President Goodluck Jonathan said on Thursday that those criticising him as being anti-North are ignorant and seeking cheap political points.
The president stated this when he received a delegation of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, leaders from the North West geo-political zone led by former Minister of Defence, Bello Haliru.
He said that it was incorrect for anyone to say that his administration neglected the Northern region in terms of infrastructure and physical development.
The president said that out of the 12 federal universities established by his administration, nine were located in the North and were already functioning.
He said three additional federal universities recently approved by the administration were also to be located in three Northern states.
President Jonathan said that because of his interest in liberating the region from crisis occasioned by gross illiteracy, he launched the Almajiri system of education.
“The issue of Almajiri education, if I am against the North would I have encouraged that we work with the governors to provide quite a number of children who are out of school?
“All these are blackmail, political blackmail,’’ he said.
The president said that the administration had resuscitated and fixed the moribund rail system which cuts across the country and in particular the North.
He said that his government was committed to doing more in fixing the rail system across the country to reduce the pressure on the road network.
The president thanked the delegation for the visit which he described as “unique’’ and charged them to work together to protect the interest of the party.
He said that the opposition was heating up the polity with all forms of tactics and lies to discredit the ruling party.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/153062-anti-north-jonathan-says.html

Twenty-four hours after her claim to have acquired a Masters degree from the St. Paul’s University in the United States was punctured, PREMIUM TIMES has uncovered another false claim by our embattled Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah.
This time, the minister lied on oath to the Nigerian Senate, claiming another American ‘university’, Pacific Christian University awarded her an honorary doctorate degree in 1998.
Mrs. Oduah made the claim in a 7-page resume she distributed to Nigeria’s 109 senators during her confirmation hearing on July 2, 2011.
On page four of the document, the minister claimed the university, which she said was based in Glendale, awarded her an honorary doctorate in Business Administration.

Download Here Resume Here http://media.premiumtimesng.com/dev/wp-content/files/2014/01/Princess-Stella-Oduah-CV-.pdf

It was based on this document that she was grilled and eventually confirmed by the lawmakers.
But investigations by PREMIUM TIMES suggest that no university called Pacific Christian University exists in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Education, through its National Centre for Education Statistics, keeps an up-to-date database of all public libraries and educational institutions in the country – public, private and colleges.
PREMIUM TIMES reporters spent hours on Wednesday searching this database.
Our reporters searched by state (California), city (Glendale) and name of institution (Pacific Christian University). Yet, nothing came up in the name of the university Mrs. Oduah claimed gave her an honorary doctorate.
According to the database, there are six colleges (universities) in Glendale, a city of 191,719 inhabitants in Los Angeles County, in the state of California.
The colleges are American Medical Sciences Centre, Brand College, Glendale Career College, Glendale Community and North-West College.
There is no such university known as Christian Pacific College as claimed by the minister.
The spokesperson for the National Centre for Educational Statistics, Susan Ad, could however not be reached for comments.
She is yet to return calls and reply an email sent to her by this newspaper.
The spokespersons for the minister appear unwilling to comment for this story.
Efforts by PREMIUM TIMES to get them to react to this new revelation were unsuccessful.
Joe Obi, her special assistant on media, did not answer or return calls.
Yakubu Datti, the spokesperson of the aviation agencies, who usually speak for her, answered our call but immediately said he would call back. He is yet to do so as at the time of publishing this.

The majority of the members of the Sokoto State House of Assembly have defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Twenty seven out of the 30 members of the Assembly took the decision to move the APC on Wednesday, lawmakers said.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Malami Basakkwace, informed PREMIUM TIMES over the telephone that the members decided to move to the APC to follow the state governor, Aliyu Wamakko, who was one of the five governors that defected to the APC.
“We are moving in line the decision of his Excellency Governor Aliyu Wamakko to also move over to the APC,” he said. The defectors include the speaker of the assembly and other principal officials.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/152914-breaking-news-27-30-sokoto-legislators-decamp-apc.html

