₦airaland Forum

Is it true that Ekiti voters did not sack Governor Fayemi for non-performance?

Governor Fayemi did not perform, that is the truth. I stand to be corrected, but he did not perform. Let me ask him one question: Governor Fayemi should tell Ekiti and the public one road project initiated and completed by his administration-from bush clearing, earth removal, sand filling, compacting, surface dressing, drainage works, culvert, asphalt overlay, none. I stand to be corrected. Governor Fayemi only laid asphalt on all the roads that I did. The people of Ekiti State till today have not got a replacement for me. They were not part of the events that took me out of office. Historically, they still remain with Ayo Fayose in their hearts. Let me go to another sector: in education, when I left government, Ekiti was number 35 out of 36 states in the country when I took over from Governor Adebayo, I brought education with credit in five subjects in the external examination as a yardstick, I brought Ekiti in 2004 to 18th position. In 2005, I brought it to 13th, in 2006, it came to the 8th position. Today, we are back in number 34 under Governor Fayemi. So, tell me the performance, the hype in the media, is that performance? I stand to be corrected again, Governor Fayemi should point at one project started by his administration and completed; none. The governor’s lodge that he is building in Ayaba hill, is Ekiti the Federal Government that he is building Aso Rock? Of what economic value are those projects to the average man on the street? The pavilion was commissioned uncompleted. I don’t like to take on Governor Fayemi, but we have to treat these issues. These projects, of what economic benefits are they and at what cost? Again, let me say this, when I was governor, I did not borrow a dime to run my administration and I still left N10.4bn in the coffers of the state government at my departure. It is not about your professorship or doctorate degrees, or your being a SAN. They love me. It is not about education. It is about native intelligence and your ability to humble yourself and live with the people. Most of the people that are local politicians, I know their names, I know their houses, I know their farms. I know what they need. I helped them. I have their phone numbers. I announced my phone numbers on the radio, they call me, I picked calls, how many of the opposition politicians can put their numbers in the public domain for people to call them? How many of them can spend two days in their local government areas? I have gone to look for ward leaders sometimes during party primaries, they would be in their farms and I would meet them in their farms and still help some of them to make heaps. Sometimes, it is not about money. There is no ward in Ekiti that I don’t know people by names, at least 10 people per ward. If I don’t know your name, I have an idea of who you are. You know most politicians give their T-shirts free to supporters, I sold mine. My T-shirt is N300 because I am like the football star. My T-shirt is not free. When others give supporters their T-shirt, they leave it and buy my own. If you don’t buy my T-shirt, you would look like a leper. My hand band which has the inscription of my name is N100, my baseball cap is N200. I am as golden as that. There is a membership of the PDP that is general, but the membership of Ayo Fayose group costs N500. I have at least over 90,000 registered members; they beg to register. With all due respect to my supporters, I love them. I go to the remotest part of Ekiti, wherever you are. If you are having a naming ceremony, you will find me there. It doesn’t matter how poor you are. If I cannot give you a cow, I give you a ram. If you are drinking Agbo jedi (herbal concoction), I would join you. Women selling boli (roasted plantain) know me and I know them and I phone them from time to time. This is not a question of money. How many of our governors can go to roadside eateries and eat there? They said I am a jankara governor and I have used this to beat them. Every Sunday, I go to eat ‘iyan kolobe’ (pounded yam without soup) and I’d be there for one hour, but during the election period, my opponents started doing the same thing. They started buying maggi that costs N1000 for N5000, so the people knew that they wanted their votes.

How do you react to the belief that President Jonathan wants to ride on your victory to penetrate the South-West in a desperate attempt to win the 2015 election?

There is nothing like desperation. What you don’t have, you have to work to have it. My election is now a reference point in Nigeria that big names don’t win election. Your coat and babaringa don’t win elections. Go and cultivate the people. They are in shock because just for one day, we changed the tide. The tides are changing, the only thing that is constant is change and like I told you, in another two, three elections, it would be difficult to rig. Before, there was this belief that anybody could go to government and take money, but you can’t do it again because things are changing. These leaders should change with realities. Even in the PDP, in the South-West, no leader will disparage the party. We would suspend you. It doesn’t matter whether you are a former president or former governor, if you disparage the party again, we will take you out. I am telling you expressly. By no small means, posterity has put me in this position, if anybody wants to join the APC, let him go there. If former President Olusegun Obasanjo wants to join the APC, let him go to APC. Segun Oni has gone, we don’t beg for membership. We want loyal members of our party. Obasanjo should stop making uncomplimentary statements about the party, if he continues, we will suspend him; nobody is bigger than this party. When I fought the PDP, I wrote a letter of resignation and I left. You cannot be in a glass house and throw stones; so whosoever, no matter how big you are, you must be careful. You see, they said Segun Oni left, did he win his polling booth? Segun Oni was imposed, his allegiance was to the people that imposed him. We are not bothered about that, but some people have names, they have no ground supporters. Those who hired people like Segun Oni and gave him deputy chairman, South-West, they have hired what Yoruba call korofo, empty carton.

