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Thanks Mukina.

I was a motor-park tout, ministerial nominee tells Senate
Wednesday, 06 July 2011 18:30 administrator    . By Richard Ihediwa

A ministerial nominee, Dr. Samuel Ioraer Ortom from Benue state surprised many senators yesterday during his screening, as he pointedly told them that he started his working life as a motor-park tout.

According to him, he did this before he later went to school to earn his doctorate degree. This whipped up sentiments in his favor as some Senators expressed satisfaction with his sense of honesty.

Dr Ortom, who until his nomination was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national auditor made references to his humble background as he tried to convince senators on why he thinks he is suited to serve as a minister.

He was eventually, cleared as ministers by the Senate along with former Minister of Finance and Managing Director of the World Bank, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala (Abia), the acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed (Kebbi) and seven others.

Others cleared by the Senate yesterday include the immediate past Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga (Lagos); former Special Adviser to the President on Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji (Enugu); Senator Idris Umar (Gombe); Comrade Abba Moro (Benue); Prof. Viola Onwuliri (Imo); Erelu Olusola Obada (Osun) and Prof. Ita Okon Bassey Ewa (Cross Rivers).

While Okonjo-Iweala, Nnaji, Aganga, Obada, Onwuliri were grilled by the Senate, senators allowed the PDP acting national chairman and the national auditor as well as Senator Umar and Moro, the campaign director for Senate President David Mark in the 2011 National Assembly election to bow and go.

Aganga was confirmed despite the opposition from Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) members from Lagos state. 

The Senate President overruled a question posed to the PDP acting national chairman by Senator Kabiru Marafa (ANPP Zamfara), who queried his decision to become a minister even when he has been in government circle for over 40 years and asked him when he will “allow fresh air into Kebbi state”. 

However, introducing himself to the Senate, the PDP national auditor said he was a school drop-out and a motor-park tout in Benue state. Ortom said he dropped out of school because of poverty and became a motor-park tout before he moved to become a taxi driver in other to make ends meet.

“I dropped out of school because of poverty. I started my working life as a tout in a motor-park in Benue state before I became a taxi driver,” he said.

Also answering questions, Nnaji declared that the Federal Government would need to inject the N1.5 trillion ($100 billion) into the power sector if the country must achieve stable power supply in the next 10 years.



http://www.peoplesdaily-online.com/news/national-news/16160-i-was-a-motor-park-tout-ministerial-nominee-tells-senate

johnie:
Why were these threads moved to the business section?

Eko Atlantic City. . Construction Update July 2010
and

What's Happening On The Lekki Axis?

I received these two mails informing me that the threads had been moved from the politics section.

What's happening on Nairaland?

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Still waiting for an explanation or relocation of thread to Politics section

Still waiting for an explanation or relocation of thread to Politics section

[quote author=anointed_f link=topic=707985.msg8667908#msg8667908 date=1310025086]Wetin concern aeroplane with go slow. Bros we get more issue to face for naija. If dey like make dem blow demself tire. I beg too early for this kind thing.[/quote]Yeah right!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZZy6eK8dPc[/flash]

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RWg6yw4dY4[/flash]

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GM1-VI2-2Y[/flash]

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When cops go bad: NYPD officers caught on camera in furious fist fight - with EACH OTHER
By Paul Bentley

Last updated at 9:33 PM on 6th July 2011

Two police officers have been caught on camera in a furious physical row after a suspect screamed out in pain during an arrest.
Shocking footage shows the NYPD cops come to blows after one is deemed to have used excessive force while roughing up a suspect.
As the man in handcuffs screams out in pain the officers confront each other, pushing and shoving as a stunned onlooker films the whole scene.

At one point they are so focussed on each other they seem completely to forget about the man they are supposed to be arresting.
He looks up, bemused, as the officers square up and begs passers by to help him.

More, It's now easier to get medical marijuana than a Starbucks coffee in Denver
Breastfeeding police officer is put on unpaid leave after asking for a desk job

The footage begins as the officers begin to fight so the viewer can only guess what kind of force was used by one initially to warrant the intervention from the second officer.
They duel before eventually the fight cools down and the officers continue with their arrest.
Bad cop: The officer returns to the suspect, bundling him to the ground

Brutal? The man screams while falling to the ground under the cop's weight
Meanwhile, the suspect continues to scream for help as the camera rolls.

When the hot-headed first cop then bundles the suspect to the ground the police fight, however, starts again.
The feud only appears to end when one of the cops notices they are being filmed and demands the member of the public stops recording.

Shocked viewers took to internet messaging rooms to offer their opinions on the policemen's conduct.

And again: The officers shift their focus back on each other

One wrote: 'Thugs are what police departments want to hire these days.'

Another added: 'I gotta give it to the good cop for trying to stay civil. Good and bad cops exist no matter where you are on this planet.

Another commenter
wrote: 'Shouldn't "good cop" be helping "bad cop" pick the idiot up and get him in the car? What's with the standing around?'


The shocking video will come as an embarrassment to the officers involved and to the NYPD.
A spokesman for the NYPD did not respond to a request for comment

On the recycling issue, I started watching the session with the ex-PDP chairman (I believe he is ex now), when Senator Smart Adeyemi (PDP Kogi) stood up to raise a point of order that an uncomplimentary language had been used to address the chairman of the largest political party in Africa.

