₦airaland Forum

THE House of Representatives, on Tuesday
night, confirmed that it would reconvene
tomorrow, to consider the request by
President Goodluck Jonathan for the
extension of partial emergency rule in
troubled states of Yobe, Adamawa and
Borno.
Speaker of the House, Honourable Aminu
Tambuwal, recalled the members in a
statement personally signed by himself,
entitled, “Special Session of the House of
Representatives of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria. Notice to Reconvene the House.”
The statement read in part: “On Tuesday,
November 18, 2014, I received a
communication from the President,
Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces,
Dr Goodluck Jonathan, requesting for the
extension of the existing state of
emergency in Adamawa , Borno and Yobe
states by the House of Representatives.
“Pursuant to the powers conferred on me
by Section 305 (2) of the Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, which
requires me to ‘forthwith convene or
arrange a meeting of the House’ and in
order to treat the extension before the
expiration of the current state of
emergency, in accordance with Section
305(6)(c) of the Constitution, I hereby
reconvene the House of Representatives,
currently on recess.”

http://tribune.com.ng/news/news-headlines/item/21911-tambuwal-reconvenes-house-tomorrow

odogwu9:
I have been trying to register but whenever I upload my picture and click "send and save application",it always returns me to the homepage,Pls help someone,anyone..

check the password you chose. passwords must a combination of capital letter, small letters, numbers and symbol e.g Henroe-212
I hope that helps...

kayce911:
I registering but I can't see "SUBMIT"

if u refreshed or reloaded the page it might not work. or perhaps there was a server issue when u were filling the form.
close ur current page and start all over again.
thanks...

holatin:
it will be for only indigene.

that's not true. its for all eligible Nigerian graduates who are resident in rivers state and have registered for the inernship @https://gis-tool.wyesurep.gov.ng/
its free and for all.

kaima1984:
Is d sure p strictly for Rivers state indigenous graduates?

Not at all. Its for all graduates who are registered on the sure-p graduate internship program portal (website) resident in port Harcourt .
Its for all.
thanks...

dablue1:
i received a mail 4rm dem last week, askin me 2 register but i mistakenly delatd it. Is dere any way 2 retrive d mail pls

visit this site and register https://gis-tool.wyesurep.gov.ng/

britnex:
Pls d registration is it specifically for d fair or general cos I can't see the fair link in d site pls wat shld I do

u would be notified before the fair proper.
best regards.
https://gis-tool.wyesurep.gov.ng/

Wizzaro2014:
Puntersmind pls help. When is PH fair coming up or has it been held? Pls comment

SURE-P GIS ORGANISES Port Harcourt graduate
internship opportunities fair
The federal ministry of finance through the Women
and Youth Empowerment (WYE) project of the
subsidy reinvestment empowerment program
(SURE-P) presents the Graduate Internship Scheme
(GIS); a social safety net instituted by the Federal
Government of Nigeria to provide jobs to the
unemployed graduates in Nigeria. Under this
scheme, eligible graduates are employed and
deployed to firms that needs them, while the
Government pays their monthly stipends. Firms
can
also benefit from these scheme, because they will
have people working for them for free. This
internship program will run for a period of one
year
after which participating firms are encouraged to
retain some of the interns. Incentives such as tax
rebates, credit lines, awards etc. will be explored
for
such Firms.
To this effect the SURE-P is organizing a
GRADUATE
INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FAIR IN PORT
HARCOURT. This fair will avail Firms and Graduates
the opportunity and platform to meet and match.
The date for this event is from the 18th-20th
November, 2014.
Attendance is strictly by Invitation, hence the
venue
for the fair will be communicated to the invited
firms
and graduates only. To get an invite to the event,
please log on to the website on www.wyesurep.go
v.ng and register.
Registration and participation in the event is FREE!
For further Information, Enquiries and Eligibility
Criteria for both Graduate and Firms:
Log on to www.wyesurep.gov.ng
Email: info@gisurep.gov.ng
Contact: Project Director,
GIS, SURE-P
Federal Ministry of Finance
Telephone: 08175751778
08105576779
08186152376
08186152377
08186153442
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?
story_fbid=1571965839693670&id=1561216930768561&_

Wizzaro2014:
Puntersmind pls help. When is PH fair coming up or has it been held? Pls comment

please attend to this question. people in port Harcourt are waiting to hear from u...

pls, I heard that the port Harcourt fair has not held yet. pls, is it still likely to hold? am really anticipating an invite for the fair. inbox me here at nephi2rae@yahoo.com. I wish to keep a tab on it through u. thanks @omaumudu

Abuja – (NAN) The Senate on Monday rescheduled
its resumption of plenary from Tuesday to
Wednesday.
This is contained in a statement issued by the
Clerk to the Senate, Mr Benedict Efeturi, in Abuja.
The clerk requested senators to resume sitting in
plenary on Wednesday by 10 a.m.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that
though no reason was given for the postment,
Senate adjourned abruptly on Nov. 4 and 5 and
subsequently adjourned sitting till Tuesday, Nov.
11.
This is in connection with internal strife in the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), arising from the
party’s Ward Congress. (NAN)

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/11/senate-resumption-date-postponed/

APC e-rats are you people following up?

I recommend unconventional JTF comprising of Bakassi, OPC and MEND to secure tambuwal.
this Na morning for am...

Moro in his statement of praise failed to mention one thing mark has done for His people...
mark for 5th tenure, is there no other person in that zone...
Na grammar dem go eat Benue?

