GECAS and Oz Management Close STARR 2018-1: The First Structured Sale of Aircraft to Include a Dedicated Asset Manager

GECAS and Oz Management (NYSE: OZM) (“Oz”) announced today the closing of STARR 2018-1. Operating as START Ltd., this closing marks the first aircraft portfolio purchase vehicle structure to include a dedicated Asset Manager for equity investors. In this transaction GECAS is selling a portfolio of aircraft to Start Ltd, which is financing its acquisition through issuance of 144A debt and equity. The sales are subject to typical conditions precedent including any regulatory approvals that may be necessary. GECAS will continue to service the portfolio and an affiliate of Oz will serve as an Asset Manager.

The diversified portfolio is comprised of 24 in-production Boeing and Airbus aircraft on lease to 16 global airlines in 15 countries, with a total appraised value of approximately $700mn.

An affiliate of Oz, through an exclusive, multi-year agreement with GECAS, will serve as an asset manager on this and potential future transactions, acting on behalf of the syndicated equity investors as an advisor to the board regarding portfolio matters. In this capacity, Oz will provide increased transparency on behalf of START Ltd. through enhanced investor reporting to improve liquidity for debt and equity investors.

Rob Shafir, CEO of Oz Management said, “We are excited to team up with the leading aircraft lessor in the world to create a new structure which enhances pooled aircraft sale transactions. GECAS — with their fleet of nearly 2000 owned, serviced and on-order aircraft — brings their domain expertise and 50 years’ aviation finance experience to this transaction. When coupled with Oz’s experience as an institutional asset manager, START Ltd. will bring increased institutional capital to the commercial aviation space.”

“By joining with Oz on this transaction, we feel confident this unique structure will bolster investor interest in the aviation finance space,” shared Alec Burger, President of GE Capital and President & CEO of GECAS, adding “While GECAS continues our lessee relationships through our servicing arrangement, this structure provides GECAS, as a seller, and buyer/issuers like START Ltd. with access to the institutional market on a more consistent basis. We look forward to teaming up with Oz on similar aircraft sales transactions going forward and capitalizing on their expertise in managing these types of platforms.”

With nearly $1 trillion in outstanding market value in commercial aviation, this asset manager structure aims to broaden the investor base in the sector and bring increased institutional capital to the space, similar to other securitization markets such as CLOs. In addition to serving as the asset manager, funds managed by Oz have the added opportunity to invest equity.

29 NIGERIANS AMONGST 74 ARRESTED FOR FINANCIAL & BUSINESS FRAUD BY U.S FBI

>COMMENDS NIGERIA's EFCC & OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS FOR RENDERING SUPPORT ON FIGHT AGAINST FRAUD

>42 Alleged Fraudsters Arrested in the United States

Federal authorities announced today a significant coordinated effort to disrupt Business Email Compromise (BEC) schemes that are designed to intercept and hijack wire transfers from businesses and individuals, including many senior citizens.  

Operation Wire Wire, a coordinated law enforcement effort by the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, was conducted over a six month period, culminating in over two weeks of intensified law enforcement activity resulting in 74 arrests in the United States and overseas, including 29 in Nigeria, and three in Canada, Mauritius and Poland.  

The operation also resulted in the seizure of nearly $2.4 million, and the disruption and recovery of approximately $14 million in fraudulent wire transfers.

BEC, also known as “cyber-enabled financial fraud,” is a sophisticated scam often targeting employees with access to company finances and businesses working with foreign suppliers and/or businesses that regularly perform wire transfer payments.  

The same criminal organizations that perpetrate BEC also exploit individual victims, often real estate purchasers, the elderly, and others, by convincing them to make wire transfers to bank accounts controlled by the criminals.

 This is often accomplished by impersonating a key employee or business partner after obtaining access to that person’s email account or sometimes done through romance and lottery scams. 

 BEC scams may involve fraudulent requests for checks rather than wire transfers; they may target sensitive information such as personally identifiable information (PII) or employee tax records instead of, or in addition to, money; and they may not involve an actual “compromise” of an email account or computer network.  

Foreign citizens perpetrate many BEC scams.  Those individuals are often members of transnational criminal organizations, which originated in Nigeria but have spread throughout the world. 

