₦airaland Forum

Calculia:
ABC NIGERIA ELECTION POSTPONED FOR SIX WEEKS WILL BE ANNOUNCED PUBLICLY LATER TODAY.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/nigeria-postponing-feb-14-vote-amid-boko-haram-28794964

J12:
http://businessdayonline.com/2015/02/apc-manifesto-spending-plan-to-cost-n53trn-over-four-years/#.VNTsxZgo_Fo

himkers:
Otu Nne gi there!

Justbright:
The Presidency on Friday listed some of the reasons it feels that going ahead with the February dates for the general elections as scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission can “throw the country into turmoil and confusion.”

It however said President Goodluck Jonathan would not engage in any form of subterfuge to pressurise INEC to change the dates of the elections.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, stated these in Abuja at a press conference called to clarify the outcome of the Council of State meeting held on Thursday.

Okupe said there was no time during the meeting held inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja, when the chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, insisted on the February dates as quoted by some media reports.

He listed the level of preparedness of the electoral body and security situation in some parts of the country as some of the reasons why it will be wise to revisit the February dates.

On preparation, Okupe said in all INEC’s submissions at the meeting, the only process that was 100% concluded was the preparation and availability of the voters register.

He claimed that all other processes including provision, distribution and collection of PVCs, printing of ballot papers, distribution of verification machines and other non –sensitive materials, recruitment and training of ad hoc staff are all “work in progress.”

He added that Jega himself admitted that given a little more time, INEC would be in a better position to perfect the processes and its readiness for the elections.

He said, “Also in his presentations to the Council, the INEC Chairman, stated clearly that for the electoral process to be free, fair, and credible,  there are other matters which were not under the control of INEC, principal among which is the issue of provision and guarantee of security of lives and properties.

“The Security Chiefs were unanimous in their advice to the Council that it will be impossible for now for them to guarantee security of electoral materials, INEC Staff, and the voting population in the areas currently engulfed by the war against insurgency.”

Okupe said while some opinions were proffered that elections could be allowed to hold on February 14 in 32 states not affected by insurgency, Jonathan made it clear that he would not allow an election where some people will be excluded for no fault of theirs.

He quoted the President as further saying that endorsing such would tend to confirm the falsehood already being propagated in some parts of the country that he was encouraging the war in the North East to ensure that voters in the APC states were not allowed to vote in the 2015 elections.

He added, “For the avoidance of doubt, Nigerians are hereby re-assured that there has never been, and never shall be any plan to cancel the 2015 elections, for any reasons whatsoever. It will not happen, and the May 29th date for the swearing-in is sacrosanct. All talks about interim government arrangement is pure fiction.

“The consideration behind the possibility of change of date is to allow those who may be disfranchised from voting on the 14th February to have an opportunity to exercise their lawful rights to vote and participate in the general elections.

“The new wave of successes being recorded by the Military in the War against insurgency, especially with the arrival of new effective combatant equipment and machinery, plus the newly revamped cross border co-operation with Niger, Chad and Cameroonian Military, offer a very genuine hope that in a very short while, the situation in the affected states will be brought under such reasonable control that will guarantee safety of the electoral process and electorate in the war front region of the North–East at a no distant future.

“We repeat that the only set of people who stand to benefit from a shift in election dates are Nigerians who desire to vote and have not been able to collect their Permanent Voters Cards and other innocent citizens living in the war zone who may not be able to vote on the 14th February.

“We also wish to recollect that in 2003, 2007, and 2011 the elections were held in April, and the hand over date was not affected.

“We therefore challenge the opposition to tell Nigerians in clear terms, what dangers the change of date from February 14th portends to the electoral process or to the Nigerian electorate. It will also be good if the opposition tells us who stands to benefit or be disadvantaged from any shifting of date and how.”

Okupe, while saying that INEC was not fully ready for the elections, dared the commission to direct its Resident Electoral Commissioners to swear to an affidavit to prove their readiness for the polls.

“It will be very re-assuring if the INEC can get its RECs to attach their state of readiness to a sworn affidavit and show it to Nigerians.

“The interest of this government is to ensure that we do not have a rancorous and poorly conducted general elections that will throw the country into turmoil and confusion with the likelihood of an unnecessary internal and external rejection and condemnation,” he said.

Okupe claimed that in Sokoto State, nine local government areas are yet to receive PVC for the continuous voters registration, barely nine days to the election.