There were indications, weekend, that the
Army High Command has ordered the arrest and
detention of a Brigadier-General attached to the
3rd Division of the Nigerian Army (names with-
held) over allegations of negligence that gave Boko
Haram terrorists an opportunity to overrun some
communities in Borno State recently.
Vanguard gathered that the senior officer who hails
from one of the states in the South West, was the
officer coordinating the military onslaught to
dislodge several Boko Haram terrorists from Bama,
Gwoza, Madagali, Michika and other communities
in Borno and Adamawa states that later fell into the
hands of the terrorists.
The General was accused of providing poor
leadership and failed to instil confidence in the
soldiers, resulting in several soldiers allegedly
abandoning the fight against the terrorists while
several of them lost their lives.
According to the source, when the Boko Haram
insurgents came in full force to attack Bama,some
top brass of the unit offered no resistance by
running into the bush.
The source disclosed that the insurgents entered
the Brigade Headquarters and Armoury freely and
carted away vehicles and Tanks.
Vanguard was told that some of the commanders
were rescued from the bush by a battalion
deployed at Konduga, which was stationed about
15 kilometers behind Bama, the last deployment
before Maiduguri.
The Military high command was said to be furious
that the insurgents after taking over Bama and
killing hundreds of civilians ransacked the armoury
with no soldier offering resistance, leaving the
insurgents to have a free day.
According to the source; after seizing the
equipment at the 21 Brigade Bama, the terrorists
used the same weapons to attack the infantry
battalion at Konduga but met their waterloo where
hundreds of the Boko Haram insurgents were
killed.
The source added that the 21 Armoured Brigade
which had several armoured tanks could not
withstand the battle that was later decided by less
than 400 infantry soldiers in Konduga.
It was further gathered that after running away from
Bama, some top brass of the brigade and about
800 troops went straight to Maiduguri instead of
joining the troops in Konduga to repel the attack.
To face court-martial
Vanguard gathered that a board of inquiry is
investigating the conduct of the officers for acts of
negligence among other offences.
Military sources further told Vanguard that Boko
Haram terrorists were not really better armed in
the terror war but rather leadership of troops on
ground has been discovered as a problem that
needed to be tackled.
Giving an instance, a source said: “Commanders of
troops are supposed to lead soldiers from the
frontline but what we discovered is that most of
the commanders operate and give orders from the
rear.
“If not that our soldiers are rugged and know that
the Boko Haram terrorists could not match them
professionally, what we are seeing today would
have been the opposite. Actually, when terrorists
see soldiers coming, they run for their lives, but
due to poor leadership, the back-up arrangements
are not activated. When soldiers therefore run out
of ammunition and the terrorists regroup, soldiers
will have no other choice than to retreat”.
The source cited the successes recorded severally
in the battles to take over Konduga as the perfect
way the Nigeria Army operates, noting that even
though there were four different attacks with heavy
weaponry, the army was able to defeat them and
recovered stolen weapons.
Military extends restriction of vehicular movement
in Maiduguri.
Meanwhile, the ban on vehicular movements in
Maiduguri, which was to last from 5 pm last Friday
till 7 am today has been extended till tomorrow.
The ban was imposed following intelligence reports
that Boko Haram terrorists will attack mosques,
markets and other public places during the sallah
period.
A statement by the Deputy Director, Army Public
Relations of 7 Division Col. Sanni Usman, said “all
necessary security measures are being
implemented, while members of the public are
hereby requested to comply fully with this embargo
as defaulters will be severely sanctioned”.
He said, however, that workers on essential
services such as hospitals and fire services with
clear identification are exempted from the
restriction.
Colonel Usman then advised members of the
public to report any suspicious movement of
persons or vehicles around their environment to
the nearest security agencies.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/10/bama-military-orders-arrest-general-running-bush-troops-fear-bharam/#sthash.YknCYQCl.dpuf

Kano – Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau
dismissed Nigerian military claims of his death in a
new video obtained by AFP on Thursday and said
the militants had implemented strict Islamic law in
captured towns.
“Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes
my breath,” Shekau said, adding that his group
was “running our… Islamic caliphate” and
administering strict sharia punishments.
Nigeria’s military said last week that Shekau was
dead and that a man who had been posing as the
group’s leader in the videos had been killed after
fighting with troops in the far northeast.
Security analysts and the United States questioned
the credibility of the military’s claim.
The new 36-minute video showed Shekau, in
combat fatigues and black rubber boots, standing
on the back of a pick-up truck and firing an anti-
aircraft gun into the air.
Standing in front of three camouflaged vans and
flanked by four heavily armed, masked fighters, he
then speaks for 16 minutes in Arabic and the
Hausa language widely spoken in northern Nigeria.
There was no indication of where or when the
video was shot.
The heavily bearded Shekau, who appeared to be
the same as those in previous clips, said the
military’s claim that he was dead was propaganda.
“Nothing will kill me until my days are over… I’m
still alive. Some people asked you if Shekau has
two souls. No, I have one soul, by Allah,” he said,
apparently reading from a script.
“It is propaganda that is prevalent. I have one
soul. I’m an Islamic student.
“I’m the Islamic student whose seminary you
burnt… I’m not dead,” he added, apparently
referring to the destruction of the group’s mosque
in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, in 2009.
There have been two previous claims by Nigeria’s
security forces that Shekau was dead — once in
2009 during unrest in Maiduguri — and again in
2013.
Following each previous claim Boko Haram has
issued denials in video messages.
Elsewhere in the new video, the militant leader said
the group had implemented strict Islamic law in the
towns that it had captured in recent weeks.
“We are running our caliphate, our Islamic
caliphate. We follow the Koran… We now practise
the injunctions of the Koran in the land of Allah,”
he said.
The group also claimed to have shot down a
Nigerian air force jet that went missing nearly three
weeks ago.
An air force spokesman said the jet was missing.
“For any group to claim they shot it down is mere
propaganda and rubbish,” Air Commodore Dele
Alonge told AFP.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/

