₦airaland Forum

Corps members in Osun State to teach in public schools
By Bamigbola Gbolgunte
March 11, 2011 03:07AM
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The governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, has directed that all corps members posted to the state for the mandatory one-year national youths service must participate in a remedial coaching programme in public secondary schools.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of 2011 Batch A members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ede, yesterday, the governor lamented the parlous state of education in the state and said corps members will help correct the situation.

Mr. Aregbesola said his administration discovered that only three per cent of those who wrote the last school certificate examination passed with grades that could qualify them for admission into institutions of higher learning.

"We discovered that only three per cent of school leavers in Osun State can be matriculated into higher institutions. We want to bridge this abysmal gap with remedial coaching and we want to engage the youth corps members posted to our state, especially graduates of science and technology, working with OYES team for this task".

"I must also add that service has its own reward. At the end of your service, many of you are going to find jobs in our state and those who truly distinguish themselves will be honoured. We appreciate humans as the engine of development and therefore take youth employment as priority".

Mr Aregbesola also urged the corps members to form a vanguard against election rigging during the forthcoming general elections.

He stressed that "many of you are going to be engaged as adjunct staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and participate in the conduct of elections.

"You must do this with the fear of God and unwavering commitment to honesty and integrity.

"Do not allow yourselves to be used to rig elections. Whenever and anywhere you notice election is to be rigged, it is your bounden duty, as part of your service to your fatherland, to expose this".

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5682510-146/story.csp

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Etteh is Obasanjo's romantic interest, say American officials

By Idris Akinbajo

March 11, 2011 03:00AM

That former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the previous and first female Speaker of the House of Representatives, Patricia Etteh, have had more than a passing relationship has been popular street gossip in Nigeria for a long time.

But the Americans took the matter beyond chatter. In an October 19, 2007 cable to Washington, Lisa Piascik, the Charge d'Affairs of the US embassy in Nigeria, stated that both politicians were sweethearts.

The cable is part of a cache of secret US diplomatic dispatches leaked to the whistleblower site Wikileaks and made available to NEXT. In the dispatch, which details the different contending groups pulling and pushing for the soul of the ruling People's Democratic Party, Ms. Etteh was described not only as a member of the former president's network of the PDP, but also as Mr. Obasanjo's girlfriend.

In profiling Ms. Etteh, the American official described her as: "former hairdresser, romantic interest of Obasanjo, current Speaker of the House of Representatives."

Other party chiefs profiled as members of Mr. Obasanjo's camp were Senate President David Mark; multibillionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote; businessman Chris Uba; former presidential aide, Andy Uba; former governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Adamu; former governor of Bauchi State, Adamu Mu'azu; former PDP national deputy chairman, Bode George; former PDP national chairman, Ahmadu Ali; and Ojo Maduekwe, former minister of foreign affairs.

Dubious rise

Ms. Etteh rubbished political permutations in 2007, when, in spite of her little education, she emerged the House Speaker, beating stronger and better educated contenders. It was believed at the time that she rose to the position on the back of Mr. Obasanjo.

Four months after she became speaker, Ms. Etteh and her deputy, Babangida Nguroje, were accused of financial malfeasance by their colleagues. They were accused of authorizing the spending of N628 million for the renovation of their official residences and the purchase of 12 official cars.

While majority of the members of the House demanded Ms. Etteh's resignation, Mr. Obasanjo and the PDP leadership insisted and lobbied that she remain in office. But the opposition to the speaker was massive and overwhelming, and about eight weeks after the allegations were first levied against her, Mrs. Etteh and her deputy resigned from office on October 30, 2007, although they remain members of the House.

Although Mr. Obasanjo left office as president about four years ago, as chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, he has remained an influential member of the ruling party. Both politicians have remained close. Ms. Etteh was one of the few party chiefs at Mr. Obasanjo's 74th birthday celebration in Abeokuta last Sunday.

‘I can romance anybody'

Contacted yesterday, Ms. Etteh responded that she was at liberty to have a romantic affair with whomever she chose. Raising her voice, the former speaker said, "I don't bloody care. I can have romantic interest with anybody. I am free to romance anybody. I don't fear you media boys anymore. Go and write whatever you like."

Adeoba Ojekunle, spokesman to Mr. Obasanjo, did not answer his calls and has not responded to text messages sent to his phone.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5682494-146/story.csp

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Ibori offers to set up development fund with stolen billions

By Nicholas Ibekwe

March 11, 2011 03:02AM

In a desperate bid to save himself from arrest and prosecution, former Delta State governor, James Ibori, offered to surrender a huge chunk of his stolen billions to a trust fund that could finance development projects, according to a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable made available to NEXT.

The September 24, 2009 dispatch reported that Mr. Ibori, shortly before escaping to the United Arab Emirates after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission closed in on him, approached the United States embassy in Abuja for a deal that would have him give up between 20 and 50 percent of his loot in return for promises by foreign governments not to prosecute him. The former governor, the cable said, approached the embassy through a U.S. businessman and reputed lobbyist in the Washington, DC area, who estimated Mr. Ibori's stolen wealth to be about $3billion (N450 billion).

"Ibori almost certainly recognizes that foreign prosecutors are closing in on him," Robin Sanders, the former US ambassador to Nigeria, said in her dispatch. "Ibori likely knows that travel to Europe to spend his ill-gotten wealth would be risky, as authorities could detain and transfer him to the UK. He may also be concerned that the same fate could await him should he travel to the U.S."

Related convictions

As governor of his South-South state for eight years, Mr. Ibori allegedly stole N45 billion belonging to Delta State. The United Kingdom is pressing money laundering charges against him. He is now in prison in Dubai, and on the verge of being extradited to the UK for trial. Last year, British authorities convicted close associates of Mr. Ibori, including his sister Christine Ibori-Ibie; and mistress, Udoamaka Okoronkwo-Onuigbo, who were sentenced to five years each for helping him move an estimated £70 million worth of looted funds through several London banks.

Last November, his wife, Theresa Ibori, and his attorney, Bhadresh Gohil, were also convicted of money laundering charges in the UK. In his proposal to the US embassy, Mr. Ibori offered to set up a nine-member international board of directors to manage the trust fund he had suggested. Five of the directors would be Americans and Britons, with the rest being Nigerians.

"The Ibori-proposed trust fund would support development projects for electricity generation, potable water supply, and police reform," the cable explained. "Ibori would also undertake to convince other former governors currently under investigation to follow suit, and return billions of dollars in stolen money in exchange for agreements not to prosecute them."

A stillborn proposal

Although he agreed to take Mr. Ibori's message to US authorities, even the lobbyist, who told the former governor that the US considered him (Ibori) a thug and a criminal, had misgivings about the offer. The lobbyist did not believe that any government would have anything to do with such a proposal. The emissary said that although he doubted that the former governor's deal would sail through, he was confident that Mr. Ibori "will never willingly agree to serve a jail term".

The cable added, "The intermediary conceded that any proposed amnesty arrangement that enabled Ibori or any other governor to retain most of their ill-gotten funds without serving any jail time would not deter future Nigerian officeholders from doing the same".

Ms. Sanders described Mr. Ibori's offer, through the intermediary, as a "maneuver" which showed that foreign investigations and arrest warrants were restricting his ability to travel and use his ill-gotten wealth. Mr. Ibori, who is still wanted by the EFCC, lost his appeal to stop Dubai (where he fled to to avoid arrest by the EFCC) authorities from extraditing him to the UK last December.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5682491-146/story.csp

SSS moves against Northern Elders

HeadlinesMar 11, 2011

By EMMANUEL AZIKEN, Political Editor, EMMA UJAH & HENRY UMORU

ABUJA -The reconciliation move between the Mallam Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Political Leaders Forum , NPLF, and President Goodluck Jonathan was severely damaged, yesterday, as the State Security Service, SSS arrested two key operational staff of the Forum.
The scribe who has just been released, said his arrest was political, as it was in connection with his comments on zoning.
The NPLF in a terse reaction said the President was not ready for peace though the State Security Service, SSS, which picked the men said the arrests were unconnected with politics.
NPLF secretary, Mallam Abdulkadir Bello, was arrested, Wednesday, a day before the scheduled meeting of the body where the key decision of whether the NPLF should support the President or not was to have been taken.
Another operational staff, Mallam Bibi Farouk, was arrested while the meeting of the NPLF was going on.
Confirmation of Abdulkadir’s arrest
The State Security Services, SSS, which confirmed the arrest of Abdulkadir, however, said their arrest had nothing to do with politics. There were indeed inferences of a fifth columnist working to sabotage the envisaged reconciliation between the President and the NPLF.
Yesterday’s meeting which was ongoing at press time followed the arrival from abroad of former Vice-President Abubakar on Wednesday evening.
The meeting was believed to be deliberating on the work of the seven-man joint committee jointly constituted by the President and the NPLF to bridge differences between the two sides. Vanguard learnt that a communiqué of the meeting would be released today.
SSS spokesperson, Mrs. Marilyn Ogar, while admitting the arrest of the NPLF secretary, however, insisted that it had nothing to do with politics saying that membership of an organization was not a licence to carry out illegal activities.
She told Vanguard that Alhaji Abdulkadir was arrested as Alhaji Abdulkadir and that it had nothing to do with his position as Secretary of NPLF.
Ogar said: “Alhaji Abdulkadir was arrested as Alhaji Abdulkadir, not as Secretary of NPLF. People must not bring politics into this. Nobody should think that he will be allowed to do just whatever he likes because he is a member of any organization. It must be made very clear that this matter has nothing to with his position in the NPLF.”
She, nevertheless did not give the reason for the arrest.
The Ciroma-led NPLF had recently softened its denunciation of President Jonathan’s presidential aspiration and had met to take a decisive decision on whether or not to support the President.
The breakthrough followed the meeting early last month between President Jonathan and elements of the NPLF where it was resolved to set up a seven-man joint committee to articulate a working document to guide rapprochement between both sides.
The seven-man joint committee chaired by Magaji Dambatta was supposed to submit its report for the consideration of the President and the NPLF. NPLF sources, however, expressed regrets that possible reconciliation may have been put on hold with the arrest of the duo.
Sources said that Abdulkadir was arrested on Wednesday by operatives of the SSS in Abuja and taken to the headquarters of the security agency in the Asokoro area the same day. He was still being held by the SSS at press time yesterday.
Farouk was arrested while the meeting of the NPLF was on-going. It was, however, not confirmed whether he was arrested at the venue of the meeting.
Denouncing the arrest, yesterday, the NPLF in an unsigned statement made available to Vanguard said:
“This is in bad faith and tells a lie to President Goodluck Jonathan’s attempt for rapprochement with Northern Political Leaders Forum.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/sss-moves-against-northern-elders/

Adamawa Gov Denies Campaign Venues to candidate Buhari

Posted: March 10, 2011 - 21:53


Gen. Buhari in Owerri , Imo state

By SaharaReporters, New York

The governor of Adamawa state, Murtala Nyanko, is doing much to frustrate presidential candidates campaigning in the state.

