₦airaland Forum

Islamist militant group Boko Haram is in talks with the federal government to release
more than 200 girls abducted six months ago and negotiate a cease-fire to a deadly
insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives.
An adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan and a man calling himself the secretary-
general of Boko Haram told VOA Thursday that discussions are under way in Saudi
Arabia, aided by high level officials from Chad and Cameroon.
Boko Haram’s Danladi Ahmadu, who is in Saudi Arabia, said the girls are “in good
condition and unharmed.”
Ahmadu would not elaborate on the conditions under which the girls would be freed.
Riyadh is not involved in the negotiations.
On April 14, dozens of Boko Haram fighters stormed a secondary school in the remote
northeastern village of Chibok, kidnapping around 270 girls. Fifty-seven managed to
escape.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau later threatened to sell the remainder as slave
brides, vowing they would not be released until militant prisoners were freed from
jail.
President Goodluck Jonathan has been criticized at home and abroad for his slow
response to the kidnapping and for the inability of Nigerian troops to quell the
violence by the militants, seen as the biggest security threat to Africa’s top economy
and leading energy producer.

http://www.punchng.com/news/boko-haram-negotiating-cease-fire-release-of-abducted-girls/

shegsky:
ThIS is there (APC) wish today as Fayose took the oath of office at the oluyemi kayode stadium. Sorry for causing unnecessary hype .

u are a f**king coward

Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang, yesterday asked the people of the state to
support whoever God chooses for them as the next governor of the state even if it is
“the son of Jang.”
Politicians in the state have been in suspense for months in the build-up to 2015 as
the governor had not given an indication who he intends to support to succeed him
While keeping the people of the state guessing, the governor had in the past advised
his deputy, Ignatius Longjan, to be prepared to leave Government House together
with him saying he would prefer to hand over to a youth.
Jang, at the commissioning of the “Emanci-pator Unity House” built in honour of late
Solomon Lar in Jos momentarily veered off his written speech and urged the people
of the state to accept the will of God even if it decides to choose his son as the next
governor.
“If God decides to give the governorship to the son of Jang, let it be. Whoever God
anoints, let’s accept it,” he said and advised other aspirants who may likely lose the
election to wait for their time and accept the will of God.
Jang immediately returned to the focus of his speech when the comment generated a
surprising reaction from the audience.
The bid by governors to build dynasties across the states where they will ensure only
their blood relations succeed them has been on for some time but most times facing
stiff opposition.
The late Olusola Saraki succeeded in making his son, Bukola, governor of Kwara State
and had tried to make his daughter, Gbemisola, succeed the son in 2011 but this was
resisted by the both the people and Bukola.
Former Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako is believed to have gone far in
trying to make his son succeed him as governor until he was impeached from office.
Yesterday’s statement by Jang would come as the boldest in the current dispensation
so far in the bid to build a dynasty using the machinery of state. One of the sons of
Jang, Yakubu, is serving as special adviser on special duties to his father.
It is the belief in many circles that Yakubu could be the one referred to by Jang who
turned 70 this year.
Yakubu’s appointment as special adviser in 2011 as was greeted with shock but the
uproar died down shortly after.
However, member of the Northern Elders Forum and a Governorship candidate
Barrister Solomon Dalung said “the Governor himself lost elections several times so
why didn’t he accept it as a will of God? Why did he go to court to challenge it?”
Former PDP chairman in the state, Haruna Dabin, in his reaction, said the God who
Jang proudly says speaks to him also speaks to other aspirants.
Another guber aspirant, Jimmy Cheto, said the idea will not be accepted.

http://dailytrust.com.ng/daily/news/36897-support-my-son-if-god-makes-him-governor-jang

