₦airaland Forum

Ileke-IdI:
So basically, anything he talks about ends up in chaos. Abeg Oga JEGA, dont put mouth for ekiti matter

LOL! Arent we supposed to be accumulating more Ws? Which way are we going? up or down?

Woke4all:
This news is not true coz i have been in Ughelli since december 22 and there hv been steady power supply since my stay,

Ileke-IdI:
Are you saying that after all these years that I've been thinking they crashed, they were actually "working"?

Wednesday, 29 December 2010 00:00 Olusola Bello

-Generation drops to 2,400 mw a day after reaching 3,600 mw
-Blames it on lack of gas

The country has been thrown back into darkness as a result of system collapse experienced by the power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) with power generation dipping to 2,400 mw, leaving most of the country without light since Monday. 

This incidentally is coming less than one week after the company assured of steady supply during the Yuletide and beyond when its generation reached 3,400 mw.

The officials of the company have since been battling to resuscitate the system which knocked off the entire power system.

The situation became worse when the Egbin and Ughelli power stations which normally blackstart after such experience could not pick up because of technical problems.

Blackstarting is the process by which a power station automatically restarts again after it has collapsed and thereby energises the other power stations to pick up and continue with generation.

The system collapse was caused by of lack of gas to Egbin and AES plants which were generating 1,200 megawatts before the incident happened.  This is in spite the assurance by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that there would be enough gas for the power plants to generate electricity.

The grid system being operated by PHCN, according to experts, resulted in the collapse of Egbin affecting the whole network. With the loss of 1,200 mw, no other plant is available to take care of the vacuum created by the outing of Egbin, and consequently,  other plants began to trip off one after  the other.

The PHCN executive director, operations, John Ayodele, said that everything was being done to restore the plants and make them serve Nigerians better.

As of yesterday, only two units of Egbin were working, while the third unit is expected to come on stream today.  The two other units are expected to come on stream in the course of the week. Egbin has an installed capacity of 1,320 mw.

Before it collapsed, the power station was generating 1,009mw, while AES was generating 209 mw.

From the available record  the  premier power station,  Egbin’s generation capacity rose  from a little below 500 mw a  few days  before Christmas to 1,009 mw on Christmas day. About three   units of the power station were switched off for maintenance before then. These units  are now up and  running. The AES is also  generating  209 mw; Kainji  is generating 315 mw; Jebba hydro is doing 320 mw even when  it has  the capacity to generate 500. Afam IV generates 60 mw with one  unit, while Afam  VI  hits 405 mw. Omotosho comes up to 25.8 mw; Omoku 26mw; trans Amadi 27.7mw; Shiroro 300 mw, and Delta 340 mw.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had told BusinessDay shortly before Christmas that effort were being made to ensure that the Utorogu gas plant rehabilitation was completed and made to supply gas to the power plants. The NNPC group general manager, public affairs, Levi Ajuonuma, said Nigerians would get a steady power supply as gas supply to the plants would be adequate.

But efforts to get him to explain why the sudden change in plan did not yield result, as he did not answer his phone. The managing director of the Nigerian Gas Company, Saidu Mohammed, also did not answer his phone.

aguiyi:
cicilia ibru got six months jail term for a N190b fraud,bode george got 2 years for his own,this is just $5m(N750,000,000.00) so cool down guys nothing major will come out of this issue

Orikinla:
Until we vote out the PDP Nigeria will remain corrupt and poor.
11 YEARS OF THE RULING PARTY IN POWER IS WORSE THAN ALL THE PAST MILITARY REGIMES COMBINED.

After the funds were received by JBN Plc, Obaseki, Hans George Christ, Commercial Director of JBN and Adeyanju met at Obaseki’s room at Hilton Hotel, Abuja where the first tranche of $1m was delivered in cash to Adeyanju.

Two subsequent deliveries of funds from Tesler through JBN MD, with Obaseki’s knowledge, to Adeyanju were also made. Hans Christ personally delivered the last tranche of $1million in cash to Obaseki and Adeyanju after converting it to naira.

A highly-placed source in the prosecution team added: "Do not forget that JBN admitted guilt and paid $26million fines. At worst, its officials could only serve as witnesses against Adeyanju and six others. [size=14pt]The truth is that Obaseki did not collect a kobo from the bribe sum. So, he derived no personal benefit.[/size]

omongbati3:
Craze dey worry you? I go wozz ya Yoruba face now. Who dey follow you se ere?

PhysicsQED:
Yoruba cannot be an "offshoot" of Benin though. I don't believe that is what people are really trying to say. It's really all about the monarchies. Edos and Yoruba and Igbo and other groups were all previously part of one large group before the split anyways.

Jacob Egharevba, the main source of the idea that the Eweka dynasty had its origins in Ife, was of partially Yoruba descent (part Edo-Akure) and his mentors were Yorubas historians and that is why his attempt to link Benin and Ife in the particular manner he did is viewed with skepticism by some other Binis. Not to say his idea was some extremely unreasonable one, but his actual idea has also been used and misinterpreted and even completely distorted by some to play a game of "who born who" which could actually not even apply based on the version of the story Egharevba gave.

Egharevba came up with multiple versions of how the post-Ogiso Benin dynasty started, however the one thing he stuck by in his final versions was that Oduduwa came from the Sudan to found Ife and then one of his descendants was called to Benin. In some of the earlier versions he is from Egypt, but a later one claims Sudan. The basic idea though is that he is from somewhere which already had higher "civilization" (Nubia/Sudan or Egypt). So basically Oduduwa might be called by a Yoruba name by Yorubas, and the Binis have their own name based on their belief of who he was (a banished prince), but Egharevba, the architect of this idea that Oduduwa started the post-Ogiso Benin dynasty, had actually claimed that he was neither Yoruba or Bini, but from somewhere else  to the East. This important detail is usually lost on those who want to play "who born who" games.

Basically the claim of Egharevba is something like that the Obas of Benin and Yorubaland are descendants of some Nubian/Sudan prince. I think it's pretty easy to see where black nationalist pride in Nubia or "black" Egypt and a desire to associate West African civilizations with these civilizations played a role in him forming his theories. My main point though is that if you believe Egharevba's claim over Oba Erediauwa's claim, you also believe that Ife was not founded by a Yoruba man or a Bini man, but by a black African from an already established civilization to the East, so you can't even play the game of "who fathered who." I should also point out that Egharevba's claim is surprisingly logical and even possible (despite Egharevba's lack of rigor and his tendency to constantly change and revise things), since a prince from a more technologically advanced civilization could easily come in and be seen as a powerful figure and be able to become king of innocent and undeveloped groups. The version of history advocated by Oba Erediauwa makes no appeals to chance migrations of princes from the Sudan however but from what is known about local (Nigerian) cities, towns, and kingdoms.