SaharaReporters learnt that the retired navy admiral Nyanko refused access to open space in the state capital to Gen. Muhamadu Buhari, the candidate of the Congress of Progressive Change.

The retired general, who has a mass following in the northern parts of Nigeria had to hold his rally in the outskirts of Yola.

Prior to Buhari's arrival, PDP thugs loyal to the governor had torn down most of his posters and billboards around the state capital.

For the greater part of the day, Gen. Buhari was also denied the use of the presidential lodge in the city of Yola. As a former head of state, Buhari is entitled to the use of the lodge in any state of the federation. The Governor also rebuffed requests by Buhari to make a courtesy visit to his office.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/adamawa-gov-denies-campaign-venues-candidate-buhari

Afe Babalola calls for laws to sue govt on bad roads

HeadlinesMar 10, 2011

OLA AJAYI, IBADAN

A legal icon, Are Afe Babalola (SAN) has called on the legislative arms in the country to amend relevant laws that would empower Nigerians who sustain injuries from road accidents caused by bad roads to sue and claim damages from government.

Bad Road
To him, the deplorable roads in the country are responsible for daily occurrence of auto crash and to check this, caution should be exercised before people are allowed to drive on our roads.
He said this just as he suggested compulsory medical test for those who demand driver’s licence so as to reduce carnage on our highways.
Babalola made the call at the 33rd annual general meeting/international scientific conference of the Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria which held in Ibadan Thursday.
At the conference entitled “Road traffic accident: The place of commercial bus drivers, motorcyclists and its health implications, he said the step would prevent issuance of driver’s licence to those who were not qualified to have it due to their health challenge.
While calling on the 774 local governments across the country to pay premium to community insurance, he advised the government to ensure that all vehicles plying our roads were measured to ascertain their weights.
If this step could be taken, bad roads occasioned by heavy weight of vehicles would last longer than what we witnessed in the country.
To reduce death and pains of accident victims, he advised that mobile hospitals/clinics were built on our major highways to enable them have quick access to medical help.
In his speech, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, who was represented by Dr. Folake Majekodunmi tasked all agencies which are saddled with responsibility of ensuring strict compliance with traffic regulation to live up to expectation so that incessant deaths as a result of accidents could be nipped in the bud.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/afe-babalola-calls-for-laws-to-sue-govt-on-bad-roads/

SSS Arrests NPLF Scribe
Posted: March 10, 2011 - 17:17


By SaharaReporters, New York

The state security services (SSS) has  arrested Mallam Bello Abdulkadir the secretary general of the Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF).

Abdulkadir was arrested yesterday at his Abuja home by a team of the SSS men who did not disclose the reason for his arrest. His lawyer who accompanied him to the SSS headquarters returned home late last night after the agencies handed over his phones to him.

Sources at the NPLF told SaharaReporters that the unexplained arrest of Abdulkadir will jeopardize their current discussions aimed at convincing the NPLF to back Jonathan for the upcoming general elections.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/sss-arrests-nplf-scribe

Pres. Jonathan Should Extend Educational Opportunities Given Ex-Militants To Non-violent Ogoni Refugees

Posted: March 10, 2011 - 12:11

By Ben Ikari
Pres. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, of Nigeria should act fast to extend the educational opportunities reportedly given Niger delta ex-militants to study overseas to hundreds of Ogoni nonviolent activists roasting in refugee camps-and other locations-in Benin Republic, West Africa.




This call is coming in support of an earlier advocacy by Barry Wugale of the Ogoni Solidarity Forum (OSF), published by the Daily Independent of March, 2011, and titled: "800 Ogoni in Benin Republic: Group petitions Jonathan," by Valentine Amanze, Regional Editor.

The Ogoni Children Cultural and Fundamental Rights Council (OCAFAC-USA) sees this move by Jonathan's administration as a step in the right direction even though we don't believe granting amnesty to Niger delta for its just struggle was necessary. Every struggle, as clearly declared by the Ogoni-African and world's human and environmental rights icon Ken Saro-Wiwa, is a pain. Whether violent or nonviolent-though nonviolence is preferred-struggles, when they start, what matters to those involved is a rousing end that would bring their aims and objectives to reality. No matter how painful, how many deaths incured in the process, victory is always looked to in the end. Ogonis are also eager for such victory and must not be excluded from positive fall over from a struggle they started and have sacrificed so much for.

It's this victory anticipated some day that's propelling Egyptians, Tunisians, Libyans and motivated South Sudan to stand up for change. It's same spirit that Americans used to take up arms against the British imperialists, therefore the experiment and better experience that is America today. Just to mention but few, this same spirit of victory at the end steered and stirred Mahatma Ghandhi of India; Martin Luther King Jr. of America, Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Ken Saro-Wiwa of Ogoni/Niger delta whose state and corporate murder by hanging (with 8 other innocent activists) and teachings/motivation opened the eyes and stirred Niger delta peace activists and militants. Jonathan, is of course a product of that inspiration/motivation.

Therefore, knowing what we know about freedom, its challenges especially the fact that more people probably die in nonviolent struggle than violent, and while OCAFAC applaud Jonathan and his team for this latest move to rehabilitate these freedom fighters known as Niger delta militants, we request as a matter of urgency and fairness that same benevolence or magnanimity be extended to Ogoni nonviolent advocates spread all over Benin. This is, if the government isn't indirectly saying that those looking for change or freedom, justice and development should take up arms as legitimately done by the Ijaws of Niger delta, Jonathan's tribe.

No gainsaying the fact that Ogoni under the able leadership of Saro-Wiwa (who brought peaceful indigenous groups's mobilization as never seen and felt on the continent of Africa and forced the cruelty of the Nigerian government and multinational oil rogues such as $hell Oil on the global map) brought the pains and ruins, exploitations and deaths in Niger delta to global fore. Yet, Ogoni nationality has been systematically edged out and denied every opportunity and good things/developments they desire and deserves. Ogonis who escaped persecution in the wake of Nigeria's hanging of the Ogoni Nine for nothing than our determination to demand our fundamental rights, resist exploitation and death, are still languishing in appalling conditions in Benin refugee camps since the mid 1990s.

According to the Daily Independent, ” “If the ongoing amnesty programme and rehabilitation of former militants is to discourage violence and encourage constructive engagement, the use of logic, the invocation of policies and best accepted political principles to advance the cause of the Niger Delta, the Ogoni activists who were victims of violence perpetrated by the state and Shell cannot then be excluded from the process," Barry Wugale of OSF was quoted as saying. The report continued, “It will be a betrayal of the philosophy of the current government if Ogoni activists that had refused to subscribe to violence all through the span of their struggle are conspicuously ignored in the attempt to usher in sanity in the agitations for the development of the Niger Delta.”

It's based upon these premises and many others too numerous to mention herein that the Ogoni Children Cultural and Fundamental Rights Council (OCAFAC-USA) is calling on Jonathan, his team of advisers on Niger deltans-which includes Oronto Douglas, who reportedly destroyed his law gown when Saro-Wiwa was unjustly killed, and had traveled abroad speaking out-, the National Assembly and presidency to treat Ogoni fairly by including those in the Benin refugee camps in the overseas educational opportunities granted Niger delta militants. They'd also assist in allevating the sufferings on those at home. The government owe it to Ogoni to work out a framework that will allow Ogoni activists home and abroad to collaborate with her and take note of Ogoni refugees in Benin Republic for onward processing for travel to accredited and quality schools in America and Europe. This, and many other well thought development plans/efforts (including the creation of Bori State) will make Ogonis feel a sense of inclusion in the Nigerian State and help ease the tension between them and the Federal government.

http://saharareporters.com/article/pres-jonathan-should-extend-educational-opportunities-given-ex-militants-non-violent-ogoni-r

Lagos PDP replies Babangida… Says governor’s “no-go area” remark arrant nonsense

NewsMar 10, 2011

LAGOS - The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos State, yesterday, reacted to the comments of Governor Muazu Babangida that Lagos was a no-go area for the PDP in the April poll, describing his remarks as “arrant nonsense unbecoming of a top member of the party”.
The governor had at the 47th Annual International Conference of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society in Minna praised Governor Babatunde Fashola and the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, for performance in Lagos State and that the PDP should see the state as a no-go area.
But in a swift reaction yesterday, PDP Campaign Coordinator in Lagos State, Barrister Ladipo Johnson, said Babangida’s comments were misplaced and could not have represented the true situation in the state.
He said that by such “unguarded statements” the governor was clearly getting involved in anti-party activities and that his estimation of the relative strength of both PDP and ACN in Lagos State was a fraudulent scheming that had political undertone”.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/lagos-pdp-replies-babangida-says-governors-no-go-area-remark-arrant-nonsense/