The Department of State Security Service, SSS, on Tuesday testified before the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, in the ongoing investigation into the killing of eight people in Abuja last year. A 16-year-old boy, also narrated how he was lured into joining the sect before he confessed to security agencies.
The session took place at the building in Apo district, Abuja, where 8 squatters were killed on September 20, 2013.
The hearing commenced after an adoption of a 9 -page application submitted by the security agency on Monday at the rights commission’s headquarters; and a visit to the site of incident.
Eight people were killed in a joint security operation led by the SSS on September 20 at a building at No. 8 Bamanga Tukur Street, Gudu District, Abuja.
The NHRC in December 2013 had declined a request by the SSS to have its officials testify in secret in the ongoing enquiry into the killing.
The Chairman of the Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, said Tuesday’s session, witnessed by journalists, was in accordance with Rule 79 of the Rule of the Commission.
“We segmented the issues and it did require a filing from them (SSS) on record and they will be open to cross examination. But there are also intelligent asset and exhibits that are in their care and as part of the ruling we’ve exempted those from public hearing and it is understood that we take those were there are,” Mr. Odinkalu said.
During the session, an operative of the SSS gave brief details of the operation. He also spoke about the arrest of a suspect that led the SSS to the building on September 20.
He said on September 18, three suspected Boko Haram members were brought to the agency’s office; and out of the three,16-year-old Mohammed Adamu was interviewed and he confessed that Suleiman ‘R Kelly’ had lured him into joining the group.
The teenager also told his story in Hausa during Tuesday’s session.
How I was lured
Mohammed said he left his home in Katsina to earn a living in Abuja. He said he met Suleiman ‘R Kelly’ at the Garki market, and the latter lured him to join the Boko Haram.
Mohammed, who has been in the custody of the SSS since his arrest on September 18, 2013, said he used his commercial tricycle to convey Suleiman and his colleagues between the Apo house and Garki market.
He said Suleiman initially paid him N3,000 weekly for his service until he demanded N5,000, which he felt was a fairer sum as he often made three trips a day, three days in a week between the house and the market. Suleiman eventually agreed to the new sum, he said.
Mohammed said he conveyed Suleiman and 10 others between Garki market and the house for their meetings where they discussed how to protect their religion and wage war on the government. He also joined them for the meetings after he was invited, he said.
He said he once enquired about the content of Suleiman’s bag inside the latter’s Volkswagen golf vehicle used for taxi; with the latter showing him four guns inside the bag.
The teenager said after his arrest, he took the SSS to the building at about 1 a.m. on September 20 for the operation that resulted in the killing. He said Suleiman usually spent the night at the building, where their meeting often holds between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
The NHRC will continue with the session on Wednesday at its Abuja headquarters.

Source http://premiumtimesng.com/news/152906-apo-extrajudicial-killings-lured-boko-haram-teenager-tells-nhrc.html

The Kano State Joint Task Force, JTF, on Sunday said it captured a bomb manufacturer at his residence in Kano.
The Kano State spokesperson, Ikedichi Iweha, said in a statement that after intelligence gathering, the bomb maker was captured during a gun battle with the JTF operatives on Saturday at 1 a.m.
He also said that preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is an Improvised Explosive Devices manufacturer; and his residence, a staging ground for terrorist activities in Kano.
Mr. Iweha refused to reveal the identity of the suspect to PREMIUM TIMES, because according to him investigation was still going on.
He, however, said that troops of the 3 Brigade in Kazaure Local Government Area, Jigawa State conducted a pre-dawn raid at a residence that led to the arrest.
The JTF spokesperson said three women and three toddlers were released unhurt from the grip of the bomb maker, while five AK 47 rifles, five magazines, 333 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition and various improvised explosive devices were recovered from the residence on further search.
http://premiumtimesng.com/regional/152765-jtf-arrests-bomb-manufacturer-kano.html

The media empire of controversial businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim, appears to be in crisis as staff leave his two print platforms, National Mirror and Newswatch, while accusing the owner of high handedness and improper administration.
The exit is more in National Mirror as several management and key editorial staff leave the company in droves, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt. Newswatch recently started daily production after it was acquired by Mr. Ibrahim from its previous owners. It was formerly a weekly magazine.
Sources at the National Mirror told PREMIUM TIMES that the exits, as well as resignations, are a result of the high-handed attitude of Mr. Ibrahim, the Chief Executive Officer of Global Media Mirror, publisher of the newspaper.
But in a swift rebuttal, Mr. Ibrahim told PREMIUM TIMES that all the allegations against him were unfounded, adding that it was normal for people to leave an organization because they won’t “work here forever.”
Mr. Ibrahim is also the publisher of Newswatch newspapers.
“I don’t know anything about those who are leaving National Mirror. Is Mirror not published? So don’t ask that question. What do I know about somebody leaving or not somebody not leaving,” Mr. Ibrahim said.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/152725-jimoh-ibrahims-media-empire-crisis-staff-leave-droves.html

Readers and keen visitors to the Premium Times site struggled in vain early Sunday January 5 to access our news platform. The one-word report that the site had been “blocked” was the depressing information, which alerted them that we had come under a ferocious and hostile cyber attack, a process, which actually started Friday January 3.
After a drenching 9-hour recovery operation which brought together wonderful minds across three continents, we were finally able to restore hope and keep the site alive again.
We thank thousands of worried readers and colleagues who saw the vivid outlines of a nefarious and sponsored plot against the media and free expression in this onslaught directed at Premium Times.
Editor in Chief of Premium Times, Dapo Olorunyomi, said “we may have succeeded in fending off the wild wolves for a while, but it is typical and in the nature of the beast to return in greed.”
“What is at stake is not the publishing rights of a newspaper but the fate of democracy, an accountable polity, and the possibility of an open and transparent society” Olorunyomi said, urging Nigerians to sacrifice all they have to retain an independent, pluralist, and ethical media.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/152718-premium-times-survive-major-hack-attack.html

