₦airaland Forum

“There is a problem right now, as I
speak. The Northern camp is in
crisis. We have been supporting
the creation of an interven tion
fund. Our initial agreement was
that the fund was going to be used to rebuild the entire North"-Aboki. Who say aboki no get sense.

JULY 14, 2014 BY FRIDAY OLOKOR 1 Comment Akwa Ibom State delegates to the National Conference have warned of a looming crisis should their northern counterparts frustrate efforts to adopt the 18 per cent derivation fund recommended by the
Consensus Group for oil-producing states. A statement issued on Sunday in Abuja a former Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Chief Nduese Essien, on behalf of the delegates, warned that the series of existing agitations by youths of the region might turn into a full-blown war unless the current 13% derivation fund for the oil-producing states was reviewed upward. The delegates said, “There is a strong possibility that the Niger Delta region agitation could again snowball into an orgy of violence if the logjam on derivation principle at the National Conference is not resolved on the basis of justice and fair play. “Besides, recent attempts to resurrect the onshore/offshore dichotomy and
to make political capital out of the issue have further heightened tension in oil- bearing communities that have witnessed persistent oil spills, gas flaring and constant devastation due to the oil drilling activities of the multinational oil companies. “Based on comments attributed to people from a certain part of the country, it is pertinent to indicate that the people of Akwa Ibom State and indeed the Niger Delta region are disappointed by the posturing of people from a certain section of the country and would resist attempts by persons or groups to use the satanic policy to blackmail the region.” The Akwa Ibom delegates quoted some sections of the constitution to back their argument. According to them, Section 134 of the 1960 Constitution and Section 140 of the 1963 Constitution which formed the basis of the country’s independence and nationhood had provided that Nigeria’s continental shelf of 200 nautical miles be deemed to be part of a region for the purpose of paying 50 per cent derivation. “The two constitutions had provided that for the purpose of derivation, a state that has a coast is deemed to be the owner of the continental shelf. But through Decree 9 of 1971, the then Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd.), had introduced the onshore/offshore dichotomy. From that time, the policy had been abolished three times. The first abolition took place in 1975, the second in 1979 and the third in 1992. It was, however, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo who reintroduced the evil policy. “Today, the dichotomy is still in place because the Abrogation Act of 2004 drastically reduced the constitutional provisions and the internationally recognised boundary definition of continental shelf from 200 nautical miles to 200 feet isobaths. What is used now is a mere measure of the low water mark of the land surface of
a littoral state rather than the universally accepted measurement,” the statement added. They said, “As delegates continue to procrastinate and disagree over the issue of derivation and other issues that are germane to the people of the state and indeed the region that has sustained the country’s economy for over five decades now, the Akwa Ibom State secretariat of the National Conference hereby draws attention to the rising tension and a possible backlash that may follow if the people of the region are shortchanged by the conference. “While the bickering continues, youths from oil-bearing communities in Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have during the past two weeks occupied the operational base of ExxonMobil Unlimited at Quo Ibo Terminal, QIT and stopped the multinational oil firm
from accessing its facilities. The youths are protesting against a recent oil-spill which devastated over 46 communities along the coastline in the state… “In the spirit of the Ramadan, we appeal to our brothers in the North to sheathe their swords and allow justice and fair-play to prevail in the current debate on what should constitute the derivation formula, after all, what has been recommended by the eminent members of the Consensus Group also covers solid minerals and other resources found all over the country.”http://www.punchng.com/news/aibom-delegates-threaten-war-over-18-derivation-fund/

The APC has accused INEC of
collaborating with the PDP to execute
a sinister plan to manipulate the
electoral process from source, in order
to rig the votes on August 9. The party, in a statement by its
Director of Publicity, Research and
Strategy, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, said many
APC supporters across the local
government areas are systematically
being disenfranchised as INEC is preventing them from obtaining their
permanent voters cards (PVCs) which
he said without which they will not be
allowed to vote. APC alleged also that INEC has
“introduced a wicked formular of
dispensing the PVCs by asking voters
with temporary cards what party they
belonged to, before the permanent
voters cards are given. In the process, virtually all those who
have identified themselves as APC
supporters have been told that their
PVCs were not ready, and INEC could
not tell these prospective voters when
they would be available.” According to the APC, the unfolding
plan was part of the reasons the PDP
demanded the removal of the
substantive RECin the state,
Ambassador Rufus Akeju. Meanwhile the governorship
candidate of Social Democratic Party
(SDP), Mr. Olusegun Akinwusi has
stated that his party is the best choice
for the state electorate in the August 9
election for even development and quick economic recovery. Akinwusi who met with members of
Osun Youth Agenda (OYA) in Osogbo
at the weekend stated that both the All
Progressives Congress (APC) and the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have
outlived their usefulness in the polity and that a new political platform with a
better programme can move the state
forward. “Without doubt, APC has failed in our
state and PDP left the state house in a
hurry in 2010. Governance is not
where PDP left it in 2010, it has moved
beyond that and only technocrats can
fix the decay in our system. SDP has what it takes to lead Osun state to a
better state” he stated.http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/inec-disenfranchising-apc-supporters-osun/

