₦airaland Forum

Maxymilliano: What are you yapping about now? Is it that there was no impeachment move against the speaker by 4 members of the Ogun House of Assembly or what?

Ok, to help you here, there was an underground move to impeach the speaker, Suraj Adekumbi, there was groundswell of opinion among the lawmakers against his perceived closeness to the executive. The speaker got wind of the move and that was what brought about the suspension of the 4 members. It was a political move to save his job and reduce the opposing group to an ineffectual number to form a quorum or initiate an impeachment.

No gainsaying that there was a fracas or there was no impeachment because even from the news you quoted, Remmy Hassan was referred to as Speaker pro Tempore.



The Ogun debacle was able to be resolved within 24 hours because there was no unnecessary meddlesome from the opposition parties and the issue(s) was treated simply as a family affair. But in the case of Rivers, opposition parties trying to capitalize on the impasse were busy dishing out half-truth and sometimes outright lies on what was clearly a PDP affairs pretending to love the governor more than his party all in a bid to enjoy public sympathy.

Solution to the imbrolio will appear on the horizon if the opposition will mind their business and leave Amaechi to fight his battle, but heating up the polity with unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations just to paint the President in bad light will only complicate issues further.

The two governors of the affected States I mentioned previously were never blamed for the complete break down of law and order in their respective house of assembly but everyone knows it is the same 'voice of jacob, hands of esau'.



Nothing much will transpire in future and no goalpost will be shifted bro, Amaeachi is already aware of what'll become of him after his tenure. He is only trying to fight dirty but redemption await him once he's ready to tow the party line. Party supremacy should be paramount, and that's the lesson he's about to learn the hard way.

19 Ogun lawmakers threaten Speaker

on November 09, 2012 / in News 1:09 am / Comments


BY DAUD OLATUNJI

ABEOKUTA—Strong indication emerged yesterday that 19 out of 26 members of Ogun State House of Assembly have compiled impeachable offences of the Speaker, Suraj Adekunbi.

Vanguard reliably gathered that, 19 lawmakers were spoiling for war against the Speaker accused of highhandedness, inept- itude and autocracy, as well as failure to recognize the House Committee on Rules and Proceedings.

A member of the assembly who craved anonymity told Vanguard, the Speaker has offended some lawmakers, who according to him, formed a quorum to implement his impeachement motion anytime when it would be raised.

The source said that the Speaker was ‘excessively flirting’ with the executive and has made the legislature a rubber stamp, adding that, the Speaker‘s action was as a result of his inexperience.

Meantime, the Speaker in a bid to stop his impeachment, has reportedly begun a house-to-house lobby of the 19 lawmakers with a view to persuading them to sheathe their swords and attend the plenary session to screen the commissioner–nominees sent by the state Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

Gidaheights: There's corruption in Nigeria, there's no doubt about that but nigerians, must be cautious of these so called international organizations which does nothing but try to undermined our progress. How transparent is transparency international? These organizations are merely western political tools that targets only Africans and western enemies.

The 2012 CPI draws on 13 different surveys and assessments from 12 different institutions.[5] The institutions are the African Development Bank, the Bertelsmann Foundation, the Economist Intelligence Unit, Freedom House, Global Insight, International Institute for Management Development, Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, Political Risk Services, the World Economic Forum, the World Bank and the World Justice Project.[6]
Countries must be assessed by at least three sources to appear in the CPI.[7] The 13 surveys/assessments are either business people opinion surveys or performance assessments from a group of analysts

homesteady: You are such a funny FOOL!! Instead of you to concede defeat,you are still blabbing!!
Despite taking my time to lecture you a little bit of Logic in GST112, your dumb brain couldn't comprehend it!! You are supposed to be Garri the 1st!!
BTW, don't quote me again,if you won't say anything meaningful!!

Maxymilliano: In March 2013, The House of Assembly in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun was thrown into pandemonium, as 4 ACN members attempted an impeachment proceeding against the speaker, Suraju Adekumbi, also from same ACN for corruption and high handedness. The proceeding degenerated into a free for all with weapons of all sort used freely. The symbol of authority of the house, the mace, was broken.

Ogun Assembly crisis: Will the House be the same again?
Written by Wednesday, 20 March 2013 00:00 font size decrease font size increase font size Print Email
Rate this item 1 2 3 4 5 (0 votes)
раскрутка сайтов
AddThis Social Bookmark Button
Olayinka Olukoya reviews the crisis that erupted in the Ogun State House of Assembly recently, the intrigues and the politics. She writes:
THAT the Ogun State House of Assembly with 26-member representatives from the 20 local government areas of the state was engulfed in 24-hour “madness” is no longer news.
The fact and the question agitating the minds of political watchers in the state is whether the House which has been enjoying relative peace since inauguration in June 2011, will still be the same again.

Lawmakers in the majority, which christened itself as “Born Again 13”, opposed the decision of the Speaker, Hon. Suraj Adekumbi Ishola, suspending four members for what it described as “gross disrespect to the legislative institution”, thereby turning the hallowed chamber into pandemonium recently.