“Fraudsters can rob people of their life's savings in a matter of minutes,” said Attorney General Sessions. “These are malicious and morally repugnant crimes. The Department of Justice has taken aggressive action against fraudsters in recent months, conducting the largest sweep of fraud against American seniors in history back in February. 

Now, in this operation alone, we have arrested 42 people in the United States and 29 others have been arrested in Nigeria for alleged financial fraud. And so I want to thank the FBI, nearly a dozen U.S. Attorneys' Offices, the Secret Service, Postal Inspection Services, Homeland Security Investigations, the Treasury Department, our partners in Nigeria, Poland, Canada, Mauritius, Indonesia, and Malaysia, and our state and local law enforcement partners for all of their hard work. We will continue to go on offense against fraudsters so that the American people can have safety and peace of mind.”

“This operation demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to disrupt and dismantle criminal enterprises that target American citizens and their businesses,” said FBI Director Christopher A. Wray. “We will continue to work together with our law enforcement partners around the world to end these fraud schemes and protect the hard-earned assets of our citizens. The public we serve deserves nothing less.”

“The Secret Service remains committed to aggressively investigating and pursuing those responsible for cyber-enabled financial crimes,” said U.S. Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles.  “Although the explosive expansion of the cyber domain has forced us to develop innovative ways of conducting these types of investigations, our proven model remains the same.”

“FinCEN has been a leader in the fight against BEC and other cyber-enabled crime,” said FinCEN Director Kenneth A. Blanco. “Since 2014, working with our domestic and international partners, our Rapid Response Program has helped recover over $350 million stolen from innocent Americans.  We must continue to be smarter, quicker, and better than the criminals that we face every day.  Today’s action is a victory, but it will take vigilance, time, and resources to take this fight into the future.  In defense of the victims of these crimes, we are ready for the challenge.”

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has a long history of successfully investigating complex fraud and corruption cases,” said Chief Postal Inspector Guy Cottrell. “We are proud to work alongside our fellow law enforcement partners in major efforts, such as Operation Wire Wire, to target those individuals who take advantage of the American public for illegal profits. 

Anyone who engages in deceptive practices like this should know they will not go undetected and will be held accountable, regardless of where they are. Postal Inspectors will continue to work tirelessly to protect our customers from fraud.” 

A number of cases involved international criminal organizations that defrauded small to large sized businesses, while others involved individual victims who transferred high dollar funds or sensitive records in the course of business. 

 The devastating effects these cases have on victims and victim companies, affect not only the individual business but also the global economy.  Since the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) began keeping track of BEC and its variant, Email Account Compromise (EAC), as a complaint category, there has been a loss of over $3.7 billion reported to the IC3.  

BEC and EAC is a prevalent scam and the Justice Department along with our partners will continue to aggressively pursue and prosecute the perpetrators, including money mules, regardless of where they are located. 

Money mules may be witting or unwitting accomplices who receive ill-gotten funds from the victims and then transfer the funds as directed by the fraudsters. 

 The money is wired or sent by check to the money mule who then deposits it in his or her own bank account.  Usually the mules keep a fraction for “their trouble” and then wire the money as directed by the fraudster.  The fraudsters enlist and manipulate the money mules through romance scams or “work-at-home” scams.

Starting in January 2018, this coordinated enforcement action targeted hundreds of BEC scammers.  In addition, law enforcement agents executed over 51 domestic actions including search warrants, money mule warning letters, and asset seizure warrants totaling nearly $1 million.  Local and state law enforcement partners on FBI task forces across the country, with the assistance of multiple District Attorney’s Offices, charged 15 alleged money mules for their role in defrauding victims.  These money mules were employed by the fraudsters to launder their ill-gotten gains by draining the funds into other accounts that are difficult to trace.