Liar !! Cheap propaganda from pit of hell. Btw pictures of the Legislooters doing the needful and Liar Mohammed endorsing their EXIT or Idobirivit

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN The national hierarchy of the PDP
yesterday intervened into the
campaigns with a damning injunction
on the APC to campaign now instead
of resorting to empty propaganda and
blackmail that would earn it only defeat. The party’s National Publicity
Secretary, Olisa Metuh in a statement
yesterday said the PDP was working
harder than ever to ensure victory in
the polls, noting that the factors which
gave it victory in Ekiti, including a popular candidate with grass root
appeal, strong and well accepted
message as well as the humble and
effective leadership of its leader,
President Goodluck Jonathan were still
at play. The PDP said while its candidate and
members have been campaigning and
winning the support of the people, the
APC has engaged in “political
gallivanting, rigmarole and ineffective
propaganda in the media without focusing on the fact that only the
votes of the people will count on
election day. “We urge Nigerians to note that whilst
the APC leaders are focused on
campaign of calumny, character
assassination and creating confusion,
the PDP is sensitizing, appealing and
campaigning to the people while strengthening and expanding its
support base in the state. “We want them to note that whereas
our candidate and supporters have
been engaged in vigorous all-inclusive
campaign in all the nooks and
crannies of the state, the APC,
detached from the people and ignoring the reality that the South West
voters are tired of fake progressives,
has stuck to out-worn triumphant
cliches and tactics like it did in Ekiti.
When they eventually lose, blackmail
and violence may come handy in an attempt to discredit the process. “In any case what does one expect
from a party that has no message and
agenda for the people; a party based
on religious and ethnic interests and
which has absolutely nothing to offer
in the furtherance of the national interest”, the PDP said.http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/campaign-now-keep-quiet-defeat-pdp-tells-apc/

The Igbos are having a field day

Liar Mohammed will soon issue a Press Statement on this.

A well-tailored propaganda from PDP ahead of #Osun2014.

This mischieveous Op, trying to incite the Southwest against their Slavemasters

Let the Blame Games begin! #Team supporter of APC vs #TeamCanckerworm.

FACT: All Terrorists are Muslims but the converse fails.

Ndiofe doing the Abokis bidding since 1967.

Dividends of Aregbesola Spreadsheet Governance(ASG).

