₦airaland Forum

Police arrest 41 Nigeriens

By Agency Reporter

Tuesday, 22 Mar 2011


The Police in Abuja on Monday said it had arrested 41 Niger nationals in the Gwarinpa area of the city.


But unconfirmed sources put the number of the arrested men at 200.


The arrested foreigners were picked up at an uncompleted building within the area. Our correspondent gathered that the large number of people, who were said to have dressed in dirty clothes and moving in a suspicious manner, attracted the attention of a passerby.


The passerby, it was further gathered, was said to have informed the police of the discovery, while the policemen from Gwarinpa Divisional Police Area moved in to arrest the suspects.


Police sources told our correspondent that those arrested were being questioned on how they entered the country and why they were moving in large number.


It was also learnt that the Police would investigate if the foreigners’ influx had anything to do with the forthcoming general elections.


However, a police source said the arrested men were not with any arm or ammunition when they were picked up.

http://punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201103224382195

Jonathan’s meeting with PDP members in Lagos deadlocked

NewsMar 22, 2011

…Party divided over Bode George

BY WAHAB ABDULLAH & DAPO AKINREFON

LAGOS - PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s siege on Lagos for the state’s more than six million votes may have ended in a fiasco as his efforts might have left the party more divided than ever.
The closed door meeting held between President Jonathan and leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos State ended on Sunday night with majority of party stakeholders boycotting the meeting over the prime role given erstwhile Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Bode George at the meeting.
The meeting called on the insistence of the President, was aimed at strategising on how to take over Lagos from the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, which currently controls the state.
George in a riposte dismissed those who allegedly abstained from the meeting with the President on account of his presence as agents of the ACN, affirming that they were of inconsequential value to the party. George, who affirmed that the President’s meeting was productive for the party’s chances in Lagos, further pledged that Lagos would fall to the party in the coming elections.
Bigwigs of the party present at the meeting included George; Chief of Staff to President Jonathan, Dr Mike Oghiadome; state chairman of Lagos PDP, Mr Setonji Koshoede; state secretary of the party, Mr Tunji Shelle; Chief Bode Ola; Mr Tola Animashaun; Senatorial candidates; House of Representatives candidate and House of Assembly candidates contesting on the platform of the party.
The likes of former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe and Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro; Dr Wahab Dosumu, former Minister of State for Defence, Mr Demola Seriki; Dr Oluyomi Finnih, the state publicity secretary; Dr Wale Ahmed; Mr Babatunde Gbadamosi and other aspirants were, however, absent at the meeting.
George reacts
But reacting to the assertions that he was a divisive factor, George told Vanguard last night:
“The allegation that I am the one causing disaffection in the party is not true. There is nothing like that. Those people who are shouting oars are agents of the Action Congress, who are masquerading as genuine members of the PDP. Many of them who you said are aggrieved are not committed members.
“President Goodluck Jonathan was around yesterday (Sunday) to meet with the party’s candidates and encouraged them to do their best for the party to emerge victorious.
“However, some of these people you mentioned did not come around to see how the party will continue to grow in the state, instead they are just making noise and predicting negatively that PDP may not win. I am telling you they will be alive when the party will coast to victory in Lagos.
“Now, some of our members were attacked in the Island, the attackers almost killed the aspirant, none of them see something bad in this, they are not complaining about all these ugly development.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/jonathans-meeting-with-pdp-members-in-lagos-deadlocked/

Meeting the parents

By Jayne Usen

March 22, 2011 12:09AM

Every woman looks forward to the day when she will be swept off her feet by that ‘man’ who totally adores her. She basks in the euphoria of her new found romance and when he ‘puts a ring on it’, the deal is almost signed, sealed and delivered. From this stage plans begin in earnest for the ‘big day’.

As young girls, my friends and I often discussed marriage and one topic that always found its way into our conversations was the ‘dreaded witch mother-in law’, no thanks to Nollywood movies in which the likes of Patience Ozokwu aka Mama Gee perfectly depict the atrocities committed by wicked mothers in-law.

In those discussions, we would pray to meet the right mother-in-law when the time come for us to be married. One that would be a mother to not only to her son but her daughter in-law. I remember a friend, who I choose to call Rita here, go on and on about how she would “show the witch pepper” if she ended up with the bad mother-in-law. Rita would go as far as wishing her prospective mother-in-law dead before her marriage if the woman would be a thorn in her flesh and we would laugh at her jokes. But it seems fate granted her wish, as her eventual husband turned out to be an orphan.

I have come to realise that I am a prospective mother-in-law and who knows if my would-be daughter-in-law would be wishing me dead before I meet my grandchildren?

The first meeting

While guys are often panicky meeting their future fathers-in-law, especially since they always have their way around the mothers, girls on the other hand are excited about meeting both prospective in-laws. Any lady who is sincere enough, will reveal that she prays to meet a good mother in-law.

If you are not excited about meeting your fiancé’s parents for the first time, you must remember that meeting his folks is a crucial moment in your relationship and there is a need for you to make a good first impression. A friend of mine says “meeting the parents means pretending to be a saint. You have to be a miss Goody Two-Shoes when meeting the parents. If you do the wrong thing, they may persuade their son you are not right for him. After all he is their son”.

Naturally, a woman introduces her lover to her parents earlier in a relationship than a man would because women talk more openly about their lives to their parents.

Men, on the other hand, are less likely to talk openly to their parents so introducing a fiancée is a monumental step that indicates they take the relationship seriously. While it is important to impress them, remember that his parents are no different from other people you have met in your lifetime, so just be yourself.

Being yourself

I remember when my husband and I had to make the trip to meet with his parents for the first time. As much as I was excited about meeting my future in-laws for the first time, I was more concerned about whether or not I would be well received.

Although I had met with some members of his extended family as well as his siblings and we seemed to get along, I felt it was a totally different thing getting to meet his parents. As the day drew closer, I began to think about the hairstyle which would perfectly scream “house wife material” and the outfits showing that I am “trendy but decent”.

After worrying about my appearance for two weeks, I thought to myself one night, why I should bother so much about putting up a fake appearance all through a three day visit, when I will not be able to pretend for a life time? So I decided to be myself.

From my experience, one advice that comes handy is “be yourself”! You must realize that your in-laws also recognize the significance of the first meeting and will scrutinise throughout the period. However, do not let this intimidate you especially since you have won your fiancée’s heart and there is really no reason for his parents not to feel good about you.

Understand that it is quite normal for them to scrutinize you because they cannot help it after all you are ‘taking away their son’ but also know that being yourself is the best way to survive meeting his parents. If you have been true to yourself in your relationship with your fiancé then he already approves of your personality and character traits so don’t be afraid to let the real you shine through when meeting his parents.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/ArtsandCulture/x2/Entertainment/5684598-146/meeting_the_parents.csp

SATIRICALLY YOURS: The president tells us the Koko

By Carlang Mbofung

March 22, 2011 01:31AMT


Sometimes you’ve got to wonder about the brains behind Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign. You’ve got a president who is facing what is building to be the stiffest Nigerian election since NTA tried to decide if Voltron was a better child puller than Super Ted. All around the country, rallies and debates are being held as the nation struggles to decide who they’ll be voting for. It’s four weeks to the election and the president’s popularity is appearing to be on a decline. Something urgent has to be done to reverse the tide. It has to be something sharp. Smart. Intelligent. A game changer. And so the brains of the campaign sit together and come up with their bright idea.

Let’s call Dbanj

Six years ago, Dbanj broke onto the music scene with his hit song ‘Tongolo’. He never did tell us exactly what the koko was but we’ve slowly caught on to the bulk of his act. After 72 months, most Nigerians have already formed some ideas about Dbanj’s secret. For instance, we’re sure that the ‘koko’ does not lie in his skills as an interviewer. It’s been almost a week since that infamous interview with Dbanj but I am still yet to get over it. It’s the kind of argument that political students are going to struggle with for decades to come. Why would Jonathan have picked, of all the possible candidates, the lord of the Koko Mansion?

Yes, the argument can be made that Dbanj was chosen not because of his acclaimed hold over his kokolettes but because of his reported status as the Youth Ambassador for Peace in the United Nation Association (no, they’re not a part of the UN). But that would be wrong. Millions of Nigerians love him and many more will forgive him for his latest foray into politics. But very few Nigerians recognize Dbanj as a youth ambassador and the only relationship Dbanj might likely have with peace is one with a kokolette by that name.

Don’t get me wrong; I respect Dbanj as an artist. Yet, I can’t help but think that in accepting the offer of the president to host the interview, he let millions of Nigerians down. There were dozens of better placed candidates who could have handled the job a lot more admirably than he did. I’ve thought about the impact that the interview might have made had it been led by more impressive candidates such as, say, Chimamanda Adichie, and I have to say that the president got this one wrong. His bad decision was further worsened by his failure to attend the presidential debate which was held less than 48 hours later.

That in itself is distressing. Nine out of every 10 people who heard about the idea of a Dbanj interview probably thought it was a funny joke. Eight out of every 10 who heard that the president missed the first Nigerian presidential debate to be held this century probably hissed at the other two people who were trying to defend his actions. In choosing Dbanj as the host of his interview, the president showed that he really was not in tune with the desires of the Nigerian. Despite having close to a million fans and friends on Facebook, President Jonathan appears to still be ignorant about the general tide.

In the last few weeks, the president appears to have adopted a ‘throw on the wall’ approach to his political campaign. Some of it will strike home but most of it will fail miserably. I’m one of those Nigerians who are still convinced that Jonathan might yet emerge victorious come the April elections but if this does happen, it certainly will not be because of a well thought out and organized campaign. Regardless of this, in the event of a win, the president’s interview with Dbanj will be touted by some as being the ‘brilliant stroke’ in a brilliant campaign. A few political pundits will eat this mop up and suddenly Sarah Palin will find herself being interviewed by Flavor Flav.

Still, its early days yet. With any bit of luck, if the president’s campaign advisors continue on their sting of bad marketing decisions, we might yet encounter many more ludicrous ideas. For instance, we might wake up to find that we now have a third video of the song ‘Endowed’ featuring Dbanj and a surprise guest star. It’ll have a familiar sequence. We’ll see Dbanj dressed in green trousers dancing in the rain with skimpily clad kololettes. All will appear to be normal until the closing strains of the song, And then, for a quick three seconds, the video will pan to the right to reveal Mr Jonathan standing in a corner beneath a green and white ‘Umblerra’ protected from the rain. It will be absurdly shocking, daring and legendary. And yes I spelt it correctly. ‘Umblerra’

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Opinion/Columns/5684494-182/story.csp

IMHOTEP: Requiem for the blind sage

By Obadiah Mailafia

March 20, 2011 11:30PMT

According to an ancient Jewish mystical teaching, at any time in the world there exist 36 Righteous Hidden Ones -- the Tzadikim Nistarim -- for whose sake God prevents the world from being utterly destroyed. Also known as ‘the lamed-vavnkis’, from the numerology of 30 (lamed) and six (vav), they are scattered all over the world and are not known to one another. But on rare occasions, one or two may be accidentally discovered. One of the signs by which they may be known is through the virtue of ‘anavah’ (humility), which St. Augustine of Hippo described as ‘the mark of Christ’.

This land of our forefathers is one of the most iniquitous nations on earth; a land where the rich and powerful engage in child sacrifice and the burying of young virgins to acquire wealth and power; a land desecrated by the blood of so many martyrs. Even in this latter-day Sodom and Gomorrah, I have come across one or two people who exhibit the virtues of the Hidden Righteous Ones.

One of such is the late Bitrus Gani-Ikilim, who recently passed into glory on the night of Sunday, February 20. Like the Tzadik Nistarim of Jewish lore, the late Gani was a quiet and rather very private individual.

If my memory serves me right, it was during the Easter of 1977 that I first met him. I was an undergraduate at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He was one of the speakers at a students’ retreat in Wusasa. I was completely awed by this blind man who was introduced to us as the Head of Department of Physiotherapy at the Faculty of Medicine. He was rather small in frame, but when he spoke his deep baritone voice seemed to tower even about the spires of St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral. His elocution was impeccable. The only other people I have ever known to speak English the way it should be spoken were Ishaya Shuaibu Audu, our former Vice-Chancellor, and one of my late teachers, Ibrahim Tahir.

