Sincere 9gerian:
Of course you do care, reason you replied.

In fact, not just that you care, you'r INTIMIDATED and BAMBOOZLED by it.

Sincere 9gerian: I knew that all along. The major reason I'm SOLIDLY and unshakebly behind the president.

Will this sort of report EVER make front page? Never! The question is why? Seun, why?

It had all the trappings of a tug of war in Akure, Ondo State Capital yesterday as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the upcoming All Progressives Congress (APC) locked in serious battle to win Governor Olusegun Mimiko over to their side. Mimiko and his deputy, Alhaji Ali Olanusi was sworn-in as the executive governor and deputy governor of the state for a second term at a well attended ceremony.
The event brought together eminent Nigerians across political party affiliations. Curiously, arch political foes in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) led by the Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and former governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba and Governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Al-Makura were very conspicuous at the ceremony.
Their presence against expectation fuelled speculation that they may have been on a mission to woo Mimiko to the APC. Also the presence of a high level apparatchik of the PDP, which comprised of some members of the federal executive council and some governors added to the insinuation of struggle over the governor.
The governor has been at daggers drawn with the ACN governors in the South West such that his victory in the last governorship election has been subject of litigation by both PDP and ACN candidates. The presence of top echelons of both parties was viewed yesterday as an endorsement of his victory irrespective of the ongoing legal challenge. There have been series of reports in recent times that the PDP is seriously courting Mimiko who is currently a member of the Labour Party and Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State who is flying the flag of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
Sources at the event disclosed that the APC leaders dispatched Fayemi and others to maintain a presence at the ceremony and from there explore avenue for possible talks with the governor.
“ACN is not leaving anything to chance. It is time for him to join the progressive rank in the country at least for regional integration”, said the source.
However, the new governor promised more commitment to good governance and assured the people of the state that he would not let them down.
Mimiko took the oath of office administered on him by the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Justice Olaseinde Kumuyi at exactly 1:05 pm while his deputy, Alhaji Ali Olanusi had taken his at 12:35 pm.
Governor Mimiko was subsequently anointed with oil by Elder Tunde Adesida after prayers were offered for him, the state and Nigeria as a whole.
In his speech after he had been sworn-in, Mimiko was full of praises to God for the journey of four years which lapsed yesterday and the achievements recorded by his administration which he described as landmark and unprecedented in the history of the state.
At the Democracy Park built by the administration of Mimiko during his first term in office which was the venue of the event, people of the state gathered in their thousands to cheer the governor, popularly called Iroko by his admirers.
The governor who scored his administration high in all sectors in the state, however promised that he would not relent in the next four years to take governance closer to the people by ensuring greater achievements on all fronts.
He informed that the major focus of his new government shall be an aggressive drive at job creation for the teeming unemployed youths through innovative and durable programmes that will engender sustainable livelihood.
He informed that to achieve the industrial revolution he has in mind for the state, “government is undertaking a 30MW Independent Power Project in Ore, to provide independent power that will attract several industries to Ondo State”.
Commenting on some projects and programmes initiated by his government in the first term which were yet to be delivered, Mimiko said, “the on-going International Events Centre, The Dome, will by God’s grace be delivered this year. The state’s residency card, Kaadi Igbe Ayo will be launched by the grace ofGod, next month.”
He however appealed to the people of the state to ensure that they fulfill their own part of the social contract by obeying laws and paying their taxes, whilealso advising members of the political class to cease from looking at government and service as a goldmine.
While advising the people of the state to embrace hard work, Mimiko said, “we are proud people with a proud heritage; we are Akikanju and must not bow to gods of corruption, sleaze and indolence.”
Talking on integration, the governor said, “We assureour sister states of our commitment to cooperation such that our region can benefit from the individual strength of each state and possibilities of our aggregated potentials. We remain steadfast in our call for a restructuring of the country to achieve true federalism. We demand more equity in the revenue sharing formula and the devolution of more powers to the federating units.”
Mimiko therefore promised the people that he would continue to work until every child has access to quality education in a 21st Century environment, establish unfettered access to affordable quality health care services especially for the vulnerable group, food security in every home, every youth is usefully engaged and until the state was able to complete theongoing reform to facilitate aggressive capitalisation of the land resources.
The event was witnessed by eminent Nigerians whichincluded former Head of State, General Abdusalam Abubakar, Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) Peter Obi (Anambra) Theodore Orji (Abia ) and Tanko Al-makura (Nasarawa), former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, former governors of Oyo State, Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja and Alao Akala, and the minister for health.
Also in attendance were former governors of the defunct Western Region, General Adeyinka Adebayo and Rear Admiral Akin Aduwo, Dr Tunji Braithwaite, Brigadier Dayo Olukoya, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chief Great Ogboru, Oba Otudeko, Chief Michael Ade Ojo, Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi (Rtd) the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, senators, members of the House of Representatives, members of the state House of Assembly, traditional rulers, politicians, technocrats and a host of others.