At this point, the senate president began to ask senators from Kebbi State (Bello's home state) if there was "fresh air" in their state and then proceed to ask for a voice vote after a motion to ask Bello to bow and go had been moved.

I know that Senator Kabir Marafa is of the opposition party and could have been up to some "mischief" by asking the questions he asked but really, those were pertinent questions!

I reiterate:

Marafa asked Mohammed while he was not towing the line of an elder statesman, by retiring from the scene instead of continuing to be ‘recycled’ in government circles since the First Republic.

Marafa said, “When will you give room for fresh blood in Kebbi State? When I was in primary school, you were a commissioner in the old SokotoState. Forty years after, you are standing here in this chamber to be screened as minister.”

First off, let me make it clear that I have no issues with anyone starting from humble backgrounds and pulling himself up by his own bootstraps.

The bit I watched yesterday of the senate screening of ministerial nominees was to me nauseating.

A man who said he started his "working career" as a motor park tout and in the course of reading his academic qualifications pointed out that there was a ten-year error in the date of his obtaining his WAEC school certificate. He also said he obtained his doctorate degree from a university in Belize whose name I did not catch was asked to simply "bow and go".

I can just imagine someone going to a job interview and saying he started his carreer as a tout, pointing out an error on his CV and capping it att by saying he obtained his highest degree from an obscure institution being appluaded by his interviewers. Comical!

While some may argue that the honourable minister (that is what he is now), was being sincere by stating that he started out as a tout and that might give hope to some other (If you think I am referring to the likes of Auxiliary and Tokyo, you are OYO [On Your Own]), one could also argue that everyone of the other nominees could have presented a romantic pat of their life to play to the gallery and ease their clearance as the minister did is declaring that he dropped out of school due to poverty.

The senators were obviously acting out a script with the manner Senator Ehigie Uzamere, moved a motion, asking the Senate to allow Ortom to take a bow without further question because of his sincerity in uncovering his background and the  motion was promptly seconded and passed after the President of the Senate, David Mark, put the question to a voice vote without any objection from senators who showed off their "superior knowledge: by tasking the "enlightened and more fortunate" nominees like Okonjo-Iweala, Aganga, Nnaji and Onwuliri.

The "bow and go" session of the senators with Dr. Ortam followed a similar one with  Mr. Abba Moro (also from Benue State) who was asked him to bow and go because he ran a successful political campaign for the PDP in Benue state. Pathetic!

It was obvious that these two nominees were cleared in this manner because o their affiliation to the Senate President who is from their state.

Ministers: Senate confirms Okonjo-Iweala, Aganga, others
By Oluwole Josiah, Abuja
Thursday, 7 Jul 2011

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed the nomination of 10 additional ministers, bringing the number of ministers confirmed by the Senate to 24.

Those confirmed were World Bank Managing Director, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (South-East); immediate past Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga (Lagos); Prof. Barth Nnaji (Enugu); Dr. Bello Mohammed (Kebbi); Mr. Abba Moro (Benue); Dr. Samuel Ortom (Benue); Prof. Viola Onwuliri (Imo), Prof. Ita Ewa (Akwa Ibom); Senator Idris Umar (Gombe); and Chief Olusola Obada (Osun).

While Nnaji, Okonjo-Iweala, Aganga and Ewa were subjected to rigorous questioning, the others were left to go without much hassles.

Ortom was asked to take a bow and go after senators were stirred by an account of his background as a school dropout, a motor park tout and one who struggled to attain education through very difficult means.

After running through his curriculum vitae, Senator Ehigie Uzamere, moved a motion, asking the Senate to allow Ortom to take a bow without further question because of his sincerity in uncovering his background.

The motion was promptly seconded and passed after the President of the Senate, David Mark, put the question to a voice vote.
Bello, the Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, also received a “bow and go” approval, but not without a little ruffling of his feathers by Senator Kabir Marafa, who is of the All Nigerian Peoples Party.

Marafa asked Mohammed while he was not towing the line of an elder statesman, by retiring from the scene instead of continuing to be ‘recycled’ in government circles since the First Republic.

Marafa said, “When will you give room for fresh blood in Kebbi State? When I was in primary school, you were a commissioner in the old Sokoto State. Forty years after, you are standing here in this chamber to be screened as minister.”

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201107072523550

Brazil's coalition shows strain as minister moans about 'idiots'

A new corruption scandal and a top minister's remark that he is surrounded by "idiots" have added to strains on Brazil's ruling coalition.

President Dilma Rousseff suspended two aides to Alfredo Nascimento, the Transport Minister, over the weekend.

The weekly news magazine Veja alleged that the two were charging a five per cent kickback fee on projects coming through the ministry.

A statement issued by Ms Rousseff's office said she "has confidence" in Nascimento and that he was responsible for investigating the problems but the saga could cause more friction within the 10 parties that she relies on to pass legislation.

Nascimento's Party of the Republic is small, but Rousseff's relations with bigger parties such as the PMDB have frayed due to disputes over budget cuts and appointments to plum government jobs.

Adding to the feeling of drift and dissension in Rousseff's six-month-old government, Nelson Jobim. the Defence Minister, lamented before a roomful of legislators last week that he has to tolerate an ever-greater number of "idiots."

