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 Politics › Election 2015 Postponement: INEC Close To Caving To Pressure by Dotng(op): 5:16pm On Feb 06, 2015 |
Election 2015 Postponement: INEC Close To Caving To Pressure In a press statement released today, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) opened the door to the possibility of postponing general elections that are currently scheduled to hold on February 14 and 28, 2015. A high-level source at INEC told a correspondent of SaharaReporters that the commission’s chairman, Attahiru Jega, had been rattled by pressure from the Presidency and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, and was now open to a possible postponement of the elections. At a charged meeting of the National Council of States that held in Abuja yesterday, Mr. Jega had argued firmly that his commission was ready and committed to conducting the elections on the current schedule. However, the INEC source disclosed that the electoral chairman had been disquieted by the seeming determination of President Goodluck Jonathan’s close associates to force a postponement in the face of dwindling prospects for the incumbent president’s re-election. “Even though Professor Attahiru Jega wants to hold the elections as scheduled, he has seen that even some of his senior officials have been bought by the Presidency and are singing a different tune,” said our INEC source. Our INEC source added that Mr. Jega “feels some of the forces at the Presidency and within INEC may be trying to sabotage the election in order to rubbish his reputation. So he has now decided to call all the stakeholders to a meeting to discuss whether to postpone or not.” A statement released today by INEC read, “On Thursday, February 5, 2015, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, was invited to brief the National Council of States (NCS) on the preparedness of INEC to conduct the 2015 general elections. He made a presentation titled ‘Preparations for the 2015 General Elections: Progress Report.’ The National Security Adviser (NSA) and Armed Services Chiefs also briefed the Council on the current security situation. “As a follow-up to that meeting, the Commission has scheduled a consultative meeting with chairmen and secretaries of all registered political parties, as well as a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on Saturday, February 7, 2015. “Thereafter, the Commission will address a press conference to brief the nation on its decision with regard to whether or not the general elections will hold as currently scheduled.” http://saharareporters.com/2015/02/06/election-2015-postponement-inec-close-caving-pressure |
| Politics › Re: A Nairalander Open Letter To Prof Yemi Osinbajo by Dotng: 11:40am On Feb 05, 2015 |
organic973:I must commend your approach and analysis. You have been objective enough to agree on what affects us all even though your vote is for a different candidate. I wish we would all use this approach in our discussions and avoid sentimentalism. |
| Politics › Re: A Nairalander Open Letter To Prof Yemi Osinbajo by Dotng: 11:32am On Feb 05, 2015 |
drwebs:The vote for Osinbajo is not just on his faith but professionalism. A leader is as good as the quality of of people he surrounds himself with. A lot of people believe in Buhari by his choosing Osinbajo who even the PDP has been unable find fault in. Jonathan’s major problem came from his decision to surround himself with selfish people. |
| Politics › Buhari Is Not An Extremist – Ex US Ambassador by Dotng(op): 11:12am On Feb 04, 2015 |
Buhari is not an extremist – Ex US ambassador Less than two weeks from national polls, Nigeria’s ruling party is facing unprecedented shifts in the politics of religion that could spell trouble for the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan. While he may still be the favourite on February 14, experts said two key factors could remove his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from power for the first time since the end of military rule in 1999. First, opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari, a northern Muslim, has gained surprising traction in the mostly Christian south, despite sustained PDP efforts to paint him as a religious extremist. The PDP could also suffer a historically lopsided defeat in the Muslim-majority north, where the party has previously drawn considerable support, even when a Christian was at the top of the ticket. – ‘Surpassing religion’ – Buhari, a former army general who led a military government for 20 months from December 1983, is hardly the dream candidate for many in the south, experts said. Some southerners have an entrenched antipathy towards Muslims from the Hausa ethnic group, members of which plundered the country as military rulers through much of the 1980s and 1990s. PDP efforts to brand Buhari as an extremist devoted to Islamic law have also been successful, said John Campbell, a former US ambassador to Nigeria, now with the Council on Foreign Relations. “It is grossly unfair. I know him. He is not an extremist but these things resonate,” he told AFP. Buhari, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) party, is making his fourth run at the presidency and has been billed as Nigeria’s chief anti-corruption crusader, helping him attract nationwide support. Analyst Jibrin Ibrahim agreed that for the first time in religiously divided Nigeria, governance could be “surpassing religion” as a campaign issue. “The issue of religion is very present in all our elections and will be in this one,” said Ibrahim, from the Centre for Democracy and Development in Abuja. “What I think is new about these elections is that it is really about the failures of Jonathan. “There are voters in the south who don’t particularly like Buhari but they have been extremely disappointed with the last four years and that could shift support to Buhari.” Jonathan has been heavily criticised for his apparent failure to reduce graft in Africa’s most populous country and top economy, where billions of dollars in public money have been stolen, especially in the oil sector. Boko Haram’s brutal uprising has also worsened each year under Jonathan’s watch, with more than 13,000 people killed since 2009. – Rotation in ‘disarray’ – The PDP has won all four presidential elections since 1999 with support from both the north and the south, which it secured through an unwritten power-sharing agreement within the party. Power brokers in both regions “were comfortable using the PDP as a venue through which they would arrive at a rough consensus” because it was understood that each side would get its turn in charge, Campbell said. The 2010 death in office of Jonathan’s predecessor, Hausa-Muslim Umaru Musa Yar’Adua “put that agreement in disarray”, analyst Idiyat Hassan wrote on the African Arguments blog. Jonathan’s rise from the vice-presidency and his refusal to stand aside for a northerner in 2011 caused initial cracks in the PDP’s national alliance. His insistence on running for a second term in 2015 split the party, with the north emerging as “the great losers” of the once dominant PDP coalition, Campbell said. Several key northern politicians have quit the PDP and joined the APC over the last two years, including Rabiu Kwankwaso, governor of the north’s most populous state, Kano, which has five million registered voters. Jonathan beat Buhari by roughly 10 million votes in 2011, winning roughly eight million in the north and the religiously divided central states. If Jonathan’s support in the north collapses and Buhari makes inroads in the south, analysts said the president could lose. Buhari is helped by the fact that he is leading a united opposition, unlike in 2011 when rival candidates peeled off more than three million votes. – Looking past religion – Some argue that parties spend too much effort striving for ethno-religious balance, noting that the most popular presidential ticket since independence in 1960 — the 1993 campaign of the Social Democratic Party — contained two Muslims. Moshood Abiola and running mate Baba Gana Kingibe were easily on track to win the polls before military ruler Ibrahim Babangida nullified the vote. Many commentators were clamouring for popular Lagos state governor Babatunde Fashola, a Muslim, to head the APC ticket in 2015, but the party decided it needed a Hausa candidate to defeat Jonathan. For Dapo Thomas, political scientist at Lagos State University, the emphasis on a candidate’s religion and tribe has “driven merit to the backseat”. - See more at: http://247nigerianewsupdate.co/buhari-is-not-an-extremist-ex-us-ambassador/#sthash.hXhzcdP7.dpuf |
| Politics › Election Postponement Plot Thickens As 16 Minor Political Parties Endorse Shift by Dotng(op): 6:46am On Feb 04, 2015 |
Election Postponement Plot Thickens As 16 Minor Political Parties Endorse Shift Of Election Date, Threaten Boycott Of Polls The parties aligned their argument on the same lines being presented by pro-Jonathan groups, who fear they are about to lose the presidency, citing insecurity and distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). In a dramatic shift, 16 minor political parties on Tuesday threw their support behind some calls for the postponement of Nigeria’s general elections slated for February. In addition, five of the 14 presidential candidates signed a joint statement urging the electoral commission to postpone the elections to a “more appropriate” date. Although they do not have much to lose in the process, they threatened to boycott the elections if their wishes were not heeded. The parties involved are: the United Democratic Party (UDP), Citizen Peoples Party (CPP), Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), Action Alliance (AA), Peoples Democratic Congress (PDC) (ACPN), Labour Party (LP), (MPPP), United Party of Nigeria (UPN), Alliance for Democracy (AD), (ADC), (ACD) Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) and Independent Democrat (ID). The parties aligned their argument on the same lines being presented by pro-Jonathan groups, who fear they are about to lose the presidency, citing insecurity and distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). Referencing “some dangerous trends, which if not checked may negatively and adversely affect our democracy,” the 16 parties called on the government to take necessary steps to provide adequate security for Nigerians to go out and collect their PVCs in order to be able to exercise their civic and constitutional duty. The five minor-party presidential candidates who endorsed the postponement are Godson Okoye (UDP), Chief Sam Okoye (CPP), Prince C.O Allagoe (PPN), Tunde Anifowose (AA) and Ganiu Galadima (ACPN). It is unclear why 14 parties said they endorsed the postponement, but nine presidential candidates did not. Earlier in the day, the powerful All Progressives Congress, in two separate statements in Abuja and Lagos, warned against efforts and conspiracies to pre-empt the elections. http://saharareporters.com/2015/02/03/election-postponement-plot-thickens-16-minor-political-parties-endorse-shift-election |
| Politics › Protesters Stone Jonathan’s Convoy In Yola Over Failure To Crush Boko Haram by Dotng(op): 5:26pm On Jan 29, 2015 |
Protesters Stone Jonathan’s Convoy In Yola Over Failure To Crush Boko Haram President Goodluck Jonathan’s convoy was today stoned in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, a Yola-based source told SaharaReporters. Jonathan was in the state in continuation of his presidential campaign that is widely being resisted following his 2011 promise that he will be a one-term president. According to the source, angry protesters were chanting anti-Jonathan songs, and condemned his failure to crush Boko Haram fighters. The protesting citizens also destroyed cars and other valuables before security overpowered them in the course of the protest. Mobile policemen were said to have sprayed teargas on the protesters. As at the time of this report, the police are yet to react officially regarding the incident. http://saharareporters.com/2015/01/29/protesters-stone-jonathan’s-convoy-yola-over-failure-crush-boko-haram |
| Politics › Read Ibb’s Statement After President Jonathan Left His House In Minna by Dotng(op): 12:36pm On Jan 29, 2015 |
Read IBB’s Statement After President Jonathan Left His House in Minna “The President came here to ask for my support. I had only 15minutes prior notice before his arrival. When he came, I took him to my bedroom and had a chat with him. When he left his people said I have endorsed him. What am I supposed to do, deny it? No. For me, that is not a problem because I am a leader and what I say or don’t say will give mileage to any party. When he came here I told him that he made two political mistakes: first was to lose Rotimi, the Governor of Rivers State. When the crisis was going on, Governor Rotimi was here to pay me a visit. I confronted him and he spoke to me very honestly. Despite the problems, he was not ready to leave the PDP then. Gen. Obasanjo, myself and a few others intervened in the matter as leaders of the party but the president did not foresee the current situation and didn’t take our advice seriously. Rotimi is one young man I like so much for his honesty. He is very bold and alway committed to his conviction. I told president Jonathan that the second mistake he made was to call Obasanjo a motor park tout. What an insult. That was wrong and the beginning of his problems. How many times had he seen Obasanjo insult Gowon. I told him that supporting him would mean to endorse the insult on Gen Obasanjo. I won’t. I advised him to go make peace with Governor Rotimi and Gen. Obasanjo. I told him it is almost getting late. I said to him, you must visit Obasanjo to apologize to him. I don’t think that the outcome was favourable because it was already late. A lot of persons have been calling me to raise concern that the President would use the Military to rig the election and I say to them that it is not likely. There is esprit de corps. Most of the soldiers you see today are boys to our boys. President Jonathan has no option than to allow the election hold and to declare the winner. I advised him on this. Several other persons, both local and international, have also advised him on the consequences of using soldiers to influence the election. I am sure, he won’t.” http://ecruzi.com/read-ibbs-statement-after-president-jonathan-left-his-house-in-minna/