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Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, on Thursday said eminent Nigerians, including former Heads of State, Generals Ibrahim Babangida, and Abdulsalam Abubakar would attend the second term inauguration ceremony of Governor Olusegun Mimiko.
Akinmade, who is a member of the inauguration committee, also added in a statement in Akure that former Head of Interim Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan; and former Vice President, Atiku Abubarkar, will also grace the occasion.
He said governors Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi , Chief Rochas Okorocha, Theodore Orji and Godswill Akpabio of Anambra, Rivers, Imo, Abia and Akwa Ibom states respectively, would also be in attendance.
Other governors scheduled to grace the occasion include Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Ibrahim Shema (Katsina); Gabriel Suswan (Benue); and Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa).
Akinmade added that Ijaw leader,Chief Edwin Clark, and a former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, were also being expected at the inauguration ceremony.
Meanwhile, notable politicians in the state spoke at a programme organised by the Omoluabi Foundation on Thursday, advising the state Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, to beware of sycophants.
They included a former commissioner in the state, Chief Segun Adegoke, Mr. Segun Ojo, Senator Remi Okunrinboye, Chief Mrs. Febisola Adekeye, and the Commissioner for Community Development and Cooperative Services, Clement Faboyede.
Ojo commended the decision of the governor to dualise the Arakale road, saying this had been impossible for successive governments in the 37 years old state
Meanwhile, most of the witnesses listed by the ActionCongress of Nigeria to testify in its petition before the Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Akure, on Thursday gave contradictory responses during cross-examination.
The witnesses, for instance, had alleged in their various statements that a different voter register, which was inflated with additional names that were not in the 2011 register, was used by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the conduct of the poll.
However, during cross examinations by counsel for Mimiko, the Labour Party and the INEC, the witnessesadmitted that they were given the 2011 register which was used for the poll.
They also claimed that they did not have in their possession, the voter register which they had earlier admitted on oath was used by INEC to conduct the October 2012 governorship poll.
A mild drama ensued during the cross examination ofone Timothy Korede, who claimed to be the Secretaryof ACN in his local government council.
Korede had claimed in his statement on oath that he was the Returning Officer of his ward, whereas there was no such role in the INEC manual for the poll.
He also contradicted himself when he claimed to have distributed the voter register to all his party agents in his ward on the election day, despite the restriction of movement on that day.