By focusing his undiluted attention
on the state’s purse strings at the
expense of maintaining a feeling for
the pulse of the electorate, Fayemi
literally signed the death warrant of
his own administration long before the day of the election.Far from being an aberration, the
shock defeat of Governor Kayode Fayemi in the recent Ekiti
Gubernatorial election is a salutary
lesson in an approach to governance
typical of ACN/APC administrations in
the South-West, Edo-State included. This piece offers a viewpoint as to
why Fayemi, against all expectations,
went through such a crushing
defeat; losing in all sixteen local
government areas of the state, even
getting a kick in the teeth in his own ward! This is an objective assessment
from my own vantage point as an
academic and a participant in the
electoral process. But, first, a little
declaration of interest is in order. I
knew Governor Fayemi very well; he was my publicity secretary as Chair of
the ‘New Nigeria Forum’ during the
pro-democracy years of struggle in
London. His wife, Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi
(as she was then known) was also a
vibrant member of the Forum’s executive at the time. That said, I
have not spoken to, or met either of
them in over fifteen years. What I am
offering here, therefore, is a
dispassionate, no-strings-attached;
no holds barred account of what I believe went so horribly wrong for
APC in this pivotal state, and how that
might be avoided in future elections. The arrival of Fayemi in the Ekiti
government house four years ago
marked the beginning of what many
thought would be a breath of fresh
air in democratic governance in the
previously troubled state governed by an administration of mediocre
talents at best. With his coterie of
super-smart advisors and assisted by
his erudite wife, Fayemi was finally
going to clean up the Augean stables
with an un-paralleled technocratic fervour and vitality. The ground was
also finally made for him to burst the
old taboo of an academic occupying
the seat of power in Nigeria. Lest
anyone forget, Fayemi had also been
a tireless pro-democracy crusader and had walked the corridors of
power in this country and elsewhere
as a highly connected individual for
several years as he was carefully
charting the way to come “out of the
shadows”. It was all these that created the
euphoria around his ascension to the
governor’s lodge in Ekiti.
Subsequently, his hands-on
approach to government
administration during the first six months in office quickly confirmed
his status as a demi-god in the eyes
of his staff and close admirers. This
was going to be an all-performing,
invincible and impeccable action
man. He neither originated the hype that was later built up to
stratospheric heights around his
person, nor did he do anything to
dissuade people from believing it. It
was clear by then that the only way
left for him to go would be down, and he was determined not to let that
happen. Consequently, the governor went to
work; prioritising his workload as a
busy governor should, setting up
panels, performance indicators,
yardsticks and benchmarks, in short,
hitting the ground running. His “8- point agenda” at some point took on
a messianic zest. The vision became
the transformation of the state for the
foreseeable future; for the
generations yet unborn. The state
became Fayemi’s laboratory for a special kind of social engineering
and revival. Roads were not only to
be built, but were counted and
measured for precision. Education
was conceived (wrongly in my view)
as the state’s “oil”. Dr. Kayode Fayemi Yes, the state is graduating a large
proportion of its population, but it
has no direct economic advantage to
the community. The graduates and
the professionals do not stay and
work in the society that produces them; they take a flight from it at the
earliest opportunity and many never
return, not even in retirement. The
people are generally well educated
but they remain largely agrarian,
insular and not well disposed to new ideas. This is a crucial point that was
palpably lost on Fayemi’s
administration as he embarked upon
his ‘value for money’ policy
initiatives. One such initiative was the
forcible re-orientation of teachers in an attempt to clear out the dead
woods amongst them. The other
ones were his bold attempt at
tackling inertia in the civil service,
and trimming the bulging local
government allocations. These three are, unfortunately, sacred cows in
the community; the lifeblood of the
people’s being. If they were to be
reformed, it ought to be done with
the panache and deft touch of a wily
political operator. Sadly, the people saw his reform
agenda in these areas as an
existential threat to them and vowed
to be rid of him come rain or shine.
This, it has to be said, has nothing to
do with any love lust for his main challenger, now governor-elect, Ayo
Fayose. By focusing his undiluted
attention on the state’s purse strings
at the expense of maintaining a
feeling for the pulse of the electorate,
Fayemi literally signed the death warrant of his own administration
long before the day of the election. In terms of governor Fayemi’s
personal handling of his
administration and the numerous
completed projects up and down the
state, he has rightly received plaudits
for them, but mainly in the media associated with the Lagos-Ibadan
and Abuja metropolitan elites. With
his penchant for performance
measurement and slide rules, he ran
the state as the Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of a large Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), rather than the
CEO of a virulent and complex state
with many competing interests to
assuage, egos to massage and
banana skins to avoid. “Judge me on
my performance” was his mantra going into the election. He went to
the electorate like the CEO of an NGO
re-applying for its funding for
another four years and offering up a
colourful “compendium of JKF
administration” for scrutiny. For a start, what on earth is the meaning of
a “compendium” to the average Ekiti
person? The dossier (a jam and
Jerusalem treatise), is emblematic of
his perceived detachment from
reality. Rendering the account of an elected
government is not the same as
rendering the account of an NGO. The
skills-set needed for the two are
fundamentally different. In this wise,
Fayemi was badly let down by his closest advisers, who must take their
share of responsibility for the defeat.
The immediate task ahead of him
though, is handing over to the
governor-elect, who is having a belly
laugh now at the expense of the electorate, who will soon pick up the
tab for his victory. Fayose would also
delight in probing the administration
of his predecessor for his ‘waste’ and
‘extravagant’ use of the state’s
resources and ‘saddling’ the poor state with a large amount of debt.
This will happen soon enough, so,
Fayemi had better be prepared for a
robust defence of his administration
in the court of public opinion as any
such probes would be a mere theatrical display of comeuppance to
Fayemi and all the ‘book people’ that
advised him. Fayemi has a great
political future ahead of him in this
country. He and the APC hierarchy
have a golden opportunity to re- learn the art of engagement with the
electorate. He may be down for now,
but only a fool would count him out. Dr. Oke is a Senior Lecturer in the
College of Social and Management
Sciences, Afe Babalola University,
Ado-Ekiti. Contact him at
tayoo@abuad.edu.ng.https://secure.saharareporters.com/2014/07/11/ekiti-people’s-verdict-no-more-spreadsheet-governance-dr-tayo-oke