TODAY Wednesday, October 1, 2014, marks the
54th anniversary of our independence from our
colonial genitors, Great Britain. It is a moment of
triumph for both countries.
The United Kingdom has just survived a
referendum that would have seen the separation of
Scotland from the rest of the country if the “ayes”
had had it.
And for Nigeria, we are gradually
reasserting our territorial integrity
after the second bid by separatists
to dismember the country and
create a new identity out of a
nation born exactly one century
ago.
The gallant armed forces of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria have
started rolling back the threat of
Islamist insurgency group, Boko
Haram, which seized several towns
in Adamawa and Borno States and
claimed them as part of their
putative “Islamic Caliphate”.
With victory imminent and in sight,
Nigeria will demonstrate, once
again, its ability to hold its own
against internal insurrection and
external aggression.
This is what nations that are viable
and will be great can do. And this
is a further incentive for Nigerians
to rededicate themselves to the
unity of our country, knowing that
only a united Nigeria can protect
Nigerians and provide them the
security they need to actualise
their individual and collective
aspirations.
As we celebrate today, let us
pause and reflect on some of the
challenges that have stymied our
growth and hampered our
emergence to a solid economic
and continental behemoth in spite
of our natural and human
endowments. We have held
numerous constitutional and
national conferences, the last
being the recently-concluded
edition in July this year. These
conferences were meant as avenues to seek
solutions to our problems, which are mainly
ethnicity, sectionalism, regionalism and
politicisation of our religious faiths rather than
using them as means of seeking the face of God
our Creator and doing His will.
For the original Nigerian dream for which our
founding fathers struggled to free us from colonial
bondage to be realised, we must cast aside these
unwholesome forces of disunity.
We must see one another as people of one
indivisible country bound by common destiny.
This country belongs to all of us equally, and our
constitution has given us all the right to aspire to
the highest endeavours.
We must all go with the spirit and letters of our
national charter and give to ourselves and our
future generations a nation we can all feel at home
in, and be proud of.
The whole world knows that the Federal Republic of
Nigeria stands on the threshold of economic
emergence. We must henceforth play our politics
to ensure that we realise the good things that lie in
store for this nation.
Happy birthday, Nigeria!

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/10/happy-54th-independence-anniversary/

Former Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari on
Tuesday called on his supporters to stay focused,
shun insult and rudeness to any aspirant on his
behalf.
Buhari gave the advice in Abuja while addressing
his 66 support groups that came under one
umbrella, Buhari Support Centre.
According to him, whoever engages in any of the
acts will be assumed to be working for the enemy.
“I must warn all my supporters, volunteers and
other well-wishers within the party or even out of
it, not to insult or be rude to any other aspirant or
party leader on my behalf.
“My supporters must not engage in any kind of
behaviour or conduct that will tarnish the image of
any leader or promote division and rancour within
the ranks of the party.
“Whoever does that should know that he or she is
working for the enemy,’’ Buhari said.
The former leader further urged his supporters to
be vigilant during and after elections and avoid
taking laws into their hands.
“In particular, you must learn to be vigilant
especially just before, during and immediately after
elections, whether elections are rigged or not,” he
said.
According to him, this is necessary so that
sponsored hoodlums do not have chance to
commit illegalities and in the end, members of the
group are blamed.
“Not only must you not take the law into your
hands no matter the level of provocation, you must
be able to expose those planning to do so before
the act,’’ he said.
He said he would soon declare his presidential
ambition on the platform of the APC, adding that
party interest should be put above self interest.
He also said that for their support to be more
meaningful, it must go beyond him to APC
and candidates the party presented because
its decision was ultimate.
“You must at all times remember that the APC is a
party with several qualified people for each and all
the positions that will be contested, including that
of the president.
“It is the primaries that will determine who will
eventually represent the party and in which
capacity.
“If I get the nomination, I will expect you to
redouble your effort and commitment until we
clinch the presidency.
“In the event that it happens to be one of the other
aspirants who win, I will expect you, as good party
men, to extend to him your total support.
“We are a united party and united we shall remain
because our strength lies in our unity,’’ Buhari
said.
The Director-General of the Centre, Umar Dembo,
said it was “a department within the Buhari
Campaign Organisation where all activities of the
groups would be coordinated’’.
Also speaking, former President, National
Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Daniel
Onje, urged members of the centre to eschew
campaign of anarchy.
“I am a Christian and I refuse to believe in a
campaign of anarchy.
“Contrary to insinuations, Buhari is a not a
religious bigot.
“The appellation is the handiwork of those who
want to continue to keep Nigeria down and
divided. (NAN)..

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/dont-insult-jonathan-atiku-others-buhari-urges-his-supporters/

Jehovah’s Witnesses have commenced a
12-week 2014 regional convention in Nigeria with
the theme; “Keep Seeking First God’s Kingdom.”
The convention holding in series, will host
delegates from all parts of the country.
A statement by the Regional Media Officer, Afolabi
Odeyem, said: “Nigeria plans to host 271
conventions inside large auditoriums in 30 cities.
Worldwide, there are over 7,900,000 Witness in
more than 113,000 congregations. For Lagos and
Ogun residents, four large auditoriums are available
at Ota, Badagy, Daluwon and Lekki. An estimated
6,000 will converge at Ota Assembly Ground, each
week for 12 successive weekends.”
According to the statement; “To make sure many
enjoyed the rich Bible-based programmes;
personal, printed invitation is being extended to
everyone in Lagos, Ogun, and indeed all
conventions cities. The first of three-day events to
be held in Ota will begin on Friday, September 26,
2014 at 8.20am.
“There is no admission fee. Conventions of
Jehovah’s Witnesses are supported entirely by
voluntary donations. Beginning from Friday
morning, the convention will highlight a connection
between family values and the teaching of Jesus
Christ.
“The programme will also examine how those
words of Jesus can be of special interest to
families. An example of this will be the programme
part featured on Friday afternoon entitled; “Teach
Your Children To Love God’s Kingdom.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/jehovahs-witness-commences-2014-regional-convention/

ABIA State governor, Chief Theodore
Orji, has commended the military for their role in
fighting insurgency in the Northern part of the
country.
Orji, who spoke when he received the Flag Officer
Commanding, Naval Training Command, Lagos,
Rear Admiral Goody Anyakpele, at Government
House, Umuahia, lauded the sacrifice being made
by the military to ensure security across the
nation.
The governor said some military men had
sacrificed their lives in the process of fighting the
insurgents in parts of the country.
He told them to keep faith with their job, saying
government depended on them and other security
agencies for security, especially now that election
was around the corner.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/gov-orji-commends-military-fighting-insurgency/