The lead detective in the Oscar Pistorius murder case is himself facing attempted murder charges for firing on a minibus full of passengers, South African police said on Thursday as prosecutors argued in court to deny the athlete bail.
Hilton Botha, who took the stand against Pistorius at the Paralympic and Olympic track star's bail hearing earlier this week, is due to appear before a judge in May over the 2011 shooting, police spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila said.
"Botha and two other policemen allegedly tried to stop a minibus taxi with seven people. They fired shots," Malila told Reuters.
It was unclear why the charges were reinstated against Botha, or how the latest twist in Pistorius's sensational four-day bail hearing will affect the athlete's chances of securing release from custody pending his trial.
At the time of the taxi bus shooting, Botha - a detective with 24 years on the force - was chasing a man accused of murdering a woman and disposing of her dismembered body down a drain, local media said.
The charges against him were provisionally withdrawn but reinstated on February 4 - 10 days before the shooting of 29-year-old model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp in a locked toilet at Pistorius's Pretoria home, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.
"The decision to reinstate was taken on February 4, way before the issue of Pistorius came to light or the murder of Reeva was committed," NPA spokesman Medupe Simasiku told Reuters. "It's completely unrelated to this trial."
Malila said now that the court had decided to charge Botha, there would be an internal disciplinary investigation which would decide whether to keep him on the case: "At this stage there are no plans to take him off the Pistorius case."
Pistorius, a double amputee dubbed "Blade Runner" because of his carbon fiber racing blades, faces life in prison if convicted of the premeditated murder of Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day.
JUSTICE ON TRIAL?
The revelation about Botha capped a troubling 24 hours for South Africa's prosecution service.
Under cross-examination at the bail hearing on Wednesday, the lead detective was accused of contaminating the crime scene in Pistorius's house and had to backtrack on details such as the distance of witnesses from the athlete's home.
Grilled by lead defense counsel Barry Roux, he also had to concede that Pistorius's version of events - that he fired into the toilet door in a blind panic thinking an intruder was lurking behind it - was plausible.
The bail hearing resumed on Thursday with prosecutors immediately admitting they had only just found out about the charges hanging over Botha.
Pressing home the defense's advantage to argue for Pistorius's release, Roux said: "The poor quality of evidence presented by the chief investigating officer exposed disastrous shortcomings in the state's case."
The 26-year-old runner denies murder and was more composed in court after repeatedly breaking down in previous hearings.
His uncle, Arnold Pistorius, said his nephew was eating again after consuming nothing for six days and had spent much of his time in police custody reading the Bible.
SOUTH AFRICA AGOG
The proceedings have gripped South Africans, who have become self-appointed instant experts on the finer points of police forensics and the ins and outs of the criminal justice process.
As public opinion has swayed back and forth, schoolchildren have come to blows in playgrounds over the athlete's innocence or guilt, and on Thursday "Hilton Botha" was a top-trending topic on Twitter in South Africa.
"We talk about the case every day. It's all over the news. You can't ignore it," said Happy Ngwenya, a taxi driver waiting for rides in Johannesburg's Sandton financial district.
"He must face his music but the thing is, here in South Africa, criminals have so many rights."
With massive international media interest in the case against a global celebrity, many South Africans feel the apparent hiccups on the part of the state prosecution were hurting the country's image in the eyes of the world.
"Bring someone from outside to sort out this mess," said businessman Godfrey Baloyi. "The whole justice system needs an overhaul."

Dawdy: How can A sane Muslim wish such A person RIP? The person who exposed her Body, who sang Haram Song. many palestinians are killed unjustly every day. Muslims dont have time to pray for them, but they do for A wayward musician.

PapaBrowne: Anybody that believes Saharareporters would believe anything.
The article has only one purpose: To distract from the news that Fashola paid 500,000 USD for Kim Kardashain's visit.
2006 is 7 years ago. We really cant be bothered about that right now. We've seen worse, like the 2,2 billion naira 150 seater hall in Abuja.

The news of the day is Fashola's $500,000 on Kim Kardashain and it would be fool hardy for Sahareporters to try to distract us from that reality and prevent us from asking Fashola the right questions.