PIB: Protesters call for resignation of Ekweremadu

NewsMar 10, 2011

BY INALEGWU SHAIBU

ABUJA – A coalition of civil society for PIB campaign yesterday called on Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, to resign for calling those protesting the delay in the passage of Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, charlatans.
Coordinator of the group, Rev. David Ugolor, who spoke to newsmen yesterday, said it was shameful and disgraceful for the deputy senate president to call peaceful protesters who are working for the growth of Nigeria charlatans.
He said: “For the deputy senate president to call civil society groups that came here on Monday to protest why the PIB has not been passed since the Joint Committee on PIB submitted its report to the Senate, without any violence as charlatans is very disgraceful.
“Sen Ekeremadu is not the type of leader we need in this country. The deputy senate president should, therefore, resign for making such statement.
“Do they want what happened in Niger Delta before to happen again? Can Sen Ekweremadu refer to ex-militant as charlatans? A man of his calibre should not call protesters charlatans.
Rev. Ugolor noted that the deputy senate president should have taken advantage of his office to make history by passing the bill, instead of involving in frivolities and name calling.
According to him, “with that comment, do you think somebody like Sen Ekweremadu should be in that position?
“He had the opportunity of making history with the privilege of chairing the Senate in the absence of the Senate President and all he could do was to call peaceful protesters charlatans, we resist any effort to frustrate the passage of the bill because its passage will benefit Nigerians.”
The group also demanded an apology from the deputy senate president, insisting that it was impolite for a Senator of Ekweremadu’s status to ascribe such abusive word to Nigerians who are seeking the benefits of the larger society through peaceful protests.
Rev. Ugolor added that the civil societies is committed to better Nigeria, stressing that no amount of verbal harassment will deter them from mounting protest to ensure that the PIB is passed into law.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/pib-protesters-call-for-resignation-of-ekweremadu/

I will jail corrupt party leaders, says Ribadu

By Festus Owete

March 10, 2011 05:14AM

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) presidential candidate, Nuhu Ribadu, said yesterday that he would not spare any corrupt leader in his party if elected president in next month's presidential election. Mr. Ribadu spoke yesterday at a forum organised by the Murtala Muhammed Foundation in Abuja for five presidential candidates who presented their plans to Nigerians. Mr. Ribadu and the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) and the Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP) candidates, Ibrahim Shekarau and Pat Utomi, participated in the programme. President Goodluck Jonathan of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Muhmmadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) did not show up for the event and gave no reason for their absence.

"I want to assure you that I am Nuhu Ribadu, and I will remain Nuhu Ribadu forever and ever," the Adamawa State native told the audience. "It is too late for me to change. I am 50 years old. I can assure you that I will do what is right. I will do justice. I will stand by the people. There are areas I can never compromise. I can assure you I will not be corrupt, and I will not allow corruption in my government. I will not allow anyone close to me to be corrupt. If you cross the line, you will face justice."

The former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission chairman criticised the PDP, saying its administration had failed Nigerians. He expressed his disgust with the way government officials, including former ministers, enriched themselves before moving on to other parties where they were celebrated. Mr. Ribadu, who described the late Murtala Muhammed as his hero, said that the country needed redirection to make it work.

"If given the chance, I will give the country the best direction," Mr. Ribadu said. "We will not cheat Nigerians. We will tell the world and Nigerians that hard work is what is needed."

Promoting social justice

Mr. Shekarau, on his part, promised to focus on human development and social justice. The Kano State governor said that he would continue with the privatization process involving government-owned agencies, but would ensure that it was properly implemented. He also said that in order to achieve adequate power supply, his administration would bring clusters of states together to initiate a system to improve power generation.

"The earlier we decentralize power generation, the better for us," he said.

Mr. Shekarau said that he would improve security by adequately funding the police and other security agencies. He also said that to enhance the performance of the force, his government would address the payment of retirement benefits, the issue of welfare, and the provision of adequate facilities and training.

Passionate about education

Mr. Utomi described Nigeria as one of the world's poorest nations, adding that he had a blueprint with which he could reposition the country. The presidential hopeful from Delta State said that he would embark on massive infrastructural development, if elected. Mr. Utomi also talked about revamping the country's education sector.

"The system has broke down completely," he said. "If garbage goes into university, what exits is garbage. Let us start with primary education and we will get it right. It is the foundation."

Mr. Utomi said that he would free up funds for existing universities by reversing the government's decision to open new federal universities.

"I am not in politics because of position but because the country is dying," he said. "If the opposition progressive parties had united, I do not mind if I am given the role of cleaner."

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5682346-146/story.csp

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http://saharareporters.com/news-page/saraki-dynasty-slave-masters-kwara

By SaharaReporters, New York

First they set up a bank, Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria and looted it to buy political positions for Gbemisola Saraki ("voted" into the Nigerian senate) and Bukola Saraki ("voted" into office of Governor in Kwara state). Critics said they've looted the state of Kwara as well. But the Sarakis are modern day slave masters, the aging patriarch of the criminal dynasty wants the fun-loving daughter-Gbemisola- to take over the state of Kwara as "Governor".

Dr. Saraki returns from medical leave to impose his daughter as governor of Kwara

Gbemi and Bukola Saraki started stealing early, see the police charges against Gbemi and Bukola for stealing in 1990

NewsMar 9, 2011

By Simon Ebegbulem

BENIN CITY- FOURTEEN passengers in a commercial bus lost their lives yesterday, along the Benin-Ore road, few hours after the Benin monarch, Oba Erediauwa appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that the carnage being witnessed along the road was put to a stop by completing the road project.
Vanguard learnt that the accident occurred after the driver of a commercial bus, with registration number XY 234 FST, heading towards Onitsha, ran into an on-coming trailer while trying to over take a truck heading towards Lagos.
Fourteen people were reported to have died on the spot while five others sustained injuries and were rushed to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH). The tragic incident occurred very close to Ogbemudia Farms, at about 11pm on Tuesday.
Among the dead were six females and eight males whose corpses have been deposited at the UBTH.
It took the intervention of good Samaritans and policemen on routine check close to the area to pull out some of the trapped victims.
The state commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Olatunji Henry Sunday in a telephone interview with Vanguard confirmed the incident and attributed the cause of the accident to either over speeding or wrong overtaking by the driver of the bus and also said that both the dead and survivors were taken to the UBTH.
The Oba of Benin had expressed his concern over the delay in the rehabilitation of the road when President Jonathan visited the Oba in Benin last Tuesday.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/14-die-in-benin-ore-road-accident/

Breaking The Stranglehold Of The Sarakis In Kwara; Say NO To Fatah Ahmed?

Posted: March 9, 2011 - 11:26

By The True Face of Kwara

Even though our dear state Kwara needs a change, it is not the type being suggested by Governor Bukola Saraki to make fatah Ahmed, his partner in crime his successor. Fatah relationship with Governor Bukola Saraki dates back to the years of the Societe Generale Bank (SGBN) where both of them worked together to see the death of the bank.

Being a reliable partner, Gov. Saraki ensured that Fatah was brought into his cabinet to finish the assignment they could not do in SGBN – to loot Kwara treasury and wreck the state.

That is why all through his period as Finance Commissioner, Fatah did not demonstrate any good talent in managing the state economy. So how can Kwarans now entrust the state once again to such a man.

10 Good Reasons Why Kwarans Must Reject Fatah Ahmed

1. Gov. Saraki picked Fatah as his successor because of pressure from the consortium of banks that raised the 30 billion naira bond for the state. Their fear is that since it was Fatah and Gov. Saraki that negotiated and signed for the bond, their guaranteed the safety of their money and not for any person to emerge as the next governor of the state.

2. Fatah collaborated with Gov. Saraki to loot about 120 billion naira Loca Government funds in 7 years

3. As Finance Commissioner, Fatah collaborated with the governor to open a fictious account named Local/State Govt. joint Account at the Intercontinental Bank Ilorin, through which they both divert government money.

4. As Finance Commissioner, he collaborated to kill Kwara’s only bank – Trade Bank.

5. Fatah collaborated with Gov. Saraki to defraud the state of over 3.5 billion naira through the failed Tsonga farm project. The debt is there for Kwarans to pay.




6. Fatah collaborated with the governor to defraud civil servants of their meager salary through the STOCK EXCHANGE.

7. What can Fatah say about the 1.5 billion outstanding pensioner’s money?

8. How was the first tranche of 17 billion naira out of the 30 billion naira bond spent? Ask Fatah.

9. Fatah is the serving Commissioner who built a 300 million naira mansion before the eyes of his governor without a query. Because of shame, the house was later covered with tarpaulin. Only a criminal governor will allow this to happen.

10. Fatah (now known as Baba mai bindiga) literary translated as ‘the man who supplied guns to his kinsmen to kill their NUPE neighbours in Tsaragi and environs during the communal clashes between Share his town and Tsaragi.

Dear Kwarans, ths is the same Fatah who as Finance Commissioner was invited by the EFCC to answer questions over the looting of Kwara treasury by Gov. saraki. So having Fatah as next governor is as still having Saraki in power – double tragedy! These two men should by now be in jail instead of parading themselves on the streets of Kwara. We must sto these marauders. WAKE UP KWARANS – the only people who deserve freedom are those who are prepared to fight for it.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, NO MORE ENSLAVEMENT. THIS LOOTING LEGACY MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO COTINUE.