(I should also point out that the tale of Oduduwa being a banished Bini prince did NOT originate from Oba Erediauwa. The Oba was just bringing people's attention to something that had been published over half a century ago and had been an oral story long before that and pointing out the glaring contradictions between Egharevba's original and revised version and known Yoruba history. One CANNOT accept Egharevba's unrevised, or even his revised version, unless one distorts already known Yoruba history written by Yorubas and makes the youngest son Oranyan/Oranmiyan into the oldest son and makes Ife not have had rulers before Oduduwa, making Ife actually much younger than Benin which had had Ogisos for hundreds of years.)

Tippy Top:
You must be a fool if you can't discern why you're called what you're called. If you're called any of the names above it means your Father wants you to be like e.g John the Baptist. Why didn't your father give you a Hindu name? Why did he choose a Christian name rather than a Muslim name?

omongbati3:
You are in for an uphill task dealing with straight-jacketed tribalists who bandy together and argue blindly together.

Meanwhile, do not let them derail the topic of this thread.  Your goal is to remind them that Oduduwa, the Yoruba progenitor, was a runaway Bini prince. Thus, Bini was superior to Yoruba

Tippy Top:
Are you this slow in grasping issues? My friend am going to let you keep what dignity you have left.  Is it necessary to debate technicality? If it is, then I shall really humiliate you by posting what you have posted. This thread is not several pages long so dare me at your indignity.

Yusuf Alli, Abuja 27/12/2010 00:18:00

OF THE the $182million Halliburton bribe, $5 million was allocated to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to finance the 2003 general elections; it was learnt at the weekend.

But it could not be ascertained how the cash disappeared after it was handed over to Mr. Bodunde Adeyanju, former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s personal assistant, by construction giant Julius Berger Nigeria Limited.


The suspects, facing a nine-count charge, are: Ibrahim Aliyu, Mohammed Gidado Bakari, Urban Shelter Limited, Intercellular Nigeria Limited, Sherwood Petroleum Limited and Tri-Star Investment Limited.

Adeyanju has been arraigned over the allegation. Six other Nigerians are on trial over the scandal.

The document is dated December 17.

Members of the prosecution team, who presented the document to the court, are the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, J.B. Daudu (SAN); E.C. Ukala (SAN); Damien D. Dodo (SAN) and G.O Obla.

Jefftrey Tesler, who distributed the bribe, approached a former Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki, in London on his readiness to assist the PDP to win the 2003 poll.

The report reads: "Obaseki was introduced to Jeffrey Tesler by (the late) Aret Adams, a former GMD of NNPC, in London in 2000.

"Obaseki mentioned Tesler’s willingness to support financially the political process in Nigeria to Stockhauser, then Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria, during a golf game and wanted to know whether Stochauser was making the same offer.

"He later introduced the topic to Stochauser, based on requests made by Bodunde Adeyanju, an Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo, for funds to help PDP finance its campaign activities.

"In 2002 during one of his visits to London, Obaseki and Stochauser met Tesler and agreed that funds could be routed through Julius Berger Nigeria (JBN) Plc for the PDP.

"In 2002/2003, Obaseki introduced Adeyanju to JBN officials after he approached him to assist in raising funds for the PDP, which Adeyanju claimed was facing financial crises.

"In August 2002, the first fund transfer of $1million was made into JBN’s Union Bank account and four subsequent transfers of $1million each were made into the same account between January and April 2003, the total mount of which was $5million.

"After the funds were received by JBN Plc, Obaseki, Hans George Christ, Commercial Director of JBN and Adeyanju met at Obaseki’s room at Hilton Hotel, Abuja where the first tranche of $1m was delivered in cash to Adeyanju.

The Nation has stumbled on the report of the Halliburton Investigative Panel attached to the evidence submitted to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory for the prosecution of six Nigerian suspects. It contains the alleged involvement of the ruling party.

"Two subsequent deliveries of funds from Tesler through JBN MD, with Obaseki’s knowledge, to Adeyanju were also made.

"Hans Christ personally delivered the last tranche of $1million in cash to Obaseki and Adeyanju after converting it to naira.

"Adeyanju admitted collecting $5million from one Chris, the Commercial Director of JBN Plc, and used the money to finance the PDP campaign during the 2003 elections.

"He received the cash in three tranches and handed over some of the funds to a former Minister, Lawal Batagarawa.

"Investigations further revealed that Adeyanju had over N40million lodged in his personal and company accounts with GTB and Skye Bank Plc."

The panel, highlighted the controversy over the $5million donation as it claimed that Batagarawa denied receiving any Halliburton bribe sum from Adeyanju.

The report goes on: "In his statement, Batagarawa said that funds for the President’s campaign activities were provided for by some prominent members of the PDP.

"Investigations revealed that no evidence exist to prove that $5million was actually given to him by Adeyanju for disbursement to the party hierarchy during the 2003 campaign.

"Batagarawa stated categorically that he received between N25million and N30million from both Adeyanju and a former Special Assistant (Domestic Affairs) to the ex-President, Dr. Andy Uba, while on two occasions, monies were collected by his orderly."

In a Statement of Facts from the US District Court (Southern District of Texas Houston Division) also filed in court by the Federal Government, it was confirmed　 that about $1m in Pilot’s briefcase was handed over to an NNPC official in Abuja.

The extracts say: "In or about August 2002, an employee of the subcontractor, using funds that Consulting Company A had wire transferred to the Subcontractor, delivered a pilot’s brief case containing $1million in 100 dollar bills to the NNPC official at a hotel in Abuja, Nigeria for the benefit of a political party in Nigeria.

"In or about April 2003, an employee of the subcontractor, using funds that Consulting Company A had wire transferred to the Subcontractor, delivered a vehicle containing Nigerian currency valued at approximately $500,000 to the hotel of the NNPC official in Abuja, Nigeria for the benefit of a political party in Nigeria, leaving the vehicle in the hotel parking lot, until the NNPC official had caused the money to be removed."