The Assembly, prior to this confusion was said to have been polarised into two. A faction was said to be loyal to the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and another to one of the national leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and former governor of the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba.
The 7th legislature is predominantly dominated by members of the ruling party and minority members from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN).
The recent event on the floor of the Assembly, brought to mind the crisis that consumed the 6th legislature during the administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel.

It will be recalled that the House then was divided into two groups the G-15 and the G-11. The 15 were those against the proposition of Daniel to obtain N500bn bond from the capital market while the 11 members were Daniel’s loyalists.
The activities of government at that time were paralysed as the lawmakers failed to settle their differences which culminated in countless abandoned projects through lack of funds. Daniel was unable to resolve the imbroglio which outlived his administration.

The case was not the same as the recent commotion did not last 24 hours.

Problem started during one of the plenary sitting of the Assembly, when the Speaker announced the composition of the House Tender’s Board Committee which will serve as a due process unit in the Assembly.
The constitution of the Committee became necessary based on the advice of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), following a petition written against Ishola over allegation of contract inflation.
Ishola during one of the sittings announced his deputy, Tola Banjo, as the chairman of the Tender’s Board Committee. The announcement generated a lot of hues and cries on the floor of the Assembly on the said day.
The composition of the committee members did not go down well with some of the members, who were of the opinion that Banjo, an ally of the Speaker, would probably not do the right thing.
Tension became heightened as some aggrieved members rejected the report of the Select Committee chaired by the Speaker as presented to the lawmakers.
The Speaker called for a voice vote to determine the number of members in support of the report and those against it.
It was gathered that the voices of those against the report of the Select Committee overwhelmed those in support, but the speaker demonstrated his “inexperience” by using veto power to back those in support.
At this point, a female lawmaker, Hon (Mrs) Adijat Adeleye-Oladapo, drew the attention of Ishola to Order 40 of the House Rule which stipulates that in the event that a voice vote does not reflect the true position of the voting patter, any lawmaker has the right to call for “division”, which means actual voting by number counting.
The atmosphere within the hallowed chamber became charged as some members were alleged to have stormed out without taking a bow. Ishola, apparently unsettled with the development adjourned sitting.
Prior to the sitting, there were news around the town that the lawmakers who failed to respect the legislative process, may likely face suspension.
The Speaker and some other leaders of the House were reportedly uncomfortable with the attitudes of some of the members, hence their decision to suspend them.
Those penciled down for suspension were Honourables Remmy Hazzan (Odogbolu), Job Akintan (Egbado South), Adijat Adeleye-Oladapo (Ifo 11), interestingly, the lawmakers were all old members of the Assembly.
But, the plan to suspend these lawmakers believed to be opposing the leadership of the House met brick wall, as the move turned into pandemonium.
The Speaker had called on the Majority Leader of the House to move a motion for the suspension of four lawmakers, that is, Hazzan, Job, Adeleye-Oladapo and John Obafemi. The affected lawmakers saw the action as rehearsal cum execution of an already prepared script.
Before the secondment of the motion, the mace which is the symbol of authority of the Assembly was snatched by the aggrieved lawmakers and subsequently broken. The hallowed chamber immediately turned into a theatre where actors and actresses act a script as Ishola hurriedly called for recess.
The G-13 lawmakers quickly reconvened, appointed Remmy Hazzan as the Speaker Tempore and reversed all the decisions reached earlier by the House under Ishola.
They (aggrevied) lawmakers also left no stone unturned by counter-suspending Ishola and three others, Banjo, Jolaoso and Olakunle Oluomo whom they accused of standing the House Rules on the head.
Thus,the lawmakers threw decorum into the wind as they engaged themselves in war of words.
Hazzan, while speaking shortly after his appointment as Speaker pro tempore said the crisis became necessary because of what it described as inept leadership and deliberate attempt to cover fraudulent activities of Ishola’s leadership.
Hazzan emphasised that there were rules guiding such and that was why the House attempted to set up the Tenders Board.
“Of course, because of the need for transparency, we requested that those in the Funds Management Committee should not be in the Tenders Board. But apparently because the leadership of the House has a lot to hide, they decided that it’s the same face in the FMC that should still be in the Tenders Board. Of course, majority of us objected; we requested that there should be actual voting, it was never allowed and the Speaker just pronounced that the “I”s have it and that was it. It was a fraud!”
He faulted the manner in which Adekunbi and his loyalists carried out the suspension of the four of them was alien to the Rules of the Ogun Assembly, alien to the Constitutions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and alien to human rights.
“The House of Assembly of Ogun state is a role model to all other House of Assembly in the country and nobody can come and paint represent,” he said further.
The Speaker tempore also accussed the executive of Ogun State of not being very straight at exposing the financial status of the state as regards its debt profile.
“But we know that it is in the region of N50 Billion and above, which is even higher than what they alleged that the former governor piled up. What we are saying is that we have re-modeled our financial instrument law such that before any loan is sought, you must first have to justify the need for the loan, the repayment plan and of course, the existing loan stock that you have such that we’ll look at the date when your tenure will lapse in a manner that will not pass a burdensome debt burden to the next administration.
“What we suspect is that they purportedly suspended us so that they will have the simple majority to do the amendments of that law to not reflect the simple majority so that with their haphazard haggard number, they can quickly go to the floor and said they support any loan that the executive requests”.
Reacting to allegations that the refusal of the executive to pay loans obtained by the lawmakers led to the division among them, Hazzan said it was a sheer attempt to call dog a bad name to be able to hang it.
“What I want every citizen of Ogun state to know is that this government is drawing us into high indebtedness and they have seen that the financial instrument law that we have passed will not allow them to get loan cheaply. They have taken so much already; N50 billion is already more than what the former governor took in 8 years, now within two years, they have taken more than that.”

