₦airaland Forum

Am sure this will do

REALITY101:
Bless you brother for admitting that they real suck so bad.

If winning games and mauling your team with high goal margin is what you call Suck, bless you too

John Mikel Nchekwube Obi, you can love or hate him but you can never ignore him. Nigerians should love their own and support them to do more.

REALITY101:
How many of ya'all here knows how much Chelsea freaking SUCK ? Can you please raise your hand up?

We perfectly understand how you feel. Chelsea must have thumped your team in the past

xxcarolxx:
Thanks Highchief, I do wish him well, I have told him to try stop his cheating ways or nothing will ever change for him. That he will keep getting dumped.

U really wish him well.LWKMD

xxcarolxx:
Cyberg, It was through his choice to pay this bill i did not force him. I want the bill back in my name. Yes iv moved on but am taking things fairly slow. Yes i do know my ex cheated he got another girl pregnant while we were dating. So better the devil you know i don't think so, So if he gave me an std im supposed to say thats ok, I have not moved on so quickly as peeps think, iv been going on with this issue a lot longer. In feb of this year is when i received a call from a girl he was dating. To me its all water under the bridge all i want is to get through to him we are no longer together,

Carol just be nice to him, though you are not taking him back. I wish you luck

4-0 Sturridge. Good dance steps sturridge

tolutweety:
pls i need to link to watch d match . pls somebody help.

You can watch it here: http://atdhe.net/24138/watch-zilina-vs-chelsea

0-3 already. Abeg who dey home ooooh. 4 person house again. Up Chelsea

The Head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Forensic Unit, Mr. Abdullahi Muazu, has been found dead in Kaduna.

The commission, which broke the news of his murder in Abuja on Tuesday, said it was intended to scuttle some ongoing cases, for which the deceased was a key witness.

Confirming the early morning murder in a statement, the EFCC’s Head, Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said the senior official’s killers trailed him to his hometown before killing him.

In a related development, the commission said it had also got wind of a plan to attack its office and officials in Port Harcourt.

Muazu was said to have left Abuja for his Kaduna residence during the public holidays to celebrate Sallah with his family.

“Those behind this attack may have succeeded in killing a strategic hand and a key witness in some of our on-going cases, but their act has failed to dampen our spirit.

“(It will not) deter us from continuing our investigation and prosecution of all forms of economic crimes and corruption in the country.

“The Chairman of the EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri, has already directed a team of operatives from the Abuja headquarters to proceed to Kaduna to assist the relevant security agencies in the investigation of the murder,” he said.

Babafemi also alleged that intelligence at EFCC’s disposal indicated that the first in the series of planned attacks on the commission by the Rivers State Government was a protest march fixed for Wednesday (today).

The commission said available information revealed that public funds would be used to prosecute the protest, for which 1000 people had been mobilised from each of the state’s 23 local government areas of the state.

Babafemi said, “This is to be followed by yet another protest by various women groups, rejecting the presence of the EFCC in the state.

“The real motive of these sponsored protests is to set the commission’s zonal office in Port Harcourt ablaze, in a desperate bid to cripple the EFCC’s activities in the state and the entire South-South region.

“The commission wishes to assure all that while it will continue to do its work within the ambit of the law, it has the right to defend itself and its officials against hirelings who have been paid to attack us under the guise of protests.”

The commission vowed that it would not succumb to gangsterism in any part of the country.

Denying the allegations in a telephone interview with our correspondent, Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said they were “unwarranted and uncharitable.”

The commissioner, who said she was speaking from the United States, also described the allegations as sheer mischief.

Semenitari said, “As I speak with you, I’m in the US with the governor (Mr. Rotimi Amaechi) on an investment drive. There is no truth in the allegations at all.

“We cannot be busy trying to attract investors to the state and at the same time be planning to cause chaos. It is despicable to allege that we are planning to attack a government agency or anybody at all.

“The EFCC is just being mischievous. Nobody has disturbed them from carrying out their investigations, because we have nothing to hide.”