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| Politics › Election 2015: Jonathan Threatens To Voice No Confidence In INEC by Dotng(op): 12:05am On Jan 29, 2015 |
Election 2015: Jonathan Threatens To Voice No Confidence In INEC “The electoral body must come clean on this matter; otherwise we will be compelled to pass a no-confidence vote in it,” the president’s publicist said. “If INEC is complicit in the desperate and despicable attempt to extricate General Buhari, without compliance with the provisions of the law, from this lingering embarrassment, we will have no other choice than to harbor the suspicion and fear that the electoral body is already compromised and can lend itself to the ungodly agenda of truncating our victory when our candidate wins.” With the reality dawning on President Goodluck Jonathan that he may lose the February 14 presidential polls, the incumbent and PDP candidate today indicated that he was considering voicing a vote of no confidence in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Evidence of Mr. Jonathan’s jitteriness and his latest strategy emerged in a statement released by Femi Fani-Kayode, the director of media and publicity for the PDP presidential campaign organization. At a news conference held in one of the houses owned in Asokoro, Abuja by Tony Anenih, the PDP board of trustees chairman, Mr. Fani-Kayode said the PDP was not happy the way INEC has been dealing with the issue of academic credentials of opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC). “The electoral body must come clean on this matter; otherwise we will be compelled to pass a no-confidence vote in it,” the president’s publicist said. “If INEC is complicit in the desperate and despicable attempt to extricate General Buhari, without compliance with the provisions of the law, from this lingering embarrassment, we will have no other choice than to harbor the suspicion and fear that the electoral body is already compromised and can lend itself to the ungodly agenda of truncating our victory when our candidate wins.” Text of a press conference by the Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organization, Femi Fani-Kayode on Wednesday, January 28, 2015 CERTIFICATE SAGA: BUHARI SINKS DEEPER WITH LIES! Yesterday, General Muhammadu Buhari made a shocking and belated disclosure that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has his documents. He has not been specific about the documents he is referring to but it is very clear that this is yet another squalid attempt to give the Nigerian people the impression that INEC has his certificate. If this is true, it represents a somersault from his original position which was that INEC has his affidavit and it once again reveals General Buhari for what he is. With this latest antic, General Buhari is obviously trying to smuggle a newly acquired certificate into INEC through the backdoor. If this is true and if INEC allows such a thing to happen, it would put a serious question mark on its impartiality and credibility. It would mean that it has collected his newly acquired certificate, 40 days outside the stipulation of the Law. We say this because Section 31(3) of the Electoral Act says INEC “shall within 7 days of the receipt of the receipt of the personal particulars of the candidate, publish same in the constituency...” Buhari’s words are as follows: “Well, I am not surprised. This is Nigeria. If people are “serious” about this issue, they ought to have listened to the LEGAL ADVISER of INEC” (Is Buhari saying Nigerians are unserious by seeking to know the truth?) Continuing, he says: “This is the first time, INEC by law has got those documents and they said they have got them. So anybody who has different view should go to court. So let them remain there.” Those were the words of General Muhammadu Buhari (NOT MOHAMMED BUHARI), the APC presidential candidate. It appears as if the more our alleged “Mr. Incorruptible” attempts to wash himself clean, the more he digs deeper in the pit of falsehood and perjury. Now, below are facts already in the public domain, which are incontrovertible: 1. That Muhammadu Buhari (Not Mohammed Buhari) neither submitted nor attached any personal document to form CF001 he filled to INEC. 2. That the INEC form part C specifically stated that PERSONAL (i.e. Certificate) documents should be attached but Buhari did not attach any as of 18th December, 2014, the last day according to INEC guidelines for submission of form CF001. 3. That Buhari was the only candidate whose documents were not published like other presidential candidates as stipulated by law, having not attached any certificate previously. 4. That INEC had acknowledged that fact after publication of particulars of all candidates last year and had not controverted these facts, having itself published the documents attached by all other candidates except Buhari who did not submit any document apart from INEC's own CF001 form and an affidavit, a court document all of which do not represent PERSONAL DOCUMENT of Buhari. 5.That as at 12 midnight on 30th December, 2014, the expiration of time provided by law for the substitution of candidates, APC did not avail itself that opportunity of substituting the unqualified Buhari for a duly qualified presidential candidate. 6. That Buhari's only response in his affidavit form in the public domain and displayed by INEC in the 774 LGAs that form the single constituency for presidential contestants was to the effect that "All my academic qualifications and certificates are currently with the secretary of the military Board as at the time of this affidavit dated 24/11/2014." This affidavit, a very arrogant and whimsical response that his credentials were with the Military Authorities, is in the public domain. If Buhari’s assertion is true, the question is, what is INEC now up to collecting new documents from him through the backdoor, 40 days after the requirement of law? 7. That the military authorities came in the open to clarify that the only document in respect of Buhari's WASC was an anticipatory letter by his principal that "Buhari would pass" - NOT THAT BUHARI PASSED. 8. That Buhari's imperial response at a later press conference was that his alma mater, Government College Katsina, would publish his result when available. How come he now says that INEC has collected his document and why should INEC do so after the statutory time limit? 9. That what Government College Katsina published was at best a hand-written result of one MOHAMMED BUHARI and not MUHAMMADU BUHARI or at worse a complete forgery. Fellow Nigerians, Why should General Muhammadu Buhari refer Nigerians to hear from one legal adviser in INEC? The same INEC that its Director of legal services, one (Mr. Ibrahim Bawa) who, earlier in response to numerous inquiries shortly after on December i8, 2014, told the press that INEC had published all that presidential candidates submitted which in the case of Buhari are just FORM CF001 (no certificate attached) and affidavit which is court papers and not personal document. It will be interesting to know at which point the affidavit transmuted into additional documents or when additional documents were provided to INEC in line with law as noted above. What Nigerians Should Note By Buhari's latest statement, we want to alert Nigerians to the following questions which the INEC Chair, Attahiru Jega, the so-called legal adviser whom a consultant, duly contracted by INEC, had recommended for redeployment and the APC, must HONESTLY answer: A. WHEN DID INEC AND THIS LEGAL ADVISER RECEIVE THE DOCUMENTS GIVEN THAT THERE WAS NOTHING ON RECORD FOR HIM AFTER 18TH DECEMBER 2014? B. WERE THESE MYSTERIOUS DOCUMENTS RECEIVED WITHIN OR AFTER THE TIME FRAME SPECIFIED BY THE ELECTORAL GUIDELINES? C. Could this be the source of Buhari’s renewed arrogance that anybody not satisfied should go to court? D. HAS INEC PUBLISHED THESE DOCUMENTS AS REQUIRED BY LAW? E. Who is in breach of the Electoral Act, Section 31:3- Buhari or Ibrahim Bawa? The Electoral Body must come clean on this matter; otherwise we will be compelled to pass a no-confidence vote in it. If INEC is complicit in the desperate and despicable attempt to extricate General Buhari, without compliance with the provisions of the law, from this lingering embarrassment, we will have no other choice than to harbor the suspicion and fear that the Electoral Body is already compromised and can lend itself to the ungodly agenda of truncating our victory when our candidate wins. We also want the election observers to keep watch of the unfolding events regarding General Buhari’s qualification or otherwise. In other countries, it is about obeying the rule of law and not about protecting the political interest of an individual, especially since a free, fair and credible election is not about the day of voting alone but also the processes leading up to it. I thank you for listening. http://saharareporters.com/2015/01/28/election-2015-jonathan-threatens-voice-no-confidence-inec 1 Like |
| Politics › Election Postponement:Minister of Justice allegedly bribed JUSUN to call off str by Dotng(op): 9:41pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
Election Postponement: How Minister of Justice allegedly bribed JUSUN to call off strike EXPOSED; Union Sec. on the run over threat to life A major scandal has hit the Nigerian Judiciary Union workers under the auspices of THE JUDICIARY STAFF UNION OF NIGERIA (JUSUN). According to the national secretary of the union, Mr. Isaiah Adetola, who may now be on the run for safety of his life, as a result of alleged threat to his life over his refusal to yield to the bidding of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Hon. Bello Adoke; the present ongoing strike, which was abruptly called off yesterday by the union, was forced on them by the Minister of Justice. Adetola in a statement released yesterday and made available newspunch.org, alleged that the union has no basis to go on strike as it currently on. He revealed that the strike was masterminded by the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Hon Bello Adoke in order to frustrate the Supreme Court from pronouncing on the eligibility of Mr. President to run the election in 2015 and to also shutout politicians, who may be dissatisfied with the outcome of the PDP primaries and might want to initiate pre-election suit. He said; “At the first instance, the Attorney General of the Federation, Hon. Bello Adoki came to the Union to appeal that we should go on strike so we can prevent the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court from pronouncing on the eligibility of Mr. President to run the election in 2015 and to also shutout politicians, who may be dissatisfied with the outcome of the PDP primaries and might want to initiate pre-election suit. I opposed the idea, but because of the volume of resources the AG mobilized for the state chapters, including Abuja and the National Secretariat, I was shutdown by members” On threat to his life; the JUSUN national secretary revealed that the same Minister of Justice, Hon. Bello Adoke, who forced the ongoing strike on the union with huge bribe now want the strike to be called off so as to pave way for some persons to go to Court to stop the 2015 General Election that is scheduled for next month. “Now the Attorney General wants JUSUN to call off the strike because they want some persons to go to Court to stop the 2015 General Election that is scheduled for next month. I have opposed this just as I did for the strike, but this time around they are willing to provide JUSUN even double the first amount. My colleagues are excited and expectant” “I couldn’t have cared less of the their money, however, I am constrain to bring these facts to the PUBLIC DOMAIN because my life is now under treat. I have receive several anonymous called threaten to kill me should I continue to refuse to sign for the reopening of the courts”, Adetola stated The Judiciary workers under the umbrella of Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) had embarked on a nationwide strike action on January 2. JUSUN is seeking the implementation of a Federal High Court Judgement in Abuja, which granted financial autonomy to the judiciary and restraining executive interferences with judicial funds. Just yesterday, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN suspended its three weeks old strike in federal courts. The suspension was the result of a meeting held at the Supreme Court on Sunday at the instance of the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Ahmed Gambo. HERE IS THE FULL TEXT OF JUSUN NATIONAL SECRETARY THREAT TO LIFE STATEMENT ISSUED YESTERDAY. THE MANIPULATION OF THE JUDICIARY STAFF UNION OF NIGERIA (JUSUN) BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE THREAT TO MY LIFE. “I am Isaiah Adetola the National Secretary of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN). I am constrained to issue this statement and to say that I will not support the use of JUSUN as a political tool for politicians or to be used by Federal Government a second time. At the first instance, the Attorney General of the Federation, Hon. Bello Adoki came to the Union to appeal that we should go on strike so we can prevent the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court from pronouncing on the eligibility of Mr. President to run the election in 2015 and to also shutout politicians, who may be dissatisfied with the outcome of the PDP primaries and might want to initiate pre-election suit. I opposed the idea, but because of the volume of resources the AG mobilized for the state chapters, including Abuja and the National Secretariat, I was shutdown by members. Accordingly, they crafted a reason for JUSUN which they gave as the alleged refusal of the Executive Arm of Government at the Federal and State levels to comply with the January 13, 2014 judgment delivered by Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court and we adopted. Today the courts are closed. Now the Attorney General wants JUSUN to call off the strike because they want some persons to go to Court to stop the 2015 General Election that is scheduled for next month. I have opposed this just as I did for the strike, but this time around they are willing to provide JUSUN even double the first amount. My colleagues are excited and expectant. I couldn’t have cared less of the their money, however, I am constrain to bring these facts to the PUBLIC DOMAIN because my life is now under treat. I have receive several anonymous called threaten to kill me should I continue to refuse to sign for the reopening of the courts. Let me use this medium to reassure members of JUSUN that I shall not yield to such threat. It is not in the interest of the Nation. Please, may I also use this medium to also notify Nigerians that should anything happen to me, they should know which direct to look at. Long live JUSUN long live Federal Republic of Nigeria. Sign I. Adetola January 25, 2015 http://www.newspunch.org/election-postponement-how-minister-of-justice-allegedly-bribed-jusun-to-call-off-strike-exposed-union-sec-on-the-run-over-threat-to-life/ |