[b]Apparently disturbed by the development, the govenor summoned an emergency meeting with all the lawmakers, to settle the differences so as not to have a repeat of what happened between the executive and the legislature during the immediate past administration.

At the end of the meeting held behind closed-door, Amosun and some major players in the Assembly tendered unreserved apology to the people of the state over what they described as their shameful conduct.
The governor described the resolution of the crisis as a worthy and befitting birthday gift to the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo,whose 26th posthumous birthday was held on March 6.

“I want to apologise on behalf of the House of Assembly, the good people of Ogun and to all lovers of democracy. This is Ogun State, the home of Awolowo, Obasanjo, Soyinka and other giants who have labored selflessly to make us what we are.
On his part Hazzan said: “We have offended the entire citizenry of Ogun State, but, sometimes you cannot completely rule out such when there are issues and it is going beyond what temper can handle.

“But of course, we have risen far above that; thank God, it is one big happy family. We will proceed from here to the Chamber and it is going to be business as usual in the way it is meant to be done in a legislature due process with our rules, with the constitution, with our extant laws and with acceptable convention”.
“Everything that transpired before now, we are rising above it. The House is one.”
The Speaker while also speaking at the end of the peace parley, said the leadership of the House had put the ugly incident behind them.

“Sincerely, we want to use this medium to apologise to all good people of Ogun State for what transpired at the hallow chamber yesterday. “Hon. Remmy Hassan has spoken well, we have met, we are one big happy family, it was quite unfortunate just as he has rightly said, we have actually risen above that and by the special grace of God you will be seeing us doing our legislative responsibility in accordance with the extant law. You will see us discharging our responsibility in a normal way by appreciating ourselves, giving ourselves due recognition as members and true representatives of Ogun State.”[/b]

try69: Anyone who does not see GEJ's hand in the rivers house saga is also clueless.

tjfulloption: In Minna, Niger State, Governor Aliyu lamented the crisis in Rivers State, saying what was on the ground indicated that the Commissioner of Police was now the governor of of the state.

Aliyu, who received the Commissioner for Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, at the Government House, said, “You saw what is happening in Rivers State? A Commissioner of Police has now become the Governor of Rivers State. Is that the image we want the world to look out to?

The governor, who is also the chairman of Northern States Governors’ Forum, recalled that since he became his state’s chief executive, “there has not been a Police Council Meeting.”

According to him, the PCM is supposed to “decide the appointment of Police Commissioners and their deployment.”

He therefore called for a reduction of the funds and powers available to the Federal Government because it(Federal Government) had no business in the provision of health, water, agriculture and education.

“There is too much money at the centre for the Federal Government to spend and that is why they are creating problems for the states, “ Aliyu advised.

Pointing out that Nigeria was in a bad shape, he claimed that nobody knows the amount of oil the country produces.

Culled: Osun Defender

sheniqua: Biko let us hear sumtin
The speaker of Lagos house embezzled tons of state money,have we heard a word from Soyinka
When it is GEJ they suddenly grow voices to speak
Please spare me

Jonathan’s rivers of shame
Posted by: Our Reporter in Editorial 1 day ago 8 Comments

•The dreary drama in the Rivers State House of Assembly takes away from presidential dignity


THE theatre of the absurd unfolding in Rivers State should give any patriotic and peace-loving Nigerian a sense of foreboding. With impunity in the air, the constitution in peril and official stamp from the high office of the presidency, the moral legitimacy of this republic is fast sliding downhill.
By the week and recently by the day, the conflict between Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and President Goodluck Jonathan, imbues the nation with nausea. Respect for law has swapped places with brigandage, and the average Nigerian watches as the President engages in a bestial war of proxies.

The recent development has all the trappings of déjà vu. [b]In a dawn meeting that passed as a mockery of a legislative session in the chambers of the Rivers State House of Assembly, five men loyal to the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, held an impeachment proceeding to dislodge the legitimate speaker. They also had the temerity to elect one of them, Bapakaye Bipi, as the speaker.

