₦airaland Forum

chamotex:
Did you see all the saves he made . . . .
He effed up one time . . . that was all.
They had 14 shots on target. 23 in total
He was even awarded the Man of the Match.

i saw them.
even when he saves, it seems with lots of difficulty.
he is not a bad keeper and is actually a very good shot stopper (as shown today) but somehow he just does not inspire confidence.
maybe i am spoilt by Van Der Saar.

no conclusions to draw from this match apart from the factthat i am still not inspired by Kusckak's displays and that Smalling enhanced his small rep.
i would have prefered to see Hernandez in the middle rather than being farmed out to the wing.

GEJ and his co-travellers have emptied our foreign reserve with nothing to show for it.
Much more, they are planning to drag a milestone of debt around our neck.
Whether political or academic, Soludo's intent is very secondary and the Govt will have to do much more to address the matter.

Moonstone:
^^[size=3pt]I'm fighting with you, stop trying to be cute jare[/size]^^^

No matter how much I hate Arsenal, they always have a player that I have weak knees for. . . this time it's Chamakh, can we steal him?
Guys, what if we draw today? I will cry o! Thank God I have many guys to comfort me, lol

I don't feel you on that guy o.
i can't see anything spectacular there.
The interesting thing is that i hear Nigerians have Nigerianized his name - Chiamaka

chamotex:
The lad is a promise. . . .that's all he is at the moment.
He's been promoted from the youth academy to the reserves.
Being promising doesn't necessarily mean you will turn out to be a 'star'.
He is still learning his trade but we dont know what he  will turn out to be.
The signs are there - but that doesn't mean anything.

Welbeck was and still is a promise, isn't he?
He's still young and playing in a Premiership side.
Are you writing him off already?

Not writing him off.just don't see a promise worth the hype i was hearing from the academy and reserves.
remember Sylvan Ebanks-Blake?

i agree with you on your points anyway.

^^^^
seen a clip or two of him but not enough to form an opinion.
I mentioned Welbeck cos the hype was enormous but i fail to understand it.

Jarus:
why not do it for literature section

your attention is needed on the R fans cub thread

chamotex:
Sir Alex already said Macheda and Bebe will definitely feature. They were not in the reserve squad that played Bury on Sunday.

Also, we might get a chance to see promising forward Nick Ajose tonight.
He was given the number 38 shirt yesterday. Coincidence?

is he as promising as Welbeck?
all these reserve and academy players and the hype around them.

tkb417:
A-40
We all know some of our coaches would stick to dumb players for reasons best known to them

Should Oshea be wearing a UTD shirt? NO. Will Wenger bid for Oshea? NO. These kinda players are just there to fill the void whenever the need arises. Why SAF hasn't gotten someone who would put the likes of Oshea and Gary outta job is beyond me.

A team where the likes of Gary, Oshea and Brown are still calling the shots is not ready to compete with the likes of Barca and co cos when the chips are down, the quality in your team is what u'll depend on to bail u out. As it is, till we get a good RB and replacment for ever injured RIO, we are still gonna be prone to schoolboi errors cos those guys are best average players and we should expect spectacular performances from them

Guy, this matter is not as simple as it seems.
the truth wey fergie no wan talk na say money no dey like before, so he can not compete like he used to in the market.
While Arsene will not buy Sheasy (JOS), he has Eboue on his books and some people will argue that Sheasy is a better player.
every team needs squad players and that is what O'Shea is.he might not have developed as expected since 02 but his versatility and his limited expectations are useful.
Gary Neville is playing his last season and the reason why he has lasted this long is that Wes has been unable to stay injury free for any relative period of time.Wes is a very good defender and a decent full back but injuries have been a handicap.
Rafael is the heir apparent but you and i know that he needs time.Since the Bayern match, he seems to have gotten into Fergie's bad book but like a rod and staff, i know that Fergie will comfort and nurture the lad.
Pique was let go because Evans was believed to have a better future (irrespective of the fact that Pique wanted to go home, he would have remained if fegie did not believe in Evans).It seems a crazy choice today but hindsight is an interesting course of study and very easy to earn a PHD in.
If Evans toughens up a bit and cuts out his lack of concentration at vital moments (i hope Rio did not bite him?), he will be a top,top defender.In the absence of Rooney, he will be the United skipper in four years time (take that to the bookies  ).However, the truth is that Evans and Smallings would have to mature faster than usual else Fergie would have to spend big bucks to bring in a partner for Nemanja (Rio would soon be over).
Where i have my worries is at LB.Patrice is due a week in the Caribbean. That is how fatigued the guy is. He has not had a decent rest in 3 years and it is showing in his game.Fabio's progress has been slower than i expected.considering the fact that he was more highly regarded than Rafael, i am disappointed.
The midfield is all over the place and the earlier Scholes and Giggsy start having bad games consistently, the better for the club.

