₦airaland Forum

Tambuwal, others expected to follow as defection spreads to Kebbi, Plateau, Abia
•Anenih: Peace talks continue next week


Chuks Okocha, Muhammad Bello, Omololu Ogunmade and Onwuka Nzeshi

The crack in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appears to be widening by the day as no fewer than 57 members of the party in the House of Representatives have declared their support for the splinter group of the party.


The defectors, in a statement obtained by THISDAY Tuesday, appended their signatures to a declaration of loyalty to the New PDP.
It was however learnt that the number might swell soon as other House members, including the Speaker, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, were expected to switch loyalty.


The defectors said some lawmakers who ought to have signed the allegiance document, were not in town as the House is on recess, and would do so when they return.


The faction, whose birth was announced on Saturday, originally had in its fold former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and seven governors elected on the platform of the crisis-torn party.


The governors are Alhaji Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano). Others are Mr. Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Alhaji Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto).
The House of Representatives lawmakers jumped ship a day after 22 of their colleagues in the Senate took a similar step.


Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih, however expressed optimism yesterday that the party would emerge from the crisis stronger as peace talks with the aggrieved party members, whom he said had genuine grievances, would now continue next Tuesday.


THISDAY had exclusively reported yesterday that the governors aligned with the New PDP had elected to withdraw from a peace meeting, which was scheduled for yesterday with President Goodluck Jonathan, other PDP governors and party stalwarts.
It was further learnt that the defecting lawmakers in the House were essentially drawn from the seven states whose governors led the revolt against the leadership of the ruling party last Saturday.


It was also gathered that some lawmakers from Kogi, Kebbi, Plateau and Abia States have also jumped on the bandwagon.
A review of the 57 lawmakers who appended their signatures to the document yesterday showed that in Sokoto State, all the 11 House members elected on the platform of the PDP, including Tambuwal, have pitched their tent with the faction led by former acting National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Kawu Baraje.


Although Tambuwal did not join in the walkout staged by the aggrieved group last Saturday, sources said he has sympathy for the Baraje faction.


“Do you need to ask? Don't you know that from time he has not been with the mainstream PDP, hence he defied their directive and took the speakership seat that the party had earlier zoned to the South-west?
“Tambuwal is always with his governor (Wamakko) and you don't expect him to change at this time,” a source said.
In Rivers State, all the 13 lawmakers, except the two opposed to Amaechi have also joined the new group. The only two lawmakers left in the old boat are Hon. Ogundu Chinda, Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency and Hon. Kenneth Chikere of Port Harcourt 1 Federal Constituency.


Similarly, all the 14 PDP lawmakers in Kano State have joined the new group.
In Adamawa State, all the five federal lawmakers have crossed the carpet, just as seven of their counterparts in Niger State. It was also a clean sweep in Jigawa and Kwara States, both of which have 11 and six legislators respectively.


Kogi presented a similar result, as five out of the seven federal lawmakers have joined the new group. The remaining two – Hon. Yusuf Tajudeen (Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency) and Hon. Steve Karimu (Yagba East/Yagba West/Mopamuro Federal Constituency) – were said to have declined support for the emerging group due to the influence of a prominent politician from the Kogi West Senatorial District.


Although the picture was not clear with respect to the fate of the PDP in Kebbi, Plateau and Abia States, it was reliably gathered that the New PDP was making inroad into the three states.


In the statement endorsed by 57 House members last night, the lawmakers hailed the emergence of the faction and congratulated the Baraje-led National Executive Committee of the party.


The statement read thus: “We, the members of the House of Representatives under the platform of the New PDP, hereby congratulate our leaders on the emergence of the new party.


“Although a sizeable number of our members who could not append their signatures because of their unavailability in the country will do so immediately on arrival, we, the undersigned, salute and appreciate the courage, sacrifice and resilience and patriotism of our leaders namely: former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, GCON, and the Governors of Kano State, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Aliyu Wamakko, (Sokoto), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), and Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), and other well-meaning and eminent Nigerians for leading the way for the emergence of the New PDP.


“We are also using this opportunity to condemn in strong terms attempts by some agents of the federal government to use the state apparatus to witch-hunt some of these patriots for taking this bold and courageous step.


“As members of the House of Representatives, we call on the security agencies and other anti-graft bodies to be professional in their activities and not allow themselves to be used by anybody no matter how highly placed for their political ambitions. Remember how you want history to judge your tenures.


“We won't hesitate however to use all instruments of law within our powers as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), to stop this and bring anybody found wanting to book.
“We wish to state that by this statement, we pledge our loyalty and support to the New PDP under the able chairmanship of Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, the Deputy Chairman, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and other members of the National Executive Committee.


“We congratulate them and wish them the very best as they steer the affairs of our party to provide a level playing field for all Nigerians.”
It was also gathered that the New PDP House members might soon put pressure on the principal officers of the House to declare their stand or face removal.


This, a source said, was because with their numerical strength, as the majority the PDP once held in the House no longer exists.
At the moment, PDP has 204 members in the House, All Progressives Congress (APC) has 137, while the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Accord Party have five members each. The Labour Party has eight, while the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) has five members.


But with the defection of 57 members to the New PDP and more expected to join their ranks, they could combine with the 137 members of the APC to effect a change of leadership in the lower chamber of the National Assembly.


