₦airaland Forum

At the rate Jonny Boy is going he will go from Aso Rock to jail for treasonable felony if he does not take time

Nigerian Tribune gathered that Babangida was told to rescind his decision of handing over to a candidate from the South-East, choose a vice-president from South-South, implement the white paper of the Ledun Mittee committee and create additional states in the South-South geopolitical zone.

Imagine the thinking of the so called South South some folks claim are allies of the South East

Ignore this people, I will rather be outsmarted by Northerners than to be outsmarted by Ijaws. They have betrayed us enough and honestly this project Jonathan does not sit well with me.

Ndigbo please wake up. Ignore Jonathan's middle names . . . . . he is here to complete the betrayal his forefathers betrayed our forefathers.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201010070682.html

Don't Endorse Any Presidential Aspirant, Group Warns Ohanaeze
Tony Ita Etim
7 October 2010

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Enugu — IGBO Students Association has advised Ohaneze Ndigbo not to endorse any presidential candidate for the 2011 general elections.

The admonition was contained in a press statement signed by Eric Udeh, Emenike Duru, and Uchenna Achike: President, Vice President and Secretary of the student body respectively.

The students warned that any attempt by Ohaneze to endorse any candidate would only polarise Ohaneze and recalled that "Four years ago, the third term agenda almost destroyed both Prof. Joe Irukwu and Ohaneze itself. No endorsement, please."

According the statement, "The Igbo Students Association notes with dismay, the untidy way Igbo leaders are going about campaigning for various presidential aspirants without considering our plight as future leaders.

"Unemployment, insecurity Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), strike and poverty is dealing with the South East heartlessly while some Igbo leaders are busy mortgaging away our future in Abuja."

The group bemoaned lack of coordination of Igbo leaders and observed that while some had endorsed the incumbent President others were locked out in Owerri.

"We ask wither Ndigbo? What is in it for Ndigbo? What promises have our leaders extracted from the man they have endorsed?", queried the students.

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They wondered "Do they plan on giving away Igbo support for free? When will they negotiate with Ndigbo? We hope that a rumour of an impending Ohaneze endorsement of a particular candidate is not true. Ohaneze is not a political party, Ohaneze has no business endorsing presidential candidates."

The students demanded that all presidential candidates to negotiate with Igbo leaders what Ndigbo would get in exchange for their support and whether the presidency will come to Ndigbo.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5630952-146/inecs_n21bn_ghost_polling_booths_.csp


[size=18pt]INEC’s N21bn ghost polling booths [/size]

By Nicholas Ibekwe


October 17, 2010 02:00AM
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Attahiru Jega's Independent National Electoral Commission has asked for and received N20.4 billion than it actually needs to register voters for the upcoming elections.

The funding request, which was hurriedly passed by the National Assembly and which the finance minister, Segun Aganga, confirmed had been released last Thursday in Abuja, was based on a faulty calculation that wildly overinflated the number of polling stations at which prospective voters are to be registered by computer.

INEC arrived at its N87.7 billion request on the back of a claim of 120,000 polling sites in the country. It then claimed that each computer, identified with the fancy name of ‘data capture machine', would cost N308, 000.

But an analysis of the data published by INEC on its website, conducted for NEXT on Sunday by the citizens advocacy group, WangoNet, shows that INEC has 28,000 fewer polling stations than it claimed, officials having puffed up the numbers through duplication and what appeared to be outright falsification.

Nearly 8,000 polling sites were counted twice, thrice, or substantially more, before INEC arrived at the nice round figure of 120,000.

Endorsement, endorsement!!!! all based on nothing!!!!!!

what are his reform policies on small businesses support? is there anything Jonathan has said he will do that will benefit the lives of Igbos on the streets?

South East is badly in need of an Alex Samond of the Scotish National Party

Someone who know what they are doing who will promote Igbo agenda through democracy and politics not violence.

Someone who can transform the aspiration of Ndigbo into achievable targets like liaising with the Minister For Commerce and Industry to introduce business policies that will safeguard all Nigerians doing business in any part of Nigeria and prevent this culture of bigoted Governors maltreating traders without compensation in the name of regeneration.

Create agencies where Businessmen can go ask questions about the position of the law on their plans on development or expansion of their business. Not peoples livelishoods being destroyed later merely because Business owners were ignorant of the law.

oyb:
insert oyb version

while chile presido is taking photoshoot with rescued miners - gej is doing photoshoot with successsful criminals

our dera president is telling the kids out there - when u grow up u want to be like tomopolo

Exactly!!! The message to our kids is simply clear.