Among those arrested on federal charges in BEC schemes include:

• Following an investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service, 23 individuals were charged in the Southern District of Florida with laundering at least $10 million from proceeds of BEC scams, including eight people charged in an indictment unsealed last week in Miami. These eight defendants are alleged to have conspired to launder proceeds from numerous BEC scams, totaling at least approximately $5 million, including approximately $1.4 million from a victim corporation in Seattle, as well as various title companies and a law firm.
• Following an investigation led by the FBI with the assistance of the IRS Criminal Investigation, Gloria Okolie and Paul Aisosa, both Nigerian nationals residing in Dallas, Texas, were charged in an indictment filed on June 6 in the Southern District of Georgia.  According to the indictment, they are alleged to have victimized a real estate closing attorney by sending the lawyer a spoofing email posing as the seller and requesting that proceeds of a real estate sale in the amount of $246,000 be wired to Okolie’s account.  They are charged with laundering approximately $665,000 in illicit funds.  The attorney experienced $130,000 in losses after the bank was notified of the fraud and froze $116,000.
• Adeyemi Odufuye aka “Micky,” “Micky Bricks,” “Yemi,” “GMB,” “Bawz” and “Jefe,” 32, and Stanley Hugochukwu Nwoke, aka Stanley Banks,” “Banks,” “Hugo Banks,” “Banky,” and “Jose Calderon,” 27, were charged in a seven-count indictment in the District of Connecticut in a BEC scheme involving an attempted loss to victims of approximately $2.6 million, including at least $440,000 in actual losses to one victim in Connecticut.  A third co-conspirator Olumuyiwa Yahtrip Adejumo, aka “Ade,” “Slimwaco,” “Waco,” “Waco Jamon,” “Hade,” and “Hadey,” 32, of Toledo, Ohio, pleaded guilty on April 20 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  Odufuye was extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States and on Jan. 3, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Nwoke was extradited to the United States from Mauritius on May 25, marking the first extradition in over 15 years from Mauritius.  His case is pending.
• Richard Emem Jackson, aka Auwire, 23, of Lagos, Nigeria, was charged in an indictment filed on May 17 in the District of Massachusetts with two counts of unlawful possession of a means of identification as part of a larger fraud scheme. According to the indictment, on two occasions in 2017, Jackson is alleged to have possessed the identifications of two victims with the intent to commit wire fraud conspiracy.  In another case being prosecuted in the District of Massachusetts, a 25-year-old Fort Lauderdale, Florida man was indicted in federal court in Boston on June 6 on one count of money laundering conspiracy. According to the indictment, the individual was part of a conspiracy that engaged in wire fraud. It is alleged that in early 2018, the defendant’s co-conspirators gained access to email accounts belonging to a Massachusetts real estate attorney and sent emails to recipients in Massachusetts that “spoofed” the real estate attorney’s account in an attempt to cause the email recipient to transfer nearly $500,000, which was intended to be used for payment in connection with a real estate transaction, to a shell account belonging to a money mule recruited and controlled by the defendant.

The BEC scam is related to other forms of fraud such as:

• “Romance scams,” which lull victims to believe that their online paramour needs funds for an international business transaction, a U.S. visit or some other purpose;
• “Employment opportunities scams,” which recruits prospective employees for work-from-home employment opportunities where employees are required to provide their PII as new “hires” and then are significantly overpaid by check whereby the employees wire the overpayment to the employers’ bank;
• “Fraudulent online vehicle sales scams,” which convinces intended buyers to purchase prepaid gift cards in the amount of the agreed upon sale price and are instructed to share the prepaid card codes with the “sellers” who ignore future communications and do not deliver the goods;
• “Rental scams” occur when renters forward a check in excess of the agreed upon deposit for the rental property to the victims and request the remainder be returned via wire or check and back out of the rental agreements and ask for a refund; and
• “Lottery scams,” which involves persons randomly contacting email addresses advising them they have been selected as the winner of an international lottery.

The cases were investigated by the FBI, 

U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and IRS Criminal Investigation.  

U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Districts of Central California, Connecticut, Eastern Virginia, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Southern Florida, Southern Georgia, Southern Texas, Eastern Pennsylvania, Eastern Washington, Western Pennsylvania, Western Tennessee, Western Washington, Utah, and elsewhere have ongoing investigations some of which have resulted in arrests in Nigeria.  

The Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and Office of International Affairs of the Criminal Division provided assistance. District Attorney’s Offices of Caddo Parrish in Shreveport, Louisiana; Harris County, Texas and Los Angeles are handling state prosecutions. 

Additionally, private sector partners and the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Canadian law enforcement including the Toronto Police Service, the Mauritian Attorney-General and the Commissioner of Police, Polish Police Central Bureau of Investigation, Indonesian National Police Cyber Crimes Unit, and the Royal Malaysia Police provided significant assistance.  

This operation, which was funded and coordinated by the FBI, serves as a model for international cooperation against specific threats that endanger the financial well-being of each member country’s residents.  

Attorney General Sessions expressed gratitude for the outstanding efforts of the participating countries, including law enforcement actions that were coordinated and executed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria to curb business email compromise schemes that defraud businesses and individuals alike.

Victims are encouraged to file a complaint online with the IC3 at bec.ic3.gov. The IC3 staff reviews complaints, looking for patterns or other indicators of significant criminal activity, and refers investigative packages of complaints to the appropriate law enforcement authorities in a particular city or region. 

(Reuters) - Brent crude oil fell 1 percent on Monday as investors prepared for an extra 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in output to hit the markets after OPEC and its partners agreed to raise production.

Despite the increase, which is intended to stop the gap between global supply and demand from becoming too wide, analysts said global oil markets would likely remain relatively tight this year.

Brent crude futures (LCOc1) were down 78 cents at $74.78 a barrel at 0917 GMT, while U.S. light crude (CLc1) was up 25 cents at $68.83 a barrel, supported in part by a Canadian supply outage.

Prices initially jumped after an OPEC deal to increase output was announced late last week, as it was not seen boosting supply by as much as some had expected.

OPEC and non-OPEC partners including Russia have since 2017 cut output by 1.8 million bpd to tighten the market and prop up prices.

"As yet there is no plan as to how the limits will be reallocated. One simple approach would be to reduce the limits of those not producing enough by 600,000 bpd and increase the limits of members with spare capacity by 600,000 bpd – this would enable 100 percent compliance," said Callum MacPherson, Investec head of commodities.

"However, it seems unlikely members like Venezuela would give up unused limits in this way. Instead those unused limits might be left in place, so 100 percent compliance would in theory mean an additional 1.2 million bpd hitting the market, even though this would not be achievable in practice."

Largely because of unplanned disruptions in places like Venezuela and Angola, the group's output has been below the targeted cuts, which it now says will be reversed by supply increases, especially from OPEC leader Saudi Arabia. Analysts warn however there is little spare capacity for large-scale output increases.

After officially meeting on Friday, OPEC gave a press conference on Saturday that implied a bigger increase in supply.

"Saturday's OPEC+ press conference provided more clarity on the decision to increase production, with guidance for a full 1 million bpd ramp-up in 2H18," Goldman Sachs said in a note on Sunday.

"This is a larger increase than presented Friday although the goal remains to stabilize inventories, not generate a surplus," the U.S. bank added.

Edward Bell, commodity analyst at Dubai's Emirates NBD bank, said when the Vienna agreement was priced into the market, he expected prices "in a range between $65-$70 per barrel for Brent for the remainder of the year".

Goldman Sachs also warned that an "outage at Syncrude Canada's oil sands facility could leave North America short of 360,000 bpd of supply for all of July".

It added that this "will exacerbate the current global deficit, making the increase in OPEC production all the more required".

@yahoo news(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE; Editing by Jan Harvey)

Buhari’s speech at the signing of 2018 budget into law

“I would like to thank the leadership of the National Assembly, particularly the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as well as all the Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members, for passing the 2018 Appropriation Bill, after seven months.

2. When I submitted the 2018 Budget proposals to the National Assembly on 7th November 2017, I had hoped that the usual legislative review process would be quick, so as to move Nigeria towards a predictable January-December financial year. The importance of this predictability cannot be overemphasized.

3. While the Federal Government’s budget represents less than 10% of aggregate yearly expenditures in the economy, it has a very significant accelerator effect on the financial plans of other tiers of government, and even more importantly, the private sector, which mostly operates on a January-December financial year.

