₦airaland Forum

The Benue State Police command on Thursday arrested a syndicate with over 12,000 Permanent Voters Cards.


Commissioner of Police in the state, Hyacinth Dagala, confirmed the arrest of the leader of the gang, who identified himself as Ali Usman. His colleague, Terseer Wuar, was also arrested.

He said the suspects were arrested with photocopies of PVCs and would be arraigned in court as soon as preliminary investigations were completed.

Dagala said the leader (Usman) claimed that he was working for some big politicians in Abuja under the umbrella of Northern Youths Forum.

The CP however refused to disclose the parties the suspects belonged to, noting that it might affect investigations.

It was learnt that Usman was arrested at Benue Links motor park as he was trying to leave for Abuja while Wuar was arrested at a business centre in Makurdi, the state capital, by the police based on a tip-off.

The state police command had two days ago arrested four other persons in possession of over 1,000 PVCs in Makurdi.

Source: http://oyiidoma..com/2015/02/police-arrest-benue-syndicate-with.html

https://benuenewsonline./2015/02/27/police-arrest-benue-syndicate-with-12000-pvcs/

I have been in Abuja since Thursday, and it was while sorting out important party matters over the weekend that I received reports that vandals attacked opposition offices and properties around the metropolis, destroying cars and pulling down billboards.


I found this very difficult to take because I spent much of Thursday looking at sites of my own campaign billboards and those of my supporters destroyed by opposition elements and at every spot, I urged for restraint and called on my supporters and the entire PDP faithful to remain calm and law abiding as perpetrators of these unprovoked attacks will be fished out.

It thus came as a surprise to me when I learnt of reports that thugs had invaded opposition strongholds, dastardly acts the opposition has been quick to attribute to the PDP. I have been briefed by the party hierarchy and while early investigations suggest the perpetrators of these acts may have been fifth columnists within opposition ranks, I make bold to say that most of my supporters have behaved responsibly throughout the duration of our electioneering efforts.

We have been attacked repeatedly, but we have maintained the peace, we have been provoked, but we have exercised restraint, we have been insulted and abused, but my admonition has always been one of self-control and peace.

I have preached no violence all through my campaigns and this mantra, to this very moment has not changed. Most of my supporters have imbibed my personal philosophy of ‘Vote, not fight, election no be war, so we have been peaceful and orderly in all our campaigns all through the length and breadth of Benue State.

While it is not out of place for a few bad eggs within the party to try to cause trouble, the attacks over the weekend, as I learnt, were caused by opposition thugs, encouraged by the internal wrangling within their camp and not by PDP supporters as insinuated.

Investigations are still ongoing and should any PDP supporters be found culpable, they will be dealt with according to the law. However, when these investigations are concluded and the PDP is exonerated as I know we would, then Benue citizens must move to the polls and say no to violence of any sort by rejecting sponsors and promoters of anarchy and disorder within our midst.

The PDP has always been known to be a law abiding institution and most of our supporters have always towed the line of peace and order over time. Personally, I have always maintained that these elections would be decided by popular will, through the choice of the people as freely expressed at the polls.

I urge restraint and calm and call on all party supporters to be law abiding. This is not a time to be aggressive, this is not a time to be forceful or belligerent, this is a time for passionate appeal to the populace, a time for dialogue and constant conversation, a time to be persuasive, to be subtle- a time to imprint our message of hope into the minds of the people.

Elections are not won via billboards or posters, pulling down our posters does not pull us down in the eyes of the people, nor does it pull us out of the minds of the populace. Destroying our campaign materials and maiming us, and even trying to kill us, does not kill the spirit of the Greater Benue Agenda nor does it diminish our resolve in bringing development to our land.

I urge you all to remain law abiding and trust our security agencies to protect us against any breach of public peace.

Once again, thank you for your support and prayers.

http://oyiidoma..com/2015/02/tarzoor-reacts-i-urge-restraint-and-calm.html?m=1

Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswam, is the Senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Benue North-East. In this interview with some selected journalists, the outgoing governor speaks on his ambition, the new Benue and why some state governments are finding it difficult to pay salaries. Muyiwa Oyinlola was there.

You appear very relaxed in this I just feel that as we are campaigning round, when people see you as their leader looking very agitated, you know a lot will happen and I have known that, so I try to look as relaxed as possible. But then, we are sure footed on ground that PDP is going to win the elections here.


Your tenure as a two – time governor of the state will come to an end in the next few months. Looking back, how would you describe your experience and at what level did you meet Benue and at what level are you leaving it?

Well, the past eight years have been quite an experience and it is mixed with some very exciting moments and some sad that sometimes you wish that why did I get myself into this? But you know that is life.

Life is mixed – you don’t expect that it should be rosy all the time, or life of agitation all the time. I would say that I have gotten a load of experience – some bad, some good.

I have gotten to know human beings. I have gotten to know people and human behaviour. Politics is a better teacher even more than psychology as a subject and when you join politics and participate and contest elections, you will get to know who human beings are, so I have gotten to know that. You will also get to know if your father is actually your real father; people will tell you all kinds of things.

For instance, I woke up one day and I was told that I forged form five (5) certificate and to me, initially, I thought it was a joke because I did my secondary school in Government College Makurdi, then went to SBS Makurdi and UNILAG to read Law. So, it became an issue both locally and internationally. Then, I decided that I was going to face the issue. I wanted it to go through the process, so we went through the process up to the Supreme Court and nobody was able to produce a forged certificate. WAEC was also on standby with a subpoena.

To the second question, when I came on board in the state, there was a lot of apathy in people and very high infrastructural deficit and that is why when I started what I faced squarely was that of infrastructure. Now, if you go to villages in Benue State, they are connected with good roads. I invited good construction companies such as Dantata & Sawoe and PW etc and embarked on massive infrastructural projects; roads, water and electricity, even schools and hospitals.

For instance, when I came in, a permanent secretary in Benue state was earning N45,000 a month. Now, he earns N478,000. It’s a wide difference. A director was earning N26,000 but these directors are earning about N300,000 per month now. This is all through my instrumentality. So, even the life of an average worker has changed.

Their working environment, the secretariat which was built by the first civilian government led by Aper Aku; the furniture there were the furniture that were brought in from Benue-Plateau state when Benue state was created.

I met a despondent state with a lot of apathy but I have changed it.



What informed your decision to support the emergence of a governorship candidate who is seen by many as far too young and inexperienced to handle the challenges of governance?

When I became governor, I was under 42 years. I became governor before I clocked 42. You know, age should not be a parameter for judging whether somebody will perform or not. It is the substance in the person that matters. The young man you are talking about is about to defend his Ph.D in Monetary Economy. When he was speaker, I didn’t have issues with the (state) House (of Assembly). That indicates that he can manage people; and even the resources of the House were well managed because under him, we were able to do quite a bit for the House and these monies were given to him to do some of those things so, he can do very well.



Am worried that a former governor of the state, a senator and former minister would all be in the APC. It looks threatening that PDP may not have it that easy. What are your plans?

You see, there is politics everywhere, in the newspapers, politics in the urban centres. Most of what we people read in the newspapers is not the true representation of what is obtainable on the ground.