After you won the election, the EFCC said you still have a case to answer. What’s your reaction?

EFCC did not say that. There is an ongoing case with the EFCC. It is an ongoing case since 2007 and so there is no issue. I am not the only one going through it and I remain an innocent man until otherwise proven. So with all the EFCC case and the blackmail, I still won an election. They should borrow a leaf from there; there is something fundamental about me. They would all be living in this country when I would be at the top. They will be criticising me as I go to the top; that is their way. I am still going higher.

You mean you want to contest for the Presidency?

Well, maybe one day, after Jonathan. I will give Jonathan unalloyed loyalty and support. After Jonathan, if anybody wants to use me for anything higher, I will be glad to do it; it’s service.

What gives you the assurance that PDP’s victory in Ekiti will be replicated in Osun?

The PDP will win everywhere. What do you want me to say? You want me to tell you the PDP would not win? We will win everywhere, it’s normal because we have bruised their ego. We have taken the meat away from them. We have shown the whole world practical demonstration, if you are not on the ground, you can’t win this election. The APC will time out after Osun election.

What is the basis of your conviction?

I just said it to you. In the papers, they put all the hype, they put Governor Fayemi’s photo, they showed rallies. I’m a realist. I am on the ground. I am in the PDP. But I have a lot of respect for Aregbesola, anybody who is a governor should be respected because it’s a respectable office, but that does not take away the fact that I am a PDP man and I will work in the overall interest of the party.

There are fears that you may dismantle Fayemi’s programmes and policies…

I will rather consolidate on his achievements. He has done his bit, he has tried his best; nobody can finish governance, so why would I dismantle his programmes? Even if there are mistakes by his administration, I will draw his attention to them, we will talk about them. I want former governors to be like the military. They still respect one another. Like I told you, there is no reason to fight anybody. No fight, what I am interested in is to do my own bit. Four years is a short time. I just want to do my own bit and go. Unborn children of Ekiti will still be governors after me, so why would I fight Fayemi? I will equally draw Governor Fayemi to myself, draw Adebayo, draw Oni. I have defeated the three of them put together, but that doesn’t matter. That is politics.

The APC has said it will contest your electoral victory in court. Are you worried?

Good luck to them. I will meet them there. Are they the owners of the court? They always think they can buy people.

What specific programmes do you have for Ekiti people?

I have done it before. I did something in the past that made them appreciate me and brought me back. I will do more than that. If I enumerate my agenda, we would be here forever. But in infrastructure, my priority is to tar all the untarred roads in the state capital within 18 months. I am going to construct a fly-over in two strategic places in Ado-Ekiti to ease traffic. There are lots of things I will do to enhance the welfare of my people. If I were Governor Fayemi, I would not have built that governor’s house. I will build roads and other infrastructure that can impact the life of the common man. Things that can add value to the lives of the people are more important than things that would add value to the governor.

Some people have argued that your own kind of development programme is about stomachstructure and not infrastructure, how do you react to this?

Are we saying that people should remain in hunger perpetually because we are providing infrastructure?

An hungry man is an angry man. For four years people did not feel the direct impact of government, is that governance? The truth of the matter is every contract in Ekiti was a payback time for some people. Well, the consequence of not doing stomachstructure is for them to go back home.

You once said that your wife predicted your return to government house. Is she a prophetess?

It is a gift. A lot of people have the gift of God. She is a woman after God’s heart, I keep saying that. People say I should not put her in public domain, I should not talk about her. The fact remains that the hand of God is with her and remains upon her. When my wife said Fayose would come back, Fayemi’s wife kicked, she said what did he forget in Government House? Now, they know and they know better.

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The Governor-elect of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, in this interview with NIYI ODEBODE and ADELANI ADEPEGBA, comments on the controversy over his victory and politics in the South-West

Many people were shocked by the result of the Ekiti governorship election. Were you also shocked?

No, we know the facts on ground. We live by realities, not propaganda. There are no Nigerian politicians, serious politicians, irrespective of their political parties, that do not know that Fayose is on the ground and that Fayose’s name is a household name in Ekiti. Despite the fact that I have left office for eight years, I remain with the people. I have fought several elections, for and in support of even the All Progressives Congress. I supported Kayode Fayemi in the rerun. I was the beautiful bride then. It is their way when the going is good with them; when you are fighting on their side, you are the best in the world. Then, you will not be a criminal; then you will not be 419er; then you have integrity, then you will be celebrated. When you are against them; when you humble them, they call you all sorts of names. They look for theories that do not go with reality.

How would you respond to Governor Fashola’s comment that Governor Fayemi accepted defeat because he did not want bloodshed in Ekiti?