The police in Rivers State has arrested the Majority Leader of the State House of Assembly, Chidi Lloyd, for the alleged murder of a political opponent and a police officer.
The Police in a statement by its spokesperson, Ahmed Mohammed, Thursday, said Mr. Lloyd killed the duo of Kingsley Ejeuo, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP who was also referred to as an opponent of Mr. Lloyd. He was also accused of killing Urang Obadiah, a police sergeant.
The statement said Mr. Lloyd on December 30, 2013, recklessly drove a vehicle and killed the two persons. The incident occurred at Emohua, along the East-West road.
“The Rivers State Police Command has arrested Hon. Chidi Llyod of the Rivers State House of Assembly for murder of Police Sgt. Urang Obediah and Mr. Kingsley Ejeuo, his kinsman and arch political opponent,” the police statement said.
It also said Mr. Lloyd was arrested after he tried to escape Port Harcourt.
“He was arrested on his way to join His Excellency Governor Amaechi Rotimi in his private jet at the Air Force base to escape justice,” the statement added.
Giving details of the incident, the police said Sergeant Obadiah was killed by Mr. Lloyd when he tried to stop the lawmaker from pursuing Mr. Ejeuo.
The police also said the lawmaker “rammed over the Passat car in which Ejeuo was driving, killing him on the spot”.

According to the road map, “perception is everything in governance. No matter the quality of work that goes into policy programming and efficient implementation, negative public perception of government rubbishes its credentials and diminishes its laudable achievements and legacies. The current public perception of government is less than salutary, requiring the intensification of public policy communication to broad publics.”
How does the government plan to enhance its image? The document suggests some steps and actions. The following means and avenues were listed.
I. Re-tooling and strengthening the Presidential media, communication and public affairs/advocacy team with the emplacement of a RAPID RESPONSE TEAM for proactive propaganda and quick address of negative media content
II. Weekly, if not daily, press briefings on diverse subjects by both core team members, media experts and top government functionaries
III. Intensification of public advocacy by the ministry of information, NOA, and other government agencies in the form of press briefings, TV and Radio shows, personality interviews, newsletters, pamphlets, flyers, etc
IV. Drawing up a public advocacy template for ministries, special advisers, SSAs, Heads of extra-ministerial departments in such a manner that in each week, at least, four of such officials would have granted interviews and appeared on talk shows/personality interviews where they will not only tackle issues pertaining to their mandate but also weigh in passionately on the political issues of the moment
V. Monthly town hall meetings by ministers, Special Advisers, SSAs, etc, in their state capitals, at which forum they will vigorously engage participants on literally every single issue under sun
VI. Monthly media roundtable by the core Special Advisers-Political Affairs, Inter-Party Relations, NASS Matters, Civil Society, etc during which they will offer wide ranging perspectives on politics, governance issues, the transformation agenda, etc.
VII. Monthly town hall meetings by the core members of Mr. President’s Economic Team dealing principally with economic matters as they affect the political fortunes of Mr. President
If you see the ministers and special advisers very active in the media and in their various states, they are just acting a script given to them. You should also watch out for massive propaganda in the media telling you what the government has done and what the government will do. If you say anything negative about the government there is a team on ground that will respond swiftly. These include social, print and electronic media.
Apart from enhancing its perception among Nigerians, the document also emphasises the establishment of a political intelligence unit, and lists its function.

Establishment of a Political Intelligence Unit http://premiumtimesng.com/politics/152576-strategies-needed-help-jonathan-win-2015-part-2-aminu-gamawa.html

A pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, on Friday told President Goodluck Jonathan that they believed the proposed National Conference is more important for Nigeria than the 2015 general elections.
The group stated this when a delegation of its leaders visited the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The delegation commended the president for his decision to commence the conference early next year; and urged him not to be distracted by critics.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, a member of the Afenifere delegation, Yinka Odumakin, said the group was in support of the conference.
“Things are not running smoothly ahead of 2015 and unless we sit down and discuss we are not going nowhere,” Mr. Odumakin said.
During the meeting, Mr. Odumakin told President Jonathan that Afenifere commends his “initiative on a National Dialogue to bring together the peoples of Nigeria to discuss their union.
“This is a bold move that will earn you a good place in history if faithfully implemented. Any leader who is able to get us out of this structural quagmire will never be forgotten.”
Mr. Odumakin claimed there were forces who had been against a better Nigerian structure since 1960, and that they were the ones against the proposed conference.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151827-national-conference-important-2015-elections-afenifere-tells-jonathan.html

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday in Kaduna unveiled the country’s first indigenous unmanned aerial vehicle (drone), GULMA, designed and constructed by the Nigerian Air Force.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Jonathan said that the unveiling of the vehicle marked another landmark moment in the nation’s history.

He said that besides its diverse military application, the vessel would provide a range of benefits in disaster management, power line surveys and law enforcement.

Mr. Jonathan said that the vehicle would also be useful in aerial imaging/mapping, telecommunications and weather monitoring.

“It is also rapidly becoming an important tool in news coverage, environmental monitoring, and oil and gas exploration.

“Considering the potential impact of its benefit and versatility, I cannot but say how proud I am of the men and women of our Armed Forces,” the president said.

“Apart from their commitment to the protection of our sovereignty, they are helping to keep our nation ahead in military science and technology and to keep their civilian counterparts on their toes.

“Today, as we stand in appreciation of the gallant men and women of our Air Force, we are reminded that hard work and diligence can break many barriers,’’ he said.

Mr. Jonathan commended the Chief of Air Staff and all officers and men of the Nigerian Air Force for the achievement, noting that it would strengthen the country. He said it would also enhance the nation’s role in peace keeping and conflict prevention.