One of the defected lawmakers said the massive crossover of his colleagues to the New PDP was indicative that many members of the party were dissatisfied with the leadership of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

The lawmaker, who did not want to be named, added that the “real politicians” are the ones leaving the mainstream party to form the New PDP.


According to him, the factionalisation of the party was a signal to Jonathan to halt his ambition to run for a second term in 2015.
Announcing the postponement of the peace meeting, which was scheduled for yesterday, Anenih said the meeting would now hold next Tuesday.


He also added that the seven governors that stormed out of the special national convention to form the New PDP have genuine reasons for their action.


He said yesterday’s meeting was postponed at the request of the aggrieved governors.
In a statement, the PDP BoT chairman said: “I believe some of them have genuine grievances; but I have hope that once the grievances are addressed, they will come back.


“I am happy that the PDP has an internal mechanism for effective conflict resolution, and at the end of the day, the problems will be addressed and the PDP will come out of the crisis stronger.”


According to him, the planned reconciliation meeting with the PDP governors was put off and would continue next Tuesday after selected party leaders would have met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday as part of wider consultations demanded by parties to the crisis.


He explained that the aggrieved governors had informed the presidency and the PDP leadership that they needed more time to make wider consultations.


He added that the presidency and PDP leadership were taking advantage of the postponement to also consult widely on how to amicably resolve the crisis.
“Part of the wider consultations is the meeting of selected party leaders with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday morning and thereafter, we will meet with the governors on Tuesday, next week,” he added.


In the absence of the splinter group, the president however met with other governors of the party, Tukur and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pium Anyim, at about 9 pm yesterday in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
A roll call of attendees comprised Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan; Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Ahmed Gulak and PDP Deputy Chairman, Uche Secondus.


Others included Governors Ramalan Yero (Kaduna), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Theodore Orji (Abia), Senator Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Henry Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Capt. Idris Wada (Kogi) and Isa Yuguda (Bauchi).


On the defection of the 22 senators to the New PDP, Senate Committee Chairman, Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang, told THISDAY yesterday that they would eventually bow to superior authority of the upper chamber and reverse their decision.
Enang, in a telephone interview, dismissed insinuations that things have fallen apart in the PDP caucus in the Senate, adding that the red chamber has a family spirit through which it resolves its differences.


On the issue of Senate Whip, Senator Bello Gwarzo, joining the aggrieved senators by defecting to the faction, despite being a principal officer of the chamber, Enang said come what may, Gwarzo would remain in PDP.
Enang also advised against what he described as inflammatory statements on the split of the party, noting that it has continued to fuel the crisis instead of resolving it.


Several efforts to speak with the leadership of the Senate yesterday proved abortive, as the Special Adviser to the Senate President, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said his boss does not comment on contentious issues such as the decision of some senators to join a group of dissident party men.


He also said such issues do not usually generate spontaneous reactions but would be properly addressed on the floor of the Senate when it reconvenes later this month.


Meanwhile, the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), after its meeting yesterday, has directed that the inauguration of the National Financial Committee of the party, earlier scheduled for today, be suspended.


A statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said a new date would be announced for the inauguration.
The NWC also invited all state and zonal youth and women leaders for a seminar to take place tomorrow in Abuja.


New PDP House Members
1. Abdullahi Balarabe
2. Abdulmumin Jibrin
3. Ali Ahmad
4. Abdullahi M. Wamakko
5. Abdullahi Muhammed Rico
6. Abdulmalik Usman Cheche
7. Adamu Bashir
8. Ahman-Patigi Aliyu
9. Ahmed Zerewa
10. Aishatu Ahmed Binani
11. Aiyedun Akeem Olayinka
12. Alhassan Ado Garba
13. Aliyu Madaki
14. Aliyu Shehu
15. Aminu Shagari
16. Aminu Sulyman
17. Aminu Tukur
18. Andrew Uchendu
19. Asita Honourable
20. Bashir Baballe
21. Blessing Nsiegbe
22. Dakuku Peterside
23. Dawari George
24. Faruq Muhammed Lawan
25. Gibson Nathaniel
26. Gogo Bright Tamunu
27. Haliru Zakari Jikantoro
28. Hassan Adamu
29. Hussain Namadi
30. Ibrahim Ebbo
31. Ibrahim Tijjani Kivawa
32. Issa Bashir
33. Kabiru Achida
34. Khabeeb Mustapha
35. Maurice Pronen
36. Mohammed Sabo
37. Mpigi Barinada
38. Muhammad Ahmed Mukhtar
39. Muhammad Ibrahim
40. Muhammad Sani Kutigi
41. Mukhtari Muhammad
42. Musa Ado
43. Musa Sarkin-Adar
44. Mustapha Bala Dawaki
45. Mustapha Mashood
46. Ogbonna Nwuke
47. Rafiu Ibrahim
48. Sa’ad Nabunkari
49. Sani Muhammed Aliyu
50. Shuaibu Gobir
51. Sokonte Davies
52. Sufiyanu Ubale
53. Umar Bature
54. Usman Wada
55. Yusuph Dunari Sule
56. Yusuph Galambi
57. Zakari Muhammed

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/57-house-members-cross-over-to-new-pdp/158131/

this was wen he was in IMT Enugu

Words are powerful....tell a woman in the morning at work that she is not well dressed. it changes everything about her that day. Its worst off when you say she is ugly. Be mindful of what you tell ladies. it shapes their lives

2015 will be interesting......this i can promise you and it wont be the end of time yet

Concerned mothers in the country, led by frontline activist, Chief Rita Lori Ogbebor, have announced emergency plan that could end the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

This came barely few days after negotiations between the aggrieved lecturers and the Federal Government were deadlocked, with the union threatening to withdraw from further meeting with the Governor Gabriel Suswam Committee.