Yenagoa—Residents of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State and
its environs are disturbed by what they described
as arbitrary electricity billing by the Port Harcourt
Electricity Distribution Company, PHEDC.
Electricity consumers in the state are lamenting the
monthly increase in the billing system even as the
power situation remains epileptic.
Most of the buildings in the state capital and its
environs do not have electricity meters to
determine energy consumption but the PHEDC is
charging electricity consumers through unequal
estimation of service charge, which most the
residents insist is outrageous and unbearable.
Vanguard gathered that the development was
causing general discontent among residents and
may snowball to street protests.
While some residential areas are allotted estimated
bills per building, others are grouped and billed per
transformer.
The matter was recently debated on the floor of the
state House of Assembly and unanimously
condemned by the lawmakers.
The Speaker, Mr. Konbowei Benson, had described
the development as unfortunate.
He said: “We are tired of this billing system. We
are billed N800,000 every month. There is no
meter to show how much we incur every month
and if we don’t pay, they come to disconnect us.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/bayelsans-decry-crazy-electricity-billing/

Abuja – Gov. Danbaba Suntai of Taraba arrived
Abuja on Saturday at 10 p.m. after months of
medical treatment in the United Kingdom.
Suntai later addressed newsmen at the Gen.
Theophilus Danjuma’ s guest house in Asokoro,
Abuja.
He said: “I just arrived in Nigeria after my
treatment abroad at Whalton Hospital in London.
“I thank God l’m getting better, l am happy to be
back home and you all are here to receive me.
Thank you all for your prayer sand support.’’
He was received by Mr Darius Ishaku, Minister of
State for Niger Delta Affairs, Rev. Jolly Nyame, a
former Taraba governor, Sen. Emmanuel Bwacha,
Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture,
among others.
Ishaku told newsmen that the governor was in
good health, adding that he could now take over
the responsibility of governing the state.
“Taraba state will heave a sigh of relief following
the coming of the governor.
“I am excited, he just addressed us and expressed
his joy to be back home; l will like to add that his
health is a miracle,’’ Ishaku said.
Also, Nyame said that Suntai’s mental alertness
indicated that he was capable of taking over the
affairs of the state.
“It is obvious that the governor can recognise
everyone here which shows that he is mentally
alert and lucid.
“He just addressed the press, but the last time he
didn’t, which shows that he can take over as the
governor,’’ Nyame said.
Suntai’s piloted plane crashed on Oct. 25, 2012 in
Yola, with some of his aides.
He was transferred from a hospital in Yola to the
National Hospital, Abuja, on Oct. 26, 2012, and
later flown to Germany and U.S for treatment.
He later returned to the country on Aug. 23, 2013
after 10 months of medical treatment overseas.
After some controversies on the status of his
health, he was later flown to London for further
medical treatment.
President Goodluck Jonathan visited him about
one hour after the governor was admitted into the
intensive care unit of the National Hospital.
Jonathan had said that Suntai’s condition was
stable, and urged Nigerians to pray for his speedy
recovery. (NAN)

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/suntai-returns-medical-treatment-u-k/#sthash.jnOdiREX.dpuf

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State yesterday
accused the Presidency of directing the new Rivers
Police Commissioner, Mr Dan Bature, to install a
governor on the platform of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP in the state.
Governor Amaechi’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr
David Iyofor, in a statement, disclosed that there
was a fresh sinister plot to allegedly throw Rivers
State into “avoidable crisis.”
The governor’s scribe said the recently-deployed
Police boss was “instructed by the Presidency to
use the former Rivers police commissioner, Joseph
Mbu’s draconian style and tactics in causing crisis
in Rivers State.”
According to Iyofor “while it is easy for a few in the
Presidency to dismiss these reports, we in Rivers
State, with the benefit of hindsight and our
collective recent bitter experience in the hands of
former Police Commissioner Joseph Mbu, who was
also reported to have a similar mandate, cannot.”
The governor’s spokesperson, however, said any
move to install a stooge of the presidency will be
resisted by people of the state.
He said the “people of Rivers State will strongly
and bravely resist any attempt by anyone or
institutions, including The Presidency, to
unconstitutionally install the preferred PDP aspirant
as governor of the state, now or in the 2015
election. There is no provision in the Nigerian
Constitution and laws for the installation of a
preferred aspirant as governor of a state by the
presidency. What our laws prescribe is a free and
fair election that must be devoid of police and
security forces coercion, harassment and
intimidation of voters.”
He further warned that such move, if allowed,
portends danger to the state and nation, adding,
“Rivers voters must be allowed to and will freely
elect their governor in the 2015 elections.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/rivers-presidency-wants-install-pdp-gov-cp-amaechi/