SaharaReporters has uncovered a document indicating that a million dollars of Bayelsa State’s poverty alleviation fund was spent by then Governor Goodluck Jonathan on bringing American entertainers Beyonce and Jay Z to Nigeria in 2006.
In a letter stamped and signed by Bayelsa officials, N150 million (approximately a million dollars in 2006) was released from the state’s poverty alleviation fund for the first ThisDay Music Festival in Lagos.
The document came to light after a controversy was ignited over how much money American “reality TV” star Kim Kardashian was paid for a brief visit to Nigeria.
Ms. Kardashian, star of a US TV show about her idle rich family and who shot to international fame after a sex tape featuring her and her rapper boyfriend went viral, was reportedly paid half a million dollars for the 24-hour-visit last week.
The sources who provided the 2006 document for Beyonce and Jay Z’s visit told Saharareporters that there was a shady financial link between the producers of some high profile entertainment events and the governors and other officials who control budgets at the state and federal levels. Mr. Obaigbena’s newspaper, ThisDay, is a major sponsor of entertainment events that brings US music stars as well as top public figures for flying visits to Nigeria in exchange for gargantuan paychecks.
“Mr. Obaigbena often lines up financial bonanzas fromnumerous governors, ministers and other top government officials to finance his jamborees,” said one of the sources who is based in the UK and is knowledgeable about such deals.
SaharaReporters obtained a letter from Mr. Obaigbena to the Bayelsa State government soliciting funds from the oil-producing state ahead of Nigeria’s 46th independence celebrations in 2006. The publisherwrote, “We invite you to partner with us as co-hosts ofthe festival.” The letter added: “With a total budget of$10 million, the co-host is expected to contribute a minimum of $2.5 million (two million five hundred thousand USD).”
At the bottom of the letter, minuted by hand and signed by then Governor Jonathan’s aides as well as the Bayelsa State accountant general are the words, “Release N150,000,000.00 (One hundred and fifty million naira) only to be drawn from the poverty alleviation subhead.”
One source told SaharaReporters that Mr. Obaigbena sent similar letters to other south-south states.
SaharaReporters could not ascertain how much of the released funds was paid directly to performers at the festival. There is no indication that Beyonce, one of thefew entertainment stars internationally famous enoughto only need one name, was aware that her performance was being subsidized by the poor people of Bayelsa.
But during Beyonce’s celebrated rendition of the Nigerian national anthem, pictures of Bayelsa State were projected onto the wall of the Lagos concert venue.
According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, 47% of Bayelsans live in poverty. The World Bank says that per capita gross domestic product in the Niger Delta is significantly below the country’s average. According to the state’s own 2005 development strategy, 80% of rural communities have no access to safe drinking water, a key indicator in judging poverty. In Yenagoa, the state capital and Bayelsa’s largest urban area, an estimated two out of every five residents do not have access to safe drinking water.
In 2005, as part of its UN-approved strategy to combat poverty, the state promised to make a fund of N100 million available as soft loans and micro-credit to Bayelsans. The allocated fund was N50 million less than Mr. Jonathan approved for Mr. Obaigbena’s music festival. That promise was made in the Bayelsa State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy, published by the United Nations Development Program and signed by then Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. A civil rights activist in Yenogoa told SaharaReporters that the state “has been a woeful failure in its poverty reduction program.”
The letter from Mr. Obaigbena to then-governor Goodluck Jonathan said the concert was necessary to show that the news from Nigeria was “not just…HIV/AIDS, conflicts, poverty, kidnapping, strife and riots.”
The publisher added: “This is the longest ever period of democracy in Nigeria, over seven years and counting! And a stable democracy means more investment and economic prosperity for all.”
The publisher went on to give reasons why the state government should contribute to the concert.
The stars’ performances would “tell the world, throughmusic, that Nigeria’s time has come,” Mr. Obaigbena wrote. The letter added, “And once the good news catches on with the young and upwardly mobile, musicloving new generation it will catch on with the world ofinvestments and bountiful opportunities.”
In 2006, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan had just become governor of Bayelsa after his boss, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, was impeached and convicted on corruption charges. Mr. Jonathan was then elevated to Vice President to then President Umaru Yar’Adua. Mr. Yar’Adua's death in 2010 enabled Mr. Jonathan, a zoologist whose PhD focused on tropical fish, to assume the presidency.
Since 2006, Mr. Obaigbena’s parent company, Leaders& Company, has produced a number of high-profile events that have seen such American stars as Rihanna, R Kelly, and Usher perform for Nigerians. The ticket prices for these concerts are usually out of reach of the “average” Nigerian. The events feature tickets that cost many tens of thousands of naira, usually reserved for “VIP access.” ThisDay has also hosted political luminaries like former US President BillClinton and former economic adviser to the Obama presidency, Lawrence Summers. At an Africa Rising concert in London, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell came on stage and danced to the popular Naijajam “Yahooze” by Olu Maintain.