When I ran for election in 2011 a newspaper brought out an opinion poll and they gave my opponent 75% and gave me 15%, so even in that regard, PDP has 11 House of Reps members while they have 8. In the House of Assembly then, we had 29. Out of that 29, we had 21 and I won the leadership. That was an election that I had only 15% according to polls!

So, even at that point, the former governor and the former national chairman was in ACN, so when they call names of former this, former that, it is not what is on ground. It is only in Abuja and elsewhere that they fear those kinds of names. We are on ground. We know what is on ground so we are working with the people on ground and we are not averred to people moving parties. Elections are just two weeks away and we have no problem with that. So, PDP is going to win elections a 100 % in the state.



I would like to know why you want to be a senator after serving as governor and particularly what you want to do for your people. And secondly, why is the state finding it difficult to pay salaries?

Well, let me start with the issue of salaries. I have been governor for 7 years 8 months now. The issue of salary has never been an issue in Benue before. But like I said, Benue is a small agricultural state and in the entire of the north, we have the highest number of staff, 29,000 with a very high wage bill. The total wage bill of the state quarterly is 3.1 billion monthly. The wage bill of the local government is 4 billion. What we received last month for budgetary allocation for the local government is 2.5 billion. If I need to pay 2.7 billion, I need to borrow 200 million, that is if I were to pay only salaries.

I have carried so much infrastructure so let those my opponents dispute that I have not done that.

Current expenditure is over 95%, for salaries and wages only. So, it is either that I retrench workers or I will take the salary down. It became a problem so I did not hide it. And I said if we do not address this, we will get to a situation where it will be impossible to pay salaries. We have gotten to that situation. So, I’m owing two months salaries but for the local government, I am not owing them. As difficult as things may be, I have been managing it.

And mind you, there are about 24 states now that are owing salaries not just Benue. So, the situation is going to get worse when the new budget comes into operation and I am not sure that the national assembly is going to pass a budget that will put oil on N65 per barrel because it is unrealistic and un-implementable. And so, we as Nigerians must get ready that we are in a recession and we must understand that in a recession, certain drastic measures must be taken.

So, we can’t continue to pretend that all is well. It is not about me.

I have been paying salaries for 7 years 8 months, now we have a problem so we must know that we have a situation.

On the issue of my senatorial ambition, you know I started politics as a legislator and I was very effective. I started a Ph.D programme when I was in the House of Reps and I spent about three years doing it. My intention was that when I finish, I will go to the classroom but by the grace of God, I became governor, the initial temptation was to abandon that Ph.D but my lecturers encouraged me not to back down but make time and I did and eventually, I graduated still with the intention to still go to the classroom then my people started to agitate that I did well in the House of Reps and as governor so I should go to the national assembly as senator. But I know that there is where I belong, that is where I started and with the executive business, there are too many issues.

I know the terrain of the National Assembly very well and am better informed now than when I was in the House of Reps.

http://oyiidoma..com/2015/02/the-truth-about-unpaid-workers-salaries.html

Barely two weeks to the general elections, political activities in Benue State are gaining momentum with the two notable parties in the state, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, making subterranean moves to outdo each other.


The fact is not lost on anyone that the


 battle for the control of Benue is a straight fight between Governor Gabriel Suswam who is anchoring the PDP war-chest, and Senate Minority Leader, and a former governor, Senator George Akume, of the opposition APC.

These arrow heads of their respective parties in the state are determined to prove their mettle. Their concern, first and foremost, is to take control of the state by winning the governorship election.

This accounts for the much interest the race for who becomes the next governor of Benue has continued to generate.

The PDP is under the firm control of Suswam with support from Senate President David Mark and the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro.

Meanwhile, the ruling party has thrown up Prince Terhemen Tarzoor as its gubernatorial candidate while a former Minister of State for Trade and Investments, Dr. Samuel Ortom, emerged, amid intra party wrangling, as the candidate of Akume and the APC.

With the emergence of these candidates, the rivalry between the two political lords is heating up the polity.

The reason for this is not far fetched, in the event the governor fails to deliver his candidate, his modest achievements in the last 91 months as the chief executive of the state would be confined to the dust bin of history.

If on the other hand Akume loses out in the race, the light in his political life could go extinct because his relevance in the scheme of things would inevitably take a tumble.

Hence, the question on the lips of close watchers of the unfolding drama is, who blinks first in this intriguing battle for Benue?

Whereas the race for the control of Benue would not be won on a platter, events of the past few weeks could provide an inkling as to where the pendulum may swing.

While the PDP seems to be enjoying some level of unity and cohesion among its members including those who lost out in the recently held party primaries, same cannot be said of the APC.

Some days ago, when the campaign train of the APC's presidential candidate, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, berthed in Makurdi, it became obvious that all was not well with the party in the state.

On that occasion, most of the leading members of the party who contested in the botched governorship primary of the APC in Benue were visibly absent at the rally.

Mr. Emmanuel Jime, Senator Joseph Wake, Prof. Steve Ugba, among others, failed to show up at the rally in protest against the alleged imposition of Ortom on them by Akume and the party, as it's gubernatorial candidate.

The insinuation is that this aggrieved group of persons may deploy their clout across the state to work against APC as a way of getting back at the party and the masterminds of the alleged imposition.

In fact, the issue of imposition of candidates has somewhat became a source of deep rooted acrimony in the APC. Besides the Benue North West where Akume holds sway, the dust raised after the alleged imposition of a former PDP stalwart, Senator Barnabas Gemade, on the party in Benue North East is yet to settle while in Benue South, Mr. Madaki Ameh and renown student unionist, Daniel Onje, are still laying claim to the ticket.

These issues are major challenges for the opposition and, if not properly resolved before February 14, the party may be facing the prospect of a major defeat in an election that may turn out a one way traffic for the well funded and organised PDP.

The PDP appears to be enjoying the brouhaha in the opposition with the unrestrained defection of the PDP members into the ruling party.

While welcoming defecting members of the APC from across the state to the PDP, at the party's zonal campaign rally in Makurdi, Suswam declared that "a party like the APC that cannot put its house in order just few weeks to a major election, is certainly on a failed mission."

Suswam continued, "As far as we know, there is much desperation among APC members and it's an early signs of despair and failure which is watering the grounds for the eventual victory of the PDP in Benue state and the country at large."

"Today, we are witnessing consistent defections from the APC to the PDP in Benue state because of the imposition of candidates especially the former PDP Minister, Dr. Samuel Ortom, on the APC as its governorship candidate.

"Ortom claimed I pushed him out of PDP. How can I do that to a man I contributed immensely to his political growth and popularity?

"He left on his own to join the APC out of desperation because he wanted to be governor but failed to pick the governorship nomination of the PDP which Terhemen Tarzor won in a transparent exercise.

"He was immediately imposed on the APC and its members by the leadership, as governorship candidate without partaking in the party's primaries, despite the vehement opposition of other leading members.

"If he Ortom claimed that the primaries conduct by the PDP in Benue state was skewed forcing him to decamp, how then would he describe the manner he was imposed on the APC by his leader which is currently tearing the party apart?