Jobim, a leader of the PMDB party, made the comments at an 80th birthday celebration for former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso - a figurehead of the main opposition party. Jobim served as Cardoso's justice minister in the 1990s.

Jobim also lauded Cardoso for "never raising his voice toward anyone" and "never creating tension among his advisers" - which many observers interpreted as a direct criticism of Rousseff, who has a reputation for dressing down subordinates in a loud and public fashion.

After a long meeting with Rousseff on Friday, Jobim said his comments were misinterpreted, and that the "idiots" were journalists who disparaged Cardoso's legacy.

The sour mood in Brasilia, highlighted by the resignation of Rousseff's chief of staff last month amid a separate scandal, has already paralysed key reforms such as an overhaul of the tax code and efforts to prepare Brazil to host the 2014 World Cup.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/brazil/8617167/Brazils-coalition-shows-strain-as-minister-moans-about-idiots.html

Jury Finds Blagojevich Guilty of Corruption

CHICAGO — A jury on Monday convicted Rod R. Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois, of a broad pattern of corruption, including charges that he tried to personally benefit from his role in selecting a replacement for President Obama in the United States Senate.

Mr. Blagojevich, a Democrat who former aides say once envisioned himself as a future presidential contender, was found guilty of most of the 20 federal counts against him: 17 counts of wire fraud, attempted extortion, soliciting bribes, conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy to solicit and accept bribes.

As the verdicts were read aloud in court, one “guilty” following another, Mr. Blagojevich, who has always proclaimed his innocence, turned, his jaw clenched grimly, to look at his wife, Patti, in the front row. By then, she was already slumped back in the arms of a relative, eyes closed, wiping away tears.

The verdict appeared to be the conclusion, at last, to the spectacle of Mr. Blagojevich’s political career, which began its spiraling descent shortly after Mr. Obama was elected president in November 2008. A month after Election Day, Mr. Blagojevich, who was in his second term as governor and under state law was required to name a senator to replace Mr. Obama, was arrested, and federal agents revealed that they had secretly recorded hundreds of hours of damaging phone calls by him and his advisers.

Mr. Blagojevich, a lawyer and former state and federal lawmaker, was accused of trying to secure campaign contributions, a cabinet post or a high-paying job in exchange for his official acts as governor — whether that was picking a senator, supporting particular legislation or deciding how to spend state money. Mr. Blagojevich was acquitted on one charge of bribery, and the jury deadlocked on two counts of attempted extortion, but convictions came on the bulk of the counts and on those related to the Senate seat — the claims that had drawn international headlines.

[b]The outcome came as a victory for federal prosecutors, whose earlier trial resulted in a deadlocked jury on most counts and led people to wonder whether Mr. Blagojevich’s behavior would ultimately be deemed crass political deal-making or a lot of wishful, blustery talk, but not rise to the level of crimes.

Issuing their verdicts on the 10th day of deliberations, jurors said the accusations related to selling the Senate seat had been the clearest and easiest to resolve, in part because of the audio recordings of Mr. Blagojevich’s telephone calls. In the end, the jurors — 11 women and 1 man, all of whom declined to provide their names to reporters — said they believed they had sent a loud signal to corrupt Illinois politicians, past and future.

“There’s a lot of bargaining that goes on behind the scenes — we do that in our everyday lives, in business and everything,” said the jury forewoman, a retired church employee from the Chicago suburbs. “But I think in the instances when it is someone representing the people, it crosses the line. And I think we sent a pretty clear message on that.”

And she had her own conclusion about the unseemly political world she had seen close-up through about six weeks of testimony: “I told my husband that if he was running for politics, he would probably have to find a new wife.” [/b]

For Democrats here, in a state government they almost entirely control, the final chapter could not come soon enough. By turns, Illinois residents had been mortified by the saga, amused by its circuslike antics and, most recently, weary of the whole thing.

Mr. Blagojevich’s impeachment, removal from office and evolution into a punch line on late-night television threatened the Democratic Party’s political hold on the state, created an outcry to overhaul lax state campaign finance and public records laws, and led to added scrutiny of some of this city’s best-known politicians, including Mr. Obama, Rahm Emanuel (the president’s former chief of staff and now Chicago’s mayor) and Representative Jesse L. Jackson Jr.

The scandal also reaffirmed an image that Illinois has long wished to shed: Mr. Blagojevich appears likely to be the fourth governor in recent memory to be imprisoned (one for acts committed after leaving office).

Mr. Blagojevich, 54, the father of two girls, was released until sentencing. His lawyers have until next month to pursue a new trial. The most serious of the counts carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

After Mr. Blagojevich’s first trial last year, jurors said the case had been too tangled and confusing, and it was clear that prosecutors took that message to heart. In the retrial, which began in April, prosecutors offered fewer, simpler charges, a notably boiled-down message and an emphasis on the thought that Mr. Blagojevich did not need to actually complete any deals to be found guilty of crimes for proposing them.

Prosecutors laid out five “schemes” in which they said Mr. Blagojevich tried to get campaign contributions in exchange for supporting a Senate appointee or legislation to help racetracks, a pediatric hospital or road projects. They also accused him of pushing for a campaign fund-raiser (from Mr. Emanuel’s brother in Hollywood, Ari) in exchange for supporting a school. The jury ultimately did not convict Mr. Blagojevich in connection to the school or the road projects.