As at press time, it was gathered that Obaseki and Batagarawa might not face trial because no cash was traced to them.

It was also learnt that since both Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and Adeyanju had admitted in writing to have exchanged bribe cash, Obaseki and some JBN officials may end up serving as prosecution witnesses.

A highly-placed source in the prosecution team added: "Do not forget that JBN admitted guilt and paid $26million fines. At worst, its officials could only serve as witnesses against Adeyanju and six others.

"The truth is that Obaseki did not collect a kobo from the bribe sum. So, he derived no personal benefit."

JOS, NIGERIA – Clashes broke out yesterday between armed Christian and Muslim groups near the central Nigerian city of Jos.

Buildings were set ablaze and people were seen running for cover as the police and military arrived on the scene in an effort to disperse crowds.

The unrest was triggered by explosions on Christmas Eve in villages near Jos, capital of Plateau state, that killed at least 32 people and left 74 critically injured.

The Red Cross said on Saturday it was not in a position to state the total number of deaths caused by the explosions but confirmed that 95 people were seriously injured in hospital.

Vice-President Namadi Sambo was due to travel to Jos yesterday.

The unrest has come at a difficult time for President Goodluck Jonathan, who is running a controversial campaign ahead of the ruling party’s primaries on January 13th.

A ruling party pact says that power within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) should rotate between the mostly Muslim north and largely Christian south every two terms.

Mr Jonathan is a southerner who inherited office when president Umaru Yar’Adua, a northerner, died during his first term this year and some northern factions in the ruling party are opposed to his candidacy.

Mr Jonathan faces a challenge from former vice-president Atiku Abubakar for the ruling party nomination, and some fear any unrest in Africa’s most populous nation will be exploited by rivals during campaigning.

The governor of Plateau state has said the bombings were politically motivated terrorism, aimed at pitting Christians against Muslims to start another round of violence.

Christians, Muslims and animists from a patchwork of ethnic groups live peacefully side by side in most Nigerian cities.

But hundreds of people died in religious and ethnic clashes at the start of the year in the central Middle Belt and there are fears that politicians could try to stoke such rivalries as the elections approach.

The tensions are rooted in decades of resentment between indigenous groups, mostly Christian or animist, who are vying for control of fertile farmlands and for economic and political power with mostly Muslim migrants and settlers from the north.

The African Union (AU) on Saturday released a statement condemning the Christmas Eve bombings and offered its condolences to the families of those who have died.

“[The AU] reaffirms the determination of the African Union to combat terrorism and to continue to support the efforts being deployed by member states in this respect.” – (Reuters)

Ileke-IdI:
Merry christmas to everyone.

May we see many more to come.

Love you guys, all a bunch of Nl Family.


I want to take this moment to wish my friend Busayo Awomolo [bawomolo]  a merry christmas. Wherever you are, may your life be at peace, may it be joyful. Much love from me, lil brother. You will never be forgotten by me.

Senate approves FG’s request for $1.5bn loan on infrastructure .
Wednesday, 22 December 2010 00:00 Kehinde Akintola    .David Mark, President, Senate
.•Begins debate on N4.2trn 2011 budget proposal


The Senate yesterday  approved President Goodluck Jonathan’s request to borrow $1.537 billion out of the $3.702 billion from development partners, for provision of infrastructure in the country.

During the debate on the N4.226 trillion budget proposal presented by Jonathan to the joint session of the National Assembly, some of the Senators expressed concern over the poor budget implementation by various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

From the recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, the Education sector gets the lion’s share of the 2011 budget with N304,392,631,774; Police Affairs receives N293,569,995,125; Defence/MOD/Army/Air Force/Navy, N288,675,027,680; Health, N202,338,852,916; Interior, N152,310,965,961; while the Office of the Secretary to the government gets N57,604,822,199.

The Office of the National Security Adviser gets N50,860,044,639; Youth Development, N44,208,603,401; Foreign and Intergovernmental Affairs, N38,992,135,003; Petroleum Resources, N38,489,462,056; Agriculture and Rural Development, N34,063,326,510; Information and Communication,  N27,021,995,211; Works, N26,684,115,362; Science & Technology, N22,460,277,443; while Justice gets N19,414,987,811.

From the N108,030,573,962 proposed for the National Assembly, the House of Representatives is to get N46,215,108,931; Senate, N29,041,279,068; General Service Office, N13,960,147,537; National Assembly Office, N9,591,065,919; Legislative Aides, N7,728,304,827; National Assembly Service Commission, N1,227,455,661; Senate Committee on Public Accounts, N128,261,769, even as the House Committee on Public Accounts get N138,950,249.

INEC gets N38,278,955,577; Mines & Steel Development, N11,512,637,069;

Ministry of Environment, N12,580,318,277; Culture and NOA, N17,216,793,821; National Planning Commission, N10,696,143,045; Aviation, N6,414,115,291; Lands and Housing, N3,555,726,596; Transport, N7,050,173,566; Labour and Productivity, N8,150,616,175; Commerce & Industry, N10,351,160,220; while the Ministry of Finance gets N12,081,460,230.

The lawmakers, during the debate, expressed concern over the increasing domestic debt from N11 trillion to N20 trillion in 2009, as well as the difference between the oil benchmark price as contained in the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) presented by Jonathan last week and the budget proposal.

Ahmed Markafi, chairman, Senate Committee on Finance who presented the interim report of the joint committee on finance and national planning, economic affairs and poverty alleviation, explained that the committee could not consider the sum of $1 billion from the People’s Republic of China for Abuja Light Railway and Lagos-Ibadan Railway Modernisation projects because its terms and conditions are currently under negotiation.

The amount approved include $152.2 million for the Economic and Power Sector Reform Programme; $900 million Export/Import Bank of China for Abuja–Kaduna Railway Gauge line/National Security; $315 million World Bank concessionary loan for Public Private partnership (PPP) project and $170 million French Development Agency (FDA) for National Electricity and Gas Improvement Project (NEGIP).

According to the report, the Federal Government already released the sum of N19.4 billion counterpart funding for the execution of the Abuja-Kaduna Railway Gauge line with a completion period of year 2010 to 2013.

