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President Zuma swims in more crises

Published

7 years ago

February 6, 2018

Interestingly, President Jacob Zuma is facing more trouble day by day as he along with two former French leaders, has been implicated by a former arms dealer in hush payments made pertaining to South Africa’s weapons acquisition programme.

The arms dealer also mentioned other senior South African politicians – in the alleged corrupt dealings, according to News24.

Lawyer Ajay Sooklal, a former agent for French arms conglomerate Thales and its South African subsidiaries, on Monday testified at the People’s Tribunal on Economic Crime at Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg.

Some of Sooklal’s insights into Thales’ involvement in the arms deal have surfaced before, but the former arms agent and lawyer added further explosive claims with regards to the highly contentious series of weapons contracts the South African government entered into with European arms suppliers in the 1990s.

Thales in 1997 won a R2.6bn stake in South Africa’s R60bn arms acquisition program to supply combat systems for four frigates procured by the navy.

Sooklal, who had been referred to as “Witness X” before his testimony, later decided to withdraw as a witness.

This was followed by a series of probing questions by retired constitutional court judge Zak Yacoob into Sooklal’s own involvement in Thales’ financial dealings with Zuma, his former financial advisor, Schabir Shaik, and other individuals who’d allegedly been bribed by the French arms supplier.

Before his exit from the proceedings, Sooklal, among other claims, stated the following:

* Thales committed to a R500 000 a year “payment” to then deputy president Jacob Zuma to secure the deputy president’s protection in any South African probes into Thales’ conduct in the arms deal. The alleged payments were also intended to secure Zuma’s support of the company’s future dealings with the South African government.

* Zuma did receive payments and other benefits, including air tickets and tickets to the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, from Thales, between 2005 and 2009. Sooklal, however, did not confirm whether the R500 000 a year payment materialised.

* Shamin “Chippy” Shaik, the brother of Schabir Shaik and the former head of South Africa’s arms procurement process, received a cash payment of US$1m from Thales.

* The very top executives of Thales, which was earlier known as Thompson-CSF, and its South African subsidiaries, were all directly aware of or actively sanctioned the dubious payments made around the arms deal contract.

* Two successive French presidents directly placed pressure on former president Thabo Mbeki and later on Zuma to ensure that any South African probes into the arms deal would not focus on Thales. In 2004, former president Jacques Chirac allegedly tried to influence Mbeki and other senior government officials to help ensure that Thales wouldn’t come under the magnifying glass in arms deal investigations in South Africa. In 2008, after Zuma had become ANC president, Chirac’s successor, Nicolas Sarkozy, allegedly met with Zuma in Paris. Sarkozy allegedly asked Zuma to help make the investigations into Thint, Thales’ South African subsidiary, “disappear”, Sooklal testified.

* Zuma invited Sooklal to a meeting at the president’s official residence in Pretoria in August 2012. Zuma allegedly told Sooklal that he had just appointed the Seriti commission of inquiry into the arms deal. He then allegedly implored Sooklal to refrain from testifying about Zuma’s payments from Thales or Thint at the commission of inquiry.

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You’re a liar, apologise to seyi Tinubu within the next 24 hours or you will be arrested

Published

19 hours ago

May 3, 2025

Sahara Weekly

By Collins Nkwocha

The prophet to the president of the federal Republic of Nigeria, the prophetic hall of fame and Ambassador of peace, Prophet Godwin Ikuru of Jehovah Eye Salvation Ministry has outrightly criticised the factional leader of NANS Atiku Abubakar Isah for the allegations he labelled against the son of the president,Seyi Tinubu,he recapitulated that it’s malicious, politically engineered to denigrate the image of the Tinubu family.