GOD BLESS KWARA AND KWARANS

PUBLISHED BY THE TRUE FACE OF KWARA

http://saharareporters.com/article/breaking-stranglehold-sarakis-kwara-say-no-fatah-ahmed-0

Onoja, Senate President David Mark's Opponent, Shot Near Otukpo Benue State

Posted: March 8, 2011 - 21:41

Saharareporters, New York

The senatorial candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Benue South senatorial district, retired General Lawrence Onoja, was shot today in a village near Otukpo, Benue state where he was billed to receive People's Democratic Party (PDP ) decamps to his party.

retired army general Onoja told SaharaReporters over the phone that he was shot before he could reach the decamping ceremony at Otukpo-Icho township near Otukpo where a PDP politician, Oko Iklagher and 3,000 decamped to ACN.

He claimed that armed men suspected to be PDP thugs shot him in the left arm while he was traveling in the same vehicle , an Ash-colored Toyota Prado Sports utility Vehicle-with "Young Alhaji", a popular businessman in the area who contested again Mr. Mark in the 2007 elections. Young Alhaji is currently the deputy goober candidate of the ACN in the state. he too sustatined some injuries from broken glasses from the vehicle.

Onoja is running against the current Nigerian Senate President and PDP candidate, David Mark.

General Onoja expressed concern about the activities of the supporters of the Nigerian senate president in their area. He state that two days ago, PDP thugs attacked "Hausa quarters" targeting ACN members who boldly display the party's broom emblem with the Senate president campaign vehicles openly used in harassing opponents.

Calls to Mr. Mark's phones were not returned as at the time of filing this report.


http://saharareporters.com/news-page/onoja-senate-president-david-marks-opponent-shot-near-otukpo-benue-state

Jubilation as Saraki arrives Ilorin for Gbemi’s campaign

NewsMar 8, 2011

Kwara State witnessed a wild jubilation Tuesday following what has been tagged the triumphant entry of the father of the state’s politics, Dr. Olusola Saraki, whose return to the state from the United State’s of America, yesterday morning, sent many to the streets in jubilation.
There have been talks within the political circle in the state that the strongman of Kwara politics would not be able to be part of the campaign of her politician daughter, Senator Gbemi Saraki believed to be the candidate to beat in the coming gubernatorial poll in April.
Beyond Senator Gbemi Saraki’s popularity and political sagacity, the support being given the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria gubernatorial candidate by her father is believed to have placed her far above other candidates in the gubernatorial race considering the influence and the political acumen of the father who has succeeded in installing successive governments in the state including the incumbent.
In what the chairman of the ACPN in Kwara, Dr. Mohammed Zubair, said demonstrated the popularity, acceptance of Dr. Olusola Saraki and his choice of Senator Gbemi Saraki as the preferred candidate for the gubernatorial seat, the Ilorin airport had been filled to capacity as early as 7:00 a.m. following information that the Second Republic Senate Leader would be arriving Ilorin.
Oloye, as he is fondly called, arrived at the airport in a private Jet at about 11:40 a.m. to the waiting hands of well wishers and political associates who later drove with him in a convoy to the city centre and had a stopover at the Emir’s palace.
The convoy could not leave the Emir, Alhaji Sulu Gambari’s palace immediately as the Waziri Ilorin had a closed door meeting with Emir after which the entourage departed the palace.
The popular and influential politician who while driving around the Ilorin metropolis waved to his admirers who were singing and shouting ‘Say Oloye, say Oloye, say Rukaya’ to him endlessly at a point during the trip had to jump up severally to put a lie to insinuations making the rounds that he was invalid or not strong enough to be part of her daughter’s campaign to enable him give the required boost.
While addressing a mamoth crowd gathered to celebrate his return with amid drumming and dancing at the Oju Ekun area of the town, Dr Saraki enjoined citizens of the state to vote enmasse for the candidates of the ACPN contesting the governorship, Senatorial, House of Representatives, and the House of Assembly seats.
The waziri of Ilorin revealed that he was back for good to actively participate in the campaign of Gbemi Saraki and also canvass for votes for other contestants flying the banner of the ACPN.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/jubilation-as-saraki-arrives-ilorin-for-gbemis-campaign/

Senate fails to form quorum, postpones passage of PIB bill

NewsMar 9, 2011

Protesters of PIB are charlatans-Ekweremadu

BY INALEGWU SHAIBU

ABUJA-THE Senate has shelved the passage of Petroleum Industry Bill to Tuesday, March 15, after failing to form a quorum yesterday. Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the debate in the absence of Senate President, David Mark, said the Senate would not be blackmailed into passing the bill by protesting charlatans.
Senator Ekweremadu, remarking after the submission of the report of the Senate Joint Committee on PIB by Senator Lee Maeba, however, gave the assurance that the bill would be passed before the end of the sixth Senate.
He said: “We are responding to our sense of responsibility and not to any text messages. I hear that some charlatans were here yesterday to protest the delay in passage of the bill. I know the amount of work we have put in the PIB in the life of this Senate. We are determined to pass it.”
Even though the Senate was able to pass three other bills without forming quorum, the senators refused to consider the PIB on the excuse of poor attendance and lack of time to consider the report.
Senator Anyim Ude, PDP, Ebonyi urged the senate to expedite action on the PIB before the expiration of the sixth senate in order to ward off harassment from Nigerians.
He said: “I agree that the bill should be passed before the end of live of the senate because of the sheer blackmail we are receiving. We should fix a day to pass it, I feel some people are doing something funny with the bill.”
Senator Abubakar Sodangi, PDP, Nasarawa, argued that a full day be devoted to the bill to get all the senators to participate in passing the bill.
While Senator Satty Gogwim, PDP, Plateau, in his contribution, argued that the bill was shelved due to the absence of the signature of Chairman of Senate Committee on Gas on the report.
He said: “In the signature column, the signature of that of gas is not here. As far as this bill is concern, the committee is not complete.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/senate-fails-to-form-quorum-postpones-passage-of-pib-bill/

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR PARTIES: PDP, 8 others snub INEC

HeadlinesMar 9, 2011
   
By BEN AGANDE

ABUJA – THE ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday led eight other smaller parties to shun the signing of the Code of Conduct for political parties, jointly drafted by the Independent National Electoral commission, INEC, and the parties.

From left: Vice President, Namadi Sambo; President Goodluck Jonathan; Peoples Democaratic Party, PDP Acting National Chairman, Haliru Bello, and former PDP Board of Trustees Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, at the PDP presidential campaign rally in Benin City, Edo State, yesterday.
Although PDP’s National Secretary, Abubakar Baraje, was in attendance at yesterday’s ceremony, he did not give any reason for not signing the document.
The other parties that refused to sign the code include African Renaissance Party, ARP; Fresh Party, and Social Democratic Mega Party.
Vanguard, however, gathered that the leadership of the party was studying the Code in order to make a more informed decision.
Professor Attahiru Jega, who presided over the meeting at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, however, expressed concern at the persistent barring of opposition politicians by state governments to hold rallies, saying it did not portend well for the polity.
Stressing the need for political parties and politicians to assist the commission in ensuring the conduct of free, fair and credible election by abiding by the rules of the games, Jega said: “I must say that there are concerns over utterances and conduct of some of the participants in the process. I want to say that this is unfortunate and we must do everything to prevent reoccurrence.
Conduct of participants
“When we hear certain governors are banning other political parties from campaigning in their states, this calls for serious concern and does not augur well for the success of our democracy and we ask for restraints and tact. Similarly, when we read reports about activities in certain states where banners and posters of opponents are pulled down; this is a very serious concern which has to be addressed.
“We have also read of reports of some media not giving coverage to campaign of opposition parties; we have heard for example that some parties wanted to pay but were told that other political parties had booked for the entire period of campaign; this type of attitude will not augur well for level playing ground.”
Jega told leaders of the political parties that it was necessary “in the next few weeks remaining that we bring new attitude and mind set for the respect of rule of law and the signing of code of conduct would add value to the moral persuasion of all.”
Yesterday’s ceremony was not without its drama as Chairman of the Labour Party, Chief Dan Anyanwu, threatened not to sign the document and suspend further cooperation with the commission if it failed to carry political parties along in its plans for the 2011 elections.
Labour party’s drama
He eventually agreed to sign claiming that Prof. Attahiru Jega had assured the party that all issues it had raised would be addressed in due course.
At the meeting of the commission with political parties at the Tinapa Resort in Cross River State, the parties made an undertaking that if 50 per cent of the registered political parties signed the code of Conduct, it would be binding on all other political parties. At press time, 49 parties had signed the code of conduct with all the major political parties except the PDP signing.
Some of the provisions contained in the Code of Conduct for Political Parties include commitment by all the political parties, their leaders and members ‘to adhere to all existing laws, rules and regulations pertaining to elections as well as the provisions of extant constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’.
The code also provides that all political parties shall provide equal opportunities to all qualified persons to participate in electoral activities and ‘shall ensure and practice internal party democracy by adhering strictly to the provisions of the parties’ constitution in the election or selection of their officers at various levels.
Political parties are also expected to desist from engaging in ‘violent activities or intimidation of any kind’ while assisting security agencies and electoral officials in apprehending and sanctioning their members who attempt to, or flout the provisions of the code, the Electoral Act and or INEC Electoral guidelines.
On the issue of campaign, the Code provides that “all political parties shall take necessary steps to coordinate their campaign activities in such a way as to avoid holding rallies, meetings, marches or demonstrations close to one another at the same time” adding that “whenever the date, venue or timing of any such activities of different political parties clashes, their representatives will meet, in the presence of law enforcement agencies, to resolve the issue amicably, without resort to intimidation, force or violence.”
Instructions to members on election day
On election day issue, the Code provides amongst others that “every party shall instruct its members and supporters that no weapon or any object that can be used to cause injury shall be brought to the polling station, and that no party attire, colours, symbols, emblems or other insignia shall be worn to a polling station on election day.”
The code further provides that “Political Parties, candidates, party members and supporters shall accept the official results as certified by INEC as Free and Fair, or challenge the results in court,” adding that “political parties shall endeavour to send congratulatory messages to their opponents who are announced as duly elected.”
Meanwhile mixed reactions have continued to trail the code of conduct. While some party chieftains said in Lagos that the code was belated as some of its components were already being violated, others lauded the electoral body for coming up with the code.
National Chairman of KOWA Party, Alhaji Umar Kumshe, described the code as a welcome development, adding that it would regulate the conducts of political parties.
He said: “Even though some parties have already violated the laws, it is a welcomed development and it will ensure that our democracy is more realistic.”
Kumshe, however, said his party had signed the code of conduct, urging other political parties to subscribe to it.
Similarly, the National Secretary of the Democratic Peoples Alliance, DPA, Mr. Sam Onimisi, described the code as a good development, noting: “It is a very good development especially given the fact that the parties gave the code of conduct to themselves which means they are morally bound to go by it.”
Infraction of the code
Onimisi said INEC has the authority to enforce any infraction of the code, adding that the code of conduct had been in existence since 2006 and that INEC and the political parties only reviewed it.
He said: “It is not a new thing actually. It has been in existence since 2006 and INEC and the political parties thought it will be wise to review it.”
National Chairman, Peoples Progressive Party, PPP, Mr. Damian Ogbonna, criticised the code, saying it was of no significance to the political parties, adding: “The code of conduct is useless as far as I know because party chairmen are not taking it very seriously and it is not enforceable.”
Ogbonna said the code of conduct is more or less INEC playing to the gallery, saying it has no substance, adding: “So whether the parties sign it or do not sign it, it has no impact because it is useless.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/code-of-conduct-for-parties-pdp-8-others-snub-inec/

