₦airaland Forum

This is nothing but a mere propaganda by the government even when the elites and celebrities are protesting. Can somebody tell me Mr. Femi Falana, Banky W, Seun Kuti, Mrs Gani Fawehinmi have all been compromised by the faceless marketers whose names could not be ascertain in the reports?

Venezuela: Like Nigeria, unlike Nigeria
By Our Reporter 9 hours 41 minutes ago
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Arrundell Arrundell

THERE are similarities between Venezuela and Nigeria. Both are sovereign, oil producing nations, and members of the Organisation of Oil Producing Countries (OPEC).

But that is where the similarities end. While Venezuelans are enjoying all the benefits of an oil producing country, same could not be said of Nigerians.

When Enerique Fernando Arrundell, the Venezuela Ambassador to Nigeria, paid about N12, 000 to refuel his car over two years ago, he expressed shock to Mrs. Dora Akunyili, the then Minister of Information and Communication

He said: “In Venezuela, since 1999, we’ve never had a raise in fuel price. We only pay $1.02 to fill the tank. What I pay for with N12, 000 here (Nigeria); in Venezuela I’ll pay N400. What is happening is simple. Our President (Hugo Chavez) decided one day to control the industry, because it belongs to the Venezuelans. If you don’t control the industry, your development will be in the hands of the foreigners. You have to have your own country. The oil is yours. Sorry I am telling you this. I am giving you the experience of Venezuela. We have 12 refineries in the United States, 18,000 gas stations in the West Coast. All we are doing is in the hands of the Venezuelans. Before 1999, we had three or four foreign companies working with us. That time they were taking 80 per cent, and giving us 20. Now, we have 90 per cent, and giving them 10 per cent. But now, we have 22 countries working with us in that condition.

“It is the Venezuelan condition. You know why? It is because 60 per cent of the income goes to social programmes. That’s why we have 22,000 medical doctors assisting the people in the community. The people don’t go to the hospital; doctors go to their houses. This is because the money is handled by the Venezuelans. How come Nigeria that has more technical manpower than Venezuela, with 150 million people, and very intellectual people all around, not been able to get it right?

“The question is, if you are not handling your resources, how are you going to handle the country? So, it is important that Nigeria takes control of its resources. We have no illiterate people. We have over 17 new universities totally free. I graduated from the university without paying one cent and take three meals every day, because we have the resources. We want the resources of the Nigerian people for the Nigerians. ”





http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/32230-venezuela-like-nigeria-unlike-nigeria.html

Yes

INCREDIBLE!
Man, 34, butchers mother like cow, dumps dismembered body in a well
From ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE, Kaduna
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Parts of Martina’s body in a bowl, Emmanuel
Photo: Sun News Publishing

More Stories on This Section

Both luck and the popular Yoruba saying that, 'train your child to give you rest of mind' worked against Mrs. Martina Usha, a 57-year- old resident of Maraban Rido, a suburb of Kaduna, as her son she laboured so hard to give the best of education butchered her like a cow and dumped her dismembered body in a well.

Although the incident occurred mid last month, but skeletal details were at the disposal of Crimewatch until recently, when our reporter succeeded in speaking with the 34 years old suspect, Emmanuel Usha, at the Kaduna Police Command Headquarters.
Crimewatch gathered that Martina was the first wife of Engineer Godwin Usha and a mother of three children. Her first child, a girl, was said to have died at the age of 15, leaving the woman with two boys, Emmanuel and his younger brother.

A source close to the Usha family disclosed how the suspect had been passionate about blood or had been using blood for something which is not yet known to people. According to him, Emmanuel had always loved draining blood from animals, right from his Secondary School days."Emmanuel had at one time, killed a dog in their compound, drained its blood and kept it in his room for use which is best known to only him. He did the same thing to a cat which was even very friendly with both the young and old in the compound," he recalled.

Though, the suspect had allegedly had series of quarrels with his late mother and even hit her with shovel, no one, including his parents suspected he could butcher his biological mother in such a dastardly manner. The recent problems which resulted in the death of Mrs. Martina, was said to have begun, after she relocated from Ungwan Television, where she lived with her husband, to her apartment in Sabo Tasha. Crimewatch gathered that it was at Sabon Tasha that Emmanuel made the first attempt to murder her. That was the time he allegedly used shovel to hit her on the hand.

According to the same source, there were several other unsuccessful attempts by the suspect to kill her, before the recent one, which led to death of the hapless woman. Investigation further revealed that the four bedroom flat, where deceased was eventually butchered was built by her, after her retirement as a senior staff of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC). She was said to have moved into the house with Emmanuel and his sibling.
Report also had it that before she met her untimely death, there was a face-off between her and the suspect, immediately she returned from where her younger son was receiving medical treatment.

