₦airaland Forum

President-elect General Muhammadu Buhari has hit the road again rooting for governorship and state assembly candidates of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The elections hold Saturday and Gen Buhari yesterday appealed to the electorate in Lagos and Imo states to vote for Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and Rochas Okorocha respectively.

Today Buhari will hold town hall meetings in Gombe, Adamawa and Bauchi states. He will meet with religious leaders, traditional rulers, youths, businessmen and women, pressure groups, among other stakeholders.

He will also visit other states considered to be battle grounds for the governorship election. The states include Rivers, Nasarawa, Abia, Delta and likely Benue.

The campaigns end mid night on Thursday, but there was little indication last night that President Goodluck Jonathan, whom Buhari defeated 11 days ago, was canvassing support for PDP candidates.

Jonathan’s spokesman, Reuben Abati and the president’s aide on public affairs, Doyin Okupe, neither answered phone calls made to them nor replied to a text message on the issue.

http://saharareporters.com/2015/04/08/buhari-campaigns-apc-guber-candidates


Leadership by example!!!

President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed his “deep” sadness over the death of his special adviser on research, documentation and strategy, Oronto Douglas.

Douglas died in the early hours of Thursday after battling cancer for eight years.

In a statement by Reuben Abati, presidential spokesman, he said the president “extends his heartfelt condolences to the Douglas family and the government and people of Bayelsa State on the death of one of their most distinguished sons who served his country, state and the Niger Delta region, passionately and diligently, during his very impactful years on earth”.

Jonathan said Douglas, who was his personal aide for close to a decade, “will always remember him for his passion for work, excellence, inspiring creativity and outstanding commitment to his duties”.

Abati said: “The President remains thankful to God Almighty for the brilliance and resourcefulness that Oronto brought to bear on every assignment as a loyal and dutiful aide during his tenure as Governor of Bayelsa State and as Vice President, Acting President and President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“President Jonathan believes that Oronto will remain a shining and worthy example for every young Nigerian who seeks a life of service and achievement.

“He prays that Almighty God will grant Oronto’s soul eternal rest, and the Douglas family and everyone who knew him, the fortitude to bear the pain of his death.”


http://www.thecable.ng/jonathan-deeply-saddened-douglas-death

Taiwo Lakanu, the commissioner of police in Ekiti state, has been redeployed after he reportedly connived with thugs affiliated with Governor Ayodele Fayose to attack 19 state legislators who were on their way to the legislative assembly to begin impeachment proceedings against the governor.

Our police source disclosed that Mr. Lakanu personally selected some rogue policemen led by one divisional police officer (DPO) on Mr. Fayose’s payroll to carry out the assignment of escorting the lawmakers to the state legislature to commence the process of impeachment.

However, the state commissioner of police also made covert plans with a controversial army officer in the state, Brigadier-General Aliyu Momoh, to ambush the lawmakers at an army checkpoint in the town of Itawure. Our sources said that, as soon as the 19 lawmakers arrived at the army checkpoint, General Momoh had them arrested and detained. General Momoh was the officer implicated in a scandal captured on an audiotape in which several PDP officials, including then Minister of State Musiliu Obanikoro and Minister of police Affairs Jelili Adesiyan, ordered the officer to unleash troops on supporters of then Governor Kayode Fayemi who was squaring off with Mr. Fayose in a governorship election.

Shortly after General Momoh’s detention of the Ekiti legislators, a group of thugs reportedly hired by Governor Fayose arrived at the scene and began assaulting the lawmakers. Our sources said the legislators managed to scamper into their vehicles and flee to Osun State, escaping what could have been a brutal attack by Mr. Fayose’s thugs.

SaharaReporters learnt that the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, this evening ordered Mr. Lakanu relieved of his job after he investigated a petition detailing the connivance of the state commissioner of police with Governor Fayose.

http://saharareporters.com/2015/04/08/ekiti-commissioner-police-redeployed-over-fayose%E2%80%99s-impeachment-drama

Bro Shahydbinaliyu,

Is Prophet Mohammed a Sunni or a Shia?