The committee was unable to consider the request by some state governments, as the Federal Ministry of Finance failed to provide information on the breakdown of the loan requested by the state as provided by Section 42(1) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

In its request, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) explained that $200 million is to be set aside for infrastructure financing to create a long-term finance market, out of which $150 million is for lending to viable projects sponsors/concessionaires for 15 to 25 years; while $50 million will be channelled to viability gap fund (VGF) as upfront capital projects.

It also requested for the sum of $115 million, out of which $83 million is for provision of technical assistance, transaction advisory services; while $32 million is for capacity building for 14 critical ministries, departments and agencies for 27 concessions considered priority projects.

Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president, after the adoption of the interim report on the external borrowing, noted that the loan facility was aimed at helping the country to facilitate infrastructural development.

The Senate, during the Tuesday plenary session, urged the Federal Government to immortalise late Pa Anthony Enahoro by naming a national monument in his honour.

Private contractors cost taxpayers worldwide untold billions in corruption, inefficiency, and mismanagement. But the solution isn't getting rid of them -- it's showing the rest of us their paperwork.
BY CHARLES KENNY | DECEMBER 20, 2010


On Dec. 7, Nigerian authorities filed charges against former officials of Halliburton -- including one Richard Cheney -- for their involvement in a 10-year, $182 million cash-for-contracts scandal related to the construction of a power plant in southern Nigeria. The charges were ultimately dropped, but only after Halliburton agreed to pay $250 million -- and that's in addition to the $177 million Halliburton and its subsidiary KBR have already paid to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges surrounding the same deal.

In defense of Halliburton, they're hardly the only contractors playing in legal gray areas -- you don't even have to move out of the infrastructure sector to find other examples. Enron was widely accused of wrongdoing in connection with the construction of the Dabhol power plant in India, a project that produced electricity at a cost four times higher than local producers. Meanwhile, Siemens paid $1.6 billion in fines to U.S. and European regulators to settle charges that it used bribes to secure public-works contracts around the world. Local companies also get in on the act. Surveys of Afghan firms suggest bribes to obtain government contracts are equal to an average of 3 percent of the total contract value -- in the Philippines, that figure is 10 percent. All that weak governance can have a big impact on prices and quality -- road rehabilitation financed by the World Bank, for instance, costs 50 percent more in countries where the average contract bribe size is above 2 percent than in less corrupt countries.

And even relatively clean countries have plenty of problems with contracting. The U.S. government's are legendary -- everyone's heard of the Pentagon's $640 toilet seats and $20 plastic ice-cube trays. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Homeland Security ended up paying contractors $2,480 a house to cover damaged roofs with blue tarps -- a job that should have cost closer to $300 per roof. A congressional report from 2006 summarizing evidence from government auditors and elsewhere suggested that contracts with a total value of $745 billion had "experienced significant overcharges, wasteful spending, or mismanagement over the last five years."

Corruption isn't the only explanation for why contracting goes awry. Even relatively clean governments are hardly models of efficiency, and private competition can often deliver better for less. The problem is transparency. When a government contracts out work, the distance between the people delivering the services and the ultimate customer -- the taxpayer -- grows. Contractors have little incentive to save the rest of us money, and our ability to make sure they're doing it is too limited. If a contract is failing, it may well remain a secret between one or two bureaucrats and the company concerned. Government audit agencies might uncover a problem if they are alerted or perform a random investigation. But the rest of us can't hold contractors (or the officials who hired them) to account if we don't even know what's meant to be delivered.

There's an answer to these problems: Publish the contract. That would allow citizens, watchdog groups, even competing firms to see whether taxpayers are getting their money's worth. It would also considerably reduce the legal costs of contracting (because we wouldn't continually have to reinvent the wheel when it came to writing contracts in the first place) and allow the spread of better contracting practices.

Contract transparency is starting to catch on. Colombia's e-procurement website already regularly publishes the full contract for procured goods and services, along with contract amendments and extensions and a range of other documents from the procurement process to final evaluation. By 2008, five years after its launch, the site was getting nearly 5.5 million visitors a year. And Colombia is not alone: A number of state governments in Australia have a similar system in place, and Florida's Miami-Dade County sometimes publishes full contracts on its own procurement website.

Blackteeth:
What else clearly depicts the total failure of most of Africa than the crazy run to the white man's country? Africans said they wanted independence and eventually got it. But why is everyone running away? Africans said they were underdeveloped by the white man, but they still run to his country to look for his "trouble''. Does it mean they still want to get further underdeveloped? The running black man is telling us that he wants to reap from where he did not sow. He is waiting for the rest of the world to clean their toilets only for him to migrate and use. When will Africans start scrubbing their stinking toilets and stop running to a white man's land for a clean one?? Too bad.

Friday, 17 December 2010 00:00 Turaki A. Hassan    .15
.The House of Representative yesterday adopted the report of its Ad-Hoc Committee on Foreign loans which recommended the approval of $3.702 billion foreign loan for both Federal and state governments.

President Goodluck Jonathan had earlier in the year, asked the House to grant him approval to borrow about $5 billion from foreign sources to finance what he called “critical infrastructure” in the country.


“The projects in the 2010 external borrowing plan are valuable to the nation and need to be encouraged,” the committee observed in the report.

The MPs however, rejected the request by the Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Cross Rivers and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to borrow a whooping sum of $130 million to finance Entertainment, ICT, whole sale, Retail and Tourism arguing that, loans should not be used for such bogus and unrealistic projects.

In a letter addressed to Speaker Dimeji Bankole, the President said the loan was part of the external borrowing plan earlier approved by the National Assembly together with the 2010 Appropriation Act.

The House, however, set up the committee under the chairmanship of the House Whip Rep. Emeka Ihedioha (PDP, Imo) which invoked all the stake holders on the rationale for taking the loan.

It would be recalled that, the National Assembly had in April this year granted the President approval to take about 1$1 billion loan from the World Bank to finance the power sector reform projects.

Headlines Dec 18, 2010 *How his  threat to “sink the boat” earned him Govs’ “endorsement”

By Chioma GABRIEL, Deputy Editor, Emma Aziken, Political Editor, Henry UMORU
Thursday’s endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan for next year’s election by 21 PDP governors did not come on a platter of gold after all, according to fresh information from the PDP National Secretariat, venue of the deal.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that the President had to act the “real Nigerian politician” to get the endorsement after Vice President Namadi Sambo and former PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) Chairman, Chief Anthony Anenih had failed in swaying the governors, majority of whom were not ready to “change the order of primaries so that presidential primaries would hold first.”