Another source, who lives close to late Martina's house told our reporter how she was passing by that fateful Monday evening and heard a faint shout from someone, who was screaming for help, adding that nobody could enter into the compound because of the high fence. The source, who preferred anonymity added: “Small time, we no hear the noise again and we come think say, everything don dey okey." She explained that the woman ceased screaming, adding that since they were sure that her son was inside the compound, they had no reason to be worried until they reported her missing the following day.

Another source disclosed that Emmanuel never reported his mother's disappearance to anyone, including her church members and friends, until some concerned members of her church saw him outside and asked after her. He was said to have snubbed them and that was how people began to suspect foul play. The source further added: "Reaching Wednesday morning, Reverend Father Mark, the Priest of the Mission, became apprehensive and queried what must have gone wrong that made Mrs. Martina Usha, who never missed any morning devotion to be absent? The concern for Mrs. Martina’s wellbeing compelled her closest friend, Veronica Umah and Volunteered Catechist, Michael Iheoma, to immediately rush to her house, where they met Emmanuel, and asked after his mother.

They met her son, (Emmanuel), asked him after his mother and he was said to have responded in a very harsh tone, which gave them the impression that something must have gone wrong.“When we went to the house, I spoke with him and asked after his mother and he responded harshly, saying, ‘my mother has not come back’.” It was further gathered that shortly after that, some youths from the church also came to the house , where they saw him mopping the floor, a development which gave more room for suspicion. According to them, they knew the suspect was not known to be humble enough to get involved in domestic chores, such as mopping of the floor.

But out of annoyance, occasioned by the insistence of church members on knowing Mrs. Martina's whereabouts, Emmanuel rushed to Ungwan Television to inform his father for the first time, about her mother's disappearance.
And when Engineer Usha rushed to Maraban Rido and did not see his wife, he quickly reported the matter to the police. Crimewatch checks, however, revealed that the following day, a member of the Communication Committee of the St. Simon Catholic Church, Brother Godwin Boi, and the Chairman of the Committee, Brother David Adayi, came to the house and desperately carried out a search and suddenly concentration of houseflies at the back of the house where a well is situated.

The discovery was said to have compelled them to open the well and offensive orduor oozed out.
It was the offensive odour that made them to order Emmanuel to fetch some water from the well for scrutiny.
And when he fetched it, he testified by that it had a foul odour. And before they could ask further question, he had taken to his heels. But unfortunately for him, he ran into the waiting hands of some angry youths, who were desperately waiting outside the gate to be furnished with the latest information on the matter.
He was later handed over to the police, after parts of his late Martina's body were recovered from the well by some experts.

Though, Engineer Usha did not want to speak to the press, he, however, confided in a journalist who is very close to the family that his son, "had given very conflicting statements at the police station, which pointed to the fact that he killed his mother.”
He said further: “At the moment, the dismembered parts of my wife have been stitched together at Barao Dikko Specialist Hospital and we will be taking the corpse to rest in the village."
Meanwhile, after several fruitless moves by the reporter, to have access to the suspect who has since the incident, been in the police net, he was eventually paraded before newsmen last Friday.
Below is the excerpt of the reporter’s interaction with the alleged mum killer:

Why are you here?
I was framed up, I went home and discovered my mother in the well and I couldn’t escape.

Who framed you up?
People who didn’t want me to believe I was a graduate from the military school. I graduated from Arizona Academy Air Force in 2010. I am presently teaching in my mother’s school.

There is an allegation that you killed your mother, what can you say about that?
I didn’t kill my mother, those who didn’t want me to believe I graduated from the military school killed her. Some of them are our neighbours, some of them even stole my uniform and the rifle I got from the academy in the country. They didn’t want me to achieve anything in this country. I know some of these people but not all of them.

What time of the day was your mother killed?
It was sometimes in the evening. I was at home earlier, before I went out to smoke. When I came back, the deed had already been done.

When you came back from where you went to, what did you see in the house?
There was nothing unusual in the house; there was also nothing to show that somebody attacked her. After my mum disappeared from the house, I went to my father’s house that night. When I was coming back, there were people around the house, waiting for me to come and open the gate, they started searching and discovered the body in the well.

You were alleged to be mopping the floor of your room the same day, what were you trying to cover up?
I was mopping oil stain. My shoes stepped on engine oil, when I was entering the house to take key to fill the generator with fuel.

What was the relationship between you and your mother like, before her death. We learnt you usually fought with her?
My mother was the one who brought me to Maraban Rido after I could not discover my house. I forgot and these people were taking my things away so, I couldn’t remember that I was having a house like that. She was the one, who brought me into the house and organized my school for me. She was the one, who was paying my school fees. I was staying with my father in Ugwan Television before, but I wasn’t doing anything because the school I finished in Nigeria, I didn’t make it, I finished Mossi Gabriel, I finished New Breed, Labayi, I even took some exams but all, I didn’t make any of the papers. I also schooled abroad at Arizona Academy, Air Force and that was the one my mother was carrying forth for me but she wasn’t telling me anything.