The so-called session continued with the usurper speaker making a speech as the new face of the legislature. In the midst of this farce, Governor Amaechi with 27 other lawmakers broke through the security condoned by Mbu Joseph Mbu, the state commissioner of police. The Amaechi loyalists held the day as they delegitimised the kangaroo action, reaffirmed the legitimacy of the speaker, Otelemaba Dan Amachree, and passed the budget the governor presented.
But the triumph of Governor Amaechi turned out to be a deft political move. If he had remained in his cosy office and allowed the 27 other lawmakers alone to go to the assembly premises, it might have embroiled the state in an intractable and potentially gruesome battle of survival with ominous implications for this fragile democracy. With the ouster of the speaker, the next move would have been to dislodge the governor in a brash impeachment process.[/b]

We cannot isolate what happened this week outside a series of dramatic face-offs between the governor and the president, as well as his proxies, in the past few months. The first open show of power was the order to strand Governor Amaechi’s aircraft. The presidency failed to cloak it as a matter of technical procedure without political undertone. Findings from investigations have exposed not only the imbecilities of the aviation authorities but also revealed them as couriers of malicious orders.

We also witnessed other developments. A known brigand marched through the streets in the name of protests, and caused fellow citizens to quake with fear. This same fellow belonged to a coterie of lawless persons who loved chaos and bloodletting more than the reign of civility. These men associate with President Jonathan, and it must make any level-headed Nigerian bow in shame.


A fellow militant, Ateke Tom, reenacted that mayhem on Wednesday with sporadic shootings in Port Harcourt. This wave of events has returned the city to the pre-Amaechi era when citizens had to raise both hands in the public to demonstrate they did not bear arms. A president who planned to transform a country now takes credit for the reverse by taking a city from peace to violence against his foe who took the city from violence to peace.


The same president condones, if he encourages, a police commissioner who acts like a lord to the citizens and a toady to the presidency. Mbu watched as his men backed the gang of five as they performed one illegality after another. We cannot forget the sins of this so-called security officer who barred traditional rulers from paying a visit to the governor. The same fellow played an ignoble role in trying to restore a local government chairman that the legislature had ousted. The inspector-general of police, Mohammed Abubakar, has acted as though he does not control the police or, as it is speculated, Mbu has grown so powerful because he takes orders only from the presidency.

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) election has showcased, more than any other evidence, the desperation of the president. After defying the rules of aircraft landing, the necessity for peace, he and his proxy governors defied the purity of arithmetic by making 16 superior to 19 votes. He executed that anomaly purely in bungled bid to remove Governor Amaechi as chairman of the NGF. He also inspired the factionalisation of the group such that his loyalists now formed a parallel forum.

The Jonathan we know today differs by a wide gulf from the apparently meek, shoeless sheep who marketed a humble visage to credulous Nigerians. This same president kept meek exterior when the plot to oust his home state governor, Timipre Sylva, began to seethe. He denied it serially until he burst out in a supine speech of defiant hubris. That followed his deployment of armed forces to impose a governorship candidate in his state. The nation kept silent as impunity answered impunity.

Now the same formula seems to unveil in Rivers State, and the president’s displeasure derives from a series of disagreements that ordinarily could make both sides disagree without anyone being disagreeable. The presidency has cited the row over oil wells on the border with Bayelsa State, his support of former governor Sylva, among other matters.
How that should account for the mayhem on the streets of Port Harcourt and lead to the hauling of teargas canisters into the state house will be difficult to defend.

We ought to remember that the sort of drama in the Rivers State House of Assembly tore apart the old Western Region legislature in the First Republic. The region descended into a sanguinary chapter known as we tie. Those outside the region ignored it as a local rumble until it led to a chain of events that resounded in the civil war that cost us 30 months of peace and a million lives.

It should propel us to call for sanity in Rivers State, and the president should rein in his men for transforming the state into a conclave of violence and pursuit of parochial interests not in sync with our aspirations as a people.

homesteady: You must be a very stupid fellow!! From your response, you are the slowpoke here!! You couldn't even say something related to my post!!
I asked - what will be the headline if TI releases the CPI tomorrow!
and with your leprosy fingers you started insulting me!

Tomorrow,you will be among the people saying Dame jonathan is an illiterate, meanwhile you are also an illiterate!!
If you had gone to a university, they would have taught you logic(GST112) in 100L.
Well, let me lecture you a little bit! -
TI has two different rating category - one is done by people who stay in the country, and the other is done by TI themselves!! So in other words, TI is not responsible for the 1st one, they are responsible for the 2nd one!
Reno said TI hasn't released its own rating(CPI), And this statement is logically correct. Or have they released it?? If yes, then please show me the link!
If you want more lecture on Logic, I'll always be around to lecture you!

homesteady: Gbawe, I don't understand why you are painting this thread red with your insultive comments!!
I did not see any falsehood in what he said!! He said TI have not released their annual CPI.
He did not say they have not released their Global Barometer report!!

So tomorrow, if they release the CPI, what will be the headline?

TI rates Nigeria as the __th most corrupt country!! This headline have already been used!!

Sincere 9gerian: You need serious help. Who do you think has time to read all of that thrash?

Sincere 9gerian: What I see on this thread is not being "frank and realistic". I see people jubilating over the report for selfish political reasons. If were being "frank and realistic", then we should all be talking to ourselves on the need for everyone to shun bribery and corruption. The survey was mostly about bribery. But how many Nigerians have because of that report resolved not to give bribes? That is the purpose of the report but Nigeria nobody is talking about the true essence of the report. Its all about using it to fight the president for selfish political gains

Corruption massive under Jonathan – US

APRIL 21, 2013 BY OLALEKAN ADETAYO, ALLWELL OKPI AND TEMITAYO FAMUTIMI


The United States government on Friday indicted the President Goodluck Jonathan led Federal Government of massive and widespread corruption.

