can person watch super spoets on gotv

great post, thanks op, looks like arik air have some new baby

naija here we come, you travel on nigeria road all na death trap, on air huhh, nawaaaa which way nigeria,

Dude look, if u have the cash go for toyota highlander or lexus Gx470

dude try first bank, is the best bank in naija now

try universal modem, thats what i use now with any network sim, works very fast on airtel and glo, etisalat,

good work from spyder, keep it up

GT/bank mastercard is the best,for online payment.

Etisalate is da king of network service in naija, mtn sucks bad.

since i came into the country, i am using etisalat Bis and it has been so smooth sailing, their network service here in onitsha is so cool, mtn can go to hell all i care, yeaaaaahhh, etibaba carry goooooo

He is actually the one,confirmed.The only fear now is for the government or who so ever in charge not to release him.Its identity has been confirmed,he is just the spokesman of the sect,.sss caught him at the right range of spot with the tescope, the guy is too much important to Boko haram confirmed,

IBB begs: Give me another chance
From DENNIS MERNYI, Abuja
Sunday, June 27, 2010


IBB
Photo: Sun News Publishing
More Stories on This Section
Former Military President, General Ibrahim Babamosi Babangida, has appealed to Nigerians to forget his past mistakes and give him another chance to rule the country again. Babangida also urged Nigerians not to bother about the mistakes or failures of the past but to boldly confront the task ahead by giving him another chance.

The former Nigerian leader said he has never lost faith in the Nigerian project and in his belief to take it to the promise land. Speaking Saturday at the graduation and prize giving day of the Pacesetters Schools in Abuja, Babangida who was represented by his son, Mohammed, said: “We must decide, however, not to over-burden ourselves with the past mistakes or failures of the past but to boldly confront the tasks ahead of us with the solid experience of our elders and the good-nurtured adventurism of our youths.”

He stated that Nigeria would be better organized if those who benefit from it were reasonable enough to invest in education. He urged state and local governments to offer special grants to assist private schools boost the educational sector of the country. “I want to believe that it would be a sign of good faith and a source of encouragement if states and local governments give what is called grants-in-aid to private individuals who invest their hard-earned resources in education for national growth.

“I also state without iota of doubt that those who really want to give back to the society are those who invest in education. That is why I totally supported my wife when she decided to put her vision of El-Amin International School into concrete reality,” he stated. In his address, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, restated the need for government to intensify the fight against corruption and other vices in the country.

He advocated an institutional approach like engaging all institutions of learning where a curriculum would be developed to discourage school children against cultivating corrupt and other vices alien to the society.
Ekweremadu also bemoaned the alarming rate of corruption in the country.

“Corruption and kidnapping remain daunting challenges governments face on daily basis. We urge Nigerians to rise against them and expose the perpetrators so that our society would be better,” he said. Ekweremadu was however silent on the crises over allegations of corruption in the National Assembly involving the House of Representatives Speaker, Dimeji Bankole and the House leadership, but assured of government’s determination to fight and wipe out the menace from the country.

Also in a remark, a representative of the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Peter Claussion, urged the graduating students to keep alive the dreams of the founders of the school by being good ambassadors of the country wherever they go. He said the future of any country was dependent on the quality of education and the moral lessons built into the children.

Earlier, the chairman/proprietor of the school, Kenneth Imansuangbon, expressed gratitude to God for making the project a reality and urged other well-meaning Nigerians to take up the challenge as the government alone cannot provide enough educational resources for the millions of children in the country

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/june/27/national-27-06-2010-002.htm

Soyinka: Nigeria is at a breaking point Thursday, 24 June 2010 00:00 Nigerian Compass
APPARENTLY disturbed by the numerous political and economic crises in the country, Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, yesterday told Nigerians that they must be ready to take their destinies in their hands.

Speaking in Lagos during a rally organised by the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) at the Onikan Stadium, Soyinka said Nigeria was at “a breaking point”, and that the people must decide what to do with their future.

He said Nigerians should no longer expect him and a few other activists to continue to risk their lives while they (Nigerians) are lethargic about the way the country is being run by those elected.

Joined by Professor Pat Utomi, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, Bisi Akande, Lt-Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd.), Malam Nasir el-Rufai, Dele Momodu, Mr. Femi Falana and Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, among others, Soyinka called on Nigerians to prevail on President Goodluck Jonathan not to use the 2006 voters register to conduct the 2011 general elections.

“Let this be the last time you (Nigerians) will drag me out to talk about voting and election generally; enough of talking, let’s match it with action; don’t bring me out here again to come and tell you to register and vote in any election; enough of talking, just go out there to register and vote.