We learnt that you were always quarreling with your mother, how true is this allegation?
I don’t fight her always but on one occasion, I used shovel to injure her and it was because I was instructed to go to the house to collect my phone from her and she didn’t want to give it to me. And she was not paying attention to my transportation money to go back home, so I had to trek home that night, so I was annoyed and I attacked her that night. That time, I was not living with her, I was living with my father in Television, while she was living in Sabo at that time.

Who are you suspecting to have killed your mother?
I suspect our neighbour, where she used to keep the things she took away from me before I woke up.

What are those things?
My uniform, my rifle, I have a rifle that I was given in the country when I finished. My identity card was an international number, I was supposed to separate it into two, I gave the national ID card. Whenever they give it to me, I’m supposed to wake up the following day, after the injection my head swagger.

So, what were you doing with gun?
Yes, I have a gun, it was given to me in the country, because I attended an Air Force Academy. When you are a scholar with them, they give you a rifle for protection. They signed it for me and I was supposed to finish with my commission.

What about your mother’s handset which you were alleged to have taken?
She travelled and came back that morning, we didn’t have time to talk, so, I came back in the evening from school. She asked me about the handset I sold, I denied taking the handset. Later, she discovered that the second handset was missing. She was very annoyed that she didn’t realize that she was not having the communication system in the house. So, while she was barking at me, I went to the room and she went out. That was the last time I saw my mother alive.

The police recovered a very sharp knife from your room, what were you doing with it and the shovel found under your mattress?
It is the knife I used in peeling oranges when my mother buys for me. The shovel is my rifle I was using in Arizona Academy, it was a gun but they changed it to shovel for safety.

Do you smoke and what do you smoke?
Yes, I smoke cannabis and cigarette.

Have you ever been taken for any rehabilitation in the past?
Several times, my mother took me for rehabilitation. I don’t drink, when I drink, I vomit and I fall very sick so my mother was concerned. She told my father about it and they went to complain to NDLEA about it. They took me there for rehabilitation, since then, I don’t drink alcohol again. I only smoke.

What led you into drugs?
In the school, it was a project that I should continue smoking, because it is something I used when I am on patrol, so that I will not be bored. We were trained that way in school to smoke. When my mother gave me my ID card, I realized that it was true, I was an army, the clothes given were that of army but my eyes could not see the colour actually. I don’t see green because they didn’t give me my glass to see.

How do you feel about your mother’s death?
I feel very bad because people believe that I killed my mother. I am actually the one in need of my mother, because she promised to give me all the things she seized from me before going to stay with my brother in Sabo.


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/crimewatch/2011/dec/29/crimewatch-29-12-2011-001.html

afam4eva:
Sounds like otokoto.

You are not serious

I still can't get mine off my mind, Mekutotofu - Kenny

Try ur name in japaness, it fun, A=Ka, B=tu C=mi, D=te, E=ku, F=lu, G=ji, H=ri, I=ki, J=zu, K=me, L=ta, M=rin, N=to, O=mo, P=no, Q=ke, R=shi, S=ari, T=chi, U=do, V=ru, W=mei, X=na, Y=fu, Z=zi. , mine (Mekutotofu) "which means
Kenny. . .try yours now and show it on online.

werepeLeri:
^^^

and is this his first statement after the bomb blast? Your hatred for GEJ is so glaring - live with it.

You are not one of those I would love to have exchange with but maybe if any of these calamity come near you then you would know better

In case you don't know, everything is wrong when 100s were just killed on Xmas day, all he could come to say on FB is make una help me praise the Lord, the Supreme court talk say na me win the election.

Goodluck Jonathan

"Dear friends and fellow Nigerians, the Supreme Court has given its verdict on the April 2011 Presidential elections and this judgment corroborates the verdict of Nigerians and the vast majority of International Observers and the World Community who hailed those elections as water shed elections that were the freest and fairest since Nigeria returned to civil rule"


http://www.facebook.com/jonathangoodluck

Laugh wan kill me die

Beaf:

Damn!

https://taxreduc.com/ist2_5728611-shocked-business-woman.jpg

Beaf:

Damn!

https://taxreduc.com/ist2_5728611-shocked-business-woman.jpg

No insult is intended though, however of all that were said in the article, this is what you could point out.

CJN to create special courts for EFCC
By Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja 9 hours 58 minutes ago
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Special courts are to be created to try economic and financial cases, Chief Justice of Nigeria Dahiru Musdapher said yesterday.

The courts which, shall be presided over by selected judges of the Federal High Courts in Lagos and Abuja, will be experimented for two years.

According to a statement by his Media Adviser, Mohammed Adamu, the CJN hinted when he received the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde in his chamber.

“Thereafter jurisdiction to try such cases would strictly be vested in the Federal High courts, which, administratively only those situated in Lagos and Abuja would thenceforth serve as pilot courts for the two-year experiment”.

“To cope with this challenge”, the CJN said, “more judges would be added soon to the Federal High Court. ‘let them hear these corruption cases day in day out for two years and let’s see”.