Data on all passengers leaving the UK is to be collected and handed to the Home Office under a scheme being phased in at ports and border crossings. Transport staff will record details of all travellers leaving by commercial air, sea and rail transport.

The exit checks will particularly affect travellers on cross-channel ferries and the Channel Tunnel.
The government said they were needed to combat illegal immigration and would cause the "least possible disruption".
For the first month all passports will be scanned but only 25% of the passport holders will have their details verified to ensure they are genuine, in a bid to minimise disruption.

After a month, there will be a move to 50% verification and by the middle of June 100% verification will be introduced.
Data will be collected on all passengers as they leave the UK on scheduled commercial international air, sea and rail routes.
The government says exit checks are "predominately an immigration and data tool", giving a "comprehensive picture" of whether people leave the UK when they are supposed to.

It says the data - gathered by airline, rail or ferry operator staff - will "improve our ability to identify and further tighten the immigration routes and visas that are most vulnerable to abuse". It will also help security services "track the movements of known or suspected criminals and terrorists". John Keefe, director of Public Affairs for Eurotunnel UK, which manages and operates the Channel Tunnel, said "an awful lot" had been done to prepare for the change over the past two years since the government announced the plan.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme some £2.5m had been spent on measures including refurbishing its terminal and opening new buildings to make coach halls and control points, and that 50 new staff had been recruited.

Asked what the effect on passengers was likely to be, he said: "No, they shouldn't expect longer queues. The investments we have made have been specifically made in the interests of customer service."
A spokesman for P&O Ferries said the company was "hoping for a fairly seamless transition to the new system".
"They have picked a quiet day for the introduction of the checks. The actual scanning of passports is quick, it's the verification that takes longer," he said.

'Vital information'

John Vine, former independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, said the measure would help provide useful information.
He told BBC Breakfast: "It will enable the government, for the first time in a long time, to have an idea of who's left in Britain, because up until recently it's not been possible for the government to know who's overstayed their visa and who's remained in the country, and they've not known who's here and who's left."

Immigration minister James Brokenshire said: "Exit checks will provide us with vital information that confirms a person's exit from the UK.
"Port and travel operators are experts in their business and know their customers best, which is why we've supported them to design and trial the systems for collecting data in a way that will minimise the impact on customers."
The new rules were brought in under the Immigration Act 2014.
The Advance Passenger Information system, introduced in 2004, gives the government information on passengers flying in and out of the UK - and exit checks mean information will now be gathered on people leaving by any commercial transport.
People arriving in the UK remain subject to passport checks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32205970

His or her name will be Abiona

I guess Jonathan became a president for such a time as this - assist in making our democracy more stable, one good thing he will be remembered for as an elder stateman...

APC organised a well-thought out campaign.

A big well done to them - Fayemi, Amaechi, Okorocha and other progressives.


I was here - 17.56hrs 31 March 2015


#Feedthenation

Delta State with 1.2m votes...the real results will be known at the governorship election next weekend.

Have the 'mad man' been escorted from the hall yet?

Mr Orurebe is just being silly like a billy goat.

He's trying to finish the unfinished business PDP couldn't finish at the polls.

Whether he or other PDP touts like it or not, the election results will be announced and the wiiner will be known today.

Prof Jega, must have been through a lot over the past few months i give him maximum respect.

Sadly, I think the Igbos have been shortchanged when they align their regional party APGA with PDP. Slowly they have effectively killed any change of having any national prominence. How many states did APGA win in 2011, only one.
Unlike ACN that won in 5 states in 2011 and a number of seats in both the Senate and HOR. For the Igbos to be taken seriously, they need to have a very strong regional party, which unfortunately is not there at the moment.

