Sometimes, it is rather difficult not to sympathise with the opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in their quest to wrest power from President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Such has always been the burden of the underdog or challenger in a match-up with the defending champion in any competition. It is always difficult to dethrone the champion and take his or her belt away when the challenger is a formidable opponent. In a boxing contest for instance, to avoid leaving anything to chance, you will have to knock out the champion otherwise the judges' calls will decide the contest. If it is difficult to dethrone the champion by a formidable or an evenly matched opponent, then it is almost impossible for a weak challenger. If we transport this scenario to capture the Nigerian political scene as we build up to the 2015 general elections, it is not fuzzy to understand who the defending champion is and who the challengers are.

During one of his media chats this year, President Jonathan, a man famed for his admirable humble mien, while responding to the question of when he would declare his intention to seek a second term in office, was so animated that he sensationally declared himself and his party, the PDP, as the defending champions. “We are holding the belt; let those who want to challenge us step forward first”, he had declared. Even then, the president seriously talked about the need to keep his eyes on the ball of governance so as to avoid any distraction from the politics of second term bid while promising to make his intention known to Nigerians at the appropriate time. And to be fair to the President, he has been quietly grinding out superlative performance since 2011 he was popularly elected for the first term.

And talking about performance, President Jonathan has substantially kept the promises he made to the Nigerian people during the 2011 electioneering. He had told the people that he is a simple person, one like them in every respect - coming from a very lowly background to climb to the top - and had promised to eliminate any aristocratic impediments to the self-actualization of the Nigerian people. True to his words, power and the allure of office have not altered Jonathan's persona. He has remained essentially that simple guy next door, shy and approachable. More importantly, he has remained with the common people who elected him by the kind of people-oriented policies he has been pursing. Jonathan rightly understands that the provision of electricity, good roads, access to education, improved transportation and security is topmost in the minds of the common people. In the three years that the President has been in office, he has performed wonders in the area of road construction and rehabilitation and he is doing this all across the country. Many of the roads that used to be highways to hell, leaving the people with no other choices than to curse their leaders, have become transformed, thus making life a little easier for the people.

With improved road network, agriculture, which has received the kind of priority attention from this government more than ever before, has further been enhanced with the easy transportation of produce from the hinterlands to the city centres. Under the government of President Jonathan, agriculture has been transformed from the mere drudgery that it has been to a lucrative business, thus contributing to the economy and creating farmer posterity. And, when you add the fact that the trains are back and the airports across the country have not only been refurbished but that air transportation safety has been improved, then the multiplier effects to the economy can only be imagined. Yet, without any doubt, in the area of improving infrastructure, the Jonathan administration has made its greatest impact in the power sector, which has proved intractable to past regimes, both military and civilian. For the very first time, Government has approached the power sector problem from a longer-term perspective by making huge investments with targeted deliverables and specified timelines, thus making it possible for the people themselves to track the success rates or failure as the case may be. More importantly, for the first time in the history of our country, a President has summoned the necessary political will to do the right thing by unbundling the former quango, National Electricity Power Authority (NEPA), a problem that only changed name to PHCN under a past administration. By taking the decision to liberalise the power sector, President Jonathan has laid the perfect foundation for the once-and-for-all resolution of the electricity problem in in the country.

If President Jonathan has performed creditably in the area of infrastructure renewal, then he has been excellent in enlarging the political space and improving personal liberties. Jonathan has so improved the frontiers of freedom, the very pillar on which democracy is erected so much so that even his opponents, most of who are famed for their authoritarian background, now abuse him daily in the name of free speech. His electoral reforms have started yielding the desired dividends in the land with the votes now counting rather than the ability to muster violence during elections and, in so doing, has handed power back to the people.

It is against this superior performance that many groups across the land, including a section of the opposition like the Labour Party (LP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) are calling on the Nigerian President to declare his interest in a second term of office as constitutionally guaranteed to him. Those who want to dare the President within the PDP are welcome to try their own luck against Goodluck by exercising their right to contest. And for the APC, it is getting clearer that whoever they present (that is if they do have a candidate) will be a mismatch for Jonathan and the PDP. At the last count, APC has lost two potential presidential candidates (Shekarau and Ribadu) from the legacy parties from which it was formed. It has also lost Tom Ikimi, the man that put it together, in a long list of defectors to the PDP. From the membership flight that is going on in the APC camp, it wouldn't be a huge surprise if Jonathan is elected unopposed in 2015. Who wants to challenge the Champion?

