₦airaland Forum

That could be Nitel in 1990s, any PHCN office three years ago, Nigeria Airways office in the 1990s. They all have one thing in common. Nobi der papa property.

Who is now humping goats in Ekiti

Akinwale Aboluwade, Ado Ekiti

There was panic on Tuesday at Olori-Oko community, Ogotun Ekiti in Ekiti Southwest Local Government Area of Ekiti State,
as a goat delivered a creature that looked like a human being.

Olori-Oko community is about three kilometres to Ikeji Arakeji in Osun State.

Residents of the community and people from the neighbouring villages trooped out to catch a glimpse of the strange creature.

The goat was said to have delivered a ‘mystery human baby’ around 6am on Tuesday having fallen into labour around 8pm on Monday.

Our correspondent learnt that some residents took to their heels on sighting the strange creature.

A community leader, who spoke on behalf of the Village Head, Mr. Ganiyu Adetokun, (name not given) said a Pastor,
Daniel Odedele, came to the rescue of the goat when it became clear that it needed help to deliver the kid.

He said, “The ‘baby goat’ has human look, hair, head and female genitals. We were attracted to the scene as people
raised the alarm.”

The creature died close to an hour after as the people scrambled to catch a glimpse and take its picture.


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castration time.

[quote author=Mynd_44]I will ignore your insults and address your points.

So you call fixing one tiny spot on the whole road (wait is that even the Lagos-ibadan expressway? I can't see any FERMA personal to show it is an FG thing sef) an ivory tower?

What has been done on that road for the past years while the contracts have been issued over and over again?

I refused to be fooled. And you can keep the insults coming, I wont be dragged down that crazy path with you.

I ain't got time for crap[/quote]Do you live in Nigeria or are you just, another APC web based warrior

Dad is from Egbo Uhurie in Ughelli south
Nene is from Rumuola right in the heart of Ikwerreland.
I, a Warri man

When Orwellian duplicity is theatricalised in any collectivity, it precipitates a neurological obsession with recondite divisive spirit. Is this what is wrong with ambitious politicians, kings and kingdom mongers in Urhoboland?
The Urhobo people hail from DeltaState and have numerical superiority over every ethnic group in the state.
They are the fifth largest ethnic group in Nigeria, 15th largest in Africa and consistent with statistical data, they are the 51st largest ethnic group in the world. One of the largest oil producing in Nigeria, the 21st in Africa and the 45th in the world.
But the Urhobo people are hewers of wood and fetchers of water in a state and nation where they hold numerical superiority and such a great fiscal height. They are in government, but not in authority and power.
Are they even really in government? This is as result of a Neanderthal brand of placebo Republicanism that has made the Urhobo people their own worst enemies as brothers are turned against brothers befuddled by psychotic treachery, the dog eat dog syndrome.
In the midst of power and fiscal drought in Urhobo land the people have turned against themselves. A kind of implosive Paleolithic eviscerality and power acquisition by hook or crook.
This is compounded by the manipulative political shrewdness of our state government in the politics of creation of new kingdoms, kings and selective handing over of staff of office and the official seal of the staff of office to political stooges and surrogates masquerading as traditional rulers.
Is it the state government that should pick our traditional rulers through its political acrobatics or the people of that kingdom?
This politicisation has led to the balkanization of the kingdoms and the wanton proliferation of kings in Urhoboland and DeltaState. Once the laid down kingship procedure, historical precedence or tradition is jettisoned, it stimulates splinter groups who create their own kingdoms and kings.
It is clear that the Ibori/Uduaghan administration have given more staff of office to traditional rulers and created more kingdoms in DeltaState than any other administration. Indeed, there are more political kingdoms in Urhoboland than traditional kingdoms.
At the last count we have 24 kingdoms in Urhobo land approved by the Delta State Government, namely: Agbon, Agbarho, Aravwarien, Agbarho-otor, Olomu, Udu, Ogor, Uwherun, Evwreni, Ughievwen, Ewu, Okparabe, Effurun-otor, Oghara, Ijerhe, Mosogar, Oruarivie-Abraka, Umiagwa- Abraka, Okpe, Orogun, Okere-Urhobo and Uvwie. But some of the kingdoms and their kings are no longer at ease as they frequently resort to litigation and press wars.
The political implications are too gruesome to contemplate. In the 1953 elections the vast majority of Urhobo people pitched their political tent with the NCNC, whilst some major tribal groups in the Western Region pitched their political tents with the Action Group, AG.
The devastating political consequences before and after the elections are still with the Urhobo people till today as the Itsekiri monarch became the traditional ruler of Warri Kingdom. We pitched our political tents at various levels with the MDF, NPN, SDP, and PDP. But now the Urhobo political machine is now between Scyllas and Charybadis, between the Devil and the deep blue sea and in schismatic political entropy torn between the PDP/DPP/APC, etc.
With the Urhobo political structure and interest dichotomized along political, monarchical, kingdoms, kingship lines, how can we move forward? The death of the legendary Senator Pius Ewherido has brought out the political beast in the Urhobo politicians in their knack for a ‘no compromise’ approach to politics.
Some of our kingdoms and kings that are supposed to call the politicians to order have been compromised by the government that gave them staff of political office and not traditional kings . Some of them have become surrogates, stooges and fifth columnist to the government.
We expect our Urhobo people to be proud of themselves and shun low self-esteem that is the cause of shameful receipt of base bribes and fighting to balkanize kingdoms and carryout profane quest for power.
As we approach 2015, let our politicians and the totality of the Urhobo nation say ‘No’ to disunity, shameless quest for kingship and proliferation of kingdoms. The people of the GreatUghiewenKingdom are one and nothing on earth should divide them.
Let our Urhobo people learn from the EdoKingdom, ItsekiriKingdom and from our own OkpeKingdom, etc. We must note that the balkanization of kingdoms and the proliferation of kings is of our making.
*BOBSON GBINIJE, founder of the Mandate Against Poverty, MAP, wrote from Warri.


- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/urhobo-kingdoms-and-political-staff-of-office/#sthash.SwhTurPt.dpuf

Paul John: Well said.
PDP is strong in Rivers, but the state is presenlty under APC
APC is strong in Benue(from 2011 election result), while the state is under PDP

Who is APC in Benue State

Angola has shown the way forward First agenda in the Southsouth ban mohammedans

The new education policy in Osun State claimed its first casualty on Monday as fierce-looking Muslim youths invaded the Baptist High School, Ejigbo, and beat up the students and teachers.

The principal of the school, Mr. Layi Oguntola, was thoroughly beaten and injured. Oguntola, as of the time of this report, was said to be receiving treatment at the Baptist Medical Centre, Ejigbo.

The attackers said they came because the school authorities stopped some Muslim pupils from wearing the hijab.

The hijab is a scarf that covers the head and chest, specially worn by a Muslim female.

Our correspondent learnt that the attackers stormed the school while the students were already seated in their classrooms.

They were said to have headed straight for the Principal’s Office and asked Oguntola to apologise for sending the hijab-wearing students away from school but the principal refused to do so.

There have been protests when the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration recently introduced a new education policy, which entails merger and reclassification of schools in the state.

The Baptist conference specifically said it would not allow hijab-wearing students in its schools.

On Monday, the attacked students and teachers were said to have run for refuge at the palace of the Ogiyan of Ejigbo, Oba Omowonuola Oyesosin. The monarch was also said to have been instrumental to the rescue of the wounded principal from the attackers, made up of mostly youths.

The attack forced the Baptist High School and other schools in the town to close abruptly for the day as police were deployed in the town to forestall reprisal.

Some Muslim students of the school were said to have been turned back last week for wearing hijab on their uniforms and their parents were said to have reported the case to members of an Islamic sect in the town.

Tension started building in the town following the attack and the speculations that the attackers were also planning to set ablaze the United Baptist Church, close to the school.

Some Christian youths were also said to have mobilised to defend the church.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, when contacted, said she would find out the details of the incident and get back to our correspondent.

Commissioner for Information, Mr. Sunday Akere, confirmed the incident, which he described as an unfortunate one.

He appealed to the people of the state to shun violence, saying the state government in collaboration with security agencies would investigate and get to the root of the matter.