According to the United States Department of State, government officials and agencies frequently engage in corrupt practices with impunity.

This was contained in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, which was released on Friday evening.

In the report, the judiciary and security agencies, especially the police, were said be lacking in transparency.

It read in part,“The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Massive, widespread, and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government and the security forces. The constitution provides immunity from civil and criminal prosecution for the president, vice president, governors, and deputy governors while in office.

“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 favourable rulings.

“Police corruption remained rampant. Reports of checkpoint bribery and shooting incidents decreased in February after newly appointed Inspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar announced the closure of all police checkpoints across the country; however, illegal checkpoints remained common in some regions. Police routinely stopped drivers who did not commit traffic infractions, refusing to allow them to continue until they paid bribes,” it stated.

Highlighting events that occurred in the country in last year that portrayed lack of transparency and probity, the US government listed the escape of the suspected mastermind of the Boko Haram 2011 Christmas Day bombing from custody, noting how the police commissioner, who aided the suspect went unpunished; the conviction of former Delta State governor James Ibori in the Southwark Crown Court in London of charges of money laundering and other financial crimes totaling N12.4bn, after he was acquitted by a Nigerian court; and the N1.067trn fuel subsidy fund lost to “endemic corruption and entrenched inefficiency” as examples.

It stated that, “In July, the government released a list of those who had benefited illegally from the subsidy program, 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.”

The US document also faulted the refusal of public officials to declare their assets as stipulated by law.

It stated that in June 2012, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and other groups demanded that President Jonathan should disclose his assets from 2007 to 2012 but that Jonathan refused.

The report also rated the anticorruption efforts of the Independent Corrupt Practises and other related offences Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as “largely ineffectual,” adding that despite ICPC’s wide mandate, it had only achieved 60 convictions since its inauguration in 2000.

It also listed a number of cases being handled by the EFCC that have remained inconclusive, including the case of alleged misappropriation of one N1bn against former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, and N40bn against his deputy Usman Nafada; and the cases against four former governors Gbenga Daniel, Adebayo Alao-Akala, Aliyu Akwe Doma, and Muhammed Danjuma Goje, for allegedly misappropriating N58bn, N25bn, N18bn, and N12.8bn, respectively.

Apart from corruption, the US accused the Federal Government of numerous unlawful killings.

It decried frequent abduction of civilians and lack of press freedom, highlighting cases, where journalists were harassed and beaten up.

It also noted widespread discrimination against persons with disability.

The Presidency, however, described the report as an incorrect assessment of the situation in the country.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, warned Nigerians to be wary of such assessments which he described as “parachute researches.”

He said contrary to the picture the report painted, the present administration has remained the most transparent government since the return of democracy to Nigeria.

He said it was in the spirit of transparency that the present administration exposed the scam in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry and passed the Freedom of Information Bill.

He said, “In 2012 that the report is talking about, the EFCC alone got more than 200 convictions. This is in public domain.

“This government did an audit to eliminate waste and leakages in the system.

“On the checkpoints they talked about, it is important that they identify the difference between checkpoints and stop-and-search operation which is required especially in tackling security challenges.

“Nigerians should be wary of these external assessors that jump into conclusion. What are the parameters used in arriving at their conclusion? How scientific are the analysis?

“They assess Nigeria based on the instinct of a parachuter who jumps put of an aircraft without a fair knowledge of where he is landing.”

Sincere 9gerian: Some people have gone MAD all the name of politics. I wonder why sane people should jubilate over negative news concerning their own country.

I've read the full TI report but my understanding of it is that it was a survey and it is very SUBJECTIVE. For me, the report is a wake up call for all of us to do more against corruption. Dont give or take bribe. If there's no giver, there'll be no receiver.

Unfortunately for us in Nigeria, rather than take the positive from the report, we play politics with it. The opposition parties and their online vultures see it as another tool for fighting GEJ. In the end, the purpose of the TI survey is defeated in our country.

Meanwhile, Reno Omokri did a very poor and shoddy job in the so called rejoinder. Even the link provided does not support what he wrote. The statement was just cut and joined, and laced with falsehood. I doubt if the rejoinder came from him. If indeed the statement emanated from him, that will be very sad and unfortunate. President Jonathan would never sanction such shameful lies.

Garri the 1st: Abeg stop dancing unclad here with ur unreasonable posts.