| Politics › My Challenges As Female Presidential Candidate – Sonaiya by Dotng(op): 5:25pm On Jan 26, 2015 |
My challenges as female presidential candidate – Sonaiya ByMuyiwa OlaleyeOnJan 25, 2015 Courageous Professor Remi Sonaiya, a columnist with TheNiche, is the presidential candidate of Kowa Party (KP). In this interview with Assistant Editor, South West, MUYIWA OLALEYE, she speaks on her preparations for the election, her vision for the Nigerian electorate, among other issues. What actually informed your choice of Kowa Party (KP) as platform for your presidential ambition? Kowa Party is the alternative party that Nigerians can bank on. It is a requisite party owing to its outstanding values that will highly entrench the operation of proper political system which is presently lacking in the Nigerian polity. The rationale behind the setting up of Kowa Party is to ensure that what is in Nigerian constitution and party’s manifesto are brought into practice and not just a document. Why did you elect to go into politics, given your pedigree as a renowned professor and educationist? It became absolutely evident that politics is one of the major platforms to reach the masses and affect their lives positively and to do the utmost. If I am lucky to attain the position of leadership in this country, a lot of great opportunities would be opened to people, especially the needy. I have been in politics for a long time. Since I got involved in politics, I have always been concerned about social issues like justice and fairness in the society. Why the presidency? Situation demands for it. As a nation, we need a new image. The country is in a precarious stage (no apology to anybody, even those at the helm). Our present position is affecting us tremendously. Look at the way the International Community views this nation. I think we don’t have enough time to fumble around anymore. Regardless of that, the fact of the matter is that I was born in Ibadan, but spent all my life in Osun since 1972, and don’t want to believe in politics of godfatherism. I should have contested long time ago. My agenda is to make Nigeria a nation where justice and fairness operate; a nation where everyone is taken into consideration without any bias; a nation where no one suffers exclusion. How do you feel being the only female presidential candidate? My challenges are numerous, because some people are having retrogressive perception about women and their place in the society. Based on that notion, the impression is that Nigeria is not ready to have a woman president. This is nothing but a fallacy. Look at Liberia, Asia and Brazil. I want to say it clearly that such perception is changing with time. Another challenge is that, I don’t really have the funds to do things the way I would have loved to. Not in the mega way or scale to do a huge flash like some of the other political parties are doing, but there are some basic things that are required for a serious campaign. This means that I have to work harder. What new things do you intend to introduce into the system by way of election promises? A government by example; one that is disciplined and sensitive to people’s plight. How can you say you are a leader and you are not responsive to the people’s welfare? If majority of the people are living in penury and you the leader are in luxury, how can they trust you? For instance, look at the National Assembly, what is their salary and total package compared to the minimum wage of an average Nigerian worker? The former Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, at some time said that 20 percent of the overhead budget allocated is spent on them. Where else does such a thing operate? It is senseless. With this kind of disposition, we cannot develop. Injustice is deterrent to development. Unfortunately, Nigerian leaders refuse to fathom this out. What is your view on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)? For now, INEC is trying, but they should not disappoint millions of Nigerians in the coming election. How would you assess the nation in the build-up to the election? I am quite ashamed that there is so much fighting, bickering and dispute going on between the two major political parties in Nigeria. This is a sad pronouncement on the political situation. Right now, I am looking forward towards the actualisation of my ambition. Once this is achieved, that is when I become the president of this country, I will have 24 hours solving the problem. We need to completely overhaul the educational system of this country. We need to make Nigeria a learning society. There is presently a wrong orientation in the country’s educational system. We need a complete re-orientation for both the learners and those imparting the knowledge. Since we all know that education is for development, that is the more reason we need to embark on a crucial thinking approach in our educational system. Kowa seems to be stronger in the northern part of the country than East and West. Why? In the recent governorship elections in states like Anambra, Ekiti, Adamawa, Kowa participated. We already have 167 candidates contesting in 17 states in the coming general election How would you address the issue of absence of political culture in Nigeria? The sad reality about political leadership in Nigeria, in my considered opinion, is that the terrain is basically devoid of true leaders, for much of our years of independence. Indeed, we have had a few personalities with some good ideas; but reflecting deeply on the issue, and especially as I have had the opportunity to travel the world a bit and to read about leaders in other climes. I have come to the conclusion that even the most acclaimed among our leaders have fallen short in areas that are critical for true leadership. For one, most of our leaders have not been visionary enough. At best, they can be said to have been ‘managerial’ in their approach to governance –recognising some important goals to pursue, but in essence merely seeking the best ways to manage the resources at their disposal. In addition, most have failed woefully in terms of mobilising and inspiring their followership. We shall examine these two areas of failure in some detail. One of the most glaring proofs, I would argue, is the lack of imposing monuments upon our landscape. Where are our castles? Why were our own deities undeserving of being worshipped in majestic temples or cathedrals? How come our leaders did not think of commissioning a ‘Status of Liberty’ to commemorate our Independence? Why are we so earth-bound, so glued to the immediate and the material, our minds seemingly unable to conjure up lofty projects? Why are our ideas so common, our thoughts so pedestrian? Yes, we do have the Oranmiyan Staff in Ile-Ife and a few other items scattered in groves and caves here and there; but how do they compare with the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower, or, to take some more contemporary examples, with the Sydney Opera or the Burj Al Arab? What feelings overwhelm the visitor who stands to behold these monuments of ours, compared with those of other nations? Why, for God’s sake, have our leaders over the centuries been incapable of dreaming big, leaving us mostly to what we have forced the United Nations Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) to recognise as our ‘intangible heritage’, while many other regions of the world are able to boast of an equally tangible heritage, in terms of sites and monuments? I visited France for the first time in 1974, with a group of French students from several Nigerian universities, to spend a year in Vichy, our mandatory year-abroad programme having been converted into a preparatory training course, so that we could return to serve as hosts for the second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) which was to hold in 1975 (but which eventually held in 1977). A major highlight of the year spent in France was the tour of different regions of the country, among them the Loire Valley where we visited several of the castles for which the region is famous (many of them are now part of France’s tangible contributions to the UNESCO world heritage). As we toured those castles and were told their history, I could not help wondering how people could have succeeded in building such structures that long ago, some of them having been built as far back as the 13th century. What was more, they were not all built on solid ground – a sizeable portion of the Chateau de Chenonceau, if I remember correctly, stands inside water, with pillars the size of which I had never seen before going down into the riverbed. I wondered how many lives were sacrificed in the process of building that majestic edifice. Indeed, the thought of the number of lives that perished in similar efforts would frequently come to my mind as I travelled around the world and beheld magnificent edifices, like the castles and cathedral of Germany which had been erected in the pre-technology era. Thinking along that line actually revealed a fundamental, traditional African mindset in me too: did we fail to build such structures precisely because the venture would have been too dangerous and costly in terms of lives lost? We were probably already losing many of our peoples to lions and hyenas in the forest and, more importantly, to our inter-tribal wars as well as to invading marauders from Arab lands and Europe; surely, it would be foolhardy to engage in some dreamy project upon which our immediate survival did not depend and which could further deplete our population! Is this a fundamental differences between us and the ‘white man’, the same attitude that has landed them on the moon while we are still very much here on the earth, our feet solidly on the ground, our backs constantly bent hoeing and swinging cutlasses to clear the bush on our lands? The second aspect of failed leadership, which I highlighted earlier, is the inability to mobilise and inspire the followership. Indeed, this is directly linked to the inability to dream big dreams. In an interview which CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on the programme ‘Global Public Square’ early in November 2013, the outgoing mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, shared his views on political leadership and made the point, among others, that the primary job of a politician was to have a vision and then succeed in gathering around him people who could help to turn that vision into reality. In A Trust to Earn: Reflections on Life and Leadership in Nigeria (Prestige Publishing, 2010) I, too, identify the ability to inspire as a key element of leadership. ‘Politics in Nigeria is a dirty business and no decent person would (or should) ever think of getting involved’; this is the opinion held still by many Nigerians, although more and more people seem to be gradually recognising the need for ‘good people’ to get involved too. The realisation seems to be growing that politicians ultimately determine what happens to the rest of us; and since our experience of them in Nigeria has been almost totally negative, some of us are beginning to realise that we cannot continue to leave our fate exclusively in the hands of people who have no good plans for our lives. In spite of growing realisation, however, there remains a real fear of politics, its power to corrupt as well as its tendency to grow violent. For this reason, decent Nigerians keep their distance and counsel others like them to do the same. As I started in my Ife talk on May 25, 2013, one question I have frequently been asked since I decided to take an early retirement to devote more time to reflecting upon and writing about the Nigerian condition and to participate actively in politics is: what is a person like you doing in politics? Each time, this question leaves me feeling somewhat frustrated. Of course, one cannot miss the underlying insinuation about politics being a dirty job for dirty people, and that public service in Nigeria is not deserving of the time and effort of ‘clean’ people. Then there is the phrase ‘a person like you’, the intended meaning of which I am not so sure. It clearly raises the issue of what kind of person people perceive me to be, but I find it difficult to tell whether this is completely positive! I always sense a hint of reproach beneath that question – like they’re really saying, ‘Are you out of your mind? I thought you were more reasonable!’ This reproach – if that’s what it is – is actually quite understandable when one considers that I quit the system the very time university lecturers finally began to be paid livable wages, after decades of earning a take-home pay that couldn’t take us home’, as aptly coined by our union, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Getting a right leader is not an easy feat for a nation to accomplish, and even more bewildering is the fact that the opportunity to choose their leader through a democratic process does not guarantee that the best individual will emerge. I returned recently from trip to Dubia in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Whatever else one might have against the leaders of that state, they certainly cannot be accused of lacking in vision. Our federal government owns all the mineral resources within the country, no matter where they are found. This is a great anomaly. Should resources not belong to the localities in which they exist, such that the people in that region are the primary beneficiaries? The current system of having the federal government own all of our resources and then hand out portions to all the states has made us lazy and complacent, especially since the discovery of crude oil in the Niger Delta. Since everybody was being given their share of the income derived from the exploitation of petroleum, other areas of economic activity have become neglected, particularly agriculture, with the production of important crops like groundnuts, cocoa and cotton plummeting. http://www.thenicheng.com/challenges-female-presidential-candidate-sonaiya/