The attempt, last Wednesday, by Professor Attahiru
Jega, National Chairman, Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC, to explain away the
inherent incongruity in allocating Polling Units,
PUs, to states of the federation with less probability
of having more voting population, an exercise that
should have been carried out relying on field data,
only served to further pour cold water on the
Chairman of Nigeria’s election management body.
This report will show that based on figures
exclusively gotten from the Commission, the less-
than-academic explanation of why INEC did what it
did falls flat in the face of common sense and
reality.
Rather than persist on this voyage of
embarrassment as the Commission first did
regarding the issue of delimitation, a fool’s errand
of attempting to carry out the exercise so close to
next year’s elections but had to suspend, Jega’s
insistence on going ahead with the lopsided
allocation of PUs to favour the North is nothing
more than a recipe for disaster and another
attempt at consolidating on the error of Nigeria’s
colonial masters and the military that enthroned
the warped demographic logic of claiming that
more people live in the desert.
PULLING WOOL
Professor Attahiru Jega’s production line of
excuses and rationalization for an agenda that
went awry may soon suffer a fatal breakdown. His
present challenge is how to explain to Nigerians
the logic and workability of putting a cart before a
tired horse.
Ordinarily, on the matter of Polling Units, PUs,
INEC’s decision to create new ones appeared very
necessary and potentially beneficial to the electoral
process.
However, on closer scrutiny, the devil is in the
details.
When Sunday Vanguard commenced the crusade
on the dangers to the credibility of the electoral
process occasioned by the seemingly manipulative
mentality inherent in creating PUs before meeting
some conditions precedent, INEC chose to, at best,
ignore the damning observations and, at worst,
pooh-pooh the publications.
But because the real dangers and illogicality of
INEC’s decision on the matter were not
immediately manifest, Nigerians were not quick to
observe the not-so-innocent as well as less than
altruistic reasons behind PU saga.
PUNCTURING INEC’s LOGIC
The questions to, therefore, ask are: How did INEC
arrive at its proportions while it was still collecting
data in the field regarding actual figures of voters
in each jurisdiction? Was it done without reference
to actual reality from field data?
The emerging result from the Continuous Voter
Registration, CVR, is bringing day light into INEC’s
magic.
The first phase of the CVR started on May 28, 2014
and ended on June 3, 2014.
The second phase commenced on June 20 – 25,
2014. INEC’s explanation is that those who had
issues with their registration and were expected to
return for another round of registration during the
CVR accounted for its basis for allocating PUs the
way it did. But looking at the table of the result of
Phases 1 and 2 of the CVR, the number of those
who actually re-presented themselves for the CVR
exercise is no where up to 20% in almost all the
states and, therefore, knocks the bottom off Jega’s
explanation. (See table titled PHASE 1 and check
the sub-head, CVR Figures; and check table titled
PHASE 2 and check sub-head, TOTAL).
An outcome that should inform voter logistics, one
of which is the number of polling units required for
each jurisdiction, is being conducted in a
maliciously whimsical manner.
As the emergent figures from INEC’s authentication
of eligible voters and the continuous registration of
voters in different jurisdictions show below, INEC
created 1,200 additional polling units in Abuja, and
1,167 new polling units for the whole of the South-
east zone, whereas extant data, and now emergent
data from INEC’s own field reports, demonstrate
again that not only does just four states in the
South-east far exceeds the voting strength in
Abuja, the number of newly registered voters in
the zone is 919,097, while the FCT has just 37,235
times or about 25 times more.
From the emerging data above, even though the
full national figures have not emerged, the
following clear deductions can be made to restate
that INEC’s decision-makers who created the new
Pus, which gave 21,000 PUs to the North and a
little over 8,000 PUs to the South, were only
playing what looks like a regional card instead of
doing a professional electoral management job.
Even if the final data results in a double voter
strength between the North-west and the South-
east, for instance, which is unlikely given the
estimated voting population of the states yet to be
accounted for in both zones from the data above, it
cannot justify the 8 to 1 disparity in the allocation
of new PUs to both zones.
WHY THE HASTE?
Emerging data shows that the difference in the
number of newly registered voters from the CVR for
the four states of the South-east above and the
four states in the North-west is not significantly
different, even when the data from large voter areas
from the South, such as Lagos, Port Harcourt,
Ibadan and so forth, have not been taken into
account; yet the allocation of new Pus, which
should largely be informed by voter increases, has
been skewed to appear as if a wide margin of
difference in CVR exists between the North and the
South.
Emergent field data from INEC shows that four
states (not the full five states) in the South-east
have 25 times more newly registered voters than
FCT, Abuja; yet, Abuja was allocated more new
PUs than the entire South-east zone.
Take, for instance, a state like Zamfara that has
almost the same number of new eligible voters and
almost the same extant voters as Enugu, but which
got about 1,000 new polling units, almost the same
as the entire South-east got.
INEC could not possibly know ahead of actual field
figures the number of people who will register as
eligible voters in any jurisdiction from the pool of
eligible citizens. A comparison of intra-zonal CVR
figures, for instance, shows that Zamfara, with an
extant voter figure of 1,133,245, had more new
registrants namely, 433,452, than a state with
more extant eligible voters like Jigawa with
1,510,258, which had only 72,416.
Similarly, an inter-zonal comparison of Enugu and
Kebbi will show a similar phenomenon. This kills
off any arguments for a resort to population/
demographic assumptions without actual field
figures, as was put forward by Jega during his
press conference.
In other words, as many have cautioned, INEC
ought to have waited for actual field data before
creating new PUs, rather than creating PUs to fit an
assumed framework, as others have said before.
In doing so, INEC was climbing the tree from the
top or working with pre-determined answers,
which is proof that those who did the allocations in
INEC had preconceived reasons for their
allocations.
This is a very sad development for electoral
management because it distorts the numbers
required for better local planning and offsets the
election for local contests such as states and
national legislature as well as state gubernatorial
elections.
PERTINENT ISSUES
On the day of election in a presidential system, the
outcome depends on the number of voters who
show up and are authenticated. The only
significant effect on interstate elections is with the
presidential election, and this only becomes
significant where there is a major contest between
two candidates and a simple majority is needed by
one candidate to break other parameters if they are
tied. This is why the suspicion of a regional
agenda is clearly at play, as this can only be the
motivation for this peculiar mess.
Jega’s press conference did not effectively address
the following issues:
Which of the Register of data was used for the PUs
creation: post Automated Finger Identification
System, AFIS, or post Business Rule, BR? We
know it is post-AFIS!
Why use post-AFIS register when post-BR is being
used to produce Permanent Voter Card, PVC, and
for the Register used for Ekiti, Osun and the same
would be used for the 2015 elections?
What is the total number of those in the post-AFIS
and who actually re-presented themselves in the
1st phase of CVR carried out in 10 states and the
2nd phase with 12 states and how many do INEC
project would turn up in the 3rd and final phase
involving 12 states ? There would be no figure to
give because processing of recently registered
voters is still ongoing.
The final question, therefore, would be, would it not
have been better and tidier for all the activities that
are still ongoing to be completed and actual
figures known before creating PUs?
The consolation, however, is that Jega is both
intelligent and wise.
As was the case when Sunday Vanguard raised
the alarm about the administrative hocus-pocus
being engendered at the Commission under Jega
and which appears to have been addressed (even
if not fully but partly), there is the expectation that
Jega would do the wise thing so that all his efforts
at bequeathing a clean voter register would not be
slaughtered on the altar of North/South dichotomy.
It remains his call.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/polling-units-scandal-jegas-theory-dangers-ahead/