I really don’t want to join issues with them, particularly, Governor Fashola because I like him so much. I like his person and I have a lot of respect for him. But Governor Fashola is talking from two sides of his mouth. They say Fayose is not educated, according to them, but he is educated. He is learned but Fashola is not a product of internal democracy. Governor Fashola is a product of imposition, of god-fatherism. I remember when Fashola and Asiwaju Tinubu had issues, there were trumped-up charges against him through the House of Assembly. I remember vividly that he had to go to the court to clip their wings, otherwise they would have messed him up. And even at that, they still kept a tab on him. How would you be a governor, not elected in a transparent primary, but selected by one leader and you would still be surprised if an election was won through due process? Fashola knows that when he accused Asiwaju of not allowing due process or internal process in the party, Bola Tinubu told him, ‘Have you forgotten that if I followed due process, you would not be governor?’ So he cannot appreciate due process politically. When they were nominating commissioners, he didn’t have one commissioner. He cannot equally say this is my deputy. You know I chose my deputy myself, against all the odds. They gave him a deputy governor, probably, the only person I think he owns now is his wife. I am sure Fashola has forgotten that he is a lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and that the constitution of Nigeria says a man is adjudged innocent until otherwise proved by a court of competent jurisdiction. I don’t want to say anything negative about him. I would have asked a special adviser or somebody working under me to reply him, but because he is a governor, I have to reply him myself. Let me remind him very quickly, I was governor before him. He was an ordinary chief of staff at that time. I am his senior politically. If at all he knows anything about politics, I am his senior. We know the intrigues more than him. It is true he is sitting on a prime state like Lagos under the watch of his godfather, but he should not run his mouth. It is unfortunate that a man at his level is talking like that. I am an institution like his godfather in Ekiti. When I started, I didn’t have a godfather. I didn’t have anybody like the Saraki of Ilorin who put Bukola Saraki there. They should learn to allow democracy to run. I want to tell them, if care is not taken, they would lose Lagos. The tide, the movement is against them. One thing with the APC is that they would lure you to defect, the moment you defect, they would go and put you on the reserve bench. That is why they don’t have support continuously. When you work for them, as soon as you are used, they dump you. You can imagine a governor who is supposed to pay salaries and he refused to pay for two, three months, and election is coming, he is now rushing, borrowing money. The civil servants are now telling him, thank God for Ekiti election, if not for Ekiti election, this man would not pay us. Who is fooling who? Look at the heavy tax burden in Lagos, in all their states. The Tsunami is going to consume them and I am telling you the truth, it is not personal. I am not boasting, I am an institution in Ekiti. What is the business of Fashola in Ekiti? The problem is that they have all put their resources in Ekiti election and they lost. The bookmakers failed.

Despite the fact that Fayemi conceded defeat, you described it as political gimmick. Why?

Governor Fayemi does not have a choice than to concede. It is only honourable for him and I will continue to respect him even when it’s obvious he had no choice but to concede, that is the truth. In my village, people say if everybody doesn’t know the truth, you that is affected by an incident knows the truth; a sick man knows he is having pain in his tummy. Governor Fayemi knows the situation is bad.

But some people have argued that your victory was achieved through inducement of voters with rice and money?

Unfortunately, they (APC members) are the ones sharing money. I complained about them sharing money, check the records. In 2011, they brought money to every polling booth. Those people that were arrested during elections were caught with money. Which party did they belong to? The issue here is that they all know it. They are the ones that engaged in money politics. They buy all the buy-ables. I have been out of office for eight years, where will I get that kind of money to buy votes? The issue remains that somebody that eats your food must be convinced before he can vote for you. Can a meal of rice induce somebody to vote for you? Fayemi gave cooked rice, I gave uncooked rice. This is politics and you need everything to entice voters and rice was shared by me, almost two weeks before election.

Did you have to do that?

Yes. Why was Governor Fayemi buying buses and inscribing Iyaloja, Igbo community on them close to the election period? Why was Governor Fayemi’s wife donating garri to the farmsteads? Why was he giving money to aged citizens and giving gifts including recharge cards to the people? Why did his wife do that? These are petty antics of politicians to draw voters and that does not change anything. A container of rice would not change the mind of anybody because the rice cannot last you till the election day. When you attend ward meetings, you give your people money because some of them may have come to meet you from various villages. You see, when you fail, you must accept and Fayemi lives in Ekiti and we are there together. Are they now holier than the Pope? Most of the hotels in Ekiti were booked by Governor Fayemi six months before the election and they gave rooms to all the policemen that came for the election. We knew what transpired. Fayemi has been honourable. Their fear is not about Ekiti anymore. They are saying all these because of Osun election. When something is consuming you, you will hold on to anything and all things. If you look at them very well, they were in shock for the first three days after the Ekiti election, they had to summon a NEC meeting to take a decision. They had to look for words, which they coined to describe what happened because they were caught by the reality of the international accreditation of that election which was adjudged free and fair. The court is the highway for them, but they will meet us there. Are they the owners of the court? They are not. They always think they know it all.

There is a belief that federal might played a role in your victory.