PDP turned from being a national party to a regional party in the SE and SS

The next Senate President

I guess the results for Bayelsa will be released after some transformation of the results.

Imagine, the smallest state in the federation yet to release its results whilst bigger states have done theirs sharpish.

A very good nollywood script by our President Jonathan as the film director.

Why all these on the eve of an election to score extra votes...very shameful indeed.

Forty-two processed and semi-processed food products of Nigeria origin exported to the United Kingdom were rejected between January and December in 2014, investigations have shown.
This is 24 higher than the 18 processed and semi-processed food items that were rejected by the UK authorities within the same period in 2013.
According to statistics obtained from the European Union Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, the affected food products include brown beans, melon seeds, honey beans, white beans and watermelon seeds.
Others are sweet potato, cashew kernels, nutmeg, snails, soft drinks and sesame seeds.
The data showed that more contaminated and substandard food products from Nigeria were discovered in other European Union countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Norway, Spain, Ireland and Italy.
The EURASFF stated that rejected products did not meet the prescribed regulations and quality standards specified by the receiving countries.
According to the agency, foreign agents discovered after analyses were not limited to rodent excrements and dead insects, but also included chemical contaminants like aluminium phosphide and dichlorvos, which are carcinogenic.
High levels of chemicals used in fumigation coupled with bacteria, fungi and mould growth were also discovered in some of the products.
It added that some melon seeds and honey beans were rejected due to illegal importation into the UK, while some were destroyed because of the absence of health certificates, certified analytic reports, common entry documents and poor state of preservation.
In 2014, 23 food commodities from Nigeria to the UK were destroyed, 11 were re-dispatched, one was recalled from consumers and another one was subjected to official detention.
Due to repeated rejections and alert notifications received on food products from the country, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has been mandated to certify packaged, semi-processed and processed food commodities for export.
The Director-General, NAFDAC, Mr. Paul Orhili, was reported to have said that many exporters had their products rejected and destroyed due to non-compliance with regulatory requirements for processed and semi-processed commodities.
He added that insufficient technical and non-scientific competence of some stakeholders on good agricultural practices and non-compliance with import requirements were other reasons for the rejection of the produce.
At an export sensitisation forum recently, the Deputy Director, Ports Inspection Directorate, NAFDAC, Mrs. Comfort Makanjuola, emphasised the need for laboratory analyses of all processed and semi-processed food commodities before export.
She explained that obtaining export certification for such product had no cost implication, adding that when the wrong type and quantity of pesticide were used, food products would be contaminated.
Makanjuola added that the agency often detected excess quantities of the chemicals during laboratory analyses.

http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/uk-rejects-42-nigerian-food-products/

Why are other parties not involved in the peace-pact session?

We should not kill ourselves over election matters, these guys are well sorted.

The Director General of Governor President Good Luck Jonathan campaign council in Bauchi South Alhaji Mai’auduga has explained that over N230mn campaign funds from the presidency meant to support Bauchi Peoples Democratic Party PDP campaigns is yet to reach the campaigns Organisation. Mai’ auduga Who is also the Director General of Governor Yuguda campaign Organisation stated this yesterday while interacting with newsmen in Bauchi. He said:” The State Campaign council had already setup a committee headed by Governor Isa Yuguda to find the missing funds and whoever is guilty of the dubious act of diverting the missing funds will face the disciplinary action by the Party” ” The money was released to the State campaign council in two batches, one N80 million and N150million .They were diverted by prominent persons in the party and we requested the Governor to investigate and find the missing funds” On the feud and Political rivalry between Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed and his former boss, Yuguda, Mai Auduga said they have already reconciled their differences which is in the best interest of the State and Country . Mai’Auduga said the Minister had apologized to G Yuguda whom he described as his mentor, pointing out that it was Yuguda who made him who he is today. He said the Minister had already collapsed all his campaigns structures in to the state campaign council and contributed a lot to the PDP campaign organisation for the success of all the PDP candidates. Director General said President Good luck Jonathan’s visit to Bauchi last Monday had diminished fears that other political parties could defeat PDP in the North East region. He said : “The visit is one of the President’s most successful trips to Bauchi State. The difference is now very clear and the question of opposition or or whatever existing sentiment has already diminished” ” I am very confident that we can deliver Bauchi to the president. The President visited the state and went home very happy with the development projects he commissioned like Airport and 400 bed Specialist Hospital” Alhaji Bala said Jonathan was happy and confident that Bauchi people did not hate him and will vote for him. He thanked President Jonathan for all his support, Prominent PDP Stake Holders, the Deputy Senate Leader Abdul Ahmed Ningi who used their wealth of experience and wisdom in reconciling the Governor and the Minister.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/03/230million-bauchi-pdp-campaign-funds-missing-maiauduga/