“It is not enough to sit here and ask for new voters’ registration; we must all insist on how to do it and decide on what to do so that the people in charge of election will listen to you.”

According to him, the register is made up of synthetic names, names of animals and individuals that have long been dead, wondering why such an antiquated record should be used for the 2011 elections.

He described the register as “a condemnable compilation that contains the names of dogs, goats, cows and even dead people. You must decide not to be hoodwinked. You must decide what to do with those who are in charge of the exercise and what you have to carry out in your own behalf and on behalf of your children,” he said.

The Professor of Literature alluded to the post-apartheid era in South Africa, stressing that he would forever recall the elderly Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa dancing on the podium at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States.

“Let me remind you about post-apartheid South Africa. There was an incident in the UN that I will never forget. That was Archbishop Desmond Tutu dancing on the podium of the UN. Why was he dancing? He said that at long last and at an age close to 70, he was finally able to vote. When I can vote, that is when I can say that I have fully and completely become a man, a full human being,” Soyinka said, quoting the Archbishop.

On the appointment of Professor Attahiru Jega as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), he said: “My final word is a message to both Professor Jega and the President. I know Jega, I trust him, I believe him, I believe he represents the masses and I want to say to you that the civil society is behind you. I want you to know that the world is watching and the world is behind you because you have excellent credentials.

“I also want to let the President know that the world is behind you in any endeavour in which you strive to restore to the people their right, the fundamental right to express their will of who they want to govern them. The world is also behind the government in this respect but most important of all, we are watching, we are behind them in so far as you move and proceed in the right direction as you carry out the will of the people.

“And when the next government is installed, it should be an elected government; that government will ensure that we do not go backward in our history and one of the ways to do this is to ensure that those who have violated our fundamental human rights to humanity are put in the gallows, they are rigorously punished.

“No punishment is too heavy for those who have violated our constitution and denied our people the right to choose their leaders. We must go back and bring those people to book, not necessarily for vengeance but in the interest of enough is enough and let us say, no further step backward. We must resolve that the long nightmare is over”.

Utomi said it was unfortunate that the contentious register has foreign names like the former Heavy Weight Champion, Mike Tyson, and that of the late Pop Musician, Michael Jackson, adding that the Nigerian economy has remained stagnant for long since the leaders were never elected by Nigerians. He expressed optimism that Nigeria would rise again only if votes count.

Fashola changed the acronym RSVP to Register, Select, Vote and Protect, stressing that it was unacceptable for anybody to say that it is impossible to have a credible register.

“Even if it requires us to stay at home for 10 days to produce a credible voter’s register, we must do it.”

Bakare said it was time for the youth to rule the country, saying: “Our chance has come.”

But, Falana said he was not optimistic that the 2011 election would be credible.

By Muyiwa Oyinlola & Emmanuel Ukudolo

http://www.compassnewspaper.com/NG/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61624:soyinka-nigeria-is-at-a-breaking-point-&catid=672:top-stories&Itemid=794

Swiss court sentences dictator's son
by Swisster Staff
June 18, 2010 | 12:23


A Geneva police court on Friday sentenced Abba Abacha, son of the former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha, to a suspended two-year jail term for participating in a criminal organization.

The court ruled that Abacha could not properly account for the hundreds of millions of francs he kept in 20 bank accounts under different names.

Last fall, an investigating judge orderd the confiscation of 350 million dollars seized by authorities from banks in the Bahamas and Luxembourg.

Abacha’s father is believed to have absconded with three billion francs from Nigerian government coffers between 1993 and 1999, when he died.

Much of the money ended up in Swiss bank accounts. Most of the 870 million francs frozen by government authorities in Switzerland has already been returned to the Nigerian government.

The case against Abacha’s son began in 1999 at the request of the Nigerian government.

He has already spent 561 days in preventive custody.


http://www.swisster.ch/swiss-court-sentences-dictators-son.html?

Ibori loses bail in Dubai, remanded in police custody
By Chiawo Nwankwo, Niyi Odebode and Akin Oyedele
Friday, 11 Jun 2010


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JAMES IBORI

The travails of a former Delta State Governor James Ibori have worsened as a court in Dubai, United Arab Emirates revoked the bail he was granted on May 13.



Two Nigerian online news agencies—Saharareporters and THE WILL — said in their reports on Thursday, that the Dubai police, acting on an intelligence report, revoked the bail on the grounds that Ibori might escape from the oil-rich Arab country.



The agencies added in the reports that the former governor’s bail was revoked as soon as he arrived at the police headquarters in Dubai on Tuesday.