The stakes of the retrial were apparent. Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois (who may be better known nationally as having pursued the C.I.A. leak case against I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney) personally listened to parts of the trial and sat in the back row as the verdicts were read, later describing the outcome as vindication for the people of Illinois.

For his part at the trial, Mr. Blagojevich did what Mr. Blagojevich likes to do — talk. After offering no defense testimony at all in his first trial, he testified before jurors for seven days, proclaiming his innocence and portraying his taped conversations about matters like who he might appoint to the Senate as merely brainstorming, not some sinister plot.

Mr. Blagojevich defended himself against recorded calls and testimony that seemed to suggest he was pressing for a cabinet post in the Obama administration in exchange for appointing Valerie Jarrett, an ally of Mr. Obama, to the Senate. And he defended himself against calls and testimony that seemed to suggest he was considering a $1.5 million campaign contribution from supporters of Mr. Jackson if he were appointed to the Senate. He had not committed to any particular result, Mr. Blagojevich testified.

In a defense that some non-Chicagoans might have understandably viewed as closer to a confession, Mr. Blagojevich insisted that his favorite idea was not a financial trade at all, but a raw political exchange. He said he really wanted to appoint Lisa Madigan, the state’s attorney general, to the Senate seat in exchange for help getting his legislative agenda passed by her powerful father, Michael Madigan, the speaker of the Illinois House.

While residents here seem to have grown inured by the Blagojevich story over more than two years, a curious city did watch as its new mayor, Mr. Emanuel, and Mr. Jackson were called to the witness stand by the defense team.

As it turned out, neither man’s testimony was particularly shocking. Mr. Jackson said he knew nothing of a financial offer by supporters to Mr. Blagojevich for the Senate seat, and Mr. Emanuel said Mr. Blagojevich had not solicited favors from him when he recommended Ms. Jarrett as a candidate for the Senate appointment. But Mr. Emanuel’s appearing at all — he had been sworn in as mayor only days before — seemed one more fitting moment in a story that has never lacked big names or drama.

As Mr. Blagojevich departed the courthouse on Monday, he spoke only briefly. Gone was the news conference fanfare.

“Among the many lessons that I’ve learned from this whole experience is to try to speak a little bit less,” Mr. Blagojevich said, soon adding, “I, frankly, am stunned. There is not much left to say other than we want to get home to our little girls and explain things to them.”




http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/us/28blagojevich.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

semid4lyfe:
Many regular posters in this section deliberately post non-politics related threads here cos they feel they'll get more responses. . .so it's not out of place if the moderators move such threads to where they ought to be many posts or not

Does that explain moving the thread on 'Eko Atlantic' and 'What's Happening on the Lekki Axis' to the Business Section?

johnie:
Sorry, I created a thread for this compalint before I remembered this thread for compalints.
---------------------------------

Why were these threads moved to the business section?

Eko Atlantic City. . Construction Update July 2010
and

What's Happening On The Lekki Axis?

I received these two mails informing me that the threads had been moved from the politics section.

What's happening on Nairaland?

---------------------------
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Still waiting for an explanation or relocation of thread to Politics section

FG to award Lagos-Ibadan rail contract soon – Jonathan
On July 6, 2011 · In News ,
By EMMA UJAH

ABUJA— PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, announced far-reaching measures towards accelerating the nation’s economic growth through boosting agricultural output and provision of infrastructure in which a Lagos-Ibadan speed train line contract would soon be awarded.

President Jonathan who was represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo said at the opening of the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, NIRSAL, conference that contract will soon be awarded for a standard fast train link between Lagos and Ibadan.

The president who noted that the present infrastructure situation in the country was unacceptable, said his administration was tackling infrastructure deficit across the nation head-on.



He said electricity power supply and transportation were being given priority attention in recognition of their multiplier effects on other sectors of the economy.

The president lamented that the huge annual food import bill of N630 billion was crashing the nation’s foreign reserves said the Federal Government would establish six fertilizer plants, one in each geo-political zone, to make the product readily available to farmers for increased yield.

He added that River Benue would also be dredged up to Yola, Adamawa State.

President Jonathan said: “Robust economic growth can only be achieved if all the economic agents are judiciously committed working assiduously towards committing their resources to this noble course.”

He noted that the on_going programme for agriculture and food security would serve as a platform for preparing the road_map for the implementation of all government_assisted agricultural programme.

He admitted that although in the last five years, the agricultural sector has contributed about 40 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, and 60 per cent of employment, the encouraging growth has not sufficiently impacted on the socio_economic lives of the nation as Nigeria continued to depend on other nations for her food requirements.
Governor of Central Bank, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had said that all well_informed Nigerians agreed that the nation had the potentials to be great and that agriculture presents the best path to that dream land.

He said: “This idea of common vision, therefore, is not new. What I think is new is the perspective of what has to be done, when, how and by whom.”

Sanusi called for the re_designing and embracing of a holistic approach in addressing the various challenges confronting the nation’s agricultural sector.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/07/fg-to-award-lagos-ibadan-rail-contract-soon-%E2%80%94jonathan/

Na set-up.

We no talk am?

Why is this coming after a french replacement has been made at IMF and the man might not be eligible to stand for presidency again?