After the retreat, I was privileged to take a ride in his car back to campus in Samaru. Gani sat in the front with his driver while two others and I sat at the back. In a conversation I shall never forget, I got to know him as an enormously gifted man who was also deeply spiritual. His mind was curious about everything. He was at home in science as he was in philosophy and literature. The aura around him was one of peace.

As the years passed by, I was made to understand that he followed my career with keen interest. Unfortunately, I never really kept in close touch the way I would have loved to. I always assumed he would be a permanent fixture in the Zaria landscape and that I could always see him any time I wanted.

Gani-Ikilama (OON, MCSP, FNSP), was born on February 25, 1944 in Donga, Taraba State. He became blind at age five, after contracting measles. He could easily have ended up as one the many blind beggars we see throughout the towns and villages of northern Nigeria were it not for the foresight of an uncle who noted his innate brilliance and took uncommon interest in the child’s education.

In 1955, he was the first to be enrolled at the new school that the missionaries built for visually handicapped children in Gindiri in the present Plateau State. He subsequently went on to the Boys’ Secondary School nearby. He was a classmate of an uncle of mine at the famous BSS Gindiri, where he was reputed to have scored all ‘A’s in the Cambridge Certificate examinations.

Gani later studied at the London School of Physiotherapy between 1963 and 1967. He worked briefly at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), as did the brilliant pediatrician Ishaya Audu, before transferring to ABU Zaria. An accomplished pianist, he was also a choirmaster and musician. He co-founded Hope for the Blind, an international NGO that has made a huge impact on the welfare of blind people throughout our country.

During his lifetime, Gani was not among the rich and powerful of the land. But true greatness does not lie in money, position or title. I believe this country has been saved from perishing because of sentinels like Gani.

During one of those recurring cycles of ritual bloodbaths that go by the name of ‘religious riots’ in the north, his home in GRA, Zaria was the scene of a minor miracle. Some murderous hordes had gone there at midnight, with machetes and guns. In those circumstances, what was a blind man to do? He knelt down and prayed. It was said that the hoodlums inexplicably fled in terror as though pursued by a fearful ogre. The story later emerged that, as they approached the gates, they saw a flaming wall of fire around the property.

Gani was buried on the holy grounds of St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Cathedral in Wusasa on Saturday, February 26. In our Age of Pentecost – even of the Paraclete – he shall be counted among the makers of what someone termed The Third Testament. His shall be the sleep of the righteous and the just.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Opinion/5684394-182/story.csp

Police Kill Six People At Buhari Rally In Jos
Posted: March 21, 2011 - 20:34


By SaharaReporters, New York

Another demonstration of the incompetence of the Nigeria police today in Jos led to their killing of six people at a campaign rally of Muhammad Buhari's Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the city.

Following threats by the Nigeria police that General Buhari (Rtd), the presidential candidate of the CPC, could not hold a politically rally in the volatile city, they blocked major parts of the entrance to the Polo Ground venue of the campaign.  It was a move reminiscent of the February 12 action of the police at the Liberation Stadium in Port Harcourt where they caused the deaths of 20 people by shooting into the air to prevent people from leaving the rally and started a stampede instead.

CPC operatives told SaharaReporters that at the Jos Polo Ground rally, the Nigerian police had the singular objective of preventing Buhari's supporters from attending his rally in the city.

Earlier in the day, Buhari had paid a courtesy call on the governor of the state, Jonah Jang.  While he was there, a huge crowd massed in front of the governor's lodge waiting for the presidential candidate to come out.  As soon as he had concluded the courtesy visit, they marched with him to the venue of the rally.

But the police, under the disingenuous argument that a huge rally in the city by Buhari supporters could lead to another round of violence in the area tried to prevent several groups from reaching the venue.  That action, which the supporters described as "sabotage," led to resistance and violence.  The police resorted to using live ammunition to disperse the crowd, leading to the death of the six.

As a result of the chaos, Buhari could not go to the palace of Gbong Gwong Jos, nor could he meet with other groups waiting to meet with him in the city.
It would be recalled that last week in Ibadan, Oyo State, the police tried to prevent Buhari from using Mapo Hall, which his party had reserved, for his rally.  They claimed it would be used the following day by the wife of Goodluck Jonathan, the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, and that they needed 48 hours to clear the place for her.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/police-kill-six-people-buhari-rally-jos

Jimoh Ibrahim’s mother kidnapped
NewsMar 21, 2011

Mrs Omofemiwa Ramat Ibrahim, 68, mother of billionaire businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim was Sunday night at 9pm woken from her sleep by four armed men who took her away.
The four men had earlier told the gateman that they were family member. Mama who had earlier returned from the St Pius Catholic Church, Igbotako where she worshiped till evening was held at both her right and left hands by two of the armed men who threatened to shoot the gateman if he raised alarm.
As at press time, no message has been sent to her family members by her captors who did not allow her to take her phone along with her. Meanwhile the children including Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim have started arriving at Igbotako where security agencies are being liaised with.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/jimoh-ibrahims-mother-kidnapped/

Power sector privatisation: Indians again?

PoliticsMar 21, 2011

BY TIMOTHY JUMBO
SINCE August 26, 2010 when the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR unveiled his administration’s road map in the Power sector, various business groups and investors have indicated interest in participating in the acquisition of the Power Generating Plants.
Firms such as Essar, Reliance, Tata, among others have expressed interest in response to BPE’s advert in the national dailies of December, 2010. This much is contained in most of the Newspapers that rolled out on Monday 7, March 2010, following the deadline of the submission of Expression of Interest by potential investors to the BPE.
Our concern is the domination of Indian firms such as Tata, Essar, and Reliance in the race to acquire the Power Generating Plants given the pedigree of Indian Investors in Nigeria. It will be helpful to go down memory lane to put the Government and Nigerians on the alert.
The Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State was concessioned to the Indians in the early days of the Obasanjo administration. It did not take long before the Government discovered their pilfering prowess when they started stripping the assets of the dying steel company. The Government at that time did not waste any time to chase them from Ajaokuta so that even if nothing is added to the Plant, it should not be pilfered and reduced to a scrap yard.
Then came the Mittal group with Global Infrastructure Holding Company that bought the Delta Steel Company as scrap for a meager US$20 million without paying a dime. They succeeded in rehabilitating the steel rolling plant from where they made the money to pay the Government the cost of purchase. This is the kind of business the Indians are known for.
They want to reap without sowing. DSC as it is today can best be described as a rolling mill with its production of round bars and billets leaving out other economic products of the Steel Plant that will require capital investment.
They are repatriating huge foreign exchange to their home country from DSC without investing a kobo. Contractors’ payment is unduly delayed, the community is strangulated using the greedy Chiefs and middlemen, the safety of the environment is ignored with hazardous chemical waste being discharged into the atmosphere from their furnace, the premises is the dirtiest that can be seen of any steel company across the world.
Until recently, there was mass importation of jobless Indians in the name of expatriate into the country to work in DSC. The Management became weary of their people when they discovered that most of them colluded to steal their money. Most of their so called expatriate were then repatriated leaving us with a small number of expatriates in DSC at the moment. Are these the elements we want to replicate in the Power Sector?
Nigerians am sure are weary of investors who will rather exploit than add value to the system. The international electronic media e.g CNN has been awash with advertisement such as ESSAR investing $100 million in Nigeria’s Power sector. They are used to buying scraps for pea nuts and ripping off developing economies without any capital investment. Otherwise, how did they arrive at the figure to invest? They are already sending a signal to the Federal Government that the Power Plants to be sold are worth less.
Before now, they have been reluctant to invest in the Niger Delta describing it as unsafe and unfriendly environment to do business. How come they are so enthusiastic and excited at buying our Power Generating Plants located in the heart of the Niger Delta now? If they have so much financial muscle as they want us to believe, they should apply for license to build new plants which the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) will gladly issue once they meet the requirements.
There is abundant natural gas as raw material for gas fired thermal power generating plant. This way, they will be bringing in capital, increase the nation’s generating capacity, adding value and creating jobs. They should forget buying old plants at cheap rate and sustaining the present generating capacity of the plants as they have demonstrated in their various investments in other sectors.
We have decided to go this far to show the insincerity of the Indian Investors in Nigeria so that our Government and Nigerians will be cautious in dealing with them, noting their sugar coated tongue, empty show of wealth and technical wherewithal. Let them show their capacity in value adding.
Moreover, the Government should be aware that indigenous Investors have the capacity to turn around these power plants, increase their capacity and stabilise the sector for the enjoyment of Nigerians and businesses in the country. Just to remind us that company such as NAFCON was acquired by Nigerians and the Technical Team that rehabilitated the Plant and has kept it running is predominantly Nigerian.
The impact of that investment in the immediate community of Onne and Eleme can only be imagined not to talk of the multiplier effect on the economy of Rivers State in particular and Nigeria in general. This feat can be replicated in the Power sector with all patriotism. There are serious minded Nigerian entrepreneurs whom the Government can negotiate with in the acquisition process of the Power Plants. These must be credible entrepreneurs with track records in the turnaround of moribund businesses not portfolio-carrying government contractors with offices in State House.
Niger Delta, the home of gas in the country cannot be stripped naked once again of their resources by foreigners who care little or nothing about her people and environment. The people are prepared to defend their rights and their God given resources by every legally acceptable means known to the comity of Nations. They are very hopeful and mindful of the effects of functional Power Plants to them, their families and the economy. They know what Indians can do and are not prepared to entertain them anymore.
We have concentrated on the Power Plants because it is the key to power stability in the country. The distribution aspect is trading which is what Indians know how to do best. It is what is generated that can available for distribution. The more megawatts we can generate the better for the country hence we think it is the fulcrum of the Power Sector and most significant component of the Power Sector.
Having exposed the cunning and exploitative tendencies of Indians, we do not need them because they will not add any value to the Power sector. We have seen them before, we know them. They can connive with corrupt government officials who will in turn project them positively to government top officials. This will certainly not be in the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/power-sector-privatisation-indians-again-2/

Shareholders: Access Bank owes Intercontinental N16.2b

By Eric Ikhilae 21/03/2011 00:47:00


Some shareholders of Intercontinental Bank, opposed to the planned sale of the bank, have alleged that the scheduled buyer, Access Bank, is owing their bank N16.2 billion.
This assertion is contained in a new set of affidavits filed by the shareholders to strengthen the case they filed before Justice Fatima Nyako of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

A top official of the Intercontinental Bank, however, told The Nation yesterday night that the loans granted the Access Bank chiefs are performing–meaning that the duo are servicing them.

The shareholders stated that they stumbled on some documents which revealed that Access Bank’s Managing Director and its Deputy, Aigboje I. Aig-Imoukhuede and Herbert Wigwe, were yet to defray the said debts owed to Intercontinental.

In the suit, they seek to among others, halt the move by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to formalize a purported Memorandum of Understanding entered between Intercontinental and Access Bank, by which the latter bank is required to part with N50billion to acquire80 per cent of the former bank.

They averred that after the actual suit, they discovered that the CBN listed one United Alliance Company of Nigeria Limited amongst the largest debtors of Intercontinental Bank in an advertorial dated August 18, 2009.

The plaintiffs stated that when they conducted a search at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), they discovered that the said United Alliance Company of Nigeria Limited is wholly owned by Aig-Imoukhuede and Wigwe, who are the only shareholders of the company with each holding 450, 000, 000 shares.

They stated that as at May 31, 2009, Aig-Imoukhuede and Wigwe owed Intercontinental Bank a total of N16, 247, 686, 168. 18, adding that the status of the loan is still uncertain till date.

The shareholders, 10, lead by Okoli Emeka, suing for other shareholders, named Intercontinental Bank, its Managing Director, Lai Alabi and four executive directors of the bank – Abubakar Sule, Gbenga Alade, Olusegun Osilowo and Suleiman Yusuf as defendants.

Also named as defendants are the bank’s chairman, Raymond Obieri, Ishyaku Umar, Seinye Lulu-Briggs, Toyin Philips, Chris Alabi, J.S.P.C Nwokolo, Ikechi Kalu, Sanni Adams, Bayo Dada, Access Bank and the CBN.

They said they were shocked on learning that the defendants have commenced steps at disposing the assets and shares of Intercontinental Bank without reference to them as members and shareholders of the bank.

They want the court to compel the defendants to render account of their dealings in the bank, and an order that a general meeting of the members of Intercontinental bank be convened forthwith for the purposes of the consideration of the account of dealings of the defendants in the bank and the election of directors for the bank out of its shareholders.

