Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Prof. Pat Utomi has refuted claims by certain news media that himself and  other candidates had withdrawn and were calling for a pullout from the presidential election.
Utomi in a statement by his campaign organisation said that he is still in the race, his campaign  continues, and he remains and that he was convinced that he is the best material for the  presidency as well as remaining the peoples' choice.

KATAKATA don start for Nigeria

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=75805

there is so much confusion going on in this country! what da hell is happening! just have this feeling something real bad is going to happen,

maybe his opponents are using the tactics to get him out of the race. I wish we have credible journalist in Nigeria

indeed, it would be interesting to investigate into the ownership of the media houses in nigeria. I wont be surprised if they are owned by these so called "politicians''.

I'm Still in the Race, Utomi Insists

This Day (Lagos)
NEWS
April 18, 2007
Posted to the web April 18, 2007
Lagos

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Prof. Pat Utomi has refuted claims by certain news media that himself and other candidates had withdrawn and were calling for a pullout from the presidential election.
Utomi in a statement by his campaign organisation said that he is still in the race, his campaign continues, and he remains and that he was convinced that he is the best material for the presidency as well as remaining the peoples' choice.
He stated that on the contrary, the group resolve is getting stronger, the status quo remains, and the group is developing its resolution-document which calls on the Nigerian people and the international community to reject the elections so far and see it as a big fraud pre-decided and manipulated accordingly by the PDP.
With due respect to the various international observers, Utomi stressed that they have been hoodwinked by the riggers to interpret the peaceful conduct of the Nigerian people at the polls as freeness and fairness of the voting exercise. Utomi in his capacity as the chairman of the Granite Coalition political parties group hereby calls for an abortion and postponement of the remaining election process in view of the various levels of irregularities, malpractices, and fraud by security agents and INEC officials in last Saturday's elections.
Prof. Utomi hereby also called on Nigerians and all people of goodwill to see the numerous, spontaneous, certainly unrelated, and diverse unrests following the Saturday elections results announcement as the attestation to the rejection of the process by Nigerians.
Meanwhile, Pat Utomi, will from today, wind down his campaign activity with a symbolic interactive assembly where he addresses a gathering of various South-south and South-east peoples' unions, communities, political associations, youth movements, and pressure groups is scheduled for the FCT Abuja.
The Abuja session which ends Prof. Pat Utomi's 'Oil from Curse to Blessing' nationwide tour , had formally commenced at Oloibiri, Bayelsa state and was scheduled to end with a grand rally at Oloibiri. The venue change is due to recent political developments among which is Utomi's adoption as the chairman of the ongoing political parties'
'Granite Coalition' session by members which include the Action Congress (AC) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) among others, in Abuja. Following Abuja, Utomi will on Wednesday visit major marketplaces in Lagos state to interact with executives and traders of the populous Balogun, ASPAMDA Mushin, and Ladipo markets. Finally in Lagos on Thursday, Prof. Utomi who yesterday released the ADC Ideology Manifesto and Policy Plank titled 'Liberation of the People from Poverty; Proclaiming Prosperity and Progress' for public distribution, will address the executives and members of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN).

I have been saying it from day 1. Naija is very unprepared for this election. Everything is last minute with an election in 4 days and no one is sure of who's running or not.
Let's just wait till Saturday. The number of people killed during the elections of the governor will be tiny compared to this one.
May God give us a peaceful transition in Jesus' name.

It's so good hearing that Pat Utomi is still In the race. He’s one of the best candidates in the federation. the only problem is that he’s still a young man like Chris Okotie.
If I were he, I’ll go for the post of a governor in my state. When I’ve made a name for myself, then I’ll focus on the presidency.
For now, Pat Utomi can’t go anywhere.

NIGERIA is not ready for a honest president yet. They will do every thing in their power to make sure he does not win.

so how many candidates from ADC won the guber/ house of rep election

d guy had prepared to fail,because his party failed woefully in d last guber election,he should go to his state and test his popularity either by contestin 4 d senate seat or guvnor,am not sure an average 9jerian know who pat utomi his,am very sure d guy dont av a poster in a remote in any 9ja state,here in abuja where i reside av not seen his poster.

Dis Guy:

so how many candidates from ADC won the guber/ house of rep election

Excellent question begging for answers and I am sure Utomi will not like to provide such answers.

Utomi lacks what it takes to win a presidential election.

Did someone state he is honest? Who determines how honest one is, by what standards?