Addressing journalists in Lagos yesterday, Chief Ogbebor expressed the sorrows of Nigerian women over the prolonged strike and warned that neglecting qualitative education could spell doom for the nation.

According to her, the strike has forced thousands of undergraduates out of school, with some of them enlisting in street gangs that waste their days in cyber crimes.

Chief Ogbebor, who is also the Igba of Warri, said mothers across the country would take the bull by the horn to ensure immediate resolution of the crisis between the ASUU members and the Federal Government.

Part of the steps would be to organise a nationwide conference where the women would work out plans to discuss with both parties.

Ogbebor said she was peeved by inadequate attention given to the strike, as thousands of youths sit frustrated in their respective homes across the country.

She described as unfortunate, the incessant crisis rocking the nation’s varsities, promising that mothers in Nigeria would soon commence dialogue with ASUU and the government to calm troubled waters.

“I am ashamed that we are not looking at these problems. Enough is enough. We must now face the facts. I repeat, enough is enough! We must now face the facts.

“If nobody sees these problems, the mothers in Nigeria see these problems. We do not want half-baked children. These children are with us at home. They are forming gangs because they have nothing to do. They sit at cybercafés all day.

“Their Blackberry phones have become a ready tool for them to go on internet and commit fraud. For these reasons, the mothers in Nigeria are meeting at the Rita Lori Hotel in two weeks time to deliberate on this very serious issue, to take the bull by the horn,” she said.

Chief Ogbebor described education as the bedrock of the society, noting that all women in the country craved for qualitative education for their children. She expressed disappointment with the poor attention given to the education sector, saying the swelling population of rag-tag youths on the streets constitute serious threat to security.

“So, when we begin to underrate or overlook education, I wonder what we are doing. Why are we existing? Because, if the children are not trained, what kind of society are we trying to build? Can you have a disciplined society without proper education? So, I am often amazed that we don’t seem to take education very seriously. We don’t seem to understand what education is.

“I am often marvelled. Today, we are having convention of all parties. It is a big thing that we are having convention all over the country. People are very serious about party politics but they are not serious about our existence, the existence of our children and what makes the society,” she said.

She expressed disaffection with the large number of Nigerians travelling to neighbouring African countries for quality education, describing the trend as a national disgrace.

She vowed that the mothers would not stop until they achieve a lasting solution to the problem. She warned that the women could be forced to protest on the streets if both parties hold tenaciously to their positions that had contributed to the lingering feud.

Asked whether she was hopeful that the lecturers and the government would heed the voice of women for a lasting truce, Ogbebor said no government could survive the wrath of women.

“I think there is no government, who wants the wrath of mothers. Is there any government who wants the wrath of mothers? We will return home and tell our husbands and our children that such a government is a bad one. Will you not listen to your mother? This is why we are not only hoping, we are saying it is a task that has to be done.

All mothers will come out, except those who have so much money that they sent all their children abroad.But the market women will come out.

There is no woman who will go to the market to labour if she knows her children will not go to school,” she said.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/rita-lori-mothers-plan-emergency-action-to-end-ASUU-strike/

You need help before its too late.

Alhaji Bashir Tofa was the presidential candidate of the National Republican Convention who contested against Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola of the Social Democratic Party in the historic June 12, 1993 presidential election. Past chairman of the Elders Committee of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). In this interview with National Mirror, Tofa speaks about the chances of the APC in future elections and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with the numerous crises bedevilling it. Excerpts:

The APC has finally been registered as a political party. As a sympathiser of the party, how would you suggest that its leaders should conduct its affairs?

First of all I want to say the registration of the APC is a good idea and the impression that most people in Nigeria have is that it is beneficial to this democracy in the sense that a viable opposition party is now born.

It will provide an alternative platform for other people. It is also good for the merging parties because it would have been difficult for them to win power at the centre. What I foresee to be the major problem is the likely difficulty that some of the party’s leaders may have in controlling their ambitions.

What do you mean by leaders not being able to control their ambitions?

You can’t rule out infighting over inordinate political ambitions by members, especially those who may not be able to control such ambitions. You will see them fighting in different forms and at different levels, be it leadership at the state level and during elections, particularly, the presidential election.

But my advice to them is that if they are serious about this country, about democracy, and about that party, then everybody has to make the necessary sacrifice and make sure they focus on the success of the party rather than the ambitions of the individuals. If they do not control their ambition then the party will begin to collapse, it will disappear and PDP will continue its monopoly of power.

More parties are being registered when many would want the present number of parties cut down. What is your opinion about this?

Well I thought about it and I said may be INEC has an explanation to offer, may be these new political parties, the two that have been registered have seen some potentials in them that INEC has seen but that we have not. I think INEC needs to come out and explain this to the satisfaction of Nigerians why the deregistration of some parties and the registration of new ones.

We can understand the registration of APC because it has been there for a long, long time and people have been talking about it. But what would you say of the two new parties that have just been registered.

I think INEC will just have to come out and tell Nigerians why it has to deregister some parties and register new ones . At least people should understand the thinking behind it so that they can support INEC and the good work that it does.