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| Celebrities › Re: Fans Blast Picture Of Bovi 'smiling & Holding Hands' With President Jonathan by Dotng: 3:04pm On Jan 26, 2015 |
D9ty7:O boy, you craze small O!  |
| Politics › What GEJ Told Emir Sanusi In Kano by Dotng(op): 5:28pm On Jan 24, 2015 |
What GEJ Told Emir Sanusi in Kano President Jonathan's campaign trail has seen him visit several states so far, and it isn't letting up. This week, the president visited Emir Sanusi Lamido of Kano state. Vanguard says: "The campaign rally of the president in Kano provided an interesting scenario. It would be recalled that shortly before he was crowned as the Emir of Kano following the death of Alhaji Ado Bayero, the relationship between Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the erstwhile governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and President Goodluck Jonathan had irretrievably broken down. Sanusi had accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation of failing to remit some money that had accrued to nation from the sale of Petroleum products, into the federation account. The allegation which attracted wide publicity within and out side the country was interpreted by some persons as a veiled attack on the president. The climax of the cold war was when the president failed to congratulate Sanusi as the Emir of Kano following his emergence." The above is why most of Nigeria held its breath when news of the President's visit to Sanusi was announced. "In an ironic twist of fate, while the Emir of Kano was at the mercy of the president just some few months ago, the president was in Kano, at the palace of the emir as a favour seeker!" Vanguard newspaper comments deliciously. Below is what the President told Sanusi: “I am here to seek your royal blessing and to reassure the people of Kano that PDP is totally committed to developing the country”. Truly an ironic twist of fate. http://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/what-gej-told-emir-sanusi-in-kano.107026/ |
| Politics › Ekiti PDP Youth Vow To Work Against Jonathan by Dotng(op): 1:42am On Jan 24, 2015 |
Ekiti PDP Youth Vow To Work Against Jonathan "It is quite unfortunate that President Jonathan surrounds himself with political vultures who will mess up his good works, and these people don’t care if he loses or not. Ekiti voters are the most sophisticated voters in Nigeria. If you understand the sociology and the political culture of Ekiti people, you will know that the result of June governorship election in Ekiti will not necessary translate into victory for Jonathan come Febuary 14, go and ask Dr. Fayemi, the teachers and civil servants of Ekiti danced and sang for him on Wednesday at the stadium before they crucified him on Saturday at the poll. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Youth Network, Ekiti State chapter, has vowed to work against and ensure its presidential candidate, Goodluck Jonathan, loses woefully in the forthcoming February presidential poll. The State Coordinator of the network, Tope Musowo, made the threat in a press statement sent to the SaharaReporters office. Musowo, who decried the way the ruling federal government is handling situation in the country, said President Jonathan has failed by surrounding himself with sycophants. "It is quite unfortunate that President Jonathan surrounds himself with political vultures who will mess up his good works, and these people don’t care if he loses or not. Let me make it clear here that Ekiti voters are the most sophisticated voters in Nigeria. "If you understand the sociology and the political culture of Ekiti people, you will know that the result of June 21st governorship election in Ekiti will not necessary translate into victory for Jonathan come Febuary 14, go and ask Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the teachers and civil servants of Ekiti danced and sang for him on Wednesday at the stadium before they crucified him on Saturday at the poll." He added "We have been using our personal resources to build the structure of the organization, just as they also mobilized their people across the state to the presidential campaign rally." “As I speak, I have not seen any branded campaign bus for Goodluck Jonathan in Ekiti, the voice of the opposition party is louder in Ekiti than that of the ruling party, how will PDP win? And let me tell you, Ekiti voters will shock Jonathan and his governor." The statement said the people of Ekiti State are already tired of Governor Fayose, saying, "Fayose will not realize that the people of Ekiti are already tired of him, just as they were with Fayemi then, you see the sociology of the state is such that when they decide this is where the state is going, that is it. This explains why Fayemi lost in all the 16 Local Government Areas, and those that are ignorant of the sociology of the state will always attribute it to stomach infrastructure. "Ekiti is an homogenous state, the only state in the south west where everybody is Ekiti, unlike in other states; for instance Ondo State, we have the Akokos, the Ilajes, Ondos, the Ijaws and so on, but in Ekiti, we are all Ekitis and this homogeneity helps unanimity and consensus. I see this playing out in February poll again. “PDP Youth Network is the only organization that spread across the 16 Local Government Areas, 132 towns, and the 263 farmsteads in Ekiti; our structure is in all the 177 wards of the state, yet neither the party nor the state government acknowledges our efforts. "They did not accord us any recognition in spite of efforts during the governorship election, we have written letters to the state governor since last year to give us audience, to intimate him with our activities and structure across the state, no way. "Therefore, we are left with no other option than to write our national office, that if other states decide to go on voluntary slavery, Ekiti people are not obliged to follow, because the days of monkey dey work baboon they chop are over," the statement concluded. http://saharareporters.com/2015/01/23/ekiti-pdp-youth-vow-work-against-jonathan 1 Like |
| Politics › Nigeria Pays Ghana $10m In Default Of Energy Agreement by Dotng(op): 6:55am On Jan 22, 2015 |
Nigeria Pays Ghana $10m In Default Of Energy Agreement Nigeria was expected to supply at least 120 million cubic feet of gas daily to power some of Ghana’s plants but the OPEC giant has consistently failed to come up with its end of the bargain. Ghana is currently undergoing a major energy crisis and Nigeria’s failure to meet its obligations has been attributed to a major part of this. Nigeria has paid the sum of $10m to Ghana in breach of contract for failing to supply gas as spelt out in the West African Gas Pipeline project agreement. This was disclosed by Ghanaian President John Mahama while visiting Germany. President Mahama said the country’s power plants that rely on gas from the West Africa Gas Pipeline have had to shut down as a result. Nigeria was expected to supply at least 120 million cubic feet of gas daily to power some of Ghana’s plants but the OPEC giant has consistently failed to come up with its end of the bargain. Ghana is currently undergoing a major energy crisis and Nigeria’s failure to meet its obligations has been attributed to a major part of this. Officials of the Ghana Grid Company earlier this week indicated that they have had to shed between 400 and 600 megawatts of power due to the inconsistent and reduced supply of power from the local power generators, which mainly get their supply from Nigeria through the West African Gas pipeline agreement. President John Mahama said the country is looking at developing its own gas reserves. "Potentially we can get 150 million standard cubic feet from the Jubilee field, we are developing the TEIN field which will come on stream in 2016 and that again can provide us with between 50-80 million standard cubic feet. "So going forward we are looking at about between 300-350 million standard cubic feet which will be very important in generating power and ensuring energy security for us," he stated. http://saharareporters.com/2015/01/21/nigeria-pays-ghana-10m-default-energy-agreement |
| Politics › Osinbajo Is Adeboye's Loyal Son", PDP Strategists Tell President Jonathan by Dotng(op): 3:36pm On Jan 21, 2015 |
Fallout Of Secret Meeting With Pentecostal Pastors: "Osinbajo Is Adeboye's Loyal Son", PDP Strategists Tell President Jonathan *Oyedepo in trouble with Obasanjo over support of incumbent President *How RCCG leader advised Jonathan, not to run for a second term. After last week Thursday's Abuja meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan with some Pentecostal pastors including Bishops David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel and Felix Omobude, the PFN president, PDP political strategists are unconvinced how much the pastors can truly deliver on their promises to help the President. It would be recalled that at the secret meeting in Abuja, President Jonathan confessed, "Osinbajo is my problem." According to those at the meeting, the President added, "everything was okay until APC picked Osinbajo." It is believed that this conclusion was reached by the President after extensive discussions with his political advisers and strategists on the APC's choice of the law professor - pastor of the RCCG as General Muhamadu Buhari's running mate. A source at the meeting said while offers of oil blocks are being made to some of the top pastors at the meeting, PDP strategists are warning the president that General Muhamadu Buhari's running mate, Pastor Yemi Osinbajo is not just a senior pastor trained by the General Overseer of the RCCG, Pastor E.A. Adeboye, but a beloved spiritual son of the highly respected religious leader. The concern of the PDP strategists is that their promises to support Jonathan's second term ambition may not after all hold much water. Said another source, "Adeboye values loyalty and Osinbajo is widely known to be very loyal to the General Overseer of the RCCG." President Jonathan's political strategists are believed to be looking for means to break that bond, but the General Overseer has simply refused to allow himself to be so politically encumbered. A source said, for instance, that Adeboye did not attend the meeting last Thursday as he has said he would be apolitical since there are members of the church in both APC and PDP. But PDP strategists say coming from the same Pastor who publicly blessed Jonathan before the 2011 election, that was a sign things have changed. Perhaps not sure of the kind of reception, Jonathan himself had last month stayed away from the December 2014 Holy Ghost Congress, the same event in 2010 where "Daddy G.O" , as he is fondly called by RCCG members, had publicly blessed him. Only a minister from his government, Dr. Tammy Wenike Danagogo, Sports Minister was in attendance and being an RCCG member, the minister was not introduced as representing Jonathan at the event. One of the very close pastors to the RCCG leader said Jonathan's absence from that event " was a mistake on the president's part." Some PDP members also point to the public appearance of Pastor Adeboye with General Buhari at the New Year thanksgiving service of Lagos State as proof that Adeboye will not abandon his spiritual children whenever they need him. The PDP strategists are also reminding President Jonathan that Adeboye okayed it that Osinbajo should accept the offer of a running mate from General Buhari even before it was eventually decided and announced by General Buhari. An RCCG inside source said "Pastor Adeboye is known to have helped some of his pastors and spiritual sons even when they err and fall into troubles, why then do you think, he will not do everything to help his loyal pastor who is being promoted in answer to his prayers." The source said in training many of his pastors several years back, Pastor Adeboye had always given them his word that he would personally be there for them in their hour of need, a promise he has endured to fulfill even under very challenging circumstances. Yemi Osinbajo, Muhammadu Buhari, Gov. Raji Fashola, Pastor EA Adeboye and Mrs. Adeboye during the annual Lagos Thanksgiving service in Ikeja Sunnewsonline There is therefore an acute confusion among PDP Campaign leaders, and the president's advisers on the effectiveness of the secret meeting held last week with the pastors, especially after SAHARAREPORTERS broke the story, and exposing the division among the pastors who attended. Now, President Jonathan is being advised to do more, possibly to reach out directly to the General Overseer for a more public outing with him as the elections draw near. For instance, they cited the impact of Pastor Adeboye's presence a the President's adopted daughter's wedding ceremony earlier this January 2015 in Abuja. It is believed that after his public appearance with General Buhari earlier in January at the annual thanksgiving service, Adeboye's visit to the wedding in the president's family restored some hope of his "neutrality." However inside sources at the RCCG say Pastor Adeboye