THE Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) is set to introduce a new driver’s licence and new vehicle number plate on October 1, according to the Corps’ Public Education Officer, Mr. Samuel Obayemi.

Obayemi disclosed this yesterday in Lagos at a press conference to announce the flag off of the 2010 Don’t Drink and Drive campaign.

He said the new number plate would be launched on October 1, while the roll-out of the driver’s licence would be on December 1.

According to him, these are some of the efforts of the commission to create a safe motoring environment in the country.

Explaining the rationale behind the new licence, Obayemi said many of those who currently hold driver’s licences did not have adequate driving training before the document was issued to them.

He said before any driver would be issued with the new licence, such applicant must undergo a proper training at FRSC-approved driving schools.

Obayemi also noted with regret that the FRSC is yet to be located in all the local government areas in the country, as it operates from only 213 commands across the land.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc, in collaboration the FRSC, has flagged off the 2010 and third edition of the Don’t Drink and Drive campaign.

Briefing the media in Lagos yesterday, the Corporate Affairs Adviser of the NB, Mr. Yusuf Ageni, said the campaign is aimed at discouraging the habit of drinking and driving and preventing avoidable road crashes.

He said the campaign is essentially an awareness-creation and life-saving effort targeted at commercial motorists and motorcycle riders.

He added: “The campaign is designed to promote responsible drinking among drivers and other road users; create awareness about the danger of drink driving and reduce the incidence of alcohol-induced road accidents.

“Our targeted audience for the campaign include the officials and members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers of Nigeria, Okada Riders Associations, Luxury and City Bus Drivers Association, and Executive Car Rental Companies, as well as drivers working with courier companies, government agencies and our key transport among others.”

FORMER Inspector-General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, and his successor, Hafiz Ringim, yesterday hinted that a new era would begin without any member of the police management team who served in the last administration.

During an extensive meeting with top police chiefs, including the six outgoing Deputy Inspectors-General (DIGs), at the Force Headquarters, Louis Edet House, Abuja, Ringim and Onovo described the management team as outgoing.

Ringim, at the meeting, warned officers not to be involved in politics, if they don’t want to land in trouble.

Also present at the gathering was Onovo, who felt bad about his removal and spoke about how government had made it difficult to provide adequate security in the country.

Ringim, who took over from Onovo last week as the 15th indigenous IGP, warned the officers, especially the state commissioners of police that sacrifices must be made if the institution must be sanitised.

He said: “The former IGP used to say that you cannot make an omelet without breaking some eggs, and so without sounding threatening, without wanting to threaten anybody, without wanting to sound anything apart from civil, we have to make an omelet and we have to break some eggs; and so, if you don’t want to be part of that omelet, don’t allow yourself to be broken because the police has taken too much bashing.”

Onovo, who earlier made his valedictory speech, decried his removal as police IG, as he said that his removal would be remembered for long.

He described his tenure as a turbulent tenure, adding that he came in with the Boko Haram crisis and was removed during another Boko Haram crisis.

He added that in all these, his administration gave the best in policing the nation.

He said: “My period was marked with turbulence. I came in with Boko Haram and I left with Boko Haram.

“We gave it our best. It is left with history to decide whether we did or not.

“The Nigeria Police Force is an institution; it was there before we were born and it will outlive us. If you don’t receive your reward here, you will receive it in heaven. Policing is so frustrating in our country.

“You have enormous challenges ahead of you, elections are around the corner. Nigerians should give the Nigeria Police Force a chance to perform.”

While talking about his removal, he said: “This occasion will be remembered for a long time, and I think it is proper that I make this valedictory speech from the bottom of my heart and without going through any written speech.

“The Nigerian public expects much from us and as the saying goes: to whom much is given, much is expected. An occasion where we are fighting almost bare-handed and given the strong political, economic, social, cultural and other problems, that make policing so frustrating in our country, we can only still give our best. And I say to all officers who have had to lay down their lives in the line of duty, may God accept your souls in perfect peace. Amen. May your sacrifices not be in vain.