There is good news for diabetic patients. They will no longer need to inject insulin –
thanks to a treatment involving the use of insulin-producing cells which Harvard
University scientists discovered how to make.
The cure could, therefore, be imminent as the scientists have produced large volumes
of laboratory-grown pancreatic cells required for one-off transplantation in
patients.
The breakthrough has been hailed and compared to the invention of antibiotics. It
involved identifying how to efficiently turn both stem cell types into beta cells.
The cells, millions of which were manufactured, produced insulin, responded to
glucose, worked on mice for many months and will soon be used to treat humans.
The discovery is the result of 23 years of research by Harvard Professor Doug
Melton, whose study of type 1 diabetes was prompted by his son having the condition
as a six-month-old. His daughter received the same diagnoses.
The cells could be used to treat all patients rather than each person needing their
own genetically matched treatment.
The cells tested on mice were placed in a porous capsule to protect them from
attacks by the body’s immune system, while allowing the insulin to diffuse out.
This means the cells could be produced on an industrial scale and used on patients
without possible immune rejection, while the capsule could be replaced if it stopped
working.
A report on the work is published in the October 10 edition of the journal Cell. Online
reports quoted Prof Melton as saying: “It was gratifying to know that we could do
something that we always thought was possible, but many people felt it wouldn’t work.
We are now just one pre-clinical step away from the finish line.”
Asked about his children’s reaction he said: “I think like all kids, they always assumed
that if I said I’d do this, I’d do it.”
Prof Melton said the stem cell-derived beta cells are presently undergoing trials in
animal models, including non-human primates, where they are still producing insulin
after several months,.
The team at Harvard used embryonic stem cells to produce human insulin-producing
cells equivalent in almost every way to normally functioning cells.
The Telegraph quoted Professor of Regenerative Medicine, University College London
Chris Mason as saying the discovery was “potentially a major medical breakthrough”.
“If this scalable technology is proven to work in both the clinic and in the
manufacturing facility, the impact on the treatment of diabetes will be a medical
game-changer on a par with antibiotics and bacterial infections,” he said.
Head of Institute of Integrative Biology at the University of Liverpool, Prof Anthony
Hollander, added: “This is very exciting fundamental research that solves a major
roadblock in the development of a stem cell treatment for diabetes.
“The study provides a very elegant and convincing method for generating functional
insulin-producing cells in large numbers.”
Prof Mark Dunne of Manchester University said: “Overall this is an important advance
for the field of diabetes and people with Type 1 diabetes.”
Prof Elaine Fuchs of Rockefeller University described the findings as “one of the
most important advances to date in the stem cell field”, adding: “For decades,
researchers have tried to generate human pancreatic beta cells that could be
cultured and passaged long term under conditions where they produce insulin.”
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition that causes the pancreas to stop
producing insulin – the hormone that regulates blood glucose levels.
If the amount of glucose in the blood is too high it can seriously damage the body’s
organs over time.
While diabetics can keep their glucose levels under general control by injecting insulin,
that does not provide the fine tuning necessary to properly control metabolism, which
can lead to devastating complications such as blindness or loss of limbs.

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/scientists-discover-cure-for-diabetes/

The minister of Water
Resources, Mrs Sarah
Ochekpe exchanged words
with the Coordinator of
the group Dr. Oby
Ezekwezili, who led a
group of protesters to a
planned meting with
President Goodluck
Jonathan at the villa in
Abuja on Tuesday.
Mrs. Ochepe, who
accompanied the Minister
of Women Affairs, Hajiya
Zainab Maina and two
other ministers
representing President Goodluck Jonathan Environment to address the restless
protesters most of the BringBackOurGirls group made a remark that irked the
coordinator of the group, Mrs Ezekwesili.
Trouble started when one of the few girls that managed to escape from the Boko
Haram was called upon raise her concern over the continue captivity of her colleagues
abducted from Chibok exactly six months ago.
Mr Ezekwesili had announced that the girl would speak in Hausa language and one of
the protesters remarked that the girl speaking in Hausa would highlight the failure
of Nigeria’s education system to which water resources minister Sarah Ochepe replied
Oby Ezekwesili was one time education minister. This irked Mrs. Ezekwesili who
responded that her tenure as education minister brought a reform that the present
ones abandoned.
“Shame on you Sarah!” Oby barked back at the water Resources minister, but the
minister responded by saying your reform was to sell schools.
The verbal exchange was almost degenerating into something else as Mrs Ochekpe
pointed fingers at Mrs Ezekwesili until the protesters re-echoed the purpose of their
protest which eclipsed the altercation between the minister and the leader of the
group.
The brief incident nonetheless, the protesters are unrelenting as they sing bring back
our girls solidarity songs.
Tuesday protest to the presidential villa makes it the second time the group had
attempted to march to the see President Jonathan and it also marked the second
time they have been shunned by the president.
The President was represented by the four female ministers – Minister of Women
Affairs, Hajia Zainab Maina, Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe,
Minister of Environment, Mrs Lawrencia Laraba-Mallam, Minister of Land and
Housing, Mrs Akon Eyakenyi.
They said the president was too busy to meet with the protesters, but assured that
he is doing everything to ensure the rescue of the girls.