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/business/31312.html

Voters register scandal in Oyo
27 LGAs’ lists allegedly doctored
From YINKA FABOWALE, Ibadan
Monday, March 21, 2011

Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN and former governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Lam Adesina yesterday raised the alarm that the voters’ registers in 27 of the 33 local government areas in the state had been doctored by Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) agents.

The alarm is coming on the heels of the arrest of four persons, including an official of the INEC in the state allegedly caught with six Direct Data Capturng (DDC) machines in a hotel in Ibadan, the state capital at the weekend. The men, who are chatting with the police, were said to be erasing names of registered voters stored in the machineand replacing it with fictitious names.

Addressing reporters at his Felele residence in the city yesterday on the development, Adesina claimed that the state resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Ayo Adekeja had admitted that registers in 27 council areas were affected.
The former governor accused the state INEC and the top hierarchy of the PDP of colluding to rig the forthcoming elections, saying they were behind the “unholy scheme.”

But, in a swift reaction, Ayodele Folami, the INEC spokesperson denied the claim credited to his boss, saying he could not have made such a statement, as nothing of such happened.But, he admitted that the Saturday incident had been reported to all the appropriate security agencies in the state. Folami said the commission was still investigating the ‘ugly incident.’He said the commission was making contact with the police and other security agencies on the way forward, adding that at the end of the investigation, the commission would tell the world on the next line of action.

Also, the ruling PDP in the state dissociated itself from the incident and accused the opposition party, ACN of maligning the party ahead of the April polls because of what it described as electoral defeat awaiting the ACN and Accord Party. Of the four people arrested, three of them were allegedly members of the ruling PDP officials of the Akala/Arapaja Campaign Organisation in the state, a development Adesina described as part of the desperate moves by the ruling party to retain the state at all cost.

He, however, vowed that any attempt to resist the popular move of the people of the state to eject PDP and its governorship candidate, Adebayo Alao-Akala through the ballot would meet with untoward consequences. The ACN leader, who was flanked by his former deputy, Iyiola Oladokun, the party governorship candidate in the state, Abiola Ajimobi, the Oyo South Senatorial candidate for the April poll, Chief Olufemi Lanlehin and other party chieftains said Saturday’s incident had confirmed his allegation against the Oyo State REC of having “an unholy marriage with Governor Alao Akala,” remarking that it had affected the integrity of the voters’ register in the state, wondering which one would now be used for the elections. He therefore made a four-point demand of INEC National Chairman, Attahiru Jega to restore confidence in the electorate in the state, ahead of the April polls.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/mar/21/national-21-03-2011-001.htm

Jonathan lays siege to Lagos for votes
NewsMar 21, 2011

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor & Abdulwahab Abdulah
President Goodluck Jonathan was yesterday night locked in a closed door meeting with senior Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, members and some elected political office holders from the South-West in Dodan Barracks, Lagos.
The meeting, Vanguard learnt, was aimed towards resolving the multiple crises in some of the states in the region.
Among major stakeholders at the meeting which was ongoing at press time were the erstwhile Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Bode George; Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State; Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadohme; Lagos State gubernatorial candidate of the party, Dr. Ade Dosunmu among others.
Sources told Vanguard yesterday that the President was determined to resolve the crisis in the region as a way of boosting the party’s fortunes in the region which are presently threatened by the upsurge of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN in the region.
“We want to see how we can go into the election as a united body,” a source present at the meeting said last night.
It was learnt that the President could be staying in Lagos for the next two days to resolve the crises in the states.
The major contending groups within the party include the Establishment Group, headed by George: the Solidarity Group, headed by the High Commissioner to Ghana, Ambassador Musiliu Obanikoro and the Mandate Group, under the leadership of the former Minister of Works and Housing, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe.
Other minor groups include the ‘Alagbon 14’ Forum of Local Government Candidates and the Elders’ Forum.
The Bode George group, however, is the group controlling the machinery of the party in Lagos State based on the political experience of George’s and his carriage of the party supporters.
Apart from Lagos, the party is also sharply split in Ogun and Oyo States. In Ogun State, supporters of Governor Daniel recently decamped as a group to the Peoples Party of Nigeria, PPN.
President Jonathan it is believed, is desirous of uniting the party as a way of giving the party and himself a sizeable proportion of the estimated 15 million votes expected from the region.
The major presidential candidates are targeting the voters rich regions of the Northwest and Southwest in the hope of taking pole position in the forthcoming April 9 presidential election.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/jonathan-lays-siege-to-lagos-for-votes/

Jonathan yet to sign minimum wage bill, Labour threatens strike
NewsMar 21, 2011

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG
INDICATIONS have emerged that labour is set to declare a nationwide industrial action next week over perceived refusal by President Goodluck Jonathan to sign into law the N18,000 new minimum wage bill to pave the way for its implementation after the National Assembly passed the Bill three weeks ago.
This came as there are feelers that governors opposed to the new wage increase are putting pressure on President Jonathan not to assent to the bill until after the general elections.
Investigations revealed that anti-N18,000 new minimum wage governors who do not want to pay the new wage and some Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, bigwigs may have convinced the President to tarry a while at least until after the general elections before assenting to the bill.
According to a Presidency source, the anti-N18.000 minimum wage forces believe that if the President assent to the Bill before the elections, it would become a campaign tool and their failure to implement the wage could lead to disaster and misfortune in the elections.
This, the source said, might have forced President Jonathan, who according to the source, does not want to be blamed for the political failure of any party members especially governors, to suddenly develop cold feet after promising to assent to Bill without delay once the National Assembly passed it into law.
It will be recalled that organized labour on March 2, threatened to frustrate the April general elections should the government fail to implement the new minimum wage pay increase.
According to the Presidency source, “by the projection and understanding with his kitchen cabinet, the President was to have assented to the minimum wage law before March 14, so that the wage would reflect in the March pay package of the federal civil servants. This was what informed the announcement by the Minister of the Federal Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed, on March 15 that the President had assented to the minimum wage Act as passed by the National Assembly”.
Piqued by perceived betrayal by the government, organised labour is considering to declare a nationwide strike next week to force the President to not only to sign the Bill into law, but also ensure immediate implementation of the N18,000 new minimum wage.
Already, leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, are meeting tomorrow in Abuja to deliberate on this and other socio-economic and political developments in the country.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/jonathan-yet-to-sign-minimum-wage-bill-labour-threatens-strike/

Patience Jonathan's Peculiar Grammar

Farooq A. Kperogi

March 20, 2011

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Nigeria’s First Lady “Dame” Patience Jonathan has by now securely established well-deserved notoriety for herself as someone who is compulsively incapable of stringing together a single sentence that is not a comical ridicule of the English language.

There is probably no public figure in Nigeria’s recent history who has publicly and mindlessly murdered basic English syntax with as much recklessness and regularity as “Dame” Patience Jonathan, whose middle name is now “umblera” on account of her widely publicized, laughably consistent mispronunciation of “umbrella” (the People's Democratic Party’s icon) when she stumped for her husband recently. (Watch the "umblera" video below).



See NVS Discussion on "Umblerra"
Although I have been greatly entertained by the First Lady’s hilariously uneducated speech mannerisms and solecisms, I used to be one of her greatest defenders during informal conversations with my friends. I had frankly thought that she had not had the privilege of getting a formal education, and so I had attributed her rib-tickling gaffes to illiteracy. I had challenged some of my friends if any of their illiterate sisters, suddenly thrust to the limelight, could do better than “Dame” Patience Jonathan in public oral delivery and grammatical correctness.

You can imagine my outrage when I discovered that the First Lady actually earned a National Certificate in Education (NCE) from the Rivers State College of Arts and Science in 1989 and a bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology from the University of Port Harcourt, her husband’s alma mater, in 1994. But what is even more scandalous is that she was a high school teacher for many years. Hmm. What did she teach her students? And in what language did she teach them?

The Nigerian cyberspace—what I christened “Cyberia” in one of my academic writings—has lately been agog over the First Lady’s humorously embarrassing grammatical and pronunciational somersaults. That’s how I got to know about this. Her “umblera” (mis)pronunciational salvo is undoubtedly her most popular. It has drawn tens of thousands of eyeballs on YouTube, inspired several creative spoofs and remixes and is, I am reliably told, a hit ringtone among Nigerian mobile phone users. (I wonder how the “Dame” sings Rihanna’s hit single “Umbrella,” especially the “ella, ella” hook; I can’t wait for someone to do a spoof of that!)

Other hilariously egregious errors attributed to the First Lady include the following: “My husband and Sambo IS A GOOD PEOPLE”; “the president was once a child and the SENATORS WERE ONCE A CHILDREN”; “my fellow widows” [she reportedly said this while addressing widows. We know whom to hold responsible if President Jonathan drops dead!]; “the people sitting before you here were ONCE A CHILDREN”; “it is not easy to CARRY SECOND in an international competition like this one”; “the bombers, who BORN them? WASN’T it not a woman? They were ONCE A CHILDREN, now A ADULT, now they are bombing women and children making SOME CHILDREN A WIDOW”; “my heart feels sorry for these CHILDREN WHO HAVE BECOME WIDOWS by losing their parents for one reason or another”; “We should have love for our fellow Nigerians irrespective of their NATIONALITY.”

Four things are clear from these statements. First, the First Lady has clearly no sense of subject-verb agreement—much like her husband. Second, she doesn’t know the difference between “child” and “children.” She evidently never listened when her teacher taught “singular and plural” in her primary school. Three, she obviously has no clue that “fellow” is used to refer to people who share a commonality with you, so she doesn’t realize that by calling the widows “my fellow widows” she means that her husband is dead, too. Four, she has not the vaguest idea that “widow” is not an all-purpose word for people who have lost their loved ones. That’s why she (correctly) uses it for women whose husbands are dead AND (incorrectly) for orphans, i.e., children whose parents are dead.

I can forgive her use of the Nigerian Pidgin English expressions “carry second” [place second] and “born” [gave birth]—and her misuse of the word “nationality” when talking about Nigerians who actually all share the same nationality. After all, her husband, who claims to have a Ph.D. in zoology, recently said at a political rally that we are“diverse in terms of different human species.” If a putative Ph.D. in zoology (the branch of biology that studies animals, including humans) doesn’t know enough to know that all humans belong to the same species, why should we expect a less educated, grammatically challenged “Dame” to know that all Nigerians belong to the same nationality?

But, seriously, the stupefying ignorance of Nigeria’s First Family provokes many troubling queries. If the president and his wife, who should be our role models, can’t even obey the most basic rules of our national language (which, by the way, they, like all of us who went to school, learned from elementary school to university) why do we express phony outrage in the national media every year when we are confronted with data of mass failure in English in school certificate exams?

We expect our kids to pass “O” level English in high school, and we collectively wail hypocritically when mass failure is recorded in school certificate exams. We also, as an official policy, expect our kids to pass “O” level English as a precondition to even read Nigerian languages in our universities. But we lower the standards—and expectations— when we assess the performance of our political and public leaders. Suddenly, we remember that English isn’t native to us. What galling double standard!

I recently had an argument with a passionate defender of the Dame’s habitually unenviable grammatical and speech aberrations. My interlocutor advanced the sadly familiar infantile argument that the First Lady's foibles should be excused because English isn’t our native language. But a single question I posed to her shut her up. I asked her if she would honestly want her daughters to imitate the Dame’s speech mannerisms and indefensible grammatical imperfections. She was quiet. When I pressed her further, she shamefacedly said “no.”

But a First Lady is supposed to be a role model for young girls. So I wondered aloud: if you don’t want your girls to grow up to be like “Dame” Patience Jonathan, why should you defend her consistently embarrassing slips? You got it: hypocrisy!

The excuse that English isn’t our native language and therefore shouldn’t be the basis for judging the public address of public figures is just downright silly and duplicitous, especially for a woman whose first name is an English word (is there no word for “Patience”—and, for that matter, “Good Luck”!— in Ikwerre or Ijaw?), who bears the English title “Dame” even though she has never been conferred that title by the Queen of England (who language she has formed a habit of murdering), and whose people’s “traditional” sartorial symbol is a colonial felt hat handed down to them by English colonialists!

(For the record, I have no problems with the Niger Delta's symbolic fedora; I only have a problem with people who ignore its obvious colonial origins but rail at people who insist on a basic proficiency with the English language, another hold-over of our colonial encounter with England).

