₦airaland Forum

ABUJA- NATIONAL leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP yesterday pleaded with Nigerians to keep faith with President Goodluck Jonathan in his determination to achieve his set goals as the nation was on a sure path to economic prosperity, just as the party boasted that the President has delivered on the economy.

The PDP however hailed the President for not allowing himself to be distracted from what it termed his avowed commitment towards the development of the nation and the welfare of Nigerians, even as it said that President Jonathan has remained resolute in meticulously and calmly driving his Transformation Agenda, adding, “and for this we are highly impressed.

In a statement signed yeaterday by PDP national Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, he said, “The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has applauded President Goodluck Jonathan for the milestones so far achieved in the critical sectors of the economy through the Transformation Agenda of the PDP-led administration.

Metuh who noted that the President has vigorously pursued his economic reforms and however expressed happiness that they have started yielding results, said. “We are indeed highly impressed that the reforms initiated by the President has started yielding very high dividends resulting in a massive leap in the nation’s economy which has also been acknowledged by the world community; the latest being the Fitch Ratings which affirmed Nigeria’s long-term foreign and local currency IDRs as well as senior unsecured bond and Short-term foreign currency IDR ratings respectively at ‘BB”s.

“It is heart-warming that at a time other economies of the world are having a downward trend, Nigeria’s economy on the other hand is experiencing stability and growth.”

Listing some of the factors that led to the positive rating to include massive developments in the power, agriculture and road sectors as well as reforms in finance, commerce and industry, the PDP commended the President for “initiating the New Automobile Industrial Policy Development which is focused on promoting investments in affordable made-in- Nigerian vehicles” even as it “noted the conclusion of arrangements to kick-off passenger service on the Eastern railway route before the end of December.

“We are happy that the New Automobile Industry Policy is already yielding results. Direct foreign investments are already flowing in from leading vehicle manufacturers including Nissan and Stallion Group which have entered into an agreement with the Federal Government to establish auto plants in Nigeria.

“This policy which also promotes the manufacturing of spare parts of vehicles used in the country will not only generate massive employment for our people but will guarantee technology transfer, reduction in cost of vehicles, increase in ancillary investment opportunities and a boost in medium and small scale enterprises. This, no doubt will contribute in transforming our country into a manufacturing hub in Africa.

“In the power sector, President Jonathan has shown resilience in ensuring the achievement of production targets. We note that acceleration of works that led to the commissioning of the Geregu Power Project in Kogi state on October 4, 2013 as well as the Omotosho 2 Power Station in Ondo state which was commissioned last Saturday. The party also notes the acceleration of works in other power plants including Calabar, 630MW; Egbema, 378MW; Ihorvbor, 504MW; Gbarain 252MW; Sapele 504MW; Omoku 252MW; Alaoji 1076MW and Olorunsogo 750MW.

“We commend President Goodluck Jonathan for not allowing himself to be distracted from his avowed commitment towards the development of the nation and the welfare of Nigerians. He has remained resolute in meticulously and calmly driving his Transformation Agenda and for this we are highly impressed.

“The nation is on a sure path to economic prosperity, the party urged all Nigerians to keep faith alive and continue to support the reforms initiated by the PDP-led administration so as to consolidate on the gains so far achieved”.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/keep-faith-jonathan-pdp-begs-nigerians/#sthash.NKNcTxsT.dpuf

slimghost: Which stupid corruption? I expect people to ask reasonable questions like:
1. Was her life under any serious threat?
2. Was due process followed in the purchase of those vehicles?
3. Was it budgeted for?
4. Is the price inflated?

But no, all we hear is a campaign of calumny and falsehood against the woman for obvious reasons. Sorry to burst your bubbles, Stella Odua os not going anywhere. We are used to this kind of games from our SW brothers.

1. Was her life under any serious threat?

2. Was due process followed in the purchase of those vehicles?

3. Was it budgeted for?

4. Is the price inflated?

Ngwakwe: The Anti Stella Odua camp also "paid" Seun to publish their campaign of calumny on the homepage of Nairaland periodically.

Official Denial, Appeal To Ethnicity, Diversionary Publications And Media Blackmail: Desperate Measures Employed By Mrs. Oduah To Stave Off BMW Scandal


When SaharaReporters broke the news of the scandalous purchase of two BMW armoured Cars by the cash-strapped Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah and her collaborators went silent, hoping that the two-day Muslim public holiday would blunt the report.

Instead of responding the allegations Mrs. Oduah reportedly called on the Reno Omokri, the social media man at the Presidential Villa to handle scandal.

Reno's job includes using a loose network of paid "anti-bloggers" to attack the credibility of such reports by leaving comments on Facebook, Twitter, Blackberry Messengers and the comments sections of websites.

The “anti-bloggers” went straight to work by claiming that Mrs. Oduah’s signature was not found on the documents SaharaReporters published and as such, that she could not have been involved. As that argument didn't seem to hold water, they quickly started a new line of argument to the effect that she was sufficiently wealthy before becoming a minister and thus could afford the cars.

That line of argument was the first official reaction from the minister's office through the spokesperson of the Federal Airports Authority, Yakubu Datti.