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief John Oyegun, in this interview with ALEXANDER OKERE, speaks on issues concerning his election, the Ekiti election, the crisis in the Edo State House of Assembly and the prospect of the APC in the 2015 presidential election What are you, as the APC national chairman, doing to pacify those who were aggrieved as a result of the national convention? On those who felt aggrieved, rightly or wrongly; it does not matter whether they were right or wrong, my job is to make peace. It is not just at my level. There were several levels during the convention and I have given equal attention to all. There was a little bit of bad blood on the position of secretary and over other positions and I have reached out to every one of the significantly aggrieved people. Some have responded. Some have not responded, but there is no giving up. I have realised that in a party that has
no prospects, you beg people to volunteer for office; you virtually plead with them to accept offices; but because the APC has very bright prospects, it has become virtually the government-in-waiting, given the mood of the nation and the universal cry for change. The APC is the party whose time has come. Because of that, the contestation of office becomes a little bit sharper than it would have been with a party without a prospect. Therefore, people naturally, like I said, rightly or wrongly, would feel a sense of loss at not being preferred for the various positions in the party. We had reached out to all of them. Most had responded positively. We will continue to reach out to those that are still nursing grievances. That, as far as it is concerned is a healthy thing because if the party was not a going concern, people would just say, ‘Oh, they do not want me to be X. That is their business; I wanted to do them a favour’. But it is not like that. This is a movement that is going to end up in Aso Rock in February of next year. We are doing everything to talk to them and get them back happily into the fold. What has been the response of Chief Tom Ikimi to your reconciliation efforts? Well, it is still an ongoing process. It is unfortunate that when you feel hurt, you threaten your party. That alone creates suspicion about you in the party that you still belong to. Let me say that it was a mistake for him to have threatened to leave the party. We value him. We have respect for him. I have tremendous respect for him; I used to go to him and have a good wine. I hope this had not separated us. It cannot. Politics cannot separate us. I pray that when he calms down, we will resume our very warm relationship not just with me personally but much more with the party. What is your take on the Ekiti election as the national chairman of the APC? On the Ekiti election, the first point is, because we are a party of change, a party that wants to show Nigerians that there is a different way of doing things; that politics does not have to be bitter in spite of all our reservations, the governor was advised to concede for a lot of reasons. One is that we did not think, given the heavy militarisation, that it was worthwhile raising tension which may lead to the spilling of innocent blood. I was there in Ekiti. I had to leave virtually in the dead of night because of the intelligence report that we received, driving all the way from Ado Ekiti to Lagos. Those that came by air could not go back by air because the airport was closed. There was this state of tension which needed just a little spark to set it off. And we said, ‘This is not our style of politics. Governor, do the honourable thing.’ We had a lot of questions about that election. We are going ahead with something even more detailed and a forensic examination of what happened. We know all was not well on the face of it. It was a very clever thing. The actual processes before election day were heavily faulted, of course, with the unconstitutional militarisation. But on the day of the election, the façade was presented that made everybody think that everything went normally. But we know that that was not the case. We took the part of honour and conceded and you can see that there was immediate peace thereafter. That is because we are a party of change and we hope Nigerians have taken note of what we did in Ekiti. We hope it does not get repeated because a lot
of what happened was totally unconstitutional; you do not lock down a whole state for 48 hours. You are allowed to restrict movement for 24 hour before the election but not for 48 hours. You do not lock down a state, arrest the leaders of the governing party there; lock them down completely but allow the leaders of the opposition party as at that time, who had no business at all being in Ekiti. Minister of Defence, Minister of Police Affairs and Chris Uba were all there operating in those 48 hours. These are the facts, which the press must help to tell them (the FG and PDP) should not repeat themselves with the Osun election. What is the APC doing in the meantime? We are taking various actions in the interim just to prevent that. We are not going to court over the election itself. But we are going to court to uphold the fundamental rights of citizens. Whether you are a governor, party leader or an ordinary citizen, you have that right of free movement in this nation. That cannot be abridged by anybody except there is a good cause to do so. There is no such law in this nation of locking down a state for 48 hours. Bringing the military so forcefully into the political arena is also not accepted by any law or practice in this nation. With all these, we will take the appropriate legal action so that our legal authorities will tell us what the legal boundaries are for governmental action. Finally, let me say that it was a blow for us. But we have gone over that now. It is alright for the Federal Government to bring all the army, all the police to a one- state election because the PDP is in power at the federal level. To start with, that is one of the best arguments I have seen recently for state police. Secondly, we need the army and the police in Borno and Yobe. We would have been glad if these people were deployed there to get back our girls. But the PDP is desperate and they think that making a point with Ekiti will set a bandwagon effect for others. When the time comes in February, the whole nation will be voting at the same time, let them take all the soldiers out of Bornu to police every single state and see if there will be a Nigeria left at the end of the day. Ekiti was a very regrettable loss but the D- Day is still coming. We are very confident that when it comes, the people of this country will decide for change. How will you manage the interest of some northern leaders like General Muhammadu Buhari(retd) and Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso to fly the presidential flag for your party? I do not know if there is a management problem. I am praying very desperately that there should be
more aspirants because that is what builds a party. Each of them will have a support base. Each of them will be able to entice a lot of party members and non-party members interested in
