will do our best,” the President was quoted as saying in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.</div>
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Some of the countries where looted funds from Nigeria have been kept in the past include Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Others are France, Germany, British Virgin Islands and other tax havens spread across the globe.</div>
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Adesina, who confirmed the move in an exclusive interview with <i><b>Saturday PUNCH </b></i>on Thursday, said, the search for the looted funds will not be limited to these countries but anywhere in the world where they may be hidden.</div>
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He said: “The search will not only cover UK, US, Switzerland, Germany and other known havens for Nigerian looted funds but will cover everywhere under the sun. Anywhere and everywhere that the looted funds are, we have an assurance from the United States of America to assist us to repatriate these funds from anywhere under the sun.”</div>
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<i>Saturday PUNCH </i>learnt that the Federal Government’s investigation was meant to identify the individuals who engaged in corrupt practices and ascertain the sums of money involved with a view to repatriating them.</div>
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One of <i>the PUNCH's</i> correspondents also learnt that anti-corruption agencies will play a prominent role in the exercise targeted at corrupt government officials in the recent past administration and their private sector collaborators, among others.</div>
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To this end, Adesina told <i>Saturday PUNCH </i>that the Federal Government is planning to engage the services of foreign private investigators to help trace and find looted funds belonging to the people of Nigeria.</div>
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“Everything that needs to be done to get all those funds repatriated will be done, including engaging private investigators,” the Presidential spokesperson added.</div>
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Buhari had lamented that officials of the recent past government jettisoned all financial and administrative instructions put in place in parastatals and agencies while embracing impunity, lack of accountability and financial recklessness in the management of national resources.</div>
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This, the President decried, had thrown the country into financial crisis.</div>
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<i>Saturday PUNCH </i>learnt that foreign search, which is expected to be thorough, will, among others, be directed at foreign banks with the ultimate aim of getting incontrovertible facts and figures that can aid the government in collaboration with the US and other members of the G7 nations to recover stolen funds stashed abroad.</div>
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Adesina said the identification of foreign banks being used to stash stolen funds was one of the mandates given to Buhari during a meeting he had with President Barak Obama at the recent G-7 summit in Germany.</div>
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He said: “When the President met with the G7, the promise that the American President gave him was that Nigeria should just provide all the facts, the figures, the statistics, including the banks.</div>
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“He promised that if Nigeria could make the information available, then the US will help in recovering the stolen funds.”</div>
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When asked specifically if the Federal Government had started identifying the banks, the presidential spokesman said: “Yes. In fact, the President said the government will spend the next three months identifying banks, individuals and monies that have been ferried out of this country.</div>
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“The assurance the President has given is that within the next three months, we have to concentrate on getting those monies back to the government coffers,” he added.</div>
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Buhari had said early in the week that his administration had received firm assurances of cooperation from the US and other countries in his quest to recover and repatriate funds stolen from Nigeria.</div>
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Buhari, while granting audience to members of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, had said that it was now up to Nigeria to provide the international community with the facts and figures needed to drive the recovery effort.</div>
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He said he would be busy, in the next three months, getting the facts that would help in recovering the stolen funds.</div>
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“In the next three months, our administration will be busy getting those facts and the figures to help us recover our stolen funds in foreign countries,’’ the President had said.</div>
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<i>Saturday PUNCH </i>learnt that the Federal Government may also go after property owned by public fund looters in London, Dubai, US, Saudi Arabia and other choice international real estate markets where Nigerians are known to be some of the biggest buyers.</div>
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It was also learnt that the Department for International Development, a UK government department responsible for administering overseas aid, had alerted the President on over ₦1.3tn stolen during the last administration, where it is kept and who the beneficiaries are.</div>
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This money, a source close to the DfID said, is a low hanging fruit that the President can pluck during his first six months in the office with the help of the UK, US, and other G7 members without hassle.</div>
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“This was one of the agreement reached between President Buhari and the G7 countries when the former attended their meeting in Germany,” the DfID source told <i>Saturday PUNCH</i>.</div>
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The US in March 2014 had ordered a freeze on $458m in assets stolen by the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, and his accomplices. Abacha died in office in 1998.</div>
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The US Justice Department named two bank accounts in the Bailiwick of Jersey and two other accounts in France as depositories of $313m and $145m Abacha loot respectively. Four other investment portfolios and three bank accounts in Britain were also frozen, with an estimated value of at least $100m.</div>