http://abusidiqu.com/chibok-girls-protest-water-resources-minister-sarah-ochekpe-in-near-fisticuffs-with-oby-ezekwesili/

The founder and Chief Executive Officer of the popular social networking website,
Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have donated N4bn to fight
the Ebola Virus Disease.
Making the announcement on his Facebook page, Zuckerberg said they wanted to
stop the epidemic before it got out of control to become a bigger, and more
expensive, global issue to fight, like the HIV.
He said, “Priscilla and I are donating $25m to the Centres for Disease Control
Foundation to help fight Ebola. The epidemic is at a critical turning point. It has
infected 8,400 people so far, but it is spreading very quickly and projections suggest
it could infect one million people or more over the next several months if not
addressed.
“We need to get Ebola under control in the near term so that it doesn’t spread
further and become a long term global health crisis that we end up fighting for
decades at large scale, like HIV or polio.
“We believe our grant is the quickest way to empower the CDC and the experts in this
field to prevent this outcome. Grants like this directly help the frontline responders
in their heroic work. These people are on the ground setting up care centres, training
local staff, identifying Ebola cases and much more. We are hopeful this will help save
lives and get this outbreak under control.”

http://www.punchng.com/news/facebook-founder-wife-donate-n4bn-to-fight-evd/

Armed security personnel have sealed the premises of the Kaduna State House
of Assembly claiming security reasons; a staff of the assembly has confirmed.
According to the source, the instruction to seal the complex was to prevent the
likely impeachment of the Speaker of the Assembly, Shehu Tahir, who is loyal to both
Vice President Namadi Sambo and Governor Mukhtar Yero.
Also, security hasbeen beefed at Government House in Kaduna to check other
threats.

http://saharareporters.com/2014/10/14/police-seal-kaduna-state-house-assembly-prevent-impeachment-speaker

The Director General of Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi, FIIRO, Dr.
Gloria Elemo, has said that an estimated 1,500 small and medium scale enterprises
are expected to be set up across the country in the next one year through the 250
Research and Development (R&) technologies/outputs developed by the institute.
Speaking ahead of the Investment and
Technology Week being put together by the
institute, she said that not less than 50,000
direct job opportunities will also be created
following the adoption of the technologies by
the 774 local government areas in the
nation, even as she said that 75,000
entrepreneurs have so far benefited from
FIIRO technology transfer.
She noted that the 250 R& outputs to be
showcased at the four days event, which
kicked off today (Tuesday, October 14, 2014), would also spur more Foreign Direct
Investment, FDI, interest into the country.
Elemo added that the investment week is part of the institute’s effort to deliver
more effectively on its mandate for rapid industrialization of the national economy,
as well as create employment opportunities to reverse the worsening unemployment in
the country.
“The overall aim of the programme is to showcase the institutes over 250 R&
outputs suitable for investment by micro, small, medium and large scale
entrepreneurs to enhance job creation and improve on the national Gross Domestic
Products.
“We are hoping that at least 35 technologies would be well structured and adopted in
all the local governments, which is 774. So, the projection is that if every local
government tries to adopt at least two technologies, we will have a total of about
2,000 jobs each.
“When you look at others that are coming in to buy into the technologies, various
commercial organisations, students coming in, National Association of Nigeria
Students, NANS, organizations like SURE-P and other organized sectors, we are
expecting that minimum expected jobs that can come out of this catalyst should be at
least 250,000. This will definitely reduce unemployment level in the country,” she
said.
“We just concluded training of a number of youths on our National Techno-
entrepreneurs Initiative, but our target is 2,000 youths on annual basis as part of our
contribution to national development and corporate social responsibility programme, to
transfer technology to them and also lead them to proper infrastructure that will
definitely establish them on the field.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/10/fg-promote-creation-1500-smes-via-new-technologies/