the party. Each of them will get people to look with a magnifying glass at all the people offering to be our president. I will just sit down and smile, hoping they come and pay our fees; that way we can make quite some money for the party. Also, it becomes the duty of the party members represented by the delegates to decide which one, in their opinion is most likely to help us win the election and provide a good leadership for the nation. Mine is to be a very impartial referee to provide a level-playing ground for all the contesting interests. There is nothing to manage. The more, the merrier; I know a lot more who are interested in being president on the platform of the APC and I have given them my word that their candidacy for the nomination will be most welcome. What is the true position of the APC on the issue of a Muslim- Muslim ticket? I do not know where people get the thing about a Muslim-Muslim ticket, Christian-Christian ticket, pagan- pagan ticket or whatever they want to call it. I am the national chairman of this party. What I can guarantee Nigerians is that we are going to have a totally above-board primary for the rank and file of the party to decide who will be their candidate. That is the way it is going to be. Of course the party members, whose job it is to select their candidates, will do whatever they need to do on the basis of the need to win an election. Whatever the party decides, it is not me or any individual; it is the totality of the members of the party properly acting through their delegates who will select a candidate for the election. As far as John Oyegun is concerned, anybody is qualified to vie for the presidential ticket. That is the law of the party. Thus, whether it is Christian-Christian, Muslim-Muslim or animist-animist ticket, it will be the decision of the party. We will deal with the issue when we get there. Does it not appear that your party is still far from picking its candidate for the presidential election in February? Every party is still far away even though, in the case of the PDP, there is a presumption. But do not be fooled because it could change very dramatically. It looks like a one- horse race. But on the eve of selecting candidates, it may be otherwise. We, in the APC are listening to the people. We can hear what they are telling us because we have people we consult with all over this nation, who are telling and giving us vibes about what Nigerians feel and expect. Therefore, presenting a candidate in two or three months will not be an issue. What is important is, ‘What does the party stand for? How can it prove that it is different? How can it prove that it is serious?’ That is the task that we have between now and the selection of the candidate. Once the people of this nation buy the fact that the APC is a party they can trust to deliver change, the candidate becomes number two issue. Can you react to the challenges facing some of the APC states? In desperation, the Federal Government is creating problems for us in all our states. Let us start with the present insecurity. Watch the way it is spreading. I have read once or twice that these crises are the handiwork of the opposition because they do not like the government. But do you kill your family to prove that you hate someone else? How come that the crises are in APC states? Now it is crawling into another APC state – Kano. We know what has happened in Rivers State, where they have a very courageous man. When a party is seen as having prospects, the struggles for offices get a little bit keener. That is what is happening in a lot of these states. All of these we will resolve in quick order and that has been the priority. We have already set up a high-powered committee working on the issues, headed by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, with membership drawn from truly respected party leaders. Edo state’s case is clear. You can see what is happening from the time we had some defections. I think the PDP saw it as a wonderful opportunity to undermine the state government and
keep it under crisis, particularly as four or five members of the House also defected with the group. But what you should see in it is this: it was these defecting members who went to court to seek two redresses. First, that their seats should not be declared vacant. Two, that they cannot be and should not be impeached. The court granted the first request that their seats should not be declared vacant. The court rejected the second request, saying that they cannot interfere in the proceedings to that extent. The APC complied; they did not declare their seats vacant. But they went ahead, since they had the legal clearance, in terms of the suspension, and suspended them. These people are not obeying the orders of the court. They are now operating outside the ambit of the law. That is what the media should see and emphasise and tell our security agencies to please help in enforcing the law of this nation. Otherwise, the two sides can resort to jungle justice and God forbids that we should ever get to that kind of situation. As a result, it is very clear that the opposition in Edo State, the PDP, using totally illegal and crude tactics to try to undermine the government of this state. That is unacceptable. It is illegal and must not be allowed to stand. Is it true your party lacks internal democracy? Internal democracy means that there is a law and you must conduct yourself according to law. The APC has a constitution and the constitution says clearly that consensus is a preferred way of reaching a decision because all leaders would have subscribed to that consensus. It means nobody has
everything he wants but everybody has something. Consequently, we are
able to live happily together. But it states clearly that where that consensus cannot be reached and even a single member insists on a proper election, again, according to the rules of the party, so be it. We, then go and have an election. That is what we are operating. Unless somebody else has another definition of internal democracy, what is important is that we are abiding strictly by the constitution of the party. Was your emergence part of the internal democracy? Yes, it was by consensus. In spite of that, there was still an election. There was still voting; you could have voted ‘No’, even if I was the only candidate. In fact, there was nobody competing with me who did not voluntarily withdraw, except the one who did not even return his forms because he saw the evidence on the ground that it will become a non- issue. There was nobody who came to the convention venue that insisted on a vote and the vote was not taken. What are the prospects of your party at the 2015 general elections? It is clear that the Nigerian nation is broken and change must come. Let the Nigerian people try something new for democracy to thrive, even if they are not sure of what we stand for and for the PDP not to take the nation for granted as it has done today. People should show they have a choice and that it is their right to hire and to fire. They should show the PDP they want to try something for a change. If that change did not satisfy the people, they can fire the new government. That is the kind of democracy we should have. The PDP has managed to maintain itself in power in such a way that they really do not care anymore what
the people think. They fix the votes, they fix themselves in power and they rule us with impunity. It is now for Nigerians to decide whether they want to continue in that condition where nothing is working. We are going to tell Nigerians that it is time to
try something new. We are presenting ourselves as something new, something different. We are presenting the states that we govern as signposts. In Edo State, when people come here, I say, ‘Look, if Oshiomhole can do in Abuja what he has done here then we do not have problems. We will see visibly what our resources are being used for.’ It is not when ministers now have two jets. People steal pension funds and get away with it. The fuel subsidy issue has disappeared from public discourse. The N20bn has disappeared from public discourse. Bombs blasts have become like a normal thing. Is that the life we want for this country? We are presenting our party as new, as different and we have done the studies as people who truly care. There is no way we can prove it to you because we have never ruled this nation. But we can tell you, ‘Look at our states.’ We are not pretending to be angels. Politics is not a seminary
nor is it the papacy. But what is important is, ‘What are you doing with the lives of the people?’ That is what is critical. Are you restoring hopes to their lives? Are you making their lives better? www.punchng.com/news/ikimi-made-mistake-threatening-to-leave-apc-odigie-oyegun/