Saharareporters said, “The police, acting on actionable intelligence, revoked his bail as soon as he arrived their headquarters having become desperate following the sentencing of two of his associates to five-year jail term.



“Ibori will remain in prison until the conclusion of his extradition hearing in the United Arab Emirates.”



The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission which met behind closed doors in Abuja with a team from the Metropolitan Police of London, confirmed the revocation of Ibori’s bail.



A top Presidency source i told one of our correspondents the bail was revoked following a strong protest by the Federal Government.



The Federal Government had threatened to revoke the operational licence of Emirate Airline last week, following the UAE authorities’ apparent lack of interest in cooperating with Nigeria to extradite Ibori for trial in the United Kingdom.



Besides, it was gathered that overwhelming evidence the EFCC presented to the UAE authorities to the effect that the former governor fled Nigeria in order to escape justice, helped to change their mind on the Ibori bail.



Also, the conviction of Ibori’s sister, Mrs Christine Ibori-Ibie, and one of his associates, Udoamaka Okroronkwo-Onuigbo by the Southwark Crown Court in London on June 7, 2010 was said to have played a crucial role in the reversal of UAE’s initial stance.



The Presidency source said, “Three factors were considered by the Dubai authorities in revoking the bail earlier granted Ibori.



“The conditions of his people in the UK- those who were convicted to five years in prison each and the protest from the Nigerian authorities that the operational licence of Emirate airlines will be seized swayed the Dubai authorities.



“There is also the overwhelming evidence presented by the EFCC operatives in Dubai that Ibori fled Nigeria to escape justice.



“The revocation of the bail is preparatory to his extradition to the UK. ”



Our correspondents learnt that the meeting between Waziri and the Met. Police team lasted for more than five hours.



The EFCC had earlier extended invitation to journalists to cover the meeting , but later changed its mind on the grounds that its (meeting) outcome was not for “public consumption.”



The media crew of the commission, which covers visits to the commission, was also barred from the talks.



The Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Femi Babafemi, who confirmed the meeting, said, “We are only releasing the picture of that meeting to the press.”



It was, however, gathered that the meeting was called to strategise on the next line of action for the EFCC and London Met. Police on the extradition of the ex-governor to the UK.



EFCC operatives who were dispatched to Dubai immediately Ibori was arrested are still in the country to see the extradition process through.



The former governor had fled the UK after being declared wanted by the Met. Police for money laundering, thus making the International Police to start a manhunt for him.



The Met. Police and the EFCC had insisted that he should be extradited to face corruption charges.



But his sister, Ibori-Ibie, and Okoronkwo-Onuigbo were sentenced to five-year imprisonment on June 7 for money laundering, mortgage and fire frauds.



Another associate of Ibori, Mrs. Bimpe Pogoson, was acquitted by the Southwark Crown Court which held that Ibori-Ibie and Okoronkwo Onuigbo were used by Ibori to loot funds belonging to the people of Delta State during his eight years in office as governor of Nigeria’s wealthiest state.



Ibori was declared wanted by the EFCC on April 13 over N44bn fraud and other corruption charges.



He was accused of selling Delta State shares in the Oceanic International Bank Plc and spending it to purchase shares in a United States Oil Servicing company, Wilbros.



Besides Nigeria, the former governor has been declared wanted in the United Kingdom, where he was facing allegations of money laundering.



The EFCC had said, “Following persistent public enquiries over the status of the case involving the former governor, we will like the public to know that James Ibori is wanted by the Commission for interrogation.



“In this regard, letters of invitation have been sent to his known addresses in Lagos and Abuja while a court warrant has equally been obtained for his arrest.”



Rather than honouring the EFCC’s invitation, Ibori, in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Tony Elemunor, dismissed the commission’s allegation, describing it as “political harassment.



But before he was declared wanted, the agency had been accused of showing no interest in prosecuting the former governor because of his closeness to the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua.



The former governor had filed an application at the Federal High Court, Asaba, on April 27, asking the court to order the commission not to arrest him.



But the court, presided over by Ibrahim Buba, turned down the application, saying that there was no sufficient material to grant it.



After the court rejected his application, Ibori was said to have taken refuge in Oghara, his home town in Delta State, where youths barricaded roads thus preventing EFCC from arresting him.



The youths and women in the town protested over the EFCC manhunt for Ibori, saying they would die, defending their son from alleged victimization by EFCC.



But while the EFCC was looking for the ex-governor, he sneaked out of the country early last month and fled to Dubai.