Women protest flooding in Lagos community

A small group of women in the Lekki area air their grievances about persistent flooding
Article | July 5, 2011 - 4:30am | By Godwin Akanfe

About 50 women, residents of Igbo Efon, a suburb in the Lekki area of Lagos State, marched to the Eti-Osa Local Government secretariat, with leaves and placards protesting. The march was about the blocked drainage in their community.

Mrs Iyabo Agbogun, wife of the traditional ruler of Igbo Efon who led the protest, said: "The protest is the best way we can alert the government of the suffering we face. We have been living here for more that 25 years; we have never experienced the kind of flooding we are seeing today; all is because of the ongoing Lekki/ Epe Expressway construction carried out by Hi Tech Construction Company."

"When we noticed that they decided to construct a roundabout at the Igbo Efon Bus Stop, we wrote to the Chairman of the Eti-Osa L.G.A. and told him that the construction had blocked our drainage system. He promised to do something, but nothing was done about it. The rains are here now; all we have is flood destroying our homes and our property," she said.

Agbogun complained that the women arrived the secretariat as early as 8a.m. with placards saying; "Our property has been destroyed by flood," "We voted for ACN but what we gained is flood," "Hi-Tech has blocked our drains," but had yet to be attended to at 11 a.m. She noted that it was not the first time the women had been forced to protest.

"After we voted them into power, all we got was arrival of policemen who threw tear gas at us without even finding out why we were protesting," Agbogun said.

Mrs Aisha Ologolo, one of the protesters, reports that they wanted the council to instruct Hi Tech to open blocked drains in the community or construct new ones to avoid flooding.

"Igbo Efon can no longer leave a normal life. Our children no longer go to school; we are scared to let them out of our sight because every where is flooded. We want the government to come to our aid so that our children do not die," she said.

Mrs Maria Isibor, had lived in Igbo Efon for 18 years, said; "Such an attitude cannot create peace. The government should create an avenue for all stakeholders to sit down and see how the problems can be solved very fast. When they wanted our votes, they came here to campaign and we voted for them; now we need them but we cannot see them," she said.


http://dailytimes.com.ng/article/women-protest-flooding-lagos-community

Alpha, Lekki beach residents call for removal of shipwrecks
July 5, 2011 12:25AM

Residents of Alpha and Lekki beaches in Lagos State have renewed calls on the federal and the Lagos State governments to remove shipwrecks on the coast.

The residents, at a protest rally held on Sunday evening around the beaches, blamed the shipwrecks for the erosion of about 100 metres of the beach area within the last one year.

Placards by the protesters had inscriptions such as ‘Mr President Save Our Children'; ‘Lekki Going, Going, Gone'; ‘Disasters loom in Lekki'; ‘NIMASA, Do your Job' and ‘Fashola, Fulfil Your Promise'.

Yusuf Atewolara, the traditional head (Baale) of Alpha Beach, urged both governments to expedite action on the removal of the shipwrecks, as they obstruct the receding of ocean surge.

"The beach started to experience erosion and degradation since these shipwrecks were dumped on the coast. Their presence is directing ocean surge towards us and our properties.

"We are, therefore, appealing to the federal and the Lagos State governments, as well as other relevant agencies, to save us from the impending disaster," Mr Atewolara said.

He noted that property worth millions of naira had already been lost to the fast encroaching sea, and urged the Lagos State government to deploy better resources for the removal of the wrecks, instead of the current piecemeal removal.

Sylvester Obuta, chairman of the residents association, said both governments and the relevant agencies needed to act fast to forestall emergencies likely to be associated with the surge.

Mr Obuta blamed the encroachment on the unregulated implementation of the Lagos State Atlantic Project and dredging activities along the coastline.

"We are urgently calling on both governments to expedite action on their plans to remove these shipwrecks for safety of lives and property on these beaches," he said.

Chukwuemeka Okolo, a resident, described the situation as an impending calamity which, if not urgently checked, would wipe out the entire beach.

Mr Okolo said both governments are paying lip-service to the problem of the surge currently facing the residents.

"The way it is going, if urgent steps are not taken, so many lives and property would be lost in the event of a serious surge, as the encroachment is becoming too much," he said.



http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/5727171-147/alpha_lekki_beach_residents_call_for.csp

Katsumoto:
The practice of moving threads to other sections after several posts have been made on such threads is absolutely exasperating. Not every poster is interested in trawling all sections seeking threads.

Second that!

Especially when they are moved to sections where they are not appropriate

Sorry, I created a thread for this compalint before I remembered this thread for compalints.
---------------------------------

Why were these threads moved to the business section?

Eko Atlantic City. . Construction Update July 2010
and

What's Happening On The Lekki Axis?

I received these two mails informing me that the threads had been moved from the politics section.

What's happening on Nairaland?

---------------------------
Message flagged Tuesday, July 5, 2011 1:00 AMMessage body
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Seun,

Whywere these threads moved to the business section?

Eko Atlantic City. . Construction Update July 2010
and

What's Happening On The Lekki Axis?

I received these two mails informing me that the threads had been moved from the politics section.

What's happening on Nairaland?