PDP has consistently dismissed APC as no threat, do you believe this?

What do you expect them to say? You know they cannot tell the world that they are afraid, or that they have lost hope because of APC, they have to show that they are in control, they are strong and that they have nothing to fear.

That is what politics is all about it and I think that is natural. I don’t expect them to state otherwise. But the threat is clear; a lot of people certainly will change their minds because they now have an alternative.
The only problem, like I said, is that APC will face will the violation of internal democracy. It will be faced with other actions that threaten democratic principles. If they build the party around democratic norms, then APC, has nothing to worry about, they all know this.

Anything outside that will be to the advantage of PDP. They can be the party to beat, they are still clean, no dents yet. Those who are looking for something new that will enable them pursue their ambition without any problem will immediately go to these new parties.

Are you saying that the new parties can play the role of spoilers?

They may not spoil anything for others but they can really build up quickly because they know there are problems everywhere. In the PDP there are so much problems and there are so many people in the PDP who despite the problems in the PDP will not go to APC, but if they see something brand new or neutral, they will simply embrace it. Many people from the deregistered parties who may not go to APC or PDP, who are looking for something new and then they see this fresh party where nobody is stopping anyone from pursuing his ambition, they will seize that opportunity. So, activities in the next few months will be interesting to watch.

Do you see APC constituting a threat to PDP’s power domination?

Yes. Not only because APC is a new party and people are looking for alternatives, but also because PDP has so many problems and crisis. It has crisis of leadership, crisis of governors, and this issue of corruption and so many things promoting poverty and unemployment in the country. All these are serious threats to PDP, not APC. If the president does not do anything about correcting the wrongs and drastically dealing with the issue of corruption in this country, it will affect the fortune of the ruling PDP.

The Rivers State crisis has been linked to both President Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi. Would this also affect PDP’s political fortune?

Well, it will all depend on the president. You see, President Jonathan is too quiet, too patient, and too careless. He has to realise that he is the leader; nobody can execute his responsibilities for him, he should be bold in taking decisions, not just to sit down and keep quiet and allow people to mess him up. He has to do certain things himself.

He must learn to reconcile with other people himself directly; he should not allow other people to represent him and do things that he is supposed to do himself. If I were him I would list all my problems and see those I can personally deal with and go ahead and deal with them.

I will call governors and chat with them directly, call them, sit with them, hear their problems and try to solve them. He should take control. That is what he must do.

The president should try and look at all these issues of corruption; take a look at all the cases of bunkering; he should list them down and plot a strategy himself on how he would deal with them and whoever is involved should be dealt with appropriately. He should do the right thing now and free his conscience. I think that is what he should do, otherwise he will remain in political bondage, in serious trouble because everything will be pushed to him because he is the president. He has to take action.

What level of progress would you say the country has achieved during this tenure?

I must say, personally, that Jonathan is a good man but he is weak. He allows people to mess him up, he doesn’t talk, he doesn’t act and I think he has to take action. That is his problem.

A lot of his people are messing him up, I have said this a lot of times that Jonathan has to do away with some of his advisers and reshape his cabinet so that the right thing can be done. It is high time he did something drastic that will manifest his seriousness. He should do something to show that he is a person that they can trust for even the next term. But if he goes on doing what he is doing now, believe me he will have more problems during election.

Do you think he is caged or scared of the people around him or could he have just been timid?

I want to believe it is his nature but he has to change that nature. He doesn’t have to please anybody. If you are a leader you have to do certain things in the best interest of the nation and your office. He has to perform his functions as the president. Again, he is not there to impress any individual or group, but to work for the Nigerian people and progress of the country. This is why I said he should take control, get people who will really help him do the right thing.

If he does that now and reshapes his cabinet by December, correct his ways and show that he is responsible; if he is powerful and he can deal with issues directly, if he can reconcile his party get all the governors together and trust in God for the next level, I think a lot of people will change their mind about him.

I have always said the president we need must not emerge through sectional, ethnic or religious considerations. Our leader should be one who is going to be fair to all sections and rejoins of the country. Anyone with such qualities will definitely win the hearts of Nigerians. We can only have one president at a given time.

What Nigeria needs is a president who will deal with Nigerians and do them well on equal basis, who will make sure that every Nigerian gets whatever he or she wants irrespective of who and what they are. That is what he should do; he has to change completely.

http://pointblanknews.com/pbn/exclusive/jonathan-is-too-quiet-nice-and-too-patient-has-to-be-very-decisive-to-succeed-tofa/

when a child is born who knows what he will grow to become.

cherish and adore children....the future belongs to them.

To my two sons Jenkins and Jesse...Daddy loves you.

Saudi Arabia has said it is time for the world to do everything it could to prevent aggression against the Syrian people, and that it would back a US strike on Syria if the Syrian people did.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal made his comments on Sunday as the United States awaits a final decision on strikes against the Syrian government for an alleged chemical gas attack that killed hundreds of civilians.

“We call upon the international community with all its power to stop this aggression against the Syrian people,” Faisal said in Cairo, where he was attending a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers to discuss Syria.

On the prospect of a US strike, he said: “We stand by the will of the Syrian people. They know best their interests, so whatever they accept, we accept, and whatever they refuse, we refuse.”

The Arab League meeting was expected formally to blame Assad for the gas attack.