He said, “It is unfortunate that this happened at a time when we are already achieving peace in the area of schools reclassification.

“We are calling on all religious leaders and stakeholders to refrain from taking steps which could lead to the breakdown of law and order.”

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This country will definitely not pass 2015, you people are about pass your boundary . If you don't like the woman go home and beat up your wife or mother or STFU

Goodswill Akpabio is a winner any day.

Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom on Monday in Abuja said the Group of Seven (G7) governors were at liberty to leave the PDP if they felt aggrieved.

He spoke to State House correspondents at the launch of the third phase of the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWiN) programme by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa.

Akpabio, who is the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, was reacting to reports that the governors were fine-tuning arrangements to dump PDP for opposition party.

The governor said that leaving one political party for other was a normal thing for politicians.

He, however, warned that leaders who leave one party to the other should be aware that their followers might not follow them.

“I do not see a problem in the issues of certain politicians wanting to change party. It is a normal thing in politics that people move from one political party to the other.

“But what is important is that we move on and the country moves on.


“PDP is very big and robust enough with its branches in 774 local government areas in Nigeria. If you have five persons moving away from PDP, you have 10 to 50 moving into PDP.

“Right now, there are so many APC members who are approaching me on a daily basis that they want to move into PDP.

“But I keep telling them that it is not yet time, let us resolve this issue of G7 governors and then you see the big fishes that will come out of the APC.

“They are ready to come out and when they come out, it is going to be a boom. The entire country will shout’’, he said.

The governor pointed out that he was not opposed to the ongoing dialogue with the President to end the crisis.

He, however, warned that the aggrieved members should not capitalise on the President’s humility and patience to continue to waste his time and distract him.

“There must be an end to the dialogue so that the President can concentrate on the work he was voted into office to do’’, he said.

The Governors who had been at loggerheads with the leadership of the party include Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), and Babangida Aliyu (Niger).

Others are Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa). (NAN)




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It is not often that I am left speechless and at a loss for words. Yet this is how I felt yesterday as my friend and brother Governor Segun Mimiko of Ondo state took me on a 5 hour personal tour of his state and showed me some of his landmark achievements. As they say, seeing is believing.

We went to the massive, ultra-modern, state of the art, all-purpose conference centre (which is still under construction in Akure), the Medical Village in Ondo Town (which houses the most advanced, best equipped and most sophisticated set of hospitals in Nigeria= catering for virtually every known aspect of medical care from serious accidents, to childbirth and to major surgery and whose services are completely FREE OF CHARGE), the beautiful Mega Schools (which are state-run high schools that are, in terms of infrastructural facilities and equipment, including computers etc., at par with ANY state-run high schools in Europe or America and whose infrastructure is absolutely astounding), the free school-bussing system for children, the ”ten minute response” ambulance systems all over the state, the smooth roads and street-lighting systems all over Akure and other parts of the state and so much more.

The truth is that I was ashamed of the fact that so much is going on in Ondo state in terms of development and services to the ordinary people and yet we as Nigerians, and particularly as yoruba people, have refused to acknowledge or admit it either for self-serving political motives or for other reasons which are best known to ourselves. Instead of playing politics and indulging in the usual grandstanding that so many others have been doing in their states, Mimiko is one governor that is clearly rolling up his sleeves up, working extreemly hard for his people and looking within. It appears to me that he believes that the work itself and the purposeful establishment of an intimidating legacy of good governance and massive infrastructural development throughout the state will do the talking for him. And he is right.

As I told him, knowingly or unknowingly, he is clearly basing his system of governance on the Danish model, which basically espouses the view that the state must be compassionate to the poorest and weakest in society and must provide the highest quality of amenities, including schools, hospitals, housing, transport systems and virtually everything else for them either free of charge or at minimal cost. It is this philosophical and ideological position of compassion for the poor and weak and opportunities for the rich and powerful that has made Denmark, according to various international studies and reports, one of the happiest, most stable, most prosperous and most enviable places to live in the world. Over the years the Danes have managed to create a fine balance between the imperatives and great benefits of private enterprise and investment and the forces of the free market on the one hand and state intervention and governmental responsibility for the poor and less fortunate on the other. This is what Mimiko, wittingly or unwittingly, is actually doing in Ondo state.

