“If Nigerians allowed me remove subsidy, $20billion won’t be missing” – Jonathan

During the presidential media chat on Monday, President Goodluck Jonathan insisted that if Nigerians had allowed him to remove oil subsidy, all the stories of missing money in the NNPC wouldn’t have come up.

Nigerians took to the streets in January 2012, to protest government decision to end billions of dollars in fuel subsidies that saw the price of fuel double overnight. A compromise was later reached between the striking parties and the government.
“I was involved in kerosene subsidy as Vice President to Yar’Adua. Kerosene subsidy was never removed,” he said.
“If I had been allowed to remove oil subsidy all the stories of money missing won’t be coming up.”
On Sanusi’s whistle-blowing, Jonathan said: “Sanusi said its $49billion, then $1 2billion and now $20billion, I don’t know which to believe, we must look into it, even if its $1.”

Military closes state border with Cameroon

The military says it has closed a long stretch of its northeastern border with Cameroon to stop extremists using Nigeria as a haven and launch pad for attacks.

Brig. Gen. Rogers Nicholas of the 23rd Armored Brigade told reporters Saturday he was exercising emergency powers because it is “imperative” to seal the border between Cameroon and Adamawa state against illegal crossings.

He said customs and immigration officials are working with soldiers and police “to ensure that nothing crosses into Nigeria.”

Large stretches of that porous border are generally left unpatrolled.

The border between Borno state and Cameroon, which Nigerian troops and a jet bomber crossed last month in pursuit of extremists, apparently remains open.

The move will affect hundreds of traders who routinely cross the bo