Being young is not a disadvantage afterall Yar'dua and Jonathan are not old men.

Infact Orji Uzo Kalu has a better case as far as presidency is concerned because he delivered his state to his own party which means he has a base unlike Utomi.

Uzor Kalu?

The only thing that dude konws how to do is Insult OBJ and loot Local funds

Kalu and his defence team made no attempt to address the allegation of repeated large cash withdrawals from Abia State account of the LGAs by his Chief of Staff, Theodore Orji, totaling N11 billion over a period without any justifiable reason and which was also traced to Gov. Kalu's company account by the EFCC. This has neither been refuted by Kalu nor his defence team comprising his Information Commissioner Anthony Agbazuere and another of his cabinet member, Mr. Moses Agoh.It is pertinent to note that this colossal sum of money was found to have been withdrawn across the counter in GT Bank and the just rested Hallmark Bank with N5.6 billion in ca[/b]sh and [b]N5.8 billion in cheques at different times. We are demanding that these banks be bold enough to explain since the governor has found it expedient to pull the wools on the people's eye hiding behind politics. It would help their corporate image.

Again, the defence team failed to explain the allegation that the governor is plundering the state treasury using his Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr. Chuka Odum, to launder over N350 million through Kalu's company WALLHOUSE West Africa Ltd for transfers abroad, not withstanding its alien status.In the same vein, the defence team could not exhibit rare patriotism to address the allegation that the governor is involved in an unprecedented and massive looting of N19 billion using his company, ZEROCK Construction Company Limited as front, to systematically plunder the account of the LGAs and the state statutory allocations in the guise of executing non-verifiable contracts.

Extract from EFCC Archives: http://www.efccnigeria.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=930&Itemid=68

Uzor Kalu is not credible, and to mention Kalu and Utomi in the same sentence is erroneous!

Did someone state he is honest? Who determines how honest one is, by what standards?

And what exactly determines who isn't honest and by what standards?

People aren't supporting Patrick Utomi, becuase he is young, we want him to be president becuase he has the knowledge, to power Nigeria economically. Nigeria needs growth and development. Poverty needs to be alleviated, Jobs need to be created. 95% of nigerian leaders have failed the country, Nigeria needs change and Pat Utomi is change, he is trustworthy and he has charisma (Well at least amongst youths).

Utomi lacks what it takes to win a presidential election.

The only reason he lacks what it takes to win is because people lack the itelligence to know what is good for them, and the elections won't be fair.

People want change but they keep voting for the same DAMN people. What good did Atiku do, when he was VP, what did Buhari do when he first came to power, what did Yar'Adua do for Katsina state, except for implementing the Outrageuos, dubious and controversial Sharia Law.

Utomi has a clean record, so he should be elected, he envisions and that is something that every good leader needs.

Utomi for president (Why da F**K Not)

dblock:

Uzor Kalu?

The only thing that dude konws how to do is Insult OBJ and loot Local funds

Extract from EFCC Archives: http://www.efccnigeria.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=930&Itemid=68

Uzor Kalu is not credible, and to mention Kalu and Utomi in the same sentence is erroneous!

They are both vying for the same office and one has shown he has a base while the other is still floating.

dblock:

And what exactly determines who isn't honest and by what standards?

People aren't supporting Patrick Utomi, becuase he is young, we want him to be president becuase he has the knowledge, to power Nigeria economically. Nigeria needs growth and development. Poverty needs to be alleviated, Jobs need to be created. 95% of nigerian leaders have failed the country, Nigeria needs change and Pat Utomi is change, he is trustworthy and he has charisma (Well at least amongst youths).

VON went down under the watch of Utomi so I wonder why he didn't apply the economic skills at Volkswagen.

dblock:

The only reason he lacks what it takes to win is because people lack the itelligence to know what is good for them, and the elections won't be fair.

People want change but they keep voting for the same DAMN people. What good did Atiku do, when he was VP, what did Buhari do when he first came to power, what did Yar'Adua do for Katsina state, except for implementing the Outrageuos, dubious and controversial Sharia Law.

Utomi has a clean record, so he should be elected, he envisions and that is something that every good leader needs.

Utomi for president (Why da F**K Not)

Exactly, if the people lack the intelligence to understand him then he should change nationality and seek the presidency of a country where the people possess the intelligence required to understand him.

Why would an intelligent man want to be the president of unintelligent people?