I had never been to or heard of any place in my life where children from fee- paying private schools prefer to go to state-run high schools until I got to Ondo state. This is because of the excellent facilities and the high quality of teaching and services that are being provided in those state-schools today. I had never seen the offices of Nigerian state-school principals looking and feeling more like the offices of an average bank manager in a high street bank until I got to Ondo state. I had never seen the sheer pride of young children from less privilaged homes in their beautiful new schools, shining new uniforms and brand new buses (all at minimal cost) until I got to Ondo state.

When I got to what they have called the Medical Village, which is in fact a sprawling new self-contained town and massive community in itself and which is a star attraction for all those that are interested in medical tourism I was very impressed. I went into the wards of some of the hospitals, saw the patients, saw the ”mother and child centre”, saw the equipment, saw the tiny premature-born babies (some only 6 inches long) safely closeted in the most expensive life-saving incubators, saw the burns centres with all their sophisticated equipment and machinery, saw the surgery rooms and all the facilities, saw the beautiful homes of the doctors and surgeons and, most important of all, I saw and felt the clean and fresh ambiance of the whole village and community. I also saw the looks of pride and joy on the faces of the hundreds of patients and workers there who clearly appreciated the fact that they were getting and providing the very best of health care there, with a full supply of all the necessary drugs, medication and everything else that they needed- all completely free of charge. So good was the deal that I saw people that came from a number of other states just to benefit from and take advantage of these excellent facilities and services that the Ondo state government is providing.


I have never seen the poorest people getting the best quality of free healthcare in this way anywhere else in the Third World. I have never been to a state hospital that is so fresh and clean and in which you cannot smell that frightful and depressing clinical aroma that is associated with most hospitals until I got to Ondo state. Frankly I am just amazed and it is only a man that is filled with the deepest compassion for the less privilaged and one who appreciates the fact that political power and leadership is bestowed upon individuals for one purpose only- to transform the lives of the ordinary people, to make their community a far better and easier place for them to live, to provide the opportunities and environment that will enable them to achieve their full potentials and to bring hope and succour to the poor, the needy and the less privilaged- that can do all this. How Mimiko manages to fund all these things and at the same time pay his salaries and take care of all his recurrent expenses is a wonder to me. Yet as he rightly said, it is simply a matter of priorities. His priority is clearly to transform the face and fortunes of the people of the state and to ensure that he helps the poor and leaves a robust legacy of massive infrastructural development, decency and compassion.

What I saw has brought me immense joy and hope for yorubaland and indeed for Nigeria. If Mimiko had the kind of financial resources available to the governors of Lagos, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Delta states respectively I can only imagine what he would have achieved by now. His efforts in Ondo state are a testimony to the fact that when the right man is given the opportunity to serve the people things really can and do change.

When it comes to the south west my friends and brothers Biodun Ajimobi, Rauf Aregbesola and Kayode Fayemi the governors of Oyo, Osun and Ekiti states respectively have provided good leadership too. Yet many have claimed that Tunde Fashola of Lagos state, who has undoubtedly done a very good job as well, is the real star of the south west but I beg to differ. Fashola’s efforts are geared primarily towards the interests of the rich and he has turned Lagos into a city for the rich and for the elites only. That is good enough but the real prize for compassionate and purposeful leadership in south-western Nigeria must go to Segun Mimiko. He, together with Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa state who, in my view, takes the prize for the north-west, have impressed me immensly with the great work that they have done in their respective states.

From literally nothing they have built and established something that will speak for them both into eternity and they have brought joy, solace and hope to the ordinary people in their respective states. Interestingly they are both clearly slightly left of centre, which is an ideological bent that I share. To them the welfare of the ordinary people and the establishment of enduring institutions matter far more than anything else. They do not belong to the ideological grouping that are prepared to sacrifice the welfare state and the interests of the people on the alter of big business. They are clearly wary of the unfeeling and unrelenting monetarist forces of free enterprise and the philosophy of minimal government involvement in the lives of the ordinary people because they know full well that such forces are only interested in ensuring that the rich get richer, that the powerful get even more powerful and that the poor get poorer. This is very refreshing.