“I also want to say that, when I say we are facing enormous challenges, I am not joking at all. Elections are around the corner and those factors that make insecurity thrive are still not abated. These are those factors I had earlier mentioned. They are still there. So, you have enormous challenges ahead; brace up for it. You have done it before, and I know you can do it again.

“When the Anambra election was coming up, people thought we will not do it; it will be this, it will be that, it will be hot, it will be somehow; we did it and no single shot was fired. I believe and pray that the next election will also come that way. I believe and pray that Nigeria will give us a chance and let us perform. With the leadership of Ringim, I am sure, we will get there.

“Let me also use this opportunity to mention my DIGs who are also going out with me. Each one of them, a giant in his own field; I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart, for what they have done for this country, you might not know it, as Commissioners of Police in the states; you might think you are being bothered, but we are being bothered here even more than you were; even up to 20 times more than what we were passing here. But, I want to thank the Commissioners of Police, individually and collectively, for giving these criminals a good run for their money. I know how you have sacrificed to get to this point.

“I would also like to thank the Nigerian media. They kept us on the hot seat; on the front burner from beginning to the end. Their criticisms gingered us up. They appealed to government to provide logistics for us, and these will not go unnoticed. I want to thank you for the various contributions you have made.

“Finally, let me apologise to all of you, my colleagues, officers here and outside of this place; everyone: those I stepped on their toes, there should be no hard feelings.

“I want also to use this opportunity to thank Mr. President for giving me the opportunity to serve. I wish him well and let me finally say that I am still a policeman, uniform out of it. I will always be around to offer advice and assistance whenever it is needed. You all remain my friends. I will come to headquarters occasionally to know how you are doing and anywhere we meet, we shall remain friends and colleagues.”

The acting IGP, who said that his address should not be taken as his maiden speech, added: “It is indeed historic. Like Mr. Onovo has said, I want to thank him for the leadership he has been able to provide. I want to thank Mr. Onovo and his outgoing management team for the leadership they have so far provided for the force and I want to sincerely appreciate their efforts and wish them happy retirement, and I wish they would also be available for our further consultation. Like the FPRO has said, I am not new to you, I had a one-year stint here as the AIG Border Patrol, and I am conversant with some of the major problems of the Nigeria Police Force and indeed what the nation has been having in terms of security.

“We cannot but praise the last police administration for the efforts they put in, in spite of the numerous hurdles they had to cross. We can only praise their vision, and we intend to look at what efforts they have put; what problems they faced; what obstacles they had to cross, and what impediments they had to come through and promise to rededicate ourselves to make sure that where changes are necessary, we shall make them; where difficulties are found we shall surmount them; where stubbornness is met, we shall attempt to demolish them. Like Mr. Onovo has said, our nation is facing very difficult times and the police are part and parcel of the nation. Our nation cannot suffer without the police suffering and I know God willing, with the assistance you and the remaining senior officers here and other members of the rank and file, and the assistance and help that the Federal Government would see that it comes in more handy than before we shall definitely overcome.

“It is not now that I would provide my maiden address as is the usual practice. I think it is only fair that after having discussed with Mr. Onovo, the outgoing IGP and his team; after having gone through the documentations so far available, and after having a fair intake of the battle that they had fought and appreciated the rights and wrongs that were performed, I will now sit down with most of you and chart a course forward.

“You are now aware gentlemen that in the next three months, we shall have our elections from the timetable of INEC. Shortly, we shall commence the process of electioneering campaigns. The primaries of the political parties and the rest of the political activities will start proper, and it is my sincere wish, advice and counsel especially for those commissioners that hold command responsibilities that they sit up and face the situation squarely.

“We have gone through a lot of allegations and complaints and this is not the time when we will drag our names in the mud. In line with the wishes and instructions and the directives of the Commander- in- Chief, we must all be able to provide a level-playing ground for all political participants as well as the political parties.