“This judicial novelty can only be sustained if the EFCC and similar prosecuting agencies become pro-active in their investigation:for this to work you will have to be proactive in your investigations and you may even have to increase the number of your investigators to cope with the challenge”, he added.

On interlocutory appeals and stay of proceedings, Justice Musdapher said courts would be directed to adjudicate in compliance with Section 40 of the EFCC Act which outlaws, subject to the provisions of the Constitution, such practice.

“Even if interlocutory appeals are made let them continue with the substantive case”, the CJN advised.

Replying, Lamorde assured the CJN of continuing in-house training and retraining tradition of the EFCC especially in investigation.

He urged him to encourage the Chief judges of the Federal and States High Courts to comply with the six months recommended period for corruption cases earlier given by the CJN.

On plea bargain, there was a consensus that a legislation is required to regulate its application.



http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/29697-cjn-to-create-special-courts-for-efcc.html

@Coogar

I want to believe he has learned one or two lessons. But in my own opinion, i think the girl has seeing someone else in Abuja where she works becos I don't want to believe she called off the wedding because on his unruly behaviour considering when they started and how far they have gone

@Coogar, how could you have talked like that. He wasn't seeking out his In-laws to get married but only trying to do the needful hence he called the father and the sister whom he was close to.

@Coogar, how could you have talked like that. He wasn't seeking out his In-laws to get married but only trying to do the needful hence he called the father and the sister whom he was close to.

slimyem:
sounds like the girl's being waiting for justabout this time to punish him.

what goes around comes around

Thanks to everyone who has contributed. I have since advice my friend to move on with life and more especially, to go take care of her mother. But would you believe that, even, the father in law called my friend to go collect deposit with the hall owner; i was shocked to the marrow.

when he eventually visited her sister in-law, she got him arrested for disturbing her peace

Tonight, Contenders will be separated from the pretenders - My Chelsea all the way.

This is a reality and not a make believe

The relationship started back then in the University from their year one. Everything was just going on well for both of them till they both graduated, served and got employed. My friend read Law and now works with one of the most reputable Constitutional Lawyers on the Island while she works at the National Assembly, Abuja. My friend is aggressive though, in approach, but cares so much about her.

Sometime in January, my friend called me and seek for my opinion about his settling down now and been a married person, i gave him all the advice that was given me when i was planning mine and were both working it out. A date was fix for Dec 2011 and everything was in other. During this time my friend got a two-bedroom apartment and also Toyota Corolla to aid mobility.

Two months to the wedding, my friend's mother was down with hypertension and diabetics where he has spent fortune to bring her back to her feet, yet the wedding plan was still on. Hall has been booked, Aso-ebi has gone all out, so much has been done for the wedding day only for the lady to call off the wedding a last week owing to the abusive nature of my friend.

‘How Belgore, Mark came up with Doctrine of Necessity’
By Yusuf Alli 9 hours 25 minutes ago
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Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi

A former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the late President Umar Yar’Adua, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, has unveiled those behind the Doctrine of Necessity, which led to the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan as acting President last year when the late President Umaru Yar’Adua was critically ill.

He said the credit should go to a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore, and Senate President David Mark, and some former state governors, who agreed to a Doctrine of Necessity.

He also gave insight into the cold war between Jonathan and the late President Yar’Adua,  which dated to the early part of their administration.

Adeniyi made the revelations in his book, Power, Politics and Death- A front row account of Nigeria under the late President Yar’Adua,   which is due for presentation tomorrow.

He said: “Gathered in the office of Vice- President Goodluck Jonathan on the morning of Friday January 5, 2010, were PDP national chairman, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, deputy national chairman, Dr. Haliru Bello as well as national secretary, Abubakar Baraje. Also in the room were Senate president David Mark; his deputy Ike Ekweremadu; and House of Representatives Speaker, Dimeji Bankole. There were also the Kwara State governor and chairman of the Governors’ Forum, Dr Bukola Saraki; the AGF, Mr. Mike Aondoakaa and Chief Mike Oghiadome, Jonathan’s principal secretary.  The single item on the meeting agenda was the Justice Abutu ruling which held that the VP could act for the President without any formal transfer of power.

“Leading the discussion was Aondoakaa, who argued that with the judgement, the political crisis had been resolved because the VP could then begin to act for the President. He was backed by Saraki and Bankole, with Ogbulafor, Bello and Baraje also leaning towards endorsing the position. But there was strong resistance from Mark, who argued that the Justice Dan Abutu judgment offered no practical solution because there was no way Jonathan could forward bills or any official correspondence to the Senate in his capacity as Vice- President and expect it to be accepted.

“Bankole, however, said the House would have no problem with receiving such correspondences from Jonathan. That created a stalemate. At that period, Mark had concluded that the only way forward was for Jonathan to have constitutional power to be Acting President.

“He also believed that the people around the President were not helping matters by using the subterfuge to hide the critical nature of his health from important stakeholders. At the time, Mark was used to receiving phony calls from Saudi Arabia by officials who would ask him “to wait for the President” only to be told after a few minutes that they would call back because the President who had ‘initiated’ the call could no longer be reached.