4. Notwithstanding the delay this year, I am determined to continue to work with the National Assembly towards improving the budgeting process and restoring our country to the January-December fiscal cycle.

5. I note, with pleasure, that the National Assembly is working on the enactment of an Organic Budget Law, so as to improve the efficiency of the nation’s budgetary process.

6. As I mentioned during the presentation of the 2018 Appropriation Bill, we intend to use the 2018 Budget to consolidate the achievements of previous budgets and deliver on Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020.

7. It is in this regard that I am concerned about some of the changes that the National Assembly has made to the budget proposals that I presented. The logic behind the Constitutional direction that budgets should be proposed by the Executive is that, it is the Executive that knows and defines its policies and projects.

8. Unfortunately, that has not been given much regard in what has been sent to me. The National Assembly made cuts amounting to 347 billion Naira in the allocations to 4,700 projects submitted to them for consideration and introduced 6,403 projects of their own amounting to 578 billion Naira.

9. Many of the projects cut are critical and may be difficult, if not impossible, to implement with the reduced allocation. Some of the new projects inserted by the National Assembly have not been properly conceptualized, designed and costed and will therefore be difficult to execute.

10. Furthermore, many of these new projects introduced by the National Assembly have been added to the budgets of most MDAs with no consideration for institutional capacity to execute them or the incremental recurrent expenditure that may be required.

11. As it is, some of these projects relate to matters that are the responsibility of the States and Local Governments, and for which the Federal Government should therefore not be unduly burdened.

12. Such examples of projects from which cuts were made are as follows:

a. The provisions for some nationally/regionally strategic infrastructure projects such as Counter-part funding for the Mambilla Power Plant, Second Niger Bridge/ancillary roads, the East-West Road, Bonny-Bodo Road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Itakpe-Ajaokuta Rail Project were cut by an aggregate of 11.5 billion Naira.

b. Similarly, provisions for some ongoing critical infrastructure projects in the FCT, Abuja especially major arterial roads and the mass transit rail project, were cut by a total of 7.5 billion Naira.

c. The provision for Rehabilitation and Additional Security Measures for the United Nations Building by the FCT, Abuja was cut by 3.9 billion Naira from 4 billion Naira to 100 million Naira; this will make it impossible for the Federal Government of Nigeria to fulfill its commitment to the United Nations on this project.

d. The provisions for various Strategic Interventions in the health sector such as the upgrade of some tertiary health institutions, transport and storage of vaccines through the cold chain supply system, provision of anti-retroviral drugs for persons on treatment, establishment of chemotherapy centres and procurement of dialysis consumables were cut by an aggregate amount of 7.45 billion Naira.

e. The provision for security infrastructure in the 104 Unity Schools across the country were cut by 3 billion Naira at a time when securing our students against acts of terrorism ought to be a major concern of government.

f. The provision for the Federal Government’s National Housing Programme was cut by 8.7 billion Naira.

g. At a time when we are working with Labour to address compensation-related issues, a total of 5 billion Naira was cut from the provisions for Pension Redemption Fund and Public Service Wage Adjustment.

h. The provisions for Export Expansion Grant (EEG) and Special Economic Zones/Industrial Parks, which are key industrialization initiatives of this Administration, were cut by a total of 14.5 billion Naira.

i. The provision for Construction of the Terminal Building at Enugu Airport was cut from 2 billion Naira to 500 million Naira which will further delay the completion of this critical project.

j. The Take-off Grant for the Maritime University in Delta State, a key strategic initiative of the Federal Government, was cut from 5 billion Naira to 3.4 billion Naira.

k. About seventy (70) new road projects have been inserted into the budget of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing. In doing so, the National Assembly applied some of the additional funds expected from the upward review of the oil price benchmark to the Ministry’s vote. Regrettably, however, in order to make provision for some of the new roads, the amounts allocated to some strategic major roads have been cut by the National Assembly.

13. Another area of concern is the increase by the National Assembly of the provisions for Statutory Transfers by an aggregate of 73.96 billion Naira. Most of these increases are for recurrent expenditure at a time we are trying to keep down the cost of governance.

14. An example of this increase is the budget of the National Assembly itself which has increased by 14.5 billion Naira, from 125 billion Naira to 139.5 billion Naira without any discussion with the Executive.