I don’t know what is called federal might. In those days, they used to snatch ballot boxes, you can’t do that again. There used to be multiple thumb printing, but the ballot papers are now customised to the polling booth and the ward. Even if you want to help somebody rig the election, it is not easy anymore. They should stop lying. Some of them said they militarised Ekiti and brought so many security personnel. The question is that the law is not made for the godly, but for the ungodly. The military personnel were not for those that wanted to vote peacefully, they were for those that wanted to create problems. Some of them came to Ekiti with voter’s cards that did not belong to them, stayed in various hotels and had charms on them, they were caught. Who were the people that were arrested in Anambra? Were they not APC members? The same APC members and it is their method to always want to change the story. Thank God, Fayemi was honourable enough. I remember Governor Adebayo did the same thing. Na today them dey lie? It is not today.

APC's political meltdown will be studied as a course, in Universities in years to come. "The dismantling of an opposition party"

By Donu Kogara
In the past few months, no day has gone by without grim news of yet another traumatic, enraging, despair-generating Boko Haram atrocity being announced by media houses and hogging the Nigerian and international headlines.
Bombings, kidnappings and brutal assaults on innocent people are now daily occurrences in the North East. Sometimes, these evil psychopaths extend their murder and mayhem to other zones, including Abuja, Kaduna and Lagos.
They describe themselves as brave Islamic warriors who abhor Western education and decadence. They would like the world to regard them as spiritual freedom fighters who have an unambiguous and “honourable” ideological agenda.
When Boko Haram first emerged, various well-meaning “liberals” (including me) concluded that it was largely populated by justifiably frustrated victims of socio-economic injustice…as in Northern youngsters who had been woefully neglected by the Federal Government and the Northern ruling elite.
But almost everyone has now seen through Boko Haramists and realised that they are nothing more than heartless hypocrites, barbaric nihilists and cheap criminals who use Islam as an excuse for inflicting destruction on ALL Nigerians.
They rely heavily on modern tools – guns, video cameras and mobile phones, for example – that are products of the Western education they say they despise.
They respect nobody and nothing and cold-bloodedly massacre devout fellow Muslims – including women and children – as well as “infidel” Christians.
They even kill leaders of the religion they claim to hold dear. A friend from Yobe State tells me that Boko Haram has assassinated many Imams in his area.
The biggest irony of all is that Boko Haram’s toxic terror campaign is making Northern Muslims extremely unpopular within an electoral context.
I have encountered SO MANY people who think that Dr Goodluck Jonathan is an inadequate President but say that they would still rather vote for him next year if the only alternative the Opposition can offer Nigeria is a Northern Muslim.
And, by the way, Southern Christians are not the only Nigerians who are saying this. Southern Muslims and Northern Christians are also echoing this view.
There is a widespread belief that “most” or “all” Northern Muslim grandees sponsored Boko Haram’s killer louts to sabotage Jonathan (to punish him for not allowing one of them to take over when his predecessor, President Yar’Adua, died prematurely)…and then lost control over the monster they had created.
I totally reject this wholesale suspicion of an entire class and ethnic/religious group. Yes, it is possible that some Northern Muslim VIPs are guilty as charged. But I’ll be absolutely amazed if any guilty parties constitute a majority.
I know several influential Northern Muslims; and while I think that they should have done more to boost their region’s fortunes – and economically empower their people – especially when they were in charge, I am sure that almost all of them abhor violence and would NOT deliberately destabilise their country.
Whether I am right or wrong to have so much faith in the Northern Muslim VIPs with whom I have socialised and worked, my opinions don’t really matter.
All that really matters at the end of the day is the Bottom Line…which is that the Northern Muslims (whether they were VIPs or non-VIPs) who created Boko Haram or promoted it when it was up-and-running have shot themselves in both feet by severely undermining the moral credibility and political clout of Northern Muslim presidential candidates.
Meanwhile, ISIS, the homicidally efficient Islamic terrorist outfit that is rampaging through Syria and has nearly reached Iraq’s capital city, is loudly boasting about its alleged ability to expand beyond the Middle East and is naming Nigeria as one of the countries it feels it can eventually conquer.
Comments I’ve heard from reluctant Jonathan supporters include:
“I am not impressed by Jonathan, but Northern Muslims are shaming my religion and must be taught a lesson” (uttered very bitterly by a Yoruba Muslim).
“Jonathan seems like a nice guy but is not leadership material. However, you simply cannot trust Muslim Northerners because they are dangerous; and if we enable one of THEM to replace Jonathan as Head of State, it will be as if we are rewarding them for inflicting brutality on innocent Nigerians; and they will definitely link up with Islamic extremists from other countries like those evil ISIS fellows” (uttered vehemently by an Igbo Christian).
“If Fashola, the Lagos State Governor, was running, I would vote for him rather than my own brother because Fashola is more effective and not a mainstream Muslim from the North” (uttered wearily by a guy from Jonathan’s village).
“Northern Muslims lust after power because they are not very productive and are therefore too dependent on government. They believe that they have a right to rule; and it is time for them to be told that they do not” (uttered by a Christian from Taraba State).
To cut a long story short, Islamic terrorists in Nigeria and Beyond have vastly increased Jonathan’s chances of being re-elected in 2015, despite his flaws.
Goodluck is certainly living up to the name his mother gave him at birth!

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/anti-northern-muslim-sentiments/

The temperature is rising everywhere.