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The US also named nine financial institutions – Citibank, Chase Manhattan Bank and Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, now JPMorgan Chase, and New York-based units of Britain’s Barclays Bank and Germany’s Commerz bank – as places where some of the Abacha loots were laundered.</div>
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Similarly, the Crown Prosecution Service in the United Kingdom had estimated former governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori’s loot stolen to be around $250m.</div>
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Ibori, who is serving jail term for corruption charges in a UK prison, was said to have bought six properties in London, including a six-bedroom house with indoor pool in Hampstead for £2.2m and a flat opposite the nearby Abbey Road recording studios. There was also a property in Dorset, a £3.2m mansion in South Africa and further real estate in Nigeria.</div>
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He also owned a fleet of armoured Range Rovers costing £600,000, a £120,000 Bentley, a £300,000 Mercedes Maybach, and a private jet for £12m.</div>
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President Buhari said the last administration mismanaged the economy while stating that it was a disgrace that state governments in the country can’t pay salaries; hence, the need to recover looted funds wherever they may be hidden.</div>
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Commenting on the development, a former Minister of Finance and elder statesman, Chief Olu Falae, commended the move and described it as laudable and desirable.</div>
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Falae expressed the belief that looted funds could be recovered because the whole world is now talking about promotion of transparency in governance.</div>
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“If some monies could be recovered from Abacha loot in the recent past, then it will be possible to recover looted funds from others as well,” he said.</div>
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The former minister, however, urged the President to follow due process while going after the looted funds.</div>
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Falae said: “It is just that we have to follow due process because we cannot force the countries where the looted funds were stashed to return them because they are not subject to our authorities. But if we follow due process, it might be possible for us to recover those monies.</div>
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“The monies should not just be recovered; they should be used to develop the country. There should be no exception; anybody who has looted the public fund should be made to return it. Not only monies stashed abroad should be recovered, those stolen and kept in the country should also be recovered. I wish the President good luck in his move to achieve this initiative.”</div>
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Also, the Convener of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, Mr. Debo Adeniran, asked Buhari to follow the normal channel through mutual legal assistant treaty that Nigeria has with the countries where such monies were stashed, if he really wants the stolen funds repatriated.</div>
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He said: “The President may succeed if he invokes the letter of the mutual legal assistant treaty, but I am not sure Nigeria has such with Switzerland although that country has been voluntarily returning Abacha loot to Nigeria.</div>
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“There are several other countries that may not be willing to return the volume of the money that was kept in their banks by the looters except there is international status that Nigeria can invoke to compel them to repatriate the fund.</div>
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“Nigeria has to go through legal process except it was one of the wish list that Buhari presented to the G7 countries. We have expressed it in some fora that we expected that Buhari would make it the top of his agenda at the G7 summit in Germany that he should get the G7 to cooperate with Nigeria on how not to allow looted funds by Nigeria’s public officials to be kept in their financial institutions.”</div>
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Adeniran also asked Buhari to prevail on the governments of the countries where the public funds were being stashed to assist Nigeria to expose those behind the practice.</div>
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He said: “Property acquired in those countries must also be investigated and if it is discovered that the property were procured through proceeds of corruption, they should be confiscated on behalf of Nigeria, sell them and repatriate the money to Nigeria.”</div>
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The National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere Renewal Group, a pan-Yoruba organisation, Mr. Kunle Famoriyo, expressed his support for Buhari’s move, which he described as a positive one for the country.</div>
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However, he blamed the US and other Western countries for doing nothing in the past to stop their banks from receiving stolen funds from corrupt individuals and corporations in Nigeria, while calling for the punishment of those found culpable.</div>
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He said: “It is our hope that something positive will come out of it considering that the banks in the US and some other Western countries were part of the laundering. They collected money from corrupt Nigerians and as far as we know, their countries did nothing to make sure the banks do not collect stolen money from Nigeria.</div>
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“Those found culpable in looting our public funds should be tried in the law courts. It’s not enough to collect the stolen funds without any sanctions meted out to them to serve as deterrent to others. Punishments meted out to corrupt individuals are also not commensurate with the crime committed, and this should be corrected.”</div>
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In addition, Famoriyo advised the Federal Government to restructure the country and enforce true federalism, which he said, would empower the states.</div>
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He said: “Development should be from bottom up and the other way around. What we need is true federalism; this unitary system cannot help us because it’s not sustainable. It’s a system that encourages states to be going to the Federal Government every month with cap in hand.”</div>
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Nigeria Traces Looted Funds To Switzerland, UK, US, Others

The Federal Government has started tracing looted Nigerian funds to foreign nations with the aim of recovering and repatriating them. ...