is not very particularly enamoured of President Jonathan because as the source disclosed "the president has not been as obedient to Pastor Adeboye as one would expect." For instance, the source said Adeboye had asked Jonathan, not to run for a second term, and instead choose to support someone else, but Jonathan said ok, but still went ahead to run. This happened even before Osinbajo's name was mentioned as a serious potential running mate. Others say Adeboye's close relationship with Obasanjo, is another reason he could not possibly support the president the way he did in 2011. On the other hand, there are those on the APC side who think that Pastor Adeboye should do more, now that a very senior pastor he personally loves and counsels is on the presidential ticket, a first in the history of RCCG, the fastest growing church in Africa. APC members also discount Pastor Adeboye's attendance at the recent Jonathan 's daughter's wedding in Abuja, saying even former President Olusegun Obasanjo was there. Meanwhile, Bishop David Oyedepo may have run into trouble with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his role in the secret meeting with other PFN pastors in Abuja last week. A source revealed after the news of the meeting became public knowledge that it was Obasanjo who had saved Oyedepo's neck when he ran foul of the law in Ogun State and the APC Governor Ibikunle Amosun's government was perfecting his arrest and prosecution. Bishop Oyedepo's aides had assaulted some state government staff who were on visitation to one of the schools owned by the Bishop for assessment. It was alleged that it was Oyedepo who ordered the assault on the officials, provoking the government to threaten legal and criminal charges against him. In the circumstances, Oyedepo reportedly ran to Obasanjo, who then asked him to come over right away to his residence, where the former president also invited Governor Amosun to amicably resolve the matter. A source said Obasanjo may have been disappointed that despite Oyedepo's personal knowledge of his disavowal of Jonathan, the Bishop was still working hard to support his second term ambition. http://saharareporters.com/2015/01/21/fallout-secret-meeting-pentecostal-pastors-osinbajo-adeboyes-loyal-son-pdp-strategists |
| Phones › Re: Over 70 Android Secret Codes You Probably Never Knew by Dotng: 12:40pm On Jan 21, 2015 |
Surplus90:This is nice |
| Politics › Jonathan, Alison-madueke, Okonjo-iweala Involved In NNPC Diversion Of $50 Billio by Dotng(op): 2:34pm On Jan 20, 2015 |
Jonathan, Alison-Madueke, Okonjo-Iweala Involved In NNPC Diversion Of $50 Billion Crude Oil Funds-PREMIUM TIMES President Goodluck Jonathan and two of his top ministers may be attempting a cover-up on what clearly competes as Nigeria’s biggest fraud ever, involving the illegal diversion, or theft, of over N8 trillion crude oil sales proceeds. In a frantic and unusual memo to the president on September 25, 2013, Central Bank governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi detailed how government-owned oil firm, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, had systematically diverted the huge sum, being sales proceeds between January 2012 and July 2013. The CBN governor said for all crude oil sales within the period, the NNPC paid only 24 percent proceeds into the federation account, and diverted or stole the remaining 76 percent-totalling N8 trillion. As the CBN calculated, the NNPC sold at least 594 million barrels of oil within the period, and should have paid N10.3 trillion (USD65.3 billion) into the federation account. But the corporation paid only N2.5 trillion (USD15.5 billion), Mr. Sanusi said, citing documentation from pre-shipment inspectors. The whereabouts of the huge balance is unknown. The weight of the differential is clearer if evaluated against the fact that the tiny percentage remitted by the NNPC managed to finance the nation in that period, raising the question of how much the total would then have achieved for a country unable to pay its university lecturers who have been on strike for five months. Put simply, for each barrel of oil sold, say at an average of USD100, the NNPC illegally cornered $74 into an unknown account and gave Nigeria only $26. Mr. Sanusi said he was “constrained” to hint the president after observing the huge shortfalls for years. He accused the NNPC of breaching two key federal laws, and urged the president to act expeditiously by ordering sweeping investigation and prosecution of those found culpable. Two months on, the president has refused to act on the damning memo delivered to him personally by the CBN governor. In fact, after receiving the letter, the president, presidency sources say, questioned Mr. Sanusi on why such letter should be prepared in the first place and sent to him. PREMIUM TIMES can also confirm that finance minister and former World Bank chief, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is also aware of the CBN’s information and has done nothing about it; while petroleum minister, Alison Diezani-Madueke, implicated in several corruption probes in the past, is said to be fully in the know about the massive plunder of crude oil money by the NNPC. President challenged on corruption Details of the president’s failure to act on such a massive scale of misappropriation came amid an increasing criticism of Mr. Jonathan’s response to corruption, as several senior officials of his government, accused of stealing or wasting public funds, have been spared of indictment and prosecution. The weightiest of such concerns came on Monday from the speaker of the House of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, who publicly accused the president of consistently displaying a “body language” that encourages corruption. Citing past scandals, the most recent being the N255 million armoured car fraud involving aviation minister, Stella Oduah, Mr. Tambuwal said the president’s penchant for duplicating committees to investigate corruption cases, rather than directing law enforcement agencies to probe them, showed Mr. Jonathan was less committed to curbing fraud. “By the action of setting up different committees for straightforward cases, the president’s body language doesn’t tend to support the fight against corruption,” the speaker said at an event in Abuja. Between 2011 and 2013, the House of Representatives has investigated the NNPC multiple times, and has in many cases found officials of the corporation wanting. But no one has been sanctioned by government. In 2012, top management of the NNPC and the petroleum minister, Mrs. Madueke, who directly supervises the NNPC, were recommended for prosecution by the House in a shocking fuel subsidy probe. They accused officials have remained at their posts. The CBN’s allegation is the most scathing yet for a corporation notorious for secrecy and corruption. The diverted or stolen amount-N8 trillion between January 2012 and July 2013- is the nearly the equivalent of the total federal budgets for two years. Put together, the sum can run the entire country for the period, build several new roads and railways, pay wages of millions of workers, cater for the nation’s teeming unemployed, build thousands of hospitals and schools, complete ongoing power projects, and on an urgent note, clear multiple times, all government financial obligations to university lecturers, whose ongoing strike has kept the universities shut for more than five months now. More losses and the ECA Even so, when compared with prevailing data from different government agencies, the figure admitted by the CBN is still lesser than what Nigeria should earn from oil sales. While the bank said its computation, based on pre-shipment details, showed that Nigeria sold N10.3 trillion worth of oil in 19 months, PREMIUM TIMES’ analysis shows the government should rather realize N10.6 trillion in the first 10 months of 2013-Janaury to October-alone. PREMIUM TIMES’s estimates is based on the government’s data of daily production average of 2.11 million barrels of crude, sold at an average price of $105.84 per barrel. If multiplied and converted to naira, the government should have realized N10. 6 trillion in 10 months alone. But in that period, total oil receipts data provided by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, claimed between January and October, the government made N5.8 trillion. Also, our estimates show that the government has not only lied or misled Nigerians about its total receipts from oil sales, but is also deceitful about its earnings in the contentious Excess Crude Account. The ECA holds the difference between the real market price for oil and the government’s projection in the national budget yearly. For 2013, the government approved rate is $79 per barrel (called benchmark for oil price), meaning any raise in price at the international marker, will go into the ECA. For most of the year, oil sold as much as $112 and $114 per barrel. At a conservative rate of $105 per barrel, the government should have realized $26 as difference per barrel for the Excess Crude Account. Calculated at 2.11 million barrels per day, that should amount to $17.3 billion (about N2.695trillion) earned as excess crude revenue from crude oil exports as of October 2013. But the government claims it generated only N986.6 billion in the Excess Crude Account. No explanation No government official could explain the huge gaps for the 2013 figures. The ministry of finance did not comment when contacted multiple times. Paul Nwabuiku, a spokesperson for the finance minister, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, promised a response but refused to give one several days after. A spokesperson for the Central Bank of Nigeria, reacting to our findings (not Mr. Sanusi’s letter) said as the government’s banker, it could not provide the requested information, as it was unlawful for a banker to divulge details about its customer to a third party. “We maintain a customer/banker relationship with the government in the execution of our mandate. We do not divulge such information to third parties,” Mr. Ugochukwu said on Thursday via a text message. Controversy over Excess Crude Account PREMIUM TIMES’s own evaluation of government oil earnings began well ahead of obtaining Mr. Sanusi’s letter to President Jonathan. The review was prompted by the lingering controversy over the ECA between the finance minister, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala and the Rivers state governor, Chibuike Amaechi. Mr. Amaechi had accused the government of depleting the account, usually shared between the federal, states and local governments. The governor said $5 billion had gone missing from the account under Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s watch. Defending the administration, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala accused the governor of “playing politics” on the matter, and said the outstanding $5 billion had been shared to states as monthly allocation and local governments, with Rivers State being one of the major beneficiaries. The frustration of CBN governor But in his letter, Mr. Sanusi said he had long been frustrated by the NNPC’s secrecy with oil sales, and that he raised concerns twice to the president as far back as 2010 about his observation that a huge chunk of sales proceeds were not remitted to government treasury. He said the shortfall in revenue as a result of oil theft and vandalism in the Niger Delta was insignificant compared to the scale of money unaccounted for by the NNPC. “Your excellency, you will recall that as far back as late 2010, I had verbally expressed deep concern about what appeared to be huge shortfalls in remittances to the federation account in spite of the strong recovery in oil prices,” the CBN governor wrote, indicating the losses extending years back far surpasses the N8 trillion of between 2012 and 2013. There is no evidence the president acted on those concerns. By 2012, he said the situation had gone worse that the government made more money from tax paid by oil companies than from actual sales of crude. “This means, Your Excellency, that in this first seven months of the year, taxes accounted for 76 % of the total inflow from this sector, while NNPC crude oil proceeds accounted for 24%,” he said. The CBN governor called for a thorough audit of all domiciliary accounts held by the NNPC outside of the CBN, and a probe of companies involved in oil lifting and oil swap. “As banker to the federal government and Economic Adviser to the President,” he said, “I am obliged to draw the president’s attention to these serious issues of which you have most probably never been aware in this detail,” he said. The Special Adviser to the President on Public Communications, Reuben Abati, was not available for comments. He did not answer several calls made to his telephone. He is believed to be travelling in South Africa with the president, who is attending the funeral of late South African President, Nelson Mandela. http://saharareporters.com/2013/12/10/jonathan-alison-madueke-okonjo-iweala-involved-nnpc-diversion-50-billion-crude-oil-funds#.VLszWfEmxyA.mailto |
| Politics › Inec Release Educational Qualifications Of 2015 Presidential Candidates And Vice by Dotng(op): 11:50pm On Jan 18, 2015 |
INEC RELEASE EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS OF 2015 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES AND RUNNING MATES. The educational qualifications of the 14 presidential candidates and running mates for 2015 general elections have been released by INEC. Some of them have SSCE......see for yourself. http://metronewsng..com/2015/01/inec-release-educational-qualifications.html?spref=fb |
| Politics › Inec Release Educational Qualifications Of 2015 Presidential Candidates And Vice by Dotng(op): 6:21am On Jan 18, 2015 |
INEC RELEASE EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS OF 2015 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES AND RUNNING MATES. The educational qualifications of the 14 presidential candidates and running mates for 2015 general elections have been released by INEC. Some of them have SSCE......see for yourself. http://metronewsng..com/2015/01/inec-release-educational-qualifications.html?spref=fb