If Mrs. Oduah thought Mr. Datti's intervention would work, it turned out to be a failure as the response outraged the Nigerian public which was reeling from recent accidents in the aviation sector.

By Wednesday, Mrs. Oduah had instructed her media aide, Joe Obi, to own up to the purchase of the cars but to claim that they were made because the minister faced “imminent threats” from certain forces in the aviation sector. While the admission was aimed at creating a sense of siege and thus capitalize on the insecurity in the country, that argument only incensed more people, such that, Presidency sources said, President Goodluck Jonathan began asking questions on what to do to appease Mrs. Oduah’s enemies.

As the condemnation grew, Mrs. Oduah reached out to leaders of Aka-Ikenga, an Igbo social cultural group, to help frame it as an "ethnic issue" in view of the fact that the two main culprits in the transaction are Igbos. She figured a response by Aka-Ikenga would scare off the public and help mobilize her ethnic group in support of the corruption involved in the car purchase. Mr. Omokri's crew also went on to strengthen that argument, attacking newspapers, websites and blogs republishing the stories as being "anti-Igbo."

They claimed the attack on Mrs.Odua was because she upgraded the Enugu Airport to an International Airport. Even though this argument helped mobilize some unsuspecting Nigerians, it didn't serve her too well as several individuals from her ethnic group condemned the purchases.

Meanwhile, several newspapers had picked up the story. By Thursday, Mrs. Oduah had urged her crew to try another trick: getting some blogs to publish the story that the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, had bought three armored cars for N600 million, one of which he gave to his predecessor, Bola Tinubu.

The only lacunae with the strategy was that Mrs. Oduah's supporters could not produce the compelling evidence to prove that Fashola bought the cars, but even if that were to be true, many argued, it could not be used to justify the Minister’s monumental corruption.

By Friday Mrs. Oduah tried another strategy: she invited the media to a press briefing in Abuja. However, lacking the courage to come out of her office to address the media, she sent the Director General of the NCAA, Fola Akinkuotu to take the stage. A befuddled and clearly confused Akinkuotu then addressed the media in the most bizarre manner, making claims that further embarrassed the Minister as to the rationale for purchasing the cars.

An unprepared Akinkuotu spent more time accusing whistleblowers in his agency for leaking the documents. When he was rounding up the press conference, he promised to take reporters to see the vehicles, but quickly disappeared when two reporters volunteered to follow him.

Later in the night, Mr. Akinkuotu did what most Nigeria officials do best: offer money to newspaper editors to help kill the report. The problem was that most of the newspapers had already concluded production and couldn't reverse their publication.

Dateline Sunday: Mrs. Oduah and media aide, Joe Obi, commissioned some writers to pen articles to defend the minister, blaming union leaders andcertain voices critical of her for wanting to destroy the aviation sector. Such an article penned by one "Capt. Ore Kingsley", titled "Why Stella Oduah Must Be Punished" admitted that the BMW purchases were egregious but went on a rant to blame Captain Dele Ore and others for the “gang-up” against the minister.

A few minutes later Mr. Obi had circulated another spurious report claiming that Fashola bought N600 million worth of armored cars, claiming that a Ghanaian website, Modernghana, made and published the findings. But the sad part is that the Mrs. Oduah and her aides didn’t understand that Modernghana.com is an aggregation website that collects news from any source without verifying authenticity.

As of the time of publishing this report, Mrs. Oduah had recruited Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) party elders and the Secretary to the Federal Governmen, Pius Anyim, to embark on outreach to critical segments of the Nigerian society and to help appease her opponents, it is unclear if this will work as President Jonathan has already claimed he wants to look into the scandal.

Noneroone: @op, please who composed that Ngige campaign song? Please tell them to play it more often. If the song could make my sisters change their minds in favour of Ngige i wonder what will happen to an average voter. The last time a campaign song stole my heart was in 2003 from Chimaroke.

Eze Promoe: [color=crimson]GBAM[/color]

The people of Obosi today turned the arrival of Senator Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige ,gubernatorial candidate of the APC into a massive carnival – that nears the attendance of the APC flag-off rally, ten days ago on October 8, 2013.

Ngige’s campaign train arrived Obosi on the invitation of His Royal Majesty Eze Chidubem Iweka III, Igwe Obosi for new yam festival. The Igwe Obosi, the hometown of Chief Emeka Anyaoku celebrated its New Yam festival today.

Ngige’s campaign train arrival into Obosi caused an immediate uproar. According to eyewitness account, upon sighting Ngige, markets were said to close spontaneously, including the Afo Adike Market. Traders – both old and young flocked towards the Ngige campaign train. He was the man they described as a hero.

Within minutes of his arrival, the eruptions in the crowd became unbearably loud. Amidst the loud chants of Onwa, Ngige managed to reaffirm his proposal to affect free education throughout Anambra State. The Senator and former governor also spoke on health. He promised to refurbish the health facilities in the state. He lamented that Amaku General Hospital which has been trumpeted as refurbished and accredited disappointingly does not have alternative source of electric power, which is a story that should not emanate from Anambra State. Ngige said “my administration will guarantee free medical care to ante-natal mothers and children between the ages of 0years and 5years because Anambra State has enough money to offer these service ,if only those in the saddle will be sincere“.