[OPINION]: A Desperate Letter to President Buhari - By Dele Momodu

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<b>Your Excellency, I write to you today with a heavy heart. The reason should be obvious. I was one of those latter day converts to Buharism, a political philosophy that believes in the reincarnation of former leaders in the days of tribulation. You were never the first man to resurrect from retirement and near political oblivion. General Olusegun Obasanjo bounced back from prison to Aso Rock Villa. In nearby Benin Republic, former military dictator and strongman, Mathieu Kerekou who had served as maximum ruler for about 17 incredible years, came back to defeat incumbent President , Nicephore Soglo in a 1990 election.  He led his country for another ten years and almost got another five-year term but for the age barrier that disqualified him.</b></div>
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It is normal for Africans to run towards the wise elders of the village when trouble comes knocking. That is one of the major reasons Nigerians in their millions voted with their feet and thumbs to elect you President.  Many of those who supported you did so for several other reasons and you must understand that they were mainly not members of your political party, APC. So, apart from your age, they backed you because they believed in your impeccable pedigree as an incorruptible and honourable man, a strict disciplinarian, a Scrooge who would not fritter away our meagre resources, a scourge of rogues and prodigal sons, a metamorphosed tyrant now a born-again democrat, and so on and so forth. Nigerians ardently placed their hopes in you and fervently prayed you won’t disappoint them.  This is the principal reason I have decided to send you this desperate memo today before some despicable politicians tarnish your hard-earned reputation and truncate this beautiful chance again.</div>
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Sir, let me say right away that the goodwill garnered during your campaigns and the jubilation that heralded your recent victory are fast fading and you need to, as a matter of urgency, convince the people of Nigeria that you’re now ready to hit the ground running. They are not going to listen to excuses since you had 30 years after quitting the high office to onerously prepare for the job again. For them it is immaterial that you met an empty treasury or that you are mostly surrounded by selfish, corruptive influences and impostors. As I mentioned in my earlier epistles to you, Nigerians have become totally impatient and what they expect of you is tantamount to performing the miracle of turning water into wine or raising Lazarus from the dead. You cannot afford to waste any second before displaying the sterner stuff you’re reputed to be made of.</div>
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I had encouraged you not to be afraid of taking charge of the Party that brought you to power or tackling the politicians that claimed to have helped you in the process. I had imagined that you know the ways of our politicians by now and thought you knew how to handle them. I had told you matter-of-factly that you may have to step on some powerful toes in order to achieve anything tangible. The worst that may likely happen is for people to say and accuse you of dictatorial proclivity which won’t be new in your lexicon or to be threatened with impeachment and all-what-not. But trust me, no evil shall befall you for as long as you carry the people along in your crusade and do not pander to the whims and caprices of members of the privilegentsia.</div>
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There is no doubt that the present imbroglio in your Party is as a result of your lukewarm attitude to Party issues thinking you could merely concentrate on nation-building while others deal with political intrigues. However, it is not always as simple as that. As you can now see, you don’t seem to be on the same page with your Party. While you were busy agonising over the myriad of problems besetting Nigeria, many of your presumed disciples were busy fighting over positions and control of power the way babies squabble over lollipops. They have studiously forgotten the change mantra and the huge expectations that made the electorate to troop out in droves and cast their votes for you and the Party.</div>
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The moment you became the President-elect, you should have readied your manacles for all would-be trouble makers. You should have sent out a powerful message to those politicians who may wish to act above the law. But the moment you appeared ready to abdicate some of your leadership responsibilities to them, the obvious lacuna gave them the needed impetus to take charge and cut you adrift. Your political advisers, if any, should have prepared you for the offensive. There is no way you are going to fight and survive the battle ahead if the political class see you as a man they can easily bully. You cannot sit on the fence.  Whilst your decision not to interfere in the affairs of another arm of Government, the legislature, is commendable and indeed your constitutional duty, you must make it clear to your Party that the same non-interference must apply to them.</div>