Blow up a few pipelines and you might just have a chance to dine with the President.

The President of Nigeria is a shameless goat

He now dines with terrorists, he should also invite BokoHaram to Aso Rock because it seems that is what he is best at. Hosting terrorists.

World leaders are hosting Fire Fighters, Police Officers, Teachers etc who showed courage in their job. Our President prefers to host terrorists who have killed soldiers, destroyed pipelines, destroyed oil installations and properties of Nigeria.

Jonathan's action is a slap on the face of all the soldiers who died to ensure peace in Niger-Delta. It is also an insult on the lives of all those who died during the troubles in Niger-Delta.

Talk about hypocrisy.

The student he invited to come and re-invent an existing technology to solve the kidnap crisis, where does he study? Otueke or Abuja?

Was it not from Finland he invited the student? even though till now there is no evidence of results from that show.

He must surely believe in Nigeria and Nigerian cummunity of students, lecturers, researchers, professors to have invited an ordinary student from finland to come and solve a National crisis.

Shame on the Liar-in-Chief.

we need a President we clearly don't have one. The shoe maker on my street is more poignant and thoughtful than this buffon in Aso Rock

GEJA should answer for the death of Fafunwa

a very good write up from a man on the ground

naijaking1:
Anybody finding Dokpesi guilty or innocent at this time is wrong, because the investigation has just begun.

The last time I checked it is still Innocent until proven guilty.

not the other way round.

[size=18pt]Nigeria: Running Out of Luck[/size]
Chidi Amuta
6 October 2010

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http://allafrica.com/stories/201010070254.html

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opinion

In a season of partisan frenzy, fair assessment of matters in the public square is a strenuous undertaking. And yet, we now have an urgent responsibility to safeguard whatever is left of our common patrimony by insisting that the work of leading Nigeria ought to be a serious and involved undertaking. The present quality and direction of political leadership at the apex has, unfortunately, created a new urgency to the matter.

An incumbent authority does not forfeit the obligation to be held accountable for its actions simply because it is engaged in politics by all means. Nor can we afford to erect a different set of criteria for assessing our leaders simply because we are, after all, Nigerians. Therefore, even if it chooses not to make things better, any Nigerian leader has a minimum responsibility to leave matters as bad as they were before their ascent.

Fair observers of the Nigerian public space in recent times will come to a deafening consensus: President Goodluck Jonathan needs and deserves help. And desperately so. This is to save him from ending up presiding over the liquidation of our battered country. All those who love Nigeria and have any ideas to offer need to lend their voices quickly before the serial missteps, errors, misjudgements and outright bungling that are fast becoming the hallmarks of this administration unsettle the rest of us.

In the days before he became president, the most important credential that was used in marketing the Jonathan brand was his apparent lucky streak in matters of political ascendancy. It was endlessly rehashed that it was sheer luck that propelled him that far. No one can deny that the man has been singularly lucky. To be propelled from the dark anonymity of a mere local government councillor in the creeks of the Niger Delta to the marbled vaults of presidential power in Abuja must appeal to all those who believe in divine providence. That this dizzying leap came about through no obvious acts of hard work, political wizardry, track record of performance of any known task requiring any specialised skill can only be attributed to divine providence by the superstitious minded.

Perhaps only in Nigeria is Jonathan's story even remotely possible. With an allocative political culture that demands neither tutelage nor rigour, neither originality nor exertion, people can be propelled by a combination of compromise and patronage to heights that may confound even their wildest expectations.

But by the nature of the presidential system and indeed the imperative of leadership, the logic of luck expires the moment a president is sworn in. From then on, ultimate presidential responsibility takes over from the illogic of luck and providential opportunism. Luck may carry a country boy to the city but he has to find livelihood and survive the rough streets on his own. Similarly, luck could take you into the presidential palace but it is not going to take the hard decisions for you. In plain language, luck cannot fix the horrible roads, chase away kidnappers, grant sensible interviews, select good ministers and advisers or, for that matter, write you a manual on accountability and minimum responsible governance. Luck will not, for sure, rein in a presidential spouse that decides to play untidy Imelda Marcos or untutored Evita Peron.