One source said “I guess he (President Jonathan) was sent for to come and play his last card and he came, accusing the governors of always getting everything whereas he has nothing.”

[b]Sources said the meeting soon got stormy and emotional with the President saying, “you have given me assurances of support but some of you are secretly campaigning for Atiku (Abubakar, former Vice President). I can’t stand here and be humiliated by you. Everything I have asked for, you have refused to give me. No President anywhere has been treated by his party the way you are treating me.”

Gov. Bukola Saraki: Chairman of Governors' Forum
At that point, Chairman of the Governors Forum, Dr. Bukola Saraki was said to have told the meeting held in the PDP National Chairman’s office that the situation must be salvaged to save the party from crisis.

Saraki reportedly told his colleagues and the PDP Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo with whom he had retreated to iron out a few matters before the NEC meeting began; “all of us here got everything that we have asked for. The order of the primaries, the delegates issue and all that. There must be something for the President.”

It was gathered that Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State then rose to his feet to put the motion before the meeting to endorse the President and support him as the party’s candidate on the condition that he would serve just one term and leave by 2015.

A palpable sense of relief immediately descended on the expansive office of the PDP Chairman. The question that then followed was whether the President was willing to do a single term and leave

Governors Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Alhaji Danjuma Goje (Gombe), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Chief Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), and Mallam Sule Lamido (Jigawa) were persistent that the President should respond to whether he would serve for only one term if he was endorsed. “What are we going to tell our people when they ask,” Governor Aliyu was quoted to have asked the President.

But the President was mute.

At that stage, sources said, former BOT Chairman of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih got up and gave a pledge that Jonathan would serve for just one term of four years.

But, when asked to which zone he (Jonathan) would hand over, both the President and Anenih kept mute.[/b]
*Governors, legislators reconciled

Saturday Vanguard also learnt that various meetings were organised by the National Dialogue Committee after the Governors threatened to quit PDP en masse after the initial passage of the 2010 Electoral Act with a clause making National Assembly members automatic members of NEC of their parties.

Attempts were made to reconcile governors and legislators, former National Chairmen of the party and other members of the Board of Trustees, BOT ; National Working Committee, NWC, and some NEC members which included Chief Tony Anenih, Chief Barnabas Gemade , Ahmadu Alli, Chief Solomon Lar, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor and other members of the Board of Trustees, BOT; National Working Committee, NWC, and National Executive Committee, NEC.

“It was at these meetings that peace was brokered between the Governors and President Jonathan. on the one hand and Governors and National Assembly members on the other hand. The issue of the Electoral Act was resolved between Governors and National assembly members who were represented at the meeting by the President of the Senate, David Mark and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Dimeji Bankole.

It was at the peace meeting that  one-term was approved for President Jonathan by the governors in line with the position of party leadership,  I think also that  for the governors seeking second term in office, some kind of agreement was reached and it’s likely that for the governors to adopt President Jonathan for another term, they too would have guarantee for another ticket to contest.”                                    Sources that spoke with
Saturday Vanguard also learnt that before the commencement of  last Thursday’s NEC meeting, select members of the NEC, BOT and NWC went into an emergenc
y meeting to concretize the resolutions reached before the general NEC Thursday.

Before the commencement of Thursday’s meeting, the atmosphere was tense as there were doubts whether the issues would  be resolved amicably. The meeting was shifted from 11am to 3pm.

As early as 9am, Thursday, the date of the meeting,  some members of NEC were already seated at the Conference Hall of the Wadata Plaza, National Secretariat of the party for  the meeting which was slated for 11am.

Sensing that members had waited without any excuse, the National Secretary,  Abubakar Kawu Baraje took the microphone at 12.20 and apologised  to members. He told the waiting members of  NEC that  because the Committee set up could not finish the assignment given to them, it became imperative for  them to shift the take off time of the meeting from 11am to 3pm .

The National Secretary who noted that it was unusual for him to address NEC members before the  commencement of any meeting, stressed that because of the importance of the message, he had no choice than to deliver it, and then apologized to members for the change of  time.

When the meeting eventually  reconvened at three, only few members of  NEC were at the Conference hall waiting for members of the NWC to give further directives as  Ahmadu Ali, Gemade , Anenih, Ogblafor, Lar,  NWC members and the governors were  upstairs locked in a closed door  meeting with the  leadership of the National Assembly where they were joined by  President Jonathan at 4.44pm  and  Vice President Namadi Sambo  to further  trash out those grey areas.

By NNAEMEKA MERIBE and GBENGA ADENIJI   
Thursday, 16 Dec 2010   
Punch

A comparative analysis of Nigerian legislators‘ earnings and those of other countries reveals that the former can pay many of their counterparts in other countries and still remain very rich, NNAEMEKA MERIBE and GBENGA ADENIJI write.

An Indian lawmaker needs to work for at least 49 years to earn the annual salary of a Nigerian senator. A lawmaker in India earns $23,988 (N3.7m) per annum while a Nigerian senator earns $1.2m (N182m) per annum. A monthly breakdown shows that while an Indian lawmaker earns $1,999 (N305, 058) per month, a Nigerian senator earns $ 99,167(N15.18m) per month.

The Indian lawmakers‘ pay is also a far cry from what members of the House of Representatives earn. THE PUNCH reported last week that each member of the House of Representatives takes home N10.59m every month. Thus, a federal lawmaker in India will work for at least 34 years to earn the N127m annual salary of a member of the House of Representatives.

In fact, the pay of Indian lawmakers was only increased to the current level in August, after the legislators complained that their earlier monthly pay of $345 (N52, 648) was inadequate.

The jumbo pay of Nigerian lawmakers has been in the front burner in recent times, with the Nigerian public criticising it as outrageous. It is doubtful if the salaries and entitlements of National Assembly members had ever raised as much dust.

It was the legal icon, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) who first drew attention to the abnormality in August when he delivered a lecture on “Legislating for Common Good: Contemporary Issues & Perspective” during the celebration of the 47th birthday of the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele.

Sagay told his obviously stunned audience that in spite of Nigeria‘s position as one of the world‘s poorest nations, with a meagre per capita income of $2,249 per annum as against $46,350 of the US, the nation‘s federal lawmakers were the highest paid in the world, with each earning more than President Barack Obama of the US.