MEDIA & SOCIETY: Bode George's delusional rejoinder

By Lanre Idowu

March 9, 2011 09:17AMT


Whatever anyone may have to say about Olabode George, our compatriot recently released from Kirikiri Prisons, no one can deny that he is a colourful man. In speech, carriage and dressing, Mr. George is never anonymous in a crowd.

What he lacks in height, he makes up for with his gift of the garb. Blessed with an arresting voice, he can be trusted to raise it easily, not a few decibels above other voices in a gathering. He has this self-assuredness of his own wisdom and the infallibility of his position that overwhelms many an opposition.

I am told that in his secondary school days, his presence at inter-school debates as lead debater almost always ensured victory for his school. In the few instances the school lost, it was often because he was missing in action. At those times, the school principal ruefully bemoaned their ill luck, saying, "If Bode had been there, victory would have been ours". So it made sense to expect that, with the avalanche of criticism accompanying his noisy return from 16 months behind bars, Mr. George would not keep quiet for long.

Nine days after his release, Mr. George finally spoke. In a two-page Thisday advertorial titled "Time to Talk", he expressed displeasure with the coordinated attack on his character as a result of the reception accorded him by his friends and family. Although Mr. George assigned authorship of the ad to an anonymous "Friends of Olabode George", it doesn't take much to decipher that every word in it conveys his thoughts, ideas, and sensibilities about what took him to prison, and what he thinks of his critics. It was a treatise designed to excoriate, and it was built on a disingenuous premise. Five groups drew his ire: the media; Joseph Oyewole, the judge; Bola Tinubu; Olusegun Obasanjo; and the clergy of the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina.

Mr. George dismissed the media's criticisms as "outrageous commentaries", "jaundiced editorial and thoughtless analyses" and "mercenary penmanship". Rather than celebrating corruption and criminality, Mr. George described the roadshow staged by his friends and family on February 26, as an "instinctive, genuine and ecstatic show of affection and support".

He saw Mr. Tinubu's hand in his travails, describing the former governor as "the arch conspiratorial provocateur" of the "contrived imprisonment" whose "lynch gang have all overturned reasoning and logic". He assailed Justice Oyewole's judgement. According to Mr. George, he was sentenced for the disobedience of a nonexistent "administrative circular pegging approval limit on contracts." He conveniently forgot that the circular was tendered during trial.

Admitting that the Nigerian Ports Authority board, over which he presided, was indicted for contract splitting, Mr. George attributed the procedure "for contract appraisal and subsequent approval" to the "resident administrative leadership of NPA", claiming that "the board never initiated any contract". Mr. George did not say if the leadership of the NPA was divorced from the board.

He wrote off Mr. Obasanjo's explanation that he had attended the church thanksgiving service under the impression that it was a close family and friends' affair. Obasanjo, he said, "is clearly motivated by malice and envy and is consumed by his own venom".
His most savage attack was directed against the church. He dismissed the clergy's exhortations that he should turn a new leaf, shun the pursuit of vengeance, and become a new ambassador of Christ as the "outrageous drooling of purported men of God who ought to be gravitated by spiritual temperance" and "ungodly partisan twaddle from those who should know better".

Not done, Mr. George added, "these damaged emblems of impious ferment should know that the pulpit of Christianity is a sacred tableau that transcends personal prejudices; it is a consecrated ground that demands the firm stability of thought, "
Three things are striking about Saint George's homily. First, he is so desperate for restitution that he thinks he should bully all of us into granting it to him. For him, there is nothing to be penitent about. He did not abuse his office; it was Bola Tinubu who contrived his imprisonment.

He also has a curious notion of what corruption and abuse of office mean. While he agreed to be part of the board that split contracts to circumvent approval from higher government quarters, he pleads not guilty of corruption or abuse of office since his board did not initiate the process. Why then did he preside, if he was only an onlooker? In addition, he may have chosen to make the church his first port of call after prison, but he was obviously not prepared for the welcome message. How could dare tell him not to "partake in any form of manipulation" and not to allow God's name be soiled through him again.

At this rate, Mr. George may need to establish his own media organs and religious organisations, so that he can hear only what he wants to hear.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5682130-182/media__society_bode_georges_delusional.csp

Jonathan may shun presidential debate

By Festus Owete

March 9, 2011 03:29AM

The Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said yesterday it is still weighing the option of its candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan, participating in a presidential debate.

The director of media and publicity of the PCC, Abba Dabo, in a chat with journalists in Abuja, explained that the body has not made up its mind because of several requests by the sponsors, some of which he said are not vibrant.

He said over five different organisations have approached the council for debate and that some of them merely want only four presidential candidates to participate.

He listed some of those that have approached the council to include NN24, Channels TV, and Nigerian Presidential Debate Council (in collaboration with the Nigeria Union of Journalists.

“Some of them said only four candidates and we say why. What criteria are you using? Why not all the candidates? Why do you think this one is important and not the other one? Again, some of them don’t have the reach. But we are still looking at the format the debate will take,” Mr. Dabo said.

The PCC spokesman also denounced the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Muhammadu Buhari, for asking Nigerians to lynch anyone who attempts to rig the forthcoming elections.

Stating that though Mr. Jonathan has already responded to Mr. Buhari’s call, the council spokesman said there are other ways to check rigging without necessarily taking people’s lives.

Not to die for

He said the PDP will not be involved in the rigging of election, but that the party and the council felt the CPC candidate has no right to incite Nigerians.

“He is contesting to be the president, most likely he is not going to win. Nobody in this country should incite the electorate to kill.

“That is why in contrast to what he said, the president said his wanting to be the president is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. It is an attitudinal thing. We feel very, very strongly about people of his calibre inciting Nigerians to do that, especially in an atmosphere like this.

“A little spark is all it takes to cause a mayhem. It is something that had to be brought to his attention so that it is not repeated. I understand prominent Nigerians have approached him to say they were really not happy with what he is doing,” Mr. Dabo said.

He, however, advised Nigerians to protect their votes after casting them, since, according to him, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has made enough arrangement to ensure that the elections are transparent.

“Everybody should vote and make sure that your vote is protected, but it doesn’t mean kill. There are enough sanctions; there are enough arrangements made by INEC to ensure that these things are free and fair. People who are going to win are going to win fairly and squarely,” Mr. Dabo stated.

Mr. Dabo also condemned the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, for organising counter rallies when Mr. Jonathan and the PDP presidential campaign train came to Lagos State.

“Look at what happened in Lagos for instance. They knew the president was going to come in and have his campaign, but Fashola mobilised and had four counter campaign rallies. I cannot understand how a commissioner of police would allow that. Why don’t you wait till the president has gone? It is just to cause confusion,” he further said.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5682120-146/story.csp

234NEXT.COM

SSS coordinates payment of ransom to kidnappers

By Peter Nkanga

March 9, 2011 04:24AM


The Nigerian government, through its secret police, fuelled kidnapping in the restive Niger Delta region by paying millions of naira in ransom to kidnappers, a leaked US diplomatic cable, made available to NEXT, has revealed.

The cable, dated February 6, 2007, and which punctured the claims by the government, and the Nigerian security agencies, that ransoms were never paid to kidnappers, detailed how the government funnelled N20 million through an official of the State Security Service (SSS) to militants to free two foreign hostages.

Billy Graham, an American citizen, and Neil Mirrlees, a British national, were seized on January 23, 2007, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, when two vehicles crashed into Mr. Graham’s Peugeot Sedan car, one from the front and the other from the rear, as both foreigners were on their way to work. Both men at the time worked for Pivot GIS Ltd (PGIS), an oil and gas servicing company located in Port Harcourt.

As the men were held captive and reportedly tortured, their employers, the federal government, the Delta and Rivers State government, and the American embassy made frantic efforts to secure their release.