In Nigeria, 84% of those surveyed by Transparency International claimed corruption had increased in the past two years, a higher percentage than almost any other country in the world.

fbiswagger: Gbawe, have I insulted you? I don't think so. So treat me as I have treated you. Apart from insults and using foul language you have not responded to the issues raised by the rebuttal. Omokri in his piece did not say anything other than that TI HAS NOT listed Nigeria as the 8th most corrupt nation and that as a matter of fact they have not released their CPI for 2013. Thus any headline that says Nigeria Listed as 8th Most Corrupt Nation is FALSE. If you agree then we have no controversy. If, however, what you are saying is that SR and PM News relied on the Global Barometer and not the TI official CPI then two issues arise. First, the Barometer DOES NOT LIST NIGERIA AS 8th MOST CORRUPT NATION. Secondly, the Barometer is not a yardstick for measuring corruption. Go through Omokri's piece again and perhaps you may understand his reasoning.

fbiswagger: But Gbawe, rather than insulting why don't you calm down and face the issues which are as follows;

i. The Global Barometer IS NOT a ranking done by Transparency International. It is a survey of how CITIZENS feel about their country and in any case it NEVER rated Nigeria the 8th most corrupt nation in the world.

ii. The ONLY ranking that Transparency International does is the annual Corruption Perception Index and TI has not released one for this year.

iii. Relying on insults in your responses only shows that you have no case and want to turn this intellectual exercise to a fight to divert attention from the fact that you have no basis for your claims. Let your evidence do the talking not your insults.

Anti-corruption nonprofit Transparency International, TI, has released its 2013 Global Corruption Barometer, which surveyed residents in 107 countries, ranking Nigeria, Zambia, Paraguay, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Venezula and Russia as the largest countries on the globe with active corruption indices with Liberia and Mongolia leading the table.

fbiswagger: The Global Barometer which you claimed as your source did not say Nigeria is the 8th most corrupt nation. The Barometer is not even the yardstick that TI uses to rank corruption. The ranking is done based on the Corruption Perception Index. I would urge all readers to read the so called Barometer and also urge the poster to quote where Nigeria was so ranked.

Our attention has been drawn to a story on some news sites stating that Transparency International has listed Nigeria as the 8th most corrupt nation in the world for 2013. This information is completely untrue as Transparency International has not even released its annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The last CPI was the CPI of 2012 in which Nigeria made improvements.

Garri the 1st: So you're the mumu??

Thanks for answering ur title...


Jokes aside, ur daftness is legendary...

take dat: Half-Wit! You are too dull to take cognizance that SR credited the news to PM NEWS.

solomon111: Look at this shameless individual.
Was this statement not from transparency international?
When did sowore or whatever he calls himself became a credible source of corruption index?
Have you people no dignity?
What do you guys gain from all these nonsense?

Transparency International, the global anti-corruption organisation, has no links with an organisation calling itself ‘Transparency in Nigeria (TIN)’ and has written to the organisation demanding that it stop associating its work with Transparency International, its name and logo.

Several articles published in the Nigerian press last week referred to a report titled ‘Budget Discipline Perception Index (BDPI) 2012/2013’, by ‘Transparency in Nigeria (TIN)’, describing the organisation as the Transparency International chapter in Nigeria. Transparency International has no links with ‘Transparency in Nigeria’, nor does it currently have an affiliate in Nigeria.

Transparency International is not responsible for the report “Budget Discipline Perception Index (BDPI) 2012/2013” and does not endorse its

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL ASKS NIGERIAN ORGANISATION TO STOP USING ITS NAME AND LOGO

FILED UNDER:
Posted 12 April 2013 by Transparency International Secretariat

Transparency International, the global anti-corruption organisation, has no links with an organisation calling itself ‘Transparency in Nigeria (TIN)’ and has written to the organisation demanding that it stop associating its work with Transparency International, its name and logo.

Several articles published in the Nigerian press last week referred to a report titled ‘Budget Discipline Perception Index (BDPI) 2012/2013’, by ‘Transparency in Nigeria (TIN)’, describing the organisation as the Transparency International chapter in Nigeria. Transparency International has no links with ‘Transparency in Nigeria’, nor does it currently have an affiliate in Nigeria.

Mogidi: I think Gbawe may be fasting, its Ramadan, expect him to come late tonight like a thief avoiding capture. You won't see him on this thread even if he comes.

Garri the 1st: End of discussion!!

THE GLOBAL CORRUPTION BAROMETER 2013 IS THE BIGGEST EVER SURVEY TRACKING WORLD-WIDE PUBLIC OPINION ON CORRUPTION
We asked over 114,000 people in 107 countries for their views on corruption. Find out what they said in our Global Corruption Barometer 2013.

This information is completely untrue as Transparency International has not even released its annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The last CPI was the CPI of 2012 in which Nigeria made improvements.

Anti-corruption nonprofit Transparency International, TI, has released its 2013 Global Corruption Barometer, which surveyed residents in 107 countries, ranking Nigeria, Zambia, Paraguay, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Venezula and Russia as the largest countries on the globe with active corruption indices with Liberia and Mongolia leading the table.

Under President Jonathan, Nigeria’s anti corruption agencies have had unprecedented non-interference from the executive which has led to recent successes in the trial of subsidy thieves, pension racketeers and politically exposed persons accused of money laundering.

deleteme: From a realible source, Soyinka is a Seadog and Amaechi is a seadog too......so am not surprise at his utterences. Every blessed day Soyinka keep seeking for relivance in Nigerian politics and has bin ignored by a larger portion of Nigeria except the sheepishly yoruba followers. So far i am concerned, so far the southeast, south south, and the entire north are concerned SOYINKA is a no body, just because of ordinary poem he wrote when the world was sleeping he thinks he can be a hero. Nonsense!! cant wait for his demise.