“Sadly, you are aware of the menace of kidnapping particularly in the South-East. I want to seize this opportunity and warn the operatives and operators, the leadership and the followers of policemen and women in those regions that they must endeavour to sit up.

“The armed robbery being committed along some of our major roads must certainly be minimised. The corrupt tendencies of some of our personnel, particularly those on the check points must also stop. These and such other vices are the ones that have caused the members of the public to lose faith in us.

“We will not give any room any more, any further for any more complaints from any quarters on our police activities.

“It is something that we can collectively redeem. The Police Force is one of the oldest organisations in this country and it is supposed to be the best”.

Meanwhile, three senior AIGs will today know their fate after the meeting of the Police Service Commission Board.

The Board is saddled with the responsibility of promotion, discipline and welfare of senior police officers.

The three AIGs, who were senior to Ringim before his elevation, are Mrs. Ivy Okoronkwo, AIG Zone 7, Abuja; Ganiyu Dawodu, AIG Intelligence, Force Criminal Investigations Department, Abuja, and Azubuko Udah, AIG Zone 2, Lagos.

Force Public Relations Officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel Ojukwu, had earlier said that there would be no crime in their remaining in the force “as long as they abide by the rules, but according to the order of hierarchy in the force, a senior officer can’t salute his junior one”.

Investigations indicated that the board, which has the PSC Chairman, Parry Osayande, and the IG as members, will decide those that will take over from the six newly-retired Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, DIGs, and immediately effect the promotion of other senior officers due for promotion to fill in the vacuum created by the retired officers.

If the three AIGs are left in the Force, they will automatically become DIGs, including Mohammed Abubakar, AIG Zone 5, Benin; Sardauna Abubakar, AIG Zone 1, Kano; and Audu Abubakar, Commandant, Police Staff College, Jos.

When contacted on phone yesterday, the PSC spokesperson, Mr. Ferdinand Ekpe, neither confirmed nor denied the story. He said that the Board would meet today to discuss ways of moving the force forward.

kannymoore:
I heard somewhere that the match is supposed to begin by 6pm naija time. Can someone pls confirm this?

Its 7:45pm naija time. Don't miss it

Ranoscky:
Kx

Dat is 1 of doz things dat beat's me to d core dat i keep wonderin if dis americans r humaned by drugs, dat if dey fail to take dia drugs, dey would b'com ABNORMAL!
Can u imagine som1, not only dat d bas-tard want's to blow up his miserable lyf, buh both with d live's of some other innocent passengers aboard dsame flight, n dey'r hia judgin a terrorist?
Maybe if convinced, Abdulmutallab (a terrorist) would be jailed for several yrs, n after servin however yrs he would be sentenced, dey'll free d terrorist n allow d terrorist to go. N later, dat same terrorist will go back to his terrorist Al-Qaeda master's to train for more programme on how to destroy d lyf's of some innocent americans dat know's nottin about dia miserable terrorist act, n d FOOLS dat called demselfs GORV n JUDGES of d so called america would be saved. If so, y d huntin of Osama Binladen wen dey know dat if dey catch's him, dey won't kill him, buh jail him for lyf? who know's maybe (if paradventure) dey catch Osama Binladen, dey myt forget to take dia drugs dat make's dem "normal" n free d Bas-tard after some yrs dat he has been detained, sayin it's part of human right?)

Oh, America. What a country!

Am sure they are investigating him thoroughly, cos the findings could provide more information about these terrorists. Nigerians are always fast to kill such people without proper investigations which could lead to implicating some top politicians who are really behind such crime, so it's good they take their time, maybe the sick boy could reveal much, which will help to know those that helped him board the plane and their accomplice in america. my 2 cents

This will be a walk in the park for my Chelsea

xxcarolxx:
We dated for 6 years. No he never accepted his cheating ways, He always denied them. No i never actually caught him in the act, but i got phone calls from girls asking who i was, and sometimes he never came home at night, and i also over heard some of his phone calls, The evidence was all there. I had received a phone call from 1 girl when he arrived home i asked him for his phone he said his battery was dead so i asked him to charge it but he wouldn't. So i called the girl back and put it on loud speaker for him to hear he just went silent and moody.