Yet perhaps more interesting is the fact that they were both loyal and reliable Ministers in President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government at one time or the other yet clearly neither of them share his right-of-centre ideological bent and his fondness for economic policies that were essentially right-wing and that were designed specifically to cater for the interests of big business more than anything else. For example I doubt very much that you would ever see the monetarist and economic hardliners that were recruited from the World Bank and other International Monetry Agencies by Obasanjo being given pride of place or indeed any role in a Federal Government that was presided over and led by either a Lamido or a Mimiko.

I intend to write more about this in the next few weeks. The bottom line is that if we can get the quality of leadership right in this country then there is certainly still hope for our people.


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wirinet: I find it hard to understand what your babble on raffia trees is all about. But please provide any reference to the fermentation and distillation of alcohol in any part of Ijawland before coming of the whiteman in the 14th century AD.

Just listen to your lousy self. So you want me to provide you written African historic record. How the locals used the raffia tress juice from which Ogogoro is made through fermentation. Some of you here need to be ignored. Maybe the whiteman also discovered the Nigerdelta in the 14th century.

otokx: Herein lies the crux of the matter, its the turn of the Ogonis.

Is there light in ALUU today

I will take an African man that drinks our agbakara any day. Than the cocaine addict parading himself around the country. By the way, the gods are always happy when you pour them a shot of agbakara every morning. Egbesu, Igbe, and Ogiame send their greetings and proctection to their great Son GEJ

wirinet: Ogogoro Jaw invention? greatest fallacy of the century. For your information ogogoro (ethanol) had been invented more than 5000 years ago. In fact it was the whiteman that introduced the distillation of Ogogoro to the Ijaws. Others have gone beyond the rudimentary distillation of ethanol to make refined and safe types of alcohol and you are here celebrating mediocracy.

Which whiteman introduced Ogogoro to the Ijaw or any tribe in coastal areas of the Nigerdelta The raffia trees all over the Nigerdelta were brought here by the white man Some of you need to hush.

Maybe breakup is what we need. This is APC version of CAN speaking.

Amaechi should call for another election in Obio akpo. He needs to test his popularity with the voters in Ikwerreland, the defeat will be legendary.

[quote author=musiwa112]does this picture look like edo and delta want to be in the south south with you. no. why not change the topic to east


Maybe they belong to you. Edo might be part of your southwest. Please stay away from delta.

2015 will be a great year.Lots of parasites will be let go. GEJ keep up the good job.

Alhaji Kaka Gujubawu, a member of the House of Representatives, representing the Maiduguri Metropolitan constituency, and convener of the Legacy Group, a platform for various political affiliations in the lower chamber, is in support of the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. He bares his mind to ADAMU ABUH in Abuja.

WHAT informed your decision to lead the Legacy Group in support of the re-election of President Jonathan?

I will approach your question from two perspectives. The first is the constitutional perspective, which, as a lawmaker, I should be very passionate about.

From the legal perspective, all of us are aware that President Jonathan is serving his second term and the Constitution is unequivocally clear on how many times a person can serve as president and that is two terms.

So, the Constitution gives President Goodluck Jonathan the right to re-contest for the office of the president with the mandate of the people.

We are not saying President Jonathan should just continue; it is left for the people to decide whether to let him come back. If you feel you have someone better than him, then bring him into the contest.

If Jonathan says, ‘Look, Nigerians, I have done well, give me your mandate,’ allow him to talk with the Nigerian people. That is in line with the law.

The second perspective is the political issue, which is the big issue here upon which the opponents of Jonathan draw from and ask him not to contest. And if you notice, this clamour is coming from the northern region, which I come from.

There is a Hausa proverb that says, “Before you go forward, look at how far you have gone.” Nigeria is just over 50 years as an independent nation, 50 years history of political development, and 50 years history of political alliances.

If I look back at those 50 years of history, I can draw the conclusion that that period was accentuated by strategic political alliances between the South-South and the northern part of the country.