“Because Mark was aware of what was going on, he sought to know from Aondoakaa and the governors what objection they had to making Jonathan the Acting President. Apparently uncomfortable with the question, they all said that they had none and praised the Vice-President.

“Yet, what they were proposing was to use Jonathan to avert a constitutional crisis created by the absence of the President without legally investing Jonathan with the power to act in his stead. At the end, the meeting could not reach any useful conclusion because Mark was insistent that the Senate was not going to recognise the Abutu ruling.

“Apparently sensing that the crisis was getting more complicated, the Senate president spent the weekend making a series of consultations. First, he invited the lawyers among the Senators to a meeting where he mandated them to review Abutu’s judgment and give him advice within 48 hours. He also told them to invite Aondoakaa to brief them before they came up with their conclusion.

“At his session with the lawyer-senators, the AGF could only convince a few of the members about the need to use the Abutu judgment to resolve the crisis, as the majority of the senators felt there was no solution in the ruling.

“On Monday, January 8, Mark received in audience a group of prominent citizens, among them Lt. General T.Y. Danjuma and former Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Alfa Belgore.  It was agreed at the meeting that Yar’Adua would never have allowed the kind of crisis the nation was going through if he was in a position to intervene, so the conclusion was that he was oblivious to what was happening in the country.  It was also resolved that the National Assembly had to intervene to save the situation.

“In the course of discussion, Mark had casually asked Belgore, “Your Lordship, the logical thing to do now is to make Jonathan Acting President. How do you think we can navigate this situation legally?” Belgore had said the constitution recognised the Doctrine of Necessity, which he said the Senate could apply.

“Mark had actually toyed with the idea of the doctrine, but instructively, Justice Abutu’s ruling (which had Aondoakaa’s imprint) had categorically stated that the Doctrine of Necessity would not apply in resolving the crisis.

“But with Belgore arguing that it was the most plausible solution, Mark decided that it was the way the Senate would go. He called his deputy, Ekweremadu and told him of what had transpired, and after calling a meeting of the principal officers, where the idea was easily bought by all, he asked that the House leadership be kept up to date about the thinking of the Senate.

“At this point, Mark brought in a small group of professionals to brainstorm on how the doctrine should be applied within the fine details of the law. It was at the meeting that someone suggested that since there was a BBC interview credited to Yar’Adua (though many were sceptical that it was actually him who had spoken), that would suffice in making a strong case in lieu of a letter to the National Assembly.

“With the plan in place, Mark then had informal sessions with many members of the Senate, and within 24 hours, he had the support of most senators. By then, the House had also decided to take a similar position on the issue.”

Adeniyi traced the crisis of confidence between Yar’Adua and Jonathan to the early days of their administration.

He added: “Early in the life of the administration, Jonathan had written a memo to the President seeking for his office to be self-accounting. Specifically, he requested that the Office of the Vice-President be given the same role and responsibility that were enjoyed by Atiku Abubakar before he fell out of favour with Obasanjo.

“After a meeting held at the VI between the duo and attended by the Principal Secretary and Chief of Staff, the memo was turned down in favour of ‘one presidency.’

“Even if Jonathan could forget that slight, his aides definitely could not because they were more affected by the decision. So, when the opportunity came for their boss to become the main man at the Villa, it was no surprise that they led the charge.

“On the home front, Mrs. Patience Jonathan was also preparing to be the First Lady. As early in the administration as December 2007, a group of women had paid her a visit, and in the course of the discussion, one had asked: “how is Oga?

“To this, Mrs. Jonathan replied: “My husband is in the office reading newspapers.” Then she added in Pidgin English, rather sarcastically: “Abi no be newspaper Turai (Mrs. Yar’Adua) say make im dey read?



http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/29458-%E2%80%98how-belgore%2C-mark-came-up-with-doctrine-of-necessity%E2%80%99.html

Former Defence Minister, Lt.-Gen. Domkat Bali (retd.), has given reasons why he rejected the Commander of the Federal Republic award which was to be conferred on him by President Goodluck Jonathan.

He said the award amounted to an "insult" since he had a higher national honour. Bali, who is now the Paramount Ruler of the Langtang People, the Ponzhi Tarok, was also a chief of Defence Staff.

Speaking with journalists in his palace on Wednesday, Bali wondered why he should be given CFR when he had been conferred with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger.



He said, "I saw the recent national merit award given to me as an insult to my personality. They told me the 2011 honour awarded me is Commander of the Federal Republic. But the same Federal Government of Nigeria gave me in the past a higher national merit honour as Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, which is the second highest national honour in Nigeria.

"So, what this current government offers me in 2011 is inferior to what I already have.

"So, I say let them give the CFR to someone else who deserves that. I don’t deserve that because I have a higher one. That was my reason for refusing to attend the ceremony. My appearance there in Abuja would mean my acceptance to be demoted.