"His maneuvering was a clear indication that he had been with the opposition from the onset but was pretending to be a member of the PDP, but we are also grateful to people like him because the crisis in the party is watering the grounds for the victory of the PDP."

Meantime, Akume and the opposition have continued to be self-asserting in their campaigns across the state.

At the flag off of the APC statewide campaigns at the RCM Primary School, Zaki-Biam, Ukum local government area, the senator justified the choice of Ortom as the candidate of the party.

He said although it was the concensus of the majority of the people that the next governor of the state should come from the Masev, Ihiarev and Nongov geopolitical axis, he subscribed to the position of the late J S Tarka that both the Tor Tiv (Tiv paramount ruler) and governor should not come from the same lineage at the same time. According to him, this is why he opted for Ortom instead of Jime.

He explained that political parties were like rivers that needed to be boosted through several means including dredging by welcoming new members otherwise they would become extinct with time.

http://oyiidoma..com/2015/02/benue-2015-david-mark-suswam-moro-join.html

Benue in the past was a strong hold of the PDP but with what we saw today Change is inevitable!

A friend sent me this picture of a notorious motorcycle robber in Yandev a small community in Benue State.

Luck ran out of him as he was caught, he was striped naked and giving the beaten of his life.

Following the declaration by the World Health Organisation (WHO) last October that Nigeria is an Ebola-free nation, the Catholic Bishops Conference at the weekend ordered all its priests and the lay faithful to revert to the normal practices of receiving Holy Communion through the tongue.


The church also ordered its members to resume the observance of handshake as a sign of peace during masses.

The Catholic Bishop Conference also directed that holy water founts at the entrance of churches be filled again with holy water and never to be allowed to go dry any more.

All these were duly observed at all masses prior to the outbreak of Ebola Virus  Disease (EVD) in July this year, when the same Catholic Bishop Conference met and issued a circular, that put a stop to the initial practice for fear of spreading the deadly virus through the Catholic Church.

Reading the December 2014 special circular, signed by the Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, Alfred Adewale Martins, which was circulated to all Catholic Churches in Lagos Archdiocese, and across the country, the Parish Priest of St. Timothy Catholic Church, Ojodu, Rev. Fr. Gabriel Kunle Amolegbe, said the reversal order was with immediate effect.

Part of the circular read: I refer to our special circular of August, 2014 on the outbreak of Ebola Virus in which we directed that the ‘sign of peace’ through pastoral handshake be omitted, and the holy water fonts be left dry and permitted in the interim, the reception of Holy Communion in the hand, as an extraordinary practice while the Ebola alert was on. We thank God that the steps we took to contain the spread of the Ebola Virus, have been most helpful as Nigeria is now declared an Ebola free nation. To this end, we hereby direct that the church reverts to the normal and ordinary practices prior to the Ebola disease saga.”

The church, which attributed the complete cure of the EVD in Nigeria to God Almighty, said it would continue to give thanks to the Lord for prayers answered and pray that God delivers us from all forms of deadly diseases. The church also called on catholic faithfuls to continue to pray for countries that are still contending with the EVD that has claimed several lives in Sierra -Leone, Liberia and other African counties and the world at large.

The church congregation in St Timothy Catholic Church, Ojodu in Lagos, received the announcement for the reversal of the initial order, with joy and joined Rev Fr. Amolegbe in thanking God for saving Nigerians from the deadly disease.

Although the announcement was received with the clapping of hands, as a sign of happiness and acceptance.

http://oyiidoma..com/2014/12/ebola-virus-catholic-church-reverses.html

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) on Monday said that the commission would continue to promote the use of bicycles as an alternative means of transportation in the country.

Then FRSC Zonal Commander, Mr Luka Kinya, said this at the formal launching of its annual ‘National Bicycle Week’ in Osogbo.

Kinya, who is in charge Osun, Ondo and Oyo, said this was being done aspart of its efforts to decongest the roads.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the launch is the second edition of the programme being pursued nationally by the FRSC.

He said the commission was partnering with the Osun Ministry of Works, Youths, Sports and Special Needs for this year’s programme.

The zonal commander said the exercise was to sensitise the public on the need to embrace and make use of the bicycle as an alternative and safe means of transportation.

He said it would be beneficial to the public to know that riding a bicycle for 30 minutes every week would give a person the chance of living 10 years longer than some that do not.

He said bicycle riders also fall sick 25per cent less than those who did not ride bicycles.

Kinya also said that bicycle riders save more money compared to those buying fuel to drive a car.

He said members of the public would therefore benefit a lot if they embrace the use of bicycle as a means of transportation.

Dr Akinyinka Esho, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youths, Sports and Special Needs, said the state government was glad to partner with the FRSC in keeping the people and roads safe.

Esho, who was represented by Mr LaiAdeshinyan, a Director in the Ministry, said the campaign for the people to embrace the use of bicycles would be beneficial to the public in the long run.

He said apart from decongesting the roads and reducing road traffic crashes, it would equally help the government to map out bicycle lanes in their road construction and rehabilitation projects.

He advised indigenes and residents of the state to embrace the bicycle riding culture, saying it was a cheap and cost effective mode of transportation.

NAN reports that the ‘National Bicycle Week’ is to run from Dec. 15 to Dec. 20 in all the 36 states of the federation NAN


http://dailypost.ng/2014/12/15/frsc-advocates-use-bicycles-alternative-means-transport-2/

Former Minister of Trade, Investment and Industry, Chief Samuel Ortom has emerged as the All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Benue State.


Chief Ortom emerged after other governorship aspirants stepped down for him at the end of a close door meeting brokered by the senate minority leader, Senator George Akume, in Makurdi.

APC governorship aspirants who stepped down for Chief Ortom are Mike Iordye, Akange Audu and Emmanuel Jime.

Chief Ortom will now face PDP candidate Terhemen Tarzor in the general elections.

In the last one week the Senate Minority Leader, Dr. George Akume, has admitted PDP bigwigs into APC family in Benue State.

First to dump PDP for APC is a former National Chairman of the PDP and BOT member, Chief Barnabas Gemade, who also picked the  Benue North East senatorial  seat ticket and will face Governor Gabriel Suswam.

Source:

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/benue-apc-settles-ortom-governorship-candidate/

http://oyiidoma..nl/2014/12/benue-apc-settles-for-ortom-as.html

Result Update


Terhemen Tarzoor- 517
Steven Lawani - 311
Samuel Ortom - 111
Ada Chenge - 47
Sam Ode - 48
Mike Kaase Aondoakaa - 25
Mathias Oyigeya - 5
Terhemba Shija - 3

The News Agency Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Prof. David Ker, Andy Owouku, Alex Adum, Hinga Biem, Felix Atume, Tivlumun Nyitse, Dr Eugine Aliegba, Mr Simon Anchaver, James Mbachiantim and Terhemba Nongo, individually announced their withdrawal at the election venue.

http://oyiidoma..com/2014/12/rt-honterhemen-tarzoo-wins-benue-pdp.html

Pls no cheating do not visit the source before posting your ans

This police car has one tiny, but crucial error ... Can you Spot it?


http://oyiidoma..com/2014/12/can-you-spot-whats-wrong-with-this.html

The screening committee of the party, led by Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, cleared the five presidential aspirants on the platform of the party for the convention.