Speaking to newsmen today in Lagos, prophet Ikuru maintained that Isah’s accusation is a guesswork without any backing “I know Seyi Tinubu very well, Seyi knows me too, he’s a well behaved person,Seyi Tinubu is not someone of questionable character and I know that everything Isah is saying is politically motivated with the aim of denigrating and denting the image of the Tinubu’s family,the Tinubu’s family is my family because the mother to Mr.president ,mama Mogaji fed me on so many occasions when I was coming up as a man,i will not sit back and watch anyone rubbish that family”

The prophet of the nation demanded an immediate apology from Isah for the false allegations “I want to state it categorically that he must apologise to seyi Tinubu or I will order his immediate arrest, and his plan will never work against Tinubu,Baba is retaining his seat in 2027”

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Stop the killing, Tinubu will make Nigeria great,Hon.Ashara drops Easter message

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2025

Sahara Weekly

The Vice Chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area,Hon.Ashara Maureen chika has beckoned on Nigerians to stop the rampant killings that’s ravaging the country at the moment and embrace love in the quest to stimulate and foster national unity and togetherness as Christians celebrate Easter.

Speaking to newsmen today in Lagos, the beautiful politician enunciated the need for Christians to promote peace and love, using it as tool to bring the nation together ” Christianity promotes peace and love, it’s not a religion that promotes cruelty,viciousness and wickedness, Christians are known for their endurance and perseverance, Easter, being the period of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ,is a period of reconciliation and we should channel it in a way that it’s going to have a salutary effect on the Nigerian nation and stimulate unity, let’s stop the killing that is going on the country because it’s not healthy for any nation”.

She also beckoned on Nigerians to be patient with the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu because he’s capable and will make Nigerians to smile very soon “the process of building is always tough, rough, hectic and cumbersome, Nigeria was decaying before the president assumed office,all the policies he’s implementing will ultimately be to the boon of Nigerians,all will need is little patience and everyone will smile;I want to wish all the Christians in Nigeria and all over the world a happy Easter celebration and appeal to Nigerians to be patient with the government of Asiwaju because he’s on a mission to salvage the image of the country and revamp the entire nation”.

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It

Published

2 weeks ago

April 18, 2025

Sahara Weekly

Harmony Gardens, FG Launch Renewed Hope Estate for Nigerians Abroad

Top Lagos-based real estate powerhouse, Harmony Gardens & Estate Development Ltd, is once again making waves, this time through a landmark partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria to deliver 1,000 modern duplexes at Lekki Aviation Town, directly opposite the proposed Lekki International Airport.

The project, part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, is targeted at middle-income Nigerians in the diaspora seeking to invest in sustainable, high-quality housing back home. It is being financed by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and reflects the government’s commitment to easing access to homeownership.

President Tinubu is set to perform the official groundbreaking on May 29, 2025, signaling not just political will but also strategic action toward diaspora inclusion and infrastructure expansion.

Speaking on the initiative, Harmony Gardens Chairman, Mogaji Wole Arisekola, confirmed a whopping ₦106 billion investment into the FGN Harmony Partnership. The company’s innovative Executive Managing Director, Hon. (Dr.) Abdullahi Saheed Mosadoluwa, widely known as The Lagos Landlord is rolling out a game-changing Ibile Traditional Mortgage Scheme. The plan offers Nigerians at home and abroad the ability to rent-to-own homes on a single-digit annual interest rate for up to 20 years.

The Renewed Hope Estate will boast modern infrastructure, green areas, high-grade finishes, security systems, and effective drainage, setting a new standard for residential developments in Lagos. It will also provide over 5,000 direct and indirect jobs, boosting the construction and logistics sectors significantly.

Harmony Gardens has continued to solidify its reputation as a premium developer, currently overseeing seven prestigious estates, including GranVille Estate, The Parliament, Majestic Bay, Harmony Casa, and the flagship Lekki Aviation Town, collectively known as the Seven Citadel of Joy.

As the federal government collaborates with developers and international consultants to ensure timely delivery and top-tier quality, Harmony Gardens is once again demonstrating why it remains a pillar of excellence in Nigeria’s real estate industry.