15. Notwithstanding the above stated observations, I have decided to sign the 2018 Budget in order not to further slowdown the pace of recovery of our economy, which has doubtlessly been affected by the delay in passing the budget.

16. However, it is my intention to seek to remedy some of the most critical of these issues through a supplementary and/or amendment budget which I hope the National Assembly will be able to expeditiously consider.

17. I am pleased with the success recorded in the implementation of the 2017 Budget. A total sum of 1.5 trillion Naira has been released for the implementation of capital projects during the 2017 fiscal year. In response to this and other policy measures implemented, we have observed significant improvement in the performance of the Nigerian economy.

18. To achieve the laudable objectives of the 2018 Budget, we will work very hard to generate the revenues required to finance our projects and programmes. The positive global oil market outlook, as well as continuing improvement in non-oil revenues, make us optimistic about our ability to finance the budget.

19. However, being a deficit budget, the Borrowing Plan will be forwarded to the National Assembly shortly. I crave the indulgence of the National Assembly for a speedy consideration and approval of the Plan

20. The 2018 Budget I have just signed into law provides for aggregate expenditures of 9.12 trillion Naira, which is 22.6% higher than the 2017 Appropriation. Further details of the approved budget will be provided by the Minister of Budget and National Planning.

21. I thank the Ministers of Budget and National Planning, the Budget Office of the Federation, and everyone who worked tirelessly and sacrificed so much to bring us to this day. However, the job is only partly done.

22. I am sure you will remain committed to advancing our Change Agenda, not only in the preparation of the national budget but also in ensuring its effective implementation.

I thank you and may God bless Nigeria.”

Nigerian National Charged with Possessing Private Personal Information

Defendant part of operation targeting business email compromise schemes

A Nigerian national was charged in federal court in Boston in connection with unlawfully possessing the identifications of two victims.

Richard Emem Jackson, aka Auwire, 23, of Lagos, Nigeria, was charged in an indictment filed on May 17, and unsealed yesterday, with two counts of unlawful possession of a means of identification. Jackson has not yet been arrested and remains at-large.

According to the indictment, on two occasions in 2017, Jackson is alleged to have possessed the identifications of two victims with the intent to commit wire fraud conspiracy as part of a larger fraud scheme. 

Jackson faces a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Harman Burkart, Chief of Lelling’s Cybercrimes Unit, is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

source: FBI

June 12 NOW A RED CARPET DAY FOR TRUE DEMOCRATS, says FAAN-NUP CHAIRMAN, COMRADE RASAKI OPE

President Mohammad Buhari's decision to declare June 12 as Democracy Day and the posthumous award of Grand Commander of Federal Republic(GCFR) given to Chief M.K.O Abiola have been described as a welcome development.

The description was made by the Chairman of the pensioners of the FAAN branch of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Comrade Rasaki Open while reacting to the latest action of the President, which he said would further endeared him to Nigerians who believed in true democracy.

Comrade Ope said Buhari did not only honour Chief Abiola, but also honouring all Nigerians that voted on that historic day of June 12, 1993 during which some people lost their lives while others have not been seen till today.

He added:" After President Buhari's pronouncement, the souls of those that died for the cause of June 12,1993 will now rest in peace. You will now begin to feel a new spiritual development in Nigeria which will also positively affect the economy as a whole."

Comrade Open further noted that the invitation to today's award ceremony by the president in Aso Rock of notable figures in the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), the platform on which Chief Abiola presumably won the election would also feel a sense of belonging as children.

He said with this development people from other countries of the world who hitherto see Nigerians as un-Godly bunch, would now begin to have a change of heart and Nigerians prayed to God and the Almighty has answered the prayer.

He therefore appealed to all devoid of religious and ethnic affinity to with this development embrace peace for the growth of the country and unborn children.

For those that were grumbling over the president's surprised gift to Nigerians, Comrade Ope said  many of them are self centered who cared less whether or not the country disintegrate.

Whoever failed to embrace the democratic dispensation of the Buhari's administration, according to him was tantamount to-" A Christian who says he is not going to embrace and honour Jesus Christ or a Muslim, who says he is not going to revere and praise Mohammed (pbh)".