And the constitutional lawyer had facts and figures to back his statement. He said that a Nigerian Senator, in 2009 earned N240m in salaries and allowances while his House of Representatives counterpart earned N203.8m.

With the dust raised by Sagay‘s revelation yet to clear, the Governor of the Central Bank, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, upped the ante while delivering a lecture, late November at the convocation ceremony of Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State. He disclosed that 25 per cent of the overhead of the nation‘s budget goes to the NASS.

Sanusi‘s disclosure was like a blow below the belt for members of NASS. They accused Sanusi of inciting the public against them with false figures and summoned him to appear before them on different days to clear the air on his statement and also apologise to them.

But the turn of events did not rattle Sanusi, as he stood his ground when he appeared before them, insisting that he got his figures from the right source and that there was no need for him to apologise since he did nothing wrong.

But a critical analysis of the lawmakers‘ pay will reveal a huge disparity between their pay and the N18,000 (monthly) national minimum wage which state governments are yet to implement.

The least paid worker in the country, at the contentious N18,000 minimum wage earns N234,000 per annum if the 13th month extra pay is added. This means that the least paid worker in the country earns just 0.13 per cent of a senator‘s salary. Such a worker will also need to work for at least 777 years to earn a senator‘s N182m annual pay.

A further breakdown reveals that a senator earns N498, 630. 137 a day, N20,776.28 per hour and N346.270 per minute. In other words, a senators daily pay is two times more than the annual pay of the least paid Nigerian worker. A senator’s hourly pay is also more than the monthly pay of the least paid worker in the country.

Similarly, the least paid Nigerian worker earns just 0.18 per cent of a member of the House of Representatives’ pay. Such a worker will also need to work for at least 542 years to earn the N127m annual salary of a member of the House of Representatives.

A member of the House of Representatives earns N347, 945 per day, N14, 497 per hour and N241 per minute. In other words, the daily pay of a member of the House of Representatives is more that the annual pay of the least paid Nigerian worker. Also, the monthly pay of the least paid Nigerian worker is slightly above the hourly pay of a member of the House of Representatives.

A comparison with the pay of five other countries reveals that the pay of Nigerian lawmakers is indeed outrageous.

The minimum wage in the United States is $1,257 (N191,667) and a US lawmaker earns $15,080 (N2.3m) per month. This shows that the least paid worker in the US earns 8.67 per cent of the total pay of the country‘s lawmaker. Thus, a US legislator will need to work for over six years to earn the annual pay of a Nigerian legislator. The US lawmaker will also need to work for over four years to earn the annual pay of a Nigerian House of Representative member.

In the United Kingdom, a lawmaker earns $8,686(N1.3m) monthly while the gross national minimum wage is $1,883 (N283, 333) per month. Thus, the percentage of a UK lawmaker‘s pay that is the salary of the least paid UK worker is 21.68 per cent. This, like that of the US (8.67 per cent) is much higher than Nigeria‘s 0.13 per cent/ 0.18 per cent.

Also, Nigerian lawmakers earn higher than their counterparts in Sweden. With a monthly pay of $7,707 (N1.2m), a lawmaker in Sweden will need to work for over 12 years to earn a Nigerian senator‘s annual pay of N182m, and for at least nine years to earn the N127m annual pay of a House of Representatives member.

In France, the minimum wage is $1,805 (N275,433) per month and a legislator earns $6,754 (N1.03m) monthly. Thus the least paid worker in France earns 26.73 per cent of the pay of a lawmaker in that country as against Nigeria‘s 0.13 per cent/ 0.18 per cent.

Like Nigerian lawmakers, Kenyan lawmakers are also believed to be greedy. In July, the Kenyan public protested against a hike in the salary of the legislators. The lawmakers hiked their salary to $14,583 (N2.2m) per month. And with the minimum wage in the country at $69.17 (N10,555) per month, the least paid worker in the country earns 0.43 per cent of a legislators pay. But this is still better than Nigeria‘s 0.13 per cent/ 0.18 per cent.

Many Nigerians have been speaking against the jumbo pay of the lawmakers. On Tuesday, Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana, while addressing the members of the Edo State branch of the University of Ibadan Alumni Association, called on Nigerians to resist the jumbo pay.

A former member of the National Assembly, Prof. Sola Adeyeye, in an interview with THE PUNCH, said that the nation was beset with the calamity of legislation being turned into “legislooting.”

He lamented that the Nigerian politicking has become a brazen exercise in elite parasitism. He said, ‘‘Statecraft has degenerated into do-or-die power merchandising that turns senators into “stealators” and representatives into ”representa-thieves!”

Also, President of the Campaign for Democracy, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin was of the belief that the lawmakers had not justified the pay. Speaking in an interview with THE PUNCH, she called for a constitution-backed downward.

Perhaps, what these Nigerians want is what lawmakers in Venezuela did in December 2009. They passed a law prohibiting the President, judges and top government officials from earning above $6,750 (N1.03m) a month.

By Alex Abutu
December 16, 2010 02:03AM

The just concluded 16th United Nations climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico, marked a turning point for the struggle by African countries to get a United Nations mechanism compelling developed countries to fund programmes on the continent to cushion the impact of climate change on Africans.

At the close of the conference, a new climate funding mechanism, known as the Green Climate Fund, was established under the conference of parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Forestry conservation and protection also became part of the strategic agreement, meaning vulnerable and indigenous people whose livelihood are depended on forestry now stand to benefit.

The implication of the Cancun Agreement for Africa is overwhelming. The continent now has the opportunity to access funds and technology that would assist her adapt to the vulnerability of climate change.

At the conference, the continent, through the African Group, displayed its commitment to the African position by calling attention to how vulnerable the continent is and how climate change is already impacting the livelihoods of millions of Africans.

Ethiopia, Sudan, Mozambique, and South Africa were the vocal countries whose voices were heard in all plenary and all sessions demanding for a fair and just deal that will not jeopardise the interest of Africa.

But the giant of Africa, Nigeria, was completely missing from the scene. Statistics from the conference organisers showed that the country had the largest contingent to the conference from Africa.

A document from the ministry of environment said "Nigeria will proactively play a leading role amongst developing countries to influence the African positions, align with G77+ China negotiating block, and emphasise the principle of equity and the right to develop within the framework of common but differentiated responsibilities and capabilities."