Money for freedom

The US cable stated how in the second week of their captivity, Mr. Graham communicated with the then general manager of PGIS (we are withholding his name so as not to endanger him), appealing that the negotiation with the kidnappers “should conclude as soon as possible because British national Neil Mirrlees’s condition is very weak”. There were also efforts to get Oral Rehydration Therapy across to him to improve his condition.

Then on February 5, the document said, a top official of the SSS (we are withholding his name because of the nature of his job) in Rivers State, who coordinated the ransom-paying process, reportedly got in touch with John Walker of Control Risks Group, a British private security company which renders kidnap and evacuation consultation services, to say that Governor James Ibori had decided to conclude the hostage negotiations, despite federal policy prohibiting ransom payments.

Mr. Walker quoted the SSS official as saying that “he would arrange for the hostages’ release once he had the full naira 20 million ransom (approximately USD 156,000) in hand”. The decision, he said, was made in the light of Mirrlees’s condition. Days later, the kidnappers released Mr. Mirrlees whose condition had become critical but kept Mr. Graham hostage pending the ransom payment.

It took almost two weeks before Mr. Graham was finally released. By this time the government had discreetly paid the N20 million to the kidnappers, who had initially demanded 1.8 billion naira ransom (about $14million). The government told the world that no payment was made.

In the cable, the SSS chief said that “Ransom payment was contingent on the condition that it never be publicly mentioned”. He then warned the PGIS general manager that he “would be arrested” if the ransom payment ever became known.

The SSS could not be reached for comments yesterday. Calls and text messages sent to the spokesperson of the service, Marilyn Ogar, went unanswered.

In a telephone call with NEXT, the PGIS boss admitted that at the time of the kidnap, he was in constant touch with the SSS. He also admitted that Mr. Graham while in captivity had called him to intimate him about Mr. Mirlees ill health. He however said he did not know the amount paid as ransom for their release.

When contacted, Control Risks Group declined to comment on its role in the ransom payment saga. “I’m afraid that we’re not in a position to help on this occasion as we do not provide comment on specific instances of kidnapping,” Georgina Parkes, the company’s Director of Communications, said. “In terms of our areas of focus as a business risk consultancy, we advise our clients on the political, security and integrity issues that they may encounter when doing business globally. As a matter of course all our business activities are undertaken in line with international and jurisdiction specific regulations and legislation.”



Creating a hostage-taking industry

By paying ransoms, the government and oil companies created an industry of hostage taking, says an April 3, 2006 cable by Ambassador John Campbell to Washington.

In the dispatch, Mr. Campbell related how Chevron Nigeria security consultant, Hamish MacDonald, lamented to him at a March 29, 2006 meeting that a large amount of money was paid for the release of some hostages seized in Delta State that month.

At the meeting with the ambassador, Mr. MacDonald raised concern that his company was “blind-sided” by the commitments made to effect the March 26 release of three hostages held by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

He said company sources indicated “a very large amount” of money had changed hands for this release, far more than in the release of hostages in January.

“If true”, Mr. Campbell wrote in his dispatch, “We might be witnessing the birth of an industry”.

Of course, kidnapping became such a huge industry afterwards, and the country is still grappling with the repercussions.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5682079-146/story.csp

Asa, free spirit

By Olushola Ojikutu

March 6, 2011 12:29AM

Asa’s earliest memory was singing through the painful hours it took her mum to braid her hair for school when she was little. As a child, Bukola Elemide (her birth name) had realised the power of music to exorcise pain and disillusionment. And she never let go of that knowledge. “The recollection that stands out the most is that I was constantly singing, that was all I did. My parents often scolded me for it.” Of course it must not have helped that her father, a cinematographer, had an eclectic collection in his audio library. Asa cut her musical teeth listening to Juju, Apala, Blues, Afro beat, and Raggae; trying them out and gradually forming her own musical sense from these influences.

Born in France, Asa moved to Nigeria at age two, living in several places before finally settling in Lagos. She chalks her peripatetic life to “decisions that your parents make and you just follow.” She did eventually finish her secondary education at Federal Government College, Jos.

Growing up in Nigeria is not one of happy reminisces for the musician who was the only female of four children. “It is normal for an African girl to take up the mother role; you are trained to be responsible. But I am a free soul, and I spent a long time fighting for freedom.” Asa’s need to break out of the mould resulted in an insularity which she is now only coming to terms with. “Asa has just grown; I missed out when I was a teen because I was so into my own world,” she says.

She ultimately attained her long-sought freedom when her parents endorsed her decision to relocate to coastal Badagry, on the outskirts of Lagos State, to study music. This time, she says, was six months well spent mastering the guitar. With the hindsight of two successful albums, and a number of international nominations and awards including the 2008 Prix Constantin for French new talent, Asa sees her Nigerian upbringing as the inspiration for her musical success. “I learnt morals and a compassion that I would not have had growing up in Europe. In Nigeria, you learn to improvise, to become a survivor. My family went through phases of tough times, Nigeria toughens you that way. You learn to think.”

Evolution between albums

Asa’s debut image may have positioned her as Bob-Marley and Tracy Chapman rolled into a youthful, contemporary whole, but with her sophomore album, she appears to have embraced a more feminine and optimistic sense of style and music. This, she explains as a change in mindset: “While composing my first album, I was like an angry teen; I wanted to talk about so many disappointments without seeing it from the world’s point of view. I was an angry person who did not understand why things were the way they were.

Having said all that I had to say in my first album, I now am less burdened; and with ‘Beautiful Imperfection’, I am speaking from the point of view of a woman who has experienced life. I have a renewed sense of self and I know that there’s room for negotiation. I just wanted to be happy and uplift people with my music.” Blood red nails, a carefully made-up face, coiffed dreadlocks and form-fitting attire are a further reflection of this change in outlook. Especially for a musician whose national appeal had - besides her soul searching lyrics - had a lot to gain by her eschewing of a feminine flamboyance in favour of a more staid, if unconventional, appearance.

Asa’s anger, however, still targets naysayers, who peddle untruths about her. Speaking on a recent libel suit she launched against a media company, which had sought to query her sexuality and relationship her with her best friend and manager of eight years, she exhibits a contemplative equivocation. “I did sue them. People do not watch their mouths, and it’s especially horrible when it is not true. But with these situations, you never know if it’s the right thing to do.”

Beautiful Imperfection

While still largely cut from the same poignant socio-political criticism mould of her self-titled debut, she softens things up in ‘Beautiful Imperfection’ with pop track ‘Be My Man’, admitting a more sensitive side that she now thinks she is “mature enough to explore”. “My favourite movie is ‘Pretty Woman’. There is something vulnerable about a woman who finds her Prince Charming. I’m still cheesy that way,” she laughs self-effacingly.

Asa’s musical identity is inspired by her native Yoruba word for ‘hawk’; and one would think that the young musician who punctuates the interview with native proverbs, and whose songs (particularly Awe from her debut) are a wonderful employment of native Yoruba idiom, would be one to boast a remarkable knowledge of the language; but she reveals, “I don’t speak Yoruba as well as I sing it; most of my childhood we were spoken to in English, and in school punished for speaking vernacular. I think that was one of the biggest mistakes our parents made.”

Taking flight

The single-mindedness that Asa shares with the avian inspiration for her name informed a decision to return to the European country of her birth in 2006 for musical opportunities which she felt she had exhausted. “Nigeria is a wonderful place to acquire inspiration but pursuing an individual definition of success is difficult back home. There’s a close-mindedness concerning what constitutes success.” If she had done as the society had deemed propitious, she would have kept pace with her mates, attended university and perhaps gotten a job hustling the nine to five. “Our parents have brainwashed us with the belief that success is a direct result of education.” She sings ‘bata mi a dun koko ka’, a yoruba pedagogical rhyme, to illustrate this. Nigeria is no doubt one great music export richer for Asa’s refusal to be judged by society’s standards.

Her remarkable debut and sophomore albums have been internationally certified platinum and gold respectively; the latter since its release in October, 2010. Nominated for Best Female Act at Victoires de la Musique (French Music Awards); the young guitar-wielding musician recently thrilled the British media to a performance showcase as part of her on-going tour of Europe.

These among other international recognitions are more than enough proof that the world needs a paradigm shift. “Besides,” says the diminutive 28-year-old who has worked extensively with producer Cobhams Asuquo and collaborated with Nigerian rappers like 9ice and Naeto C, “travelling the world and trying out restaurants in the countries I visit is so much fun, even if my band and I have been on the bus, camping out on tiny bunk beds all week.” Asa will be performing on a double bill with Ivorien Reggae Musician Tiken Jah Fakoly on April 4 at the Barbican, London, as part of her European tour.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/ArtsandCulture/Music/5681501-146/story.csp

Ijesa People Are Wonderful – Aregbesola

Speech delivered by Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, at the civic reception held in his honour by Council of Ijesa Societies, Lagos, at Police College Grounds, Ikeja, Lagos State on February 26, 2011.
Protocols,

We are moving forward I must thank the Council of Ijesa Societies in Lagos for doing me the honour of this civic reception. This is indeed the first of such honours that I will receive outside of Osun State since my assumption of office on November 27 last year.

My journey to the governorship of Osun State began in Lagos, it is proper, and I am delighted, therefore, that this celebration is taking place in Lagos.

Ijesas are one of the most interesting people in the world. They are industrious, enterprising, gregarious, disciplined, fiercely loyal, stickler for integrity and never forget their benefactors. I am proud to be one of you and even prouder to be in the midst of one of the greatest people on the face of God’s earth at this moment.

Let me thank all Ijesa people for the unflinching support they gave me during my campaign for office spanning five years and in my ordeal in the hands of the reactionary cabal that held Osun State, and in a larger sense, Nigeria, by the jugular before God, through the verdict of courageous, irrepressible and incorruptible judges, rescued us.