Those cleared were former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari; former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Kano State governor, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Others were the Imo State governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha and the publisher of Leadership Newspaper, Mr Sam Nda-Isaiah.

The aspirants were also made to sign undertaking that they would not dump the party if they lost out in the primaries on December 10.

http://oyiidoma..com/2014/12/apc-screening-committee-clears-buhari.html

CHAIRMAN of All Progressives Congress (APC) national convention committee, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Wednesday, said the party has moved its national convention, earlier scheduled to hold in Abuja, to Lagos.


Fayemi, the immediate past  governor of Ekiti State, also disclosed that the 2014 national convention, which will hold on December 10 and 11, would have in attendance about 8,000 statutory and elected delegates.

This came as the screening committee of the party, led by Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, cleared the five presidential aspirants on the platform of the party for the convention.

Those cleared were former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari; former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Kano State governor, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Others were the Imo State governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha and the publisher of Leadership Newspaper, Mr Sam Nda-Isaiah.

The aspirants were also made to sign undertaking that they would not dump the party if they lost out in the primaries on December 10.

The undertaking reportedly signed by the five aspirants read in part: “I on behalf of myself and my campaign organisation undertake to accept the outcome of the primaries and actively support whoever emerges as the winner and shall not decamp to any other political party or in anyway obstruct the smooth prosecution of the presidential campaigns.

“I further affirm that during the campaign and later in government, I shall be guided strictly by the party manifesto.

“In the event of my nomination, my campaign team will immediately be collapsed into the party’s campaign structure for a properly united and focused presidential campaign.”

The national convention, Dr Fayemi said, would be held at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos and would be aired live by major television and radio stations in the country.

http://oyiidoma..com/2014/12/apc-screening-committee-clears-buhari.html

The U.S. is cutting short a training program for Nigerian soldiers following a request by the West African nation’s government less than a month after Washington said it refused to sell the country Cobra attack helicopters.


“At the request of the Nigerian government, the United States will discontinue its training of a Nigerian Army battalion,” the U.S. Embassy in the capital, Abuja, said in an e-mailed statement. The program was designed to help Nigeria battle the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

The U.S. turned down the helicopter request “due to concerns about Nigeria’s ability to use and maintain this type of helicopter in its effort against Boko Haram and ongoing concerns about the Nigerian military’s protection of civilians when conducting military operations,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in Washington on Nov. 12.

Nigeria’s military, under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan, is struggling to deal with intensifying attacks by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.The insurgents have killed more than 13,000 people since 2009, according to Jonathan. Suspected Boko Haram members carried out two attacks on cities in Nigeria’s northeast today, killing at least five people.

“We regret premature termination of this training, as it was to be the first in a larger planned project that would have trained additional units with the goal of helping the Nigerian Army build capacity to counter Boko Haram,” the embassy said.

http://oyiidoma..com/2014/12/fg-calls-halt-to-us-training-for-army.html?m=1

The African Union on Sunday applauded Namibia's general elections as free and fair - even as they criticised the procedure behind Africa's first nation-wide e-vote.



Results from the Friday election were still being verified Sunday, with the ruling SWAPO party and its presidential candidate Hage Geingob holding a commanding lead.

Ambassador Fatuma Ndangiza, head of the AU election observer mission, gave Namibia a thumbs up for conducting the elections in “a peaceful environment, free from violence and intimidation”.
But she suggested Namibia electoral commission "consider simplifying polling station procedures" and ensuring staff were trained in how the electronic voting machines worked.

This after opposition parties complained that thousands of voters were turned away from polling stations Friday because of technical difficulties.

Ndangiza said the elections were conducted in a manner that allowed Namibians to express their will freely and in a credible and transparent manner.

Observers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) also gave the vote their stamp of approval.

Representing the regional bloc, South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane admitted there had been delays at several polling stations Friday over difficulties with the voting machines.

But she said that everyone should accept the outcome and praised the high voter turnout.

“This is proof that the people of Namibia love their country and it is an excellent example which serves to deepen democracy in Namibia and the SADC region,” she said.

Opposition parties had launched an 11th-hour court challenge just days before the election to stop the electronic vote from going ahead, saying the use of the voting machines could facilitate vote rigging.

But the Windhoek High Court dismissed the application.

Around 1.2 million Namibians were eligible to vote at nearly 4,000 electronic voting places across the vast desert nation.

Other African nations have run pilot or limited e-voting, but none have done so on this scale.

http://oyiidoma..com/2014/11/african-union-applaud-namibias.html?m=0

A roadside bomb tore through a bus station near a busy junction in northeast Nigeria on Thursday, killing 40 people including five soldiers, witnesses and a security source on the scene said.

The security source and witness Abubakar Adamu, a mechanic who narrowly avoided being blown up himself, said the blast set several buses on fire at the Marabi-Mubi junction, in a part of the country plagued by violence linked to the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency.

“There were bodies everywhere on the ground,” Adamu said.

The location is about 30 kilometres west of Mubi, a town near the Cameroon border seized last month by Boko Haram militants fighting to carve an Islamic state out of religiously-mixed Nigeria. It has since been recaptured.

Source: Reuters

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/blast-at-nigeria-bus-station-kills-40-sources-say/article21814207/?service=mobile

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, on Wednesday, appeared before the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Screening Committee ahead December 10 national convention of the party.

Jonathan arrived the Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja national secretariat of the party at about 3.00 p.m. accompanied by Vice President Namadi Sambo, Chief of Staff, Brigadier-General Jones Arogbofa; ministers and other personal aides.

He was received by the national chairman of the party, Dr Adamu Muazu; chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum and Akwa Ibom State governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, members of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), members of the National Assembly, chieftains of the party, among others.

The Presidential Screening Panel is headed by former national chairman, Dr Ahmadu Ali, with members including former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Bayo Ojo, Alhaji Yerima Abdullahi, Bashir Dalhatu, Chief Jim Nwobodo, Professor Stella Atoe, Chief Jibrin Martins Kuye, Honourable Saudatu Sani and Chief Josephine Anenih.

PDP former national legal adviser, Chief Olusola Oke, is the secretary of the screening panel.

Meanwhile, son of Nigeria’s late Prime Minister and a presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abduljalil Tafawa Balewa, on Wednesday, surprisingly stepped down for President Jonathan in the 2015 presidential race.

Balewa, who arrived at the National Secretariat of the party at the Wadata Plaza,Wuse, Abuja, about 30 minutes after President Jonathan had left the venue, went through the screening exercise.

Making known his decision to withdraw from the race, he said: “I have decided to withdraw my aspiration for the strength and well-being of the party. I am a strong PDP member and I will continue to work for the progress of the party,” Balewa said.

Chairman of the screening committee, Dr Ahmadu Ali, who had earlier announced Balewa’s decision to withdraw from the race, commended the aspirant’s decision.

According to him, “after going through 90 minutes the screening exercise lasted, he came to the conclusion that he wanted to withdraw from the race.

“He has promised to do everything to ensure the success of the party at the poll. We commend him for the decision, although he chose to go through the entire process of screening before deciding to withdraw,” Ali added.