Amaechi Being Punished For Winning NGF Election - Opposition Governors
Posted: July 11, 2013 - 20:20

By SaharaReporters, New York
Governors from opposition political parties said that the crisis in Rivers State was engineered to punish its governor, Rotimi Amaechi for winning the chairmanship election of the Nigeria Governors' Forum.

The governors said this in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, and declared that what was happening in the state was an assault on Nigeria's democracy.

The governors (11) were among the 19 governors that voted for Amaechi during the May 24 election, where he defeated Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State, who scored 16 votes.

Shortly after the outcome of the election, the Peoples Democratic Party suspended Amaechi from the party.

Full statement:

Rivers State Crisis: PGF Condemns Assault on Nigeria’s Democracy

Events in Rivers State resulting in the shameful occupation of the State Government House by members of the Nigeria Police Force on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 are a direct assault on Nigeria’s democracy. These developments are not only worrisome but outrightly condemnable as an affront on the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) unequivocally condemns the ill-disguised attempt to create a State of Emergency in Rivers State by plunging the State into a needless and avoidable crisis.

All available evidences surrounding the events of Tuesday and Wednesday, July 9 & 10 indicated that the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mr. Joseph Mbu and his men did not act in a professional manner. Before now, the State Police Commissioner has exhibited very clear bias against the Governor and other State Officials. This is a dangerous development that would only produce anarchy with unpredictable consequences.

[b]Events of July 9 &10 in Rivers State represent acts sponsored by anarchists whose interest include subverting our democracy and expose the lives of democratically elected representatives to great danger. As it is today, the orderly conduct of democratic institutions in Rivers States have been impaired and the life of Governor Amaechi and his team are in great danger. The constitutional responsibility of the State House of Assembly is being impeded and in the circumstance the House of Representatives has voted to take over the functions of the State House of Assembly as provided under section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution.

It is very clear to all discerning Nigerians that the crisis in Rivers State is a product of intolerance and highhanded attempts to undermine our rights as Governors acting under the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) to freely choose our leaders. Having elected Governor Amaechi on May 24 as the Chairman of NGF, the anti-democratic forces against the election are now using other security agencies to threaten and intimidate Governor Amaechi and in the process engineer anarchy and endanger innocent lives and property in Rivers State.[/b]

This is not only a condemnable act but a gross abuse of power. We strongly call on President Goodluck Jonathan to not only exercise his moral authority, but also apply his constitutional responsibilities to ensure the restoration of peace and protection of the Governor and all citizens.

Should the crisis in Rivers State continue and anything happen to the Governor or any official for that matter, the Nigerian leadership wouldn’t be absolved of responsibility.

We call on all Nigerians to do all within their powers to prevail on all in positions of trust and responsibilities to exercise their power with restraint and refrain from steps that might plunge this fragile democracy into a descent to depravity.

Abagworo: This man can be sometimes annoying but his mental frequency is extremely high.

The rest of the world sees them as garbage despite their pretended importance (can you imagine any one asking for and listening to Jonathan on what to do about the world economy; do you listen to a nincompoop on serious matters?).

A Diagnosis Of Why Mrs. Jonathan Does The Outrageous Things She Does By Ozodi Osuji
Posted: July 12, 2013 - 09:02

https://saharareporters.com/sites/default/files/page_images/articles/2013/patience_jonathan1.jpg?1373619694
Nigeria First Lady, Dame Patience Faka Jonathan
By Ozodi Osuji
What is truly amazing is Africans refusal to try gaining insights into their behaviors. They do not want to know why they do the stupid things they do and keep doing them to other people’s astonishment. They keep behaving as mad persons do and if you call their attention to their madness suddenly you are said to hate yourself.

As they see it, if you like yourself you must sing praises of Africans and their insane ways of life and pretend that they are sane. Here is the deal.

What it means to be a human being is to feel small, inadequate and inferior. Human beings are those animals that have the awareness of their imminent death hence existential nothingness.

Nobody likes to feel like he is nothing; therefore, all human beings struggle to seem adequate, superior and powerful.

When the pursuit of superiority and power is exaggerated we say that such persons are neurotic; when people actually believe that they are superior to other people we call them psychotic (deluded).

If you bear this simple psychological fact of what it means to be a human being in mind you can then understand the behavior of African big men and women.

Patience Jonathan feels like sh*t, literally. She believes that she is sh*t, not figuratively but literally. This fact is in her consciousness. Feeling like sh*t she would like to pretend that she is not sh*t. How does she do it?

She does it by grasping onto the paraphernalia of prestige that makes her seem to have worth. By rolling around in presidential limousines and jet fleets and having the entire city closed down when she comes to town, to a party, mind you, not to produce anything for both her and her husband are consumers, not producers; they do nothing in office and are thus garbage, literally, well, by closing the city streets down as she cruises by, her infantile histrionic ego seem very important person in her mind.

