₦airaland Forum

Sincere 9gerian: 1) He keeps his promises
https://www.nairaland.com/1203651/when-president-jonathan-promises-he

2) He is a performer
https://www.nairaland.com/1183538/jonathan-working-haters-talking-new
https://www.nairaland.com/1131976/jonathan-continues-impress/4

3) He is fighting corruption he's own style
https://www.nairaland.com/1225915/fight-against-corruption-president-jonathan

4) He is humble to a fault

5) He NEVER plays to the gallery, nether does he engage in governance by drama

6) He is never afraid of bringing into his govt technocrats or persons that are more knowledgeable than himself. He does not feel threatened by these persons.

7) He is focused and firm on what he hopes to achieve.

POINT 8. He does not appear DESPERATE for political or economic power

9) He is very approachable and likeable

10) He is not vindictive

11) Above all, he's a listening president

oxford: 1. BREAKDOWN OF LAW AND ORDER IN THE NORTH:
Current insecurity in the north will be a child’s play when a northerner becomes the president. This is easy to foresee as the JTF will be withdrawn totally from the north thereby creating a field day for the insurgents. As we all know this has been the desired of prominent northerners including the Sultan, Tambuwal, Borno elders and Elrufai.

2. RENEWED MILITANCY IN THE NIGER DELTA
For the first South- South president to be denied a second term will be interpreted to mean a continuation of the exploitation and injustice that the people of the region have been subjected to by the Nigeria state over the years. Of course the reaction of the youth of the region will be rightly or wrongly, to take up arms against the state. I foresee a scenario of zero oil revenue.

3. POLITICISING OF THE NIGERIAN ARM FORCES
Again we will witness a major retirement and redeployment of all those professionals spearheading the current fight against terrorism. Some of them will even face trails and jail. Outcome of all these will be hard to tell. Only time will tell whether Nigeria can survive the upheaval that will follow or not.

4. COLLAPSE OF THE ECONOMY.
To show that the new government is a “populist” and “a people’s” government new policies will be formulated like the restoration of 100% fuel subsidy, subsidizing of religions pilgrimages, increase in workers’ salaries, increase in allowance for the national assembly for “fighting Jonathan”. Needless to say that the Nigeria economy can’t sustain all these and the next resort will be foreign debt.

5. ABANDONEMENT OF PROJECTS
Most, if not all project current being executed by the FG will become abandoned projects – these will include the privatization of PHCN, new universities, Lagos-Ibadan road, Benin-Ore road, airports remodeling, and all South-South projects. This is to “to punish Jonathan and his boys”

blink182: In full exuberance that led him to introduce frats into the country that have totally gotten out of hand.

careytommy: Correct. Make them eat their vomit. Useless paid press house.

The Nigerian presidency defends its decision to pardon a convicted corrupt leader.

An embattled presidency, Thursday, issued a frenetic defense of President Goodluck Jonathan’s grant of state pardon to former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha; asserting the president’s right to act and refuting criticisms about the propriety of the decision.

Presidential Spokesperson, Doyin Okupe, denied the amnesty will spur public officials to loot the state treasury, as critics have warned, and dismissed similar arguments that the pardon was to prepare Mr. Alamieyeseigha, convicted for huge fraud eight year ago, for elections in 2015.

At any measure, Mr. Okupe said, the former governor would have qualified to seek elective office by 2015, when it would have been 10 years since he was convicted, as stipulated by the constitution.

“Alamieyeiseigha was jailed in 2006, he has already spent eight years after his conviction; the Nigerian Constitution allows you to stand for any post ten years after you must have served your jail term. So whether President Goodluck Jonathan granted him pardon or not, by 2015 he will be fully qualified and eligible to run for election,” Mr. Okupe said.

But it will only be nine, and not 10 years by 2015, since the former governor left jail, invalidating Mr. Okupe’s claim.

Mr. Alamieyeseigha’s pardon, approved by the Jonathan-led Council of States on Tuesday, has ignited a firestorm for a president who lately, faced stinging backlash and public disapproval for strings of policy missteps.

Mr. Alamieyeseigha was cleared alongside seven others, one of them- Shettima Bulama- also an ex-fraud convict. But many Nigerians view the president’s decision as chiefly directed at Mr. Alamieyeseigha, a known political benefactor of the president.

Pardon doesn’t stop corruption

At a press conference on Thursday, the government’s first official briefing since Tuesday, Mr. Okupe said critics were wrong by claiming the presidential pardon showed the administration was abdicating an already shaky anti-graft effort.

That line of argument takes the criticism “too far”, he said, reading from a prepared text.