Al Jazeera’s Nadim Baba, reporting from Cairo, said that Ahmed Aljarba, the head of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC), would give a speech at the meeting of foreign ministers.

The head of the opposition umbrella group backed by the West and Arab states is expected to ask Arab foreign ministers to back military intervention in Syria.

The Arab League last week had accused the Syrian government of carrying out the chemical-weapons attacks in a suburb of Damascus on August 21.

The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in 2011 after President Bashar al-Assad’s government failed to abide by an Arab peace plan that aimed to end the conflict.

The 22-member organisation offered in March Syria’s seat to the SNC and decided to let its member nations arm the rebels battling Assad’s government.

John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, named the regional body on Friday among a list of allies “ready to respond” to the alleged chemical-weapons attack.

However, some influential Arab League members, including Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Tunisia and Algeria, have expressed opposition to foreign military intervention in Syria.

http://pointblanknews.com/pbn/news/saudi-arabia-backs-us-strike-against-syria/

The First Lady, Dame (Dr) Patience Goodluck Jonathan, and ITU-IMPACT Child Online Protection Champion will on Tuesday, September 3, 2013 host representatives of youths from across the nation to the first National Youth Online Protection Summit, at the State House Banquet Hall Abuja. The Summit theme which is, The Internet: Emerging Threats and Solutions for the Youth, underscores the importance of the internet as a ubiquitous modern day tool as well as its increasing vulnerabilities.

The objective of the summit is to discuss cyber safety; enlighten youths on cyber security and how to stay safe while utilizing online resources and also, to come up with youth focused initiatives and ideas that will promote safety on the information super highway.

Youths attending the Summit will hold an interactive forum with the First Lady while she will officially unveil the Child Online Protection (COP) Champion Website at the event.

Participants will receive online protection training provided by Google Nigeria, while 100 lucky participants will be offered scholarships for ICT training from New Horizons. All participants will receive the Online Protection Guide Book.

It may be recalled that on July 20 2013, Dame Patience was formally decorated in Geneva following her appointment as the Child Online Protection Champion by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT).

Speaking about the upcoming Summit in Abuja at the weekend, the First Lady stressed that youths must endeavour to inculcate a culture of safety while they are online. She further emphasised that it was important to protect young people from the negative aspects of the internet so that they would not fall victim to those who search the internet for easy preys.

The Summit is being organized in collaboration with the Ministries of Communication Technology and Youth Development.

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http://pointblanknews.com/pbn/news/keeping-youths-safe-first-lady-convenes-national-youth-online-protection-summit/

I never see club wey waste money like Real madrid.Abeg how much are they owing.

bro you dont need all this...work hard and you will exceed them.

Lately i've been thinking of what becomes of Nigeria by 2030. My major concern is the uneven development going on accross Nigeria. The bigger question is who is to blame for the uneven development.

everyday in the media we hear of Fashola doing wonders in Lagos and other southwest governors striving to meet up, Up East we hear of Chime and Rochas blazing the trail with others following. In the Delta we have Akpabio leaving legacies in every sector and other of his colleagues on fast lane.

My major concern is northern Nigeria. I came back and took a tour of Kaduna, Niger, Gombe and Nassarawa. The sights were appauling. What are their governors doing with their allocations since 1999 and if funds are the reasons for the stagnancy why are they not tapping ino other resources available in the state. The develpopments in the aformentioned states down south is not only obvious but you can sense a subtle competition amongs them to leave legacies but its not same with the north.

I did my undergrad in Northern Nigeria years back, so this is not to spite them or raise any tribal war as many Nairalanders will think. i've just been thinking and it worries me. Take a careful thought into Banking, Education as in research and development, economy, media, legal system, and you will see the apparent development gap.Basic amenities and infrastructures are grossly lacking

Last week we heard that over one million almajiris are in Zamfara state and the governor can still sleep and party with the destiny of his people. Back to Abuja you can see that grocery stores, gas stations, private schools,Hotels, estates and indeed properties are mostly owned by Southerners. Like i said earlier these are my candid observations and not intended to spite anybody or region. I am simply asking what is wrong with the Northern governors? are they not seeing their southern counterparts.

This uneven development is a ticking time bomb for our great nation and worries me a great deal. We haven't seen the worst of insurgency yet. If nothern leaders do not wake up, wash their faces and roll up their sleeves and work.

another aggressive group in the making. a fraternity has been formed...in few years they will have a common interest..and we are back to square one.

she looks younger than her age

PERFECT INDEED

My greatest deception in BIBLE KNOWLEDGE growing up was that i was told that the wise men that came to see Jesus were 3 men... popularly called 3 wise men...i grew up to discover that the bible did not state the number of men that came....If you were deceived like me in sunday school..hit like

[quote author=pastor prosper ]Ese u are d biggest hypocrite I have ever seen. Ie u were sincere why didn't u go to deeper life church or chosen. abi pastors kumuyi and laazaruw mokah wld have slept with u too? U are a cheap prostitute roaming around churches looking for men of God to destroy spreading your HIV infected blood to undercerning victims. But your days are numbered and u shall proceed no more with your ploy. Sliyy girl.[/quote]are you really a pastor or maybe in the church of satan cos your words do not depict one who is a pastor

you call her a hypocrite and a prostitute and none of us have seen her or know the truth till now. nawa oo

WHATEVER ESE'S DOES OR WRITES...WE STILL AWAIT THE ROBUST RESPONSE...ALL THESE CALCULATED PLOTS TO MAKE US FOCUS ON ESE WILL NOT WORK.