From the period of 1954/55, the Niger Delta Congress (NDC) went into partnership with the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) in lieu with the emerging independence government that Nigerians were to enjoy.

After the federal elections, the NPC had the upper hand though it didn’t have enough members in the federal parliament to form a government. As it were, it would need to go into alliance with other parties, to have the required number to form a government.

The NPC formed an alliance with the NDC and it was that alliance that brought into being Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh from Niger-Delta, who became the Finance Minister of the late Tafawa Balewa-led government.

That was the first alliance between the North and South-South that proved to be a very effective experiment where the northerners, my elders, my founding fathers were partners and principal beneficiaries of that alliance.

In 1979 when the military handed over power, the Igbo region came up with a party, the NPP, the South-West UPN led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the NPN, which presented Alhaji Shehu Shagari. The other leftist parties in the North — the GNPP and PRP — were not major national players.

What about the Niger-Delta region; did they come up with a party?

No. They were waiting for their natural allies from the North, to form a party to join them. Our father, Chief Edwin Clark; my father, Alhaji Shettima Ali Monguno are all alive and in their 80s; the heroes of Nigeria — Maitama Sule, and Alhaji Shehu Shagari were the elders that came together to form the NPN, and the Niger-Delta were in alliance with the northern politicians. The NPN won largely because the Niger-Delta people gave their votes to Shehu Shagari.

Subsequently, the next political dispensation was in 1999 and the Southwest was the beneficiary, which I believe, was a military political aberration to appease the Southwest for abortion of the June 12 (1993 presidential) election, which, at any rate, was a welcome idea because of the bad blood generated over the annulment of the poll.

When the then President Olusegun Obasanjo was handing over, there was the hand of providence. How did it happen? A northern president and a Niger-Delta vice president were sworn into office. It could have as well been a South-South president and a northern vice president; even in 1979, the vice president was an Igbo and the bulk votes came from the Niger-Delta.

So, if (late President Umaru) Yar’Adua had survived, he would have continued to 2011 without any resistance from the Niger-Delta, why didn’t they do so in 2007? They gladly gave their son to be the vice president and were patient for their turn to come, expecting that Yar’Adua would spend eight years.

It was not their plan or our plan but God disposed of Yar’Adua, who left before 2011, and for the first time, a son of the Niger Delta became president. It was a welcome development because we lost a son but our half-brother from the Niger Delta emerged as president, politically so to say.

Then 2011 came and to the utter chagrin of the political players of my generation, there was an outcry from the opportunistic so-called northern leaders. I say opportunistic because the people that did the outcry, most of them were from the military class and they deceived the political class to join them.

And I was waiting for the northern elders of the 70s that fought alongside Edwin Clark to come out and caution the new brigade of northern elders. Alas, it was a discomforting silence.

However, Jonathan won. The North gave him their delegates in the primaries. I was happy good wisdom took hold of my leaders and governors and I was hoping that 2015 would take its natural political tradition by allowing the incumbent his right of first refusal and we would proceed with Jonathan with the active support of the northern base.

And when 2019 comes, whatever the arrangement, a northerner will take over from Jonathan. But sadly, here we are at this juncture. Some northerners are trying to break away from the PDP because Jonathan should not continue from 2015 simply because he is from South-South.

So, what is your message to these northerners?

My message to them is this: they should realise that at all the points of our political history when they were standing tall, whenever they look down, they should remember they were standing on the shoulders of the Niger Delta people.

They should remember that it was God Almighty that made Jonathan the president of Nigeria, and it is only incumbent on us, morally and for political expediency to give our maximum support to him in 2015 and wait patiently for only four years.

This is a period I see as insignificant political price to pay to maintain and consolidate this beautiful strategic political alliance our founding fathers from the two political divides have left us; a legacy that has made the northern political leaders to stand tall.

So, I am on the side of the North that would like to see the legacy of our founding fathers, Ahmadu Bello and Tafawa Balewa, continued. I would like to call on my generation to see the wisdom of this strategic alliance for the benefit of this nation, by sustaining and consolidating this alliance.

Has the emergency rule in the Northeast been a success?