Against the lazy logic of those who insisted that he owed nearly all his achievements to luck, President Jonathan owed himself one thing on assumption of office. He had the opportunity and responsibility to prove that beneath his quiet mien and deliberate posture lie a more substantial offering. We expected him to hit the road running since he had less than one year of effective governance to prove the point of a life time. Given his age and the national chorus on generation change, we expected him to wake up every day to watch film clips of what Barack Obama, Paul Kagame or David Cameron did the day before. Nigerians expected Jonathan to step up to the plate of the overwhelming expectations that greeted his outset. Even if symbolically, we expected him at the places where Nigerians feel the pain most. He needed to stamp a personal imprint on our space and say the things that speak to our injured pride and collective hurt. We have neither seen his hands nor heard his voice in any convincing way. Otherwise, his aspiration to a more substantive mandate in 2011 would have been a cake walk.

Regrettably, the results that we are seeing on the ground defy the logic of those who insist that sheer luck can take you through everything. Even worse is the plight of political merchants who have recently marketed the man as God sent to solve our problems and lead the way forward. No just divinity can wish the calamity that is unfolding before our very eyes on any set of followers. I am sure the prophets that saw a messiah in the man may need to re-consult the oracles.

The signs are many and terribly ominous. A creeping autocracy is breaking through the egg shells. Even in this embryonic stage, it has hijacked and divided the leadership of the ruling political party. It has disorganised the solidarity of governors with a combination of blackmail and intimidation, using the attack dog of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the services of guerrilla politicians mostly based in Abuja who are routinely sent to the states on mischief missions. Service chiefs have been changed by a lame duck administration on the eve of a crucial transition election in which the incumbent is a contender.

That is not all. The information infrastructure of the state is being deployed in the service of a private partisan project. On the eve of a crucial transition election, the freedom of choice which ought to rule a democracy is being constricted to an either or equation: for or against Jonathan! That is not so bad given the wide room which constitutional democracy allows the president.

The National Assembly, long known for its crippling inertia is fast becoming an assembly line for serial amendments of the constitution on nearly every whim of the incumbent. When they resume from recess and reverie, they may have to deal with acts of multiple constitutional transgressions occasioned by tardiness and incompetence on the part of the executive branch. Nothing has convinced this writer that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) postponement of the elections was not contrived to allow time for the incumbent sovereign to entrench itself and intimidate its opponents.

The frightening part is almost here. The country is slowly gravitating towards an avoidable and tragic polarisation. A ruling party with an illegitimate executive lacks both the will and the legality to call the government that is ruling in its name to order. Nor does the party have the clout and credibility to remind its principal contenders for high political office that they are members of the same party. Instead, a hot exchange of incendiary rhetoric among aspirants within the same party, spearheaded by the incumbent president, is tearing the country apart.

Under Jonathan's watch, the defining architecture of our nation statehood is foundering. In parts of the nation, non-state actors in the theatre of violence are contesting for territory and media space with a shrinking sovereign. In Abia State, the struggle for authority is now effectively between the Federal Government and freelance hoodlums. The state government is effectively on recess having outsourced its responsibility for the basic obligations of state authority to either the federals or the more effective security machinery of neighbouring states. An undeclared state of emergency is in place.

An increasingly sophisticated terror machine has acquired incredible mobility. Its ability to smuggle terror around and across the nation was driven home on the morning of "the last independence day" in those car bombs. Right within earshot of the parade ground at Eagle Square, the bombs went off, killed, maimed and shattered lives of innocent people.

In its aftermath, we are witnessing one of the most inept handlings of a simple incident that was pre-announced by its perpetrators to all who cared to listen. First, some innocent people have been arrested, questioned, released or kept under surveillance. If we believe the Al Jazeera live interview by the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Mr. Henry Okah, then we are in for an interesting chapter. Is the state in the process of playing dangerous politics with an incident that claimed the lives of so many innocent Nigerians?

Whatever else it may mean; the violent return of MEND is first and foremost an indication that Jonathan is not quite ready on matters of national security. Worse still, the president does not have the political clout to rein in militancy in the Niger Delta. That quickly liquidates the political expediency of his emergence in the first place.

The whole theatre of absurdity around this Independence Day bombings is not presenting the Niger Delta in any enviable light. The incoherent claims and counter claims by the government, by Okah and now Ken Saro Wiwa Jr is presenting the image of a region that is not quite ready for national leadership even if the opportunity were to be presented. And yet we know that some of our most illustrious citizens and statesmen are from that region.

On the economic front, former Central Bank Governor (CBN), Prof. Charles Soludo, recently warned against the return of the debt burden and the rapid depletion of the nation's foreign exchange reserves. Regime charlatans dismissed his warning as the ranting of a disgruntled past policy felon. Soludo may not exactly fit into most descriptions of a saint on economic matters. But to be fair, he is one of our brightest economists and has his facts dead right. He is even in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)! No one has challenged him yet on factuality. The hurling of abuses on perceived regime opponents is no replacement for reasoned engagement on important national issues.