Others are Kwon Victor, Senator Walid Jibrin, Dr Shettima Mustapha, Dr Talatu Nasir, Chief Emmanuel Inwanyanwu, Chief Stella Omu, Chief Ebenezer Babatope and Professor Wale Oladipo, who is expected to serve member/secretary.

Following the president’s appearance before the panel, the party explained that it was necessary, because he had to abide by the provisions of the PDP constitution.

Source: http://oyiidoma..com/2014/11/pdp-screens-jonathan-as-balewa-steps.html?m=0

The Federal Government has adopted the .gov.ng unified email platform for the federal civil service of Nigeria.

The adoption of the domain platform, marked the official take off of the official electronic communication platform in the Federal Civil Service of the Federation.

Addressing the Directorate of the Federal Civil Service of the federation, the Minister of Communication Technmology, Dr. Omobola Johnson, said the switch to gov.ng is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology to drive transparency in governance and improve quality and cost effectiveness of public service delivery.

The Minister said the adoption became significant considering several unsuccessful attempts by both present and other administrations in the past.

She urged workers of the federal civil service to re-commit themselves towards this common purpose to improve internal productivity and quality service delivery to all citizens.

She added that "though, this may have come late, today's event marks a major milestone in our pursuit to use the potentials of ICT to advance our economy. "

She noted that the new platform will improve the speed and efficiency of official communications and provide the means to share, store and gain access to official documents anytime, anywhere and on any computer or mobile device.

"The migration of websites to the .gov.ng platform and the unified email platform would not only enable the delivery of government business over a more secure and robust technology platform, it would also enhance national cyber identity on the internet and improves confidence in citizens, businesses and foreigners as they seek Government information and services online," she added.

She said the platform could be accessed through the www.fedcs.gov.ng, a simple easy to navigate portal to enable the users activate email accounts.

The portal will also eventually serve as the central information portal or Intranet for government, offering authorized and secure access to online services documents and resources.

A standard naming convention such as firstname.surname@fedcs.gov.ng. has been adopted in the creation of email accounts for all civil servants.

Special e-mail accounts have been created for Ministers who are not part of the civil service workforce but should be associated with their portfolios - but still with the standard naming convention.

Role specific email accounts have also been created, but she said they will be extremely limited to avoid a proliferation of email accounts and unnecessary redundancy. These special accounts may be used for non personal, departmental functions and roles.

Meanwhile, the platform is available on mobile devices such as BB, Android and Windows phones and tablets.

According to the Minister, about 42,000 email accounts have so far been created for all officers on GL 10 to 17 in the Federal Civil Service, while they expand the infrastructure and the capacity of the platform email accounts to be created for federal civil servants on GL09 and below.

Prior to this adoption, the Ministry of Communication Technology with the support of the Council of ICT Heads hard embarked on an initiative to standardize the look and feel of federal government websites and also migrate all Ministry websites to the .gov.ng domain name.

http://kwebsolutionz..com/2014/11/minister-unveils-switch-to-govng.html?m=1

Bajaj Auto Ltd fell as much as 2.7% on Wednesday, while Bharti Airtel Ltd dropped 2.9% after Nigeria’s central bank devalued its currency naira by 8% and raised interest rates sharply on Tuesday.

Nearly 12 percent of Bajaj Auto’s revenues come from Nigeria.
Bharti Airtel entered Africa in 2010 by acquiring loss-making telecoms operations for $9 billion, funded by debt.

Nigeria is Bharti Airtel’s biggest market in Africa.
UBS downgrades Bajaj Auto to “sell” from “neutral”, saying falling emerging market currencies would impact margins.

Reuters

http://oyiidoma..com/2014/11/bajaj-auto-bharti-airtel-shares-fall.html?m=1

THE University of Jos authority has announced the indefinite closure of the institution following the escalation of the students’ protest which started on Monday but heightened Tuesday with the burning of tyres on major roads leading to the institution.

The students were protesting against the institution’s introduction of certain stringent measures which do not go down well with the students. To avoid anarchy and lawlessness, the institution decided yesterday to close the university indefinitely ordering the students to vacate the campus and hostels by 2.00pm yesterday which was complied with by the students when The Guardian visited both campuses of the university.

The peaceful demonstration which was brought under control on Monday further escalated Tuesday morning when students mobilized themselves and locked the Bauchi Road Highways and set tyres on fire.

Because of the untoward development, the university through the Registrar of the institution, Mr. Jili Dandam, directed that “the university be closed down until further notice. All students are hereby directed to vacate their hostels on or before 2.00pm today, Tuesday, 25th November, 2014.”

The students were scheduled to commence their second semester examination on Monday, 24th November when they targeted their demonstration to coincide with that day.

Students were seen hurriedly packing out of their hostels in compliance with the university’s directive.

A student of Special Education and Rehabilitation Science of the institution who is a blind student, Obadiah Gotom, said the vice chancellor has turned a deaf ear to the plight of students.

According to him, “the vice chancellor is not even considering us, the physically challenged. We need assistance. We protested in 2012 when he increased our school fees. We forwarded our complaints to him but he said he did not have time to sit with us, describing us as a ‘bunch of radicals.’ We are aware that the protest is going to affect our examinations but we the final year students are ready to make the sacrifice.”

          Many of the lecturers who spoke with The Guardian Tuesday said that they are in support of the students’ action because “some of us have about two or three children in the university. How does the authority want us to cope with the situation? We wholly support the students in this respect. The university should rescind its arbitrary decision.”

On Monday, the University of Jos Students shut down the institution yesterday because of the arbitrary charges of what they described as unwarranted and uncalled for. The students who gathered on the university main campus as early as 6am yesterday said that they were protesting peacefully because of unwarranted charges apart from the normal tuition fees.

          The President of the Student Union Government (SUG) of the institution, Nnok Nbuu Abel, while addressing the students at the main campus of the institution, said that their protest was borne out of the outcome of the students congress held same days ago.

          Abel told the gathering students that they wrote a letter to the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Hayward Babale Mafuyai, about the impending protest which the university set aside without any response leaving the SUG with no alternative than to stage Monday’s peaceful protest.

          All major roads leading or coming to the institution were blocked as travellers to the northern part of the country and those coming through Jos were stranded for the hours the protest lasted.

          Besides, the students targeted Monday to stage their protest as the semester examination was billed to start yesterday. The examination was therefore suspended for one week till Monday next week.

          Abel praised all the security agencies for their neutrality, adding however that it was when the angry students were surging forward towards the Commander of the Special Task Force (STF), Major – General David Enetie, that the STF solders shot three times into the air just to keep the students at bay. He added that no student was aimed at and no harm was done to any of the students.

          Abel said however, that the university authority regarded them as having been compromised and bought over by external forces.

          According to him, “the overzealous university security outfit broke into our lodge and spoiled our belongings and other property.”

          “We had sought an audience to come to a dialogue table to discuss and iron out things with the Vice Chancellor. Since our property were destroyed, we are in a hideout. We were forced to do what we did today because o frustration. What we are worried about is the N10,000 development levy, N25,000 acceptance fees for fresh students and N10,000 late registration being charged and the non – release of school buses for students during excursions.”