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Our people may have voted for your Party but they also voted for the individuals that the Party entrusted its mandate to including you.  Just as there is a limit to how the Party can control you in the exercise of your executive functions and those you choose to assist you in the fulfilment of those functions, so also must you tell the Party chieftains that there is a limit as to how much the leadership structure and duties of the legislative arm can be controlled.  If you are ambiguous about this, then you are inviting your Party leadership to write a letter to you categorically stating not only those you must appoint as your Ministers and Special Advisers but also those that you must not work with under any guise. I am sure you would not tolerate that. In the same vein you must not tolerate Party interference in the legislature.  Change has come, please imbibe it!</div>
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In essence it is incumbent on you to deal with the issues arising from tensions created by party supremacy, parliamentary democracy and above all constitutionality.  There is a delicate balance to be struck between these competing interests though constitutionality must eventually prevail.  However, even constitutionality is subordinated to national interest, because that is the most important interest of all.</div>
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Your Party has a lot to learn from the tragedy which was invited upon itself by advertence of the former ruling Party, PDP. As a mark of respect to your status and office, your Party should have adopted your instinct and temperament immediately you conceded that the elections of principal officers at the National Assembly were “somewhat constitutional.” Even if internally aggrieved, like mortals may invariably be, your Party hierarchy should not have washed their dirty linen in public knowing the full implications of the backlash that might splash and smear your collective image. APC should have done what PDP failed to do when Governor Rotimi Amaechi won the Chairmanship of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum by instantly recognising the leadership of the National Assembly while seeking ways to ameliorate the unfortunate saga. No reasonable parent would voluntarily kill a recalcitrant child. There is always another opportunity for penitence and atonement.</div>
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I expected the crisis to escalate once the warring factions stuck arrogantly to their positions and neither was ready to bulge. Had APC accepted its fate with equanimity, I’m certain this peculiar mess would have been exterminated. Had Saraki and Dogara shown magnanimity in victory some of the truculent malice expressed by certain leaders may have also been mellowed.</div>
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Say what you will, the PDP had its fair dose of political migraine and rambunctiousness but it accepted certain realities and moved on. The ones they failed to accept led to their cataclysmic fall. The mutually destructive suspicion in APC should have been nipped in the bud for your sake. The burden you currently carry is heavier than an elephant and I don’t think you need or deserve this kind of nuisance distraction. The leadership of the National Assembly should also calm down by reaching out to their angry Party chieftains. There is nothing to gain in fighting a perennial war. Once upon a time, they were all friends and members of the same family. It is never too late to embrace peace and reunite. Now that we know what the bone of contention is, no one should be victimised for belonging to whatever factions that exist.</div>
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I have read endless arguments for and against the pugilists in APC and my candid advice is that you need to appoint your cabinet and aides now. The sooner you assemble and send forth your foot-soldiers the better for our polity to begin the healing process. Right now our nation appears to be rudderless and floundering and this should not be the case.  What is left for you to do is to quickly bring all the gladiators together and see how you can apply some balm on frayed nerves. The Federal Government has humongous largesse to disburse so it should not be too difficult to appease the juggernauts. When that is sorted, you should draw your own plans and let your people know your roadmap. Your job would be much easier if you surround yourself with people who can look at you straight in the eye and say the truth no matter how bitter. Most of our leaders failed because they fell victims of sweet-talking scammers.</div>
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It is very essential that your Party sees and embrace you as their father and not the other way round. Whether you like it or not, and whether others in your Party want to accept it or not, you are the de facto national leader of your Party. You are the President and Commander in Chief of our country. Yes, you ARE the capo di tutti capi. You therefore cannot be subservient to any other person.  You must immediately take upon this role and assume that mantle. Please feel free to lay down the law and if occasion demands, enforce our law.  That is what leaders do. Ambivalence or hesitancy will simply not do! You have the next four years minus one month and time is ticking away dutifully.</div>
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Equally important is the fact that you are more of a social crusader than a politician and your Party ought to note this fact and understand that it can’t be business as usual. Your Party leveraged on your uncommon reputation to gain POWER. Sir, you can’t afford to evaporate such stupendous equity just like that. You have demonstrated enough tolerance but the time has come to repudiate our propensity for rascality. </div>