An Islamist group linked to al Qaeda claimed responsibility on Monday for kidnapping seven foreigners in an attack in a remote Nigerian town at the weekend, when raiders used explosives to blast their way into a housing compound in a hail of gunfire.
Gunmen killed a security guard and abducted a Briton, an Italian, a Greek and four Lebanese workers after storming the compound of Lebanese construction firm Setraco in Jama'are in Bauchi state late on Saturday.
It was the worst case of foreigners being kidnapped in the mostly Muslim north of Africa's most populous country since an insurgency by Islamist militants intensified two years ago.
"By Allah's grace (we) have the custody of seven persons, which include Lebanese and their European counterparts working with Setraco," read a statement from Ansaru, a group that has kidnapped other foreigners in Nigeria in the past.
The kidnapping was "based on the transgression and atrocities done to the religion of Allah by the European countries in many places such as Afghanistan and Mali," the statement said.
Three foreigners were killed in two failed rescue attempts last year after being kidnapped in northern Nigeria and Ansaru, blamed for those kidnaps, warned this could happen again.
"Any attempt or act (against us) by European nations or by the Nigerian Government will lead to (similar) happenings," said the group, which has not issued any specific demands.
Attacks by Islamist groups in northern Nigeria have become the biggest threat to stability in Africa's top oil producer. Western governments are concerned the Islamists may link up with groups elsewhere in the region, including al Qaeda's North African wing AQIM, especially given the conflict in nearby Mali.
France intervened in Mali last month as Islamist forces, which hijacked a rebellion by ethnic Touareg MNLA separatists to seize control of the north in the confusion following a military coup in March 2012, pushed south towards the capital Bamako.
PANDEMONIUM
In the Jama'are housing compound, walls were strewn with bullet holes and empty cartridges lay on the floor as police searched the deserted Setraco site on Monday, witnesses said. The remaining foreign workers abandoned their homes and fled to safer areas in Nigeria.
Islamist fighters first attacked a police station and a prison, burning vehicles to immobilize security officials, before striking the compound in a coordinated attack, the Setraco compound security manager said.
"Some of them attacked the camp from the north side, while others from the south. They blew holes in the security gates using explosives," Musa Alhamdu told Reuters.
"There was pandemonium after the gunmen opened fire on the four policemen attached to the camp, the policemen ran away as they were overpowered," Alhamdu added.
Ansaru's full name is Jama'atu Ansarul Musilimina Fi Biladis Sudan, which roughly translates as "Vanguards for the Protection of Muslims in Black Africa".
The group has risen to prominence only in recent months.
It claimed responsibility for a dawn raid on a major police station in the Nigerian capital last year, where it said hundreds of prisoners were released. Last month, it attacked a convoy of Nigerian troops en route to deployment in Mali.
The group said the abduction of the Frenchman last year, who is still missing, was motivated by France's ban of the full-face veil and its support for military action against Islamist insurgents in Mali.
"TERRORIST GROUP"
Kidnapping of foreigners for ransom has been common in Nigeria's southern oil region for a decade but abductions by radical Islamists in the north only began two years ago.
Britain in November put Ansaru on its official "terrorist group" list, saying it was aligned with al Qaeda and was behind the kidnap of a Briton and an Italian killed last year during a failed rescue attempt.
A German engineer kidnapped in the northern city of Kano in January last year was killed by his captors in May when security forces made an attempt to rescue him.
Ansaru is thought to have loose ties to Boko Haram, a Nigerian Islamic militant group which has killed hundreds during a three-year-long insurgency focused mostly on the security forces, religious targets and politicians, rather than foreigners.
President Goodluck Jonathan has said several times in the last year that the military is winning the battle against what he calls "terrorism" in northern Nigeria.
Violence is stunting economic development in the north and risks increasing the divide with the wealthier and largely Christian south, which is home to the commercial hub Lagos and Jonathan's home oil-producing Niger Delta region.
The presidency said on Monday security agencies were taking all the necessary steps to rescue the kidnapped foreigners.
"The President condemns the kidnapping... and reaffirms the Government's total commitment to stamping out all forms of terrorism and criminal abduction," a statement said.

Sincere 9gerian: By the time most of President Jonathan's projects near completion towards late 2014, even haters would scream wow!! How did this happen?

Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa yesterday plunked down a whopping N3 billion as mobilisation fee for two flyover bridges in Yenogoa, the state capital. The total cost of both projects is N15.6 billion, SaharaReporters has learned.
Dickson’s action comes at a time that millions of residents in coastal areas of the state remain cut off from the rest of the world. Most of Bayelsa’s communities are not accessible by road, making the construction of bridges a critical necessity.
It will be recalled that General Andrew Azazi, a former National Security Adviser, lost his life in a helicopter crash in Bayelsa last December while returning from one such community.
Dickson, who personally presented the upfront payment to the management of Julius Berger, said that the flyover bridges would add aesthetics to Yenagoa.
As the governor made his aesthetics move, critical infrastructure such as roads and bridges that were damaged in the recent flood disaster are still begging for attention, and there is no drinking water.
One of the flyovers Julius Berger will be constructing, at Tombia Road/Edepie Junction, is valued at N9.8 billion. The second one, valued at N5.8 billion, will be sited at a roundabout at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) petrol station.
Bayelsa State last month received a total of N15,215,365,755.87 from the Federation Account, according to figures from the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission in Abuja.
Total deductions at source stood at N2,385,690,315, and the balance net inflow at N12,829,675,439.91.