He explained further that whoever was against President Buhari's on this decision was not a true democrat, adding that Chief Abiola died while fighting for the entrenchments of democratic principle and previous presidents refused to acknowledge his contributions but are now enjoying the fruits of democracy the man died for and they were grumbling.

Comrade Ope said:" I don't need to mention names, but we all them. Nobody is a fool any longer. It is a pity that a Senator said late Abiola is not a Nigerian and should not be honoured since is dead. This is the type of corruption of the mind and body we are talking about. People must be bold enough to tell that Senator to resign his seat in the Senate."

" I want to ask that Senator the following-When Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe was honoured, was he alive? When a former Vice President was honoured, was he alive? When Chief Obafemi Awolowo was honoured, was the late statesman alive? Not to even talk of Chief S.L. Akintola."

He noted that those against honour bestowed on Chief Abiola and others were people who did not take care of their States or Constituencies.

He concluded, ": To me, I sincerely appreciate the President for the bold decisions he has taken by bringing smiles to faces of people who lost their loved one during and after June 12, 1993 crisis. June 12, is now a Red Carpet day for democracy, no matter what political party you belong"

M.K.O.ABIOLA's CHILDREN COMMENDS PRESIDENT BUHARI FOR HONOURING THEIR FATHER & DECLARING JUNE 12 AS DEMOCRACY DAY.

Mrs Hafsat Abiola-Costello, daughter of the late MKO Abiola has hailed the declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day by the Federal Government.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Muhammadu Buhari made the declaration in a statement he personally signed on Wednesday.
He said the government shared the view of Nigerians that June 12 was more symbolic than May 29 or even Oct.1 as Democracy Day .
“June 12 ,1993 was the day when Nigerians in millions expressed their democratic will in what was indisputably the freest, fairest election since our independence.
“The fact that the outcome of that election was not upheld does not distract from the democratic credentials of the process”, he had said.
The president also announced the decision of government to give a posthumous national award of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) to Abiola, the presumed winner of the election.
Buhari also said Abiola’s running mate, Amb.Baba Gana Kingibe and late late Gani Fawehinmi, a leading fighter in the June 12 struggle would be awarded the GCON national honour.
Abiola-Costello,in a statement on Thursday in Lagos said the declaration had ended the family’s long wait for government to recognise their father.
She described the declaration as a succour and a triumph of justice after 20 years of waiting.
Abiola thanked Buhari for recognising their father at last ,praying for “more days of triumph of justice over injustice”
“There are no words that can capture the depth of my gratitude nor the breadth of my joy.
“I thank God that I am alive to witness many more days when justice triumphs over injustice, when arrogance and fraud and when the blood of our heroes reach from across the time to boldly claim the reward that their actions wrought.
“May the sacrifices of our past heroes and heroines never be in vain”, she said.

Another Abiola daughter, Wura Abiola also thanked the president for the honour done their father.
In her verified Twitter handle@wura_abiola, she said she was extremely glad that her father had been honoured after 20 years.
“Dearest Daddy, Bashorun Kashimawo# Abiola GCFR, wonderful to be able to write this 20 years after. Thank you#President Buhari”, she tweeted.
Also, the leader of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo told NAN that the declaration though belated was a welcome development.
He however urged the government yields calls for the restructuring of the country as that was what June 12 stood for.
“Although belated, it is a welcome development, but we believe that the June 12 struggle stands for restructuring of the country and that is what we want the government to do”, he said.
A former Minister of Information, Chief Tony Momoh also told NAN that the declaration was “a good development and good for democracy.”
Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu said the declaration was a victory for democracy.
He also said he was delighted at the government’s decision to honour Fawehinmi, saying that, “Gani Fawehinmi lived for Nigeria.
“He tirelessly fought for human rights and respect for rule of law, Gani was a true hero who should be celebrated.”, Ribadu said.
Also speaking to NAN, Lagos Chairman of Alliance for Democracy, Mr Kola Ajayi said: “We welcome the declaration even though we think the president should have done it at inauguration; it is a good development and good for democracy.”