“It is out of place to suggest that the pardon is tantamount to abandoning the fight against corruption in Nigeria. This is too far from the truth,” he said.

Adopting a more conciliatory tone than an earlier television appearance, where he thumped about the president not owing apologies for the decision, Mr. Okupe appealed to Nigerians to be “open minded” on the issue, and to recognize that “the purpose of punishment,” as stated by English judge, Lord Denning, “is not to destroy the offender but rather to reform him and deter others”.

He subtly highlighted the administration’s argument that after all, the former Bayelsa State Governor’s prosecution was politically motivated.

“Gentlemen of the Press will recall that former Governor DSP Alamieyeseigha was removed from office in a manner that was suggested by many as not being entirely above board,” he said.

Nevertheless, he added, the former governor served his time, lost his position, “forfeited the property illegally acquired and has demonstrated enough soberness after he served his sentence.”

“It has often been said that there is always a season for everything under the sun, a season to punish and a season to forgive. Distinguished gentlemen of the press, fellow Nigerians, this is the season to forgive and to heal. May God forgive us all and bless our country Nigeria,” Mr. Okupe said.

More condemnations

Since the decision on Tuesday, the remarks by government officials have seemed hardly potent enough at reversing the fury that greeted the decision.

Civil society groups warned on Thursday they will oppose the president’s decision, although it is not clear how much they could achieve with the president’s powers for pardon clearly stated.

Citing a dossier of state pardons by American presidents, Mr. Okupe said Nigerians should recognize Mr. Alamieyeseigha’s role in keeping the peace in the restive Niger Delta, which is vital for steady oil sales and a running national economy.

“But in truth Alamieyeisegha since he left prison has been working strenuously and silently to assist the President stabilize the amnesty in the Niger Delta Region. Alamieyeisegha is a foremost leader of the Ijaw Nation, and his political and stabilizing influence in that region have impacted positively on the overall economy of the nation, bringing crude oil exports from the abysmally low level of 700,00 bpd, to over 2.4 million bpd!

“Therefore, it is obvious that, Alamieyeisegha has been a major player since his release from prison in ensuring that the blood that runs through the Nigerian economic artery is not cut off,” he said.

Sincere 9gerian: You have just spoken for yourself again. However, your opinions has always been the same and irrelevant. So nothing has changed.

chiover: Op u chop waterleaf?? Ur brain get too much green water

Makzylopez: so whose fault is it that Buhari refused to attend the meeting where he would have established his stance. to me, he shied away from his responsibilities. which is an indictment on him..

tomakint: ok airhead , but seriously, I am not for this unnecessary dogging me around bullshyte you are into, maybe its time I invite Ejine to put that leash on you again

Sincere 9gerian: I just looked at the front page and saw two (2) more threads on the same issue of state pardon, making it a total of 5 threads on the same issue hitting our front page in just 2days. This is record breaking.
Lol..

Since the News broke about GEJ's kamikaze Presidential pardon, granted to some convicted criminals notably Alamieyesiega who is an international thief thief, I have been following all the treads created for this, to see the reactions of the 40-Strong-Jonathan-Never-Do-Bad-Contigent on Nairaland to no avail. Did they just decide to avoid Nairaland till the smell goes down?
My question are:
Where are they?
Have they confirmed the largely held belief, that they have sold their souls to corruption?
Do they have any conscience at all?
Where are these attack dogs?---Insincere9ja, Targua, Point2,The Lost Pope, Jmaine, Proud Igbo,Dede1, Billyonaire etc.
Please make una come carry una father's poo cos him don poo for church

Ngwakwe: @OP
You fail to realize that South Easterners were marginalized by the Council of States.

Gen. Buhari was actively part of the decision to grant the pardon.

That the Council of States has a super majority from Northern and South-Western Nigeria.

That Bridg. Gen Diya assumes immediate membership in the Council of State by virtue of this pardon.

In its reaction, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) last night said the presidential pardon for Alamieyeseigha was “laughable and tribalistic.”
CPC spokesman Rotimi Fashakin said the decision was akin to granting posthumous pardon to the likes of notorious armed robber Lawrence Anini.
“There is a better way to show solidarity with one’s boss than this utterly reprehensible action…. This is another proof that the Jonathan regime is not averse to corruption,” Fashakin said.
Secretary General of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Willy Ezugwu, said, “This is saddening…. This has also confirmed that the president is hobnobbing with corruption and that Nigerians should not put their hope on him to move the nation forward.”

eggheaders: the Bastar**d* are on the run.probably perfecting the lies they will come and tell us here.this good for nothing subhumans are so irritating they will spin up any lie. even when Jonathan is caught red handed for a crime.