Now we know where some of the missing funds are going to.

http://www.okayafrica.com/news/lauryn-hill-nigeria-concert-show/

Lauryn Hill has announced that she’ll be heading to Lagos on May 1 to perform her first ever Nigerian concert as part of May Day Live. The show, which will take place at the Eko Hotels & Suites, will feature Ms. Hill alongside a 20-man band and “other top local and international acts” that are as of yet unconfirmed, AllAfrica reports.

This wont be the singer’s first time performing in Africa, as she recently held her first ever show in Ghana and has previously played in South Africa for Cape Town Jazz Festival, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Senegal. At her Accra concert last year, Ms. Hill ran through her Miseducation staples and live renditions of Fugees classics, tunes which you can expect to hear at her upcoming Lagos date. See the confirmation of the show from Lauryn Hill’s official twitter account and watch fan footage from the singer’s recent Ghanaian concert below.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kUzNAf7a_w

No politician or political party can ever take Nigerians for granted again after this election.

In the past months APC have formed a formidable opposition to PDP, keeping PDP on their toes.

Even if PDP wins the presidential election, it won't be business as usual because APC will definetely be in control of either the Senate or House of Representative. Also, APC will take more states this time around making it possible for the disbandment of the useless Governors Forum.



*By the way where is Governor Godswill Akpabio, he has been quiet lately and hardly seen on the PDP campaign rallies?

XketchDesigns:
it is all making sense now, never was it about nigerian army being under-equipped. i mean compare the arms of this chadian soldiers, its not anything different from what you will find in the armory of nigerian army. They dont use their airforce, its just the normal advancement of troops. Our army cannot deal with the crises, its that simple. man know man has really eating up our army, they dont have the zeal and passion.

GEJ had to do something real drastic, so he paid the chadians to do the war! something we can do ourselves, if only we hired the right people to do the job. same thing is happening in politics.

Bros...you have spoken rightly...

The Chadians & Nigeriens only used conventional troops to fight Boko Haram within a short period, why can't NA defeat the terriorists is beyond belief.

GEJ & PDP knows more about Boko Haram.