my prayers and thoughts are with Antonio Valencia.
You only have to take a look at Alan Smith and see why Antonio needs all the prayers he can get.

adagz 01:
Some1 should tell SAF not to underate tonights game

he is not, that is why he is playing Tiago Manuel Dias Correia.7.4 million no be beans

AjanleKoko:
Indeed. And it doesn't use fuel or water
Na today? Even primary school pupils know that chemical energy is locked up in food and fuels.
Bros . . . why not build it and approach John Holt or T&E with your prototype. They will not only buy the design off you with millions of $$$, they will also hire you as a permanent in-house thinker.

Stop trying to con people with these silly fake inventions. Go and get a real job.

you dey vex o!
I wonder who even listens to these silly stories in the first place.

AjanleKoko:
And the car battery's stored energy is replenished by what?

it is replenished by air

marvix:
From this thread so far I have seen once again that Buhari is indeed a democrat and not a tribal bigot as a lot of people want us to believe. This is deduced from  "I read very interesting interview in which Edwin Clark said he attended more ACF meetings than Adamu Ciroma, and [b]he was right [/b]because I, for example was part of ACF from March 8, 2000 – that was when it started – and I have never seen Adamu Ciroma; in any case he was one of those opposing ACF because he saw ACF as an organ that was challenging the brutality of Obasanjo on the people of the North, and Adamu Ciroma was opposed to that and he made all efforts to destroy the organisation along with the rest.

And so when Edwin Clark said so, he is right because there was fraternity between the ACF and the South-South. What I am saying is: I am surprised that, suddenly, Adamu Ciroma has regained his voice.

My candid advice to Ribadu is to join the CPC, work with Buhari, pick a senatorial ticket for himself, deliver his senatorial district to CPC, even though Buhari would go ahead and lose the elections Ribadu would have achieved two things, he would be associated with a former leader who hates graft, and would become a senator who would be our voice for anticorruption in the senate.

[quote][/quote]very enlightening point. i favour this option.

texazzpete:
'Made his mark'? This fellow failed to convict and imprison the most die-hard looters in the country. Lucky Igbinedion, Ibori, Odili, IBB, Anenih, Adedibu and many others. All he did was wage a high profile war against the 'small boys' and fail to come through on his allegations of massive financial impropriety he levied against the State Governors. How many did he bring to justice after their tenures ended and their immunity period elapsed?
Even those that were brought to trial, the cases EFCC brought against them were extremely weak. Imagine Lucky Igbinedion only being found guilty of failure to declare assets, even when the man had brazenly looted Edo State dry!

Next thing the fellow did was to run off to the UK to be feted as a hero on the back of a faked assassination attempt. Despite lurid tales of him narrowly escaping a hail of gunfire, this fellow could not produce any evidence (for example a photo of his car riddled with bullets). He could not even explain why he could not report this to the Nigerian Police, preferring to sell this white lie to his adoring masses.

I understand his case perfectly. Yes, he 'did something'. And for most Nigerians, 'doing something' is enough. but he could and should have done much more. He could have refrained from colluding with Obasanjo to shield criminals from justice, refrained from flagrantly abusing the rule of law. He should have done his job properly.