          But the institution has debunked allegation of upward review of charges in the university and tuition fees. The serene and calm atmosphere of the university was thrown into a chaotic situation as the students protested. They claimed that the university had not responded to their multiple requests despite several meetings with the university authority.

          But Mafuyai said that all issues raised by the students are not new, adding that the management has never closed its door for dialogue. He said that the management was really taken aback when the students took to the streets.

          Mafuyai disclosed that a seven – man committee has been constituted to look into the complaints with a view making recommendations to management for possible considerations.

Source: http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/national-news/187973-unijos-closed-indefinitely-to-avert-escalation-of-peaceful-protest

http://oyiidoma..com/2014/11/unijos-shut-indefinitely-to-avert.html?m=1

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday in N’Djamena, the Chadian capital reiterated the need for Nigeria and her neighbours to intensify joint actions and cooperation to win the war against terrorism and insurgency.



A statement by the his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, quoted the President as speaking to reporters at the Presidential Palace in N’Djamena after a closed-door meeting with his Chadian counterpart, President Idris Deby.

Abati further quoted the President as saying that their talks focused mainly on security and economic cooperation.

He reportedly told the journalists that the Boko Haram sect had a lot of external influence from outside Africa and it had become more imperative for all countries in the region to work together to overcome terrorism and other criminal activities across their borders.

“If you look at the economies of Nigeria and Chad both are linked. The Boko Haram people don’t take permission to move from Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria.

“If the countries do not cooperate, we will not find it easy to win the war, because when the heat is strong in one country, the criminals and terrorists will go to another one and hide.

“So, we must work together and we are discussing along that line,” Jonathan reportedly told reporters.

He also recalled that his visit to Chad was the second in the last one month, noted that it underscored the importance of building a “robust relationship” between both countries to improve trade, economic and security ties.

He said that discussions between both countries on cooperation in the ICT sector were ongoing and expressed optimism that more proficient use of modern technology would help greatly to address economic and security challenges in the region.

Jonathan, who was accompanied on the one-day official visit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali, and the Director-General the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ayodele Oke had returned to Abuja.

It will be recalled that Jonathan had, on September 8, held a closed-door security meeting with Deby to discuss ways of ending the Boko Haram menace.

The meeting between both leaders was a follow-up to their discussions in Nairobi, Kenya, about a week earlier on the sidelines of the African Union Peace and Security Council summit.

http://oyiidoma..com/2014/11/again-jonathan-meets-chadian-president.html?m=1

Bharti Airtel has sold over 4,800 telecom towers in Nigeria to American Tower Corporation, a joint statement by the companies said here Monday.



According to a filing by American Tower in the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the deal size is approximately $1.05 billion.

"On Nov 24, 2014, the company issued a joint press release with Bharti Airtel Limited announcing the entry into a definitive agreement, through Bharti Airtel Limited's subsidiary company, Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV, under which the company will acquire over 4,800 of Airtel's communications towers in Nigeria. The total consideration is expected to be approximately $1.05 billion, subject to customary adjustments," the filing said.

Airtel, however, will be the anchor tenant on the portfolio under a lease with a 10-year initial term, the joint statement said.

"The agreement will allow Airtel to focus on its core business and customers, enable it to deleverage through debt reduction and will significantly reduce its on-going capital expenditures on passive infrastructure in Nigeria," it added.

American Tower and Airtel expect to close the acquisition during the first half of 2015, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.

"We are pleased to announce the launch of our operations in Nigeria while expanding our relationship with Airtel, one of the leading multinational operators in the world," said Jim Taiclet, chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of American Tower.

"With the largest population and economy in Africa and relatively underdeveloped wireless infrastructure, we view Nigeria as a tremendous growth opportunity. Further, we expect this investment to support our long-term objective of generating double-digit AFFO per share growth for our stockholders," he added.

"Nigeria is the largest mobile market in Africa and a key one for Airtel. This agreement, which is part of our stated philosophy of promoting infrastructure sharing, will provide us with considerable cost efficiencies and at the same time allows us to sharpen our focus on the customer.

"American Tower has a proven track record in passive infrastructure management and we look forward to benefitting from the best practices from all other countries it operates in," said Christian de Faria, managing director and CEO of Bharti Airtel Africa.

http://kwebsolutionz..com/2014/11/american-tower-corp-buy-airtel-nigerias.html?m=0

The naira came under further pressure yesterday after hitting a new low of N177.65 to the dollar though it recovered to close at N176.25 after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) intervention.
Traders said the naira is being depressed by concerns that the CBN might devalue it on the back of persistent pressure from offshore investors leaving local debt and equity markets.

The selloff came as investors weighed potential outcomes of an Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) meeting next week, with Morgan Stanley saying a production cut looks increasingly likely. Nigeria is an OPEC member and crude oil exports account for about 70 per cent of government’s revenue.

Foreign reserves dropped two per cent this month as the CBN sold dollars to lenders to stem the naira’s slide. The regulator may increase its key rate from 12 per cent next week to support the currency, according to analytics.

“Expectations are rising that the bank will throw in the towel and hike policy rates given the seeming futility of trying to keep the naira from depreciating,” Gareth Brickman, a Johannesburg-based Africa analyst at ETM told Bloomberg.

The currency has continued to depreciate against the dollar since November 2008. From N118 per dollar in November 2008 to yesterday’s closing rate, the naira has, no doubt, fallen from its Olympic heights. It has weakened 11.2 per cent this year on concerns over the falling price of oil, triggering a broad sell-off.

Currencies Analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Olakunle Ezun said recent developments suggest that an implicit devaluation has taken place but this needs to be confirmed.

He explained that due to the bearish outlook for oil prices, the CBN is under pressure to continue supplying dollar to support the plus or minus three per cent N155 exchange rate band.

Across Africa, central banks in Kenya and Nigeria are likely to keep supporting the shilling and the naira next week, while Tanzania, Ghana and Zambia’s units are seen steady, dealers and analysts said.

http://oyiidoma..com/2014/11/naira-hits-new-low-of-n176-to-dollar.html?m=1

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has warned that the reported plan to arrest House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal could trigger a crisis that will be fatal for the nation’s democracy, hence there is the need to jettison the plan out of abundance of caution.

In a statement issued in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party said the federal government will be pouring petrol on a naked fire by arresting the Speaker, following the failed attempt to prevent him from accessing the National Assembly to preside over the affairs of the House of Representatives on Thursday, and also in an apparent attempt to halt the current move to impeach the President.

”Published reports have corroborated what we know: That the plan on Thursday was to prevent Tambuwal from entering the National Assembly to pave the way for his Deputy, Emeke Ihedioha, who had already been allowed into the House, to preside over the removal of the Speaker. Were it not so, why would the police even try to seize the mace from the Sergeant-at-arms, as reported? Why would the police detain the Sergeant-at-arms for his refusal? What is the business of the police with the mace, which is the House’s symbol of authority?

”It has also now been corroborated that the plan hatched by the PDP and the Presidency was to give Tambuwal the ‘Ekiti treatment’, in which seven PDP members removed the Speaker in a 26-member House of Assembly. But for the quick thinking and action by the Honourable members who scaled the gate to access the Assembly, that plan would have succeeded and Tambuwal would have been removed as Speaker, the consequences of which no one would have been able to foretell.