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| Autos › Re: Dear Sir/ma Buy Your Europe/American Clean and cheap Car From Cotonou by Dotng: 6:27am On Jan 17, 2015 |
Please how much is the price for the following with duty papers? Toyota Sienna 2004 /2005 model Toyota Highlander 2004 /2005 model Toyota 4runner 2004 /2005 model Thanks |
| Politics › Nigeria Requires Urgent Rescue, Says Okogie by Dotng(op): 12:53pm On Jan 16, 2015 |
Nigeria requires urgent rescue, says Okogie A former Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, has said that the Federal Government led by President Goodluck Jonathan is clueless and that the country needed an urgent rescue from what he described as “imminent brink of irredeemable destruction.” The cleric therefore called on all Nigerians to wake up from their slumber and face the reality by electing into the position of leadership only persons “who know what to do.” He added that efforts must be made to educate the average Nigerian to choose their leader based on capability and not on the basis of ethnic or religious affiliations. Okogie spoke in Lagos at the 11th edition of the Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture/Symposium, where he was the chairman of the occasion. He condemned the present administration for the prevalent insecurity in the country and the nation’s economic woes. Okogie said, “There is extra urgency to rescue Nigeria. This is the time when every right thinking Nigerian must pray to hate the present situation strong enough so as to desire the fortitude to act right. “This time does not allow for indifference. All must rise to save Nigeria from the brink of irredeemable destruction. This is the time we must play politics of the best, for the best position, in order to guarantee the best for our nation. “Let only those with the fear of God and love of their neighbours rule Nigeria; only those who know what to do should sit at the helm of affairs. Enough of mediocrity, enough of failures, enough of nepotism, and enough of ethnicity.” Okogie, while describing the late Fawehinmi, a human rights lawyer, as courageous, principled, and selfless and a detribalised statesman, said he was sure that Fawehinmi was now restless in his grave given the present state of the nation. He said, “It is said that Gani Fawehinmi died a sad man. For a man who was fearless in speaking his mind without caring whose ox is gored, he was jailed many times and detained many more times for no personal crime but for his struggle to ensure justice, fairness and good governance in the country, dying without seeing signs that the new dispensation he struggled for will be achieved is a devastating blow. “Now in death, the knowledge that Nigeria has deteriorated so badly since his passing away must be giving Gani sleeplessness.” Okogie said were Fawehinmi to be alive, he would have been worried over the general decay in the political and economic spheres of the nation “which is riddled with lies, deception, incompetence, mediocrity, hopelessness, lawlessness and lack of vision.” The cleric said he was certain that Fawehinmi in his characteristic manner would have dragged the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, to court for “his disgraceful conduct, arrogant and flagrant slap on our democracy by his unconstitutional role in the National Assembly saga recently.” According to Okogie, Fawehinmi would have also been at the forefront of the struggle for the release of the abducted Chibok girls. He said Fawehinmi would have been infuriated that Nigerians were placing ethnic and religious considerations ahead of capability in choosing their leaders. In his own submission, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, mocked the political class and all the presidential aspirants who queued up in Abuja on Wednesday to sign the peace pact under the supervision of a former Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan. Falana said, “Mr. Kofi Annan, a former Secretary General of the United Nations, came to Abuja to insult all of us, particularly our political leaders. Like school children, he forced the President of the country and the presidential candidate of the APC and others to queue up and sign one by one that we shall not engage in violence.” Falana said the exercise was shameful and a waste of time, adding that what needed to be done was to confront the culture of impunity. Falana also took a swipe at the Nigerian Bar Association, whose Abuja branch on Wednesday organised a seminar on how to conduct credible elections. “The NBA Abuja organised a seminar on how to conduct a credible election and when I was watching the telly, I was asking myself: Does the NBA conduct credible election?” Falana asked. In his review of a book titled “Stand up for what is right,” Falana described Fawehinmi as a man of rare courage, who “spoke loudly against injustice and lack of freedom, both in the courtroom and on the streets.” http://www.punchng.com/news/nigeria-requires-urgent-rescue-says-okogie/ |
| Politics › Guards Shield Jonathan As Soldier Fiddles With Rifle by Dotng(op): 11:38am On Jan 16, 2015 |
Guards shield Jonathan as soldier fiddles with rifle A member of the elite Guards Brigade caused a minor stir during the wreath laying ceremony for the Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebrations by President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on Thursday. The guard, who was part of the two columns of soldiers drafted to form the firing party for the event, was seen fidgeting with his gun which got stuck in the back of his belt. In the process, the nozzle of the gun lowered, prompting two members of the Presidential Guard, who were standing behind the President’s Aide-de-Camp, who felt he had a negative intention, to form a human shield around the President. Another officer, believed to be a member of the Presidential Guard, quickly moved to pull the soldier from the column, but had a rethink after explanations by the soldier about his problem. The Presidential Guard then assisted the soldier to release the rope attached to the butt of the gun from his uniform. However, the President, who was in the middle of the two rows of the firing party in front of the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, was not ruffled by the incident . After the stir which occurred on the third and last round of the shooting of the 21-gun salute later, Jonathan freed the traditional white pigeons from a huge cage at the cenotaph. He later signed the 2015 Register for celebrations. It was learnt that the bullets usually used for the traditional military ceremony are blank bullets which lack the capacity to inflict injuries. Our correspondent also gathered that the officers in charge of the ceremony normally embarked on a holistic weeding process and psychological screening of those to take part in that aspect of the ceremony. The event which held at the cenotaph opposite the Eagle Square at the Central Area, was attended by the top echelons of the security forces and government officials. Among those who also laid wreaths were Vice-President Namadi Sambo; the President of the Senate, David Mark; and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, who represented the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal. Others were the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmud Mohammed; the Minister of Defence, Gen. Aliyu Gusau; the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah; the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Usman Jibrin; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu; the Doyen of the Diplomatic community and the Chairman of the Nigerian Legion, Micah Gayya. Security personnel conducted painstaking searches on workers whose offices are located in the three-arms zone before allowing them in. The security operatives locked down the two major roads in the Three-Arms Zone – Ahmadu Bello and Shehu Shagari ways – to prevent vehicles from passing through the cenotaph while the event lasted. A planned protest by the Ex-Service men Welfare Association did not take place as the event held smoothly without any interruption or disruption. Meanwhile, the Presidential Committee set up to review the National Defence Policy has concluded arrangements to hold public presentations in three states. The Chairman of the Committee, Mohammed Umaru, said during a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, that the event scheduled for Lagos, Kaduna and Enugu, would hold simultaneously from January 21 to 22 . Umaru said that the decision to open public hearing on NDP was informed by a need to have many Nigerians contribute to the policy. Jonathan had inaugurated the committee on November 20, 2014 to review the policy because of the social, economic and security changes that have taken place in the country. He said that external developments and challenges in the global arena had direct impact on the nation’s security and national defence. http://www.punchng.com/news/guards-shield-jonathan-as-soldier-fiddles-with-rifle/ |
| Politics › Before Voting Buhari: Twenty Things History Teaches US By Kennedy Emetulu by Dotng(op): 11:14am On Jan 15, 2015 |
Before Voting Buhari: Twenty Things History Teaches US By Kennedy Emetulu History is harsh, because it hides nothing from honest and discerning people. For those who are dancing at the prospect of voting in Muhammadu Buhari, please consider the following historical facts. Interpret them however you choose, but think about them deeply: Kennedy Emetulu (1) Think of the kind of nation the colonial masters bequeathed to us before leaving. They instituted different political, social and legal system in the North and South, but still ran the country as one and left us without any attempt at righting the wrongs they’ve instituted. (2) Think of the pogroms in the North against the Igbo and Southerners. What were the reasons for this? There was no reason more than that the Igbo and Southerners were seen as taking over the economy and geographical space of the Northerner in a supposed one, free Nigeria. (3) Think of the First Republic and the issues that led to its demise. These issues ranged from the obvious injustices perpetrated at the centre by a majoritarian oligarchy, which then led to electoral violence in the West and national distrust in the Niger-Delta. (4) Think of beginning of military intervention in politics and the cost to the nation: (a) The First Coup of January 1966 and the real motivation of the chaps behind it. (b) The coming of Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi and the counter-coup that saw his death and the mass killing of Igbo officers within the army, including the pogrom that followed up North. (c) The Civil War and the cost in human and material resources to the nation. Was it necessary? Why the waste? What have we learnt? Think of the Asaba and Owerri massacres (Buhari was part of the latter)? Were they necessary? What have we learnt from that war? (5) Think of the whole nine years of General Yakubu Gowon, the seven months of General Murtala Muhammed, the four years of Shehu Shagari. The almost two years of Buhari, the eight years of General Ibrahim Babangida, the five years of General Sani Abacha, the one year of Abdulsalami Abubakar and the two years of Umaru Yar’Adua. For almost 40 years of the 54 that we have had flag independence, the North has ruled the nation, but what did their leadership do for Nigeria? Why is the Northern elite now hell-bent on taking back power at the top? How long have they been out of it that they now want it back? What did they do with it for their people when they had it? (6) Think about June 12 and the murder of MKO Abiola. Imagine the opportunity our country had at that juncture in our history and who truncated it. Who are the beneficiaries of the truncation of June 12, but Buhari and the industrial-military complex that backs him now as members of the APC? (7) For the Yoruba, think about the power you have now and how to use it responsibly. When Obafemi Awolowo had it, he used it responsibly and this nation is grateful for it. For those who are hailing Bola Tinubu as some kind of political genius, do they think Tinubu is safe under a Buhari presidency as he has been under Jonathan? Do they not see how easy it would be for Buhari to pluck out Tinubu in a power tussle over control of the APC under the guise of fighting corruption? Do they think there is anything a Vice President Yemi Osinbajo can do in the circumstances? What would be the fate of the Yoruba at that point? (  Think about the National Question and what this false change would mean for the Southern minorities and the nation. Since the Willink Commission of 1958, their troubles have been in the front burner of national discussion and we have shouted ourselves hoarse for a Sovereign National Conference (SNC). Whether we want to believe it or not, Jonathan’s presidency sort of doused the raging fire, so what would his ouster do? Think about the Orkar Coup of 1992 and what motivated those young men now lost to the firing squad.