He, was, however, arrested by the Interpol on May 12 following a United Kingdom warrant of arrest

http://punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20100611226918

IBB wants me dead because of his dirty secrets –Babangida’s former secretary
By NIYI ODEBODE
Tuesday, 8 Jun 2010


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Maj. Debo Basorun (retd.)

Maj. Debo Basorun (retd.) was the military press secretary to an ex-president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd.). In this interview with NIYI ODEBODE, he opens up on his ordeals in the hands of the former dictator and the death of Dele Giwa.



When did you leave the army?



I resigned on December 28, 1988. I joined the army as a private on September 1, 1967 and commanded two battalions during the civil war. I was an infantry soldier. My first station was the 17, Infantry Battalion Iwo Road, Ibadan. From there, I volunteered to go to the war front. I served with 72 Infantry Battalion at Asaba. I was in the Nigerian troops that crossed to Onitsha on the third attempt. After a few months in Onitsha, I was injured and brought back to Ibadan . From Ibadan , I was brought back to Lagos . In Lagos , I was attached to Rehabilitation Centre at Oshodi. From there, I was taken to the Third Marine Commando Division. In the Third Marine Commando Division, I served in the 12 and 14 battalions. In 1979, I was the spokesperson for the United Nations in the Middle East. My last unit was at Dodan Barracks. I was the military press secretary to Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.



Under what circumstances did you leave the army?



There was a threat to my life and that is what this brouhaha is all about. I was privy to some of the terrible things Babangida and Akilu did when we were in the army. There was this determination on their path to silence me. I was surprised when I saw my name in the newspapers two weeks ago. They said I was wanted. That is far from the truth. I resigned from the army.



You said you were privy to some information. What information?



My problem is 2011. Babangida wants to become president again. I am not saying I am the only person, but I am one of those who know that he is connected to the death of Dele Giwa. That is why they have been trying to kill me.



What has happened since your return from exile?



There had been two chiefs of army staff since I came back from exile before the present one. I went into exile in 1989 and the first time I came back to the country was 2006. I stayed briefly in the country and went back. When I came back fully in 2007, I met with IBB at a social function. I have been in trouble since, because I did not exchange pleasantries with him at the social function. He has been sending people to harass me. I have been ignoring him up to a point. I had to cry out in the media and grant an interview to a newspaper. Since then, they have been saying that they will deal with me for trying to spill the beans. Is it because of 2011? The man is so desperate now. His think tank has warned him that if I am still circulating about, there is every chance that I will abort his ambition. Come to think of it. What is important about Debo Bashorun? Is the army trying to tell me that since 20 years that I have left the army, there has been nobody who has gone on AWOL (absence without leave)? How many people have they advertised that they are looking for? When they started this nonsense, they said that I stole money before I left the army. If I stole money, let them hand over their documents to the police; the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission or the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission. Let me be tried in a court of law. I am not going to surrender myself to any of them. I am telling you authoritatively that Babangida has given instructions that once they grab me, they should poison me. I am not going to allow that to happen to me. Remember what happened to Chief Moshood Abiola. I want the world to hear what is going on. He has an ambition to be the president. One of his lieutenants know that I am about to publish a book. If I did not desert the army during the turbulent days of civil war, how would I desert when I was enjoying?



You have not explained how you left the army.



I was sent to do a dirty job in America in respect of Dele Giwa’s death. I was sent to cover up what they did. I refused to comply. When I came back they threw me into jail. Newspapers reported it that time. I protested. The press was on my side then. I was shouting on the roof top that “These people want to kill me.” They decided to send me to a unit in Makurdi, which was a Siberia then. I refused to go. Incidentally, the General Staff Headquarters, which was my unit (and Babangida’s unit too), issued an order that whoever wanted to leave the army should volunteer. It coincided with what was happening to me. So I volunteered and resigned. I quoted their order in the resignation letter I sent them. But out of those who resigned then, I was the only person whose resignation was rejected. I contacted some attorneys. Alao Aka-Basorun was my lawyer. Femi Falana was his two-in-c (second-in-command). I told them I wanted to leave the army because I was privy to what the two people (IBB and Akilu) had been doing. I said that I was tired of it and did not want to be part of it any longer. My lawyers reviewed the law and said that there was nothing preventing me from leaving the army. So I resigned, but they rejected my resignation. I am getting close to 70.



What efforts have you made to get your entitlements?