The president said he was optimistic that this stride by the Nigerian Air Force would mark a turning point for indigenous technology in every sector of the nation’s life.

“Let me assure the Air Force of the Federal Government’s support for this and all other research projects. We will encourage and assist private sector concerns to key into mass production of the project to achieve the highest and best commercial use of this prototype Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151624-jonathan-launches-first-nigerian-built-drone.html?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=jonathan-launches-first-nigerian-built-drone

Mr. Obasanjo says he would not bandy words with anyone over his letter to President Jonathan, and anyone who feels aggrieved should go to court

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has challenged those dissatisfied with the issues he raised in his now famous letter to President Goodluck Jonathan to take him to court, insisting he would not trade words with anybody on the matter.

Mr. Obasanjo, had in the 18-page letter dated December 2, to Mr. Jonathan accused the president of failing to deliver on his electoral promises, promote national unity, check corruption and strengthen national security.

He also accused the President of planning to renege on his promise to stay for only one term in office and of training a killer squad for the 2015 general elections.

The former president had come under intense criticisms not only for writing the letter, which he titled “Before it is too late” but also for raising those issues.

Mr Obasanjo, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES on Monday through an aide, Tunde Oladunjoye, during a telephone interview, insisted he would not join issues with any one on the controversial letter.

This newspaper had called the former President’s office requesting Mr. Obasanjo to respond to the claim by a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain in Ogun State, Buruji Kashamu, that he (Kashamu) spent a whopping N3 billion to help him (Obasanjo) defeat former Governor Gbenga Daniel during the 2011 elections.

An aide to the former president however referred PREMIUM TIMES to Mr. Oladunjoye, who he said has Mr. Obasanjo’s permission to speak on his behalf.

“Baba will not join issues with Kashamu,” Mr. Oladunjoye said when contacted by this newspaper. “Baba’s letter is very clear. Any individual that is dissatisfied with any part of that letter can go to court, but Baba will not join issues with Kashamu or with anyone for that matter.”

Mr. Oladunjoye then declined further comments, saying that was all he was willing to say on behalf of former President Obasanjo.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151570-letter-obasanjo-challenges-jonathan-kashamu-others-to-go-to-court.html

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday categorized former president Olusegun Obasanjo among those he called “spineless cowards” driven by “sheer greed and indecency”, in an outburst over allegations he has authorized the training of a killer squad ahead of the 2015 elections.

The president said those peddling the allegation that snipers are being trained by his government should better substantiate the claim or “shut up forever.”

“President Jonathan is running a people’s government. He does not need any snipers. His legitimacy comes from the people,” the president’s spokesperson, Reuben Abati, said in a statement late Sunday. “Those who are alleging the existence of snipers should step forward and provide the evidence or shut up forever and go down in history as spineless cowards, driven by sheer greed and indecency.”

The allegation first came to light in an 18-page letter by Mr. Obasanjo to the president.

On Sunday, the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, citing Mr. Obasanjo’s letter, told the president in a statement it was unbothered by any scale of ruthlessness of his government against dissent, and vowed a “stiff resistance” henceforth against acts of impunity by the Jonathan administration.

The president rebuked the APC’s allegation as a “false copy-cat” that clearly shows that the party was in “cahoots with other elements who are bent on discrediting his administration and inciting the public against it.

Though coming as a response to APC’s earlier statement, the president’s angry reply also appeared a subtle response to Mr. Obasanjo’s scorching letter, in which he accused the president of corruption, ineptitude and impunity.

Sunday’s response would be the presidency’s second since PREMIUM TIMES published Mr. Obasanjo’s letter Wednesday.

Also, the remarks would be the presidency’s first direct reply to any of the numerous issues raised by Mr. Obasanjo in the 18-page letter.

Besides the purported training of snipers, the former president also accused Mr. Jonathan of currently keeping over 1,000 people on his political watch list, and secretly acquiring weapons, for political purposes, for a killer squad, comparable to the Abacha-era hit squad.

Mr. Obasanjo said the “snipers” were being trained at the same place the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, trained his own killer squad.

“Allegation of keeping over 1000 people on political watch list rather than criminal or security watch list and training snipers and other armed personnel secretly and clandestinely acquiring weapons to match for political purposes like Abacha and training them where Abacha trained his own killers, if it is true, it cannot augur well for the initiator, the government and the people of Nigeria,” Mr. Obasanjo said in the letter dated December 2.
http://premiumtimesng.com/opinion/151524-jonathan-replies-obasanjo-prove-hit-squad-allegation-remain-coward.html

President Goodluck Jonathan vowed on Sunday to instigate treason charges against the opposition All Progressive Congress, APC, in a furious response to the party’s call for his impeachment, as he faces increasing criticisms over his stewardship and response to corruption.

The president vowed a firm response that includes slamming treason charges on members of the APC, and other Nigerians who might heed the party’s call to fiercely resist all acts of impunity of the current government.

The APC had earlier called on the National Assembly to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against Mr. Jonathan to save the nation from an imminent collapse, warning that henceforth, it would meet every act of impunity of the Jonathan administration with “stiff resistance”.

The party accused the government of preparing to compromise even the judiciary to have its way.