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The task ahead is so gargantuan and it would require all hands to be on deck. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I reiterate that the first priority, apart from national security, should be how to reduce the atrocious costs of running government in Nigeria. Until you achieve that sir, the Muhammed Alis of Nigeria will never stop their boxing tournaments in parliaments and elsewhere. The fight is for cash and not for any selfless services. Many won’t bother to contest if they think it is not lucrative. I don’t know how you plan to do this but it has to be done somehow and thankfully there are many methods that you can deploy. I’m glad you hope to retrieve some of the stolen billions. You need some serious cash, Sir. The challenges ahead would dissipate if you can raise the finances needed to tackle them.</div>
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I trust that God has deliberately raised you up at this time as a veritable example to mankind that being honest is not a crime and we have a lot to learn and cheer from your miraculous victory. May God help you to carry this cross successfully.</div>
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THE TONY ELUMELU ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMME</div>
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As I wrote last week, Nigeria needs to create thousands of new entrepreneurs in order to get out of the present economic quagmire that has made it impossible for too many Nigerians to have jobs. Thanks to Dr Tony Elumelu’s initiative, help is already on the way. 1,000 entrepreneurs from across Africa will gather at the TEEP Boot camp in Ota, Nigeria from July 10-12, 2015. These meticulously screened and carefully selected entrepreneurs are part of the 10-year commitment of $100 million to supporting entrepreneurship in Africa. Many of the lucky but bright recipients are Nigerians. For me, this is great news. The creation, development, nurturing and deployment of the entrepreurial spirit in Africa in general, and Nigeria in particular, is hearty good news for a continent bedevilled by a litany of woes and deprivation.</div>
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The Tony Elumelu Foundation has already engaged the emerging entrepreneurs in a 12-week online training session after about 20,000 applications were considered and pruned down. They were drawn from 51 African countries. This is a worthy legacy that would be talked about for many generations to come. Dr Elumelu and his team deserve our commendation for putting smiles on the faces of our people and hopefully in the not too distant future, better quality food on their table.</div>
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May God continue to bless Tony Elumelu and his family.</div>
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<b>ThisDay</b></div>
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[OPINION]: A Desperate Letter to President Buhari - By Dele Momodu

Your Excellency, I write to you today with a heavy heart. The reason should be obvious. I was one of those latter day converts to Buhar...

I Remain Loyal Though My Hands Are Tied, Saraki Tells APC

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<b>The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, in a letter written to the All Progressives Congress (APC), said his hands were tied with regard to the selection of principal officers of the upper chamber. This was contained in a report monitored on <i>TheCable</i>.</b></div>
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The National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, had on June 23, written to Saraki, stating the party’s choice of principal officers of the senate.</div>
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The APC had nominated Ahmad Lawan as senate majority leader, George Akume as deputy majority leader, Olusola Adeyeye as chief whip, and Abu Ibrahim as deputy chief whip. However, Saraki, on Thursday, announced Ali Ndume as majority leader, Bala Na’Allah as deputy majority leader and Francis Alimikhena as deputy chief whip after the various APC senate caucuses nominated them.</div>
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In his letter dated June 25, Saraki was said to have explained to the party that the APC senate caucuses had already taken a decision on the matter before he received Odigie-Oyegun’s letter.</div>
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Saraki’s letter read: “The said letter (Oyegun’s letter) was received after various APC zonal caucuses had taken their decisions to candidates as principal officers of the senate in line with parliamentary convention and the extant provisions of the senate standing orders 2015 as amended.”</div>
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The Senate President said: “Furthermore, whilst one is strongly persuaded to toe party line and act in accordance with the suggested party position, regrettably clear provisions of our extant rules and standard parliamentary convention have not given me that leeway to act otherwise.</div>
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“Therefore, my hands are tied in the circumstances and I seek your understanding in this regard.”</div>
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However, he added that without equivocation he remained “loyal to our great party and its leadership and also fully committed to the change agenda of the Mr. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”</div>
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I Remain Loyal Though My Hands Are Tied, Saraki Tells APC

The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, in a letter written to the All Progressives Congress (APC), said his hands were tied with rega...