By Monday next week - to be precise - the son of canoe-carver-born former university teacher would have bitten the dust. Results of the presidential election would have humbled him. It would be the heaviest political fall from grace to grass where he was wrath primitively on the luckless nation. If he wins by default, through deceitful manipulation of the poll or announce himself as the winner of the election, he would have succeeded in manipulating Nigeria out of herself, in the same token.
The relief of President Goodluck Ebele "Azikiwe" Jonathan's exit from the nation's top job would be profound in many ways. If he loses, it would mean that the nation's participatory democracy has attained some appreciable level of liberal maturation. It will explain that the country's democratic experiment has taken the will of the electorate into account. It will also give credence to the fact that the era of deploying dollars to buy people's votes is over. It would again means that no criminally corrupt government as Mr Jonathan will ever force itself on the nation, indefinitely.
However, there are no indications Mr Jonathan wouldn't be tempted to use the military to its ultimate destruction, given the thickheaded and irresponsible egoism of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, with their politics of cattle trading where national interest is utterly subordinated. This still cannot deters a people's resolve that the highest and truest expression of human spirit lies in the volition to determine their existence. It could come by blood and iron.
Another issue is the deceptive propaganda which sullen whatever reputation Mr President has mustered. The president expects Nigerians to watch the minimal dents his Administration made on airports renovations, road rehabilitation in televised advertorials in a country where power stability is less than an hour per day after trillions of Naira was looted in the name of power generation! He even swore to go on self exile if he failed to complete the Second Niger Bridge by 2015.
It's now the butt of joke on 'Instant Media' and elsewhere, where the president's minders regularly ask those against him to go and hug transformer. The responses of those against the president now come with pictures of young boys and girls hugging transformer with the saying, "I been hugging this transformer in the last twenty hours without electricity". That is how deep in the abyss of national wreckage the nation has sunk.
We are in this horrible state because from the beginning, Mr Jonathan has confused himself with the role propaganda can play in modern days society. He seems to believe propaganda creates leaders! Such terrible assumption has robbed him of the earlier empathy which was wrongly ascribed to him by Nigerians who were deceived by the merest of his simple appearance, but coated in slyness, spinelessness, infinite shrewdness, serpentine slush and gross deception.
In 2013, before Jonathan finally submerged into morbid corruption, a catalogue of President Jonathan graft was submitted to the United States Congress by the Secretary of State, John Kerry which stated categorically that Mr Jonathan Administration levitates corruption beyond what is humanly acceptable, even in stone age. The document titled: "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012" was prepared by the Department of State using information from US embassies and consulates abroad, foreign government officials, non-governmental and international organisations, and published reports.
In the report under the chapter on Nigeria in Section 4, which deals with "Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government," states: "Massive, widespread, and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government and the security forces." Noting that though Nigerian law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, the report said, "government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity."
The judiciary was not left out: "There was a widespread perception judges were easily bribed and litigants could not rely on the courts to render impartial judgments. Citizens encountered long delays and alleged requests from judicial officials for bribes to expedite cases or obtain favorable rulings".
The report further stated: "On April 18, a House of Representatives Committee led by Representative Farouk Lawan and charged with investigating the fuel subsidy programme from 2009 to 2011 released a report showing massive fraud, corruption, and inefficiencies in the operation of the program. The report alleged misappropriation of nearly half the subsidy funds, with poor or nonexistent oversight by government agencies.
"The report estimated government money lost to “endemic corruption and entrenched inefficiency” amounted to 1.067 trillion naira ($6.8 billion). The committee recommended reform of the oversight and enforcement mechanisms and further endorsed investigation and prosecution of culpable officials." It further stated: 'In July the government released a list of those who had benefited illegally from the subsidy programme, which included relatives and colleagues of key government officials. In late July the EFCC began arraigning suspects, first with a group of 20 indictments, including six oil companies and 11 individuals.