Celebrated Kenyan scholar Professor Ali Mazrui will be buried this Saturday at his family’s graveyard in Fort Jesus, Mombasa, Kenya, according to Kenya Capital FM.

Family spokesman Hammad Kassim Mazrui said they were making preparations to have the body flown from the US to Kenya for the burial in accordance with Islamic tradition.

“Professor Mazrui himself said that he wants to be buried here in Mombasa. Right now communications are underway to ensure that he is brought back here in a timely manner. However, as you know, America is far and tomorrow is a public holiday there so the arrangements will start on Wednesday so that he can be brought back as soon as possible,” he said.

He described the scholar’s death as a blow not only to the family but the entire world.

“He was a person who was well read in various fields and this is a big blow not only to us Kenyans but to the world as a whole, since he was many times required to give speeches in various forums and this will be missed by everyone,” he stated.

Mazrui, who was born in Mombasa in 1933, is survived by five children and two wives who are British and Nigerian nationals respectively.

The scholar was an Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities and the director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York.

President Uhuru Kenyatta in the meantime paid tribute to the fallen scholar, describing him as a towering academic whose intellectual contributions played a major role in shaping African scholarship.

The Head of State pointed out that Mazrui was one of the greatest scholars Kenya and the continent have ever produced and that his death has robbed the country of one of the greatest writers.

http://leadership.ng/news/386984/mazrui-buried-saturday-mombasa

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan and his party, the PDP, to stop taking credit for the country's successful containment of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), saying it amounts to sheer dishonesty for the duo to turn what was a collective effort to a PDP campaign issue.
In a statement issued in London on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said President Jonathan and his party were wrong to have appropriated the credit for the successful containment of the EVD without giving due credit to the real heroes of the successful battle: Dr. Stella Adadevoh and her colleagues at the First Consultant Hospital; officials of the Ministries of Health in Lagos and Rivers States and the patriotic Nigerian volunteers, among others.
It described as a cheap shot and a shameless venture the President's decision to make the Ebola success story a campaign issue during a PDP rally in Benin, giving the impression that only the PDP deserves the credit for the successful containment of the disease.
APC said while indeed Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu exhibited the kind of professionalism and purposefulness that are not common with the Jonathan Administration during the battle against Ebola, it will be uncharitable for the PDP-led Federal Government to pretend as if the government of the two affected states did nothing.
The party reminded President Jonathan that the two states hit by Ebola, Lagos and Rivers, are APC states, and that the promptness, purposefulness, doggedness and determination shown by the Governors of the states contributed largely to the successful containment of the virulent disease.
''The cities of Lagos and Port Harcourt are perhaps the largest metropolis to have ever been hit by the EVD since the first outbreak was recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo almost 40 years ago, and any mishandling of the disease could have spelt disaster not just for the cities but for the country as a whole.
''But the ever-dogged and determined Governors Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State and Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers States employed the same winning strategies that have stood their states out of the pack and quickly rose to the occasion, putting in place measures that ensured a quick curtailing of the EVD sprea. The measures include painstaking contact-tracing, unrelenting follow-up and creative treatment of infected patients even without access to the experimental drug Zmapp.
''There is no doubt that Nigeria is fortunate that the EVD outbreaks were recorded in those two states. It is a measure of the high premium that the Chief Executives of the states place on human life, a testimony to the strong health systems they are building and an indication of their purposeful approach to governance that they successfully contained the disease, thus earning Nigeria a rare accolade from the global community.
''Unlike the President and the PDP, we will also like to give credit to the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, for acting out of character with the do-nothing Jonathan Administration. We hope President Jonathan and his party will stop making the Ebola success story in which opposition states were the main actors a fulcrum of their campaign for the 2015 general elections. They cannot and should not take credit for the containment of Ebola in Nigeria,'' APC said.
The party also advised President Jonathan not to use the Ebola containment effort as another tool to divide Nigerians along party lines.
''President Jonathan is the most divisive President in Nigeria's history. He inherited a united Nigeria, but has divided the country along ethnic and religious lines on the altar of selfish personal ambition and short-term opportunism. It will amount to a monumental tragedy if the President will again use the Ebola success story, which has earned Nigeria a rare acclamation from the global community, as a tool to further divide Nigerians,'' it said.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed
National Publicity Secretary
All Progressives Congress (APC)
London, Oct. 5th 2014