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Message flagged Tuesday, July 5, 2011 1:00 AMMessage body
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saintneo:
But is this woman not a Yoruba(Yooroobaa . . . lol!) woman. Mrs. Stella Oduah-Ogiemwonyi, everything about the surname is Yoruba or somehow Edo or one of those Ewedu soup people lol!. Please can someone give me a lecture on the history(her story = herstory . . . lol!) of this woman.

Thank you.
NB: All my sarcastic remarks are plain sarcastic, I love Yoruba people.

She is married to the immediate past minister of state for works, Chris Ogiemwonyi, who is from Edo state.

Goodluck

Yingluck

It's a season of luck?

Goodluck to us, Yingluck to them
GoodYing to everybody. . .

Thailand ousts government, elects 1st female PM

Thailand's prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, conceded defeat Sunday to rival Yingluck Shinawatra in the country's first general election after years of political unrest, and has resigned as party leader.

Abhisit congratulated Yingluck, the youngest sister of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown by a 2006 military coup and now lives in exile in Dubai to avoid a corruption conviction.

"It is now clear from the election results so far that the Puea Thai Party has won the election, and the Democrat Party concedes defeat. I would like to congratulate the Puea Thai Party for the right to form a government," he said on television Sunday.

With 98 per cent of the vote counted, preliminary results from the national electoral authority indicated Yingluck's Puea Thai Party had a strong lead with 264 of 500 parliament seats, well over the majority needed to form a government. Abhisit's Democrats won 160 seats.

The apparent election result paves the way for Yingluck to become the Southeast Asian kingdom's first female prime minister.

Speaking to a throng of cheering supporters at her party headquarters in Bangkok, Yingluck declined to declare victory until final results are released. But she said: "I don't want to say that Puea Thai wins today. It's a victory of the people."

From exile 4,800 kilometres away in the desert emirate of Dubai, Thaksin hailed the outcome. "People are tired of a standstill," he said in an interview broadcast on Thai television. "They want to see change in a peaceful manner." He had stated earlier in the weekend that he would not return to Thailand if it was seen to cause problems.

Yingluck was earlier quoted as saying if she wins the vote, she would attempt to address Thailand's growing gap between rich and poor.

Last year, dozens of Red Shirt activists, mostly from rural Thailand, were killed in clashes between protesters and troops in the centre of Bangkok.

The protesters were mainly supporters of Thaksin, whose ascent to power in 2001 changed Thailand forever, touching off a societal schism between the country's haves and long-silent have-nots.
The marginalized rural poor hail his populism, while the elite establishment sees him as a corrupt, autocratic threat to the revered monarchy and the status quo.

That schism has played out through pro- and anti-Thaksin street protests since the 2006 coup. Many believe Sunday's vote was largely about the divisive legacy he left behind.

Puea Thai "is being led by his sister at the moment, who has absolutely no political experience. She's a complete political neophyte and her only popularity with the Red Shirts, with the rural poor, who are a slim majority of the population of Thailand, is that she's related to Thaksin," Canadian journalist Michael McAuliffe told CBC from Bangkok.

The Democrat Party — backed by big business, the military and circles close to the royal palace — continuted its losing streak in national elections since 1992. It only came to power in 2008 because a series of court rulings removed Thaksin's successors from the prime minister's office.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/07/03/thailand-vote.html

Thaksin's sister shakes up tense Thai election

Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of toppled premier Thaksin Shinawatra and the prime ministerial candidate for the country's biggest opposition Puea Thai Party, gestures to her supporters during an election campaign in Udon Thani province, east of Bangkok May 25, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Sukree Sukplang
By Ambika Ahuja and Jason Szep

UDON THANI, Thailand | Wed May 25, 2011 10:09am EDT

UDON THANI, Thailand (Reuters) - With her telegenic good looks and powerful political support, Yingluck Shinawatra is shaking up Thailand's first parliamentary election since a wave of political violence last year.

The 43-year-old businesswoman, sister of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has vaulted swiftly into front runner status in the July 3 vote, tapping support in the rural north and northeast heartland where her brother remains a populist hero five years after he was toppled in a coup.

After a week of campaigning, she has a surprised skeptics and demonstrated she has Thaksin's star power as she seeks to become Thailand's first female elected leader.

A political neophyte, she is seen widely as a stand-in for her brother, a 60-year-old ethnic Chinese telecommunications tycoon who transformed Thai politics with landslide election wins before he was felled by corruption charges he says were politically motivated.

Yingluck has promised to revive Thaksin's populist policies and raise living standards, vowing to pursue reconciliation to end Thailand's bloody five-year political crisis without seeking vengeance for her brother's overthrow.

Asked by Reuters for details, she said: "The first priority is to help people with rising costs of living. Next, we will have to see how to bring about reconciliation , how we could bring unity to the country. "We have to move past this conflict before we can stand with stability," she said, her sentence interrupted by a screaming supporter.

"The prime minister is so beautiful," the supporter said of Yingluck.

It is still early days but poll numbers are moving in her favor. A survey by Suan Dusit University on Sunday showed 41 percent of those polled backed Yingluck's Puea Thai party, with the ruling Democrats of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at nearly 37 percent.

A Bangkok Poll on Tuesday showed 25.8 percent of the capital backed Puea Thai, with only 14.7 percent for the Democrats in their traditional stronghold. Half of those polled were undecided.