Yes! To me as a lawmaker, looking at it from different prisms and especially from my constituency, Maiduguri, the emergency rule has been an overwhelming success against the insurgents. I want to quickly add that a lot of credit should be given to the civilian JTF and the Nigerian people; it is a symbiotic relationship.

The success of the civilian JTF and the military came about because of the declaration of the state of emergency. Without the emergency, the enabling laws in place would have made it impossible for the civilian JTF to collaborate with the military.

The president of Nigeria saw the expediency of this and a leader has to be visionary, as demonstrated by our president. He knew that the military would naturally need the support of the civilian population, who are not part and parcel of the security apparatus.

We needed the suspension of certain laws for that symbiotic relationship to be effective. And that is why we are seeing relative peace that led the Babangidas of this world to come to Maiduguri and drive freely to attend weddings.

Do you support the president’s request for extension of the state of emergency; and would you say he has been magnanimous to the people of Borno State?

Certainly! I am the best person to answer that. Another dimension to your question is that, do I support the endorsement of the civilian JTF by the president to collaborate with the military? Yes, I do support that.

As for being magnanimous to the people of Borno State, certainly yes! Still, it’s an unambiguous answer because I have been privy to the situation and I have been in the centre of it all since the declaration of the state of emergency in those three states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

A lot of stakeholders from Borno state have been reaching out to me, as the person who has the mandate to represent them here, on the need for the Commander-in-Chief to increase military activities in Borno State. And this clamour came from all strata of the community — religious leaders, political leaders, and other interest groups.

When I say political leaders, I am talking of political leaders from across all divides: ANPP, PDP, etc. The security operatives are far ahead of us in knowing the expediency of increasing military operations.

And we know how much the Federal Government took from the Federation Account solely for peace to the reign. We have seen the increase in personnel, in vehicles and, of course, the one that has been vital — intelligence gathering. In fact, you can hardly quantify what the government has put in place in my state.

So, in view of this, I think the Federal Government of Nigeria, led ably by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has been magnanimous to the people of Borno State.

It didn’t stop there. I can well recall that the president, during the Ramadan period, which was also the period of the state of emergency, went ahead to graciously donate 300 trucks of assorted grains to the people.

I was one of the members of the committee that designed the modalities for the distribution and we found out that every household would have gone home with at least half a bag of those grains.

This is an unprecedented magnanimity because nobody had ever done such to the people of Borno State irrespective of religious, political and ethnic divides. The president gave us explicit instructions that the goodies should reach every household irrespective of political and ethnic concerns or consideration.

And the president also gave N200 million to Borno State. He even said that since the state has in place a structure outside the Federal Government structure, the money should be used for material purposes and it should be spread to the good people of Borno State.

That shows the stuff the president is made of. It shows that he is the president of all Nigerians. Even though the opposition rules the state, it didn’t matter to Mr. President. So, I think we should be grateful to him for that.

But Governor Kashim Shettima said the Federal Government gave only N100 million to the state…

(Cuts in) I read the story attributed to the governor of Borno State that the president gave only N100 million compared to the N3 billion he gave to Nollywood and I was taken aback at that.

However, I still may not want to believe that story because Governor Kashim Shettima is a childhood friend and we were at the same faculty in the University of Maiduguri, and he is a very intelligent and smart leader.

But I just hope that the governor was quoted out of context because for the president to give N200 million in order to restore peace in Borno State and gave N3 billion to Nollywood, there can be nothing further from the truth.

To say the least, such a statement is criminal, wicked and fraudulent. Fraudulent in the sense that coming from political leaders, it is meant to deceive the people we are leading, because the people will believe it as the gospel truth.

The information we have surpasses that of the common people on the street that have to wait for us, and listen to us in order to make their judgment.

So, what do you say to the colossal investments in military personnel, equipment and so on in order to restore peace to the people of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States? What of the human lives lost — soldiers, police and other security personnel?

To equate that to N3 billion Nollywood grant, and make reference to the N200 million gesture from the president, is wicked and fraudulent. And I want to believe that my good friend, Governor Kashim Shettima, didn’t say that.

Are the G-7 governors capable of stopping Jonathan to re-contest in the 2015 elections?