https://www.facebook.com/nasirelrufai/posts/10154707874025128

Impeached Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state has called on the presidency and national leadership of the ruling People’s Democratic Party(PDP) to probe the sacked acting governor of Adamawa state Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri over allegations of N18b theft of Adamawa state resources.

A statement signed by the Director of Press and Publicity to the former Governor Mallam Ahmad Sajoh urged the anti graft commissions to explore all avenues in unraveling the scathing discovery saying there cannot be smoke without fire.

Nyako said Fintiri’s prove is the only way the presidency can justify that its war against corruption is not lopsided and its anti-corruption agencies (ICPC and EFCC) are not mere political tools to witch-hunt politicians on the opposing divide.

“We wish to call on the anti-corruption agencies (ICPC and EFCC) to investigate this Matter thoroughly because as they say, there is no smoke without fire. Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri needs to treat all matters related to his term as Acting Governor very Seriously at least to prove to the world that his roles in the supposed impeachment of Governor Nyako and the illegal removal of Barr Bala Ngilari were not motivated by selfish and self-serving interest to assume the position of Acting Governor as a stepping stone to self-enrichment,” the statement read in parts.

Nyako said he will not rest on his oars until the issue is thoroughly investigated adding that he will make sure that the matter is not swept under the carpet or hidden in the folded umbrella of the PDP.

He said he was not surprised by the desperation of Fintiri to remove the governor and his deputy from office adding that the exercise was steeped in extreme illegalities and self-serving interests.

“Should it be eventually proven that a colossal amount of N18 billion was expended by the Former Acting Governor in less than 3 Months, then the basis of the impeachment of the governor and his deputy have been justified as such it was carried out with reckless impunity,” the statement noted.

He chided the apologists of the former acting governor who tried to water down the allegation saying that it was sheer blackmail adding that how can they easily forgot that they used the same tag on others but when it comes to them they cry foul play saying the action amounts to double standards.

http://leadership.ng/news/386965/n18bn-loot-nyako-wants-fintiri-prosecuted

Two days ago, Household of God Head pastor Chris Okotie, called for the resignation
of pastor Ayo Oritsejafor as President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN,
over his involvement in the $9.3million arms deal scandal. (see here ) Well, CAN has
replied him and they started with, 'is he a Christian?' lol. These our Christian leaders
sef...
Speaking exclusively to Punch , the Director of National Issues in CAN, Mr. Sunny Oibe
said Okotie is only looking for popularity through Oritsejafor. Oibe said;
"Is Chris Okotie a Christian? How many wives has he? He should go and sort out
himself. Even the government has exonerated Pastor Ayo of all the allegations.
So, who is Okotie? Well, it is laughable if Chris Okotie should demand that Pastor
Ayo Oritsejafor should resign as President of CAN.
“Chris Okotie should remove the log in his eyes before he begins to see a peck in
somebody’s eyes. Pastor Ayo had a soaring integrity before he was elected the
President of CAN. Who elected Chris Okotie to become the spokesperson of
Christians in Nigeria?
“CAN will not like to join issues with Okotie because doing that will amount to
making him popular. He is looking for popularity which he doesn’t have through
Pastor Ayo and he is not going to get it.”