(9) For the Yoruba, think about those who today mostly populate the highest and middle level echelon of the oil industry. They are not Niger-Deltans; they are young Yoruba professionals and Tinubu who worked with Mobil knows this. Are you prepared to sacrifice them and their career to install a Buhari who, from his actions and utterances, look bent on dipping the Koran in the sea in the form of establishing Sharia all over Nigeria? Does anyone think the South-South will sit down and share the oil wealth with a nation of the sort Buhari has in mind? Does anyone really think Buhari has the temperament to hold a complex Nigeria together? (10) To the Northerners, think about what we are already seeing about Buhari on the campaign trail. Does he look like a healthy person? His gaunt, austere look is not just about his stature. The man is old and ill and this campaign will take a lot from him. If, God forbid, he does not survive this campaign or his first term where would that put this country? Does anyone think that the power-mongers of the North will simply stand by and let the Vice President take over constitutionally? Are we prepared to go through the Yar’Adiua experience again, especially this time when they are likely to be more desperate? What would it mean for those in the North who think it’s their turn to take over, rather than wait till 2019 when they are likely to have a more vibrant candidate with real national appeal contesting for the presidency and with a chance to win and govern in peace? (11) Think of Buhari as the head of state and how he ran the nation. The day he was overthrown, I was at the parade ground at the Orientation Camp in Toro, Bauchi where I was serving my NYSC. I remember that the chap who was our Commandant was a young Captain said to be a cousin to Brigadier Joshua Dongoyaro who announced the overthrow. His second-in-command was then Lieutenant Ugo Buzugbe who is today a Major General. Once word reached us of the overthrow, the whole camp went agog with jubilation! On the day, I was delegated by my friends to go to Jos to buy some things for a party we were planning. I got there and the whole city was jubilating! We heard of spontaneous jubilation all over the country. Today, some brilliant, but devious spin-doctors are painting Buhari as a great leader who is now making us feel nostalgia for his time! Only fools who would want to be treated like animals and butchered without reason would look at Buhari and say he is the change we need. Yes, we might need change, but not Buhari! We are not a cursed people! We should never go back to our national vomit! (12) Think about his manifesto and what he offers. Is there anything there that he can do better than Jonathan? He talks about fighting corruption, but Buhari is a corrupt man being shielded by spin-doctors! The facts of his corruption are there! How can anyone believe the lies about his poverty? What poor man contests every presidential election since 2003 in such a grandiose manner? Can’t we see the corrupt people he consorts with and those interested in sending him to Aso Rock? Does that add up? (13) Think about this fellow who has been a recurrent name in Nigerian politics since his overthrow by his military colleagues, but who cannot tell us one good cause he has put his name or his money in. Where are the charities he supports? What business is he involved in? What has he been doing with almost N30 million he receives monthly as gratuity? How has he improved himself since leaving office? Why can he not just tender his First School Leaving Certificate, rather than lying and getting others to lie for him? How many scholarships has he awarded, even as we know that his daughter lives the high life in a UK university where she pays more than £16,000 as school fees? How many university chairs has he endowed? How many professional bodies does he support? How many international missions has he helped with? All we have seen him do since is go to BBC Hausa, say some inciting and divisive things and when called out, he proclaims innocence and accuses journalists of misinterpreting him. (14) Think about his support for Boko Haram and the group nominating him as their representative in negotiation with the Federal Government. Why did he cowardly refuse to be part of the negotiation when he’s spent the whole time attacking the Nigerian Army and the Federal Government over Boko Haram? Does anyone think the present Nigerian Army would accept this type of untrustworthy and divisive figure as Commander-in-Chief? After all, following the annulment of the June 12 election, one of the reasons Babangida said they couldn’t hand over to MKO Abiola was because he wouldn’t have been accepted as Commander-in-Chief. Buhari was one of the beneficiaries of that annulment. I can’t see him being a good Commander-in-Chief. As bad as it sounds, he will do the same mistakes he did the first time and worse and Nigerians would be reduced to jubilating again when a coup topples him. Egypt after the electoral victory of the Muslim Brotherhood comes to mind. And that would be the least terrible of all choices we can get. (15) Think of Buhari who has no idea of modern governance. Only dishonest people will believe otherwise. Listen to him and see how vacuous he is. No matter how they try to hide his illiteracy, it’s glaring. He has now joined Twitter, because of election, but what does he really know about modern communication? His best phrase is “I will fight….” No, governance is not about fighting; it’s about governing. I don’t want to hear people tell me he would surround himself with the best brains, because anyone without a brain ruling Nigeria will not know the best brains and even when they are there, a man with the ignorant stubbornness of Buhari will not listen to them or know how to use them. (16) Think of the world we live in and the kind of leadership driving developments in other lands. Think of us in 2015 celebrating a Buhari as our President! The country of Tafawa Balewa, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo celebrating a Buhari in 2015? Some may say Jonathan is not better, but that would be unfair. Jonathan is far better, even if he is not the best we can offer as a nation. Forget the propaganda that he has not done anything, he has. His administration has achieved a lot and those who are honest know this. Indeed, his administration has achieved more for the North than any Northern leader in our history. His problem is that he does not have good marketers. Whatever minuses we think Jonathan has, Buhari will triple them. (17) Think of the Boko Haram menace and understand that it is not a question of Jonathan failing on national security, but a huge sabotage against our nation by elements looking to benefit from his ouster. One of the worst things done to our nation by that buffoon, Olusegun Obasanjo was the emasculation of our armed forces. He did it when he came into power in 1999 under the pretext that he was professionalizing the army and stopping them from planning coups. His Ministers of Defence, Theophilus Danjuma and Rabiu Kwankwaso oversaw the destruction of the army, even as massive money was voted in the defence budget. Of course, we had no threat. By the time that threat came in the form of Boko Haram, Yar’Adua dealt with it with overwhelming force. But that was the problem. Yar’Adua ordered the killing of Boko Haram activists extra-judicially, but that only earned them international recognition from Global Jihad. With external money and training, they were transformed and under Jonathan, they became the Nigerian franchise of Global Jihad. Then in collaboration with Northern power-mongers they began a process of blackmailing Jonathan. He asked for negotiation, they would not budge; he promised them amnesty, they would not budge. They simply continue to kill defenseless citizens at will, because they know that will undermine Jonathan and the state. They support this with propaganda, inflating number of casualties and working with their political partners to undermine the state and state response at all levels. Meanwhile, when the nation had the OPC problem in the West, Yoruba leaders went out there to sort it out. When we had problems with Bakassi Boys in the East, Igbo leaders rose to the challenge and when we had the militancy in the Niger-Delta, South-South leaders, including Goodluck Jonathan went into the creeks to talk the boys into disarming. Now, what have the Northern leaders done about Boko Haram since it started its rampage? Some wring their hands helplessly, while others like Buhari make political capital out of it! Of course, all Boko Haram wants now is a Northern president who would establish Sharia all over Nigeria and Buhari will give them that. But what that means is that they used the power of their guns to impose on us a national leadership that would take us back to the Middle Ages. I have no scruples with Buhari and his kith and kin that want criminal Sharia, but they cannot impose it on the rest of the nation above our Constitution. I will not vote for my own death! I will not vote for my people’s death! I will not vote to take Nigeria through the darkness that I know a Buhari presidency represents! (18) Think about the fact that we lost more people to communal, ethnic and sectarian violence under Obasanjo, including deaths by political assassinations, yet everyone is conveniently forgetting this fact and proclaiming Jonathan a weakling. Would we prefer that Jonathan and the military give communities the Odi and Zaki Biam treatment in the name of fighting Boko Haram? (19) Think about the National Youth Service Corps members and the almost 1000 people that lost their lives up North after the last presidential election simply because Buhari did not win. Did Buhari’s reaction at the time show him as a statesman? Did it show him as someone who cares for the life of Southerners? Is that not the same man who has promised that dogs and baboons would be soaked in blood if the election is rigged this time, which in fact is a code word for massive violence if he loses? (20) Think Nigerians! Those of you North and South who love this country and who know what we have sacrificed to get here should think of the future. It’s okay to think it’s great removing an incumbent, but think what will replace that incumbent. It’s okay to preach change, but please interrogate that change. Is it really the change we need or a pretence to change that would impose a worse future on us? If the potential for trouble in that new future is worse than the present, stick to what you know. The devil you know is always better than the angel that you don’t know! Those who say if Buhari fails, we will vote him out in four years should remember that we might not have that luxury, because there has to be a living, viable nation before we can talk elections. A word is enough for the patriot! http://saharareporters.com/2015/01/15/voting-buhari-twenty-things-history-teaches-us-kennedy-emetulu |
| Politics › US Links Rising B’haram Attacks To Elections by Dotng(op): 3:26am On Jan 15, 2015 |
US links rising B’Haram attacks to elections The United States government has thrown its weight behind the Federal Government to conduct this year’s general elections despite the fact that the country is facing security challenges. This view was expressed on Tuesday at the US Department of States’ daily briefing in Washington. The US government also said that the recent incessant attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents could be as a result of the approaching general elections in Nigeria. “There has been a sharp escalation in the number of reported casualties. I think the numbers tend to be from about 2009 to 2013 – there were a little over 1,000 casualties. I mean, we’ve obviously all seen the reported numbers just this week – which we can’t confirm exactly, but it clearly shows there’s been a sharp escalation. “It’s because Boko Haram has tended to, particularly around something like an election, used political issues or sensitivities to try and inflame tensions. We’ve seen that as one of their tactics, and that’s why it’s so important to move forward with the election, because we believe it’s important. Well, I don’t want to prejudge. “We’ve seen successful elections go forward in places that have pretty significant levels of violence. So, we believe the election should go forward. We know there are security challenges. We do think that the election is probably a factor. As I said, we believe the election should still go forward, even in the face of this pretty horrific violence,” Marie Harf, the US spokeswoman, told journalists. According to her, the US government will continue to assist President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in fighting terrorism, despite the fact that a training programme by the US for Nigeria’s military personnel was cancelled by Nigeria late last year. http://www.punchng.com/news/us-links-rising-bharam-attacks-to-elections/ |
| Phones › Re: Android Smartphones To Expect In 2015 by Dotng: 8:52pm On Jan 14, 2015 |
Expect Asus ZenFone 2 in March. It is a game changer. |
| Politics › Olusegun Obasanjo Declares He Is Now ‘ABJ’ - Anything But Jonathan by Dotng(op): 10:38am On Jan 14, 2015 |
Olusegun Obasanjo Declares He Is Now ‘ABJ’ - Anything But Jonathan Former President Olusegun Obasanjo today escalated his rejection of President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term bid by declaring his current mindset to be “Anything But Jonathan” (ABJ). Obasanjo and APC leaders in a group photograph after the meeting t his hilltop mansion in Abeokuta He expressed his feelings to several of his aides following a late evening meeting with President Jonathan at his home in Abeokuta. Both men were in the presence of Pastor Adejare Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, and Bishop David Oyedepo of Winner’s Chapel. To make matters worse, a few hours after meeting with Jonathan, Obasanjo met with leaders of the All People’s Congress (APC) and their presidential candidate, Muhammad Buhari, where he affirmed he will support the best candidate regardless of party affiliation. Jonathan’s closed-door meeting with Obasanjo clearly failed to soften the former leader’s hostility towards his floundering re-election bid as Obasanjo bluntly told him that having referred to him as a “tout”, it was hypocritical for Jonathan to turn around to describe him as the best president Nigeria ever had. It would also be recalled that two months ago, presidential adviser Doyin Okupe gave Jonathan that honor. On Sunday, as he received members of the Northern Elders Council in Abuja, an angry Mr. Jonathan had in a barely-veiled description of Obasanjo, dismissed him as a statesman. "Some people call themselves statesmen but they are not, they are just ordinary politicians,” Jonathan told his guests. “To be a statesman is not because you have occupied a big office before, but the question is what are you bringing to bear? Are you building this country or are you a part of people who tell lies to destroy the country?” Upon arriving at the meeting with Obasanjo today, Jonathan tried to turn on the charm, lavishing praise on Obasanjo as he blamed the escalation of attacks on him as the work of his (Jonathan) aides. President Obasanjo apparently did not buy any of the goods Jonathan was hawking. Shortly after the encounter, he told his aides he would not change his position on Jonathan’s presidential bid. Obasanjo’s subsequent and open display of affection towards the APC leadership is reportedly sending shock waves up and down Jonathan’s camp, where it is regarded as confirmation that the conciliation efforts with Obasanjo have collapsed, leaving him in grave political danger with the election just one month away. It will be the first time a PDP candidate tried to win the presidency with Obasanjo not the candidate, or firmly on his side. SaharaReporters has also learnt that before the meeting with Buhari today in Abeokuta, the former president had written a letter to Buhari to smoothen their relationship. http://saharareporters.com/2015/01/13/olusegun-obasanjo-declares-he-now-‘abj’-anything-jonathan |