”Therefore, instead of pillorying those who scaled the gate, we should be commending them for risking their lives to save our democracy. Those who shut the gate against the lawmakers and barred them from carrying out their constitutional duties are the villains, not the honourable members who acted in the nation’s interest,” it said.
APC said the ceaseless hounding of Mr. Tambuwal by the president and the PDP is patently provocative, to say the least, and calls into question the stated commitment of the Jonathan Administration to the rule of law.

”In the eyes of the law, Rt. Hon. Tambuwal remains the Speaker of the House of Representatives, despite his defection from the PDP to the APC. No matter what the PDP and the Presidency may feel, they are not the court of law, which is the only body that can make a definite pronouncement on the fate of the Speaker.

”The Speaker also remains the number two man in the hierarchy of the Legislative Arm of government, which is distinct from the Executive Arm headed by the President. It is therefore not only unconstitutional but also anti-democratic and anarchic for the PDP-led government of President Goodluck Jonathan to continue to hound the Speaker and desecrate the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly, using the police force that has now become the enforcement arm of the ruling party, having dropped all pretences to neutrality and professionalism,” APC said.
The party said at a time the political atmosphere has become so charged by the government-backed police assault on the National Assembly, it is a perilous game to seek to arrest the Speaker, for whatever reason, unless of course the administration is bent on deliberately plunging the nation into crisis.

”It is difficult to fathom the reason behind the government’s increasing resort to recklessness, but it may not be unconnected with the rising desperation by the ruling PDP to hold on to power at all cost. Perhaps now that it has started seeing the handwriting on the wall with Nigerians clamouring for change, this government may be tilting towards its last option of throwing the nation into crisis to prevent the 2015 elections from holding.

”We are therefore calling on all men and women of good conscience, especially those who have the ears of the President, to prevail on him not to push the nation into any worse crisis than it is currently encountering. With terrorists daily killing and maiming Nigerians, forcing more than 1.5 million people to flee their homes and threatening the nation’s territorial integrity, the government’s trifling is baffling, and should stop forthwith,” it said.
Lai Mohammed
National Publicity Secretary
All Progressives Congress (APC)

http://oyiidoma..com/2014/11/arresting-tambuwal-may-plunge-nigeria.html?m=1

By SAMUEL ABULUDE

On the music scene presently, there’s a lot of buzz about young, prolific wordsmith and indigenous rapper, OLAMIDE who came into the industry about five years ago. SAMUEL ABULUDE writes on the wave making artiste.
O ti mu do go Yaro. Like monkey tail. Bami we Claro- I want to do sina today..

The above is the chorus in Olamide’s wave making song, Story for the gods. The controversial video of the song was shot by UNLIMITED L.A and is currently the rave of the moment in the Nigerian music industry. The song has generated 515, 638 hits on YouTube already and could be Olamide’s biggest work in 2014. That’s a huge achievement for an artiste who few people thought would be able to fill the void left by the late Dagrin (Oladapo Olaitan Olaonipekun) who died in a car crash in 2010. Olamide has indeed surpassed critics’ expectations... Read Here >>
http://oyiidoma..com/2014/11/olamide-from-bariga-to-stardom.html?m=1

After passing Microsoft Windows exam at 5
Ayan Qureshi recently passed the ‘Supporting Microsoft Windows 8.1’ assessment examination, a feat which made him at five years and 11 months, become the youngest ever to pass  the exam.
A schoolboy has become the world’s youngest qualified computer specialist after passing a Microsoft Windows exam at the age of just five.

Ayan Qureshi has only just started primary school, but passed the test at Birmingham City University to become a Microsoft Certified Professional.

 According to the Daily Mail of Uk, in doing so,  he has set a new world record for the youngest person ever to pass a Microsoft exam - at the age of five years and 11 months, beating the previous record held by six-year-old Mehroz Yawar from Pakistan.

Ayan was first introduced to computers when he was just three, by his father Asim, 43, who soon realised his son’s natural aptitude for technology.

The IT consultant then built his son a computer lab at the family’s home in Coventry, West Midlands and started preparing Ayan for the complex Microsoft test.

After just five months training, Ayan sat the “Supporting Windows 8.1” assessment for IT professionals alongside several adult candidates, even though at five he will not be able to work for another eight years.

Ayan breezed through the two hour exam in September and even finished with time to spare before finding out shortly afterwards he had passed.

“We are just so proud of him,” said Mr Qureshi.

“He has plans to take an advanced test in the future but he has to concentrate on school for now.

“He was very interested in computers from the age of three so I started explaining to him about hardware and software and installing programmes.

“I found that whatever I told him, he was able to remember it the next day, so I built a computer lab in our house for him to use, and he loves it.

“I showed him how to install Windows and then decided to enter him for this exam.

“It wasn’t easy teaching him every day but he picked it all up in the end.’

When Ayan, now six, and his father arrived at the university invigilators were so shocked to see such a young candidate and they said he couldn’t take the exam.

However, a phone call to Microsoft rectified the problem and Ayan took his place at a computer alongside the other adult candidates.

“There was just a room full of adults there when we went to take the test on a Saturday, but I’m not sure if they all passed or not,’ said Mr Qureshi.

“He wants to keep on learning so I am sure he will be ready to take more exams quite soon. He’s incredible really.

“He enjoys playing computer games like any kid but now he is more interested about how they work.”

The test is normally taken just before or after university by young adults aiming to be information technology technicians.

Sections of the assessment included multiple choice, fill in the blanks, drag and drop, and several scenario based questions.

The computer based outline test examined the applicants’ knowledge of hardware, software, and their understanding of how Windows works.

And the certificate, which he keeps in his bedroom, shows he can use operating systems created by USA computing giant Microsoft.

Ayan, who has a younger brother Rayn, three,  has also undertaken some distance learning lessons from London based computer training company IT Bolts.

He was born in Lahore, Pakistan, but his father and mother Mamoona, 34, who is training to become a GP, moved to London in 2009.

The youngster is yet to decide on a career path but hopes for a job involving his favourite subjects of maths and computing.

Source: http://kwebsolutionz..com/2014/11/the-simple-blog-tweak-that-gets-you.html?m=1

Read Mr. Tambuwal’s full statement below.
The attention of the Hon Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal CFR, has been drawn to publications in the media to the effect that the Inspector General of Police has ordered that he, Speaker, be invited to the Force Headquarters and that he be arrested if he resisted.

The Honorable Speaker wishes to state that he is a law abiding citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who has no immunity against arrest and prosecution except privileges as may be provided by the Legislative Powers and Privileges Act.

Accordingly , the Hon Speaker states for the records that he is available, ready and willing to answer any lawful invitation from any of the Security agencies on any matter for which they may require his attention.

The Speaker expresses dismay at the unprofessional conduct of the Nigerian Police in the attempt to stop him from accessing the House of Representatives chambers on the 20th November 2014 to preside over the Special Session of the House on the State of Emergency Extension requested by Mr President, for which he had recalled members from their working recess.