The First Lady has three options. One option is to speak to us in Ikwerre (which I am told is her native language) and get an English translator. The second option is to address her audiences in Nigerian Pidgin English, which she speaks quite proficiently and which most Nigerians understand. The third, and perhaps best, option is for her to remain silent. She doesn’t have to speak in public. A popular aphorism says, “It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

Related Articles:

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, that was embarrassing!

Jonathan's Embarrassing U.S. Visit: A Response to Critics

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/farooq-a-kperogi/patience-jonathans-peculiar-grammar.html

Why I’m unpopular among political elites in Edo – Oshiomhole

NewsMar 20, 2011

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM
BENIN – GOVENOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, weekend, admitted that he was unpopular among the political elites in the state because of his refusal to award contracts to politicians but to competent contractors.
The Governor, disclosed this while inspecting the Anegbette-Ekperi Road in Etsako Central Local Government Area and Jattu-Uzairue-Ayohan Roads in Etsako West and East Local Government Areas.
He said that government had made remarkable achievements in the construction of roads and other projects in the state because it resisted the temptation to award the contracts to politicians, who may eventually abandon the jobs and “share the money.”
Meanwhile, there was jubilation in Okpekpe community, Etsako West when the governor went on an on-the-spot inspection of the roads. For years, communities in the area were isolated from their neighours due to the absence of access roads.
The state government, it was learnt, decided to open up the communities by constructing a new road. It was also learnt that the contractor faced the herculean task of breaking through rocks.
Governor Oshiomhole, who spoke to newsmen at Okpekpe, after thanking God for using him to bring joy and hope to people of the communities, said “the truth of the matter is that I am the first to admit that I am not popular among a good section of the political elites in the state because for them, resources should be shared and even if contracts should be awarded, it should be to party leaders. It does not matter to them, whether these party leaders know anything about road construction.
“Once the contract was awarded, the money is shared and nothing will be done. You will recall that during my campaign and first year in office, I did say that we are not going to use Edo State for experimentation and that we will deal only with seasoned contractors not politicians.
“So what has happened is that because we are giving jobs to those who are competent to do the work and because we had carried out proper studies, designs and proper costing of projects, we are able to do what we had planned, ” he added.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/why-im-unpopular-among-political-elites-in-edo%E2%80%94oshiomhole/

Group blames IBB for Jos crises
FRIDAY, 18 MARCH 2011 00:00 HOPE IKWE

…Says creation of Jos North has ethnic, religious motives

The coalition of All Southerners Forum, comprising Igbo, Yoruba and Niger-Delta people in Jos, Plateau State capital, has blamed Ibrahim Babangida, former military president for the lingering crises in the state.

The group made the allegation at a press conference yesterday in Jos over the loss of life and property being suffered by indigenes and residents owing to the crises. Tonye Ogunseyi, president general of Yoruba Community in Jos, said if not for the creation of Jos North Local Government Area by Babangida administration in 1991 which is the bone of contention, there wouldn’t be any conflict as such. According to them, the creation of the local government has more of religious and ethnic motives than developmental purposes as it has been done with the aim of expanding the Hausa Fulani’s territory to control the entire town.

The group called for adequate compensation of its members’ losses from the Federal Government for negligence in the discharge of its statutory duties for not quickly wading into the situation and stopping the arbitrary killings and destruction of life and property during the crises. The coalition said it would also take Federal Government to court if their demands cannot be met, but for now it is only appealing to the authorities concerned to pay its members for all that they have lost in terms of property.

However, the group declared that it cannot take Plateau State government to court for anything in respect of the crises because, “the government that cannot pay its civil servants, how can you take somebody to court who cannot give you anything, so we are in sympathy with the state government.”

As part of measures to halt the intractable killings and civil unrest in Plateau State, the group also called on the Federal Government to provide job opportunities to the restive youths who are always ready to foment trouble as done to their Niger-Delta counterparts by the late President Umaru Yar ‘Adua as well as creating reserve grazing areas for the Fulani herdsmen to stop them from moving to areas that farmers cultivate their crops.

The coalition also said it deeply mourns the brutal killings of its sons and daughters numbering 630 Yoruba, 604 Igbos and 430 South-South people totaling 1,654 people as being killed by the Hausa-Fulani in all the crises. Ogunseyi said members of the group since 1994 to date had lost property and houses estimated at over N970 billion as the breakdown and records showed. “Yoruba N450billion, and Igbo N410billion as well as N110billion for the South-South people, respectively.

http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/111-politics/19225-group-blames-ibb-for-jos-crises

Edo PDP supporters quit lawmaker’s campaign train for Oshiomhole
NewsMar 19, 2011

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM
BENIN – DRAMA happened, Saturday, when Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State went on an on-the-spot inspection of the Anegbette-Ekperi Road, in the Etsako Central Local Government Area, which is under construction; when supporters of a Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) member of the House of Representatives and also candidate of the party in next month’s elections, Mr. Abbass Braimah, abandoned the lawmaker’s campaign train to join Oshiomhole.
The drama started when the lawmaker, who was on a campaign trip to some communities in the area, ran into the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governor, who was inspecting the on-going construction of the Anegbette-Ekperi Road. He decided to stop by and greet the governor but, after they exchanged compliments, he went back to his car to continue his campaign.
But, to the chagrin of the lawmaker, all the supporters, abandoned him and ran to the governor, singing “Oshiomhole na you we know o, na you we know”.
It became an embarrassing moment for the lawmaker after all efforts made by some of his aides to get the supporters back on track failed as they decided to stay with the governor.
Sunday Vanguard observed that the youths were happy with the on-going construction of the Angbette-Ekperi Road. The bad state of the road in the past had isolated the communities in the area with the neighouring communities and they found it difficult to market their farm produce due to lack of access roads.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/edo-pdp-supporters-quit-lawmaker%E2%80%99s-campaign-train-for-oshiomhole/

Jonathan meets Atiku, IBB, Gusau over April polls

Saturday, 19 March 2011 00:00 Suleiman M. Bisalla

In his bid to seal a deal with the Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Leaders Political Forum (NLPF) towards the April 9 presidential election, President Goodluck Jonathan last night met with the trio of former president, Ibrahim Babangida, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar and former National Security Adviser Gen. Aliyu Gusau. The meeting which started some minutes after 8pm at Defence House in Abuja was the second in the last one month and was said to have been at the instance of the President. A few top political associates of President Jonathan as well as some allies of IBB, Atiku and Gusau, were also at the meeting.


The meeting was ongoing at press time yesterday, but a source told Weekly Trust that the politicians met to discuss the outcome of the report of the seven-man committee that was set during the previous meeting between President Jonathan and the group, which took place at Ciroma’s residence February.

Prominent among issues to be looked at by the seven-man committee included the matter of the presidency in 2015. President Jonathan was said to have made a commitment during the February 18 meeting to the effect that he would serve only one term, but the NLPF reportedly asked for a strict commitment to zone the presidency to the north in 2015. They were also said to have insisted that the commitment be made public, a suggestion which the presidency rejected, saying it was likely to anger the South-East and make the president lose Igbo votes in the April polls.

Yesterday’s meeting was almost scuttled following the gale of arrests of members of the NLPF by the SSS last week and some sources alleged that it was masterminded by fifth columnists who will not be comfortable with the rapprochement between the president and the group’s members.

A source at the NLPF secretariat said that some members of the G20 including its Chairman, Prof. Jerry Gana have been identified as the arrowheads who “stampeded” the arrest of the NPLF Scribe and a secretariat staff. One member of the group told Weekly Trust that the members had since discovered that neither President Jonathan nor any members of his family were in any way remotely connected to the gale of arrests. According him, “President Jonathan was actually astonished and lost for words when confronted with the facts.”

The source said the SSS were actually misled by the fifth columnists with the intent to torpedo the talks with the Ciroma group which Jonathan considers desirable in his bid to win the presidency.

http://weekly.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5610:jonathan-meets-atiku-ibb-gusau-over-april-polls&catid=40:cover-stories&Itemid=26

Govt needs N15 trillion to generate 40,000mw
FRIDAY, 18 MARCH 2011 00:00 BY TAIWO HASSAN (LAGOS) AND ALEMMA-OZIORUVA ALIU (BENIN CITY) NEWS - NATIONAL
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ACN opposes nuclear power plant project

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said the country would need to pump about $100 billion (about N15 trillion) into the power sector for it to achieve 40,000 megawatts (mw) in the year 2020.

The government had initially projected that it would need about $3.5 billion over the next 10 years to meet the same power generation target by the year 2020.

According to the President, government would need to invest $10 billion yearly to attain the power generation target, stressing that plans were in place to increase the capacity utilisation of the nation’s sub-stations by 50 per cent this year.

President Jonathan spoke at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Business Environment Roundtable in Lagos. He was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Power and Chairman, Presidential Taskforce on Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji.

Power generation in the country currently stands at a little below 4,000mw.

Meanwhile, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has opposed the Federal Government’s intention to build nuclear power plant for the purpose of generating electricity, saying that it has been proved by events around the world that nuclear energy is not a safe means of generating power.

The ACN presidential campaign train stopped in Benin City, Edo State capital yesterday where it also condemned the Federal Government’s decision to seek nuclear support from Iran “of all countries.”

Speaking to a mammoth crowd at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, former National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and now a national leader of the ACN, Audu Ogbe, said: “We will use coal, it is not harmful, we will use hydro plant, we will use solar energy to generate power.”

The President stressed that achieving the 40,000mw target was a national imperative that would be met through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), with government providing the enabling environment for interested entrepreneurs to invest in the energy sector through its roadmap for the sector.

He said: “There is so much to do in the power sector. Though the country now generates some 3,840mw, the biggest quantum of electricity it has ever produced is a far cry from what the country needs. A minimum of 40,000mw is required so that we can realise the vision of becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020. South Africa, a nation of 47 million people, produces over 40,000mw, yet this quantum has since 2008 proved inadequate. Our estimates of investment required in the value-chain of electricity production shows that about $100 billion will be needed within the next decade to increase electricity generation from the present less than 4,000mw to 40,000mw by 2020.

The President added: “The private sector has a big part to play in government’s determined effort to bridge the power supply shortage in Nigeria. The roadmap for the power sector reform makes the private sector the main driver of the generation and distribution sub-sectors but also the manager of the transmission network, even though it will remain government-owned. This shows how critical the private sector is to the success of the on-going power reform.

“My administration regards the private sector as a partner in national development. The concept of Public-Private Partnership, especially in infrastructure development, is fully in practice in the power sector.”

President Jonathan said government hoped to generate 13,000mw by 2013, stressing that concerted efforts would be made to increase the power generation capacity on a yearly basis.

He said the challenges identified by the government were in the areas of transmission and distribution networks, which have been neglected by past administrations.

The President lauded the commitment shown by stakeholders towards finding a lasting solution to the power crisis in the country.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=42017:govt-needs-n15-trillion-to-generate-40000mw&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

The ambassador who failed anthem test

Reuben Abati
March 18, 2011
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The ambassador who failed anthem test


TWENTY-FIVE nominees for ambassadorial posting appeared before the Senate a fortnight ago for confirmation hearings. But one of them named Ijeoma Bristol, in certain reports and Mrs Ijeoma Chinyere elsewhere, wife of a serving Nigerian envoy, and herself, a career diplomat was the focus of attention. She caused quite an uproar when she was asked to recite the Nigerian national anthem and the national pledge. Thrice she was asked, thrice she failed. Senator Jubril Aminu, the chair of the Senate committee on Foreign Affairs was said to have remarked out of surprise, that "this is not a joke, there is a problem." Indeed, there was a problem. For, when the woman was later asked to list correctly, means of diplomatic communication, her answer was "Notes and memoranda." More laughter; more incredulity. She was also asked to name the capital of Jigawa state. She kept mute. She apparently has never heard of Jigawa state. But where the real problem lies is that the woman's nomination has now been confirmed and she will soon travel abroad as Her Excellency, the Nigerian Ambassador to wherever.