These poll numbers are too low. It should be 65%, calling him the worst ever. Never trust anybody with islam sympathies with world power again.

I actually read the whole thing APC over to you.

The umbrella party is marching on. Come Feb 2015, we will claim back our possession. Never again, will APC be allowed to touch down in Edo state.

chimerase2: Am beginning to suspect this APC
So dat was ur game plan abi lie?
U made naija ungovernable so that he won't contest chai

That was their plan, cause so much carnage across this country, people or the army will chase the government out of power.. Unfortunately for them, God is more powerful than man.

It is finally over for this man. Hopefully he saved enough money, to spend after public office.

Foreign investors continue to buy Nigerian assets, undeterred by rising violence and security concerns. Omar Hafeez, CEO Citi Bank Nigeria cites $1.1 billion worth of Eurobonds it had traded for three local lenders so far this year as evidence.

However, Reuters reports that any spread of attacks further south or to the commercial hub of Lagos could begin to put off even established investors.

A violent insurgency in Nigeria has killed hundreds this year, with the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram making world headlines in April and overshadowing the country’s rise to overtake South Africa as the continent’s top economy.

Africa’s top oil producer also faces polls in 2015 that are likely to be the most closely fought since the end of military rule in 1999, with many fearing political violence and rampant spending on patronage, as usually happens in election cycles.

“The investment community is very well informed … Nigeria is a loan market and financial investors have been tapping into treasury bills and bonds for a very long time,” Hafeez said.

“The way the market looks at Boko Haram … it’s still relatively restricted in terms of geographic presence … but an increase (of attacks) to anywhere in the major centres will have consequences,” he said.

Nigeria is growing as an investment destination, attracting capital equity and debt investors, but security and political risks cloud its outlook.

Hafeez said Nigeria was witnessing an increase in both foreign direct investments and portfolio flows.

Hafeez said Citi was the largest arranger of Eurobonds in Nigeria and had sold $500 million for Zenith Bank, $400 million for Access Bank and $200 million for Diamond Bank in the first half of the year.

FCMB last week mandated Citi and Standard Chartered Bank to raise Eurobonds. Hafeez said he expected more to follow.

“The demand for long-term dollars is increasing in Nigeria as industries such as oil and gas and power develop,” he said, adding that the demand could not be met locally.

He said banks were tapping Eurobonds to bolster their capital bases and also to finance big-ticket deals in the oil and gas and newly privatised power sectors.

Elections next year could become a worry if they affect the naira exchange rate to the dollar and interest rates.

“I think we could expect a certain amount of volatility pre-election but have I seen people sitting on the fence? Not really,” he said.

“Commercial realities determine the strategies, so it’s really not elections per say, it’s what elections will do to the FX, interest rate market.”

Incoming central bank governor has said he will work to maintain a stable exchange rate and will not lower interest rates before 2015.

He said Nigeria was Citibank’s biggest operation across sub-Saharan Africa and that it was expanding its footprint to bank more local firms, especially as multinational oil firms divest from the oil industry to domestic companies.

businessdayonline.com/2014/07/foreign-investors-overlook-security-concerns-as-citi-bank-to-increase-sale-of-eurobonds-in-nigeria

In Baba Osho's voice, Liar Mohammed and his APC supporters of APC can GO AND DIE. Stand on the way of the campaign train it will only crush should your rotten head.

The All Progressives Congress has described as utterly callous and insensitive the ongoing campaign by the so-called GEJites, a pro-Jonathan group, for the President’s re-election right at the same spot where the ‘bring back our girls’ campaigners have been staging daily protests demanding the safe return of the over 200 schoolgirls.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the message being conveyed to all Nigerians is that the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan takes priority over anything else, including the security and welfare of the citizens.

It said, ”Were this not to be so, no responsible group will choose this time, when over 200 schoolgirls have been missing for over 80 days and the terror group Boko Haram is daily killing and maiming Nigerians, to launch a misguided re-election campaign for the President.

“If their daughters were among the missing school girls, will they be launching a political campaign for re-election rather than pushing for the girls’ release?

”To show their contempt for decency and as if they were intent on inflicting more pain on the parents and guardians of the missing girls, they decided to position their campaign instrument, wheel-mounted electronic billboards, right at the Unity Fountain in Abuja where committed and patriotic Nigerians have been holding their own daily campaign for the safe return of the girls.”

APC said much as it may deny, it is clear that the Jonathan Administration, that has surpassed itself in sheer cluelessness in providing purposeful leadership to stop the daily carnage in the country and ensuring the return of the missing girls, has apparently been secretly funding different groups to campaign for it.

It said, ”First there is the Protectors of Nigerian Posterity, then the Goodluck Initiative for Transformation 2015 and now the GEJites.

“With the expensive newspaper, television and Social Media adverts that these nebulous groups are running, it is clear they are being financed from a bottomless war chest, to which taxpayers have been unwilling contributors.

”It is sad that a government that apparently cannot adequately fund the war on terror, a government that has lost the initiative to terrorists, a government that cannot provide jobs for its teeming army of unemployed, a government that is running Nigeria aground has suddenly found huge funds to engage in a re-election campaign that is going nowhere, touting tokenism as achievements.”