"By year’s end the EFCC initiated prosecutions of approximately 50 cases related to the subsidy scam. The majority of these cases involved companies and individuals who had fraudulently received subsidy revenue. Investigations and trials had not produced any convictions by year’s end." It also recalled the twists in the subsidy probe, noting that in June (2012) "allegations and a video surfaced, allegedly showing Lawan accepting a 94.2 million naira ($605,000) bribe from entrepreneur Femi Otedola, who had advised Lawan on the investigation but whose company had not received fuel subsidy payments."
The report stated: "After Lawan solicited the bribe from Otedola, the latter approached the SSS to record the hand-off as part of a “sting” operation. The attorney-general referred the case to the police for further investigation. The allegations initially overshadowed the committee’s findings, but the EFCC continued with investigations at year’s end." It also cited the stealing of 32.8 billion naira ($210 million) Police Pension Fund, which led to the arraignment of six suspects including a director at the Police Pension Office, Atiku Abubakar Kigo, who later rose to become permanent secretary in the Ministry of the Niger Delta, and the criminal charges against former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, for laundering close to five billion naira ($32 million) of funds belonging to state.
Noting that the charges were instituted on February 24, 2012, the report said the court adjourned the trial until January 2013. Other corruption cases cited in the reports were the arrest of former minister of Works and Housing, Hassan Lawal, for 24 counts of fraudulently awarding contracts, money laundering, and embezzlement of 75 billion naira ($480 million); arrest of Mr. Dimeji Bankole, former speaker of the House of Representatives, and Deputy Speaker Usman Nafada for the alleged misappropriation of one billion naira ($6.4 million) and 40 billion naira ($256 million) respectively; arrest of former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, former Oyo State Governor, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, former Nasarawa State Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Akwe Doma, and former Gombe State Governor, Muhammed Danjuma Goje.
"The four (governors) allegedly misappropriated or stole 58 billion naira ($372 million), 25 billion naira ($160 million), 18 billion naira ($115 million), and 12.8 billion naira ($82 million), respectively. Their trials began in December 2011 and continued at year’s end", the report noted. It also cited the guilty plea entered by former Delta State Governor James Ibori in the Southwark Crown Court in London to charges of money laundering and other financial crimes totalling 12.4 billion naira ($79 million) he had committed during his eight years in office.
The report shrilled further: "Soon after the court announced Ibori’s conviction, the EFCC issued a statement it intended to pursue a case against Ibori in Nigerian courts." On the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), signed into law in May 2011, which allows any person to request information from a government office, the report said "Civil society groups continued to introduce an increasing number of cases at the national and state level to test the FOIA during the year. Despite the number of cases introduced, there was only one reported successful prosecution during the year."
The report also contained the controversy over declaration of assets by Nigerian public officials noting statutory provisions that provide that, "Public officials, including the president, vice president, governors, deputy governors, cabinet ministers, and legislators (at both federal and state levels), must comply with financial disclosure laws, including the requirement to declare their assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) before assuming and after leaving office. Violators risked prosecution, but cases rarely came to conclusion." In conclusion, the report: "In June the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and other groups demanded President Jonathan disclose his assets from 2007 to 2012. On June 24, the president refused the request.”
Nigerians can now know where Mr Jonathan is coming from and the composite ruin his Administration visited on the people. Any gain saying it's unknown to him that corruption is the greatest problem confronting the powerfully endowed nation and that frontally combating the hydra-headed monster is the CHANGE Nigerians need? How else can Nigerians celebrate themselves than Jonathan's rustication? It will be a celebration of an end to his tartuffery government and hollow platitudes.
Erasmus, A Public Affairs Analyst writes in from Lagos, Nigeria.