While Ribadu at heart is most likely a decent man, I know the stuff heroes are made from and I know the stuff messiahs are made of. He is neither.


*dons flame retardant suit*

While i share your sentiments and have been called an idealist in the past for such sentiments, being realistic, i think he is a far better option than the barbarians at the gate presently.
His candidature might be more sell-able if his fans tone down on the Messainic message.

As much as i am no fan of Soludo, i must commend him for his comments.
His major grouse was not even the banking reforms which Sanusi is addressing but how the foreign reserves have been depleted and the economy left to run amok.

PeeDaVinci:
So far, GEJ has done nothing remarkable in the country, he does not know what he really stands for and where he wants to lead Nigeria. Dont give me the excuse that he is just 6 months coz if he cant get his directions straight within six months, i doubt if he'll be able to do it in 10 years. He still remains a good man with a good heart though.



Ribadu made his mark within his 6 months in office and that is why I go for him. RIBADU all the way

i might not agree with the entire post but the bold part are apt and bang on the money.
In addition, he surrounds himself with the same barbarians that are the root cause of the problem and claims to be effecting change.
More like living in a brothel and championing celibacy.

eyoniggar:
I believe in this age of our generation. Alot of men want to confirm pregnancy with their wives
before putting the ring on the finger. This is due to mass marital problem based on birth giving.


PS: The marriage already took place in another church.

silly argument.
so what happens if the lady has a still birth?
or miscarries?
pregnancy should never be the basis for marriage for any real man.
that argument is just escapist and short sighted.

Thanks to the likes of Misslu91 and Lalaboi, i have fallen in love with Nigerian music and have build a large database of recent naija music.

Jarus:
I beg to disagree here, my oga. As you know, I'm a mid-way person, not a dyed-in-the-wool critic. Conservative radicalism is my political ideology.
The reality we are shying away from in Nigeria is that given our very heterogenous and mutually-competing society, zoning may be inevitable.
Get me right, I believe having the best man for the job, irrespective of his region, is the best for any society, but I'm not sure that can happen now -or even in the foreseeable future- given our very complex society.

In advanced democracies, this may not be an issue, but at this stage of Nigeria's democracy, we may not be able to shy away from this reality. I personally don't see anything wrong in moulding our democracy to take care of our peculiar complexity.

Zoning is an unwritten part of Nigeria's system.
Two examples:
1, In 1999, all the parties(APP & PDP) fielded South-Westerners as presidential candidates for the simple reason that it was obvious that it was teh turn of somebody from SW then. Everybody impliedly agrees.

2, As we prepare for 2011, no Yoruba person is showing interest in presidency(except Dele Momodu), for the obvious reason that everybody agrees that Obj has spent our term and it is the turn of other region. Subtly, we are all agreeing that there should be rotation.
This said, I only pointed out the above to show that Mahmud is correct to state that zoning is a cardinal, though unwritten, principle in Nigeria's politics, my anti-GEJ stance doesn't stem from the issue of zoning. In fact, guys like Pat Utomi and Donald Duke are better presidential materials than GEJ, and they are not from the North.

I do not agree with your views as expressed here but i respect them enough to give it further thought.
Will return shortly.

jarkbauer:
you all are dumb and have no regard for God's laws.y'all wanna go abt pre-maritally phucking and still think God is pleased with you.this issue is this if you lose your virginity and repent and be remorseful abt your actions God will forgive you but if you keep phucking thinking it's normal then you are in soup.
a fornicator is the one that engages in pre marital sex and it is forbidden so someone that is pregnant before marriage is a fornicator.so how do you expect them to join fornicators in the house of God.doing that is tantamount to approving immorality

what if they repent after fornicating and God forgives them (but she is pregnant), can the Church join them?

on the other side, if the church says no sex before marriage, try to keep to it or stick to a traditional wedding and go to a pastor afterwards to bless your union.
he could even do that during your trad wedding.
afterall this white wedding thing is just cultural.
why be hypocritical and break the rules while pretending?
if you don't like the rules, find another church and tell the pastor why you are quitting.