"This has worked out better than expected. We were expecting a proxy for Thaksin, but the fact that she is bringing something of her own is a major bonus," said Michael Montesano of Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

"This is a shrewd move. She has Thaksin's name, she represents him, she appeals to women and it's generated excitement. If they play this right, it could draw in voters from the middle ground."

Thaksin has referred to her as his "clone," but while some lament her only qualification to lead the country is her name, she is invigorating supporters.

STAR TREATMENT

At her first appearance in the Thaksin stronghold of the northeast since her nomination on May 16, she was feted by a crowd of thousands, enjoying a rock star reception. Her supporters idolize Thaksin as the first leader to pay attention to the millions living beyond Bangkok's bright lights. They are putting their hopes on her to bring him back.

As cameras flashed, cheering crowds raised index fingers symbolizing the number one, her party's ballot number, as Yingluck rode in a "tuk-tuk" motorcycle taxi in Udon Thani on Wednesday, smiling as supporters greeted her with red roses.

"Here's our first female prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, pick number one, choose Yingluck," a canvasser shouted on a loudspeaker as she met traders at a market, her voiced drowned out by crowds chanting "number one." Later, she addressed a rally of tens of thousands of cheering supporters in the city, many wearing red shirts emblazoned with Thaksin's smiling face -- an image that raises alarm bells for the government, military and royalist elite, who see Thaksin as a terrorist and a crony capitalist.

[b]"I might not have political experience, but politics is in my blood," Yingluck told the crowd. "Do you still miss Thaksin's policies?" she asked as her supporters roared "yes."

"We'll bring them back," she responded.

Abhisit's Democrat Party has dismissed Yingluck as a political novice serving as a nominee to allow Thaksin to wrestle back power and return from exile, where he lives to avoid a two-year jail term for graft.

The urbane, Oxford-educated Abhisit has gone on the defensive and has said Puea Thai's call for an amnesty for those guilty of politically related offences is purely for Thaksin's benefit and could trigger a repeat of the protests and violence that killed 91 people in April and May last year.

But Yingluck's supporters believe the U.S.-educated president of property firm SC Asset Corporation could be the one to heal an intractable political malaise characterised by deadly street violence, military crackdowns and governments forced from office.

"She is pretty, smart and gentle and a woman like her can bring about reconciliation," said Kamsai Thongbai, a 56-year-old rice farmer who traveled to Udon Thani's airport to be among the first to greet Yingluck.[/b]

"She can show Thaksin's opponents that we don't want a fight or revenge. We just want the winner to govern. She is a capable businesswoman, let her help."

(Editing by Martin Petty and Robert Birsel)


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/25/us-thailand-election-yingluck-idUSTRE74O4D720110525

Thai Elections 2011: The Surprising Rise of the Massage Tycoon
Fri, 06/10/2011 - 9:09am — MsExPat

Soon after arriving in Bangkok earlier this week, I knew that Thai PM Ahbisit Vijayjiva was in trouble. Not because I spotted several of his election campaign posters with moustaches scribbled on his mug, or with tree branches poked up his larger-than-life nostrils. Not because his leading competition is a very pretty young woman with expensive and savvy image handlers, Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of Thaksin ("She's my clone," Thaksin has, helpfully, told the Thai press).

No, I knew that Ahbisit was in trouble when my new friend--let's call him Suphat--told me he was planning to vote for this guy, Chuvit Kamolsivit:

[the fold]
Chuvit is the protest candidate in this Thai election, which takes place on July 2. He's certainly the most colorful figure. His poster campaign reminds me a lot of my pal Long Hair in Hong Kong, except that Long Hair is an ideologue, a committed socialist and Chuvit is, well, for all the juicy details, you should check this excellent rundown  by Australian academic Chris Baker.

The short version is that Chuvit's made a fortune in Bangkok soap massage parlors, i.e. bubble bath brothels. His campaign message is simple: He's against corruption. Chuvit is an expert on the topic of corruption, because he had to pay the Bangkok police millions to keep his businesses open and running.

Right now, Bangkok has a real circus feel to it. Normally, when you ride down the streets, the only advertising images you see are commercial or nationalist in message--enormous posters of King Bhumibol and his family.

But now and for the next couple of weeks, every road, every corner, every blank space (except for the area around the King's palace) is plastered with long vinyl flat banners plugging the numerous candidates and parties that are trying to grab some of the 375 constituency seats and 125 party seats in Thailand's parliament.

The Thai system somewhat mimics the British one, with a small difference. Every Thai citizen gets two votes, one for their local Parliamentary rep, and another for a party. The election system, also, is British in its regulatory zeal. Campaign budgets are so strictly limited under the law that TV or radio media buys are impossible (I think they even may be prohibited, as they are in Hong Kong's election races).

And so, the Thai campaign theater takes to the streets. The image on your posters is the image that voters take to the polls. And so far, at least in Bangkok, the king of the posters is Chuvit.

To give you some context, here are some of the standard-issue politico posters I have spotted along Bangkok streets this week:







Contrast these with Chuvit's greatest hits (some with rough translations, courtesy of my not-quite-English speaking friend Song):



(Check the detail: he's shaking his pit bull's hand. Song says that the message of the poster is "trust"--you can trust your dog more than a politican these days)



(The government, says Chuvit, is steering the wrong way!)



(My personal favorite! Talk about a twist on the traditional politician baby-kissing. Chuvit's message is: the baby's diaper needs a change, and so does the Thai government).