If you guys dated this long, you don't have to blame him for his persistent stalking you, am sure he must have thought about those years and the complications of building a new relationship, sometimes you don't know what you have till you loose it. Am only concerned now on your swiftness on getting a new bf, if you just came out of a 6years old relationship I think you should need sometime to yourself first before gettin into a new relationship plus 2months is too brief to start another one, except you are just using this new guy to get over your ex. Whateva is the case, if you have truly moved on, you can still be nice to your ex and help him move on as well, at least for old times sake. Next time don't always listen to people when you are in a relationship cos they are out to destroy it, i don't see why a stranger gal should be updating you on your bf escapedes if the intention is not aimed at destroying it, so the moment you start listenin to such people just know that your relationship is heading to the rocks.

How long did you guys date? Did he accept his cheatin acts or you caught him in the act?

xxcarolxx:
madlady, I have tried everything i have emailed but makes no difference whats so ever to him. My bf even called him to ask him to leave me in peace but still makes no difference, No matter what i try i cant get it through to him that he is past tense,

Don't get your new bf speak with him directly, he can only give you suggestions on what to do, cos instead of solvin a problem that might just create more problems

xxcarolxx:
Highchief, i have spoke with him about why i cant take him back, but as i say its like talking to a brick wall, Madlady This stage its driving me around the twist, Hopefully soon he will get the message,

Be taking his calls(except your new found love is against it), hold no grudge so he won't presume you are still hurt and prolly thats why you are keeping him at bay, always let him know you have come over it, pls don't sound harsh to him cos he might think your decision is borne from your emotions, but always let him know that you are not hurt anymore but can't just come back to him.

Is anyone still checking on this guy?

You can't just keep ignoring him, especially when it's not working and falling on deaf ears. I advise you try talk things over with him, listen to what he has to say and also let him know why you can't take him back again.

Kobojunkie:
And this is what happened during the last primaries or what you know ought to happen in THEORY?

That is how PDP vote in their presidential primaries election. You remember Obasanjo pleaded with Atiku not to contest 2003 elections because while OBJ was busy with foreign issues Atiku was handling domestic matters and as such found favor with the governors, so OBJ knew that if Atiku should contest, he would beat him in the primaries because he had the support of about 31states governors.

Ndipe:
That man brought Nigeria down financially and we havent been able to recover since his introduction of SAP and 'legalizing' corruption.

With so many clandestine killings during his reign, just go youtube IBB vs Vatsa you will have more reasons to hate that devil in human skin, i wonder why he is still walking freely in Nigeria and even nursin the ambition of a come-back. I pray for his downfall everyday

Kobojunkie:
I don't think you can use goodluck as example here. For one this is a man that has never really won an election himself so what makes you think he has it all figured out? Did Yar adua or Obasanjo do the very same thing during the 2007 primaries? That ought to be the question instead. NO, the PDP Governors have never been in control of the votes in their states. The people do not vote the way the governors want so we can safely say that is one out of the way. When it comes to rigging, the Governors can move to rig but success still depends on the backing they have from PDP members. We all know that it is no longer enough to rig the votes, but also get INEC to endorse the count. So, no matter how the PDP Governor chooses on his own to Rig, if INEC refuses it, it is of no value.

Now to the national level, it is possible that PDP Governors get a say in who the party candidate will be next, but I seriously doubt their vote counts for so much considering the events of the last primaries. I am more than certain that Yar adua did not get the backing of many of the Governors but he still came up as candidate for the party. IN the past couple of weeks, we have definitely seen some of these governors bounce back and forth on this issue, so I am still not willing to read much into this news considering the situation in Nigeria is QUITE DIFFERENT from that in other developed and civilized countries where this sort of this matters.