The same Redeemed that joined Ali Baba and his present wife (Mary)?
Not only did they have a child in the past, they were already leaving together when they were joined in one of the parishes on the Island (abi Lekki).
The Sharia in the church is sickening.
I have no problem with these laws if they are applied even handedly.
The problem is that they are applied selectively.

They will insist you attend all sorts of membership classes and meet several religious obligations before they join you.
but one big member's daughter arrives from the UK(S) on a friday morning and is joined on saturday morning by the Senior pastor.
meanwhile for all the classes you attended, you might be joined by one apprentice pastor as the Senior pastor is busy over that weekend.

The church is so like the world that it is sickening and i wonder how God truly feels about his bride.

where is spambot when you need it?

truly:
Let us not judge by hardship and talk

Robert Mugabe
Mugabe was a political prisoner in Rhodesia for more than 10 years between 1964 to 1974. Upon release with Edgar Tekere, Mugabe left Rhodesia in 1975 to re-join the Zimbabwe Liberation Struggle (Rhodesian Bush War) from bases in Mozambique.
At the end of the war in 1979, Mugabe emerged as a hero in the minds of many Africans. He won the general elections of 1980

Jomo Kenyatta
An orphan, Kenyatta paid his school fees by working as a houseboy and cook for a white settler.

Kenyatta was sentenced in 1953 to seven years imprisonment with hard labor and indefinite restriction. The subsequent appeal was refused by the British Privy Council in 1954. Kenyatta remained in prison until 1959, after which he was detained in Lodwar, a remote part of Kenya.

He ruled Kenya from 1964  until his death in 1978
He harrassed his opponents, detained them, and was suspected of arranging the muder of  some promient ones. turned kenya into a one-party state.

Kenneth Kaunda
He was also part of Zambia's independence struggle and was jailed twice
He became prime minister in 1964 and ruled till 1991. He turned the country into a one-party state and harrased his opponents. He declared a state of emergency in a part of Zambia in 1964  and same was not  repealed until he left office in 1991

What bloody hardship is GEJ even talking about?
walked to school.
No (or one pair of) shoes.
was not driven in a car to school.
grow some balls and stop this silly blackmail.
after all OBJ went to jail and only got worse when he came out.

Jarus:
@Netotse,
I have always held the belief that all of us cannot have same opinions. And I always respect dissenting views. In fact, if convincing enough, I don't hesitate to swallow my pride and openly declare my shift in view.
So you are very, very free to support GEJ.

I personally just feel Ribadu or Buhari will make a better president. Corruption is a great malady that has eaten deep into our fabric, and I believe, if fought head-on, many other things will fall in place. GEJ doesn't appear to have the ball, to use Nairalanders' common word, to fight corruption. I expect Buhari and Ribadu to do better here.

Two, Buhari is the only consistently principled top political personality in Nigeria today. While others have believed that if you can't beat them, join them, he has consistently gave the ruling party opposition, while the Kalus, Atikus of this world are eating their vomit, moving in and out of rotten PDP.

Furthermore, Buhari is one politician that has clear-cut political and economic ideology of the lot: SLS, writing in 2002, wrote extensively on Buhari's economic ideology:

I also made a case for Buhari-Fashola candidacy here: http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/opinion/11202-a-case-for-buhari-fashola-candidacy

Ribadu has begun to believe his own hype.
While i do not discount his little experience, i think more is needed to govern this country.
However, if Jonathan can rule(without any sterling experience), so can he.
However, i feel 2011 might be too early for him.
It would not be too bad if he got involved in government and build a more concrete platform.
2015 might be better for him.

Irrespective of the general misgivings about Buhari, i think he is the only one out of the lot who has the will (but i doubt he has the plan).
However, i don't think he will win.
He does not have the financial capacity needed to counter the negative publicity that awaits him or to mount the expensive campaign needed to win.
I don't want to waste my vote, so who do i vote for?