| Politics › Buhari Can’t Win Election With Cabals Surrounding Him – Gov Lamido by Dotng(op): 8:54am On Jan 13, 2015 |
Buhari can’t win election with cabals surrounding him – Gov Lamido By Demola Akinyemi Dutse—Jigawa State Governor of Sule Lamido has said that the cabals surrounding the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammad Buhari would not allow him win next month’s general elections in the country. Lamido said that the ‘’cabals are capitalizing on Buhari’s so call popularity to seek elective positions,’’ saying, however, that ‘’Buhari cannot get the mandate of Nigerians’’ at the polls. The governor spoke while addressing a large crowd of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, supporters in Magatari town in the state during a political rally in the area, Sunday, “Frankly, even my party, the PDP has agreed that General Buhari is an incorruptible person but those sounding him are selfish, they are misleading him on the present realities in the country,’’ he said. Describing the “cabals as dangerous elements,’’ Lamido said that those deceiving Buhari were the former members of the PDP who dumped the party and moved closer to Buhari. “These cabals seeking elective positions are betrayers. They betrayed PDP; the party which made them what they are today. They will also betray Buhari as soon as they get what they want, just as they are calling PDP all sorts of names and regard Buhari like god now. They will turn their back on him soon,’’ he noted He however, assured that the PDP would reclaim all the states it lost due to the defection of some of its former members. The governor then charged the people of the state not to allow themselves to be lured by desperate power seekers during the February general elections but to vote for the PDP, stressing that Jigawa was historically a PDP state. “Maigatari town has been existing for the past 1000 years but there was no good roads, clean water supply, good schools, and medical care until when this administration emerged in 2007,’’ he pointed out and assured that more would be done if they gave their mandate to PDP. In his remarks, PDP state governorship candidate, Malam Aminu Ibrahim said they were in Maigatari town to express their appreciation over the people’s cooperation and support for the PDP government in the state and how they leave in peace despite their strategic location as a border town with Niger Republic. The Senator representing Jigawa North West Zone, Danaladi Adamu Sankara donated 20 motor cycles to the state PDP on the occasion. http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/buhari-cant-win-election-cabals-surrounding-gov-lamido/ |
| Politics › President Jonathan Lied: Record Shows Nigeria’s Arms Purchase By Buhari/jonathan by Dotng(op): 3:52pm On Jan 12, 2015 |
President Jonathan lied: Record shows Nigeria’s arms purchase by Buhari/Jonathan President Goodluck Jonathan at the flag-off of his re-election rally in Lagos on Thursday challenged his opponent and presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammdau Buhari, to explain to Nigerians how he spent his Defence budget while he served as the nation’s Head of State. He alleged that not a single rifle was purchased by Buhari. “He did not buy a single rifle”, he announced, referring to Gen Buhari while he served as a military Head State, lamenting that Nigeria “had great soldiers but who had no arms”. “Ask him, when he was the head of government, did he buy one rifle for the Nigerian military? They refused to equip the military. Ask them what they did with their defence budget that they did not equip the military. Scroll down for video… However, database record obtained from the Stockholm International Peace Institute indicates that the quantity of military hardware purchased during Buhari’s tenure triples that of Jonathan. Also, another source, photius.com said “During 1983-87, Nigeria imported military materials valued at US$1.5 billion from about ten major suppliers–more than any other African state.” To further expose the president, the document obtained from the website of the institute shows that the country purchased more arms and ammunition in the regime of General Muhammadu Buhari than all the other governments put together. Below is a screen shot of the document: http://africanspotlight.com/2015/01/10/president-jonathan-lied-record-shows-nigerias-arms-purchase-buharijonathan/
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| Politics › Re: Prof. Sonaiya, The Only Female Presidential Aspirant In The 2015 Election [PICS] by Dotng: 8:24pm On Jan 09, 2015 |
I know her and I know that she is committed to whatever she puts herself into. She has the sincerity of heart to put the interest of the Nation first. What she lacks is the funding to give her visibility across nation. She doesn't have the baggage that the other politicians have and would represent a clean break from our sordid past. For those that think she is a green horn in politics, I would have you know that what we need is not politics but good governance which she has the capacity to deliver. Fashola's achievement did not come about because he was a seasoned politician, far from it, it came about because of his commitment to good governance. Most of our seasoned politicians are the ones who have mortgaged the future of this nation. The ones who have made significant contribution to Nigeria are the selfless ones who have put the nation first. Let us give our support to Professor Oluremi Sonaiya. 2 Likes |
| Politics › Oluremi Sonaiya: An Amazon In Nigeria's Political Jungle by Dotng(op): 8:50am On Jan 09, 2015 |
Oluremi Sonaiya: An Amazon In Nigeria's Political Jungle | Radio France Internationale Oluremi Sonaiya is the only woman in the race to become the next president of Nigeria. Undeterred by the competition, including incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan and former military leader Muhammadu Buhari, Sonaiya is running for the grassroots Kowa Party. BY ROSIE COLLYERJAN 06, 2015 Political success in Nigeria has so far depended on having a wealthy sponsor, or 'godfather' as they are commonly known. One billion euros was pledged by millionaire businessmen for incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan's re-election bid during a fund-raising evening on the 24th December, 2014. By comparison, US President Barrack Obama's 2012 election campaign cost just under one billion euros. Nigeria's largest opposition party, the All Progressives' Congress has several dollar millionaires within its ranks, including Rivers' State governor Rotimi Amaechi, Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, and Bola Tinubu, governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007. While the APC's presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, is asking for donations from ordinary Nigerians, the 71 year-old three-time presidential hopeful has also recently accepted a 3 million dollar donation from a consortium of businessmen, known as Ohanaeze Ndigbo. By contrast, Oluremi Sonaiya is calling for an end to "wasteful" and "extravagant" presidential campaigns. For her, the presidency of Nigeria is not the preserve of the rich and powerful who have godfathers. RC: Your presidential campaign can be compared to the fight between David and Goliath. How do you plan to beat the incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan? OS: I find it interesting that several people have been comparing my foray into this arena to the fight between David and Goliath. I am hoping that all those who have been making this comparison actually turn out to be prophets. Because we all know that David did win the victory over Goliath. But what I am hoping to do first and foremost is to make a point that the leadership of Nigeria, is not the preserve of the rich and powerful, or of those who have Godfathers, international interests, or whatever promoting them. I wish to make the point to everybody that ordinary people me have as much of a stake in this nation as anybody else. And we must reclaim the political arena from those who seem to believe that it is there own turf alone, and that others should be excluded. I am hoping that Nigerians will be able to intensify with that. After all, what have Nigerians experienced by suffering at the hands of those who have ruled us for the past so many years. If that message does not resonate with Nigerians, and if they are unwilling to support a campaign like mine, then maybe we deserve all the suffering we are going through. RC: You are running on the Kowa Party ticket. What does Kowa mean? And what does the Kowa Party stand for? OS: It so happens that it's a word that can mean something in several of our Nigerian languages. So for example in Hausa, Kowa means everybody. So we say everybody can be a member. You are not excluded in anyway from seeking to be a member of the party. In the Igbo language, Kowa would mean explain; show us; elucidate; make it clear. And in that sense we would say Kowa would stand for openness, transparency. In Yoruba, which is my own language, Kowa could mean let it come. So we say let the good life that Nigerians have been yearning for, let it come to them. However, I don't want this to be seen as it's always the three big languages; Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba that are constantly being made illusion to. How about the other languages? I put this question to people on the social media, and somebody replied saying that in his own language Kowa would mean eat it all. And I thought eh-o that is not a very positive thing. I then thought that we would say Kowa would stand for against politicians who eat everything up, not leaving much for the rest of the people. It is clear that we stand for fairness, for equal opportunities for everybody; children, women. We do not accept that politicians would spend the resources of the nation in a selfish self-seeking manner. We have been told over and over again for instance that eighty percent of our resources is probably consumed by the political class. A very bleak future if we continue along the path that we have been treading in the past two of three decades. RC: Does a grass roots movement such as Kowa have the money seemingly needed to field a winning presidential candidate? OS:In fact I deliberately do not want to emphasise money in my campaign, because I believe to a great deal that money has been the undoing of Nigeria. People have stolen money. People have used money irresponsibly. I do not want to have the kind of campaign that Nigerians have been used to over the years: a campaign that is wasteful, that is extravagant. Where it does not seem to matter just how much money you throw at people. We cannot where maybe 70 percent of our people live on the poverty level or below the poverty level having, as we are told, less than two dollars a day to live on, and have politicians be insensitive to all of that. Our president was able to raise over 21 billion naira, over two billion dollars (USD) For goodness sake, to spend all that money in a country where there is so much poverty, where electricity is such an unstable reality for most of us, and where the infrastructure is terrible decayed. I feel it is irresponsible and insensitive. So I am not looking for that kind of money. I believe I will run a campaign at the level of ideas, and not at the level of money. Oluremi Sonaiya Radio France Internationale RC: The Kowa Party has a wider following in the north of Nigeria than in the south, where you are from and live today. What has Kowa done to convince voters in regions of the north during previous elections? OS: I think that the greater following Kowa Party has in the northern part of the country, is because among the founding members of the party are several people from the north. That should explain why there is a greater followership and membership in the northern part ofNigeria. RC: If you become the next president of Nigeria Oluremi Sonaiya, what will you do to bring an end to the islamic insurgency that has killed thousands of people since 2009? OS: I believe that the perception of the people of their leader is a very vital element in leadership. I believe if people do not fully trust their leaders, it is difficult for them to cooperate with them. I think that when a leader is trusted, and when a leader gives the right kind of example to the people there may be more cooperation. I'm saying this in terms of the gathering of intelligence concerning the insurgency that we have been experiencing. I believe that more people would be willing cooperate, because intelligence is crucial, in the fighting of the Islamic militants. Because I think that a trusted leader will be able to achieve a great deal more. But of course we know that Islamic insurgency is a problem around the world: ISIS, Al Qaeda, Taliban, Al Shabab and so on. And there must be cooperation with other countries, with international agencies in fighting this terror that has been unleashed upon the world, and upon Nigeria in the case of Boko Haram in particular. Follow Rosie Collyer on Twitter @roamingreporter http://saharareporters.com/2015/01/06/oluremi-sonaiya-amazon-nigerias-political-jungle-radio-france-internationale
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