berem: Useless source and an anti-APC agent!

Op G and D!!

Berem whinning on Nairaland since 1860. Finally: APC is a product of supporter of APC Ideology - Olisa Metu.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) – A Germany
side chasing a place in history will
attempt to wreck Lionel Messi’s dream
of a World Cup coronation with
Argentina on Sunday as the month-
long football carnival hits a climax at the Maracana Stadium. The 64th game of one of the best
World Cups of all time pits Europe
against South America — a duel
between two football superpowers in
one of the sport’s most evocative
arenas. Germany are attempting to become
the first side from Europe to win a
World Cup in the Americas, determined
that a golden generation will finally
gets it reward after a string of near-
misses. Messi, meanwhile, is seeking the
triumph which will silence forever the
remaining critics who argue that the
absence of a World Cup title precludes
him from a place alongside Diego
Maradona in football’s pantheon. The momentum is firmly with Germany
after their astonishing 7-1 semi-final
demolition job of Brazil, through a
combination of superb attacking play
and defensive incompetence. Ominously for Argentina, Germany say
they quickly put the win firmly in the
rear-view mirror. - All eyes on Maracana - All German eyes are now on the
historic Maracana and a chance to
claim the ultimate prize after losing in
either the final or the semi-finals in
their last four major tournaments. “We enjoyed the game against Brazil,
but we ticked it off after 24 hours,”
said Germany striker Miroslav Klose. That same steely determination has
characterised Germany’s road to Rio,
notably in coming from behind to
snatch a 2-2 draw with Ghana in
Group G and outlasting an awkward
Algerian challenge in the last 16. They coolly neutralised a dangerous-
looking France 1-0 in the quarter-
finals and swiftly turned their attention
to dismembering Brazil. “As a player or a manager I have
never seen a team celebrate a big
victory so quietly,” German team
manager Oliver Bierhoff said after the
France win. From top to bottom, the German spine
has exuded quality. Manuel Neuer has
looked unbeatable in goal while Mats
Hummels has been a silky and solid
presence in defence. Bastian
Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira have proved a formidable midfield duo,
allowing the likes of Toni Kroos and
Mesut Ozil to flourish. Thomas Mueller has been a deadly
goalscoring threat — five goals so far
in the tournament — while the 36-
year-old Klose has chipped in with
two goals, becoming the World Cup’s
all-time leading scorer in the process. Germany’s 17 goals in the tournament
— more than double Argentina’s total
— have come from eight different
players, a testament to the team ethic
which pervades Joachim Loew’s
squad. - ‘Germany have a team’ - “Brazil have Neymar, Portugal have
Ronaldo, Argentina have Messi and
Germany have a team,” ran one widely
retweeted summary on Twitter this
week. Ranged against Germany’s attacking
arsenal are an Argentina side led by
27-year-old Barcelona superstar
Messi. The four-time world footballer of the
year came into the tournament
determined to atone for two
disappointing World Cups in 2006 and
2010. Like Maradona 28 years ago, he has
dragged his team over the line at key
moments in Brazil. He opened with an
individual goal against Bosnia, an
injury-time winner to beat Iran, and
two more goals against Nigeria. Messi’s run and pass created the
extra-time winner for Angel Di Maria
against Switzerland in the last 16. While he was largely anonymous in
the semi-final win over the Dutch,
Germany will know that one slip on
Sunday could present Messi with a
match-winning moment, just as it did
for Maradona in the 1986 final against the Germans. Man-marked out of the match by
Lothar Matthaus, Maradona still created
the game’s winning goal — a sublime
first-time through ball which released
Jorge Burruchaga to clinch a 3-2
victory. - ‘Water in the desert’ - “Regardless of whether he scores
goals or not, his influence is decisive,”
Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella
said of Messi after the quarter-finals. “A game has many aspects, apart from
goals. When you have a player such as
Messi, who never, or almost never,
loses the ball, it’s water in the desert —
and not just when he scores.” Yet for all the parallels with 1986, the
last World Cup meeting between the
two nations may be more relevant —
Germany’s 4-0 romp in the 2010
quarter-finals. Seventeen players involved in that
Cape Town match featured in this
week’s semi-finals, 10 for Germany
and seven for Argentina. But many observers have wondered
whether Messi’s dip in form last season
was due to a pre-occupation with the
World Cup. It could be that the diminutive genius
has been plotting all along to claim the
crown on Sunday at the Maracana. “If he is saving his best performance
for the final,” said former England
manager Glenn Hoddle, “it will be a joy
to watch.” www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/germanys-history-boys-prepare-wreck-messi-dream/