The controversy over alleged sponsors of Boko
Haram took a twist yesterday when Nobel Laureate
Wole Soyinka said information about a suspected
financier of the terror group within the Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN) was passed to President Goodluck
Jonathan.
Soyinka also said he worked “in the background”
with Australian negotiator Stephen Davis during the
Niger Delta militancy crisis, and warned against
dismissing his claims on those allegedly
sponsoring Boko Haram.
The Nobel Laureate spoke on a day a source
familiar with Boko Haram revealed that some of
the school girls captured by the Islamist group in
Chibok, Borno State, in April, might have been
raped to death.
In a statement by Soyinka titled, The wages of
impunity, he was appalled by government’s
treatment of people linked with the Islamist group
with kid gloves.
Soyinka said: “Finally, Stephen Davis also
mentioned a Boko Haram financier within the
Nigerian Central Bank. Independently we are able
to give backing to that claim, even to the extent of
naming the individual. In the process of our
enquiries, we solicited the help of a foreign
embassy whose government, we learnt, was
actually on the same trail, thanks to its
independent investigation into some money
laundering that involved the Central Bank.
“That name, we confidently learnt, has also been
passed on to President Jonathan. When he is
ready to abandon his accommodating policy
towards the implicated, even the criminalized, an
attitude that owes so much to re-election
desperation, when he moves from a passive
`letting the law to take its course’ to galvanizing
the law to take its course, we shall gladly supply
that name”.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/jonathan-knows-boko-haram-financier-cbn-soyinka/

Alhaji Hamidu Kadi-Kuta was appointed Head of
Service, Niger State about three months ago. He
was Chief of Protocol during the immediate past
administration. He also served as Permanent
Secretary in some ministries.
In this interview, the Head of Service bares his
mind on his appointment, challenges and his
vision for the state civil service.
Recently, you were appointed as the Head of
Service in Niger State, how did you receive the
appointment? Did you envisage it?
To be honest, I didn’t expect it. You may not rate
me among the super ambitious individuals. I went
through the service and put in my best. Anywhere
I found myself, I did my best and I never looked
beyond my nose in terms of progression.
I leave that
to God and
those who
see me
perform. I
never
imagined
that I will
become the
Head of
Service one
day. For the
Permanent
Secretary
position,I
may have
prayed and I
got it. That I
was sure,
but Head of Service, I never ever thought of it and I
will tell you why. In Niger State until now, that
position, you don’t even know how to place it.
Is it a regular career civil service routine post or
was it a political position. If you look back, you
will see the office as political as far as I am
concerned, so when my name was announced as
the new Head of Service, I was lost because up till
the last minute when my name was called, I was
not sure.
How many years to go in the civil service?
I still have 4-5 years to go.
How have you been coping with the new office?
I see the position as an enhanced position to
perform better with almost the same routine I have
been used to. It is almost the same job a
Permanent Secretary will be doing and I have been
doing this because I have been there before. I was
in that office for nearly five years as Permanent
Secretary, Management Service and most of the
things I am handling now were based on the
circular I issued that time.
So I find it easy. One thing with administration is
that if you are dispassionate about it, you are not
personal or emotional, you have no problem.
Everybody will come with his own issue and you
treat it on merit.
My concern is the long standing inactivity of the
civil service.
Despite the huge resources invested in the system,
we are far away from where we are going. Not one
third of the population of the civil service actually
appreciates or understands the concept of the
3:2020 project of the Chief Servant aimed at
placing the state as the third best economy in the
country by the year 2020. Even some of the
Permanent Secretaries don’t have that flair for the
future.
So all the training we are doing is to now bring
them out of the pit because we are getting too far
behind compared to other states. In terms of
qualifications, I see a lot coming in. I have seen so
much training going on but the implementation or
application for the overall interest of the system is
what is lacking.
Are you insinuating that those certificates are fake
or not legally acquired?
I don’t think so because the schools, the
institutions have been sensitized. The system has
a way of rejecting fake certificates and I will tell
you how we do it. Before you leave for training,
there are processes you have to follow. We have a
policy and you go within that training policy, i.e.,
training manual.
Once you are in school, you identify with the
Department of Establishment that you are o
training and the course you are going for has been
identified already and the institution you are going
is also understood and so you cannot then come
back with a certificate either before you end the
course because, after the course, you are to defend
what you have acquired and we also find out
whether your certificates is genuine or not.
We are not talking about the certificate here but the
productivity of civil servants after attending
courses because it is being said that some of the
top civil servants cannot even raise a simple
*MEMO.
That is what I was saying earlier that one third of
the civil servants don’t understand the import of
the entire thing. That is the truth and, worse still,
the directorate cadre, as we have it now, should be
the driver of the civil service, but I can assure you
that we still have a long way to go with the top
cadre. Indeed, we have a lot of work to do.
After coming back from those courses, are civil
servants subjected to examinations to qualify them
for promotion and those who don’t live up to
expectation, you do away with them or is there any
law in the pipeline to flush out those who cannot
make it?
Civil Service laws are already there. You cannot
attempt an examination more than three times on
the same position and remain in service.
Until this administration, promotions were
supposed to be mass.
Whether there is vacancy or you are qualified to be
there, people just fill the gap, but now, it is not so.
You cannot just move en-mass because, one,
there must be vacancy and you must have
qualified and you must satisfy the conditions laid
down for the next grade. We also introduced
retreat which is to sit for lectures, sit for
examination and pass or fail; if you pass, you are
elevated, if you fail, you are demoted to your
previous grade.
This actually costs money especially to conduct
promotion exams for all cadres; so what we are
planning for now is in-house retreat for the
promotion of those concerned and the state Civil
Service Commission is capable of doing this
beautifully.
How do you differentiate politics from civil service
because there are a lot of politicians still serving?
That’s right, but, you see, politicians come from
two directions.
We have civil servants who opt to serve at political
level and they are allowed by the rule of the game.
One can easily go in, serve politically and come
back. The only thing is that you must apply to be
absent on leave for the period of serving. The law
allows it even to carry party cards but the only
thing is that you cannot contest without retiring or
resigning from your post.
What is the numerical strength of the civil servants
now and what is the exact requirement of the
state?
The numerical strength of civil servants in the state
now is put at thirty thousand but the ultimate
number of the civil service is determinable by the
quality of the population and not by fiat. If you give
me the option, I will say it shouldn’t be like that.
Let us see, first, how are they, where do they
belong and how qualified are they?
We are not going for number but quality of service.
For instance now, we have up to 40-50% that we
can say are round pegs in round holes and this is
not good enough.
And the state government cannot weed out the
unproductive civil servants?
We can weed. Why not but the implications are
vast. If you weed, what will they be doing in the
community? It will then amount to robbing Peter
and paying Paul. As far as I am concerned in this
state, there is no any other source of employment
except the civil service.
Though government is not a welfare organization,
it spends more money on paying salaries and
other allowances than the development of the
state. What is helping us out is the good initiative
of the Chief Servant, Dr. Mua’zu Babangida Aliyu,
in the introduction of Public Partnership Project
(PPP).
Another problem we are facing is that people just
don’t want to leave the service. There are people
known to have changed their dates of employment
and other relevant information in the past simply
because they don’t want to leave and they go on
changing every time.
Some even carry the CVs of their children looking
for job in the same system. You know I have been
there and I know what I am talking about. They
don’t want to leave and they are asking
government to take their children again. They
should leave the positions for their children to take
over.
One of the problems confronting most of these
workers and why they don’t want to leave is the
world of unknown especially how to get their
pension and their gratuity after disengaging.
I don’t think so. In 2007 when the Chief Servant
came in, that time coincided with the new pension
scheme; so in Niger State, we are already 4-5years
into that implementation. This is the first time in
Niger that government dedicates fund every month
for the payment of pension and gratuity. I can also
assure you that 60% of civil servants in this state
are on the new pension scheme.
Only 20% that will soon retire are on the old
scheme, so I don’t think it is the fear. What is the
fear is that most of the civil servants don’t have an
idea of what to do after service, i.e., post
retirement programmes. Most of them don’t think
of anything. In fact, most of them see their final
package, i.e., gratuity as what to expend on what
they want to do which is risky.
It is really suicidal because no matter what they
give you when you retire and you have no plans
while in service, you are finished. You don’t have
the skill to do business, you don’t have the
acumen, you have the society to take care of, you
have politics playing around you because another
temptation is that the moment a civil servant gets
out there, some of them go into politics and the
money is gone, and the civil servant will be lost.
Are you then planning to organize a pre-retirement
seminar for your people to get them prepared?
That is what we are doing now. That is the new
style because since the assumption of office of the
Chief Servant, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, he has always
emphasized the need to renew our curriculum in
schools to introduce skill and technology. ‘Go
there and be self-reliant; when you finish school,
you don’t need to come out and be looking for
government jobs’, but it is only those who have
between 10-15years to serve that can pick up that
kind of skill, those who have less than 2years to
go, what would they do?
The work force now is about 40% of those to retire
in the next five years. We should also remember
that in the past administrations, there had not been
employment until when the present administration
took over. The Chief Servant when he took over
looked at some critical service areas and he has
allowed it. In other words, what we are dealing
mostly with in the civil service are old and retiring
public officers who have lost interest in the civil
service and who don’t have any skill at all and who
you cannot sell the idea to. These are some of the
challenges we are facing in post-retirement life.
Ghost workers have always been a problem at
local, state and even federal levels; what is the
situation like in the state?
That is another challenge which I can also refer to
as a disaster and it all goes down to that life
outside there. What do I do when I get out there
and so let me acquire and acquire by all means?;
so ghost workers exist, but serious efforts have
been made to flush a lot of them out of service.
In fact, as I speak with you, about four thousand
have been identified and flushed out. However, we
have realized that we have to review the style of
flushing out. We go out and tell them to present
their credentials to prove that they are civil
servants, but still, some of them don’t come
thereby making it difficult to identify and catch
them. We discovered in the exercise that one
person has four to five different accounts collecting
money from government. These are people
supposed to undergo serious punishments. They
will not only lose their jobs, they will also be
prosecuted.
About how may many have been caught in that
category.
Oh! Plenty. Why I cannot tell you the figure is
because the firm handling the exercise is still on
and I don’t want to pre-empt their report because
they are almost finishing. Meanwhile, those caught
are already listed and we know who they are. The
first step is to deny them access to funds; they
don’t even know what is happening to them now
and they are going round lobbying and begging.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/niger-dead-draw-salaries-ssg/