If Mrs Bristol's poor performance is unbelievable, the justifications for her endorsement by the Senate are absolutely shocking. The Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee is quoted as having advised that Mrs Bristol "should go and learn about Nigeria first". I think he is right. But he says "I was in the minority". The leader of the opposition, Olorunnimbe Mamora (ACN, Lagos state) also protested that "we cannot continue to allow mediocrity, It is not helping us, we cannot allow this lady pass." But most of the Senators wanted the lady to pass. Why? The given answer is this: "because she is a career diplomat and next in line for the position." What is that? The leadership of the Senate also supported her. Senate President David Mark asked that the Senate should "temper justice with mercy, her case is a case of what we call poor pass." Really? I thought she failed the test, not once but five times! The Senate President also reportedly said he is optimistic that "if given the opportunity, Mrs Bristol would learn about Nigeria." Hey, please!

If she did not learn about Nigeria while serving as a career diplomat inside Nigeria, for so many years, is it when she is representing Nigeria? How is she going to learn about Nigeria as head of a diplomatic mission? Wonky logic, sir. But not to worry: Nigerian leaders get to positions of authority usually terribly unprepared: they learn on the job and this is apparent in the way they embarrass us daily. One Nigerian Foreign Minister once went to an AU meeting to tell a story about Catholic marriages at a plenary session, and thinking that his audience enjoyed his rigmarole, he launched into a longer tale about the tortoise! What is worse in the Bristol case is that some of the senators reportedly argued that she should be confirmed for the job "so that she can retire as an ambassador." These justifications provide enough basis for a recommendation that Mrs Bristol's confirmation should be reversed, and the process of her confirmation investigated. Persons should not be appointed as the country's ambassadors, just because it is nice for them to retire as ambassadors, or because they are next in line for the job. If our Senators had been watching C-SPAN closely, they would have learnt that a confirmation hearing is a very serious business and that there are minimum standards for the appointment of a country's ambassadors.

Mrs Bristol is a career diplomat. Diplomacy is even for her "a family business" , her husband being a diplomat too, and so in many years of her association with diplomacy and foreign affairs, she has not been able to learn modes of diplomatic communications? "Notes and memoranda," she said. Is she a secretarial staff in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, being described falsely as a career diplomat? In this country, anything is possible. If she had been reading the Wikileaks reports on Nigeria for example, she would at least have had an idea. On what basis really is she being sent abroad as an ambassador? Suppose she gets to wherever and the Nigerian national anthem is being played and she cannot recognize it? Or a curious diplomat approaches her and starts a conversation about the crisis in Plateau and Bauchi? She would just smile? Allowing her to pass on the grounds of seniority, length of service and compassion is laughable to say the least and derogatory to the foreign service tradition.

Someone was even quoted as having said that although she could not answer questions, she looked good and charming. Ha ha. When did confirmation hearings become beauty parades? It is a pity she is said to be a career diplomat. Career diplomats in this country have often complained about how they have been short-changed by the tendency to appoint politicians to foreign missions. Over the years, they have been inconsolable. If Mrs Bristol represents the senior career diplomatic cadre, then there is a very serious crisis facing the country. Diplomats in other countries are exposed to special training including studies in language, etiquette, intelligence gathering, issues articulation and general country knowledge. By the time they are sent abroad, they represent in part the best that their countries can offer. As in every other sector of national life, Nigeria enjoys sending its second and third eleven to the public space, local and international. Mamora is right: "we cannot continue to allow mediocrity." David Mark is wrong: this is not a case of "poor pass", this is a case of getting a job without a clue – the Ijeoma Bristol model! It reveals the poor state of leadership in Nigeria and a confirmation of the malaise that has diminished the country's education sector.

If the truth be told however, Mrs Bristol is not the first person appearing at the Senate Confirmation hearing who is unable to recite the Nigerian national anthem. The level of ignorance in this country is astounding particularly among public officials. Most of them do not read newspapers; they cannot read or write speeches and books, they do not listen to local and foreign news. They have no passion for Nigeria. They do not love their country enough. Asking a nominee to recite the national anthem may not be the best way to judge the person's level of patriotism but the reality is that there is a serious disconnection between the people and the country. Ironically, the same Nigerians who know nothing about Nigeria may be very knowledgeable about other countries.

Ask them to name five states in the United States and their capitals: they won't disappoint. Many Nigerians know Martin Luther King and J. F. Kennedy, but they may never have heard of Herbert Macaulay. They know who Lady Diana is but they may not have any idea who Queen Amina is. They know where Delaware is, but they have never heard of Dutse. Our education system does not prepare Nigerians to pay attention to history, culture and civics, and other significant details about their country. But we should not over-flog Mrs Bristol. The same Senators who were laughing at Mrs Bristol's expense would probably fail the same test.

That shared quality of ignorance is much evident in the quality of questions that are asked at confirmation hearings in Nigeria. It is often the case of the dumb interviewing the ignorant; hollow rituals which often end up with confirmations or requests that the nominee should "take a bow" followed by applause from the lawmakers. That is the chief irony in the whole debacle- only third rate people can emerge from such a process. Where diplomats are involved, the process of nomination and confirmation must be reviewed. The list of nominees should indicate the country or countries for which the particular nominee is being proposed; that way the Senate Committee would be in a better position to ask specific and relevant questions.

Mrs Bristol, the ambassadorial nominee from Anambra state should be spared the additional difficulty of representing Nigeria abroad and going there to embarrass herself and the country. But this is Nigeria: don't be surprised if she is posted to London, Switzerland or Washington DC! Now here is the take-away: Mrs Bristol was asked to explain the Vienna and Geneva Conventions. All she could say was: "I am confused. I am confused." Those who endorsed her nomination should be ashamed and guilty of imposing this embarrassment on the nation. And Bristol? Is that a Nigerian name? Well, hear Kofi Busia: "diplomacy means the art of nearly deceiving all your friends, but not quite deceiving all your enemies." Or Thomas Pickering: "In archaeology you uncover the unknown. In diplomacy, you cover the known." But the truth is golden.


http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/reuben-abati/the-ambassador-who-failed-anthem-test.html

We got Obasanjo to anoint Yar'Adua, says Saraki

Nicholas Ibekwe

March 18, 2011 01:29AM

Contrary to the belief that former President Olusegun Obasanjo personally hand-picked late President Umaru Yar'Adua as his successor, a United States diplomatic cable obtained by Wikileaks and made available exclusively to NEXT, has detailed how a group of governors led by Bukola Saraki, the Kwara State governor, worked behind the scene to pressure Mr. Obasanjo into anointing the former Katsina State governor as his replacement.

No other person than Mr. Saraki himself gave the account of the political intrigues that threw up the late president to a former US Consul General, Brian Browne.

In a dispatch to Washington on November 28, 2005, Mr. Browne detailed a conversation he had with Mr. Saraki on October 29, 2005, during which the Kwara State governor disclosed the intrigues involved in searching for a successor for Mr. Obasanjo.

The cable revealed that Mr. Saraki and his colleagues had settled for Mr. Yar'Adua in 2005, long before Mr. Obasanjo's third term bid collapsed in the National Assembly and one clear year before Mr. Yar'Adua joined the race.

During his chat with the diplomat, Mr. Saraki identified the three options before Mr. Obasanjo as it concerned the 2007 elections. He said the options were for Mr. Obasanjo to continue in office through the duration of an extended second term, reconciling with and supporting the Vice President (Atiku Abubakar) as his successor and identifying an acceptable compromise successor candidate from among the governors of the time.

Yar'Adua as compromise

Mr. Saraki confided in the Consul General that prior to the 2007 presidential elections, majority of the PDP governors were "meeting constantly in large and small packs to reach consensus on a compromise candidate acceptable to the President."

In their consultations, Mr. Saraki disclosed that the governors agreed that in fulfilment of the deal reached by the leaders of the party in 2003, the presidency should move to the northern region. The governors, as a means to get the reluctant Mr. Obasanjo to accept their proposal, decided to lace the idea with the incentive that such an action would place him in a high pedestal as he would be "the first elected Nigerian civilian chief executive to hand over to another elected civilian".

Mr. Saraki said his camp then considered some northern governors (Abdullahi Adamu of Nasarawa, Adamu Muazu of Bauchi, Ahmed Makarfi of Kaduna, and Umaru Yar'Adua of Katsina) as possible replacements for Mr. Obasanjo. Of all those considered, the governor said, Mr. Yar'Adua was the most attractive.

Mr Saraki liked Mr. Muazu, but questioned whether he had sufficient scope to handle the presidency. He described Mr. Adamu as a poor administrator and someone too much in Mr. Obasanjo's pocket.

Mr. Saraki said Mr Makarfi was an able political strategist who was doing a good job of positioning himself as a dark horse. Mr Makarfi was an intelligent and a good governor, the Kwara governor said.

But overall, Mr. Saraki and his clique preferred Mr. Yar'Adua whom he described as the truly intriguing prospect. "Yar'Adua is quiet, has received good reviews for his performance in office, and he would likely continue Obasanjo's economic reform programs, but with a more humane approach," he said.

Apart from the quiet mien and perhaps his performance as governor of Katsina State, by choosing him ahead of other contending governors from the north, the PDP governors hoped to score some political points for Mr. Obasanjo against his estranged deputy, Abubakar Atiku.

The Kwara state governor explained to Mr. Browne that as the younger brother to Shehu Yar'Adua, the founder of the Peoples Front of Nigeria (PFN) which transformed into the Peoples' Democratic Movement (PDM) under the control of Mr. Atiku, if Mr. Yar'Adua was chosen to succeed Mr. Obasanjo, this might lead to a split in the ranks of the powerful and influential PDM.

"Atiku could lose a significant chunk of his rank-and-file support. The resultant diminution of Atiku's political base by the ascendancy of Yar'Adua would be a consideration Obasanjo would find highly attractive because it would also make it difficult for Atiku to leave the PDP to join forces with another group," Mr Saraki said.

He told the American that these arguments were placed before Mr. Obasanjo while his camp continued to press until the former president buckled.

However, Billy Adedamola, Special Assistant to Mr. Saraki, in a telephone conversation with NEXT described any insinuation that his boss suggested the late president to Mr. Obasanjo as ridiculous.

"Obasanjo is an independent minded person", he said. "Obasanjo has given a detailed account of how he settled for Yar'Adua even when he was aware of his illness. Obasanjo has never said that anybody imposed or introduced Yar'Adua to him. Obasanjo has had a long relationship with the Yar'Adua family even before Bukola knew anything about politics. So, Bukola is not the kind of person that will introduce any member of the Yar'Adua family to Obasanjo."

Tenure extension

Of the three paths available to Mr. Obasanjo to choose from, Mr. Saraki told Mr. Browne the one the former president was most willing to follow was that which would enable him to extend his tenure in office.

The governor's disclosure is contrary to Mr. Obasanjo's oft-repeated claim that he never sought tenure extension.

This plan hatched by the president, the governor explained, involved a constitutional amendment "establishing a single presidential term of six years, with the term extension effective immediately".

If this plan had sailed through, it would automatically have added two more years to Mr. Obasanjo's tenure.

Mr. Saraki explained that the process of constitutional amendment was too arduous, lined with many unyielding opponents and fraught with uncertainties and that he therefore doubted whether Mr. Obasanjo would be able to garner the required support across the country to effect such an amendment.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5684048-146/story.csp

March 18, 2011 01:31AM

President Goodluck Jonathan in Dutse on Thursday promised to ensure that all the 36 states have a domestic airport, if he is elected in April.

Mr. Jonathan, who is the PDP presidential candidate, made the promise while inaugurating 500 housing units built by Governor Sule Lamido's administration.

"If I win the election, within my four years in office, I will establish domestic airports in all the states without airports.

"We will work with the state governments to achieve that and Jigawa will be our focal point," Mr Jonathan said.

He said the airports would boost economic activities in the country.

The President commended Mr. Lamido for the development projects executed within four years, saying that the quality of those projects were of PDP standard.

In his remarks, Mr. Lamido said the housing estate was named after the former governor of defunct Kano State, Abubakar Rimi, to immortalise him for his selfless service during his administration before Jigawa was carved out of Kano.

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reader comments (9)



Posted by TATA on Mar 18 2011
i thought we were planning mass transit or a national railway interconnected transport mode, that's okay, we had to offer dutse something, their emir is a gentleman,


Posted by Nkem on Mar 18 2011
We need infracstructure, electricity, cleam water, good roads, and job opportunities and you are here talking about airports. What is wrong with GEJ?


Posted by Nike ao on Mar 18 2011
The politically motivated construction of irrelevant and unviable airport continues! God, give us LEADERS!