Let me explain the Governors' power to you in detail. Now, during the PDP primaries, the party delegates are the ones to vote in the primary which usually takes place in Abuja(Eagle Square). Each delegate from the 36 states + the FCT has a number of delegate to emerge from their state. The Governor of each state is the one that choses the delegates that represent their states, so the governor will chose a delegate that is loyal to him and ask(pay) him to vote for a particular candidate, so this is where the power of the governor lies, because he choses the delegates that vote in primaries. If IBB loses the support of his state governor, literally no delegate from his state will vote him because their voting will be in same accord with the state governor.

Big B1:
Forget ogogoro leaders, and crucify the fake leaders.
Come out and witness what leadership is all about, come and discover a leader that leads other leaders.

IBB is focused and absolutely knows what needs to be done to attain his goal.
God has given us a great and unique opportunity, it is now up to us to take advantage of it.
We definitely can not afford to allow this incredible opportunity to slip away.

If it isn't IBB, Nigeria will remain in darkness for a very long time. So, come on out, flex your muscle and boldly show your love and uncompromising support for the one and only magnificent candidate around; and his name is IBB.

Together, let us reshape the future of lovely Nigeria; I'm confidence to say that you will never regret it.

He is ready, focused, and on point.

Vote IBB 2011.

Man are you kiddin me? I would like to have what you have been takin, with a lil bit extra

Very Good post, if we could conquer tribalism 50%(if not 99%) of our problems are solved and unfortunately our political looters use this as a massive weapon to deceive the masses, example abound in what is happenin in that country 2day, instead of debating manifestoes politicians are debating zoning. Good post Beaf

The guy has improved tremendously, most of our(naija) players in EPL are doing well, Nsofor was a threat when West Ham played Chelsea last week end

THE profile of the Chelsea and Nigeria midfielder John Mikel Obi is rising everyday in the Premier League. 

In the official premier league ranking of players, the 23 year old is rated the ninth best player in the Premier League, while Dickson Etuhu is placed on 18th position.

Mikel has started all the league games for Chelsea this season and has contributed to Chelsea's 'stingy' defense. Only one goal conceded in four games.

For Chelsea, he may not be the most glamorous of players' neither the most prolific of goal scorers, Obi Mikel is not a footballing celebrity like most of his team mates. Nonetheless, he is second in the English Premier League’s passing calculators.

Mikel has completed 234 passes out of a total of 258 passes. Only 25 of his attempted passes have gone astray of their projected mark, something that the young midfielder duly deserves credit for.

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/football-golf-boxing/12979.html

Two former governors of Oyo State, Alhaji Lam Adesina and Senator Rashidi Ladoja, at the weekend, explained why they returned the car gifts from Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala.

They said the governor did not respect the rule of law or follow due process in offering them the Subaru brand of Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV).

They addressed reporters after praying at the Agodi praying ground, Ibadan, during the Eid-el-Fitri (end of Ramadan fast) celebration.

Ladoja said he expected Alao-Akala to follow the law in making a decision that would affect millions of people.

He wondered how a sitting governor would be running the affairs of the state as a personal estate.

He said: "One official came and said he was asked by the governor (Alao-Akala) to give me a car. I said where is the letter? He said there was no letter. I said is that how it is supposed to be? You just take a car to someone without a covering letter or acknowledgement. I asked him if the car was part of my pension entitlements because even my pension has not been paid.

"So, why the car now? My pension is statutory and it is in the Constitution that the governor has a right to pension. So, why should you give me a car now? He said he has no answer. And I asked him to tell him (Alao-Akala) that I don’t want the car. I want to know whether it is part of my pension entitlements and I want to have a list of them and then I asked him to take the car away.

"I should be made to know if it is part of my entitlements. In any case, I find it odd that somebody will just bring a car and said take a car without a delivery note. If the man that was supposed to deliver it said he has delivered it and has not done that, how shall we know?"