http://saharareporters.com/2015/03/24/celebration-jonathans-exit-erasmus-ikhide

Even Mopol too dey hail the Peoples' General...

GMB

No victor, no vanquish....

MadCow1:
The answer is; Yes they do..

What you should bare in mind is that apart from just checking who comes into the country, their primary job is border security.

I remember landing in Pearson International on a return flight from the US and for what er reason I was pointed in the direction of extra search which was shocking. They proceeded to go through my bags, opened my 2 laptops and scroll through them after which they scanned them. Then opened my 3 mobile phones and search through them. From my messages to pictures to name it.

Then came the flurry of questions. Why do you have 3 phones? Why do you have 2 laptops? How much do you make in a year? Do you have a criminal history? It didn't matter that I only left Toronto for Houston less than 8 days ago. I ended up paying a fine of 700 Dollars for not declaring that I bought some clothes for myself in the US. Lol.

Remember the Paris shooting? The lady came across the border (airport) a few days just for the attack and fled via a land border afterwards.

It is necessary to answer every question as truthfully as possible and fill out the immigrations form correctly.


The one experience I had that made me sad was on a flight from same Pearson Airport in Toronto to Port Harcourt. I had cleared all pre boarding security passes and eentered the duty free area and had just finished shopping and was waiting calmly for my flight to be announced when I heard the check in counter call my name. When I approached, there were 3 security guys behind the counter who pulled me to a corner and started searching me and my hand luggage right there at the side of the check in counter in full view of all passengers.. I have never felt that bad in my life. Everyone was jjust looking as I was subjected to this special search. When they were done, I asked them why me and what prompted this and they said I was RANDOMLY selected for extra screening. When they finally finished, I was left to rearrange my hand luggage and then they left. I went straight to the toilet and wept bitterly.


Don't mess with foreign immigrations o! One false information and you are in trouble. A lady on a flight to Paris to meet with her husband was deported for having a credit card with someone else's name in her possession. She was answering their questions in a funny way that they just deported her after seizing the card.

I can fully understand your ordeal.

Similar scenario have happened to me thrice, firstly at O'Hare Int'l Airport, Chicago, secondly at Bush International, Houston and third time at Vienna Austria.
On both ocassions in US, my offence was that I'm single and I fit the profile of a 'would-be terrorist' going by my name and nationality.
After searching all my belongings and been asked every question under the sun - despite working for a US company then, Ford Motor Company.

Silly questions like who paid for my MSc course in UK, how did I pay for my ticket, why did I choose the seat number on the plane, do I know the name of the passenger who sat next to me etc.

The third case was the most painful, as I was singled out from my work colleagues and again subjected to barrage of unnecessary questions.

All in all, I do believe every nation have the right to be security conscious like the US and Austria in the examples I gave, unfortunately the Nigerian Immigration Service is so unless that they hardly do anything to protect our international airports - they are more into them asking you to bless the table and using schemes to extort money from you.

Back to scenario mentioned by the OP, his/her friend is very 'economical' with the truth and UKBA have every right within the law to reject him passage into the UK.
We have to be honest and confidence in answering any questions posed to us by any immigration personnel - give short and straight to the point answers - don't tell too much stories.

Nigeria's more than 70 million voters will soon go to the polls to choose their country's leader for the next four years. Whether the victor is incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan or opposition challenger Muhammadu Buhari is entirely for Nigerians to decide. Around the globe, Nigeria's friends will be united in hoping that the vote will be peaceful, transparent, and fair and that - win or lose - all sides will respect the outcome.

There are good reasons why the international spotlight is firmly fixed on Nigeria during this critical period and why we have come together to support an open and credible electoral process. Nigeria is Africa's largest democracy and what happens there will have an impact well beyond its borders. A successful election, free from violence and with wide participation, accurate vote counting, and responsible leadership from the candidates would inspire the region and spur future progress and prosperity. It would also be a historic show of support by Nigerians for democratic values and an equally firm rejection of the brutal terrorist group, Boko Haram, and others who advocate or perpetrate violence.

As friends and democratic partners of Nigeria, we urge that the voting for president and parliament go forward as scheduled on March 28; there should be no further delay of this crucial vote. We are heartened by the fact that Nigerians from across the political spectrum appear to recognize the necessity of inaugurating a new president by the constitutionally mandated deadline of May 29.

Obviously, we share Nigerians' concerns about violence, both related to elections and more generally. In 2011, more than 800 people died in post-election clashes, and a recent survey shows that half of Nigerians are concerned about political intimidation this time around. The good news is that President Jonathan and General Buhari have repeatedly and publicly stressed their commitment to nonviolence before, during, and after Election Day. Both candidates have affirmed their intent to act solely through legal channels in pursuing any concerns that might arise regarding the fairness of the vote. It is imperative that they - and their backers - live up to this pledge. Elections should be decided at the ballot box and, if necessary, in the courts; not through efforts to coerce others. Respect for the constitutional process and the independence of Nigeria's Independent National Election Commission, INEC, is the right approach, and the only one that offers a sustainable way to address Nigeria's many challenges.