Posted by Wilson Mark Ogbuiyi on Mar 18 2011
This is a brilliant idea but a bit cheesy, this should not be a thing if Iam elected, rather a plan in his concept irrespective of winning or not, Iam a very strong supporter of Jonathan, all his jobs till now are fine and i sugest he equally add up seaports to any state that has a big sea. this would also help reduce unemployment aswell as reduce the congestion in certain states like lagos which will also have a positive impact on road transportation and reduce crime aswell.


Posted by Dongo on Mar 18 2011
Airport for each state,what is wrong with EBELE


Posted by Ope on Mar 18 2011
Is itt not where it is profitable you will site an airport? Why has the airport in ibadan not been successful cos of it is too close to lagos which has an airport. This is another reason GEJ is not the man development is not a political game.


Posted by flipmode on Mar 18 2011
this so called GEJ lacks merit and vision to move this country forward is sitting new Airport going to solve the common man problem on the street. Nigeria Priority are electricity,security,food,health care,employment Etc this guy don't know what it takes to develop this country.


Posted by Eldra on Mar 18 2011
First, he talked about setting up more universities while the existing ones, including my school, UI are underfunded and lack basic infrastructure. Now he is talking about opening airports in all 36 states of the federation. What happened to the Benin Ore Road, a good campaign material? Ima, my friend should be able to guide him in his choice of campaign promises!Haba!


Posted by Babs on Mar 18 2011
COnsistent show of inconsistence in thought and plans. So you'll simultaneously build mass transit rail, cargo rail and airports in the states. Even if the airpors are not profitable? Even if there is no power to run them? Even if no airline wants to fly there? Nonsensical



http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5683957-146/jonathan_pledges_to_establish_airports_in.csp

‘You have failed the people,' Sanusi tells northern leaders

By Chiemeze Enyiocha

March 18, 2011 01:29AM

The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, yesterday in Kaduna blamed the current leaders in the North for the under-development of the region and their inability to sustain the legacies of the late Premier of the region, Ahmadu Bello.

Mr Sanusi, in a paper titled "Mobilizing Capital for the Economic Transformation of Northern Nigeria", which he delivered at the maiden Northern Economic Summit held in Kaduna, said recurring crises in Jos, Maiduguri and some other parts of the region were a result of the high poverty level caused by poor leadership.

The summit, which has as its theme, "An Agenda for Economic and Social Transformation of the North", was attended by only the host governor, Patrick Yakowa. The other 18 northern governors were absent at the event.

President Goodluck Jonathan; his vice, Namadi Sambo and a former head of state, Yakubu Gowon were, however, in attendance.

"How many people have taken statistics of collapsed industries in the North? It is because of government's negligence to provide power that led to the closure of these industries," Mr Sanusi said.

"If there are right economic policies, every part of this nation will benefit. Agriculture is 42 percent of the country's GDP and the North accounts for a greater percentage of the agric products, yet the North is very poor and backward because of lack of good agricultural policies."

Nigeria's number one banker, who said the economic problem of the North cannot be removed from the problem facing the country, explained that Nigeria suffers from the same resource curse that afflicts other countries that are endowed with natural resources.

Past glory

Mr. Sanusi advised Northern political leaders not to continue to give tribute to late Ahmadu Bello who, during his time, was able to give to the people the needed basic infrastructure. He said they should rather find ways to address poverty and infrastructure problems facing the region.

Mr Sanusi said the key to addressing the high poverty rate in the north is fixing the agricultural value chain so that real farmers can have access to finance and the necessary policies and infrastructure. He stated that the summit will be an exercise in futility if it does not address the problems of the ordinary people on the street.

"The immediate post-independence leaders in the north articulated a blueprint for industrial development akin to the model of the South Asian economies. The outcome of that vision was evident with the emergence of industrial, commercial and manufacturing concerns that were once the pride of the North," he said.

"The thriving textile industries, groundnut pyramids and other numerous business concerns that provided a means of livelihood for the thousands of families are now only mentioned in the past tense."

He said if subsequent leaders in the region fail to build on the foundation laid by their predecessors, they could have sustained those legacies, pointing that rather than creating the enabling environment for the enormous potentials of the region to be effectively harnessed, leadership in the region has largely fallen short of the standard set by the post-independence leadership.

"This has resulted in pervasive poverty, poor infrastructure base, reliance on statutory allocations, general under-development and insecurity occasioned by incessant religious or ethnic unrest", the CBN Governor stated.

Mr Sanusi, who explained that about $1billion was spent only on importation of rice last year, also stressed the need for the federal government to remove subsidy on imported rice and fertilizer, which he said can be manufactured locally as a way of creating employment in the country.

He said the same people benefiting from the importation are the ones frustrating the manufacturing of the products locally.

Mr Sambo described the summit as timely because it came at a transitional period to another democratic dispensation. He emphasized that for the summit to be termed successful, it must address the areas of high poverty rate, decayed infrastructure, education backwardness and under-utilization of the potentials of the North in Agriculture.

While calling on all northern leaders to improve on the existing infrastructure built by past leaders, such as the Ahmadu Bello University, Unity Bank, New Nigerian Newspapers and Kaduna Polytechnic, Mr Sambo expressed the determination of the Goodluck Jonathan's administration to address the problems of power, education and revival of moribund industries across the country.

Build on your strengths

The Chairman of the occasion, Yakubu Gowon, said the summit was to articulate strategies to transform the economy of the states in the North, adding that it would also produce practical and implementable economic charter for all the states in the region.

He recalled with nostalgia the disappearance of high quality groundnut and cotton pyramids in Kano, Gusau, Katsina and other places, as well as the textile industry in Kaduna, Kano and the high quality tin ingots from Jos.

"Where are they today? We must ask questions, where do we want to be today and tomorrow, and how do we want to get there at least by 2020? These are some of the questions we must address at this summit," Mr Gowon said.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole while observing that it took the region a long time to organise such a summit, said the development of the region will go a long way in developing the entire country.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5684040-146/you_have_failed_the_people_sanusi.csp

Peter Odili And Abubakar Atiku Featured In US Higher Education's Dirty Little Secret-Huffington Post

Posted: March 16, 2011 - 20:28

By Arvind Ganesan

Libya's human rights crisis shined a much-needed spotlight on the relationship between universities and their more problematic funders. In this case, the London School of Economics (LSE) agreed to take about $2.4 million from the foundation controlled by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of the Libyan strongman, Muammar Gaddafi.

LSE is not alone. American University in Washington agreed to help a former Nigerian vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, and his wife, Jennifer Douglas, set up a university in Nigeria, despite persistent allegations of corruption against him. In return, American University received about $14 million in "consulting fees" between 2003 and 2007 for its work on this project. American University officials told U.S. Senate investigators that their due diligence on Abubakar uncovered some rumors of corruption, but they ultimately decided to proceed.

Later, the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed that Ms. Douglas received about $2 million in bribes from Siemens AG, the German conglomerate, on behalf of her husband. Siemens paid a record $1.6 billion fine since this was part of a global bribery scandal, but the Abubakars were both abroad and outside U.S. jurisdiction.

Another case in point is Lincoln University, the oldest historically black college in the United States, which has an interesting relationship with Peter Odili, governor of Nigeria's oil-rich Rivers State from 1999 to 2007.

Human Rights Watch documented how Odili's administration, with a budget of about $1.3 billion in 2006, provided little money for primary schools or other basic services that state and local governments are supposed to provide. Instead, Odili channeled enormous sums directly to the governor's office -- tens of millions of dollars earmarked for entertainment, gifts, and the purchase of jet aircraft. Travel must have been important since he also allocated $65,000 a day to his office for travel and transportation. We concluded that a huge portion of the state's funds were lost to extravagance, waste and corruption.

In contrast to primary schools in Rivers State, Lincoln benefited greatly from Odili's generosity. By the end of 2006, he had become one of the school's largest donors, with at least $1.64 million in donations. During that year, it gave him an honorary degree, held a luncheon in his honor, and named a building after him.

Nigeria's federal anticorruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, says it has a strong enough case to prosecute Odili. But in 2007 Odili somehow managed to secure an outrageous court injunction -- widely condemned as a mockery of the judicial process -- that permanently barred the agency from investigating, let alone prosecuting him.

A year later, though, the commission said it had completed its investigation into Odili's "wanton looting of the treasury of Rivers State" and was ready to arraign him on corruption charges. The judge reaffirmed his injunction and nothing has happened since. In April 2008, Odili began a four-year term on Lincoln's Board of Trustees.

In the London School of Economics case, the donations from Gaddafi's son came in 2008, a year after the school awarded him a Phd. The university had also agreed to accept about $3 million in other donations from Libya. This scandal cost Sir Howard Davies his job as director of the university. The school disclosed that it had received about $500,000 from Saif's pledge that it would use for scholarships. It also said it will no longer accept Libyan funds, inevitable anyway since the British government had frozen any U.K.-based assets that belonged to Gaddafi and his family a few days earlier.

Universities are undoubtedly under pressure to find financial support and to maintain high standards, especially as government funding becomes scarcer. But that does not mean they should allow abusive and corrupt officials or their families to launder their images in exchange for money.

There should be better rules to keep this from happening. After all, the London School of Economics did not act until Saif's father literally began to kill his own people in a brutal attempt to cling to power. American and Lincoln universities have not fully explained their relationships with Abubakar or Odili. And schools in the U.S. have no legal obligation to investigate whether funds they might take are tainted by corruption.

One modest step would be to make universities investigate whether donors are implicated in abuses or corruption before accepting their money. If they do decide to go ahead, those donations should be disclosed and the information easily accessible to the public. There may be good reasons to keep some donations anonymous, but that rule should not apply to money from rulers or their family members who are implicated in abuses or pose a risk for corruption. Those relationships cannot be good for a school's reputation -- as the London School of Economics just learned.

Fortunately, governments can step in to ensure that schools are more transparent. Last November, the G-20 group of governments announced an anti-corruption initiative that includes a commitment to prevent corrupt officials from spending their funds abroad. They should include enhanced due diligence for universities as part of their efforts. That might give officials an incentive to spend money on their country's schools instead of using that money to get a building named after them abroad.


Arvind Ganesan is director of the business and human rights program for Human Rights Watch.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arvind-ganesan/higher-educations-dirty-l_b_836552.html

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/peter-odili-and-abubakar-atiku-featured-us-higher-educations-dirty-little-secret-huffingto




http://www.lincoln.edu/bot/index.html
Lincoln University
Board of Trustees

2010- 2011

OFFICERS

Bishop David G. Evans '73 - Chair
Honorable Levan Gordon '58 - Vice Chair
Honorable Ruth E. Smith '81 - Secretary
Ms. Tehma H. Smith '00 - Parliamentarian
EX-OFFICIO TRUSTEES
Honorable Tom Corbett, Governor
Honorable Ronald J. Tomalis, Acting Secretary of Education
Dr. Ivory V. Nelson, President

UNIVERSITY TRUSTEES
Mr. Doyle Beneby
Mr. Warren R. Colbert, Sr. '68
Mr. Lester N. Coney
Rev. Charles A. Coverdale '65
Ms. Andrea L. Custis
Ms. Terri Dean
Mr. Carl E. Dickerson '60
Ms. Tammy Evans-Colquitt
Leonard Hill, Esq.
Mr. Gary A. Michelson '66
Dr. Donald L. Mullett '51
Mr. Donald C. Notice '79
Dr. Peter Odili
Ajay Raju, Esq.
Mr. Dwight S. Taylor '68

ALUMNI TRUSTEES
Howard H. Brown '68, Esq.
Mrs. Kathleen J. Butler Hayes '89
Mrs. Sharman F. Lawrence- Wilson, MHS '98
Dr. Guy A. Sims '83
COMMONWEALTH TRUSTEES
Dr. Robert L. Albright '66
Robert L. Archie Jr. '65, Esq.
Reverend Dr. Kevin R. Johnson
Dr. Donna M. Laws '87
Ms. Kimberly A. Lloyd '94
Mr. Gregory P. Montanaro
Honorable Cherelle L. Parker '94
Honorable Robert F. Powelson
Honorable Spencer B. Seaton, Jr.
Honorable W. Curtis Thomas
Mr. Kevin E. Vaughan
Honorable Sherman F. Wooden

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
Ms. Courtney N. Tipper

FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE
Dr. Daryl Poe

EMERITUS TRUSTEES
Dr. Walter D. Chambers '52
Dr. Theodore Robb
Mr. William A. Robinson '42
Dr. Kenneth M. Sadler '71

Bomb threat: S-South leaders to hold talks with MEND

NewsMar 16, 2011

BY TORDUE SALEM

ABUJA – The South South caucus of former members of the House of Representatives has promised to engage the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, and ex-militants in peace talks in Abuja in a few days.
MEND had two days go threatened to detonate bombs in Lagos, Federal Capital Territory and some oil installations in the Niger Delta.
The promise to hold peace talks with the group came on the heels of the group’s “total support” for the candidacy of President Goodluck Jonathan and his vice, Architect Namadi Sambo, for the April 9 presidential elections.
The former lower chamber members equally condemned any form of threat or violence from any group ahead the April elections, as they contended that violence would not help the development of the country.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, on behalf of other 40 members of the caucus, former Deputy Speaker, Mr. Austin Opara, said some of the former militants were in Abuja and that they were talking with them in respect of MEND’s threat, adding that all hands must be on deck to preach against violence ahead the forthcoming polls.
He also called on politicians to shun violence in the coming elections and work with INEC to ensure that the election was free, fair and credible.
Reading out the resolution of the caucus, Rt Hon Opara said: “We believe that Jonathan/Sambo ticket will provide the needed unity and stability for Nigeria’s development in this decade, as they are the most qualified and experienced team.
“Furthermore, being endowed with uncommon humility, they are role models to millions of Nigerian youths. Their programs, encourages increased participation of women in governance are well recognised,” he said.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/bomb-threat-s-south-leaders-to-hold-talks-with-mend/

April polls: It’s between promise keepers and breakers - Bakare

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Written by Olayinka Olukoya
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
The vice-presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Pastor Tunde Bakare, has said that the forthcoming general election will be between the promise makers and the promise breakers.