Ladoja, who explained that there was no malice about his decision, said someone in a position of authority should always endeavour to think about the less-privileged in the society and make prudent use of state resources to accommodate the poor.

He said: "I have just told you that people in authority should spare a though for the less privileged. How many cars do I have? The ones you see outside are just the ones in Ibadan. How many people are hungry in Oyo State? Do you know that the salary of August is yet to be paid to workers in the state? How do you expect people to enjoy sallah? They have families to cater for. So why should you give me a car when people are hungry. It is not what God will be happy with and I don’t want to do what God will not be happy with."

Adesina berated Alao-Akala for acting outside the ambit of the law, saying he has no apology for rejecting the car gift.

Adesina said: "If you want to give me a gift, let that gift follow due process. Since when has it become the order of the day for government to be giving car gifts to former office holders. I believe in the rule of law. I have been a parliamentarian before and I like things to follow the lawful way.

"In the first instance, did governor Akala sample my opinion as to which type of car he should buy for me?

"I have told many people that I don’t want to use any jeep again in my life; I don’t want to fall down while trying to climb it. I only use salon and am not in dire need of any vehicle. When I was leaving office, my own House of Assembly passed some things into law as regards remuneration for governor and former deputy governors. At that time they did not put it that apart from pension they should also receive car gifts.

"At no other time did I find out that other things have been added to our package except the upward review of salary of present day governors done by the revenue mobilisation and fiscal commission and that also affected us { former governors}. I spoke with him to let him know that anything that is unconstitutional or that does not follow due process, I would not have a hand in it."

A former vice-president of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said that he has no case to answer over the Halliburton bribery scandal.

About $180m was said to have been received between 1996 and 2002 by Nigerian government officials as bribe through a subsidiary of Halliburton, an American company, to facilitate the award of $6bn LNG contracts.

In an interview the Economic Confidential, an online publication, Atiku said he had not received any invitation from authorities in the United States over his purported involvement in the said scandal.

“If anybody has a case let them bring the case. Nobody has even interviewed me (on the bribery scandal). There are no evidences against me. This is just the work of political opponents who will stop at nothing in order to destroy your political career,” the former V.P said.

Asked if the Halliburton scandal influenced his preference for travelling to Dubai, instead of the US where he has a home, Atiku told the Economic Confidential that ”The United States is not Nigeria. They will call you wherever you may be.

”My wife is a citizen of the United States of America. I was going to the United States because my family was there; my wife took up a job in Dubai as an assistant professor at the American University in Dubai. So we moved.

”I therefore visit my family in Dubai. And if the United States was looking for me or my wife, about two or three weeks ago, we were at the United States embassy, here in Abuja, to renew the passports of my children who are American citizens, if I have a case to answer they would have arrested either of us.”

On the political development in the country, the former vice-president also said that 12 hours was enough to change electoral fortunes in any election.

He said, “As diverse as we are, we have the capacity to come together in less than 12 hours. In 2003 convention, it was within few hours that we decided that let us give it to this man. Even at the convention ground, states were calling to ask, ‘should we still vote for this man or that man?’ I would say ‘yes go ahead and vote.’ So do not underestimate the capacity of the north to come together within 12 hours.”

On the erratic power supply, Atiku, who recently declared his intention to contest in the next year’s presidential election under the People Democratic Party recommended “captive electricity plants.”

According to him, a captive power station is the shortest way to get sufficient power and also the shortest way to get foreign investment into the power sector.

He said: ”When you have captive power stations they are either small or medium and private sectors can easily come in and fund them without government getting involved.”

THE presidential ambition of former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, may be a wishful thinking as a coalition of six civil society groups has launched legal fireworks against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), ostensibly to produce the missing Okigbo Panel report, which allegedly indicted the former military ruler.

IBB has several times been linked with alleged diversion and mismanagement of $12.4 billion that accrued to the nation during the Gulf War oil windfall between 1988 and 1994.