Our people in Osun State, Ijesa in particular, were visited with the most reprehensible retribution for standing for truth and justice. Many were killed, maimed, hounded and their persons violated during the siege. Considering what you suffered and endured on my behalf, I can now confidently say that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for being in your midst and confident of your steadfast support, I am the meanest warrior in the valley.

Let me also say that the Ijesa people did not support me because I am one of them, I only happen to be the symbol of their aspiration for truth, justice and good governance. If you check their history, you will find this to be correct.

Ijesa people abhor injustice, political corruption and tyranny and will fight these with every fibre of their being. This has always been the basis of the revolutions and upheavals that have characterised their evolution as a people. If they are not rebelling against political imposition and bad governments, they are deposing tyrannical monarchs. They are a wonderful people.

It will interest you to know that the Council of Ijesa Societies was one of the organisations that joined to form the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in August 1944. It is, therefore, not surprising that Ijesa people voted for and supported Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe’s NCNC in the First Republic and only started looking at Chief Obafemi Awolowo seriously after the formation of the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA) in 1964. By 1979, Ijesas voted nearly 100 per cent for Awolowo and their protest against the rigging of the 1983 elections was fierce and absolute throughout Ijesaland.

I must also acknowledge and thank most sincerely other Lagosians that stood by me. Foremost is our leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, my mentor and immense benefactor. He is a leader of leaders, an incomparable inspiration, dogged fighter; an irrepressible, indefatigable and unconquerable advocate of democracy, rule of law, liberty and good governance. He is the kind of leader you can follow to battle with your eyes closed, knowing that he would stand by you and defend you with the last drop of his blood. I thank you sir.

My sincere appreciation goes to the Governor of Lagos, Babatunde Raji Fashola, who put behind us the entire machinery of Lagos State in order to ensure that he was not a lone ranger. Your effort has not been in vain. Now you have many brother governors. I am sure he will not rest on his oars until the South-West is liberated. I thank you.

I will never forget the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, who as the leader of all the monarchs in Lagos State, rallied the institution behind me and stood solidly with me until victory was achieved. I am immensely grateful to all the Obas and chiefs in Lagos State. K’ade pe l’ori, ki bata ape lese. Igba odun bi odun kan ni o.

I must also thank our party in Lagos under the able leadership of Chief Henry Ajomole and our own political group, BATCO, under the distinguished leadership of Cardinal James Omolaja Odumbaku, Baba Eto.

I have the unique privilege of not only the total support of our party in Osun State, but its overwhelming support in Lagos State as well. I must let you know that my election and eventual victory is by divine appointment and all you good people here are God’s instrument for achieving this.
Let me also thank my friends and former colleagues in the Lagos State cabinet, Professor Osinbajo, Muiz Banire, Dele Alake, Wale Edun and others too important to be forgotten. They are my pillars of support before, during and after the election – they never for once wavered while my odyssey lasted. I thank you most sincerely from the bottom of my heart.

As is usual, when I came into office, I met an empty treasury, huge debts and Olympian responsibilities and expectations. We have however begun on a promising note. We started by patterning our administration after the progressive and incomparable government of Chief Obafemi Awolowo which began in the Western Region on February 6, 1952 and lasted for seven years.

Our first and major achievement is the creation of 20,000 public sector jobs for our people. This is unprecedented. We make no distinction on the political and ethno-religious identity of the beneficiaries. The government belongs to the entire people of the state who freely and generously gave us the mandate to govern. Therefore, every resident is entitled to benefit from the policies of the government. It is their inalienable right to share in the dividends of democracy. The successful candidates have completed their training and will have their passing out parade next week.
We have also put in place the machinery for addressing the injustices of the past with the inauguration of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission headed by Honourable Justice Samson Uwaifo (JSC). As said earlier, the commission is not meant to witch-hunt anybody but to afford the people of the state the opportunity to seek redress for the injustices they have suffered.

Our biggest enterprise is the provision of the infrastructure of the mind. By rechristening our state as the land of Omoluabi, we are reawakening the consciousness of our people on who they really are as virtuous people and not what they have been made to become by the impostors and forced leadership they were saddled with for almost eight years.

We have had an education summit. The aim is to find the way forward in reviving education in our state. We have the lesson of history that the greatest feat any government can achieve is human development. A people equipped with quality education are better prepared to face the challenges of a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive world.

I am therefore inviting all Ijesa people to the process of rebirth of our state. Your intellectual, entrepreneurial, industrial, technological and administrative resources are most needed now. This is your government, the government you helped put in place. I am only your servant in the service of our people. More than ever before, I am going to task these resources and count on your support.

Once again, I thank you most sincerely for this honour and your kind attention.

Osun a dara o!

http://www.osundefender.org/?p=12647
http://twitter.com/raufaregbesola/
http://www.facebook.com/GovernorRaufAregbesola

Reception for Bode George: Falana carpets Obasanjo


Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf 06/03/2011 00:26:00


LAGOS human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana has described as scandalous the statement credited to former president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo that he was deceived into attending the reception in honour of Chief Olabode George, saying: “it should be discountenanced by Nigerians.”

Falana who spoke in a telephone interview with The Nation last night said even from Obasanjo’s own account, there was no evidence of misrepresentation whatsoever as the reception programme was well-publicized in the media before the D-day.

“Now former president Obasanjo got to the venue and discovered that it was not a gathering of Area Boys, but the collection of the crème dela crème of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Federal Government. Why did he not withdraw from the event when he found out that it was a celebration of criminality?” Falana queried.

Discomfited, Falana said: “Instead of resorting to bracing opportunism, there was a belated a diatribe of Chief Bode George. The ex-president should apologize to Nigerians for assaulting their moral integrity.”

Raising a poser, he said: “Why has it taken one week to discover that he was tricked to attend that programme? Is he not aware that the return of an ex-convict from prison is a sober event or did the summary by Venerable Tayo Aduloju’s sermon not strike a cord in the conscience of ex-president Obasanjo? More so, that he was the one who launched the anti-corruption crusade under which Chief Bode George was jailed?

Was President Goodluck Jonathan also tricked to send a powerful delegation to the show of shame?”

“Obasanjo should therefore be advised to tell his cock and bull story to the marine”, he stressed.

It may be recalled that George and five others were arraigned on August 8, 2008 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 163-count charge, bordering on abuse of office in the award of over N100 billion as Board Chairman of the Nigeria Ports Authority without recourse to the due process.

He was later convicted in October 2009 by Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja and jailed for two years alongside others on a seven-count charge of abuse of office and six months each on another 27-count charge of disobedience to constituted authority.

Having served his prison sentence and subsequently regained freedom penultimate Saturday, a committee of friends decided to hold a reception in his honour.

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/29964.html

Chuma Nzeribe, Peter Obi, And Political Treachery By Okey Ndibe

Posted: March 8, 2011 - 01:36

Saharareporters

columnist: Okey Ndibe


Governor Peter Obi of Anambra is one of the luckiest politicians in Nigeria’s history. He’s in danger of turning himself into one of the most historically blind as well.

In 2003, Mr. Obi ran as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). He won the election, his appeal buoyed by widespread disenchantment with the four-year banditry of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, the PDP’s one-term governor, had come to epitomize wretched governance.

It was reported that a hectoring, ill-educated “godfather” named Emeka Offor had facilitated Mr. Mbadinuju’s emergence as governor. When both men fell apart, the then governor, a former newspaper administrator and lawyer, preoccupied himself with survival. Unable to discharge even the minimal obligations of the government, Mr. Mbadinuju adopted the clownish role of a pastor-in-chief. At one point, he owed pensioners and state workers as many as twelve months of unpaid pensions and salaries. Yet, week after week, the man seized the airwaves and importuned the hapless victims of his disastrous policies with indulgent sermons that quoted liberally from the Bible.

Mr. Mbadinuju, who was educated at Cornell University, proved that attendance at a grand academy was no inoculation against failure. The people of Anambra came to blame Mr. Mbadinuju’s wretched tenure as a consequence – in part, at least – of the war of attrition between him and forces allied with his erstwhile “godfather.”

That perception, and the residents’ determination to free themselves from the PDP’s vicious stranglehold, fueled the triumph of Mr. Obi, a then little known banker and businessman. When the PDP stole Obi’s mandate, installing Chris Ngige as governor, Mr. Obi went to court to redeem it. Some of us admired the tenacity with which he pursued the reclamation of that mandate. He rebuffed pleas to pack it in. He rejected the pleas of those who contended that Mr. Ngige was performing well – having dumped his own equally unlettered “godfather,” Chris Uba (as well as Mr. Uba’s enabler, then President Olusegun Obasanjo) – and deserved to be permitted to stay on. A believer in the principle that the people are sovereign, I lauded Mr. Obi’s fortitude and persistence. He was correct – I believed then and believe now – to insist that he was not at liberty to abandon the pursuit of an office that was bequeathed by the voters, but hijacked by the PDP.

Mr. Obi’s streak of luck continued in 2007. After Mr. Obasanjo, the PDP and former electoral commission chairman, Maurice Iwu, conspired to impose Emmanuel Nnamdi (Andy) Uba as Anambra governor, Mr. Obi returned to court. Facing formidable opponents and forbidding odds, he summoned that stubborn streak in him. He scratched his way, round after grueling round, to the Supreme Court – which then declared Mr. Uba an impostor, sacked him, and asked that Obi continue as governor till early 2010.

When Mr. Uba made relays to the Supreme Court and other courtrooms, seeking to snatch away the governorship, Mr. Obi stood firm and beat back his antagonist’s insidious schemes. In Anambra and all over Nigeria, Obi became a charmed and fascinating figure, a politician of considerable heroic stature. If he remained steadfast and governed with the same zeal and commitment that he brought to legal jousts, this governor could have made himself a compelling candidate for some exalted elective office in the near future.