The countries we represent, the United States and the United Kingdom, strongly support the pledges articulated by the Nigerian candidates. The elections must be decided in accordance with the rule of law. It follows that any person who incites violence at any stage in the electoral process, or who seeks power through unconstitutional means, should be held accountable and should understand that the consequences will be severe, both domestically and internationally.

After an election, it is natural to focus attention on the winner, but in any democracy, the unsuccessful candidates also have critical roles to play. No one expects any political leader to retreat from firmly-held policy positions or beliefs, but a losing candidate owes it to his or her country to acknowledge defeat as soon as the popular verdict is clear, to urge supporters to accept the outcome, and to advocate unity in the face of national threats. That is the kind of leadership Nigeria needs.

A free, fair and peaceful presidential election does not guarantee a successful democracy, but it is nevertheless an essential ingredient - especially now in Nigeria. This is a country rich in resources and blessed by a creative and dynamic population. Its leaders can be extremely effective as evidenced by their swift action to prevent Ebola from establishing a foothold in their nation - thus saving thousands of lives. Overall economic growth rates are healthy and parts of the country are doing well. And yet, Nigeria has been held back by local tensions, a wide disparity between rich and poor, the lack of an adequate safety net for the disadvantaged, shortages of electricity, a rigid bureaucracy, and widespread corruption. These challenges have made the country vulnerable to internal conflict including the kidnappings, murders, and other atrocities perpetrated by Boko Haram. Nigeria's next government will need the support of all its citizens to address these challenges, and its unity will make it easier, on the security side, for regional neighbors and the larger international community to provide necessary help.

We urge all eligible Nigerians to vote, to resist those who attempt to incite violence, and to come together as one country to defend against terrorist threats and to build the shared prosperity and enduring freedom their citizens deserve.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johnkerry/global-spotlight-firm-fixed-on-nigerian-elections_b_6916188.html

I thought President Jonathan said there's no corruption in the system?

What will he do better in the next four years?

Who is to blame for all these killings US, UK, Israel, the EU or Saudi Arabia?

The Nasarawa state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday has accused former Information Minister, Labaran Maku, of fraudulently obtaining the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, ticket to contest the 2015 gubernatorial elections in the state.

Addressing a press conference at the state secretariat of the party, along Jos road Lafia, the state capital, Solomon Ewuga, Director General, Agabi Campaign Organization alleged that Mr. Maku had resorted to politics of ethnicity and religion.

Mr. Maku defected to APGA after suffering defeat from Yusuf Agabi who scored 214 votes to secure the PDP gubernatorial ticket after defeating Mr. Maku and four others in the primary election.

Mr. Ewuga urged Mr. Maku, to cease from campaigning on ethnic and religious grounds and return to PDP.

“This dimension to politics is not only divisive and sad, but it sows the seed of discord in Nasarawa state,” Mr. Ewuga said. “Sadly, he fraudulently paid to collect the ticket from his Eggon Christian brothers and goes around damaging people’s reputation and character as if they are not Christians or Eggons.”

Mr.Ewuga called on Mr. Maku to be thankful to God and grateful to the PDP for the special favour bestowed on him with almost 14 years in public service where he served as commissioner, deputy governor and a minister for six unbroken years but instead made PDP his first enemy.

He said Mr. Maku had embarked on either appealing to the Christendom for religious sympathy or his Eggon ethnic group in his blind quest for power.

The Agabi campaign DG said the reason behind Mr. Maku’s behaviour in this was because “(Mr. Maku) knows he would not win, therefore working in liaison with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to ensure that the PDP is be defeated”.

“The stories of president Johnathan and the First Lady’s support that are spurned by you (Mr. Maku) to score cheap political points will not carry you far neither do the numerous endorsements purportedly claimed by your band of travellers will add up to winning the election,” Mr. Ewuga said.


http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/178824-makus-guber-ambition-a-fraud-pdp.html