"I could be wrong in my reasoning. I even called some other people who got higher award before and they are being given lower award and they said it was acceptable to them, but in my own arrogance, it does not make sense to me.

"This does not mean I’m condemning others who went and received the award lower than the ones they had before, but I feel different."

He, however, gave kudos to the Presidency for honouring him. Bali said, "Nevertheless, I commend President Jonathan for recognising me from Plateau State. I will continue to appreciate that gesture, but I volunteered to relinquish my own so that another Nigerian can be given the honour."




http://www.punchng.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=6436:i-rejected-cfr-because-i-have-gcon-%E2%80%93bali&Itemid=542

Reps okay N98b for Jonathan
By Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja 12 hours 25 minutes ago
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Reps okay N98b for Jonathan

The House of Representatives yesterday did a surprising volte-face to pass the controversial N98.4 billion virement requested by President Goodluck Jonathan,.

The House had stood the virement down on October 30 on the premise that it was fraudulent, coming just a few months to the end of the fiscal year.

However, the bill hurriedly passed through second reading on the floor of the House after a one hour closed session by the members amid allegations that the lawmakers received N2 billion from the Presidency to pass it.

The leadership of the House of Representatives, however, denied the collection of a N2 billion bribe to smoothen the passage of the N98.4billion virement for nine ministries.

Speaker AminuTambuwal, announced after the Executive session that security issues were discussed at the closed door session.
After the virement proposal was presented by House Leader Mulikat Adeola, it passed through second reading with all the members, who had opposed the proposal backing its passage.

Some of the aggrieved lawmakers during the previous presentation of the virement request had kicked against the debate on the 27-page proposal, which showed the virement of contentious money appropriated in the 2011 Appropriation Act in the document generated by the Federal Ministry of Finance.

These include N25,676,910 for maintenance of horses; N29,068,200 for maintenance of dogs; N10,658,340 for maintenance of the Police Band; N995,524,472 for fuelling of motor vehicles, with additional N1.08 billion for vehicle/transport; N945,540,000 for local travel and transport; N484.47 million for electricity bill; N1.944 billion for uniforms and other clothing as well as N520.33 million for stationery/computer consumables and N137.394 million for food stuff/catering material supplies in the Police budget.

President Jonathan, in a letter sent to the Speaker, explained that the virement will help focus on some key priority areas of his adminstration.

Speaking in support of the virement, John Enoh, chairman, House Committee on Appropriation,explained that it will go a long way in the implementation of the Appropriation.

He noted that over 7,000 projects had been abandoned across the country.
Tambuwal, who presided over yesterday’s plenary, referred the bill to the House Committee on Appropriation and other relevant committees for further legislative input.

The Speaker, however, noted that in the past, the Executive did not seek the National Assembly’s approval before diverting money.
House spokesman Zakari Mohammed denying the N2 billion bribery allegation after plenary, said: “As far as I’m concerned, I’ve not received anything. I’ve not seen it. I’ve not collected it. So, it’s far from it.”

He challenged any lawmaker who has got the largesse to make it public.
“I think we need to get certain facts very right. The Majority Leader made us to realise why the virement had to go and we are represenatatives of the people.

“Whether we like it or not, we are not in any competition with the Executive. The only thing is that things must be done constitutionally. If the President is bringing such thing to the House, it was referred to the appropriate committee. Allow it to go through second reading, let the appropriate committees handle it; then bring the report back.
“We are not taking it on its face value; we will now see those things that we will knock off and those things we think can be sustained.”



http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/28224-reps-okay-n98b-for-jonathan.html

The tribunal judgment:


Pronouncing the entire proceedings an abuse of court process, Justice Umar referred to the applicant’s submission that there is a pending appeal on similar issues at the Court of Appeal, which is not pursued by the complainant.

Said Justice Umar: “It was in this court that we actually received the amended charge. To me the complainant did not follow the due procedure. If you wanted to amend your charge, you should have submitted a copy of those charge you wanted to add for analyses, after which if we go give a go-ahead, you file the charge. Then the accused will now know he is facing a three-count charge, not one count charge. I strongly believe you cannot do justice by ambushing ,

“In view of my decision on issue two, I’m of the opinion that the charge herein is an abuse of court process. When a court discovers that its process has been abused, the proper order to make is to dismiss same and it is hereby dismissed.”

Justice Umar stressed that there was the need to make a pronouncement on other issues raised before the Tribunal to set the record straight.
Dismissing the argument by the applicant’s counsel that the proper place for the Tribunal to sit is Lagos and not Abuja, Justice Umar said: “There is no geographical boundary for the tribunal. It is one tribunal with no division like the Federal High Court. Its jurisdiction is nationwide.”
On the allegation that Tinubu operated foreign accounts, the Tribunal said there was no prima facie case established against the former governor.

It observed that there were other names different from Tinubu’s that are on the foreign accounts allegedly operated by him.
Faulting the prosecution, Justice Umar said “the amended charge against the applicant does not include operation of foreign accounts by proxy”.