He said this, on Monday, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, when the presidential candidate of the party, General Muhammadu Buhari, paid a visit to the palace of the Alake and paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba (Dr) Adedotun Gbadebo, and the Osile of Oke-Ona Egba, Oba (Dr) Adedapo Tejuoso, as part of the zonal presidential visit of the party.

He said that the country would be free of corruption as soon as the party came to power by May 29, promising that the party would rebuild Nigeria as a virile nation.

Bakare said: “The 2011 election contest is not just between CPC and PDP; it is between the honest men and dishonest men, experienced people and those who are lucky. It is going to be between the incorruptible and corruptible.

“It is between the promise keepers and promise breakers.  And by the grace of God and the support of Kabiyesi and the people we will go and conquer and rebuild Nigeria.”

Buhari had earlier said that the party would address the problem of insecurity, corruption, unemployment, infrastructure and power.

He insisted that the CPC government would ensure that every leader was accountable to the people.

He said, “We are here to remind ourselves of the position this country find itself. We are here as your subjects to seek your support that the CPC rules the country as from May 29.

“We must rebuild infrastructure especially power, to enhance employment generation. Our party would ensure that all political office holders in the country are accountable to the people.”

Oba Tejuoso in his remarks said he believed in the Buhari/Bakare presidential ambition based on the fact that the duo men of great integrity and character.

He likened them to Joshua and Caleb in the Bible who gave the Israelites hopes and assurances that they could occupy Cannanland.

The royal father added, “I thank God for this opporutnity of meeting with leaders of one of the most formidable parties in the country today. We know the history of our aspiring president Buhari, whom we believe will be there by the grace of God.

“He is one of the foremost men of integrity in Nigeria.  As if that’s not enough, he  took on another man of integrity as his vice-president. I believe, they will get there. Not for anything, but because they are fearless, credible, transparent and honest.

“ These CPC leaders who are before me today are actually for change.  I can see Joshua Buhari and Caleb Bakare.  These are two Biblical men that after spying for Israel, two out of the 12 came back to the Israelites and gave a favourable report that, yes they can occupy the land.”

The Egba traditional ruler who reminded the visiting presidential candidate of  the motto of his secondary school, the Abeokuta Grammar School, which is “My character is greater than my books, urged him to always remember this when he get to office.

‘’Yes, CPC can, Yes, CPC will .  I sincerely hope that our aspiring president  would remember this  all the time, when he gets there. And by the grace of God, my prayers is that he  will get there. Not because of anything, but because he deserves it.

Governor Gbenga Daniel, who had earlier played host to the team, described the combination  of Buhari/ Bakare as very interesting.

He added that the party comprised good selection of talents and formidable team.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/18981-april-polls-its-between-promise-keepers-and-breakers-bakare

April polls: PDP’ll win in 36 states - Mrs Jonathan

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Written by Dapo Falade
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
WIFE of the president, Mrs Patience Jonathan, has assured of a landslide victory for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming general election, as she declared that the party would win in the 36 states across the country, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The president’s wife, who gave the assurance while speaking at the PDP Women South-West zonal rally held at Mapo Hall, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday, said with 28 states already in its kitty, what only remained for the party was to win the election in the remaining eight states.

Mrs Jonathan said the PDP-Federal Government had put in place several people-oriented programmes, which, she said, could only be brought to manifestation with the victory of its presidential candidate, Dr Goodluck Jonathan and other candidates at the polls.

To ensure the success of the party at the polls, however, she called on the PDP supporters in the South-West, especially women, to go out on the election days and vote for the party’s candidates at the various levels across the country.

In her welcome address at the rally, the wife of the Oyo State governor, who was also the host, Chief (Mrs) Kemi Alao-Akala, challenged women in the elite cadre to fully embrace politics, adding that enlightened females should be at the forefront of the efforts at rebranding the country.

Noting that educated women should be the target in the current political dispensation, the gover-nor’s wife said women must make themselves available for the expected changes in the polity, adding that change did not come on a platter of gold.

Also speaking, Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala warned that the South-West was no longer interested in political violence, adding that Oyo State was gender-sensitive.

He said the state had many women working for the success of the PDP at the forthcoming elections.

“We are no more the Wild, Wild West, but now Wise, Wise West. We are no longer interested in political violence or rigging and we have warned the opposition about this.

“We are going to win hands down in the state. Next month, we are going to win the South-West for Goodluck and Oyo and Lagos states for the PDP,” he said.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/18980-april-polls-pdpll-win-in-36-states-mrs-jonathan

SSS Arrests Notorious Internet Blogger For Blackmail Of Female Politician

Posted: March 16, 2011 - 00:24

Ikenna Ezenekwe in handcuffs at the SSS

Alleged blackmail victim: Uche Ekwunife

By SaharaReporters, New York

The State Security Service (SSS) on Sunday arrested Ikenna Ellis Ezenekwe, an internet blogger, for allegedly attempting to blackmail Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, a House of Representatives member representing Aniocha, Njikoka and Dunukofa Constituency in Anambra State.

According to our sources, Mr. Ezenekwe had gone to the home of Ekwunife to demand N6 million naira to stop a scandalous story about Mrs. Ekwunife that was published on Pointblanknews.com and Huhuonline.com. The story about how Mrs. Ekwunife was jumping from one political party into another was illustrated with a sex tape purported to be of Mrs. Ekwunife and some lovers.

Mr. Ezenekwe, who runs Ukpakareports.com, had contacted Mrs. Ekwunife’s aide, Emeka Igwilo demanding the House of Representatives member’s contact. When asked why, he said he was in possession of indecent pictures of Mrs. Ekwunife with male and female lovers.

When Mr. Ezenekwe was not making progress with the aide, he contacted Mrs. Ekwunife directly. He told her that he was a US-based lecturer in Nigeria to build his house. He said he could stop further circulation of the sex video hosted by Youtube and linked to a story published by Huhuonline.com and pointblanknews.com if Mrs. Ekwunife paid him the sum of six million naira.

Having contacted the police, who in turn contacted the SSS, Mrs. Ekwunife played along. She gave Mr. Ezenekwe the impression that he would get the money. The SSS arrested Ikenna Ezenekwe while he was waiting to be paid.

Mrs. Ekwunife, in a statement she sent to the SSS said that, Mr. Ezenekwe told her that Huhuonline.com management was demanding N6 million to pull the story and the video down. “The pointblanknews guy is waiting,” Mr. Ezenekwe texted Mrs. Ekwunife. He also to Mrs. Ekwunife that Pointblanknews has told the story to Huhuonline.

Investigation by Saharareporters revealed that Ikenna Ezenekwe and the owners of Pointblanknews.com and Huhuonline were having constant phone conversations as the blackmail was taking place. The SSS is looking at Ikenna Ezenekwe’s phone records and his laptop to determine the nature of the involvement of the owners of the two online sites.

The two websites have since pulled the story from their sites. They did not provide any explanation as to why they did that.

In separate statements published on their sites, Pointblanknews and Huhuonline denied being accomplices in the alleged crime. They claimed that Ikenna Ezenekwe approached them to take down the story and the video for a fee and they both rebuffed him. Pointblanknews called Ikenna Ezenekwe an impersonator.

Mrs. Ekwunife in the same statement to the SSS said that Ikenna Ezenekwe told her it was Dozie Nwankwo, an ACN candidate and her opponent in upcoming election, that was behind the blackmail. Mr. Ezenekwe also revealed that pointblanknews is sponsored by the Governor of Rivers state, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, who is also the sponsor of Mr. Dozie Nwankwo.

This is not the first time that Ikenna Ezenekwe’s name had been associated with alleged blackmail. He was said to have duped Gov. Peter Obi of Anambra State of huge sums of money when he connived with a fake victim in a concocted erosion devastation news story created from pictures of events that happened in Nanka in 1973. He later shared the money donated by the government and concerned individuals with the so-called victim. He is also said to be involved in an attempt to extort money from the wife of Ikemba Nnewi, Binca Ojukwu.

According to SSS sources who spoke to Saharareporters, the agency is looking at other cases of blackmails involving Ikenna Ezenekwe and other online websites. “This incident has opened up a whole lot of cases,” our sources said. “People are now coming up to us to report incidents of threats and blackmails involving not just the online media but also print media.”

Saharareporters noticed that no newspaper in Nigeria seemed to have published the story online as of the time of going to press.

“By the time we are done, it will be a different media landscape,” our source concluded.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/sss-arrests-notorious-internet-blogger-blackmail-female-politician

Oppostion parties accuse PDP of blackmail

By Chimezie Enyiocha

March 16, 2011 05:06AM

Four political parties under the auspices of the Coalition Of Political Parties in Kaduna State, said they have uncovered plans by the Peoples Democratic Party in the state to intimidate and blackmail gubernatorial candidates of opposition parties and their key campaign officers.

The parties comprise the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

At a joint press briefing in Kaduna Monday, the state chairmen of the ANPP, CPC, Can, and PRP, Lawal Aliyu, Ahmed Yaro, Muhammed Soba, and Haliru Umar, alleged that information available to them indicates that the ruling PDP in the state is trying to rig the April elections by all means, using INEC and the security agencies working in the state.

“The plans, according to the information, include inducing the Nigeria Police, Kaduna Command, INEC Kaduna Office, the SSS, and the NSCDC Kaduna State to intimidate, harass, and disenfranchise supporters of the opposition candidates as well as rig the general election in favour of the PDP.

“The political wing of the police code-named ‘Operation Yaki’, solely established and financed by the state government, is mainly to intimidate the opposition and has received additional funding to enable it execute PDP’s ‘nefarious agenda,’” the parties stated.

They alleged that the PDP plans to plant card-carrying members of the party as adhoc-staff of INEC in the April general elections.

“We the coalition of political parties, Kaduna State, strongly warn INEC to ensure that genuine staff of the commission are recruited for the successful conduct of the April elections. Primary school teachers or local government staff should not be engaged in the exercise,” the coalition said.

When asked about his party’s response to the allegations, chairman of the PDP in Kaduna State, Yau Usman Jama’a, denied knowledge of any such issues, saying “I don’t know anything on this.”

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5683356-146/story.csp

Igbo leaders want Nwodo’s successor before elections

By Festus Owete

March 16, 2011 03:13AM

Igbo leaders, under the aegis of Eastern Leaders Forum (ELF) yesterday asked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to fill the vacant position of the party’s national chairman vacated by Okwesilieze Nwodo, before the April elections.

The deputy national chairman of the PDP, Haliru Bello Mohammed, has been acting as the national chairman since Mr Nwodo’s resignation over series of litigations against his membership and chairmanship of the party.