GAZA CITY – Israel pounded Gaza for a
fifth day Saturday as it vowed no let-
up in its air campaign to halt rocket
attacks by militants which has killed
more than 120 Palestinians. A defiant Hamas fired five more
rockets into Israel as the Islamist
movement rejected growing
international calls for a halt to
hostilities, insisting Israel must act first. Diplomatic efforts to stop the violence
saw US President Barack Obama
telephoning Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and Washington
offering to use its relationships in the
Middle East to bring about a return to calm. But speaking at a news conference in
Tel Aviv on Friday, Netanyahu said he
would not end the military campaign
until he achieved his goal of stopping
the Hamas fire and preparations
gathered pace for a possible ground assault. “No international pressure will prevent
us from striking, with all force, against
the terrorist organisation which calls
for our destruction,” he said. “No terrorist target in Gaza is immune.” Despite international concern, truce
efforts have been unsuccessful,
according to Egypt, which has been
key in mediating previous ceasefires
between Hamas and Israel. “Egypt has communicated with all
sides to halt violence against civilians
and called on them to continue with
the truce agreement signed in
November 2012,” the foreign ministry
said. “Unfortunately, these efforts… have
met with stubbornness.” After weeks of rocket fire into its
southern flank, Israel appeared bent
on dealing a fatal blow to Hamas. Ismail Haniya, Gaza’s former premier
and the most senior Hamas official in
the coastal enclave, ruled out any halt
to hostilities. “(Israel) is the one that started this
aggression and it must stop, because
we are (simply) defending ourselves,”
he said. - Ground attack decision soon - Israel says preparations are under
way for a possible ground attack, with
tanks and artillery massed along the
border and some 33,000 reservists
mobilised out of 40,000 approved by
the cabinet. More armour was seen heading south
on Saturday morning. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman
said he expected a political decision
on a possible ground operation by
Sunday. “At the moment we are dealing with
the first phase… air attacks,” he told
Channel One television. “I imagine we shall decide tomorrow
(Saturday) or the day after on the next
stage.” Early Saturday, 16 Palestinians died in
a wave of Israeli air strikes as
Operation Protective Edge entered its
fifth day, taking the overall death toll
to 121, medics said. The Israeli military said it had struck
“several terrorists conspiring to launch
rockets at Israel” and “a weapons
cache concealed within a mosque in
the central Gaza Strip.” So far, no one in Israel has been killed.
Two have been seriously wounded,
including a man at a petrol station hit
by a rocket. In northern Israel, at least one rocket
fired from Lebanon struck an open
area near the town of Metula on
Friday, prompting troops to respond
with shelling, the army said. The military believed a Palestinian
group fired it in solidarity with Hamas,
public radio reported. - ‘Military actions must stop’ - The escalating violence brought more
offers of truce negotiations from the
White House Friday. “There are a number of relationships
the United States has that we are
willing to leverage in the region to try
to bring about an end to the rocket
fire that’s originating in Gaza and, as
we saw this morning, in Lebanon,” said White House spokesman Josh
Earnest on Friday. He referred to taking steps as the US
and Egypt did in November 2012 to
broker a truce between Israel and
Hamas. Kuwait requested an emergency Arab
foreign ministers meeting to discuss
“the deteriorating situation”, which a
diplomat at the Arab League said will
be held on Monday. Israeli strikes on residential buildings
in Gaza brought a rebuke from the
UN’s human rights office over the
number of civilian casualties. “Even when a home is identified as
being used for military purposes, any
attack must be proportionate… and
precautions must be taken to protect
civilians,” said spokeswoman Ravina
Shamdasani. A group of 34 charities and NGOs also
called for an end to the fighting. “Military actions by all parties must
stop,” said a statement signed by
groups including ActionAid, CARE,
Oxfam and Save the Children. Amnesty International called for the
United Nations “to immediately impose
a comprehensive arms embargo on
Israel, Hamas and Palestinian armed
groups” and launch an enquiry into
“violations committed on all sides”. Since the start of Israel’s operation on
Tuesday, about 525 rockets have
struck the Jewish state, and Iron Dome
has shot down around 138, an army
spokeswoman told AFP on Saturday. The army Twitter account said that
overnight strikes “hit over 60 terror
targets, making a total of 1,160 since
the beginning of Operation Protective
Edge.” source:www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/israel-vows-let-hamas-defiant-gaza-toll-tops-120/

Ndiofe committing atrocity since 942BC

This Guy has been posting in all CAPs virtually in every section he appears. Does it mean that the Mods are not aware of that which contravenes one of the Rules on Nairaland. Sa'alama leku!

Happywoman: I have Neva been banned though. But all my mentions and like are always hidden . Pls I ask, why is this?
I joined NL since 2005 (With a diff user name though) .then Wen seun used to pet users , as in really be courteous and all that . I wish I saved screenshots . Am very used to this site and drawn lots of pole and traffic to it. But since the tsunami I have noticed how some mods have bcom Demi-gods unto themselves. even yesterday, I noticed NL tethering on the brink of anoda tsunami. I was concerned and wonder what the perpetrators are really up to. Why the vicious maliciousness to a young man's hardwork.
one lesson that over one-week long catastrophe of data loss etc should teach all of us is the transient nature of life , a lesson on non- invincibility, and that everyone and everything is really expendable.