But in the first week of the conference, delegates from other countries and non-governmental organisation delegates from Nigeria were disturbed by the clear absence of Nigeria, which hitherto had played a leadership role in the African Group.

Investigations on why the country was missing from such an important global conference showed that while other countries were busy negotiating and forming the global architecture of an all-inclusive climate change treaty, the country was locked in a power tussle over who heads the Nigeria climate change unit.

The financial resources to sponsor delegates to the conference was also not available and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office in Nigeria had to come to the rescue by offsetting the travel and accommodation cost of most of the delegates who only spent one out of the two weeks that the conference lasted.

An official of the ministry of environment, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the situation regarding Nigeria's participation was a disgrace.

"The problem about Nigeria's participation at the Cancun conference are many," the source said.

"An initial list of delegates contained names of people who have no reason coming to Cancun, more than three quarter of the money allocated for the conference in the 2010 budget was almost spent before the conference started, and personal ambition and interest in the climate change unit over Nigeria's interest caused unnecessary delay for delegates who were to represent the country."

Victor Fodeke, Nigeria's climate change focal person and head of the climate change unit at the ministry of environment, was removed from office shortly before the conference started in a style that was not compatible with existing civil service rules.

Calls to the minister of Environment, John Odey, for comments on the issue went unanswered.

Folade Adesina, an environmentalist with Global Environment Watch, said at the conference that the country's no show at Cancun was a reflection of how low the government rated issues of environment and climate change in particular.

"Climate change has become another money making window for government officials; how it impacts the ordinary citizen is not important to them," Mr. Adesina said.

Hassan Ibn of the Climate Alliance Network said Nigeria had the highest representation from Africa to the conference, yet their voices were not heard anywhere.

"The Nigerian contingents were in complete disarray, no coordination, no agenda to pursue, you hardly find them speaking in sessions. But at home, government is shouting ‘we are the most vulnerable'," Mr. Ibn said.

Wasted opportunity

Smaller countries have taken over the leadership role on climate change on the continent while Nigeria, which would be one of the hardest hit countries as a result of climate change, went to sleep.

One is, therefore, not surprised that Meles Zewani, prime minister of Ethiopia, was nominated as a co-chair of the UN secretary general's high level committee to recommend how the world would find the 100 billion dollars needed to address the impact of climate change in developing countries by 2020.

A visit to Ethiopia's stand at the just concluded Cancun conference speaks volume of how the country had used the opportunity and platform of the conference to woo investors to the various sectors of her economy.

South Africa was granted the right to host the 2011 climate change and had a visible exhibition area at the Cancun conference to discuss and interact with investors.

Efe Joseph, a representative of the Nigeria's indigenous peoples at the conference, said South Africa "is in charge of climate change issues in Africa."

A business roundtable organised by Nigeria at the conference to woo investors was poorly attended, as less than five foreigners participated and they were served the "usual African time" as the roundtable started six hours after it was due to take off. It was not only ill timed, as it coincided with the official opening ceremony of the conference, but caused thousands of Nigerian tax payers' dollars.

In 2009, at the Copenhagen climate change conference, Nigeria had a stand where the country's potentials and resources were on display. But at Cancun, no such stand existed and government officials were holding meetings in hotel rooms that were a two-hour drive from the conference venue.

Mr. Joseph said no attempt was made by government to promote the plight of Nigerians in the Niger Delta at the conference.

"We all saw the impact and the role of Bolivia at the conference; Bolivia, until the last minute, was campaigning for the inclusion in the Cancun Agreement clause that favours her indigenous people," he said.

But participants said the country can still benefit from the new environment climate if her officials get their acts together. For instance, the new Green Climate Fund will require representation on the board from developing and developed countries and Nigeria can take one of the seats.

Nigeria can also strategise to host a component of the proposed technology transfer institute that will assist developing countries.

marcdunu:
correct man, always willing to learn.

john_blaze:
@blackteeth

I am quite impressed with your knowledge and background of the subject matter, you have really done your homework before coming on this thread. To say the least the average african lacks what is referred to as "auto-transcendence" that is to say to ability to move from one stage of civilisation to the next, we simply remained in our primitive state for thousands of years untill the Europeans(a more advanced civilisation) came and colonised us,teaching us pretty much everything we know today.

Another reason why I feel africa is so underdeveloped is because we ascribe so much to the spiritual,the average african is very spiritual and this prevents the development of free thought and expression, people who made remarks that was contrary to the status quo were killed or ostracised, but in other civilisation except african freedom of thought thrived and that in the sense broaden their civilsation.

we should learn to confront the truth which in most cases in very bitter, africa is simply a continent that has refused to develop.

Musiwa,:
: koruji where did you get your story
igeowowaniilewa

Let us follow this story closely:  The Attorney General Bola Ige, an AD member serving under the ruling party PDP government, is murdered in cold blood in his own home on December 23, 2001. This is about a week or so after a thuggish mob fiasco lifts his cap during a visit to his friend, the Ooni of Ife (installed by Ige during his own Oyo State governorship about a decade earlier) while participating in the chieftaincy investiture of the wife of another friend of Ige, President Olusegun Obasanjo.  This shameful event may or may not have led to the vicious hacking to death a few days later at Ile-Ife of Hon. Olagbaju, a political friend of Omisore and co., and allegedly responsible (that is Olagbaju) for the humiliation of Ige at the Ooni’s palace.   The means and motives for Ige’s death have since been established for all the arrested suspects, and the opportunity has been established for some of them.  After much dallying, the prime suspect/instigator, the Deputy Governor Omisore of the murdered AG’s home state of Osun, is finally impeached (thereby stripping him of the odious 1999 Constitution’s Section 308 immunity) and promptly jumps ship from the opposing AD party (Ige’s party) to the ruling PDP party (Obasanjo’s party).  Omisore is arrested December 27, 2002 at Aso Rock following a trick invitation to meet some top dignitary/dignitaries there.  While in prison, and despite initial feeble protestations by otherwise honorable PDP Chairman Audu Ogbeh about its inappropriateness, Omisore becomes a Senatorial candidate for PDP in Ijesha/Ilesha constituency, a constituency that in any case insists on Omisore or no one else as its PDP candidate.  To the consternation of all rational human beings, on April 12, 2003, Omisore even wins the seat by a wide margin against the incumbent AD seat holder – all from detention! [The rumor that Omisore won the plurality of votes at Esa Oke, Chief Bola Ige’s home town, is apocryphal and simply not true.  Indeed he won the constituency that includes Ige’s hometown, but haba, not Ige’s home town!  However the untrue Esa Oke win is a typical Nigerian urban legend that has assumed a life of its own.  Those who will believe it will continue to do so for their own reasons, despite all evidence to the contrary.]