He wondered why Tinubu should be made to answer cases on accounts which are not bearing his name, with the prosecution failing to establish the link between the person(s) mentioned with Tinubu.
Besides, he said the amended charge did not receive the tribunal’s blessing before it was brought, adding that it has no exhibit or affidavit in support.

“It is the law that an amended charge constitutes a new matter altogether, different from the one the tribunal initially summoned the accused/applicant to come and defend. The effect is that an amended charge has effectively wiped out the earlier order to come and defend the one count charge, which is now substituted by a three-count charge.

“How on earth can it be said that a prima facie case has been made when there is no proof of evidence before this tribunal. In fact, the learned Senior Advocate for the complainant is not brave enough to say that there is a new affidavit and summary of evidence attached. How on earth do we expect the accused/applicant to be tried on this defective charge. The fact that it was this tribunal that initially ordered the accused/applicant person to appear before it, pursuant to the initial charge, cannot constitute the precipe on which the tribunal should proceed to hear the case without proof of evidence.

“The right of the accused person to fair hearing is inseparably tied to the proof of evidence required to prove the allegations against him. In this case, the summary evidence of Salisu Garba attached to the initial charge cannot resurrect the new charge, having been buried under the rubble of the amendment sought for by the complainant and duly granted by the honourable court.

“I take final liberty to take a look at the amended charge itself. I say emphatically that there is no sufficient basis to proceed against the accused/applicant. The amended charges claim that the applicant engaged himself in the operation of several foreign bank accounts.
“The new charge did not say that the accused/applicant operated foreign accounts by trustees or by proxy.”

The judge held that the complainant failed to supply proof of evidence to enable the accused/applicant prepare for the charge.
“It is the law that the argument of counsel, no matter how beautiful, cannot constitute an evidence. Argument of counsel, however presented cannot replace evidence not pleaded.

“In the circumstance, no prima facie case has been made against the accused. The filing of the amended charge without any affidavit ,
“It is only when this is shown with the statement of the account that a prima facie can be said to have been made against the accused/applicant. The non-filing of an affidavit pursuant to the amended charge there is no basis to believe that the accused/applicant actually misinformed the Code of Conduct Bureau about his financial dealings.

“In the circumstance and based on all the findings, I have made out earlier, I hold that this tribunal has no jurisdiction to proceed to try the accused/applicant and the amended charge is hereby quashed. The accused applicant is hereby discharged.”
At the last sitting, Olanipekun had argued that the CCT lacks the jurisdiction to try Tinubu.
He contended that the applicant was not invited for questioning by the CCB as was in the case of other former governors who had been excluded from trial.

Where did FG get all the paraded SAN who could not file a case proper. Could it be that they were just bent on sending Tinubu to jail or just trying to do as usual abracadabra?

Mods, please change the front page from 'metals' to 'medals'

How PDP used security report to shut out Sylva
By Yusuf Alli, 7 hours 49 minutes ago
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Gov. Sylva Gov. Sylva



Security reports caused Bayelsa Governor Timipre Sylva’s disqualification for the primary election, sources said yesterday.

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) disqualified Sylva, Timi Alaibe, Ben Murray Bruce and Amb. Godknows Igali.

The party is also said to be pressurising Sylva to apologise to the Presidency and the PDP. Besides, he must back whoever emerges the governorship candidate to pave the way for his “soft landing” from power, it was learnt.

The seven aspirants cleared for the primary election will be given clearance certificates tomorrow.

A top member of the NWC, who spoke in confidence with The Nation last night, said: “The NWC was given security reports on Sylva before it took its final decision to disqualify him.

“The truth is that the security reports were overwhelming and there is no way he could participate in the primary election with such reports.

“As a party, we felt for him, but we could not clear him with such baggage. It is only when we are pushed to the wall that we can make the security reports public.”

Responding to a question, the NWC member added: “Some of our leaders have been pressurising the governor to apologise to the Presidency and the party over the security reports and back whoever may emerge as the party’s candidate.”

As at last night, all the disqualified aspirants have been placed under security surveillance to avoid any breach of the peace in Bayelsa State.

A source, who confided in our correspondent, said: “All the disqualified aspirants are under surveillance of the security agencies to avoid any breach of the peace.

“If there is any disruption of the primary election, they will be held accountable. That is why we are monitoring their activities closely.

“We are not trying to intimidate any of the aspirants but we owe it a duty to ensure peace in Bayelsa State.”

The PDP will on Wednesday present clearance certificates to the seven aspirants.

A statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Rufai Alkali, in Abuja said: “Following the successful clearance of aspirants for the forthcoming gubernatorial primaries under the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State, the National Chairman of the Party, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, on behalf of the National Working Committee (NWC) wishes to invite all the seven cleared aspirants to the National Secretariat of our great Party on Wednesday, 16th November 2011 to receive their final clearance certificates.