My advise to users,mods,super mods, Seun etc
Try to have a human face to situations . Don't get carried away and bcom power drunk. Be nice .
Among people u trample on may lie the cause of this incessant malware attacks and also solutions that will take u beyond the next level.

My sister, it is very worrisome that Nairaland has been handed over to the DESPOTS. There are 21 stipulated Rules of Nairaland and each rule shall be accompanied with a well-defined punishment. Imagine one banned for7 years for derailing a thread. Not fair at all, hence call for review.

Although the ongoing National Conference will soon come to an end,
history is about to be made. When President Goodluck Jonathan made up his mind to convene the confab, he probably never knew that some people had another positive agenda. While some delegates came to contribute their quota on how to solve the problems facing the country, some others have different missions. A delegate from one of the vocal geo-political zones aged between 55 and 60 has fallen in love with another delegate aged between 60 and 65. It was learnt that these love birds have concluded arrangements to tie the nuptial knot and will soon say, “Yes I do” to each other before the end of this year. It was not clear what the marital status of one of them was as of the time of this report. But the other was said to have lost the spouse to the cold hands of death. When contacted, one of the new lovers confirmed the relationship, saying, “My son, Insha Allah, you will hear from us soon.”

berem: Madness all over politics section. Absolute madness!!

berem: Madness all over politics section. Absolute madness!!

You see what am talking about.

ok

I have been at the sidelines with my flag watching the blame games, accusations, counter-accusations, half truths, hatred, bigoted statements, abuses, cyber-bullies from #TeamJanjaweed and #TeamCanckerworm on the recent development on Nairaland regarding how they are being BANNED unnecessarily by the Mods and SuperMods when they air their views. I, the one and only Decibel on Nairaland suggest that we should have an E-Judiciary section or subsection where those that go contrary to the NAIRALAND RULES shall be tried and prosecuted, IMO. Thanks.

Governors of the states currently
being controlled by the All
Progressives Congress, and other
leaders of the party held a closed-
door meeting in Osogbo, Osun State
to restrategise on how to save the Osun State Governor, Rauf
Aregbesola, from losing the state in
the upcoming August 9
governorship election. Details of the meeting, which was
held at the Government House,
Osogbo from Wednesday night until
around 2.30am on Thursday was not
disclosed to journalists who kept
vigil at the venue of the meeting. However, the National Deputy
Chairman of the APC in the South, Mr.
Segun Oni, who briefed journalists
after the meeting said the leaders of
the party were ready for the election. He said the APC would prevent the
PDP from repeating what they did in
Ekiti State. Asked what the party was doing to
save the Adamawa State Governor,
Murtala Nyako, from being removed
from office, Oni said the party would
make known its position on it very
soon. Some of the governors who were
present at the meeting included,
Governor Raji Fashola of Lagos State,
Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, and
the host governor, Aregbesola. Others included, Osun State Deputy
Governor, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori;
Senator Chris Ngige, Senator
Babafemi Ojudu, National Publicity
Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed and Alhaji Kawu Baraje. Oni said, ” What happened in Ekiti
was a new dimension to election
rigging. We will not allow that to
happen here. “Ekiti election is a new dimension to
election rigging in Nigeria, but we as
a party will challenge the outcome.
We have seen and studied the
election’s outcome and for posterity
sake we know the election is not the will of the people. “APC is going to defend the
constitution of Nigeria and we shall
start that with the election in Ekiti
State. We won’t allow the election in
Osun State to go the way of Ekiti. “The congratulatory message of
Governor Kayode Fayemi does not
deprive us from exercising our
rights. The Governor of Ekiti State
said ‘if this is the will of the people of
Ekiti, we are not going to against it’ and we are still sure that that is not
the will of the people. “Osun will not go the way Ekiti went,
God will not allow it to go that way.” Fashola and Ameachi declined to
speak to journalists. Ngige said Osun State belonged to
the APC. He added that the party
would do everything to retain the
state. He said the party was not jittery
because of the outcome of the
election in Ekiti State but he said that
the party would not allow the PDP to
rig out the APC candidate this time. Mohammed, on Wednesday issued a
statement where he alleged that
President Goodluck Jonathan was
spending the $20bn missing oil fund
to prosecute the Osun governorship
poll for the PDP candidate. But the Publicity Secretary of the PDP
in Osun State, Mr. Bola Ajao,
described the allegations as
spurious. He said the party had resorted to
fabricating lies and feeding the public
with the same, because it had
become obvious that the people of
the state had moved against “their
deceits.” He said, “This is APC sinking ship
diplomacy. Sanusi (former governor
of Central Bank) who made that
spurious allegations has a date to
keep with Financial Reporting
Council of Nigeria. ” Aregbesola on whose behalf they
are acting has got appointment date
with police on his fake police report
saga . ” As for the APC in the South West, it
is on the way to the exit door. APC
has overstayed its welcome.”

Sunbellar: Stop corrupting Chidyhels. Bad boy

Aroba passa godu ka passat first. Ara agbakwalagi dia

chidyhels: where is your own igbo quotes

Gbachi aroba ahu nkiti, o choro iri gi

@Op o taa ka anyi fubalu Awusa na uta