Jarus:
By Mahmud Jega
http://www.dailytrust.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3038:why-was-this-man-smiling&catid=6:daily-columns&Itemid=6

and he is allied to the most distrusted man in Nigerian politics, namely Chief Obasanjo. In order to run for the PDP ticket, Jonathan had to surreptitiously upturn a cardinal rule of Nigerian politics, which is zoning; he has upset Igbo presidential calculations; he has antagonised most of the state governors; and he has surrounded himself with many unsavoury AGIP men. So what was the excitement all about?

Irrespective of my view on Jonathan which is well noted on this site, i wish to vehemently refute the bold part shown above.
Zoning is no cardial rule of Nigerian politics.
It is a device created by the thieving elite as an attempt to ensure that the loot goes round.
The common man is unconcerned where his president comes from.What we care about is a man that would arrest our steep decline and perpetual lack of direction as a country.
What we care for is a president who will not only have a plan but have the will to execute the plan.
What we care for are intelligent men and women who will address corruption in its totality and lead by example.
What we care for is a man that will surround himself with men who love this country and have something tangible to contribute to its development without being naive of the danger of the barbarians that have held us hostage for almost 60 years.
Most Nigerians do not care where that man or woman comes from.

nkilirox:
Which one is U'che again? Igbo names get apostrophe?

Beaf:
Just beautiful!
Delivered without any reference to notes or a teleprompter. We have a very intelligent man at Aso Rock.

Dude, you are beginning to tell lies and this is upsetting.
Can you explain why this speech was available on his Facebook page long before he even got half way through the speech.
even if the he used no references, notes or teleprompter (which have been alluded to not being the case), is cramming this speech, the measure of intelligence?

[quote author=THE-AMAKA link=topic=75552.msg4927725#msg4927725 date=1258247331]lol we might get killed, lynched, and called jealous bitches cause i agree with you.
to be honest, i kinda avoid watching her movies as i know she will be playing the same role over and over again.
reason being she looks her age. she is a good actress and all, but i get bored watching her play the same roles. it has been so long since ive watched an omotola movie. maybe 6 months?
i would rather watch ini edo over her (i kinda like ini edo) cause she is more versatile as an actress.
ANOTHER reason why i think genny is a better actress. did you ever see the movie called "Two Together: Not To Be Loved" with genny and emeka ike? well that movie was really interesting.
genny at the age of 28 played a secondary school girl in the movie. and she looked the part and played the part really good. she is very versatile as her look is easily manipulated. thats why i think she is a better actress cause she can do so much with her look and she does it well.
omo on the other hand couldnt play a secondary school child because it wouldnt be believeable. she is kinda a mono-character person.
but anyway i dont want people to yab me to death because of my opinion.
if you think otherwise, thats okay.  [/quote]I got lynched and killed for same belief.
However, i've got good news for you; it is a death worth dying.
That girl is not all that, at all. (i am talking strictly about her acting)

By Nasir A. EL -Rufa'i
September 18, 2010 10:31PMT
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As the drums of electoral war echo across the land, amidst barely concealed preparations for victory celebrations, some provisions in the electoral act have game-changing potentials capable of throwing the elections wide open - thanks in part to ‘accidents' like the emergence of Attahiru Jega as INEC chair and the passage of the Electoral Act 2010.

For legislators better known for drawing huge, illegal and unearned allowances and little else, the enactment of the Electoral Act 2010 is an unusual achievement. The Act contains provisions which substantially change the rules of future political competition. It also restructures engagements among political actors, parties and umpires in several ways.

By legislating that 21-day notices must be given to INEC by every political party prior to primaries, congresses and conventions - without the flexibility of a waiver by INEC, many parties stand the risk of disqualification from participating in the 2011 Elections unless strict compliance is observed. For instance, a political party wishing to select its candidates through indirect primaries must notify INEC of this by Sept. 18, 2010. The latest date for a party opting for direct primaries appears to be Oct. 2. I wonder if the parties have noticed this requirement.

This notice is required because the new rules also require every political party that adopts the indirect primaries system of candidate selection to amend its constitution to incorporate the rules and procedures for the emergence of delegates and the conduct of the primaries. This in turn may require a special convention and the required 21 days notice to INEC.