It said if the administration does not endorse the callousness and insensitivity of the groups, it should publicly dissociate itself from them and then call them to order.

Meanwhile, APC has raised the alarm that the Federal Government is losing the war on terror, which has progressively gotten worse since the abduction of the Chibok girls over 80 days ago.

It said, ”Almost on a daily basis now, these terrorists have been striking at places and times of their own choosing, even as they are becoming more emboldened to carry their terror campaign right into the heart of the nation’s capital, Abuja. Innocent Nigerians are being killed and maimed in high numbers across several states

”Instead of cashing in on the global outcry that followed the abduction of the over 200 Chibok girls to galvanize national and international action, not just support, the Jonathan Administration has been chasing shadows, pointing accusing fingers at innocent groups and people; harassing the media and curtailing individual freedoms

”One misguided pro-Jonathan commentator even said the attacks are occurring in states under the control of the APC, as if Bauchi and Kaduna are APC states.

“We have said it before and we will repeat it here: Boko Haram is a clear and present danger to all Nigerians: Christians and Muslims; Men, women and children; The rich and the poor as well as People of all political leanings and of all ethnic groups.

”When they want to throw their bombs, they do not ask if supporters or opponents of Jonathan are there. They do not ask if supporters of PDP or APC are there. They just kill, maim and destroy indiscriminately.”


http://www.punchng.com/news/jonathans-re-election-bid-amid-worsening-insecurity-callous-apc

News like this reveals the multitude of Nigerians, that have never travelled outside their states before.

Thank God Nigeria is finally understanding long term planning. Please keshi accept and get back to work ASAP.

Shettima are you Modu

Professor Peter: Let us see whether CJ will act as Nyako has gone to court

Gone to court to do what? impeachment is a legislative process only.

Obiagelli: [color=slategrey] its a pity that the thread about the worst governors in Nigeria is no longer available after the hack. I am sure you read that thread. You can't fool everyone. [/color]

The thread about the worst govs. in Nigeria, as defined by your NL crew? The same ones that awarded 80% of Ekiti votes to fayemi abi? I keep telling you, APC people on NL to join the real world. Not this make believe social media hype you create for yourselves.

Curlieweed: No wahala. Just sit down and wait until the black flag of Jihad is flying over your state capital then you will start fighting them. You don't think it's better to confront an enemy that's still far away than wait for him to come knocking at your door (potentially turning your home into a battle field) before you know what to do?

If the Hausa Kings had shelved their petty differences and stuck together we won't have a Fulani Sultan in Sokoto or even an emir in Illorin today.

Your comments are normally very interesting to read, so far on this thread, you are off the mark. I hope you are still talking about 2014?

Obiagelli: [color=slategrey] my brother, it's sickening reading those posts, the sad part is most of these people sufferthe most from this same pdp policies. Sometimes i wonder if Africans and democracy can work together. [/color]

The problem people like you have, is running away from the reality of the average man.What have you done better in any of your APC states than the PDP? What are you offering the average Nigerian man in your APC? Look across the 36 states, PDP is still the hope of the average man.

PDP will continue to dominate the Nigerian political space, unless APC or any other so called opposition party puts Nigeria first. As things stand today, all the crimes and complains you have against PDP will be exponentially unbearable under APC. Your media propaganda cannot substitute for facts.

I think the reserve of what soyinka said is true. Boko haram carnage has not made this country more united, rather it has made division more likely than ever before. What periscope is this man looking at?

The Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, on Tuesday raised the alarm over the activities of an unnamed political cabal, which he accused of undermining the war against terrorism in his state.

He accused the cabal of working hard to destroy the existing harmony between him, the Presidency and the security services, especially the military.

Shettima spoke in a statement by his Special Adviser on Communications, Mr. Bello Gusau.

He accused the unnamed members of the cabal of top politicians from the state of trying to drag the military into politics and undermining the joint efforts to combat terrorism in the troubled state.

The governor also said the cabal was at the same time trying to use the media to destroy the harmonious working relationship between the state and the Presidency.

The statement partly read, “The cabal, made up of some discontented politicians, some serving and former leaders, has a single agenda which is to create problems between the Presidency, military and the Borno State Government in order to dubiously secure the political blessings of the Presidency and top ranks of the military with a view to seizing control of the military, the police force and State Security Service, divert the security’s attention away from counter insurgency, drag them into politics, destabilise the polity and use security agencies in furthering their political ambitions ahead of the 2015 elections.”

It also accused the cabal of deploying all possible means, including publishing falsehoods and spreading same on the social media, to accuse the state government of so many wrongdoings, including unimaginable financial misappropriation.

Shetima said the speculations making the rounds that he had vowed to undermine President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015 re-election bid was part of the plot to break the relationship between him and the President.

The statement dissociated the governor from a Facebook account, bearing the name and picture of Governor Kashim Shettima.

It explained that the group went as far as publishing a false interview with a certain Boko Haram suspect who allegedly named Shettima as a sponsor of the Boko Haram sect.