Forget the heavier items of national security and economic wellbeing. The world governing football body, FIFA, has just executed a ban on Nigeria from all international football competitions. So, the government which usually uses football to divert attention from its own inadequacies can neither guarantee nor fall back on that tool of diversion. In the absence of soccer, that segment of the population-mostly the youth- that ordinarily would forget politics and face football will now have no option than to join the burgeoning army of malcontents. Not to talk of the fact that a nation that has remained effectively in diplomatic quarantine for a while can no longer rely on its football team to continue to attract minimal positive world attention. International sport is first a diplomatic challenge complemented by the dexterity of your national teams. We have failed in both domains.

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What we are witnessing tempts comparisons with late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua whose joint tenure Jonathan is serving out. Although the man was infirm, slow and hardly at work for any reasonable length of time, we did not record this rapid rate of general descent under him. Under Yar'Adua, we never had this sense of polarisation within the party. We never had this deliberate and mischievous division of the country along sectarian lines. We never saw this North-South divide. Yar'Adua approached the matter of the Niger Delta from a multi-pronged perspective: security enforcement, compassion, structured engagement and programmed development. Sadly, he did not live long to see this approach to fruition.

Here then is the classic irony of the Jonathan situation. The nation was united in combating the Yar'Adua cabal in order that Jonathan would enjoy the full benefits of constitutional democracy. The president would seem to have assembled an alternative cabal to institute what may be the most divisive and incompetent presidency in our history so far. In declaring his interest in the 2011 presidential race, Jonathan promised not to make any promises. And so we should be ready to hold him responsible for nothing in particular.

Kobojunkie:
Ft as in Financial Times?

Yep Financial Times, they have also spoken to Henry Okah in jail.

[b[size=18pt]]‘Ghost’ leads war of words in Nigeria[/size][/b]
By Tom Burgis in Lagos

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2e351636-d48b-11df-b230-00144feabdc0.html

Published: October 10 2010 17:35 | Last updated: October 10 2010 18:40

He can move the oil price, give warning of car bombs and shape the political battle for control of Africa’s biggest energy producer. Yet the most remarkable thing about Jomo Gbomo, spokesman for the militants of Nigeria’s oil province, is that he does not exist.

E-mails from Jomo’s Yahoo address, such as those claiming responsibility for recent deadly explosions in Abuja, the capital, have between three and five authors, people close to the militants say.

EDITOR’S CHOICE
Nigerian rebels end truce - Jan-30.British oil workers kidnapped in Nigeria - Jan-12.Editorial: Nigerian vacuum - Jan-12.Court rules on Niger Delta oil spill - Dec-30.Analysis: Nigeria: From clash to cash - Jan-10.Lex: Nigerian oil - Dec-21, But one figure is intimately linked to the pseudonym, whose messages – sprinkled with references to the book of Ecclesiastes and bellicose flourishes – have broadcast the demands of the Niger delta’s armed groups around the globe.

Henry Okah, who has been charged in South Africa with direct involvement in the bombings in Abuja on independence day, had a dual role when militant groups formed the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta in 2006, say insiders and security experts. First, he was gunrunner-in-chief. Second, he controlled propaganda.

Blowing up pipelines, kidnapping expatriates and stealing billions of dollars of crude, Mend helped cut Nigeria’s output by up to 40 per cent. Jomo’s messages were crucial to framing the efforts of a loose network of criminal syndicates, political thugs, oil thieves and genuine rebels within the delta’s struggle against poverty and pollution.

Peter Sharwood-Smith, country manager for security consultants Drum Cussac, says: “The frequent statements made Mend the most accessible militant group ever to operate in Nigeria and raised their profile significantly.”

Most Mend commanders accepted last year’s amnesty that drew thousands of armed youths from bases in the delta’s creeks. But one faction, often linked to Mr Okah, remains active. It retains a potent weapon: Jomo.

Goodluck Jonathan, the first president to hail from the delta, has portrayed the Abuja bombers as “terrorists” posing as Mend.

When the former militant top brass appeared at the presidential palace to bolster that claim, one leader, Boyloaf, declared Jomo “a ghost who can be ,  anybody who uses the Mend e-mail account”.

But one official from the delta worries that, in the era of mass communication, an e-mail can be mightier than an AK-47.

“The people who went to see the president, together they were a major fighting force,” the official says. “But [Okah] and his e-mail address are more than all of them put together in terms of his impact on the world.”