THIS PRAYER WAS WRITTEN LONG TIME AGO.

AND IF YOU GOOGLE THE WORD PRAYER...YOU WILL SEE OVER A MILLION

WHATS SPECIAL ABOUT THE ONE WRITTEN BY ESE.[b]WHATEVER ESE'S DOES OR WRITES...WE STILL AWAIT THE ROBUST RESPONSE...ALL THESE CALCULATED PLOTS TO MAKE US FOCUS ON ESE WILL NOT WORK.

THIS PRAYER WAS WRITTEN LONG TIME AGO.

AND IF YOU GOOGLE THE WORD PRAYER...YOU WILL SEE OVER A MILLION

WHATS SPECIAL ABOUT THE ONE WRITTEN BY ESE.[/b]WHATEVER ESE'S DOES OR WRITES...WE STILL AWAIT THE ROBUST RESPONSE...ALL THESE CALCULATED PLOTS TO MAKE US FOCUS ON ESE WILL NOT WORK.

THIS PRAYER WAS WRITTEN LONG TIME AGO.

AND IF YOU GOOGLE THE WORD PRAYER...YOU WILL SEE OVER A MILLION

WHATS SPECIAL ABOUT THE ONE WRITTEN BY ESE.

…Return my money, Ukachukwu tells Tukur

…How Nwoye emerged

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur is locked in a bitter war with Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu over the latter’s defeat in last weekend’s parallel governorship primary election in Anambra State.

Ukachukwu, Pointblanknews.com gathered, is demanding a full refund of the bribe he handed his national chairman to ensure his emergence as the party’s candidate.

Brushing aside the issues, Tukur today upheld Tony Nwoye as the party’s flagbearer in Anambra State for the November 6 governorship election.

The PDP national chairman stated this in while receiving the report of the party’s electoral panel chaired by Katsina state governor Ibrahim Shema. The panel produced Nwoye against Senator Andy Uba, who also emerged from a parallel exercise.

Ukachukwu’s bribe monies delivered in United States dollars, it was gathered, were channelled through Tukur’s son, Mahmud who was recently docked alongside others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for “conspiracy, forgery, and obtaining N676.9 million under false pretence.”

Ukachukwu, who reportedly amassed a fortune fronting for Adamu Abdullahi and Timipre Sylva, former governors of Nasarawa and Bayelsa states, PDP sources claimed, is threatening to “make things difficult” for Tukur should he fail to return the bribe money.

In November 2010, EFCC charged Ukachukwu and some of his companies, including Prince and Princess Properties, Nick Associates Company, SNECOU, RIOK Industries and NICCUS Industries, for collecting
over N5.6 billion of Nasarawa State money without executing the contracts.

A former member of the House of Representatives, a former governorship candidate, and two-time senatorial. aspirant, Ukachukwu is said to be cross with Tukur’s son and his father for “misleading” him.

PDP sources told Pointblanknews.com that Ukachukwu was particularly bitter because he was single-handedly responsible for sustaining the Ken Emeakayi-led parallel party executive in Anambra State.

“Isn’t it strange that the same NWC (National Working Committee) that forced its key officers to resign over an observation by INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) would now dis obey the same INEC on Anambra?

“INEC has consistently said neither it nor the courts recognize Emeakayi as Anambra PDP chairman. Why did Tukur and remnants of the NWC insist on disregarding INEC? Of course, the chicken has come home to roost and we all now know why Tukur was heady. Ukachukwu’s money was at work,” submitted a former national officer of the party.

The former officer said they had openly and in private warned Tukur to steer clear of Anambra and her moneybags.

“We told the national chairman to look at PDP history. Anambra has been the same banana peel that has swept successive national chairmen off office- from Solomon Lar to Barnabas Gemade, through Audu Ogbeh, Ahmadu Ali, Vincent Ogbulafor to Okwy Nwodo. It’ll come as a little surprise if Anambra sweeps Tukur from office,” he predicted.

A top PDP official expressed fears that Ukachukwu could indeed spill the beans if Tukur failed to come to terms with the defeated aspirant.

The official recalled how Linus, Ukachukwu’s younger brother, had in 2010 threatened to disrupt an NWC meeting of the party if Ogbulafor, the then national chairman, failed to return the money he collected to deliver his elder brother as the party’s governorship candidate.

Apparently bowing to pressure from the then first lady, Hajia Turai Yar’Adua, PDP had at the time just handed its governorship ticket to a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwuma Soludo.

The party officer told Pointblanknews.com that “Linus Ukachukwu raised so much dust that we had to appeal to Ogbulafor to refund whatever monies he took from the enraged family.”

At the weekend parallel primary election, a former Students’ union president, Comrade Tony Nwoye polled 498 votes to floor Ukachukwu, a very wealthy businessman and former member of the National Assembly.

Pointblanknews.com however gathered that Ukachukwu lost because he couldn’t match the N200,000 Nwoye handed each of the 498 delegates who voted for him, totalling close to N100 million for delegates alone.

Multi- billionaire oil magnate and rested political godfather in the south east during the Abacha years, Prince Arthur Eze, Pointblanknews.com gathered, mobilized over N500 million for Nwoye for the primary election.