Citing the case of the five governors who defected from the PDP to the APC, the opposition party said the PDP challenged the move in court despite a previous Supreme Court ruling on such defection like the case of former vice president, Atiku Abubakar.

The party said by pressing on with the case, the PDP was only bent on destroying Nigeria and vowed “widespread repercussions”.

“The APC has resolved that henceforth, every act of impunity of the PDP and the presidency will be met with stiff resistance in the form of a vociferous telegraphing of people power, the likes of which have not been witnessed in these parts,” the party said in a statement by its spokesperson, Lai Mohammed.

Mr. Jonathan called the warning an “undisguised threat” to foster “public insurrection” and vowed “consequences of treasonable action.”

“We urge Nigerians to take special note of this boastful indication of an intention to resort to lawlessness,” Mr. Jonathan’s spokesperson, Reuben Abati, said in a statement late Sunday, hours after the APC released its own statement.

“The presidency warns that the APC and any persons who make themselves its willing tools for the breach of public order and safety will be made to face the full sanctions of the law. Those who are threatening fire and brimstone should be ready for consequences of treasonable action,” the statement added.

The bitter exchanges, with the threat of force from both sides, came as a fresh dimension to a series of criticisms directed at Mr. Jonathan in a week that one of his predecessors, Olusegun Obasanjo, penned a scathing denunciation of his government as corrupt, inept and crass.

Mr. Obasanjo’s letter came a day after it became public that over N8 trillion crude oil proceeds had allegedly disappeared under the Jonathan administration. The government has yet to satisfactorily neutralize the allegation raised by the Central Bank governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, in a letter to President Jonathan.

In its statement, the APC said federal lawmakers owe the nation a duty to save Nigeria from collapsing under Mr. Jonathan as the president has failed in all indicators of performance.

”Our country is drifting dangerously and our people are divided now perhaps more than at any other point in our history, with the exception of the civil war period. There is a total failure of leadership, even as insecurity, unprecedented corruption, palpable impunity, massive unemployment and hunger stalk the land,” the party said.

Mr. Jonathan described the call for impeachment as “reckless and irresponsible” and dismissed the APC statement as “opportunistic, partisan and ill-motivated.”

“The APC, which remains a minority party with doubtful credentials in the National Assembly, knows fully well that its attempt to hector and blackmail a Parliament dominated by loyal members of the President’s party, the PDP, into an impeachment process, will come to nothing,” the statement said.

“But it has cavalierly embarked on this outrageous gambit, with scant regard for peace, order, security and political stability in the country, in furtherance of its dastardly and heinous strategy of over-heating the polity and working to cause public disaffection against the Jonathan Presidency with lies, false accusations and unjustifiable indictments ahead of the 2015 general elections.”

The statement said the APC failed to substantiate with facts, its call for impeachment beyond “self-serving rhetoric and falsehoods”.

“All that the APC could offer in justification of its absurd and hare-brained impeachment call was a rehash of its well-worn litany of baseless accusations against the President, including some for which culpability should be laid squarely at the doorsteps of its own leaders and some of their new friends,” the presidency said.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151518-jonathan-talks-tough-threatens-apc-leaders-with-treason-charges.html

Late Chief Solomon Lar, the pioneer National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and former Governor of Plateau, died as a poor man, his daughter, Chalya Lar, said on Thursday.

She made the statement during her testimony at the service of songs for the late Mr. Lar at the Church of Christ In Nations (COCIN) headquarters in Jos.

“Baba has only one car at the time he died; I am not even sure he has up to N1 million in his account before he died,” she said.

The daughter said that she had cause to have a one-on-one discussion with her father as they travelled abroad on his medical trip.

She said that she asked the late politician why he did not amass wealth and build houses like other politicians but that the reply she got from him was on how he was educated on other people’s sweat.

“They contributed their sweat to send me to school; I cannot forget that,” she quoted Mr. Lar as saying to her.

She said that rather than telling her why he remained poor, the deceased stressed the need for his children to strive for good name.

According to her testimony, the late politician said: “A good name will always open doors for you.”

She said that her father was also a very good Christian and a lover of the people even at the point of his demise.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151415-lar-died-poor-daughter.html

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the conviction of Bode George, a former People Democratic Party, PDP, leader by a Lagos court was wrong.

The Supreme Court ruled that the offence, contract splitting, for which Mr. George was convicted in 2009 was not yet a crime then. The court also nullified an aspect of the criminal law of Lagos State saying it was not in tandem with the provisions of the constitution........ http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151401-breaking-news-supreme-court-says-bode-george-wrongly-convicted.html

The six members of the Rivers state House of Assembly opposed to Governor Rotimi Amaechi are planning to hold a plenary today to commence impeachment proceedings against the governor, people familiar with the matter have told PREMIUM TIMES.

The faction, which enjoys the backing of President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, is currently strategizing on how to discreetly access the sealed Assembly complex to hold its sitting, our sources said.

The sources said the police in the state have agreed to provide cover for the lawmakers to hold their sitting.

The spokesperson for the Rivers Police Command, Ahmad Muhammad, wouldn’t confirm or deny the allegation.