[PHOTOS]: 10 Ultimate Illegal Skirts You Can't Rock

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimc0Ob1Rf5VQm8mrFlU-UzUa0WijleHkc9ziEVunbiIetPaJnbWQn6YOva7azLPYTvEpLF4d4nONrj7P7A5Kj94cehDmG-wQlkOro-eOkEB8Wu5GYlwpF9RH-nmq-CAuECtkU9IMeYwQqm/s1600/Fail+Skirt72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimc0Ob1Rf5VQm8mrFlU-UzUa0WijleHkc9ziEVunbiIetPaJnbWQn6YOva7azLPYTvEpLF4d4nONrj7P7A5Kj94cehDmG-wQlkOro-eOkEB8Wu5GYlwpF9RH-nmq-CAuECtkU9IMeYwQqm/s1600/Fail+Skirt72.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>How many of you can wear any of these skirts? I guess many "decent" ladies won't like to rock it. But here also are some ladies wearing it without apologies.</b><br />
<br />
See the ultimate illegal skirts below:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83de_Ay22I4DnI1xorh7FULEq4xJVOwl7UJZXFt0GZQCejLcI9VxM04ArGKbOkha3wlRzT3UWbcU_yL1YFyatqOkQX4OWclFSfsQbKuomNLtlyjIAfNsaWxL8CzK9H6s_C5APopdNln-S/s1600/Fail+Skirt2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83de_Ay22I4DnI1xorh7FULEq4xJVOwl7UJZXFt0GZQCejLcI9VxM04ArGKbOkha3wlRzT3UWbcU_yL1YFyatqOkQX4OWclFSfsQbKuomNLtlyjIAfNsaWxL8CzK9H6s_C5APopdNln-S/s1600/Fail+Skirt2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFuddclxIBMWflw4wF-rAX0q8qVjUfnxoQgUjq4EhUyi6uLNzEUDYnmNMMmND0sVp88GBgNWpdCAM5FTHkHPJFd5GKl-Y5ACRm-Tdoeew0ogJYQYvmwpNC73bOPq62MyhzdNJ1GAAAkSqh/s1600/Fail+Skirt3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFuddclxIBMWflw4wF-rAX0q8qVjUfnxoQgUjq4EhUyi6uLNzEUDYnmNMMmND0sVp88GBgNWpdCAM5FTHkHPJFd5GKl-Y5ACRm-Tdoeew0ogJYQYvmwpNC73bOPq62MyhzdNJ1GAAAkSqh/s1600/Fail+Skirt3.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM35YkOCt4YPRsHjSv9D99wi6LtJZOp-707Z2b7AQj1RQoH5ZuA1yJarmBkQsIyvQvEHO5tVzbBQexBQLYtYDSKqpu4F2KC3ESqtJpzRrnrqXSPEkEYqBRKIEoUD2VADzYdcj3VjfwAJmZ/s1600/Fail+Skirt4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM35YkOCt4YPRsHjSv9D99wi6LtJZOp-707Z2b7AQj1RQoH5ZuA1yJarmBkQsIyvQvEHO5tVzbBQexBQLYtYDSKqpu4F2KC3ESqtJpzRrnrqXSPEkEYqBRKIEoUD2VADzYdcj3VjfwAJmZ/s1600/Fail+Skirt4.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0TgyQliYpT7_6aWNLnWvsVpYBUd1yhL7MNWj-i_-g_cvaWf3k0hlkiCJVJEx-OJpnQQKvxx13Llo4VQw7tkx4j2cCY0hnGE-qUplYh2rKTqV5wMlRcudY5zpoUY9KJUy9EtrFnBBNOgEY/s1600/Fail+Skirt5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0TgyQliYpT7_6aWNLnWvsVpYBUd1yhL7MNWj-i_-g_cvaWf3k0hlkiCJVJEx-OJpnQQKvxx13Llo4VQw7tkx4j2cCY0hnGE-qUplYh2rKTqV5wMlRcudY5zpoUY9KJUy9EtrFnBBNOgEY/s1600/Fail+Skirt5.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXW4J3aPKwhyphenhyphenqybFUv3aq7nw5hrtM33K1cQ1qIozJOAD8Ji5mgE2ue1n9zweH8tSMCFchQDpdzpOpM6nDi5_ckvk9ZayJ9mlz-Za4wX6xIKQK0GhlsfTKrSz542vUmNwzTt-rGQjkpBKpv/s1600/Fail+Skirt6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXW4J3aPKwhyphenhyphenqybFUv3aq7nw5hrtM33K1cQ1qIozJOAD8Ji5mgE2ue1n9zweH8tSMCFchQDpdzpOpM6nDi5_ckvk9ZayJ9mlz-Za4wX6xIKQK0GhlsfTKrSz542vUmNwzTt-rGQjkpBKpv/s1600/Fail+Skirt6.