Most disgraceful is the false statement later issued by the Police in which they claimed that in the lawful exercise of their duties “ Alh Aminu Tambuwal CFR, arrived the venue with a motley crowd,who broke the cordon, assaulted the Police and evaded due process”. This blatant falsehood coming from a law enforcement agency, that is expected to be neutral and lawful, is unfortunate, to say the least.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Hon Speaker came to National Assembly accompanied by Hon Members as is customary during any sitting of the House. They all came with their official vehicles but were disallowed from driving into the premises. Certainly Hon Members, who arrived the precinct of the National Assembly in response to a call to perform an urgent, critical national assignment, cannot be described by any self respecting institution as “a motley crowd “

It is important to remind the Nigeria Police Force that as a public institution that provides common services for all the arms of government, they must not allow themselves to be used by one of the arms to undermine the others.
Malam Imam Imam @imamdimam
Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to the Hon Speaker

http://oyiidoma..com/2014/11/tambuwal-blasts-nigeria-police-says-hes.html?m=1

Feelers reaching LEADERSHIP Weekend from the Police Headquarters Abuja, yesterday, indicated that the Inspector General of Police, Abba Sulaiman has ordered the arrest of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

The order was given following a showdown between the police and members of the House of Representatives on Thursday, after the police blocked the entrance to the National Assembly and prevented the Speaker from gaining entrance, forcing some of the lawmakers who were with him to scale the locked gate and go into the chambers of the House of Representatives, where they stalled alleged plans to begin impeachment proceedings against the Speaker.

Sources at the police headquarters told LEADERSHIP Weekend that a similar arrest order had been issued by the Department of State Security (DSS).

According to the sources, the Inspector General gave the order for Tambuwal’s arrest after a meeting with Vice President Namadi Sambo and the National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki at the Presidential Villa, yesterday.

“I can confirm to you that the order for his arrest has been given today (Friday). The signal from the IG’s office specifically directed the FCT and Sokoto State commissioners of Police to serve Tambuwal with notice of invitation to the force headquarters and if he resists, he should be arrested immediately. The involvement of the Sokoto commissioner of police is because the Speaker was sighted in Sokoto yesterday where he picked the APC’s governorship form for the forthcoming election. It was assumed that he was out of Abuja and as such, other police divisions were involved in the matter. “

Sources privy to details of the meeting in the Villa said both the Sambo and Dasuki berated the inspector general for the failure of his men to prevent the Speaker from gaining access into the National Assembly premises.

“The NSA was particularly angry and told the IG in clear terms that he doesn’t know his job. He asked how the Speaker and the members broke a cordon put in place by the FCT police commissioner. The NSA then made it clear that the police authorities must rectify the anomalies or they would face the consequences. The promised that Tambuwal would be arrested for questioning,” the source added.
Source: Leadership.ng
http://oyiidoma..com/2014/11/nass-showdown-police-dss-order.html?m=1

There is pandemonium at the National Assembly as policemen and SSS operatives stopped the speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, from entering the premises. Amid a hail of tear-gas, Tambuwal was forcibly taken into the complex by angry lawmakers protesting the action of the security personnel.

The speaker trekked from the gates to the main complex, a distance of over 500 metres. Senate president, David Mark and several senators and many reps were also delayed for hours at the gate before they finally entered the assembly. Confusion is still ongoing…

David Mark shuts down National Assembly

The Senate President, David Mark, has ordered that the National Assembly complex be shut down till next week Tuesday, 25th November, 2014. This was as a result of the confusion that engulfed the complex earlier today.

Details later…
http://oyiidoma..com

There was tension at the House of Representatives on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s (today) reconvening of lawmakers.

Findings showed that lawmakers across political party lines held a series of “strategic talks” on Wednesday, all aimed at check-mating a likely rowdy session today.

The PUNCH gathered that the majority Peoples Democratic Party and the leading opposition, All Progressives Congress members in particular, deliberated on strategies on Wednesday separately.

The Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, had reconvened the House today to hold a “special session” on the extension of the state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

The House has been on break and it is officially scheduled to resume on December 3.

However, before the latest development, there were pending issues agitating members, especially the October 28 defection of Tambuwal from the PDP to the APC.

The PDP had claimed that by his defection, Tambuwal had lost both his seat and position as speaker.

The party had asked Tambuwal to give up his seat to a PDP lawmaker.

Moves by the PDP and its House caucus to reconvene the House before December 3 have failed till date, owing in part to the litigation filed by Tambuwal and the APC House caucus.

On its part, the APC caucus had vowed to oppose any plan to reconvene the House without Tambuwal’s seal or with plans to remove him from office as speaker.

Following his defection from the PDP to the APC, Tambuwal is currently without security personnel.

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, had withdrawn the Speaker’s police security personnel, claiming that under Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, Tambuwal was not entitled to security protection, having defected from the party on whose platform he was elected to the House.

The matter is still pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

But investigations showed that some PDP members planned to use the opportunity of today’s special session to bring up the Speaker’s defection.

One senior PDP source confided in The PUNCH that some members had been positioned for this purpose.

“The matter has to come up one way or another. They are likely to insist that this is not the time to discuss the Speaker’s defection since the House is still officially on break.

“But, that will not be so easy; there has to be a way”, the source told our correspondent.

It was learnt that the APC caucus was wary of the plans of their counterparts in the PDP. The caucus had reportedly resolved that the session should not derail from the “main agenda, which is the state of emergency.”

One APC source noted, “Go and look at the reconvening order issued by the Speaker.

“It says a special session to consider the extension of the state of emergency. There is nothing else after that matter is disposed of.”

But, another influential chairman of a committee dismissed the view of the APC member.

He said, “Nothing stops members from raising other issues. This is a parliament; you don’t gag people by telling them not to speak on issues agitating them.

“If there are other issues, we will discuss them. Expect some drama naturally.”

When contacted, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, told The PUNCH that today’s session would be “strictly on the state of emergency.”

According to Mohammed, the House is still on break till December 3.

He explained that the reconvening was approved because of the “urgency of the matter at hand.”

He spoke further, “This is going to be a one-item agenda; the state of emergency. We discuss it and we wind down again till December 3. Nothing else.”

On his part, the Deputy House Majority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, agreed that the emergency rule was the key thing. However, he added that members were free to raise “any other issue of urgent national importance.”

He added, “Of course, there are issues, such as the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and the budget. If a member considers the MTEF or any other matter to be of urgent public importance, we will look at them.”

Ogor declined to answer a question on whether the Speaker’s defection was the “any other matter” he referred to.

The APC caucus leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, was unreachable on Wednesday. However, a source in his office told The PUNCH that the caucus was “not aware of any other matter for debate outside the state of emergency.”

Apparently unsure of what might play out today, the personnel of the Sergeant-at-Arms Office held “security briefings” on Wednesday.

“It is normal procedure, not that anything untoward will happen.

“We just meet regularly to review our measures,” one source told The PUNCH.

Close associates of Tambuwal were also said to be set to use today’s session to “test his popularity among members.”

“It is a test case; this is to test the ground on what to expect in the weeks or months ahead,” one source stated.

Source: Punch Ng

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