The groups are Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP); Women Advocates and Documentation Centre (WARDC); Committee on Defence of Human Rights (CDHR); Access to Justice (AJ); Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA); and Partnership for Justice (PJ).

They have consequently dragged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohammed Adoke and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking information on the spending of the money.

The rights groups had demanded the recovery of the said sum and the prosecution of those fingered in the deal and the Federal Government had responded that the Dr Pius Okigbo Panel report had got missing, following which the report was published by a national magazine in May 2005.

In a letter dated April 7, 2010, the groups demanded the prosecution of Babangida, prompting a request for the signed copy of the report by Mr Adoke, which they did.

As a result, the AGF set up a panel of inquiry to verify the authenticity of the report. He later claimed in an interview that the report was missing again and that he could verify the truth of it.

Undaunted, the groups, in another letter dated August 22, 2010, asked the CBN governor for a copy of the said report.

The suit, with number FHC/ABJ/CS/640/10, dated September 8, 2010 and brought under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, was filed by their lawyer, Mr Femi Falana. No date had been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

The groups said “in 1994, the Federal Government set up the Okigbo Panel to investigate the activities of the CBN and recommend measures for the re-organisation of the bank.

In the course of its assignment, the panel found that the $12.5 billion in the Dedicated and Special Accounts had been depleted to $200 million by June 1994. As a result of the mismanagement of the said sum of $12.2 billion by the military president, General Babangida, the panel recommended that the accounts be discontinued.

“The need for information regarding the spending of $12.4 billion oil windfall is important to promote

transparency and accountability in the management of public resources and to fulfill Nigeria’s international obligations to promote the development of the country. Access to information of this nature is especially important in this country, which is struggling to establish the rule of law and democracy in the face of underdevelopment, poverty, illiteracy and disease. The right of access to information is also crucial to the realisation of all other human rights, including the peoples’ rights to their natural wealth and resources.

“Public bodies hold information, not for themselves, but as custodians of the public good and everyone has a right to access this information. Unless the court compels Mr Adoke and the CBN to disclose the information requested in this case, the information may never be disclosed and Nigeria will remain in breach of its international anti-corruption and human rights obligations and commitments,” the groups further argued.

The groups also said “the diversion and/or mismanagement of the $12.4 billion oil windfall is a violation of Nigerians’ rights to natural resources and wealth and to economic development, as recognised and guaranteed by 21 and 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act). Under the African Charter, the Nigerian government has a legal responsibility to utilise the natural resources of the country so as to benefit the whole people. Just as the people of every sovereign state have a permanent right to choose their own form of government so the people are entitled to insist that the natural resources of the nation be exploited in the interest of the people.”

Meanwhile, for the first time since the countdown to the 2011 presidential election began, the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum and Kwara State governor, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Sunday, in Minna, Niger State, held a closed door meeting with former military president and presidential aspirant on the ticket of the PDP, General Babangida.

Saraki also met with the Niger State governor and chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu.

The Kwara State governor, accompanied by three of his personal aides, arrived in Minna on a chartered flight at about 11.00 a.m and drove straight from the airport in the Niger State governor’s Toyota Jeep staff car to the Hilltop residence of Babangida, where the meeting was held for over one hour.

Political observers believed that the meeting was not unconnected with the presidential ambition of Babangida, as Dr Saraki is believed to be one of the governors in the country throwing his weight behind his presidential aspiration.

An unconfirmed source said Dr Saraki’s visit was to perfect the presidential declaration of General Babangida at the Eagle Square, Abuja, on Wednesday.

The Kwara State governor, however, refused to speak to the press after the meeting, maintaining the “no comment posture” when asked about the visit.

When contacted on the outcome of the meeting, IBB said it was in line with the spirit of the celebration of Eid-el-fitr.

After the meeting at the IBB residence, Saraki drove to the residence of Dr Aliyu, where another round of closed door meeting, which lasted for about 30 minutes, was held.

Governor Saraki returned to Ilorin immediately after the visits.