A Nigerian soldier in Borno reveals why the
insurgents may continue to have upper hand and
suggests a way out
A Nigerian soldier fighting the Boko Harem
insurgents in Maiduguri, Bornu State, (name
withheld) has given reasons while the insurgents
may continue to have the upper hands in the
battle.
He equally warned that more soldiers will continue
to desert the army due to low morale, lack of
modern equipment, saboteurs among others. He
emailed to us an account of their battles and
challenges fighting Boko Haram:
“I am a Nigerian Soldier attached to the
Multinational Joint Task Force located in KauKirie
Section 3 Baga. I joined the Army less than three
years ago with the aim of helping to defend
Nigerian territory and sovereignty against both
external and internal aggressions.
After six months training, we were drafted to
Maiduguri, Bornu state to fight the Boko Haram
insurgency. I looked forward with enthusiasm to
fighting against this sect that has been inflicting
pains on innocent Nigerians without just. Hardly
had we settled down in Bornu State did my
colleagues and I realize that we were in an army
different from what made us to join. It has been
highly politicised, demoralised, lacking discipline
and above all, without tools to fight.
Well, I just want to use this medium to bring to the
fore some of the major challenges hindering our
operations, and they are lack of intelligence
gathering and increasing cases of saboteurs in our
operations among others.
Just to mention few cases. I recall a particular
operation, when our driver refused to take a
particular route that we were directed to take. We
did not argue with him. That was our saving grace.
The following day, we learnt that militants laid
ambush waiting for us and as we did not come,
they killed every civilian that passed that route.
Another case was in the wee hours of July 31, our
camp was attacked for several hours while two of
our colleagues were confirmed dead, 19 were
declared missing after we ran for our dear lives
and our camp was set ablaze. We were rescued by
Chadian soldiers. Later seven returned to base
while 12 were confirmed dead. As I write this,
their corpses have not been recovered. In fact,
they were left unburied and left to decompose like
animals.
This has further dampened the morale of soldiers.
We are now experiencing deserters every day.
Those of us that have not yet deserted, we are still
surviving by the grace of Almighty God.
Besides the fact that we are poorly equipped,
bullets are rationed to us to go and confront highly
equipped militants with state of the art weapons.
There was a day when we came under attack, my
gun failed to function. It just locked. I’m not the
only one this has happened to.
The truth of the matter is that our political leaders
and Military hierarchy are gambling with our lives.
They are just sacrificing our lives for nothing. On
several occasions, when we go for operations and
come under heavy attacks, when we call for
reinforcement, there will not be any, and if they
decide to send, it takes several hours if not days.
We have been having problem with intelligence
gathering since we came here. It is absolutely
difficult to use non-Northerner for intelligence
gathering because of unwillingness of the
indigenes to cooperate.
Again, it has been equally difficult to use indigenes
for intelligence gathering. In many cases,
information from indigenes led to fatal situations
because many of them have been found to be false
and unreliable. Some of our colleagues from this
area (North-east) are sympathetic to the
insurgents. Sadly, the insurgents may continue to
have the upper hand in the war because of the
operational problems of lack of modern equipment,
use of inexperienced combatants who have not
spent more than five years in the military, low
morale and other things I have mentioned earlier.
There are lot of saboteurs in the force who are very
sympathetic to the cause of the insurgents.
The war requires deployment of fresh combatants,
with high discipline and motivation. Those fighting
the insurgents at present, unfortunately, including
me, have lost the zeal and motivation to continue.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/day-boko-haram-killed-soldiers-set-camp-ablaze-chadian-soldiers-rescued-us/