He urged Obosi people to vote decisively for him to silence those working hard to secure a third term in office, while leaving the state undeveloped. Insisting that ‘Anambra State has grown beyond a state that can be rules by proxy’

Also adding his voice was the Commissioner for Justice in the Old Anambra State under Gov. Jim Nwobodo. He spoke through his Uncle Mr. Rob Iweka. In his words ‘from 1993 to date there have been only two functional government in Anambra State and the government of Dr. Chris Ngige was the more functional one because it opened peoples eyes to the fact that Anambra State has enough money and it could be well –utilized’

Iweka said ‘So if such a memorable tenure in office was sort-lived and now the people have an opportunity to re-enact it, the Obosi community will not only not stand in the way of such laudable project ,but will be at the fore-front of its realization”.

Apparently referring to some politicians who recently claimed that the Igwe of Obosi recently endorsed a candidate, the ex- Attorney General seized the moment to ask politicians to play the game according to the rules and to also place events in proportion in order not to bring traditional stool to disrepute.

He thanked Ngige for making time out to attend their occasion in person and promised that the gesture as enabled the town to appreciate that blood is thicker than water. He also thanked Governor Peter Obi in absentia ,the governor having left as Ngige struggled in through the crowd.

Genealogically, Alor, Ngiges’s hometown, Ojoto and Obosi are brothers.

Ngige expressed satisfaction with the show of emotion by the mammoth gathering, noting: ‘This scene we have witnessed here is what makes me want to work harder to realize my 12-point agenda, which has been widely distributed in our manifesto’.

[b]But the climax came when Ngige struggled for nearly two hours to depart from the town as virtually everybody on the massive crowd tried to touch him and to personally assure him of support.

[/b]The occasion was also attended the Igwe of Nnewi ,Igwe Kenneth Orizu and scores of dignitaries from all works of life.

Eze Promoe: [color=crimson]Someone who isn't conversant with our tradition, hence defiling it (the Ofala) with his APC rally. Someone who supported the deportation of Igbos from Lagos.
If this man had changed his party, I would have voted him because there is noone eligible.[/color]

Eze Promoe: [color=crimson]We voted both, not to forget that as at that time PDP was and is still a tribeless party, as ACN was a Yoruba party, CPC was a northern party and APGA (though didn't contest) an Igbo party.
We needed a president who has the best record either as a governor or past president, and Jonathan was the man.
We voted him, and he proved himself in just 3 years of presidency. We believe more is coming from him.
Call him any name you like, he is better than the man who is running for a presidency and at the same time, threatening the electorates.
"Blood will flow if I lose this election", and he kept his promise. Innocent corp members killed for serving their nation.
And you want me to elect such candidate?
APC members, North, South, East and West. Na the same people. [/color]

Onlytruth: Umu Anambra na Umu Igbo,

Our Prime Minister Alex101 has articulated the majority opinion in the Eze's council.

Onu madu bu onu mmuo!

We hereby endorse Chief Willie Maduabuchi Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) party for the Anambra gubernatorial elections slated for November 16, 2013.

Umunne m na umunna m,

Politics is a game of COMPROMISE.
By this I do not mean compromising ethos and age old Igbo values, rather I mean a game of QUID PRO QUO -onye dara ibe ya, ibe ya adara ya.
That is how we have lived in peace in Igboland for thousands of years. That is how we maintain one of the most enviable of African cultures.

There are no winners and losers in a place where all are wishing for common good.

All we need to do is to stop being passive once Obiano gets sworn in. We should use whatever resources available to us to hold his feet to fire, and ensure that he delivers to the benefit of Anambra and Ndigbo. If we do this, our fears of Peter Obi's undue influence in the Obiano governorship can be checked. Evil can only thrive when good men do nothing!

So, let us all lick our wounds quietly that our candidates did not make it, but let us put collective Igbo interest ahead of personal interests.
My street sense tells me that once Obiano gets sworn in, Peter Obi's influence would start to wane almost immediately. Power is unpredictable.
If Obiano develops reluctance to sideline Obi, we shall help him do just that! We shall not abandon our party to selfish men. We shall work within the party to ensure that selfish men never colonized us internally.

A na ebu uzo chofuo egbe biara ibu okuko tupu abara okuko mba maka ipu na ezi!
Ka anyi gbako aka chufuo egbe a na akpo APC.

Dalu nu.

Signed,

Yours truly,

Onlytruth.

Eze Promoe: [color=crimson]Ngige change your party and take my vote.
PERIOD![/color]

President Goodluck Jonathan will soon order relevant government agencies to investigate the purchase of two bulletproof vehicles for the Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah

DonHummer: thank you, all na wash, the main people decamping are apc members, that is, if they hav true members in the first place and not sycophants. And obviously al dis people on nairaland shouting APC are far away from anambra state and wont vote,we in anambra state knows that obiano is the nnext governor, ogeme ngige voom nnaya wen he sees the election results,,