http://lindaikeji..com.es/2014/10/can-claps-back-at-okotie-says-how-many.html?m=1

The immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Okey
Wali, has been kidnapped in Port Harcourt, the lawyers body has said.
In a press statement Saturday, the NBA said it received the “shocking news”
that Mr. Wali, its 26th President, was kidnapped by unknown persons on
Saturday, October 11, at about 9 p.m.
Mr. Wali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and an indigene of Rivers State, was
elected the NBA’s president in 2012 and served in that capacity until July
this year.
“Okey Wali SAN is a man of peace who has not only contributed immensely
to the enthronement of rule of law and protection of human rights, but also
to the development of our Nation,” the NBA said in the statement signed by
Augustine Alegeh, its current president.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/169352-nigeria-ex-nba-president-kidnapped.html
“It is therefore saddening that he should become a kidnap victim. This sad
event is yet another reminder of the state of insecurity in which all
Nigerians live.
“The NBA calls on the Federal Government to step up efforts to fulfil its
primary constitutional role of providing for the welfare and security of all
Nigerians. We passionately appeal to his abductors for his immediate and
safe release to his family.”

Five days after the inauguration of Mr James Bala Ngilari as
governor of Adamawa State, fresh intrigues and power play have
pervaded the politics of the state over who will be deputy to the
newly sworn-in governor. Barring the unforeseen, Ngilari’s deputy
will be named this week.
LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that the situation appears to have
split the leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in
the state along interest lines, even as a strong ethno-religious
permutation has been brought to the fore.
Before the Abuja Federal High Court verdict which pronounced
Ngilari governor on the strength of the fact that he did not indeed
resign as deputy to the impeached governor, Murtala Nyako, the
then acting governor, Umaru Fintiri, had emerged as the
governorship candidate of the PDP with Barrister Afremu Jingi as
his running mate in the botched governorship by-election slated for
yesterday, October 11.
Fintiri, a Muslim, is from the northern senatorial district, while Jingi
who is a Christian hails from the central, a Muslim-dominated zone
that has not produced the governor of the state since it was
created.
But Ngilari’s emergence has created a fresh political calculus that
will ensure a hitch-free transfer of the reins of governorship power
to the central zone come 2015. The emergence of the former acting
governor as PDP governorship candidate was predicated on this.
Unconfirmed reports had it that Ngilari, who is from the northern
zone like Fintiri had, while his legal battle lasted, promised “in
concrete terms”, not to run for the governorship in 2015 to pave
way for the central zone. The later was said to have been ambivalent
on this commitment not to run in next year’s election.
Expectedly therefore, all eyes are on the central senatorial zone to
produce the next deputy governor of the state as such is seen as a
precursor to 2015.
But Governor Ngilari has said the choice of his deputy is a matter
for the party; this is just as he denied being under pressure over
the matter.
Ngilari’s chief press secretary, Maxwell Dukku, told LEADERSHIP
Sunday that “the party has the final say on the matter”.
“Well, I am not aware that the governor is under any pressure over
who his deputy should be. The man is party man to the core and he
believes that the party should play a greater role in this regard. In
fact, the party has the final say on the matter; but honestly, the
governor is not under any pressure whatsoever,” Dukku said.
Regardless, while some leaders of the PDP led by former national
chairman, Bamanga Tukur, are pushing for the nomination of his son,
Auwal Tukur, as Ngilari’s deputy, other stakeholders led by former
petroleum minister, Senator Jubril Aminu, are pushing for Alhaji
Abubakar Hamman Girei.
But the choice of Girei, who was a local council chairman and now a
member of the state executive committee of the PDP, has the
backing of most members of the state exco, and appears not to have
the support of the state chairman, Joel Madaki, whose nominee, Jingi
just lost out with Fintiri on the strength of the court verdict.
Efforts to reach Madaki were unsuccessful as his mobile line was
switched off as at the time of going to the press.
All the same, another calculation points in the direction of a
commissioner who served under Fintiri, Felix Tangwami. Curiously,
Tangwami is also a Christian like Ngilari. He hails from Demsa local
government area in Adamawa South senatorial district.
According to our source, the Tangwami’s option is being pushed by a
group of Abuja-based Adamawa stakeholders with the support of a
top presidential aide to serve as a check to the emergence of
central zone Fulani/Muslim deputy.
The thinking of this group is to avoid a situation whereby no Fulani/
Muslim has an edge over other contenders in 2015 when the zone is
expected to be given a blanket chance to produce the PDP
governorship candidate.
The source said, “Like any other political matter, the choice of the
deputy governor has a lot to do with interests and other things. I
can tell you confidently that so many angles have been brought into
the issue; some are political, while some have to do with the nature
of our state which is divided along ethnic and religious lines.
“As things are, I know that Bamanga Tukur is seriously pushing for
his son, Auwal, but this is being opposed by another group led by
Jubril Aminu which is behind one Abubakar Hamman Girei, and
another is working to ensure that in order to avoid any advantage in
2015, no Muslim/Fulani man from the central takes the slot.
“Specifically, what this group is trying to avoid is that, we learnt
the same forces that threw up a later-day aspirant in Abuja are of
the view that people in the central should just leave it for both the
north and south to enjoy briefly, so that they can have their own
full term from 2015,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a move aimed at preventing possible distraction within
the fold of the PDP, President Goodluck Jonathan has invited both
Governor Ngilari and Fintiri to an emergency meeting scheduled for
the presidential villa, Abuja. The peace parley was expected to start
at 10pm last night.
The meeting will have in attendance Senate President David Mark,
PDP National Chairman Adamu Mu’azu, and other top leaders of the
party, as well as presidential top shots.