I don’t want us to think along that line because, when you think of Governors Lamido, Kwankwaso, Nyako, Wammako and Aliyu, these are pillars of the PDP in the North; they are our leaders. I don’t want to join issues with them. I only want to wish them a peaceful reconciliation.

I only want to appeal to them that they should sit down and listen to President Jonathan on the need to sustain the alliance between the South-South and North.

The G-7 governors are elder brothers to me in the party. Let them solve this problem amicably; they should not wash their dirty linens in the public.


http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/

free hydrochloric acid for apc rats seeking the needful.

The national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has apologised to former Governor Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto State for failing to intimate him of their recent visit to incumbent Gov. Aliyu Wamakko.
A seven-man delegation, led by former Governor John Oyegun of Edo and Governor AbdulAziz Yari of Zamfara, visited Sokoto on Sunday to apologise to Bafarawa as well as APC leaders and members in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the APC national leadership had on Oct. 29 attended the inauguration of the Sokoto State University, Sokoto, without intimating Mr. Bafarawa.
The national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has apologised to former Governor Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto State for failing to intimate him of their recent visit to incumbent Gov. Aliyu Wamakko.
A seven-man delegation, led by former Governor John Oyegun of Edo and Governor AbdulAziz Yari of Zamfara, visited Sokoto on Sunday to apologise to Bafarawa as well as APC leaders and members in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the APC national leadership had on Oct. 29 attended the inauguration of the Sokoto State University, Sokoto, without intimating Mr. Bafarawa.
Similarly, the party leaders, led by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Chief Bisi Akande and Chief Bola Tinubu, had on Nov. 6 visited the state, to woo Wamakko to defect to APC, without informing ex-Governor Bafarawa and APC members in the state.
“The National leadership of the party understands the disaffection caused by their mistakes,” Mr. Oyegun said.
“Our visit here today is to make peace and offer our regrets that what happened was a mistake of the head, not the body,” Mr. Oyegun said.
The ex-governor said the national leadership of the party appreciated the crucial role which Bafarawa played in the formation of APC.
Mr. Oyegun also urged the party members in the state to be “gallant and receptive”.
Also speaking, Mr. Yari pledged that such mistakes would not be allowed to recur.
“Everybody is welcome into APC and the party needs more members to fight the battle ahead in 2015, successfully,’’ he, however, said.
Responding, Mr. Bafarawa said: “We have accepted the apology of the national leadership of the party.
“We have to behave like democrats and nothing is impossible in politics,” he added.
He, however, said the APC members in the state should be allowed to “solve our local problems locally’’.
Bafarawa stressed that the APC in the state was not stopping anybody from joining the party.
“Doing otherwise is unconstitutional and Gov. Wamakko is welcome. There is nothing that is impossible.
“However, nobody should externally interfere with our local problems and the rules of the game must be followed duly,” he added.

http://premiumtimesng.com/

AtlanticBreeze: so how many votes were canceled in those units then?

Go verify the reasons for vote cancellation in 2011 electoral act as amended. You will never hear Tony Nwoye complain about this cancellation.

Too many lowlife, looking for something to talk about. When the airline takes off, please don't fly it. Make no mistake about it, the same bandwagon of people opposed to the changes in the industry are the same mor0ns crying here today.

Only people suffering from serious inferior complex will insult agbakara. The original African gin.

igala1: Its relatively obvious that only persons with background in finance, accounting and banking would understand the financial risk requiring mitigants we are in. This explains why the government look like "super-human" to the rest "naïve" ones amongst us.
Let me break it down as a layman

Sure P= margin in pump price,current price-old price I.e N97-N65=N32/litre
FAAC=crude oil accruals, I.e sales-expenses,cost of production=unknown
Excess Crude Account-ECA (savings)=margin btw global price- pegged budget estimate($110- $79)/mbpd =$41/mbpd.

What this implies is as follows:
1. If ECA is used to sustain sure-p, where is Sure-P?
2. NNPC, Min Fin,Min Pet and CBN have to give a/c of figures for sales and expenses to configure FAAC.

Here smart accountants can manipulate figures and deceive the un-noticing public.

Your analysis tells me one thing, government has no business in business.