Former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has alleged that Mallam Nuhu Ribadu tried to incriminate former President Umaru Yar’Adua.
This he said happened when former President Olusegun Obasanjo showed a preference for Yar’Adua as his successor and not el-Rufai or the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
El-Rufai said this in his new book, The Accidental Public Servant.
El-Rufai also alluded to the insistence of Ribadu to be made Obasanjo’s successor in the book.
He said the former boss of the anti-graft agency was livid with anger the day Yar’Adua informed him that Obasanjo had asked him to pick the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential nomination form.
“Well, Obasanjo has not told me, and as far as the Presidency is concerned, I have my candidate for the presidency, and that is Nasir el-Rufai. I am going to speak to Obasanjo about this,” Ribadu had told Yar’Adua, according to el-Rufai.
He said when it dawned on Ribadu that Obasanjo was in support of Yar’Adua, the former police bossstarted looking for incriminating petitions against him.
El-Rufai wrote, “Nuhu’s instinctive reaction was that of a typical policeman – dusted up EFCC files and combed for petitions against Umaru.
“Nuhu did not realise it at that time, but he was the one in trouble, not Obasanjo or Umaru. He dusted up all his files and found petitions against the then Katsina State governor and launched investigations.
“He was clearly trying to take Yar’Adua out of the race and narrow all options to zero except for el-Rufai,” he said.
The investigations, he said, led to the arrest of local government chairmen in the state, on the allegation of diversion of local government funds.
The former minister said he had to persuade Ribadu to stop the investigations, saying that people would read meanings into all his actions.
“Anything you do henceforth will only just confirm what people say about you –that you target people that threaten certain interests. If you had been investigating Yar’Adua for a year beforehand, that would have been different, but you were not. It is too late to start now,” el-Rufai claimed he had told Ribadu.
El-Rufai also said leaving office as the President of Nigeria in 2003 was very painful for Obasanjo.
Writing under the sub-headline, ‘The final breakfast,’ el-Rufai said the former President looked pale and sad the day he was going to hand over power to his successor, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.
He said rather than being happy, Obasanjo looked as if he was going to be killed.
He wrote, “The sentiment of the breakfast was for the most part upbeat, though it struck me that Obasanjo, that morning, looked like he had grown several years older.
“He looked as if he was about to face death – his skin was sallow and it was very clear that this was difficult for him, like someone in the final hours before heading to the electric chair.
“He did not eat any breakfast, he just had some tea. I never thought of losing power as being that painful, but he was visibly pained.”
But a source close to the former President said that el-Rufai, who was Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under Obasanjo, said he (el-Rufai) decided to deride the former President because he did not anoint him as his successor.
He said el-Rufai had thought that the former President would put him forward as his preferred choice instead of supporting Yar’Adua.
The source said that the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, had told Obasanjo to narrow the search for his successor to only the former minister of the FCT.
The source, also a former minister, said, “el-Rufai is bellyaching. He has not forgiven Obasanjo for not asking him to pick the PDP presidential nomination form, unlike Yar’Adua.
“He, with Ribadu backing him, had thought that the President would make him his natural successor. The anger of his rejection manifested in his new book.”

The Senior Special Assistant to President GoodluckJonathan on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, speaks with OLUSOLA FABIYI on the perception of the President as a slow leader

What do you think is responsible for the attack on President Goodluck Jonathan by Nigerians despite the huge support he got from them during the 2011 election?
Which attack?
They say he is slow and that he doesn’t respond to issues on time. They say the luck that followed him to the Presidential Villa in 2011 has deserted him.
No, no. I don’t think there is a problem with the President; It is the anger that followed the removal of the fuel subsidy in January 1, 2011. What I believe is that by the end of this year when the majority of the transformation agenda of the President must have come to fruition, there would be a turn around. The President himself is not a new man to criticism. When he became Governor of Bayelsa State, the attitude of Bayelsans at that time was similar to what is being done on the larger Nigeria scale today. But when he was leaving, people did not want him to go. All the antagonism latter changed to affection because of his performance.