Barring any last minute change, the nationwide “consultations”
undertaken by the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, to decide his next political direction
may finally be revealed, as impeccable sources close to the speaker
said he may defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the
All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday when the House resumes
plenary.
Tambuwal had declared months back, when speculation became rife
that he was gunning for either the governorship of his state or the
presidency under the APC, that, “I am still consulting my primary
constituency on these crucial matters which affect me, Sokoto State
and Nigeria generally. I will come back and engage my people. All
politics is local and I will make my final stand on these topical issues
known to Nigerians at the most appropriate time”.
However, the need for him to now make his political plan known is
largely influenced by the fact that the APC’s timetable for it
presidential primaries has been fixed for December 2, leading to the
February 14 general elections. His defection this week is to give him
enough time to declare, pick his form, and mobilise his structure.
According to the APC timetable (which might be modified), the
expression of interest forms for all offices will go on sale from
October 6. Those interested in seeking the party’s nomination to
stand in the presidential, governorship, senatorial, House of
Representatives and Houses of Assembly elections are expected to
pick their forms between October 6 and 19.
The sale of nomination forms to presidential aspirants will commence
on October 20 and end on November 6, while screening of
presidential aspirants is slated to take place between November 10
and 13, and November 14 and 15 will be for appeals. The party’s
national convention, where the presidential candidate will be picked,
holds on December 2.
The sale of nomination forms to those interested in the governorship
race is to take place between October 20 and November 9.
Screening of aspirants will hold as from November 10 to 12, while
appeals are slated to take place between November 13 and 14. The
governorship primaries are slated for November 15, while appeals
emanating from the primaries will be entertained from November 18
to 22.
The speaker’s defection this week is said to have the full backing of
key members of both the House and Senate who embraced the APC
when seven PDP governors staged a walkout in August during a
special convention of the PDP and five subsequently defected to the
APC.
This was because his emergence as speakers was greatly aided by
those members of the House who were not comfortable with the
dominating influence the PDP was exerting in the House.
His expected defection is also said to have the full backing of his
governor, Aliyu Wamakko, who was one of the five governors that
defected to the APC. The fact that the speaker maintained a
robust relationship with his governor lent credence to the rosy
relationship between them, this culminated in him being turbaned as
the Mutawallen Sokoto.
Only recently, posters of the speaker have flooded some parts of
Abuja and some few northern states, declaring his intention to bid
for the presidency. But his media aide, Mallam Imam Imam, had
denied the rumoured bid, saying, “Let it be known that since the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not given the
go-ahead for those interested in elective positions to start
mobilisation, it is inappropriate for any person or group to print
campaign posters and have them placed in strategic locations in any
part of the country.”
Apart from former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is alleged to
be solidly behind the presidential aspiration of the speaker, some
governors under the APC banner are said to have given him their
words to rally behind him.
But LEADERSHIP Sunday learned that even though the PDP
currently enjoys a slim majority in the House, the speaker may still
not be able to hold onto his position when he eventually defects.
This, according to LEADERSHIP Sunday’s investigations, is because
some of the members in the House, who are said to have concluded
plans to defect with him, might not do it because of the proximity
of the time for election.
When LEADERSHIP Sunday sought the opinion of the special adviser
on media to the speaker, he said, “We have consistently said that
the speaker is still consulting on what his political move would be,
and that whenever that consultation is concluded, Nigerians will
know. I really can’t say what he will do on Tuesday; only that
Nigerians will know anytime he has finished his consultations.”