Speaking to the Financial Times from prison, Mr Okah denies involvement in the Abuja attacks and says his alleged arms dealing is unproved. He avoids questions about Jomo, but says the delta’s cause “has not been resolved”.

When he was arrested in Angola on gunrunning charges in 2007 and deported to Nigeria, the Jomo e-mails kept coming, calling for his release.

“Okah keeps the propaganda operation close – its relatives and business associates,” the official says.

Nursing a kidney ailment, Mr Okah has resided in Johannesburg since he was freed under the amnesty. In a sign of the threat he is believed to pose, Mr Jonathan sent emissaries for talks with Mr Okah soon after taking power.

Some suggest Mr Okah’s agenda is reviving a market for weapons. “Okah entered the scene as the person who was providing arms,” says Kuromiema Miabiye, president of the Ijaw Youth Council representing the delta’s main ethnic group. “He was never involved in the struggle.”

In an e-mail to the FT, Jomo, who declines to disclose how many authors he has, maintains that he alone is the authentic voice of Mend, pouring scorn on the ex-commanders.

“It is from this account that all the major and minor activities of the group from inception is heard,” he writes.

One delta watcher says Mr Okah, and by extension Jomo, “represents only a small faction” but adds: “Once someone gets the microphone, it’s very difficult to shut it up.”


Independence day bombings’ claim


The main suspect in Nigeria’s independence day bombings has restated claims that an associate of the president sought his help to use the attacks for political gain, but declined to identify the person allegedly involved, writes Tom Burgis.

A man who said he was Henry Okah – and confirmed personal details – spoke to the FT from the South African prison where he faces terrorism charges.

Goodluck Jonathan, president, has called the allegation an “outright lie” and challenged Mr Okah to name names.

Mr Okah is tied to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the fractured militant coalition that claimed responsibility for the blasts.

He said he was called by “somebody who works with the president” after the bombings and received text messages from a “close associate” of Mr Jonathan saying: “Please get in touch with Mend to withdraw the statement. The government will blame bombings on northern elements.”


Mr Jonathan hails from the southern delta region and faces election challengers from Nigeria’s north. An aide to one northern contender was questioned in connection with the bombings but released without charge.

Mr Jonathan hails from the southern delta region and faces election challengers from Nigeria’s north. An aide to one northern contender was questioned in connection with the bombings but released without charge

http://thestreetjournal.org/pages/content/view/66/58/


How Mike Oghiadomhe, The most powerful man in President Jonathan's cabinet extorts money from Governors and other top government officials
Written by Administrator
Sunday, 25 July 2010




The appointment of Chief Mike Aiyebeni Ogiadomhe as the Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan has generated quite a number of reactions. While the Edo State former Deputy Governor is being celebrated as the ‘Pride of Edo State’ in some quarters, Mr. President has come under criticism for the singular act of appointing the Etsako Central born chief. In short, Oghiadomhe is a man many love to hate, even in his own backyard. That notwithstanding, the former Deputy Governor of Edo State has risen to become one of the most powerful men in Nigeria today.





Sources revealed that not only dose he have the ears of Mr. President, he is one of those who dictate who gets what and when.

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The Man Mike Oghiadomhe

Having worked as Deputy to former Governor Lucky Igbinedion while he served as the Chief Executive of Edo State, many see Chief Oghiadomhe as one of those who should be held responsible for the current plight o the state. Some indigenes still remember him as the man who allegedly sold out the state’s rubber plant for personal gains.

Incidentally, in his immediate constituency, it is often said publicly that he cannot point to a single individual he has helped to climb to the top in the whole of Edo State; rather there are numerous people he has used and dumped.

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The Many Allegations He Should Respond To

Apart from the land issue that pitched him against his own people, so many factors have taken away the respect the average Edo indigene should have for the former Deputy Governor of his or her home state. One of such was the conduct of Chief Oghiadomhe during the 2007 elections. It was alleged that there was absolutely no voting in Etsako Central Local Government where the former Deputy Governor hails from.

He reportedly supervised his personal security team as they took electoral materials and took them to the home of a senior chief in the area where they thumb-printed the entire ballot papers available.ÂÂ

What has kept many people wondering is Mike Oghiadomhe’s invincibility. Law enforcement agents seem to have a kind of fear for him. Not only has the EFFCC not probed him as recommended, it was gathered that the Chief of Staff has turned into a consultant of sorts for those having cases with the anti-graft body. A good number of past and serving Governors have consulted him to help them ensure that their issues are not treated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Not less than five serving Governors that have cases with the EFCC have parted with large sums of money just for him to help settle their cases. For instance, the Ogun State Goovernor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel has allegedly coughed out N 175 million to Oghiadomhe. The fund is for the sole purpose of settling his case with the EFCC. His Oyo State counterpart, Otunba Alao-Akala allegedly parted with N 115 million to help ensure his second term ticket.