Eze, who has been seeking ways to relaunch himself after a protracted political oblivion occasioned by Abacha’s death in 1998, has reportedly promised to match any candidate who wishes to stand in the way of his godson dollar-for -dollar.

The least ranking PDP official detailed from Abuja to monitor the parallel primary election, party sources disclosed, pocketed N1 million courtesy of Prince Eze.

Notorious in his political dealings, Prince Eze, chairman of Atlas Oranto Petroleum, a company with oil blocks around the Gulf of Guinea, recently paid $1 million for an armoured Maybach limousine from a Belgium-based security company.

An associate of the party’s national chairman however called Ukachukwu’s bluff. He said his friend would never fall for such “cheap blackmail.”

He challenged the defeated governorship to supply proof that he handed Tukur’s son any money for his father, and for what purpose.

“You have to be wary of such characters, my brother. I don’t think the national chairman would go that low to be caught with this barely literate businessman. He should learn to be a good loser, and not pull down the house because he lost to a smarter person,” he submitted.

Contacted, Tukur’s media assistant, Mr. Oliver Okpala said he was “too busy” to comment on the allegations against his boss.


http://pointblanknews.com/pbn/exclusive/pdp-bribery-scandal-rocks-anambra-guber-primary/

Anambra is set, it appears, to act as dress rehearsal for Nigeria’s next round of general elections in 2015. For some inexplicable reason, the state’s political experience holds up a mirror to what used to be termed Nigeria’s “nascent democratic experiment.”

After more than 14 years, that experiment is not so much nascent as nasty. Nor is it democratic by any respectable definition of the word. Anambra manages, somehow, to illustrate the gap between Nigeria’s profession of itself as a democracy and the sordid reality of a country run by an undemocratic, self-chosen and brainless cabal.

Anambra’s illustrative status is borne out by an inventory of some of the state’s political experiences. It was in this state – and, later, in Oyo State – that Nigerians first witnessed the workings of the most virulent species of godfatherism. The administration of former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju was virtually stymied by the decrees of a man who relished being addressed as Sir Emeka Offor.

An ill-educated businessman, Mr. Offor felt that his cash and political contacts had delivered the governorship to Mr. Mbadinuju. Consequently, the ostensible sponsor seemed to feel entitled to dictate how the governor ran the political shop.

And when his gubernatorial ward began to balk at directions, Mr. Offor cracked the whip. For much of his term, Mr. Mbadinuju was preoccupied with fending off his godfather’s ghost, real and imaginary.

By 2003, Mr. Offor’s currency as godfather had run its course. He vacated the stage, yielding place to Chris Uba, estimated by some to be even less schooled. Emboldened by his direct access to then President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Uba pulled off a rare political feat. He let it be known that he was a godfather extraordinaire.

In the 2003 set of elections, the conventional wisdom was that he and he alone decided who got s/elected into every political post in Anambra, from municipal councillorship through seats in the state and national legislatures to the state governorship. Nigerians, nay the world, saw how one man and one man alone could negate and nullify the wishes of the people.

The voters of Anambra had chosen Peter Obi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to govern them. But Mr. Uba wanted Chris Ngige, his godson and candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). It didn’t matter what the voters thought; Mr. Uba got his way. A godfather, first and foremost, has nothing but disdain for voters.

Mr. Uba was no believer in the gentleman’s code of shaking hands with his political progeny to seal agreements. During his reign as godfather, he insisted that Mr. Ngige and other acolytes show up in the dreaded forests of Okija shrine to swear oaths of allegiance to him.

When the governor he’d installed began to think that paying workers’ salaries trumped Mr. Uba’s insatiable appetite for cash, the latter – as the Nigerian saying goes – showed the governor pepper. A team of 200 police officers, led by an Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Ralph Ige, stormed the governor’s office.

They abducted Mr. Ngige, extracted a forced resignation, and came close to effecting his dethronement.

When irate Nigerians demanded that Mr. Ige, Mr. Uba and other actors be arrested and tried for treason, then President Obasanjo offered the notorious opinion that what the rest of us regarded as a crime was no more than a small, normal quarrel within the PDP family.

In the ensuing months, Mr. Uba, his coterie and an Obasanjo who often behaved like a mischief-maker-in-chief, hatched other plans to unseat Mr. Ngige, their former ally turned obstinate foe. In November, 2004, thugs swept through Anambra State setting fire to numerous state-owned establishments. The fiery orgy went on for three days, carried out in daylight, the thugs sweeping across the state in many trucks.

You’d think the police would have a field day arresting the gleeful arsonists. Instead, the police cheered the lawbreakers, escorting them from one location to another as if the torching of public property was a constitutionally-mandated task that had to be enforced. At any rate, police officers in Anambra knew that the destroyers had the blessings of the godfather and his enablers in Abuja, including then President Obasanjo. So the police did nothing to deter, much less stop, the criminals.

It is estimated that Anambra lost close to N20 billion in the assault. Not a single person was ever tried for the crime. It was – for Mr. Obasanjo – another occasion to offer the world a glimpse into the PDP’s peculiar way of handling a quarrel within the family.

The governorship of Anambra is about to become vacant. An election has been set in November to determine the next occupant of Government House, Awka. Once again, Anambra has taken the stage to give Nigerians a preview of what to expect for the general elections of 2015.

The prognosis is dire. First, the political parties set governorship nomination fees that are scandalously high. The PDP set an obscene sum of N10 million as the fee for any candidacy. Astonishingly, thirty or so members stepped forward with the cash.