Alas, Mr. Obi, the man of great luck, appears intent on betraying not only the people who stood behind him but also undermining the image he worked hard to earn. To admirers of Governor Obi, this must be the strangest of times. Is the man aware of the consequences of this act of self-miniaturization?

The word on the street is that Governor Obi is working assiduously to fold up APGA and hand over its remnants to the PDP. Here’s a man who had the opportunity to husband APGA into a strong political player, one capable of establishing itself as a colossus in the south-eastern part of Nigeria in much the same way that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has become an indomitable force in the south-west. But rather than work at realizing this prospect, Mr. Obi has chosen to make APGA a tool in the hands of some of the worst elements in the PDP.

Last January, APGA held its version of primaries in Anambra. It turned into a wholesale give-away of party tickets to PDP members who’d made last-minute (and highly suspicious) defections to APGA. One such element is Chuma Nzeribe, a man who’s managed to feature in one questionable role or another in the crises-prone politics of Anambra. One of the most embarrassing moments came when the party, with the apparent blessing of Governor Obi, gave its senatorial ticket for Anambra South to Mr. Nzeribe. How perfidious was that decision?

Let’s count (some of) the ways. Mr. Nzeribe was the chief security officer to former Governor Mbadinuju when the Bakassi Boys, a vigilante group, carried out some of its worst excesses, including extra-judicial killings that appeared politically motivated. The most gruesome of those murders, that of Barnabas Igwe and his wife, remains an open sore on the state. Mr. Igwe, a leader of the bar, was one of Mr. Mbadinuju’s fiercest critics.

Chuma Nzeribe was a member of the Chris Uba circle that ensured that Anambra remained ungovernable as part of a strategy to cow the intransigent Ngige into surrendering to the godfather he had the temerity to forsake. This cabal arranged the gangster-like abduction of Mr. Ngige by scores of police officers led by former Assistant Inspector-General of Police Ralph Ige, since deceased.

In November 2004, this clique sponsored the invasion of Anambra by truckloads of thugs. For three days, the hired wreckers swept through the state in an orgy of arson and destruction. Escorted by the police, the arsonists destroyed state-owned television and radio stations, a state-run hotel, the governor’s office and several other buildings as well as cars. The spree left the people of Anambra shocked and awed. It also burdened them, by some account, with damages in the range of thirty billion naira. At the height of the mayhem, a triumphant Chuma Nzeribe addressed the press and dared Mr. Ngige to appear in Awka, the Anambra State capital.

Nobody – not a single person – has been prosecuted for this act of impunity, shocking even for a country with Nigeria’s history of outrageous conduct. I have urged Governor Obi to pursue reparations on behalf of the people of Anambra. I happen to know that other people have also sought to nudge him into action – to no avail.

Governor’s Obi’s political romance of Chuma Nzeribe is simply bizarre and cruel, a puzzle embedded inside a riddle. It’s as cruel a way to repay the people of Anambra for their generous goodwill as possible. Even if Mr. Nzeribe were a bankable electoral asset, his selection as APGA’s senatorial candidate would still be traitorous. In the event, he is a certified underdog. In 2007, he was smuggled into the House of Representatives as a beneficiary of the ruling PDP’s do-or-die rigfest. In July 2009, a panel of the Court of Appeal sacked him from the legislature, declaring that he had usurped the place of a lawyer, Vitalis Okafor, who was the legitimate nominee. That judgment elicited widespread celebration in Anambra, including Ihiala, Chuma Nzeribe’s hometown.

Why, then, are Governor Obi and APGA in such haste to resurrect the political career of a man whose ethical and political deficits are so gargantuan? Why is APGA being remade, before our very eyes, in the image of the PDP, a party whose rejection by the people of Anambra led to Obi’s political ascendancy? How would Obi justify the historically absurd decision to align with the PDP, a party whose record in Anambra stinks?

http://saharareporters.com/column/chuma-nzeribe-peter-obi-and-political-treachery-okey-ndibe

Speaker Bankole Says He Met US Envoy For 20 Minutes

Posted: March 8, 2011 - 03:18


By SaharaReporters, New York

As SaharaReporters disclosed, Speaker Dimeji Bankole of the House of Representatives has issued a statement denying the contents of a Wikileaks cable in which, among other startling revelations, he told an American envoy, Robin Sanders, that the justices of the Supreme Court accepted bribes to validate the 2007 presidential election.

In the Wikileaks cable, first reported by 234Next, Mr. Bankole also castigated Farida Waziri of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, as well as explained why former ruler, Umaru Yar’adua, and former Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaa, would not allow the proper prosecution of James Ibori, the embattled former governor of Delta State who is now in Dubai awaiting extradition to the UK.

As soon as 234Next published the cable, Saharareporters contacted two aides of Mr. Bankole seeking their reaction. One of the aides declined to comment, but another told our correspondent that the speaker planned to vehemently deny and discredit the contents of the cable on the grounds that Wikileaks cables are not reliable. In addition, the aide stated that the US embassy would never officially confirm or deny the contents of the leaked cable, a factor, he said, that was in the speaker’s favor.

In a hastily written statement issued today, Mr. Bankole did not deny that the meeting with the then American ambassador took place. However, the statement, which was signed by Kayode Odunaro, claimed that the meeting between Mr. Bankole and Ms. Sanders lasted only 20 minutes.

Mr. Bankole’s version differs from the American account as revealed in the Wikileaks cable. The cable detailed how the American ambassador held a two-hour private meeting with the speaker on May 9, 2009 to discuss a range of subjects.

The full text of Mr. Bankole’s statement:

The attention of the Office of Speaker, House of Representatives has been drawn to the publication in some media quoting “Wikileaks” alleging that Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole, Speaker of House of Representatives says that Supreme Court judges took bribes to validate Yar’Adua/Jonathan election as well as describing EFCC as “not worth a penny”!

We deny in strongest terms that Speaker Bankole ever made such allegations or statement against respected justices of the Supreme Court and the anti-corruption agency, EFCC in any meeting with the then US Ambassador, Ms. Robin Sanders. The official meeting Ms. Sanders had with Mr. Speaker was in presence of leadership of the House and did not last more than 20 minutes. It is a lie that Mr. Speaker had a two hour private meeting with Ms. Sanders.

The Office of the Speaker challenges US officials to authenticate this wild allegations that strike at the integrity of Nigeria judicial institution and its foremost anti-corruption agencies.




It is an open an open secret the cordial relationship that existed between the late President Yar’Adua and the Speaker aside the fact that he is part of the Yar’adua government. He could not have made an allegation against the justices which impugn on the Yar’adua government.

We are however surprised that any Nigerian medium could give credence to and publish what in essence could be mere gossip and unconfirmed summary of diplomats trying to get a grip of issues on-going in their host countries for their home government.

We want to counsel media organizations that such sensational allegations bordering on crime against the highest judicial officers of the land and its foremost anticorruption agencies should be handled more responsibly with full and verifiable authentication from all parties in the interest of protecting the institution of judiciary, the last hope of the common man.

Signed:

Chief Kayode Odunaro

Special Adviser (Communications)

Speaker, House of Representatives

March 7, 2011

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/speaker-bankole-says-he-met-us-envoy-20-minutes

NEWS HEADLINE NEWS BUHARI STORMS IBADAN

Buhari Storms Ibadan

MONDAY, 07 MARCH 2011 01:40 SAKIN BABALOLA, IBADAN

All is now set to receive the Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) who along with top executives of his party would storm Ibadan, the state capital today where he was expected to flag off his South-West campaign for the presidential race.

Thousands of party supporters and friends of the party have been mobilized to give the Presidential candidate a very rousing welcome, LEADERSHIP was told yesterday.

It was learnt that Barrister Adebayo Shittu would receive the governorship flag during the occasion.

When our reporter called the candidate, he pledged that there would be no violence during the rally in the state capital.

Speaking further, Barrister Shittu said that the state deserved a change which would be effected as soon as he comes into power.

The candidate called on the people of the state to come out and give Gen. Buhari a rousing welcome.

He said that the presidential campaign which was scheduled for today was put off till next week Monday for logistic reasons adding that the postponement was regretted.

http://www.leadershipeditors.com/ns/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26629:buhari-storms-ibadan&catid=16:headline-news&Itemid=102

Oil Find Likely In Niger State


MONDAY, 07 MARCH 2011 00:46 ABU NMODU, MINNA


A strong indication emerged weekend on the possibility of crude oil reserves in the flood plain of the river Niger around Bida area of Niger State. The Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) gave the indication in Minna.The society’s president, Professor Anthony Azubuike Elueze, in a press briefing, said investigations into the samples of the soil from the area was on-going to ascertain the authentic level of reserve. He also disclosed that there were other parts of the country with such prospects. The areas he listed were Chad and Sokoto basins.
According to him “As resources continue to dwindle, we need to look for new grounds as potential areas for natural resources. In Bida area of Niger State, we have prospects of getting hydrocarbons.”


He disclosed that the society would be holding its 46th annual conference and that the samples of soil taken from Bida, which contained hydrocarbon that indicates presence of crude oil underground would be further analysed.

Consequently the president of NMGS said that at the end of the society’s five-day conference it would come out with a resolution on the findings from the Bida Trough to authenticate the presence of crude oil in the area. This, he said, would contribute to the body of knowledge in the area of economic policy in Nigeria.

Elueze therefore called on the federal government to advance ways of sustaining the gains of crude oil in the country even as he cautioned that crude oil as a resource was not renewable and so the gains should be channelled positively to diversifying the nation’s economy.

http://www.leadershipeditors.com/ns/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26592:oil-find-likely-in-niger-state&catid=51:cover-stories&Itemid=101