The mode of operation makes it rather difficult to trace anything to the Chief of Staff. He has a front in the person of one Ozaekhemen, a Senior Advocate. The SAN is the one that goes to those who have cases and make them understand that to settle such matters, money would be involved.

It was even gathered that the seemingly fearless Farida Waziri has tremendous respect for the Chief of Staff. She too was alleged to have coughed out a whooping sum of N 300 million in order to save her job. Inside sources revealed that she was sure that only the Chief of Staff could help her ensure that Mallam Nuhu Ribadu’s return as EFCC Chairman does not see the light of the day.

And those who think it is just about the CoS might be wrong, his wife too is said to be in business. She is said to have some phoney companies with which contracts are cornered, especially between Israel and Nigeria.

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His Lifestyle of Betrayals

It is on good authority that the love, if there ever was any between Chief Oghiadomhe and the people of Azukala Epken, a community in his home local government has since gone cold. Chief Oghiadomhe was alleged to have illegally acquired a land mass covering about 12 square kilometers while he was the Deputy Governor. The said land has been part of the government’s reserved land since 1959 and since then, most citizens in the agrarian community have been using the land to empower themselves economically.

Oghiadomhe’s goons sometimes dressed as mobile policemen and sometimes in mufti have continually terrorized people over the land thus leaving them with nowhere to farm. He even went as far as ordering the arrest of the traditional ruler of the town. Those speaking in favour of the former Deputy Governor claim he has a Certificate of Occupancy dated April 17, 2007 to back up his ownership claim.

That is being seen as a betrayal of the trust reposed in him by the members of his immediate community. To most members of the community, Oghiadome’s men have done a lot to undermine the security of the area.

One of those who cannot forget Chief Oghiadomhe in a hurry is Dr. Dogo Mohammad, the former head of the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS. His grouse is that Oghiadomhe was particularly responsible for his premature removal from office. Ordinarily, Dr. Muhammad should have had a five year tenure as the Executive Secretary of the NHIS, having been appointed in March, 2007. While he was still looking forward to his tenure running till 2012, the Head of Service directed all civil servants holding tenured appointments to retire from the civil service and continue with their tenured appointments which Dr. Muhammad did with a letter dated 3rd of December, 2009 since the pre-retirement activities were to begin on the 1st of January, 2010. His request was however turned down on the allegation that his letter was belated and that he failed to comply with the Head of Service’s directive. He was subsequently removed from office.

On the 1st of March however, a letter was written to the Minister of Health by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation that the then Acting President had reversed the decision to sack Dr. Dogo Muhammad and that he should be allowed to complete his five year tenure.

While still basking in the euphoria of the reversal of the Presidential decision, Dr. WMB Dogo Muhammad received another letter on the 11th of March from the office of the Minister for Health. Attached to it was a letter from Chief Oghiadomhe who was then the Principal Secretary to the Acting President. In Oghiadomhe’s letter dated 2nd March, 2010, he disclosed that ‘after further investigation on the matter, the approval earlier given by the Acting President that he should complete his tenure has been withdrawn.’

Of course Dogo Muhammad’s associates could not but smell foul play, how could the President ask the SGF to reinstate someone and ask his principal secretary to firs him the following day? Some of them have read between the lines and they believe Oghiadomhe is behind the whole issue.

Those who know Edo politics well will tell you that when the relationship between former Governor Lucky Igbinedion and Chief Mike Oghiadomhe started with an atmosphere of oneness, dedication and loyalty. The Deputy Governor was put in charge of local governments and their allocations, boards and parastatals, of course he was always on hand to brief his boss how things went but at the latter end of Oghiadomhe’s stay in the Igbinedion government, mutual suspicion, and anxiety became characteristic features of both the Governor and his deputy.

Till date, many still find it very difficult to absolve Chief Oghiadomhe from the attempt to impeach Lucky Igbinedion then. In some quarters, it is believed that he went into it for the sole purpose of accomplishing his aim to become the Governor of Edo State. And since he had a weak political base at home, that was the easiest way possible.

Apart from tracing the plot to unseat Igbinedion then to his deputy, some people in the former Governor’s camp believed the plot was coordinated and bankrolled from Bayelsa State. The evidence some held on to was that Oghiadomhe’s letter congratulating Goodluck Jonathan on the assumption of office after the impeachment of Dipreye Alamieyesegha was published in four national dailies. And coming at such a time when the political atmosphere in Edo was getting tense, not a few people believed the existence of a ‘Bayelsa connection’ in the impeachment plot.