A former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, is considering to declare his 2015 presidential ambition on Wednesday, September 24, 2014.

As part of the preparations, sources close to his campaign office at Jabi, Abuja said several venues were being considered for the declaration.

Some of these venues include the Eagles Square, Sheraton Hotel, Hilton Hotel, Yar’Adua Centre and the National Stadium.

It was also gathered that some of his staff were sent on retreat last week on how to handle the declaration and the campaign that would follow.

Atiku is a member of the All Progressives Congress and he is expected to battle for the party’s sole ticket with the likes of a former Head of State, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso.

The Federal Government has disclosed that more Nigerians are likely to test positive to the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, following the confirmation of fresh cases of the disease in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, even as the Lagos State Government says it is in control of the outbreak in Lagos.

Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, who spoke in Abuja yesterday during the 2nd Emergency National Council on Health Meeting on the outbreak of EVD in the country, said the last may not have been heard about the EVD outbreak as contacts currently under surveillance may come down with the disease.



“It is expected that a few more contacts will develop the EVD, especially in Rivers State before Nigeria will see the last case of EVD. While it is encouraging that so far, all confirmed cases of EVD in Nigeria have their roots in the index case, Mr. Patrick Sawyer, great vigilance is required particularly at our ports of entry to ensure we do not have cases of EVD from other sources other than Mr. Sawyer,” he remarked.

Chukwu, who explained that the Federal Ministry of Health is awaiting report of a repeat test being conducted on two health officials of the hospital where the first Port Harcourt case, Dr. Ikechukwu Sam Enemuo, died of EVD after successfully treating the ECOWAS official who imported the virus into the state, however noted that the Incident Management Committee had deployed a strong team to Rivers State to work with the state government so that the situation can be effectively managed.

On the ECOWAS Commission staff, Chukwu said: “He died from EVD. It was his death that led to the investigation that revealed introduction of EVD to Port Harcourt and the beginning of tracing of second and third degree contacts in Port Harcourt. Arrangements are being made to decontaminate the body in readiness for proper disposal of his remains. His death brings to six the total number of persons who have died from EVD in Nigeria.”

Updated summary of EVD in Nigeria

Giving an update on the current status of the EVD outbreak, in the country, the minister said: “The total number of confirmed EVD cases in Nigeria is 17 (including the index case). In Lagos, the total number managed is 14, seven successfully managed and discharged; five deaths recorded and two presently on treatment in isolation.

“In Port Harcourt one death, a doctor who treated a secondary contact of Sawyer’s, has been recorded (did not benefit from standard management); one patient under treatment (no stand treatment) and patient fully recovered.

“Total number of survivors in Nigeria (as of September 1, 2014) is 11; total number of deaths in Nigeria (as of September 1, 2014) is six...Read More

Will He make it?
Xabi Alonso has targeted winning the UEFA Champions League with a third different club – a feat only previously managed by Clarence Seedorf, Soccerway reports.

The Spanish midfielder joined Bayern Munich from Real Madrid last week, making his debut in Saturday’s 1-1 Bundesliga draw with Schalke.

Alonso won last season’s Champions League with Real, although he was suspended for the final victory over local rivals Atletico, and also lifted the trophy with Liverpool in 2005.

The 32-year-old says he intends to continue his impressive run in Europe’s elite club competition, and could equal the haul of Seedorf, who won the tournament with Ajax, Real and Milan.

I’ve already won the Champions League with two teams,” he said at a press conference on Monday. “It did be a dream come true to win it with a third.”

Alonso revealed his switch to the Allianz Arena came as something of a surprise. “The whole transfer happened very quickly,” he added. “It’s an honour an a privilege to be here in Munich.”

Colombian pop star Shakira is expecting her second child with Spanish footballer Gerard Pique, she said in an interview published Thursday.

“The truth is that yes, I’m pregnant,” the multi-Grammy-winning singer told the Latin American edition of Cosmopolitan magazine.Shakira

The exclusive interview confirmed rumors that swirled after she performed at the closing ceremony of the World Cup last month with what some viewers said appeared to be a slight curve in her normally flat belly.

Shakira, 37, did not say how far into her pregnancy she was.
Her first son, Milan, is just over a year and a half old.

“Seeing myself in love is a constant state, and there are no questions, the answer is just there… you are the living answer,” she told Cosmopolitan, which put her on the cover of its September issue and entitled the article “The perfect world of the Latin icon.”

Shakira and Pique, 27, met at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and went public with their relationship in early 2011.