“He (Shettima) feels that 2015 is in the hands of God. He is particularly concerned about the deaths of citizens in Borno State and the need for synergy between the state and federal establishments to sustain a coordinated fight against insurgency so as to secure precious human lives and property,” the statement added.

In a related development, a member of the ongoing National Conference, Mr. Buba Galadima, said that members of the Boko Haram sect operated in Borno State on Sunday night for eight hours without hindrance.

Galadima, a delegate from Yobe State, told the delegates that attacks were carried out on several villages and towns in the state and that no fewer than 45 bodies were recovered in one of the villages.

The delegate, at the verge of shedding tears, also informed the conference of the bomb attack at the Monday Market in Maiduguri on Tuesday.

“The Boko Haram sect operated for about eight hours even though the information about the attack was given out. The security agencies were informed. It was the Civilian JTF that helped to evacuate the dead bodies,” he said.

Another delegate, Chief Mike Ozekhome, recalled that he was kidnapped for 21 days and that he went through harrowing experience.

He added, “My stand on Boko Haram is clear. And I told government this. There are at times you stoop to conquer.

“I want the government to negotiate with them. It is not out of fear, but because of the Chibok girls. We need to bring them back.”

He explained that what he told the conference on Monday was that a text message was sent to him by a friend warning about attacks in Abuja, saying he did not receive any direct message from Boko Haram. He said other people received the same message as himself.

Ozekhome had under a matter of national urgency informed the conference on Monday that he received a text message warning of imminent attacks in parts of the Federal Capital Territory.

Meanwhile, the United States of America has said it was becoming more worried about Boko Haram successful attacks. The US has however promised more assistance in the war against the terrorists.

Speaking at the US Department of State daily press briefing on Monday, the department’s spokesperson and former media aide to President Barack Obama, Jennifer Psaki, condemned the recent attacks by the insurgents on four villages near Chibok.

Psaki said, “We’re providing additional equipment for Nigeria’s intelligence fusion centre. We’re also providing military training and other assistance to help professionalise the Nigerian military and increase its maritime security and peacekeeping capabilities.

“We condemn the reported attacks on four villages near Chibok. Our sympathies go out to the victims and their families. We remain committed to helping the government of Nigeria address the threat posed by the criminal terrorist group.

“Our Embassy continues to support Nigerian efforts to bring about the safe recovery of the abductees and to advise the government of Nigeria on its response.”

While fielding questions from journalists, the US state department spokesperson admitted that there were challenges being faced by the Nigerian government, adding that America was advising the government on how best to address the threat posed by the terrorist group.

“Our discussions with Nigeria about addressing the threat of Boko Haram have been ongoing for months now.

“There’s no doubt there are challenges – challenges the Nigerian government faces and those who are taking on this threat on the ground. And we’re certainly working with them to boost their capacity and advise them on how best to address it. But I’m not going to outline it further than that,” Psaki explained.





http://www.punchng.com/news/politicians-sabotaging-war-against-boko-haram-shettima/

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

ABUJA—The latest governance poll results conducted by NOIPolls Limited for the month of June revealed that 57 per cent of adult Nigerians approved of the performance of the President over the past month; a slight one-point decline in his job approval rating from May when it stood at 58 per cent.


The firm explained that similar to results obtained in the month of May, the President’s current rating was greatly impacted by the remarkably high approval rating in the South East which stood at 91 per cent in June 2014.

According to the poll, “additional findings from the June governance poll revealed that the President maintained an average ranking for his performance on sectors such as the Economy, Education, Health, Agriculture & Food security, Transportation and Foreign Policy & Diplomacy.

“However, he maintained a very poor ranking for his performance on Job Creation, Power and Security. Furthermore, slightly more than half of the respondents’ 52 per cent indicated power supply to their households over the past month was either bad and/or it had gone worse; a seven-point increase from May 2014.

“Ironically, while the South East zone experienced the worst supply of power to households, 61 per cent, the zone remains responsible for the president’s high job approval rating. These are some of the key findings from the Governance Snap Poll conducted in week of June 23, 2014.

“These results represent the sixth in the 2014 monthly series of governance polls conducted by NOIPolls to gauge the opinions and perceptions of Nigerians regarding the approval rating of the President, the performance of the President on key elements of his transformation agenda, and the state of power supply in the country.”

Further findings, according to NOIPolls, revealed that “the majority of 45 per cent of respondents approve of the performance of the President, while 17 per cent disapprove of his performance. 15 per cent of the respondents remained neutral as they neither approve nor disapprove,12 per cent of respondents strongly approve of his performance, while 11 per cent strongly disapprove of his performance.”

“Assessing the President’s performance from the geo-political zone perspective revealed that the South-East zone with 91 per cent, 20 per cent+71 per cent has the highest proportion of respondents who approve of the President’s job performance and this had a great impact on the overall rating of the President.

“The North-West zone accounts for the largest proportion of respondents who disapprove of the President’s job performance with 42 per cent, 24 percent+18 percent. Monthly trend assessment of the President’s approval rating reveals that the President’s approval rating declined slightly by 1-point to 57 percent in June 2014; the third highest rating since January 2014.