I'm going to make a stupid remark, but I think it's worth saying(Typing, rather)

Nigeria has a poor literacy rate, high unemployment and a deteriorating educational system. These are all products and results of bad leadership and misappropriation of much needed funds. Nigeria has one of the highest Hypertension rates in the world (My Dad wrote a book on it along with one of Nigeria's most Decorated proffesors). To sum things up, There is stress, uneducation, confusion and much more, what we have is people that follow the old wyas becuase of the lack of strenght to pursue new paths and opportunities, there is uncertainy. People are being led astray.

What we now have is the Zombie Factor. People vote for people from the same tribes, same Parties. Buhari comes along and people are more than happy to support him. I bet if Abacha came back from the grave people will support him and vote for him.

Nigeria cannot change in an election, nothing will change, we'll have the same problems in 5 years. Nigeria's Break through will come after a gradual decrease in "Zombies" due to potential dissolvings of Parties or ideologies etc. It will be a gradual process and until Society can be corrected a credible Envisionist like Patrick Utomi will have no chance at Aso Rock.

The Other option for Pat is to extend his rep, The "Mimic the Zombie" factor. He could try and blend in and become an hosehold name. Not changhing his motives, but becoming more marketable and Satiable as a leader.

But I will continue to support Utomi, he won't win but he should get the support that he deserves. Nigeria has a lot of zombies but we are not all zombies thankfully

I see someone who thinks he understands what he does not understand.

Thanks for the lecture anyway.

Since you are not a zombie, when are you coming back to Nigeria to vote for Utomi or will they allow you to vote in Australia.

I see someone who thinks he understands what he does not understand.

What else explains Nigeria's political situation. There are corrupt Agbayas everywhere ruining the country, a decent credible candidate comes along but people spit at him. What's the sense, what's the logic, Is this a dream, it's too stupid too be true?

Not anytime soon, but I do wish my fellow Nigerians would

What makes Utomi decent and credible?

He was given an opportunity to head a large organisation and the organisation went under while he was there, so what criteria are you using to rate him high?

Big grammar or what?

Yar'adua on the other hand has performed well in government, no single charge of corruption, even his political opponents cannot accuse him of anything including Buhari that comes from the same state with him.

Infact, for the simple reason that Utomi is contesting in a multi ethnic and tribal nation like Nigeria without realising the need for power shift back to the north after 8yrs, it shows he does not even understand the country or he is filled with selfish motives.

Afam:

Yar'adua on the other hand has performed well in government, no single charge of corruption, even his political opponents cannot accuse him of anything including Buhari that comes from the same state with him.

Haba, Afam I have been nodding my head in agreement with your comments for so long, but I had to apply my brakes here. What was Yar'adua doing before he became governor? Even though he is honest like everyone agrees, but we need to know that running a multi-ethnic, diverse nation like Nigeria, is a lot more complex than running a relatively homogenous state like Katsina. Will he perform creditably as a president? Dunno. Remember Shagari was said to be honest, but he allowed his lieutenants to run Nigeria aground. He was the emperor that fiddled while Rome or shall we say, Naija burned.

Afam:

Infact, for the simple reason that Utomi is contesting in a multi ethnic and tribal nation like Nigeria without realising the need for power shift back to the north after 8yrs, it shows he does not even understand the country or he is filled with selfish motives.

Again, I beg to disagree. The presidency of Nigeria is not the birth-right of any single group. Can someone tell me, what makes one section of the country more eligible to contest for the presidency, than another? Every eligible Nigerian who has the courage & answers to the problems of this land, should be allowed to take a shot at the presidency, irrespective of his ethnic background. That is my view. This 'noise' called power shift, has the ability to set us back a hundred years. If I had my way in this world, I'd 'shift' that power to the South-east or the Niger-Delta, if it were possible. But then, the world is not my book. So let me keep on dreaming.

wow~laureate na you be dis here?

Utomi is the best man for Nigeria~assuming all things were equal.But,alas if wishes were horses

Pat itomi has good intentions for nigeria but i dont think he is right or ripe for the job.It takes time to build a leader.

Yeah, he has good intentions. He should have started out in the national assembly or at the state level.

Nevertheless, since Yar adua is guaranteed to win tommorow's elections, why not drop a protest vote for Utomi?

Its a shame our votes don't seem to matter.I don't really know what the fuss is about Utomi.How is he different from the present bunch of politicians?

Good intentions. He's not going there to steal, but to make a name for himself as a good president.

like everyone else!