The Anyiam-Osigwe Group has exonerated itself from alleged involvement in fraudulent crude oil supply to Zambia.

The Group, through its media consultant, Tope Ajayi, said it did not participate in any oil transaction with the Zambian Government and did not collect any money from them.

“At no time did any member of our Group participate in the oil transaction either as alleged or at all and not a cent came to any one of us either as alleged or at all.

Consequently, should any article be written that impinges on our integrity negatively in any way, we shall not hesitate to take effective and appropriate action to defend our persons legally.”

Ajayi noted that sometime in April last year, the Group made a representation to the Zambian President Banda for supply of crude oil to the country and also revamp its Indeni refinery with the assistance of the Group’s United States technical partner – Honeywell International.

But after the representations and some consultations with Zambian government officials and the High Commission in Nigeria, the government went behind and had a government-to-government engagement with the Nigerian Government for the oil supply.

A letter made available to The Nation and signed by Mr. Michael Anyiam-Osigwe dated April 02, 2011, stating the Group’s displeasure over how the oil supply transaction was treated by the Zambian Government is entitled, “Representation to His Excellency President Banda in respect of the crude oil allocation to Zambia by Nigeria,” reads: “With regards to our ongoing discussions with your goodselves and His Excellency President Banda in respect of the Oil and Gas and Zambian Investment opportunities, we would like to reiterate that our group is willing to strategically partner with the Government of Zambia under the leadership of President Banda.

This was what informed the strategic meeting held in the USA and the follow up with regards to the subsequent meetings in Abuja with His Excellency President Banda.

“We were pleased to note that one of the initiatives of which we had intimated His Excellency President Banda, the application for a Bilateral Agreement for the Supply of crude oil has been approved by our Government of Nigeria for the supply of 20,000 barrels of crude oil to the Government of Zambia.

“We brought this to the attention of your Embassy officials via the Economic Secretary, Margret Kaemba and the present High Commissioner who stated that he would check and get back to us. He is yet to do so.

“However, you would imagine our surprise when we were further reliably informed that the Zambian authorities had designated another entity entirely to operate the business on behalf of the Government of Zambia. We were even shown a letter to NNPC signed by Major Kachingwe as a Special envoy of the President of Zambia .

“Whilst we are not disputing the prerogative of His Excellency President Banda to elect a company of his choice to handle the affairs of the Zambia, one would have thought that since we brought the opportunity to the attention of his Excellency through your goodself and additionally had the good fortune to discuss the Bilateral Agreement for the supply of Crude and other investments opportunities direct with his Excellency and some of his key cabinet members at the time, the least we expect is that we would be informed when the decision was made not to go with our group; if nothing as a matter of professional courtesy, especially when it was not brought to our attention that we had acted in a manner that caused us to fall out of favour with the Government of Zambia or indeed his Excellency.

Our interactions with his Excellency President Banda have been in our opinion very positive and cordial. We believe his Excellency welcomed our interest in doing business with the Government of Zambia.

We on our part looked forward to supporting his Excellency’s development initiatives with our contacts both within and outside the country. Austin Sichinga the Chief of Staff to His Excellency President Banda will attest to the above.

“This was the basis on which we met and informed the Economic Secretary and the Zambian High Commissioner in Nigeria about the approval for the Supply of Crude. We also informed them that our group, since our meeting with his Excellency President Banda, has partnered with a fortune 100 company Honeywell International, a USD38 billion with 125,000 employees in 100 countries (please refer to www. Honeywell.com).

We have offered to bring them to help you revamp your Indeni refinery and optimise her operations, including the possibility of getting the refinery to use lighter Crudes, such as those from Nigeria in addition to the Heavy (Venezuelan) crude it currently uses .

The Honeywell team was in Nigeria on a visit to NNPC and we used the opportunity to arrange for them to meet with the Economic Secretary at the Zambian High Commission.

We are also in a position to arrange for the immediate refining of Zambia’s crude allocation from Nigeria under an arrangement with one of our partner-refineries. This entails that we would deliver the crude to the said refinery in return for products based on the corresponding yield of the crude.

The above is just by way of back ground about our commitment to the Government of Zambia under the leadership of President Banda but the current developments in terms of the Government to Government (G-G) Bilateral for Crude begs the question whether our Group’s investment initiatives is welcome.

“For the record, we are not querying His Excellency’s prerogative on how he wants things handled but it would help us if we could understand his reasons for doing so if he did give the directives to Major Kachingwe as we are not aware that we had acted knowingly or unknowingly in a manner that might not have met with his acceptance and as such been responsible for the recent developments.

Even Our initial meeting with Major Kachingwe were very cordial when at your instance we met with him prior to our initial meeting with His Excellency in Nigeria.

He received us well at the time and assured us that as friends of His Excellency the President and Friends of Zambia we would be most welcome.

“We have impressed upon Honeywell International to visit Zambia and they plan to visit the Zambia upon an invitation from the government.

We trust the above is in order and have simply made this representation through your goodself to His Excellency President Banda for sake of good order. Whilst thanking you for your kind assistance in bringing this matter to the attention of His Excellency we also ask that you kindly convey to him the assurances of our highest esteem.”

[Source: The Nation, Nigeria]

The United Party for National Development (UPND) has said that it is only asking for equity and fairness in all aspects of public affairs from the Patriotic Front government.