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Oghiadomhe’s Ride To Power

The emergence of Chief Oghiadomhe as Lucky Igbinedion’s running mate was not without the help of Vice Admiral Mike Okhai Akhigbe, the Chief of General Staff in the Abdulsalami Abubakar administration. The Vice Admiral is Oghiadomhe’s close relation.

He and President Goodluck Jonathan became very close friends in 1999 when they were both serving as Deputy Governors. Sources even revealed that whenever Jonathan visited Benin then, he always slept in Oghiadomhe’s house. By the time the latter became Vice President, he brought his friend to the Presidency as the Deputy Chief of Staff but the office was downgraded by the late President, Umar Yar’Adua, thus leaving Oghiadomhe as a Principal Secretary.

With the restoration of the office of the Chief of Staff by the President however, Chief Oghiadomhe emerged as the occupant of the office.

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His Ambition

Ever since the impeachment scare rocked the Edo State Governor’s office during the Igbinedion years, no one has been in doubt that Chief Oghiadomhe had a governorship ambition. It was however nipped in the bud as the Governor was advised to cage his deputy or be consumed in the political heat that would follow his failure to do so.

Another thing that put paid to his ambition was the fact that he was part of the Lucky Igbinedion team that failed the whole of Edo State.

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What His Appointment Has Caused President Jonathan

Not a few Nigerians who are in the know of things in Edo State are now wondering if the government’s war against corruption has any element of sincerity. In political and social circles, what is being said is that ‘Lucky Igbinedion and his team milked Edo State dry. How on erath then could Igbinedion’s deputy have found his way to the Presidential Villa as the Chief of Staff?’ One of the many questions begging for answers is “is the President ignorant of the looting that took place in the Igbinedion years?”

The fact that while their government lasted, they ran Edo State together; Oghiadomhe cannot be dissociated from the many atrocities and financial mismanagements that took place in the state. The EFCC and ICPC have recommended that he should be probed alongside his former boss.  Instead of sharing Igbinedion’s travails however, he is having a swell time as the Chief of Staff to Mr. President.

In some quarters, it is already being said that if Yar’Adua’a government was fraught with corruption, the present government definitely doesn’t look set to fare nay better. ÂÂ

Make dem try!!!

Dem go no say

Soludo not equal to Ogbulafor

EFCC, ICPC May Go After Soludo
Williams Orji
24 September 2010

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Abuja — There are strong indications that Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may arrest the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo over the recent treatise on the economy.

Highly placed sources at the Presidency confirmed that a decision has been taken to deal with Soludo. An authoritative source said that the EFCC and ICPC have been instructed to "find anything" to rope him in, and thereby keep him busy for the next few months. Even if the charges are baseless, it would still take him months before he can clear himself. By this, Soludo should be arrested and possibly prosecuted. The legal challenges would be enough to keep him busy for a while.

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This will be similar to the treatment given to some state governors who were believed to be opposed to Jonathan until they were said to have gone and pledged their loyalty. Presidency sources indicate that there were strong suspicions that Soludo may be aligning to the pro-zoning Northern aspirants, and that his write up may have been politically motivated.

Our sources however also said that some of Mr. President's advisers were opposed to that kind of action. According to this group, it would be too obvious to the public that Soludo was being persecuted because of his recent views. According to them, if Soludo left office almost two years now, ran for election and was cleared by relevant agencies, and till now no wrong doing has been found, it would be unbelievable to suddenly find him wanting. The group was of the view that it was better to simply allow the issue to die as any attempt to arrest or harass Soludo would keep the issues alive. This is especially given that majority of Nigerians seem to agree with Soludo.

Now that IBB victory at PDP primaries is looking very much the case, it is time for IBB to start planning for a VP he can govern with.

IBB and Soludo seems to agree on a lot of issues like economy, size of Government, capitalism, etc and it will be great to have IBB / Soludo ticket

I agree with this pairing up. These are the only 2 folks with large enough mind to restructure Nigeria.

If you leave the unproven corruption allegation of IBB to one side, you will see that the rest of IBB is all about Reform and Social Re-Engineering.

If you also look at how Soludo transformed our banks in his time in office you will agree that he is a man who is very much interested in Social Re-Engineering.

IBB/Soludo are what you describe as Liberal Conservatives. The marriage will be one based of shared ideologies. I think only this two can redeem Nigeria at this time.