“I’m in Lagos at this time, and do not know what is happening in Rivers,” he told PREMIUM TIMES on telephone

The leader of the group of six lawmakers, Evan Bipi, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES his group would meet today.
http://premiumtimesng.com/opinion/151392-breaking-six-rivers-state-lawmakers-move-to-impeach-gov-amaechi-today.html

As PREMIUM TIMES exposes Obasanjo’s letter to Jonathan Nigerian Newspapers fail flatly at the true test of ethics.

The story of a bruising letter written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, which PREMIUM TIMES broke Wednesday, dominated all major Nigerian newspapers Thursday.

But, for the media, it also revealed deep flaws in the ethical complexion of the overwhelming majority of newspapers who failed in simple editorial judgment to acknowledge PREMIUM TIMES as the source of their story.

A content analysis of major newspapers conducted by this paper revealed alarming disregard for age-old professional ethics, which forbid plagiarism, non-acknowledgment of legitimate source of information, and the primacy of attribution as a foundation to truth telling in the mission of a newspaper.

Majority of the papers published the complete text of the letter which was first revealed to the world by this newspaper, and made available via our website. There were also cases of shameless lifting of the original story published by this medium.

“This oddly adds to the existing indices of failure in our industry, and when it is about ethics, you have the sore feeling that the problem has attained the form of a crisis” said Dapo Olorunyomi, Editor-in-Chief of PREMIUM TIMES who said he was “weirdly tickled at the absence of humility in competitors who sought to ignore accepting they got the material from us and ended up failing to offer their readers the source of the material altogether.”

Mr. Olorunyomi added: “it were rather as if to spite their faces they sought an ingenious outcome in slicing off their noses altogether.” He also said this crisis underscored the challenge of training, and the need to force the ethics debate back to the top of the media agenda in the country.

Many of the flagship titles of the industry led the pack in this professional gaffe. The Guardian, Vanguard, Punch, Tribune, Daily Trust and The Sun, all failed to disclose any original source for the story, neither did they acknowledge PREMIUM TIMES as their source.

The Punch, in a side-splitting reference, wrote that the letter “became public knowledge” without stating how, apparently in the effort to avoid mentioning PREMIUM TIMES.

The Nigerian Tribune, which carried a bromide copy of the letter, with PREMIUM TIMES watermark on it, amusingly mentioned in the text of their story that the letter “found its way into the public domain”.

Daily Trust, also published a full text of the 18-page letter with this newspaper’s watermark on each of the page, but uncharitably stated that the letter was “leaked on the internet.”

LEADERSHIP, which adorned its entire front page with the letter, did not state its source of the document whose full version it also published.

THISDAY was a sole departure from the crowd, as it duly acknowledged PREMIUM TIMES as its source of the letter.

Other newspapers including Blueprint, National Mirror and The Sun who also have the story from the letter as their cover story, did not mention this newspaper as their source for the letter as they all keep mum over source.

National Mirror even went to the ridiculous extent of plagiarising significant parts of this paper’s original story on the letter word-for-word without giving credit to us.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151369-obasanjos-letter-exposes-nigerian-newspapers-ethical-flaws.html

The police in Rivers today disrupted a sitting of the Rivers state House of Assembly who were holding plenary for the first time since July when the House was sealed.

Twenty-five of the 26 members of the House loyal to embattled Governor Rotimi Amaechi had converged on the Assembly earlier today to sit in compliance with a high court order barring the National Assembly from taking over the functions of the Assembly
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151354-breaking-fresh-confusion-in-rivers-as-police-shoot-live-ammunition-teargas-at-state-lawmakers.html

Click this http://www.premiumtimesng.com/docs_download/OBJ-Letter.pdf

The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, in Kaduna on Tuesday said President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration was the best thing to have happened to the North since the Yakubu Gowon government that ended in 1975.

Mr. Maku said this in Kaduna during a town hall meeting organised as part of National Good Governance Tour of Kaduna State.

“There has been a denial, a political denial that President Goodluck Jonathan is not developing the North.

“And there has been an agenda of deceit and propaganda, which is carried out mainly by people and political opinions in some quarters in the north that continuously want to deny the imprint of this administration.

“The truth is that, never since Gowon days have you seen the Federal Government that is impacting significantly in the development of the North as President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration,” he said.

The minister challenged those “with contradictory view” to a debate, saying he would back his assertion with facts.

“We have gone round a number of Northern states; we have been to Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina and we are now in Kaduna state, the political headquarters of the old Northern Region.

“And in all the places we have gone, the evidence is very clear, contrary to those who believe that we are into partisan politics and not discussing the development of the north.

“The evidence is clear that the Yar’Adua/Jonathan’s presidency, since 2007 has placed the development of the north in the uppermost part of its own attention,” he said.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151240-jonathan-best-thing-since-to-happen-to-northern-nigeria-since-gowon-maku.html?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=jonathan-best-thing-since-to-happen-to-northern-nigeria-since-gowon-maku

Ogoni protest non-implementation of UNEP report, disrupt oil operations

Hundreds of indigenes of communities in Ogoniland on Tuesday made good their threat to disrupt operations of oil companies in Rivers State as they blocked all routes leading to major oil facilities in the area.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151229-breaking-news-ogoni-protest-non-implementation-unep-report-disrupt-oil-operations.html

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan and his contingent will depart Abuja for South Africa on Monday for the burial of former South African President, Nelson Mandela, fixed for Sunday.