UPND Secretary General Winston Chibwe in a statement released to QFM says it is not right for defence minister Geoffrey Mwamba to continue accusing UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema of being tribal whenever he expresses different views from those of government.

Mr. Chibwe says Mr. Mwamba should strive to embrace the discipline of accepting the freedom of others to freely debate national issues without feeling insecure or threatened.

He has advised Mr. Mwamba not to hide in what he says is the lack of knowledge as a reason for misrepresentation of facts.

Mr. Chibwe says it is time the defence minister stopped being hypocritical over the issue of tribalism by applying double standards.

He states that the PF should realize that they were not voted into office to continuously blame the former ruling party, MMD but to change the livelihoods of the majority citizens.

The UPND secretary general says Mr. Mwamba and Chief government spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni should come to terms with the fact that the PF’s one year in office has been a disaster.

QFM

Michael Clarke Duncan, star of such movies as “The Green Mile” and “The Whole Nine Yards,” passed away this morning. He was 54.

According to TMZ sources, his passing came very suddenly. We’re told his fiancee, Omarosa Manigault, was with him in his hospital room in Los Angeles and left for a short period of time. When she returned … he had died.

Duncan’s rep tells TMZ the actor never fully recovered from the myocardial infarction he suffered on July 13.

Best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. He is also recognized for his appearances in motion pictures such as Armageddon, The Whole Nine Yards, and Daredevil, as well as staring in the popular TV series The Finder.

Born in Chicago in 1957, Duncan was raised by a single mother whose resistance to his playing football led to his deciding he wanted to become an actor. But when his mother became ill, he dropped out of college, Alcorn State University, and worked as a ditch digger and bouncer to support her. By his mid-20s, he was in Los Angeles, where he looked for acting parts and became a bodyguard for Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and other stars. The murder of rapper Notorious B.I.G., for whom Duncan had been hired to protect before switching assignments, led him to quit his job and pursue acting full-time.

Early film and television credits, when he was usually cast as a bodyguard or bouncer, included “Bulworth,” ”A Night at the Roxbury” and “The Players Club.”

The muscular, 6-foot-4 Duncan, a former bodyguard who turned to acting in his 30s, “suffered a myocardial infarction on July 13 and never fully recovered,” the statement said. “Manigault is grateful for all of your prayers and asks for privacy at this time. Celebrations of his life, both private and public, will be announced at a later date.”

In the spring of 2012, Clarke had appeared in a video for PETA, the animal rights organization, in which he spoke of how much better he felt since becoming a vegetarian three years earlier.
“I cleared out my refrigerator, about $5,000 worth of meat,” he said. “I’m a lot healthier than I was when I was eating meat.”
Duncan had a handful of minor roles before “The Green Mile” brought him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor. The 1999 film, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, starred Tom Hanks as a corrections officer at a penitentiary in the 1930s. Duncan played John Coffey, a convicted murderer with a surprisingly gentle demeanor and extraordinary healing powers.

Duncan’s performance caught on with critics and moviegoers and he quickly became a favorite in Hollywood, appearing in several films a year. He owed some of his good fortune to Bruce Willis, who recommended Duncan for “The Green Mile” after the two appeared together in “Armageddon.” Clarke would work with Willis again in “Breakfast of Champions,” ”The Whole Nine Yards” and “Sin City.”

MHSRIP

Lily Mutamz released the video for her song “‘Nshaishibe’ (I Never Knew)”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY9XyiAnv5o&feature=player_embedded
By Kapa187

UPND Vice President for Administration Richard Kapita has clarified that controversial veteran politician William Banda is not a Special Adviser to party leader Hakainde Hichilema.

Mr. Kapita stated that the UPND has never appointed Mr. Banda in any special role in the party.

He said assertions that Mr. Banda is now Mr. Hichilema’s Special Adviser is malicious and cheap propaganda to malign the UPND.

“William does not even claim to be adviser, he is busy doing his job organizing the party at grassroots and some sections of the media see it fit to publish lies,” Mr. Kapita said.

He was speaking this morning when he featured on UNZA Radio’s Lusaka Star Programme.

Mr. Kapita said Mr. Hichilema has a special team of elders whom he consults for advice on national and party matters adding that Mr. Banda is not part of that team.

“The bonafide Presidential Adviser is Douglas Siakalima and everybody who cares to know, knows that but some newspapers decides to disregard that and claim that William Banda is HH’s Special Adviser.”

Opposition UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema has lashed out at Chief Government Spokesman Kennedy Sakeni for attacking opposition leaders.

Mr. Hichilema said Mr. Sakeni should instead focus on ensuring that his government delivers on its campaign promises.

“Listening to Mr. Sakeni, you will agree with me that the man does not even understand what he is talking about, this man cannot even be a Councilor in our party,” Mr. Hichilema said.

He charged that Mr. Sakeni could only serve as Chief Government Spokesman in a confused government such as the PF’s.

“This man is not leadership material but this is the man serving as Government Spokesman, it shows you the type of people leading us.”

“When Sakeni opens his mouth, both his speech and his mannerisms are incoherent. You can see that the man doesn’t know what he is talking about,” he said.

The UPND leader has since advised President Michael Sata to drop Mr. Sakeni from the position of Government Spokesman to protect the integrity of his government.

“If the President is serious with managing the affairs of this country, he should seriously consider dropping this Sakeni man.”