PDP should draft IBB/Soludo into the race. They share the same views on Fiscal Federalism, free market economy, Lean Government, Devolution of powers, State Policing.

They are two leaders who truly know their onions and both have reached the highest level of their chosen profession and are recognised worldwide.

IBB is a General and Soludo is a Professor. Forward match Nigeria.

Someone should kindly advice Jonathan to remove Imo from his unholy plans. Imo indigenes don't accept intimidation, OBJ failed to intimidate us, Iwuanyanwu or Arthur Nzeribe or nobody for that matter could constitute themselves into Godfather. All of these are for a reason.

You can blackmail Ohakim all you like by you will never win Imo by intimidation. The political establisment in Imo is already waiting to undermine Jonathan. And this will also eventually be the story of Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra.

Imo State indigenes don't accept intimadation and it will not Start from Jonathan Goodluck. HE IS A TOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRS should visit our roads, schools, hospitals, and ultimately experience power cuts. Then they should do some soul searching whether the federal government has the moral right to tax any nigerian.

Who has the right to aspire to be President? Every Nigerian.

So the talk about some being over ambitious is funny and does not make a lot of sense.

wey the audio or video of the speech?

I will not hold my breadth on that one.

Nigeria to privatise power firm PHCN
Many Nigerians are angry at the lack of regular power Nigeria is to sell off the state power monopoly, PHCN, President Goodluck Jonathan has announced.

"We need a revolution in the power sector," he said, in what was touted as a major policy speech.

Nigeria is one of the world's largest oil exporters but lacks many basic services, such as a regular electricity supply.

Black-outs are common and those who can afford to, use generators.

Continue reading the main story
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Many business leaders say the lack of electricity is one of the biggest obstacles they face.

Meanwhile, many Nigerians joke that PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria) really stands for Please Hold Candle Now.

Two years ago, a report said Nigeria would need $85bn (£42.7bn) of investment in its power infrastructure in order to produce electricity 24 hours a day for all of the country's 140 million people.

Mr Jonathan said Nigeria would rely on private companies to build new power plants fuelled by the country's vast gas reserves, the AP news agency reports.

Correspondents say the announcement sounded like an election campaign pledge.

Several previous leaders of Africa's most populous nation have failed to keep promises to improve Nigeria's electricity supply.

In his first speech after becoming president in 2007, Mr Jonathan's predecessor Umaru Yar'adua threatened to declare a state of emergency in the power sector if PHCN managers did not improve the electricity supply.

Polls are due early in 2011 but Mr Jonathan has not said whether he intends to contest them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11098224

When you have an information in public domain, the educated way to disprove it is to provide an authentic one submitted at the time.

So asking someone to shut their stinking mouth without making a superior argument sounds to me like what cheap illiterates paid to make noise like sycophants do.

If you think the CV provided by OYB is not accurate. then provide us with the correct one. Otherwise you simply have no argument.

Some folks just rain abuses when you catch them out or box them into a corner.

Beaf, if you think OYB has provided a made up CV, please provide the authentic one which I can only assume you seen. If you have not seen one and yet assume this one is incorrect because it does not paint your candidate in the manner you like. It tells a lot about the kind of person you are.

The only way to disprove that this is not Jonathan's CV.

Is to produce the original alternative CV Johnathan submitted to Bayelsa at the time.

otherwise anything you have to say is a misguided defence by a man blinded by desperation.

Beaf:
deleted

Not sure why u withdrew ur previous post which seems to suggest that the CV above does not belong to Jonathan and was made up!!

I think you are now getting desperate and that is utterly shameless.

Have you been making up all your accusations about IBB? or Atiku? or Buhari?

Beaf:
Did he ever tell you that? Have you ever seen Jonathans CV? Or you are just practising your customary foolishness after reading his biography?
Develop a brain dude, even if its a tiny one.

. . .Foolish people sha!

Do us a favour!!!!!!!!!!!

Look some posts above yours posted by OYB.

Does that look like a Biography or a Curriculum Vitae to you

Dude u have lost it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Beaf:
And who has more relevant experience and how? Provide the details, that is the only way you can prove that this thread and its "cv" comments are not childish and foolish.

It is a challenge and I'm waiting, let us do an intelligent comparison, instead of the foolishness thats been going on.

Read my post again and see if your challenge to comparing who has more  experience contributes anything to my argument.

Stop allowing your c.o.c.k to get erected when u here about GEJ.

Chill, listen, analyse and then respond.

I am only questioning why Jonathan thinks his inclusion of being class captain in primary school proves anything about his political skills or ability to lead a State.