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJ4cr6bfp7ZqVdEk1xKrv3FGMMU8k8UDjfyoHKSKczJtGpA6YEzmxWiyXW362e-QNA092ZmZ1Uwtez5fEaHFtBT6EXL-rqg568PxkKEiLTrr-klJOL24og4xEQrKDBvOiAmtIooEILIf0/s1600/Fail+Skirt7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJ4cr6bfp7ZqVdEk1xKrv3FGMMU8k8UDjfyoHKSKczJtGpA6YEzmxWiyXW362e-QNA092ZmZ1Uwtez5fEaHFtBT6EXL-rqg568PxkKEiLTrr-klJOL24og4xEQrKDBvOiAmtIooEILIf0/s1600/Fail+Skirt7.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbv71q-3URVPS8KpByojowpb0ZpmbwPS4Ed-zTBx_txy5_y0_ZaP9SVcvgPH-_u4aaZFzZUIaDcQLEyh7Atrsvii8b0f0nwZIiBuwCXAXw5hsXtjfgzEtLDKNuASj6iL5x6jVCg543i42e/s1600/Fail+Skirt8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbv71q-3URVPS8KpByojowpb0ZpmbwPS4Ed-zTBx_txy5_y0_ZaP9SVcvgPH-_u4aaZFzZUIaDcQLEyh7Atrsvii8b0f0nwZIiBuwCXAXw5hsXtjfgzEtLDKNuASj6iL5x6jVCg543i42e/s1600/Fail+Skirt8.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizJEtShwwQ8302LaZtDolrzDN3oexufSy-ZHGGI_xZhOUMxjFKnuB4EaPhUErLOERe5ZvHUP1KLZA4oJFFmmJP1uVvRwzIbeuVT37FUM7CGb5KaziYTg0gYw2RAepLgzCDJQ-VeT3AotA/s1600/Fail+Skirt9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizJEtShwwQ8302LaZtDolrzDN3oexufSy-ZHGGI_xZhOUMxjFKnuB4EaPhUErLOERe5ZvHUP1KLZA4oJFFmmJP1uVvRwzIbeuVT37FUM7CGb5KaziYTg0gYw2RAepLgzCDJQ-VeT3AotA/s1600/Fail+Skirt9.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROvahuUAeqF2u2svvz8QxkMdZoe2joYX-9Yzm8xtmHm-c49gUqo1zTZoE6XYVHB-Sse-IJFFi1Mm6f35mKnctKzf1fRCRgD0GQlClcsCNyPnyOjsKOu530gobQKO17SRHrvf53mtfU6ms/s1600/Fail+Skirt10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROvahuUAeqF2u2svvz8QxkMdZoe2joYX-9Yzm8xtmHm-c49gUqo1zTZoE6XYVHB-Sse-IJFFi1Mm6f35mKnctKzf1fRCRgD0GQlClcsCNyPnyOjsKOu530gobQKO17SRHrvf53mtfU6ms/s1600/Fail+Skirt10.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxapgbvFUFbLidEgLIJZxVoVkClo8wB_hGR-y4wsSj8UqLKVEkAfgiOe9rhzARTzJVLat1KGNdFzZkBO9eoeo67ubtfz-uVlc5Ko_XZl4xIHkmqfAFwRwaASQhnp6XGMM4RaBliMEyzJeF/s1600/Fail+Skirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxapgbvFUFbLidEgLIJZxVoVkClo8wB_hGR-y4wsSj8UqLKVEkAfgiOe9rhzARTzJVLat1KGNdFzZkBO9eoeo67ubtfz-uVlc5Ko_XZl4xIHkmqfAFwRwaASQhnp6XGMM4RaBliMEyzJeF/s1600/Fail+Skirt.jpg" /></a></div>
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[PHOTOS]: 10 Ultimate Illegal Skirts You Can't Rock

How many of you can wear any of these skirts? I guess many "decent" ladies won't like to rock it. But here also are some la...

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[PHOTOS]: 10 Ultimate Illegal Skirts You Can't Rock

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