He also claimed that the majority of the 960,000 ad hoc staff needed by the commission are yet to be recruited and trained especially on the operations of card readers that are yet to be made available.

He added that Lagos State is yet to receive a balance of about 12,000 card readers for elections


Presidency lists grouse with February polls date
Via Top 20 News Websites.
http://www.punchng.com/news/presidency-lists-grouse-with-february-po

Demichaels:
If you type password in Nairaland (by quoting, etc) that happens to be your password after you click submit, nairaland automatically converts it to asterisks to protect your nairaland account. Allow me to demonstrate, my password is **************.
You can try it here by commenting

itetemi:
Lies lies lies,pdp you guys are beyond desperate.

After 6yrs.its shameful

jorlons:
@op give your source pls.

@lalasticlala I'm sorry only you can make the op provide a source

pls do d needful Op give us a link to ur source

obinnaifeoma:
Following the death of Nollywood actor Muna Obiekwe yesterday,Segun Arinze,Mike Ezuruonye,Halima Abubakar,Van Vicker,Uche Jombo and others have taken to social media to express their shock and also send their condolences to his family members.

Source/more tributes: http:///9N6

lalasticlala:
[b][/b]

By Joseph Mattera

The Bible teaches that the church is supposed to influence the world as salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16), but instead the church has often been influenced by the world. Ezekiel 22:26 sends a stern rebuke to believers who make no distinction between that which is common and that which is holy (by common we mean worldly things and values) in this article the word secular refers to worldly rather than holy and set apart for God's purposes:

Truly any congregation that has no distinction from the world is close to extinction! The reason so many evangelical churches have grown so rapidly is not necessarily because of a true spiritual revival but because of cultural accommodation. The following are 10 signs your church has been secularized:

1) They preach only what is popular and avoid what is culturally controversial.

Often secularized pastors stay away from preaching on the standards of biblical morality so as to stay in the societal mainstream and avoid offending visitors. The result is a membership that only hears a partial gospel without the power to renew minds which leaves them as secular saints.

2) There is no standard for membership or those serving in ministry.

I have heard reports of many churches that allow anybody to become a member and or serve in ministry positions without being vetted; the result is people serving on worship teams or as small group leaders who are engaged in premarital sex, co-habitating or living a morally sub par Christian life.

3) Premarital sex and cohabitation between unmarried couples are normalized in the congregation.

When folks in the congregation have the same view as the world when it comes to sexual ethics, then that is a secularized congregation.

4) Most young people have normalized alternate forms of family and marriage.

When the youth of a church by and large adopt and or celebrate unbiblical views regarding family and marriage, then that congregation is secularized.

5) Secular music is played in church events.

I have heard of churches that incorporate secular music as a normal part of their church services or church related events. Although this is primarily done to attract more visitors by being more relevant, this practice waters down the distinction between the world and the church and makes them spiritually irrelevant!

6) Worldly dancing, drinking and getting drunk are acceptable.

There are some churches that have such a secular culture that it is normal for their members to go out clubbing, dancing and getting drunk! They espouse a loose lifestyle to avoid being tagged with the term "religious," but their practice makes them closer to living as pagans than true believers!

7) The church espouses the values of the surrounding culture more than the teaching of Scripture.

These churches are informed and internally calibrated towards the world; hence, they celebrate and honor the world's values more than God Himself! When the congregation desires to reflect the values of the world more than the Word of God, then they have been secularized.

The congregation espouses a culture of entertainment more than biblical discipleship.

When the primary objective of a congregation is to attract crowds on Sunday by giving them an "experience" rather than making committed disciples, then they have espoused a culture of entertainment and have been secularized.

9) The congregation espouses a culture of opulent greed and narcissism instead of sacrifice and giving.

If the preaching appeals to the narcissistic desire of using faith for personal affluence more than the biblical call to surrender and sacrifice all for the Lord, then that congregation has been secularized.

10) If Jesus is only presented as a personal Savior rather than Lord of all.

When folks only want Jesus to save them without transforming them, they have been secularized. When Jesus is continually presented in a church only as a personal Savior without the injunction for all people to surrender to His Lordship, then that congregation is focused on individual salvation more than on the glory of God. Secular humanism is all about centering life upon the needs and desires of autonomous humanity without any concern or submission to the Creator God.

Joseph Mattera is overseeing bishop of Resurrection Church and Christ Covenant Coalition, in Brooklyn, New York. Visit him online at josephmattera.org.

Generalkorex:
Wetin we go call dis one o