The president announced his travel plans on Sunday. He will be accompanied by the Supervising Minister of Foreign Affairs, Viola Onwuliri.

The special assistant to the president on new media, Reno Omokri, tweeted about Mr. Jonathan’s journey but did not give details about the size of the contingent.

President Jonathan is known to travel with large contingents to foreign engagements.



Activities marking the passage of the late global icon started in Nigeria on Friday when the president declared three days of national mourning and prayers.

It continued on Sunday with a church service at the Aso Rock chapel, an event that drew Nigeria’s top politicians.

In South Africa, Mr. Mandela’s final journey to the grave picked up with a national day of prayer and reflection in synagogues, temples, churches, mosques, on Sunday December 8.

On Monday, a joint parliamentary session will hold in honour of Mr. Mandela.

The South African parliament is also organising a special exhibition that traces, in Mandela’s words, the transformation of Parliament and South Africa during his presidency.

The “Madiba Speaks exhibition” will be open on that day.

On Tuesday, a national memorial service will be held across South Africa. The official memorial service will be held at the FNB Stadium, Johannesburg. South African President, Jacob Zuma, will address the official memorial service.

Heads of State from all over the world, and representatives of international and regional organisations will pay their tributes at the service. “Eminent persons will also address the gathering,” a statement by the South African government says on Sunday.

It is not clear if President Jonathan plans to speak at the memorial service, but Reuben Abati, the president’s spokesperson, confirmed he will attend the service.

Between Wednesday and Friday, Mr. Mandela’s remains will lie in state at the seat of South African government, the Union Buildings in Pretoria. According to Mr. Abati, President Jonathan will pay his last respect to Mandela on Wednesday.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151119-president-jonathan-jets-south-africa-six-days-ahead-mandelas-burial.html

To the honoured and accomplished, the virtuous and munificent, the pattern of goodness and the standard of benevolence, head of the Soodanic kingdon, and ruler of the country of Hausa, our friend, the learned Mohammed Bello, son of the intelligent sheikh Ossman, whose soul may God shelter with the clouds of mercy and peace.

Our salutation, accompanied with affection as strong as the odour of musk, and as perpetual as the movement of the globe, and with the mercy and blessings of God, be unto you.

Hence, the cause of writing this letter and the purpose of its lines, is to acquaint you that the bearers are English travelers; whose nation, out of all the other Christians, has maintained with the Mooslemeen uninterrupted treaties of religious amity and friendship, established since ancient periods, which they inherited from their forefathers and ancestors; and on this account, they penetrate into Mooslemeen [moslem] countries whenever they please, and traverse all provinces and lands in confidence and trust, without fear.
READ MORE http://premiumtimesng.com/opinion/151105-shed-christian-blood-mohammed-el-kanemy-sheikh-borno.html

South Africa’s former president and respected anti-apartheid leader, Nelson Mandela, who passed away Thursday night, will be buried on Sunday, December 15, President Jacob Zuma announced Friday afternoon.

Mr. Zuma said the revered leader, famed for unifying South Africa and forgiving his white tormentors, will be buried in his ancestral home in Qunu, Eastern Cape, after a memorial service at Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium on December 10.

Mandela will be buried in a family plot where three of his children and other close family members are buried.

At a news conference on Friday afternoon, Mr. Zuma outlined a week of events to mourn the former president whose death has drawn an unprecedented outpouring of emotion from across the world, with global leaders paying their respect.

Sunday will be an official day of prayer and reflection with special religious services, he said.
MORE HERE http://premiumtimesng.com/news/150993-mandela-buried-december-15.html

Good Evening and welcome to the LIVE blog for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Finals Draw. A team of PREMIUM TIMES sports analysts would bring you commentaries and live updates of the draw taking place in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil.

You can also follow and contribute to the coverage on our Twitter, Facebook and, comments here, below.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/150987-2014-fifa-world-cup-draw-live-commentaries.html

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, has denied attending a meeting of the five governors who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The five governors met with the leadership of the APC on Monday night at the Kano State Governors lodge in Asokoro Abuja; and there were media reports that the speaker attended the meeting briefly.

Speaking through his spokesperson, Imam Imam, on Tuesday, Mr. Tambuwal said he went to the Kano Governors lodge to see the Governor of Sokoto state, Aliyu Wamakko.

Mr. Tambuwal is from Sokoto.

“The speaker went to see his governor who sought to see him and he went there before the meeting commenced and it did not commence before he left the lodge,” he said.

He said it was wrong to assume the speaker was at the Kano lodge to attend the meeting when it was clear he left before the meeting started...
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/150832-tambuwal-denies-attending-apc-meeting-says-resignation-plan.html

If you look at the Government’s paper of 6 November, 2013, it states that the Federal Government shall provide N200billion in 2013. ASUU’s letter to the President does not change that agreement.
1. Introduction

On Monday 4th November, 2013, the leadership of our Union had a meeting with a government team led by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. The meeting was necessary because all the previous government teams (separately led by the Minister of Education, Gov. Gabriel Suswam, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and by the Vice President) had failed to address the requests made by our Union ASUU to implement the 2009 Agreement in accordance with the 2012 Roadmap, and to commence the process of review of the said Agreement thereafter.