Hours after the news went viral that the building of the synagogue of all nation has collapsed this is what the church posted on its facebook wall to refute the claim:

This is an official communication from The
Synagogue, Church Of All Nations concerning a
news story currently being reported by the
media regarding an incident that happened
today:
“A building, not the church auditorium as was
reported. The few people that were there are
being rescued. What you wish to others, God
wishes to you. Nothing makes us love a person
as much as This is an official communication from The
Synagogue, Church Of All Nations concerning a
news story currently being reported by the
media regarding an incident that happened
today:
“A building, not the church auditorium as was
reported. The few people that were there are
being rescued. What you wish to others, God
wishes to you. Nothing makes us love a person
as much as praying for him. The more I love
you, the more I will pray for you.” for him. The more I love
you, the more I will pray for you.”

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=715851775202268&id=103470916440360&refid=17

The 144,000 Jews (Israelites)
who are sealed in Revelation 7:4-8
are sealed for the specific purpose
of being “evangelists” during the
Tribulation period. The sealing
provides protection from the
plagues and devastation brought
on by the trumpet and bowl judgments, as well as
from the wrath of the Antichrist.
The 144,000 is not a limit to how many people will
be saved, but rather is just a select group of
Jewish believers called to proclaim God’s message
during the end times. There will be perhaps
millions of other converts during the Tribulation,
most of them a result of the 144,000’s
ministry. The number 144,000 may represent
12,000 soulwinners from each of the 12 tribes of
Israel.
The Jehovah Witnesses pervert this Biblical
teaching by claiming that only 144,000 will enter
into Heaven. There is nothing in the Word of God
teaching any such nonsense. John said that the
number of believers he saw in Heaven were
innumerable, “ After this I beheld, and, lo, a great
multitude, which no man could number...” Clearly,
the Word of God does not teach that only 144,000
souls will go to Heaven.


http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Believer's%20Corner/Doctrines/rev-144000.htm

Members of Nigerian Civil War Veterans
of (1967–1970), under the aegis of Carefirst for the
Aged Welfare Development Association of Nigeria,
CAWDAN, have called on President Goodluck
Jonathan to urgently declare his intention to run
for a second term in the 2015 presidential election
in the country.
The veterans said they had already concluded
arrangements to engage their over 65,000
members living in different parts of the country to
give their total support to the President to ensure
he won the election.
National Chairman of the group,Ubi Okoi, who
made the call yesterday in Onitsha, Anambra State,
shortly after receiving their certificate of
incorporation for the CAWDAN from the Corporate
Affairs Commission, C.A.C, Abuja, described
Jonathan’s on-going transformation agenda as
monumental.
Okoi said: “President Jonathan should as a matter
of urgency declare his intention to run for a
second tenure in 2015 because we have already
concluded all the arrangements to engage the over
sixty-five thousand members of the body living in
different parts of the country to give their support
to ensure the emergence of the President in 2015
presidential election.”
He noted that members of the group contributed
their quota towards keeping the country together,
adding that the group was formed to pursue
payment of their compensation by the federal
government.
Okoi appeal to the government to fulfill its
promises to compensate them.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/war-veterans-ask-jonathan-declare-2nd-term/

SXTY-FIVE days after an Islamic
cleric, Abdul Ganiyu Jumah and his wife, Muinat,
were reportedly abducted by unknown gunmen at
their residence, they were found at the detention
facility of the Department of State Services, DSS in
Ogun State.
The couple, who were residing at 27, Fagbemi
Street, Ijoko, in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government
Area of the state, were declared missing after
unknown gunmen stormed their residence and
reportedly whisked the man and his pregnant wife
away at 3:am.
A family source, who spoke with Vanguard on
condition of anonymity said he received a call from
one Lukman Oketokun on Tuesday instructing him
to go to Abeokuta Headquarters of the DSS to see
the Deputy Director, Operations at 10:am the
following day.
The source further said the witness met with the
official who released the wife of the cleric.
The woman told Vanguard shortly after her release
that the DSS did not tell them their offence.
According to the woman, “they only released me
and are still detaining my husband without telling
us what our offence was.
“They only gave me a letter from a gynaecologist
who advised me to proceed to the hospital for
delivery.”
Attempt to get reaction from the DSS was
unsuccessful.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/missing-couple-found-ogun-dss-detention/