At a press conference in Abuja, the group appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to hasten the process of appointing a substantive national chairman who should be from the south east zone before the April general elections. They said such an appointment will give Igbo people a sense of belonging in the party.

The group forwarded names of two prominent members of the party from the south east to Mr Jonathan and the PDP leadership last week for consideration as the party’s national chairman.

The names of a former speaker of the House of Representatives, Agunwa Anakwe and a former chairman of the PDP in Anambra State, Dan Ulasi were allegedly presented to Mr Jonathan during his visit to Akwa Ibom State.

Chukwuemeka Ezeife, leader of Forum, argued that Mr Jonathan’s inability to respond to their earlier demand to fill the position has become a source of worry to the group as some of the president’s opponents are already exploiting the situation to their advantage.

“We call on President Jonathan and the PDP to hearken to the voice of Ndigbo and restore to them the position of the national chairmanship of the PDP before the general election,” he said.

In need of goodwill

Mr Ezeife, a former governor of Anambra State said the zone will still vote for the PDP in the April 9 presidential poll, if the president fails to act as demanded by the group. He, however, warned that it will make the Igbo race “feel marginalized and removed from the current scheme of things.” Mr Ezeife confirmed that the PDP governors in the zone were initially opposed to the appointment of another chairman from their domain to replace Mr Nwodo, but have since changed their minds and joined forces with the Igbo leaders to demand that the position be filled by an Igbo.

“While some may have shown some apathy towards it several weeks back because of the freshness of the Nwodo/Chime saga, the same cannot be said today,” Mr Ezeife said. “The south east governors, as elected representatives of the people, would not look elsewhere when the agitation for the position has heightened. They are now even in the vanguard to drive the present process to ensure the emergence of a truly acceptable national chairman.”

He said that the people of the zone will need the goodwill of Nigerians to achieve the ambition, pointing out that the south east zone cannot go it alone.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5683535-146/igbo_leaders_want_nwodos_successor_before.csp

Senate shelves petroleum bill in counter protest
By Emmanuel Ogala
March 16, 2011 05:19AM
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The Senate on Tuesday called off passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill for the second time in one week, but this time in counter protest to series of protests calling on the lawmakers to pass the Bill.

It said it will not be blackmailed into the passage of the Bill by protesters who claim they are more patriotic than the senators.

A group of students from three universities in the Niger Delta region had on Tuesday morning barricaded the entrance to the National Assembly demanding the passage of the Bill and subsequently, an apology from the deputy Senate president who had last week dismissed them as “charlatans.”

The Senate president, David Mark, said his colleagues had also received a minimum of 20 disparaging text messages intended to stampede them into hastily passing the bill.

“We are as patriotic as those sending text messages. I do not think any Nigerian can be more patriotic than the senators,” Teslim Folarin, the Senate leader, said while requesting its withdrawal.

The Bill was subsequently withdrawn, to be heard on “another legislative day” and not even the next legislative day, indicating a major setback.

The Senate is expected to proceed on a recess after today’s plenary to enable members who are running for a rerun in the April 2 senatorial elections to prepare for their elections.

“We will take it, but not as those who want to blackmail us want,” the Senate president told his colleagues.

Members of the House of Representatives have, however, promised to begin third reading of the Bill today if its committee on petroleum is able to distribute it to all members by midday today.

Since the PIB was introduced into the two chambers of the National Assembly in December 2008, it has suffered series of delays due to disagreements on the provisions of the Bill by various relevant parties. The Bill has also undergone series of amendments and its true provisions are still unknown.

The Senate decision on Tuesday to suspend legislation on a Bill based on protest calling for its passage is the first in their ending four year term. Analysts say the politics of the PIB is beyond the lawmakers and protesters, a factor that could have motivated the action by the senators than the stated reason. The protesters, however, said they will not be discouraged.

“This development will only strengthen our commitment to continue the struggle to ensure that the PIB is passed into law,” David Ogbolor, leader of the group, said.

Non charlatans

The students, who had barricaded the main entrance of the National Assembly that morning to press home their demands, said their protest was sparked by the deputy Senate president’s “embarrassing” comments last week where he waved them off as “charlatans”.

The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is conceived to repeal the Petroleum Act of 1969, and consolidate about 16 other petroleum industry laws into one single, transparent, and coherent document. The objective is to establish a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework for good governance, transparency, and accountability, with regard to operational and fiscal terms for revenues management, and removal of confidentiality clauses in licences, leases, and contracts in the nation’s petroleum industry.

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Posted by Inegbedion, D.E. on Mar 16 2011
Imagine how they proceed on delibrations in the national assembly. Bringing sentiments into national issues. God help Nigeria and its present crop of leaders.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5683548-146/story.csp

Vengeance is his: US official on Obasanjo

By Idris Akinbajo

March 16, 2011 02:57AM

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has a penchant for “storied vindictiveness” and “proverbial vengefulness”, American embassy officials told their superiors in Washington. In a cable titled ‘Bayelsa governor’s arrest strikes fear in the hearts of his peers’ and sent to Washington on October 21, 2005, the consul general at the American embassy in Nigeria at the time, Brian Browne, described how governors of other southern states became jittery following the arrest of the former Bayelsa State governor. Mr. Alamieyeseigha was arrested in London in September 2005 on charges of money laundering. At the time of his arrest, about £1 million cash was found in his London home. He jumped bail in December 2005 but was impeached upon his return to Nigeria and prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for corruption. Two years later, on July 26, 2007, Mr. Alamieyeseigha pleaded guilty to a six-count charge of corruption and was sentenced to two years in prison on each count. The consul general, in his cable, which was sent before the former governor’s escape from the UK, told his superiors that Mr. Alamieyeseigha’s arrest in the UK was not only due to corruption allegations, but also due to his friendship with former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, who was Mr. Obasanjo’s arch enemy at the time.

Governors fear Obasanjo

According to Mr. Browne, “The arrest of Bayelsa State Governor Deipreiye Alamieyeseigha in London has unnerved some of his fellow pro-Atiku southern governors. His interception abroad, where he does not enjoy constitutional immunity, has not only sullied the attraction of frequent travel (one of the governors’ favored pastimes), but is causing many of them to rethink the wisdom of backing a retreating Atiku against a surging Obasanjo.”

The consul general told his superiors that despite the fear being expressed by other pro-Atiku governors, they could not return to Mr. Obasanjo because of his vindictive nature.

“Many of them probably would have turned tail and angled towards Obasanjo but for his storied vindictiveness. They cannot be certain if, in running to him, they would not be running into his hard clutches rather than the accepting embrace of a magnanimous chief executive for his prodigal junior executives,” Mr. Browne said.

Alamieyeseigha’s fate

Mr. Browne who stated that Mr. Alamieyeseigha’s corruption tendencies was not the only cause of his arrest, stated that: “His profligacy is part of his predicament but the Bayelsa executive is no more spendthrift than many of his colleagues.”

Mr. Browne said that because of the fear of being arrested abroad, many of the governors “who seemingly spent as much time abroad as in their state capitals, suddenly have become stationary homebodies.”

“Alamieyeseigha’s arrest has frightened many other southern governors, who have quickly shelved their rather liberal international travel habits,” he stated.

The American consul general predicted that “some governors will be tempted to wash their hands of Atiku and seek rapprochement with Obasanjo.”

He, however, explained why some of them would not return to Mr. Obasanjo, saying, “However, Obasanjo’s vengefulness is proverbial. Surrendering to him is no guarantee of his lenient reaction.”

Contacted yesterday, spokesperson for Mr. Obasanjo, Adeoba Ojekunle, said the Americans were entitled to their views, saying it was wrong to accuse the former president of vindictiveness because a man was caught with stolen money.

A history of vengeance

After the rumored interest of Mr. Abubakar in the 2003 presidential race and the eventual resolution of the matter between the former vice president and Mr. Obasanjo, their relationship never remained the same. Mr. Abubakar’s roles in government were effectively diminished after the 2003 elections and only got worse after he opposed the constitutional amendment which would have allowed Mr. Obasanjo a third term in office. Another person who suffered from Mr. Obasanjo’s unforgiving vengeance was Audu Ogbeh, former chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Mr. Ogbeh, formerly an ally of Mr. Obasanjo who helped him become party chairman in 2001, disagreed openly about Mr. Obasanjo’s roles in the Anambra State imbroglio where Chris Ngige, then governor, had been abducted by police officers led by a former assistant inspector general of police after a forced resignation. The matter led to the loss of property worth billions of naira, including the destruction of a state television station. Mr. Ogbeh, in an open letter written on December 6, 2004, chastised Mr. Obasanjo for his role in the fracas, with the president also openly responding to the party chairman. However, after a reconciliation meeting where Mr. Obasanjo and his host, Mr. Ogbeh, were treated to a meal of pounded yam, the party chairman was asked to resign by the former president.

Daniel may suffer similar fate

Another person who may suffer from Mr. Obasanjo’s vindictiveness is Gbenga Daniel, the incumbent governor of Ogun State. Mr. Daniel and Mr. Obasanjo had been in a running battle over the control of the PDP in Ogun State with each side having its own faction. The decision by INEC to respect a court order and recognize Mr. Obasanjo’s faction however led to the Ogun governor going to beg the former president.

Two days after, Mr. Daniel confirmed his plea to Mr. Obasanjo saying: “I am a true Yoruba son. And in Yoruba land, it doesn’t matter who is right or who is wrong. It is the younger that will beg the older person. So I have begged Baba, and I will continue to beg him.”

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5683545-146/story.csp

Fashola promises low cost houses

By Segun Balogun

March 16, 2011 04:58AM

The Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola on Tuesday, set housing mortgage a top priority in his agenda if voted in for a second term in the next month’s election. Mr. Fashola made the promise while addressing thousands of party supporters at an election rally held in Ibeju Lekki area of the state. “I am determined to break this mortgage jinx,” he told the supporters, who despite the scorching sun, stood to listen to the governor.

A realistic promise

Housing mortgage has been a strong weapon of Mr. Fashola’s critics, who have always used the achievement of the first civilian governor of the state, Lateef Jakande, in the provision of low cost houses, as the minimum standard the state deserves.

At the rally, the governor told the people his planned housing provision is a clear detour from the type of houses provided during his first term in office, many of which has been described as elitist. He said the promise is no longer a dream as 2000 low cost houses out of which about 200 are sited in Ibeju Lekki, have been built across the state as a pilot test of the planned housing mortgage. “To own any of these houses, you will only pay thirty percent of the one you like and complete the payment over 10 to 15 years. And as the mortgage business expands, the number of years will be extended to 25 years. But the house becomes yours the very day you pay the 30 percent deposit” he said, adding that the houses will be given out on “first come, first serve basis.” “If you are number 101 on the payment list, you will wait until the 101th house is built.”

He explained that the state government has already secured the needed land for the housing scheme in twelve locations across the state. He added that the least of the lands is 30 hectares while the biggest is about 400 hectares.

Future prosperity

Mr. Fashola told the people to “keep the ACN party in power, remain peaceful, receive investors with open hands and warm smile” because his plan is to make Ibeju Lekki sub region of the state the future prosperity of Nigeria. He said the region is already being dubbed the fastest growing real estate zone in West Africa and it will soon host the biggest Free Trade Zone in the region also, in addition to an airport, a seaport, a fertiliser and petrochemical company. “I just returned from Scotland where we went to finalise the arrangement of gas supply that will be used for the Independent Power Project of the Lekki Free Trade Zone and all of Ibeju Lekki area. This government [of ACN] knows its responsibility to the people and the best way to discharge that responsibility,” he said, asking the people to get ready for a deluge of prosperous opportunities.

He also promised the people that they will get the best excision plan so far because he is personally supervising the ongoing excision exercise which will empower the indigent people to partake in the real estate boom currently being witnessed in the area.

Youth Strategy

The party’s chairman, Henry Ajomale said the party is relying on the youth of the area to ensure ACN wins all elective offices in the region, which is a stronghold of the PDP. Therefore, several youth groups spoke at the rally.

Temitope Ogungbo, a student union chieftain said “We want to see PDP out of Ibeju Lekki. We will no longer follow bad luck because we have not seen any benefit from those representing us,” taking a swipe at the two PDP House of Assembly members representing the constituency.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5683369-146/story.csp