With the way you said the President is working, and Nigerians different impression about him, how does the President feel?
This President is a man of high strength. Like he says, he is a fisherman and the characteristics of fishermen include ruggedness, patience and perseverance. When you go to the sea to catch fish, you do not know what lies on the sea for you and the challenges you are going to face. So, you are going to have a lot of courage and will have to be hopeful. And when you are at sea and cast your net, you have to wait, and wait for some time, at times; fishermen wait a whole night to have a bumper harvest. These are the characters that are engraved in this President. He is courageous; he is rugged and can persevere. He is also very, resilient. Nigeria is lucky at this time of severe social stress that we have a man who has alot of patience.

Or a man that is slow, you mean to say?
What people count as being slow is something that I find very interesting. I see President Jonathan as a calculating and a decisive person. He takes his time and weighs his options before taking correct decisions and I think that is better than rushing to decisions that can be regrettable. Some mistakes can be very catastrophic and I’m very sure that we have not come close to that withthis presidency and we won’t.

But the opposition is saying that the country is drifting…
(Cuts in) Yes, the country is drifting towards success; the country is drifting from hopelessness; the country is drifting from lack of focus; the country is drifting from low power; the country is drifting from the danger of food crisis towards progress, towards substantial improvement in power supply, towards a transformation in agricultural production and the lives of every citizen of the country.

No, they say the country is drifting towards negativity?
No, that is not correct. And in any case, it is the work of the opposition to say that. We are not perturbed. Between now and 2014 will decide who is right.

So, the coming together of the opposition political parties won’t have any negative effect on the PDP-led Federal Government in 2015?
Opposition can come together, that is something good for the country because this country needs a formidable and virile opposition. It is necessary for democracy to survive. I don’t want a one-party state for the country. We need at least two, or three strong political parties. I just wish that opposition would come together for the interest of Nigerians and come with manifesto that would putthe government on its toes.

The scenario you have painted indicates that you would be expecting Nigerians to demand that Jonathan should contest in 2015?
In this country, we do not have too many heroes. I have a deep feeling within me that this same gentleman that some people want us to belief is not doing much for the country today, is the same gentleman that in 2015, there would be a mass movement that would insist that Jonathan must run based on performance and policy.

So, the opposition will have no luck come 2015?
No, I am not saying that. When the opposition come together, their lots would be better and if they are able to put together some credible programme, there would be some marginal improvements in their electoral performance, which is good for the country, but we would still win.

Are you saying Gen. Muhammadu Buhari cannot defeat President Jonathan in a free and fair election?
Buhari cannot win any election in the modern day Nigeria. Even some members of CPC tell me the same thing. He is a very sincere person. He is a disciplinarian and one of the leaders we should beproud of. But his time has passed. There is nothing new he can bring to the table. Being a disciplinarian is not enough for modern things that Nigerians would need in 2015. A movement will come and it will be obvious when Nigeria will be going.

A movement that would be sponsored by the presidency?
No, you don’t understand. It will be a spontaneousone. A movement of the people. That situation is coming.

The major problem of the country is corruption and there are allegations that this government is doing little to tackle it.
That is not true. Your first statement is true while the second statement is false. Corruption is a major problem in this country and is endemic. It is not about Goodluck Jonathan; it is about what Nigeria is. There is corruption everywhere. If you look at the so-called oil thieves, they are neither government workers nor politicians. If you look at the pension scammers, they are all civil servants. We have major challenges with corruption. The government is doing its best and the fight on corruption has to shift to the judiciary. Government has put in the needed apparatus to fight corruption. The President is not interfering with the apparatus. Look at the issue of the pension scammer, you will find out that the maximum sentence for the office is just two years. We still have some things that need to be done. The President cannot on his own change the law.

The President is handicapped by the judiciary or provision of the law?
It is not the President that is handicapped by the law; it is the entire criminal justice that is handicapped by the law of the land. The President has done his own part. When people said this person was not good to head the EFCC, the person was removed and a new person was brought based on recommendations by some people. He has given free hand to all. Nobody in EFCC, ICPC and the police, will say the President is interfering.