It all points to one fact in Anambra – and Nigerian – politics: the illegal acquisition of wealth, not the rendering of service, is at the core of things.

For one, an exorbitant price tag shuts off enlightened candidates with fresh, visionary ideas but little cash and no inclination to sell their political souls to a rustic godfather. In effect, such a price tag turns the race into a lottery for those with loads of illicit cash or those able to attract illicit-minded sponsors/godfathers determined to grab and pocket the resources of the state. It is the usual fare: a cash-and-carry system, the people be damned.

It is hardly surprising that there is little or no concern with issues in the process. No candidate or party has bothered to set out what he or she thinks are the main issues, much less to articulate a program of action. Instead, one has a sense that too many political interests are circling the state, like ravenous vultures, set to swoop down and doom the lives of its smitten, deprived, long-suffering people.

APGA led the way in disqualifying some of the party’s most eloquent and promising candidates. The fresh-minted APC virtually anointed Mr. Ngige, showing little respect for the norms of internal democracy. The PDP, ever wedded to contempt for democratic rituals, ran two primaries with two sets of results.

Please follow me on twitter @ okeyndibe

There is fresh trouble for ailing Taraba State Governor, Danbaba Suntai who returned to the country at the weekend. A group, Taraba Justice Forum, led by Mr. John Ambulus, has called for the commencement of impeachment process against the governor.
Addressing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, the forum alleged that the ailing governor’s return was stage-managed and demanded a comprehensive enquiry into his medical condition by the state House of Assembly in line with the constitution.

The forum further submitted that the medical incapacity of the governor could no longer be hidden even as it called on President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene as a matter of urgent national importance.

“The president now has a sacred duty to intervene in this matter. The commander-in-chief should not allow this matter to degenerate. There is the need for intervention as this is ridiculing the ruling party and the presidency,” the forum stated.

The group recalled that it had for several months called the attention of the nation to the governor’s poor state of health and called for the invocation of Section 189 of the constitution.

“Now, the truth is out of the bag. After 10 months of treatment, the result is what the whole world saw yesterday. With the way the governor was smuggled in, it is clear, he is not medically fit in all consideration of the phrase.

“The issue is not just that the man cannot walk; the truth is that his brain coordination motor is not working and so the man cannot function even when assisted. The medical crisis was so clearly displayed as the governor cannot even address the media and the people of the state.

“We are vindicated and we hereby use this occasion to call on the state House of Assembly to ask the governor to come and address it and if he fails to do so, the lawmakers should start removal process in line with the constitution. The Assembly must rise to the occasion to save the governor from further embarrasment,” the group stated.



http://sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/tension-in-taraba-over-gov-suntai/#!prettyPhoto

nice piece

[quote author=Okija_juju]NEVER!!!!!!!





That will be spiritual|Ministry|Financial suicide.. Admit WHAT!!!!??






He will never admit nor deny nothing, especially if it is true..

Because denial will only make Ese produce the evidence that she claims she has, which he doesnt want... The pastor is safe as it stands.. Nobody knows if its true or not..

In some peoples eyes, He is the Victim of a hoe trying to blackmail him.. Others call it persecution, others call it attack.. All this is fine for the Pastor! Nothing has spoilt at all..

I'm sure the Pastors PR people will never allow him to admit|deny on this allegation..

[/quote]You nailed it.

it appears there is a software written already by mods to bring anything that has COZA to front page.

if this was a guy i pity women who wear mini skirt...just using my pure mind

God of heaven may i experience speed train in Nigeria in my life time in Jesus name. I have seen it all over Europe why should my home country be different. If its a curse its broken

I have some baffling questions about this boy

1. how did this boy beat the airpot security?
2. How did he survive on air from Benin to Lagos?
3. Simple geography taught me that we have biosphere, hemisphere and stratosphere. if the plane ever got to the hemisphere where there is no life. How did the boy breath.
4. The landing force of the plane is disturbing. why didnt he break any bone or had any fracture?
5. Why didnt he fall of when the tires of the plane was ejected and ready for landing.

what really happened?

That guys sack was long over due...he lacks all it takes to lead the youths. Very dormant ministry with a dormant leader.

Ideyontop: MY PEOPLE,PASTOR BIODUN NO DO THAT THING! I NO NO WHERE THIS LADY FOLLOW COMMOT FROM. SHE WANTS TO GAIN CHEAP PUBLICITY/POPULARITY FOR HERSELF AND HER NEWLY STARTED BLOG. BUT GOING THIS FAR BY TRYING TO DEFAME A MAN OF GOD TO GAIN FAME? OMO THIS GIRL BAD OOOOO!

Am not on the defense of Ese but ppls low IQ worries me. This case is simple...someone has leveled an accusation against someone..the both of them have their names and reputation on the line...we nee Him to say his own side of the story..he blatantly refused and you have left quest for truth.Typing rubbish here.

seangy4konji: I will like to fukk d slutt also but na free I want ooo...hoeloshhi

start with your mum first, when you are done take on your sisters...what has she done to deserve your insult

Those of you devicing to make us forget the need for truth should know that we shall patiently wait for the truth.
Did he do it with her or not. Its not our business how she lives her life or is she the first to go for auditions. This is a calculated attempt to make us focus on Ese. no, we await the response to the accusation