Chuvit recently sat for an interview in English with a reporter from the Bangkok Post. If the reporter seems a bit tentative in his questioning, well, there's a reason. Two years ago, in the middle of an interview with another reporter, Chuvit decided he didn't like the journo's line of questioning, so he punched him.



">


But surely, I hear you saying (or thinking) Bangkok's Chuvit-mania is mere sideshow, a down-the-card distraction to the main bout between incumbent Ahbisit and Thaksin's proxy Yingluck Shinawatra.

And I'd think so too. Except that Suphat, a well educated and hip middle class professional (whose brother is one of Ahbisit's top ministers!) told me he was planning to vote for Chuvit. And--to my astonishment--the Issan husband of my friend Song (a Red Shirt sympathizer) also told me the same thing! Chuvit love leaps across class boundaries.

Now, saying that you're going to vote for the outrageous, ex-criminal, maverick opposition candidate doesn't mean you're actually going to do it. Chuvit's poll numbers are running on the low side. There are three weeks still until the Thai election, plenty of time for anything to happen, for voters to turn to a "serious" candidate at the last minute

But the success of the Chuvit poster series with the Bangkok public means that people, at least in the capital, aren't going along with the official program. They're fed up with the corruption and lies from all the big guns in Thailand's political establishment: Red Shirts (yes, they're establishment, too), Yellow Shirts, Democrats, royalists. I believe that if Thailand is going to move forward, they do have to re-start the political clock at zero, and maybe a declaration that it's time to throw all the bums out is the first step.

http://www.correntewire.com/thai_elections_2011_surprising_rise_massage_king

She is married to Rear-Admiral Allison Madueke, a former military governor of Lagos State but she is from Bayelsa State.

Just like Okonjo-Iweala is from Delta State but married to someone from the SE.

Allison-Madueke is from Bayelsa State and NOT Igbo!

President reappoints 12 ministers to old jobs

⁠print⁠  ⁠email⁠  ⁠ ⁠

REUTERS

July 2, 2011 04:15PM

President Goodluck Jonathan reappointed 12 ministers from the outgoing government to their old jobs on Saturday following general elections in April, including oil minister Deziani Alison-Madueke.

Jonathan was sworn in for his first full term over a month ago and his ministerial choices are being closely watched by Nigerians and foreign investors keen for a team capable of driving badly needed reforms in Africa's most populous nation.

"Those of you who are returning are to go back to your ministries and start work immediately," Jonathan said, adding that two new ministers also sworn in on Saturday would be informed of their portfolios on Monday morning.

The return of so many familiar faces has led Jonathan's critics to question whether his new team will have the reformist credentials it needs. His backers say retaining a core of the old guard will help to ensure consistency.

Government sources have said Jonathan has spoken with World Bank managing director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister, about her returning to the government in overall charge of the economy.

Her inclusion in the cabinet would bring credibility to Jonathan's reform ambitions. However, she is understood to want a role that would give her more autonomy than the outgoing minister and the negotiations are continuing.

Alison-Madueke has repeatedly promised the imminent passage of the long-delayed Petroleum Industry Bill with wide-ranging reforms which will alter Nigeria's decades-old relationship with its foreign oil partners, but the legislation has yet to pass.

Jonathan has so far submitted a list of 34 names to the Senate and the upper house is expected to approve the next batch on Tuesday. The president is then expected to submit a final list to complete his more than 40-strong cabinet.

REUTERS

Was hoping to see some names here by now. . .

dapachez:
But it's not just autocracies or developing countries where people have watch what they say about the head of state. In France, the crime of insulting the president can carry a fine of up to 45,000 euros. A 21 year-old man was arrested for an unspecified insult against President Nicolas Sarkozy during a visit to a rough Paris suburb last year.

In the Netherlands, there were two seperate arrests in 2007 of citizens calling Queen Beatrix a LovePeddler.

Interesting

Be aware

Police arraign 25-year-old for taking picture with Blackberry phone
Written by Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare, Lagos
Sunday, 14 November 2010

A 25-year-old law graduate from the University of Wales, Onyekwere Michael Onyemaechi has been arraigned before the Ikeja Magistrate’s Court for using his blackberry phone to take pictures of some police officers at their duty post.

When he was arraigned before Magistrate Botoku, who held brief for Magistrate A.O Komolafe, Michael, who just came into Nigeria nine days ago after seven years of studying abroad to commence Law School in Abuja, pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge brought against him by the police prosecutor.

The two-count charge brought against him bordered on assault and breach of peace by indiscriminately taking pictures at a public place.

The charge sheet read: “That you Onyekwere Michael Onyemaechi “m” on the 4/11/2010 at about 1800hrs at Acme Road junction, Ogba, Lagos, in the Ikeja Magisterial District did conduct yourself in a manner likely to cause breach of peace at Acme Road junction, being a public place, by using your blackberry mobile phone to take photographs of people indiscriminately, including that of two police officers namely Inspector Jerry Abuo and Cpl. Etim Itoro, for a ill motive and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 249(D) of the Criminal Code, Cap.17, Vol. 11 Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003.”


http://tribune.com.ng/sun/index.php/news/2553-police-arraign-25-year-old-for-taking-picture-with-blackberry-phone