Are you saying come 2014 and 2015, we will not see a situation whereby the EFCC will be set against those perceived to be against President Jonathan’s second term ambition?
But the EFCC is right now running after everybody and they are getting judgements.

You didn’t answer the question.
We must change the law. Can President Jonathan stop person from obtaining interlocutory injunction or perpetual injunction? He cannot. It is not in his power. The President is not a god and he is not a king. He cannot use power arbitrarily.

What is the problem with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Jonathan?
There is not problem between them. I do not see any major problem between these two gentlemen. People are wishing and hoping that there will be problem. Those who prosper from confusion are the ones looking for problem.

Is there no clash on who should become the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party?
Why should they clash? The former President personally relinquished power as the chairman of the board. So, why should he come back to struggle on who emerges as the next chairman?

Obasanjo may be interested in who succeeds him…
I doubt it. I’m not sure about that. If he wants a successor, he would have discussed it and I know that President Jonathan would have graciously agreed to his nominee.

You have worked with the two of them. How would you evaluate them?
They are two totally different personalities. You cannot put them on the same scale but both of them love Nigeria. Both of them have a fixation about the oneness of the country and they are hard working. President Obasanjo is perhaps more of an extrovert. If he is angry with you or does not like what you have done, he would say it and that is the end. President Jonathan is a little bit of an introvert. That is his own nature, but he is a kind person. He can hardly hurt anyone. Both of them believe in God.

What of their social lives?
I have not seen much of the social life of President Jonathan, but I know that President Obasanjo is a very serious-minded person. He likes to have fun; likes to enjoy himself and he is a very humorous man.

An indigent mother of a newly born set of twins, Mrs. Toyin Adebayo, was detained by the management of a private hospital in Ado Ekiti for 45 days after failing to offset the hospital bill for a Caesarean section.
Our correspondent gathered on Friday that the woman was rushed to the hospital on December 23 from a mission house, where she was taken to be delivered of her babies.
Adebayo was said to have been rushed to the private hospital when she started bleeding profusely following a complication.
Although the family of the woman could not pay any deposit, the hospital management was said to have ordered that the woman be operated upon to save her life and her unborn children.
The hospital was said to have later demanded about N100,000 but no member of her family showed up.
Consequently, the woman and her set of twins were detained in the hospital until the medical bill could be paid.
A medical officer at the hospital told journalists that the result of the scan carried out on the woman showed that the placenta was wrongly positioned.
The husband of the woman, Femi, who is a technician, was said to have opted for okada business to raise the money.
His efforts were thwarted as he was arrested by a policeman for allegedly violating a traffic law. The policeman was said to have demanded a bribe of N10,000 before releasing the motorcycle.
The husband, who became frustrated after this, was said to have resorted to begging from churches where he met the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ado Ekiti, Mr. Joseph Adewumi, who invited the Justice Sector Reform Committee.
The committee informed the state governor’s wife, Mrs. Bisi Fayemi, who visited the hospital, paid the bill and secured the release of the woman and her babies.

Sincere 9gerian: Ongoing work on the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja dualization road project. The road is an major highway linking South-East, South-South and South-West from the nation’s capital city of Abuja. The Abuja-Lokoja section of the road is 196km long

jonex70:
Joshua said as the giant of Africa, Nigeria last won the Nations Cup 13 years ago, which was too long ago for a great football nation like Nigeria.

la furia: so such a law exist in France, intresting that the media didnt make it an issue like women not driving cars in saudi arabia. and no female activist in france all this years? hmm

Sincere 9gerian: The ongoing dualisation and rehabilitation of the approximately 250km Abuja – Abaji – Lokoja Expressway which is one of the major corridors for the movement of people, goods and services in and out of Abuja. It is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2014.

Sincere 9gerian: Lagos-kano inaugural train ride. Passengers boarding the train on that faithful day

Sincere 9gerian: I'll continue to post pictures of projects on this thread as I find them. I'm not surprised this thread did not make front page. It has become obvious to many of us that NL is in the pockets of anti-GEJ elements. NL now belongs to the camp of Premium Times, Punch, SR, Nations News and others like them. It is very unfortunate that we can hardly get an unbiased platform these days.

Anyway, nothing spoil. Some of us will keep doing what we'r doing irrespective of the antics of disgruntled elements