“The results also indicate that the North-Central zone experienced the largest increase 12-points in the percentage of respondents who approve of the president’s overall performance in June 66 percent from May 2014.”

It added that the 18-month approval trend analysis (January 2013 – June 2014) revealed on monthly basis that the President’s performance rating on Economy, Health, Agriculture & Food Security, Transportation and Foreign Policy & Diplomacy maintained an average ranking for the sixth month, excluding Education which was rated very poor in February.

“Also, the President has been rated very poor in terms of his performance on Job Creation, Power and Security since February,” the poll indicated.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/jonathans-rating-drops-one-point-survey

namelesss: Waitee!!! Wait!! Obama is a muslim? hold one moment make i google am

Unless google has a closet search category.

namelesss: america protect islam? Tink am well

With your closet muslim, Barack Hussein Obama as President, everything is possible.

cyril83: Then you should know how things are done in the North.

Now you lost me.

cyril83: Have you ever been to the north all your life?

Started primary school at the army's children Maiduguri. Now ask me another question

Stronger economic management helped Nigeria leap in the World Bank 2013 Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) report, which describes progress African countries are making on strengthening the quality of policies and institutions that underpin development.

On a scale of 1-6, Nigeria scored 3.6 which is above the 3.2 Sub-Saharan average, and took up the 10th position out of the 39 African countries assessed. These countries are those eligible for support from the International Development Association (IDA), the concessional financing arm of the World Bank.

The World Bank said CPIA developments in 2013 were mixed among non-fragile countries and that amidst a weak and uneven global economy, more countries saw deterioration in the policy environment rather than improvement.

Slippages in economic management and weaknesses in the fiscal framework for instance, continued to weigh down on the CPIA performance of most countries like Ghana, and also pulled down the scores for Mozambique and Zambia.

In Malawi also, deterioration in financial management controls, which compromised the quality of fiscal reporting, and in accountability systems, contributed to a further weakening of the country’s CPIA score.

“By contrast, Nigeria showed steady improvement in scores, reflecting stronger economic management,” the World Bank said in the report seen by BusinessDay.



The improvement was particularly seen in debt policy and management, which the Brentwoods Institution described as outstanding, with Nigeria scoring 4.5 well ahead of the 3.3 regional average score.

“Nigeria is among the countries seeing a strengthening of debt management. In Nigeria, the federal DMO has made significant strides in improving the management of public debt since its establishment in 2000. The DMO has prepared a 2013-2017 Strategic Plan and Medium Term Debt Strategy for 2012-2015 to guide its activities,” the World Bank noted in the report.

“The DMO publishes an annual report on debt management activities, debt sustainability analysis, risk management and sub-national debt management ,amongst others. In addition, the DMO co-ordinates with fiscal and monetary authorities at several levels, to provide input into the conduct of macroeconomic policy in Nigeria,” the Bank continued.

The region’s debt-to-GDP ratio remained moderate, though rising, as several countries have turned to international capital markets (and domestic markets) to finance infrastructure needs: the ratio for the region has risen from 29 percent in 2008 to 34 percent in 2013.

However, there are significant differences across countries: for example, Ghana’s public debt-to-GDP ratio, which has risen sharply over the past few years, was 60 percent in 2013 and that of Mozambique and Senegal was around 45 percent.

But Nigeria’s debt to GDP ratio has rather dropped significantly, from 22 percent to 12 percent on the rebased GDP.

The report presents CPIA scores for the 39 African countries that are eligible for support from the International Development Association (IDA), the concessional financing arm of the World Bank.

The latest World Bank review of government policies and institutions in Africa shows that 20 percent of countries improved their policy environment to boost growth and cut poverty in 2013.

The scores, the Bank said, are an indicator of the quality of these countries’ policy and institutional framework across 16 dimensions, grouped into four clusters: economic management (Cluster A), structural policies (Cluster B), policies for social inclusion and equity (Cluster C), and public sector management and institutions (Cluster D).

The scores are on a scale of 1–6, with 6 being the highest, and are calculated by the World Bank staff based on quantitative and qualitative information. The assessment also relies on judgments of Bank staff. CPIA scores are used in determining IDA’s allocation of resources to the poorest countries.



http://businessdayonline.com/2014/07/stronger-economic-management-lifts-nigeria-in-world-bank-assessement

Just look at the confidence of the game changer Alhaji Muazu. PDP , will always remain power to the people.

hardywaltz: Weren't those the pictures provided by their family members when Asari and his likes claimed no one was missing??.
This Asari and his Niaraland followers are just dull.
Who said it was WAEC that provided these photographs?
Who takes a WAEC picture turned sideways like some of the girls.
Asari is just a big Fo0l, even the Presidential committee setup by Mr Clueless has confirmed that indeed 219 girls are still missing so Asari can jump into Abonnema wharf for all I care.

Look at this one calling Asari a fool, Why not produce these children WAEC pictures? 219 kids waiting to write physics in Borno. You people should fear God, with your level of propaganda