Those invited are: I. Orufa Justine Boloubo; II. Dickson Seriake Henry; III. Enai Christopher Fullpower; IV. Kalango Michael Youppele; V. Francis Amaebi; VI. Ekiyegha Francis Korobido; and VII. Austin Febo

“They are all expected to arrive the National Secretariat at 12 noon for the formal handing over process of the final Clearance Certificates to enable them return to base quickly in order to go ahead with their preparations for the primaries.”


http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/26345-how-pdp-used-security-report-to-shut-out-sylva.html

A welder, electrician can be honoured by the president’
By Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja 8 hours 35 minutes ago
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President Goodluck Jonathan congratulating the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who received the gcon award, President Goodluck Jonathan congratulating the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who received the gcon award,



President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said national honours could be given to any class of Nigerians, once they are found worthy.

The President spoke in Abuja at the presentations of the national honours to 355 Nigerians.

Jonathan justified why business mogul Aliko Dangote got the Grand Commander of the Niger (GCON), the second highest honour, despite not being a political office holder .

The president said Dangote deserves the honour because of all his contributions to the growth and economic development of the country.

Beside the Vice-president, the senate president and Chief Justice of the Nigeria, who by virtue of their position hold the award of GCON, the second highest in the land, Dangote is the first individual outside government to have received the honour.

He said: “You can see today that we have recognised Aliko Dangote with the highest on the GCON series because we must recognise enterprise. This is a man who has been able to employ thousands of Nigerians as we heard it from the citation.

“Today I am having the GCFR the highest in the land by virtue of the fact that I am the President of this country, but if I am not the president, another person must be the President of Nigeria, but if Aliko did not have that business acumen to build that empire; probably, we wouldn’t have had somebody to employ thousands of Nigerians. So, those who by their innate abilities and creative energies have been able to make impact in our society, even deserve more honour than those of us holding political offices.

“A welder, electrician or anybody who by virtue of what you do, you’ve done it with much dedication and impacted society significantly can be honoured by the president.”

Jonathan continued: “One thing I am aware of is that there have been criticisms of the National Award nominations and selection process. I have since directed the appropriate departments to note the concerns that have been expressed and to take steps to ensure further improvement so that the National Honours award can continue to serve its purpose.

“National Honours are not merely decorative; they remind us of an important part of our responsibilities as citizens. We must always endeavour to do the best for our country even as we realise with deep humility that all human beings are fallible, we must look forward with confidence and hope that our country through each and every one of us can indeed put its God given endowment to the best possible use.

“Let me re-emphasize again, how some of the people are selected because there are comments from very young people who are a bit confused about how people are selected for National Honours.

“As I have mentioned even the most celebrated Nobel peace prize is being criticized to definitely you will expect criticisms. But in Nigeria you have three awards, two are parallel, and we gave two today, the GCFR and GCON series and of course the Nigerian National Merit Award.

“The Nigerian National Merit award is meant for scholars and not just scholars but scholars with distinction and the committee that will select those who will receive those awards are among the eggheads.

“The President plays almost no role in selecting who wins the merit award, because that is for academic division. The President plays the ceremonial position of just decorating or presenting the award to those scholars.

“But the National Honours criteria are different. It is based on what an individual has contributed to his community, his state, his country and how you have projected this country outside. It does not depend on how many certificates you have, it does not depend even on the size of certificate you have and it does not even depend on the status you have in the society and I need to mention that.

“The traditional birth attendant that probably works in area where there is no doctor and successfully delivers hundreds of babies can be awarded and recognized by the president. So is a sports man who is illiterate, but a good footballer, wrestler or a boxer and projects the image of this country globally and wins laurels and bring us to lime light could be recognized in this honours series.

“So the position you occupy does not give an automatic award except for some positions like the GCFR which is given to anybody who becomes the President of this country or the GCON given to anybody who becomes the vice president or the head of the National Assembly or the head of the Judiciary.

These are given by virtue of their positions, but others are given by virtue of what you have contributed to the society not necessarily because of the office you hold.

“So you can also see that some of our traditional rulers by virtue of their hard work done by their ancestors. For you to be recognized and honuored we will want to see what you have used that position to achieve for us. Do you use that office to destroy us or do you use it for the development of your domain. “So also is a youth leader, a woman leader or an elder do you use that position to bring development and peace to your people at your community level, local government level, state level and the national level or use it to bring crisis or destruction to our people. This is what guides the selection of this award and that is why you see a mixed group of people being recognised.”

Responding on behalf of the awardees, Dangote said the award has thrown up further challenge on all recipients to do more for the country.



http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/26332-%E2%80%98a-welder%2C-electrician-can-be-honoured-by-the-president%E2%80%99.html

Goodluck to him, go and sin no more

Just heard it now on Radio

On AIT:
First Lady don do am again ohh : "Though we are from different states,  Nigeria still remains our continent, "X_X
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MTN is not the only culprit in the game even Star Game Show thats has been on for a while, don't know if its ended now, is also culpable. I am a living witness of their scam