http://leadership.ng/news/386811/tambuwal-set-dump-pdp

The National Convention of the Labour Party which held in Akure on Saturday, has
elected Abdulkadir Salam, as the party’s new national Chairman.
Salam whose election was unanimous, as there was no other nomination against his
candidacy, was the past national secretary of the party.
Past Chairman of the party, Dan Iwuanyawun, was ratified as the Chairman of the
Board of Trustees of the party.
Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Kayode Ajulo, emerged as the National Secretary
of the party.
Voting was done through raising of hands and voice votes by all the delegates.
All the officers were elected after consensus was reached by the different interest
groups within the party.
The deputy national secretaries would be filled by representatives from the Nigeria
Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.
Other officers elected include, Mrs. Oluchi Opara, National Treasurer; National
Publicity Secretary, Ebele Efendo; National Organising Secretary, Clement Ojukwu;
National Auditor, Maria Lebeke and Financial Secretary, Hadiza Kishimi.
The convention also elected Mariam Fumilola as the National Woman Leader and
Andrew Ugbadi as National Youth Leader.
Iwuanyanwu, who also chaired the convention committee, urged the new executive
committee to work hard for the party, as there was no reward without hard work.
“Let me tell those coming in that there is no money in the party. Those who worked
with me had no salary or any payments. You may even have to attend party meetings
at your own cost.
“But if you work hard God will reward your efforts and the party will expand,” he
said.
Similarly, a new executive board of the South-West Peoples Democratic Party was on
Saturday elected at a congress held in Ibadan, with the former chairman of the
caretaker committee, Isola Filani, protesting the election of Makanjuola Ogundipe as
the new chairman.
Filani was removed by members of the old caretaker board on September 3, over
allegation of failing to carry other members along in the running of the board. The
party zonal treasurer, Lanre Orimoloye was chosen to succeed him.
Ogundipe, who was the chairman of Ekiti State chapter of the party was elected
alongside all others who worked with Filani on the caretaker board.
Apart from his protest against the process that produced Ogundipe, Filani, who made
a brief appearance at the venue of the congress in Agodi, Ibadan, has also challenged
the return of other members of the new executive board in a letter he submitted on
Saturday to the chairman of the congress committee.

http://www.punchng.com/news/lp-pdp-elect-new-excos/