The PDP for instance just recently publicised its guidelines, but did not announce when it would hold the national, emergency or special convention to incorporate the guidelines into the PDP Constitution. With respect to the almighty PDP, the adoption of the guidelines by its national executive is not enough. A constitutional amendment is required which means an emergency convention, at least, must be held 21 days or more from now.

The Act prohibits many of the shenanigans of the past, like appointing hundreds of special assistants and making them automatic delegates. Also barred are consensus candidates, delegates sponsored by godfathers without primaries, and the last-minute replacement of candidates. Henceforth, even unopposed aspirants must go through a yes-no vote in primaries. Last minute replacement of those that contested primaries by strangers that never participated is now illegal.

By far the most interesting provision relates to the procedure for the emergence of the presidential and gubernatorial candidates of political parties. Candidate selection will now take in 37 separate special conventions in each of the 36 states and Abuja, with a national convention for ratification of the winner with the highest number of votes. With this requirement, the supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan must persuade delegates to vote for him in disparate locations mostly away from Abuja.

With the tone of the arguments for and against zoning, I do not see how the president can prevail in more than one or two out of the 19 northern states. How the Goodluck team and some media outlets are already declaring victory and expecting his coronation in the upcoming PDP primaries remain a mystery to many unless he faces several candidates from that geographical zone.

The same risk to incumbents applies to the governors who will emerge from special congresses in each local government of their respective states.

Without the delegate selections held in one central location, for persuasion, bribery and intimidation as appropriate, how they ultimately vote is truly difficult to control by the once-invincible governors!

For the indirect primaries, the winner that emerges in the congresses and conventions does not require a majority of half of the votes plus one but simply the highest number of votes cast. This provision means no run-offs will ever be necessary as the first past the post wins. I was therefore amused to see provisions for run-off in the published guidelines of one of the political parties ­ the PDP.

The Act has also legislated the order of elections to put the governors at a disadvantage. The attrition rate in the National Assembly has been high averaging 80% in each electoral cycle. As an example, in my home state of Kaduna, only one member, Ado Audu Dogo, has been in the House of Representatives since 1999! By scheduling their elections first, and the governors last, the legislators have extracted their revenge and hope to reduce the manipulation their elections have suffered due to gubernatorial interference.

In the event a political party adopts the direct primaries system, party members must be given equal opportunity to vote directly for the candidates to various offices without the need to elect delegates. This further devolves power away from party apparatchiks to the membership and cuts the delegate middleman. It is doubtful if any party will choose this as it completely eliminates the control of outcomes of primaries from the leaders of the various parties. Clearly, a direct primaries system is the better, more democratic system that will be more prevalent in the long run.

So for those planning victory laps before the race proper, it may be helpful to read the Electoral Act again.

El-Rufai is a former minister of the FCT and a member of the PDP

Ibime:
Anyone from Alams political family is a looter. It doesn't matter whether Ribadu investigated Patience Ibifaka or not, we all know that carrying millions of doLlars on your person is highly suspect in these days of electronic transfer.

Jonathan did not become a millionaire by working as a lecturer. Inbetween Working at NDDC, Deputy-Governor and Governor, he became a dollar millionaire.

No one is clean in PDP, not a single one.

where you dey since?
on the bold part, he would probably tell us it was by dint of hard work and God's grace.
that is the usual Nigerian story.
i just tire.

idupaul:
@t9sky   who cares that jona aint the messiah . B there waiting for messiah . Cant u see all we want is a generational shift in power and gej is the best shot . To hell with ibb and atika they wil never see power aslong as we stand firm .  Why is a fifth columnist like gusau still in gejs govt . If GEJ use his good boy behaviour to f  u  c  k up this primary i wont forgive him . We need to play dirty in the primary and leave free and fair nonsense for the general elections.  becus ibb and his spent allies aint neva gon play fair

dude, a few points;
that might be what you want but not what majority of Nigerians want.how did you arrive at that conclusion, btw?
I hope you are not referring to the generational shift of the type we have in NASS with crooks like Dimeji Bankole running wild?
i think it is too early for the GEJ campaigners to be throwing the kitchen sink at us, it smacks of desperation and this generational change talk is pure desperation.
What Nigerians want and need is a leader that will provide a realistic holistic picture of taking us out of the doldrum.
Not just provide the picture but have the will(moral and otherwise), the integrity and intelligence to execute that picture.
Enough of these barbarians trying to decieve us with c r a p about age, gender, ethnicity and religion.
all we want is change by any means necessary.