Now in her immediate conscious mind she seems a very important woman. She is now like god; she fancies that she is immortal and not going to die.

In the meantime, she eats like a pig and grows fat by the day; thus, sooner or later, she would experience cardiac arrest or stroke and die. She would decay and smell like refuse.

She would be buried and worms feast on her bloated body. Put truthfully, she is currently food being prepared for worms, bacteria, virus and fungi.

If you are into science, here is the scientific fact for you to chew on: our bodies are composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen (CHON) and traces of phosphor, magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron, copper, calcium, sodium etc. When we die those elements, atoms decay to their constituent parts: electrons, protons and neutrons. Sub-atomic particles in time decay to quarks and photons.

Ultimately, all matter decays to nothingness, the nothingness from when it came during the big bang that produced this universe 13.7 billion years ago.

We came from nothing and return to nothing; or as the writer of Ecclesiastic in the Christian bible says: our lives are vanity upon vanity (somewhere in the bible it is said that we came from clay and return to clay, from sand and return to sand).

In effect, Patience Jonathan is nothing, as all human beings are nothing. This is the truth that we all know; a truth hidden in our deep unconscious minds; a truth that gives all of us existential depression.

We all have existential depression from the awareness of our existential nothingness and the fact that we live meaningless, purposeless lives.

We are like slaves, we work like slaves to earn food for our bodies and then those bodies die and decay. What a beautiful life! Life is pain and then you die. Life is a bummer!

Some people try to escape from their existential depression by behaving as if they have fictional worth. Nigerians adopt this pattern of behavior. In all my life I am yet to see a humble Nigerian; they are all billionaires, chiefs or sons of governors and presidents even though they are starving and come to the West to drive cabs and take care of old white folks (as assisted care workers, glorified name for nannies for old people).

The religious type seek worth and importance in religion. Religion offers them life after their bodies have been eaten by germs and that kind of makes them believe that they transcend death hence have existential worth.

Hindus and Buddhists, that is, Asians, the most mature human beings on planet earth (and, interestingly, also, the most intelligent since they score highest on IQ tests and scholastic aptitude tests and do best at universities) behave realistically: humbly, not pretending to have worth they do not have.

Africans, like five year old children (they are literally dumb since they score lowest on IQ test, scholastic aptitude tests and at schools) deny the existential reality of death and the nothingness it gives us by decorating their useless egos with fancy titles and decorating their bodies with superfluous flowing robes (agbada is not conducive to working in factories or laboratories; to industrialize the Japanese and Chinese gave up their elaborate attire and now dress in business suits that are conducive to working in offices and being productive workers).

What this bag of rice called Patience Jonathan does other Africans do; they are human beings and, as such, are aware of their existential nothingness but instead of trying to ask: is there anything we can do to be something important, Africans like mentally retarded folks think that by giving themselves empty titles and social prestige that they are now something important.

An Igbo proverb says that you can wash the human anus with all the soap in this world and it would still smell of feces. People are existentially nothing important and nothing they do would make them something important.

Adults all over the world know that they are existentially nothing. They try to give themselves a sense of worth by figuring out what they are good at (what they have aptitude in doing), train for it and throw their lives to doing it, twenty-four-seven.

Existential philosophy says that the only way a human being can make his meaningless, purposeless and pointless existence seem important is to figure out what he has aptitude in and do it twenty four seven.

As long as a person is trying to understand a part of reality (through science) and is doing it and producing what serves all human beings well he obtains realistic sense of worth.

Parading around as if one is important, as Nigerians do, does not make one important!

Instead of Africans trying to obtain realistic sense of worth via engaging in productive work that serves public good they seek it in an infantile manner, as Lady Jonathan and her foolish husband does.

Africans like all of human beings, myself included, are nothing for they are food being cooked for worms, bacteria and fungi; give or take a hundred years their bodies would feed germs (and return to the biological cycle; we eat animals and plants to live and when we die they feed on our bodies to live).

Let us hope that at some point Africans would grow up and deal with our existential nothingness with adult wisdom, not their present childish attempts to deny reality by pretending to be important when deep down they are garbage. The rest of the world sees them as garbage despite their pretended importance (can you imagine any one asking for and listening to Jonathan on what to do about the world economy; do you listen to a nincompoop on serious matters?).

If Africans want to be seen as important they had better start contributing to science, technology, business and good governance. As long as they contribute nothing to existence and merely pretend to be important they are no more important than the worms that would eat their bodies.

Patience Jonathan closing the streets of Lagos and Port Harcourt when she comes to party with her fellow do-nothing ladies of Nigeria is not important; what would make her important is if she dedicates her current useless life to serving Nigerians, say, by making sure that the poor shoeless children of her Ijaw neck of the woods wear shoes so that jiggers and other parasites don’t feed on their toes and shorten their lives

eGuerrilla: So Bipi's main grouse is not informed by concerns about any anti-people policies but rather what he considers a lack of respect in relation to Amaechi's current relationship with the Presidency?

Hear him:



This untutored urchin will fit in right here on Nairaland, I tell ou.