Bola Ige Assasinated   
   This Day - Posted to the web: 12/24/2001 1:07:17 PM

Federal Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige was last night shot dead in his bedroom at his Bodija, Ibadan residence in an apparent assassination.

It was gathered that the gun men shot the Cicero of Esa Oke at about 9.00 pm with a single bullet to his heart. He had returned from Lagos at about 8.30pm, family sources told THISDAY and asked his security men to go and have their dinner as he retired upstairs.

The gunmen who may have been waiting in the vicinity then stormed the house and tying up family members, got one of them to lead them uptstairs to the room of Chief Bola Ige where they led his wife and son to an adjourning room and locked them up.

The gunmen then met Ige alone in the bedroom and shot him with a single bullet in the heart, family sources said.

He was then left on the floor as the gunmen made their way out without stealing anything. However when one of the granddaughters raised an alarm, family members rushed to his room and then rushed him to the hospital. He died on his way to the Oluyoro Catholic Hospital, Ibadan.

Only last week, the late Ige narrowly escaped being mobbed at Ile-Ife by an irate crowd that removed his cap and smashed his pair of medicated glasses. The incident happened within the premises of the palace of the Ooni of Ife Oba Okunade Sijuwade shortly after the conferment of the chieftaincy title of Yeye Oranmiyan of Ile-Ife on the wife of President Olusegun Obasanjo, Stella.

He was however lucky to have escaped being injured by the angry mob.

His attack may not be unconnected with his unwavering support for the Osun State governor, Chief Bisi Akande, who is locked in a battle of wits with his deputy, Iyiola Omisore, an Ife indigene.

The Akande-Omisore imbroglio has recently taken a new twist following attempts to commence impeachment proceedings against Omisore at the State House of Assembly.

This led to fracas on the floor of the House with many of the lawmakers getting bruised.

And last Wednesday, a prominent member of the House representing Ife Central Local Government area was matchetted to death by people believed to be political thugs.

The legislator, Hon. Odunayo Olagbaju, was said to have been accosted by a group of young men who beat and dealt several cuts on him. It was gathered that the late lawmaker ran into the assassins who had apparently laid ambush for him at the scene of the incident when he was returning home.

Chief Ige's assasination may have changed the tone of an extraordinary meeting convened by the Afenifere leader, Chief Abraham Adesanya for Thursday at his Ijebu Igbo country home.

Apparently worried by the recent spate of bloody clashes in Osun State, the Pan-Yoruba organisation expressed its determination to restore peace and normalcy to the beleaguered state and scheduled a meeting to this effect for Thursday

This extraordinary meeting is coming on the heels of renewed public condemnation of the bloody crisis in Osun. The latest came from Internal Affairs Minister, Chief Sunday Afolabi at the weekend when he warned the leadership of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to desist from turning the state into a bloody battlefield.

The bloody conflicts in Osun have claimed some lives including that of Hon. Odunayo Olagbaju, representing Ife Central in the state House of Assembly. The news of his murder last Thursday had been greeted by arson and violence as both parties to the crisis engaged each other in a fight to finish.

Competent sources told THISDAY that Afenifere, obviously worried by this development had raised a peace committee which has former External Affairs Minister, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi and Second Republic Governor of Kwara State, Chief Cornelius Adebayo as members to probe the crisis.

It was gathered at the weekend that apart from Governor Bisi Akande and his deputy, Chief Iyiola Omisore, who have been summoned to appear before Afenifere, others billed to attend the crucial meeting include deputy leader of Afenifere and Justice Minister, Chief Bola Ige (SAN), Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief C.O. Adebayo, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, Chief Supo Shonibare, Chief Ayo Opadokun, amongst others.

"The situation at hand demands urgent intervention, hence this meeting was called. Papa Adesanya is expected to be back to preside over it. The Governor of Osun State will also return to attend," said a source within Afenifere.

Meanwhile, more reactions continued to trail the murder of Hon. Odunayo Olagbaju just as tgovernor was said to have resolved to cut short his trip to abroad for medical check up.

The governor's Chief Press Secretary, Mr Lani Baderinwa, said Akande would be home "any moment from now", adding that the governor had instructed his doctors to suspend further medical tests on him so that he could come home to attend to the crises.

Baderinwa's press statement at the weekend came on the heels of the news that the presidency may have summoned the governor back home via the nation's embassy in London.

Chief Afolabi warned that Federal Government would not tolerate the use of violence to settle political scores.

Afolabi who was speaking on the death of Olagbaju and the various clashes, admonished AD against turning Osun State into a battlefield.

The minister while speaking at a reception organised for the Deputy National Chairman of PDP (South) Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun in Osogbo said the news of the death of the AD lawmaker was a rude shock.

"We should all support President Obasanjo now to nurture the democracy we have to maturity. What the nation needs this time around is peace and understanding and not disorderliness and violence of any kind," he said, adding: "PDP should not be dragged into the issue by the leadership of AD."

Speaking in the same vein, the PDP Deputy National Chairman called on the leader of Afenifere, Adesanya, to wade into the crises without further delay noting "everybody should be thinking of development now and not violence as this is not okay for the nation."

Also reacting to the chaos, the AD Senator representing Osun West in the Senate, Chief Sunday Fajinmi said the National Assembly would look into the matter with a view to investigating it.

Fajinmi who spoke to the press in Iwo, described the situation as "shocking" adding that "a lawmaker is a lawmaker and as such the National Assembly would take it up."

While recalling chains of events that preceded Olagbaju's death, he said all hands must be on deck to prevent the political imbroglio of the 60s which led to arson and murder from repeating itself.

strangerf:
He is going to regret it

Blackteeth:
@Koruji. I still have to repeat that I never made a direct statement to say Africans were cursed. When I said only a revealation of a divine curse will explain the situation in Africa, I said it out of frustration because the economic and political reasons you mentioned as an excuse has not truly explained the situation in Africa. So what other cause is there again to hang on to?