Patience Jonathan's alleged crime is the least of my worries and the least of the reasons why i do not consider the GEJ the right candidate foe my vote.
my question to Mr. Ribadu is why the silence all these while over that allegation?
a simple press conference would have settled this allegation years ago.
Why manipulate the rebuttal for your own gain and in the question call your sincerity in to question?
I do not believe you are as naive as you are sounding in recent days.

Posted: September 17, 2010 - 18:05

Abuabakar Atiku tripped on his boubou at a recent press conference in Abuja
By SaharaReporters, New York
A validation of the recent exclusive report by Saharareporters that other presidential candidates of the People’s Democratic Party in the north are working for former Nigerian dictator Ibrahim Babangida, emerged today as four presidential aspirants of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) this afternoon issued a declaration that northern Nigeria must produce "one candidate" in the next presidential candidate in accordance with the party’s power rotation policy.

The aspirants: Ibrahim Bademasi Babangida, Atiku Abubakar, Aliyu Gusau, and Bukola Saraki, said in a joint press statement that they have set up an eight-man committee drawn from their campaign organisations to “deliberate and advise” on recommending one of them as presidential candidate, a process that will almost certainly result in IBB becoming the party’s candidate.

Each of these other “aspirants” from the North has definite ties to IBB and none of them will challenge him in a real contest:

• Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki has been working behind the scenes for IBB, as Saharareporters has previously reported,

• General Gusau is an IBB loyalist who served as Security Chief during the IBB years and helped annul June 12 presidential elections; and

• Abubakar Atiku banks on IBB to help cover the political and economic damage done to him by Olusegun Obasanjo.

The statement was signed by the Directors-General of each campaign organization: Raymond Dokpesi, for Ibrahim Babangida; Chris Mammah, for Atiku Abubakar; Ben Obi, for Aliyu Gusau; and Ibrahim Yakubu Lame, for Bukola.

With this development, the candidacy of President Goodluck Jonathan, which is set to be formally announced tomorrow, may yield a full-blown war within the ruling party, a move that may lead to its final demise. The PDP which has always called itself a “family” is set to erupt. Analysts say assemblage of ambitions and egos at the very top of the party could result in a crisis the opposition could exploit to their benefit at the January 2011 elections.
If the Babangida strategy succeeds and he becomes the PDP candidate for the January 2011 elections, he would have positioned himself to grab back the job from which Nigerians popularly chased him in 1993, but national resistance builds against his emergence.

The full text of the joint statement is as follows:

An eight man committee drawn from the campaign organisations of General Ibrahim Babangida, Ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, General Aliyu Gusau and Governor Bukola Saraki has been set up to, among other things, deliberate and advise on the need to recommend a SINGLE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE among them and explore other areas of co-operation.

After its sitting today (Friday September 17, 2010), the committee resolved as follows:

1. That it would present a SINGLE CANDIDATE among the four Presidential ASPIRANTS.

2. The campaign organisations have also resolved to co-operate and work together towards achieving this objective

3. It commends the FOUR ASPIRANTS for the sacrifice they have agreed to make towards achieving this goal.




Finally, the FOUR ASPIRANTS enjoin their supporters nationwide to remain calm and focused, assuring them of their resolve to work together to move this country forward.
………………………………………………

Chief Raymond Dokpesi

Director General

(General Ibrahim Babangida Campaign organisation)
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Mr Chris Mammah

Director General

(Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation)

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Senator Ben Obi

Director General

General Aliyu Gusau Campaign Organisation)
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Dr Ibrahim Yakubu lame

Director General

Gov Bukola Saraki Campaign Organisation