Gentlemen of the Press, the benefits of implementing the 2009 Agreement have been articulated severally in a number of addresses I made. Suffice to restate again that the objectives of the 2009 Agreement are:

i. To reverse the decay in the University System, in order to reposition it for greater responsibilities in national development;

ii. To reverse the brain drain, not only by enhancing the remuneration of academic staff, but also by disengaging them from the encumbrances of a unified civil service wage structure;

iii. To restore Nigerian Universities, through immediate, massive and sustained financial intervention; and,

iv. To ensure genuine University autonomy and academic freedom.

These objectives were made even more potent by the findings of Government Committee on the Needs Assessment of Nigerian Universities in 2012. The shocking findings of that Committee should make any serious government thoroughly ashamed of its colossal failings.

At the end of the meeting with President Jonathan, a message was given by the government to the members of ASUU nationwide. Branches deliberated and debated on the message and gave their responses to the National leadership of the Union. These responses were articulated by the National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU and sent to President Jonathan through the supervising Minister of Education.

Gentlemen of the Press, since the issuance of the Union’s response to the said letter, the salvos that have been coming out, allegedly from the Minister of Education makes one to wonder whether the person that is charged with the responsibility of superintending over the Nigeria’s Education system has the wherewithal to handle such a vital national assignment. It is my intention this afternoon, therefore, to clear the air on the rumours, lies and mischiefs that are milling out of government circle (especially from Ministry of Education and National Universities Commission), all with the intent of misleading the Nigerian public. I will therefore speak to the letter from government and the yet-to-be-replied response of our Union. I will establish, to all discerning minds, that ASUU did not bring any ‘new conditions’ as claimed by the Minister of Education and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Mr Doyin Okupe. Rather, it is government that is trying to avoid taking responsibility.
The Letter from Government to ASUU

The letter from the Government was communicated by the Federal Ministry of Education, ref. FME/TE/SS.IM/C.I/1/99 and was titled “Resolutions reached at the meeting between Federal Government and
Representatives of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU)” The content of that letter was not the judgment of a court: it was not, and could not be properly taken as conveying the words of a commander who must be obeyed.
Government’s communication was as follows:

1. “That the Federal Government is irrevocably committed to the overall improvement in the quality of education especially at the tertiary level in the country.

2. That there is an overarching need to find a lasting solution to the challenges facing university education in the country through the development of sustainable, affordable and implementable strategies that are within the revenue profile of government.

3. Arising from the above understanding, it was further noted with particular emphasis on funding that:

(a) Nigerian Universities must be revitalised for effective service delivery.

(b) All the provisions in the extant agreement/MoU for the revitalisation of the University system shall be fully implemented as captured in the 2012 Needs Assessment Report.

(c) Federal Government shall mobilise resources towards this goal.
4. In view of the above understanding the following resolutions were reached:

i. Federal Government shall provide funds for the revitalisation of the University system in the following manner in the next six years
http://premiumtimesng.com/opinion/150783-presidency-lied-ASUU-nasir-fagge.html

The Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomole, has been commended for apologising to and compensating a widow, Joy Ifije, whom he insulted while on an environmental inspection of Benin City.

Several respondents in Ogun State also suggested that the governor, whose wife died in 2010, marry the widow.

According to some of the respondents interviewed by PREMIUM TIMES, the meeting between the governor and the widow may have been occasioned by divine forces. The respondents were of the opinion that, being a widower, there was no harm in the Governor remarrying and that it would be appropriate to marry a widow.

“I am of the opinion and conviction that the meeting and the incident between the governor and the widow, which later attracted public attention, was divine.

“As we can see today, the governor felt for the woman, had to apologise over the error and even empowered her,” Albert Ashipa, a politician in the state, noted.

The Governor, on Monday, offered Mrs. Ifije N2 million and a job.

“From my own opinion, I think God has a purpose for the two of them and there is nothing wrong if the two eventually fall in love, in view of their marital positions. I believe both cannot and should not remain single parents for life,” Adunni Eweje, a petty trader in Kuto market, also posited.

A civil servant, Razaq Ayinla, while commending the governor for his gesture, concurred that the development was God’s doing and advised that the duo make positive use of the opportunity.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/150775-respondents-ask-oshiomhole-marry-insulted-widow.html

The All Progressives Congress, APC, at the weekend welcomed some members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, into its fold. The proprietor of a popular transport company, Peace Mass Transit Limited, PMT, Sam Oniyshi, led his supporters to join the opposition party in Enugu State, South Eastern Nigeria.

Mr. Onyishi announced his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the APC on Sunday at a meeting with its leaders in the state.

Among the leaders who received him were the party’s National Welfare Officer, Emma Eneukwu, Peter Okonkwo, Okechukwu Ezea and Valentine Nnaedozie. Messrs Ezea and Nnaedozie were the governorship candidates of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and Labour Party, LP, in 2011.

A statement by a leader of the APC in the zone, Osita Okechukwu, on Monday said the transporter also announced his intention to contest the 2015 governorship election in the state on the party’s platform.
http://premiumtimesng.com/regional/150728-peace-mass-transit-boss-dumps-pdp-joins-apc-enugu.html