On my return from exile, I visited with two ministers of defence to discuss my entitlements. They are Alhaji Kwankwaso and Mr. Aguiyi Ironsi. They are still alive and will corroborate my story. I met them in their Defence Headquarters offices in Abuja . The current Chief of Army Staff, General Danbazzau, was a brigadier and the Principal General Staff Officer in that office. He was even the person who ushered me into the office. He knows me very well in the army, apart from being my neighbour at Ojo Cantonment when he was in the military police. We exchanged pleasantries like old buddies. Then you might want to ask him where did this idea of a deserter come from? Even those who staged coups have been absorbed back into society. They are currently collecting their entitlements. Let Danbazzau show the world where any of them was published in the newspaper as a deserter. My problem is with IBB and Akilu. He should stay out of it unless he wants to drag the army into the murky waters of politics.



If he has something against me, let him bring it into the open. He initially said I stole money when I was in the army. Because of that I have instructed my lawyer, Femi Falana, to drag him to court. We have filed a law suit against him for libel. This was somebody who professed to submit to the rule of law. Why can’t he wait for the final decision of the court before placing the advertisement? If they come to me and want to arrest me, they must be ready to arrest a corpse. They cannot arrest me. I would rather die. I have not left my house. I stay in my house all the time. If they want to arrest me, they will eventually arrest a corpse. I do not have a gun. They have guns. But civil rights society in America has sent us cameras. My neighbours have cameras. They want to see what the army will do. I am ready.



Why did the army say you are a deserter in spite of the fact that you resigned?



Even if I were to be a deserter as claimed by Danbazzzau, which is not true, can he beat his chest before the public to say that there has been no deserter since I went into exile over 20 years ago? If he denies there is no deserter, then we will expose him. Can he tell us how many of them have been published in the papers? You can bet that there is none. That should tell Nigerians that the smoke they are seeing is as a result of fire from IBB. What does Danbazzau want from a nearly 70-year-old man? Is he planning to capture the world which would be impossible without Basorun participating? Danbazzau should not be allowed to drag the name of the army in the mud but if he chooses that route, again that will be his choice because Nigerians will not fold their hands and look away while the country is plunged into a maelstrom of the dirty game of politics. Why their desperation? Of course, 2011 is the issue. Babangida has assembled a think tank of south-westerners who have warned him of my tell-all book that is about to be launched. They warned him that if I am allowed to launch the book, the expose contained there will totally destroy his chances of even gaining a foothold any where in the South-West. Those who even staged coup d’etats and fled the country for years were never classified deserters. Their names and pictures were never published in the dailies. They did not only come back and get re-absorbed into the Nigerian society, but apart from their benefits which were paid in full, all of them are collecting pensions every month. The country realised that theirs was a political problem brought about by a dictatorship forcing them to flee the country. That was exactly what happened in my own case. Why being singled me out?



What do you see to IBB’s call that Abiola should be immortalised?



Is it not shameful at this late time in the day for IBB to now be clamouring for immortalising Abiola? What does that tell you about him? He is desperate.



What do you think of Babangida’s presidential ambition?



That is a disaster waiting to happen. He is just coming for a vengeance. People that have criticised him will be in terrible trouble. What did he leave that he was coming to take? I know him very well. I was close to him. I was involved in his life. I was involved in his wife’s personal life. If he comes back, the county will be sold.



What was in your mind during IBB’s transition programme?



I never believed him. In fact, I told Chief Abiola, God is my witness, that he should not rely on him


http://punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201006083424745

wonder why press gave this stupid idiot , this kind of publicy, this a sycophant, was not him that refused to recognized jonathan as acting president after he was sworn in , he was referring to him as VP. dont think we are fools. Honestly his type should be cooling in prison 4 turning our constitution up side down. for his selfish egois. MR president beware of this basket mouth aondoakaa,

Nigerians have not heard the last from controversial former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Maurice Iwu, who bluntly refused yesterday to handover the commission’s affairs to another officer despite his sudden sack by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday evening. Later in the day, Iwu was also snubbed by Jonathan, who refused to see him when he appeared at the Acting President’s office to protest the order for him to disengage from INEC five weeks before his tenure expired.
There was noticeable apprehension at INEC’s headquarters yesterday as staffers wore anxious faces over the silent power struggle going on over its headship. Sources at the commission said Iwu complained about some “ambiguities” in the letter asking him to immediately proceed on leave.

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan had directed that Iwu hand over to the most senior INEC National Commissioner, who will take charge until a substantive chairman is appointed. Daily Trust however learnt that the most senior commissioner that could have taken over, Barrister Victor Chukwuani from Enugu State, also received a letter on Wednesday evening directing him to proceed on pre-disengagement leave with immediate effect. Chukwuani’s five-year tenure elapses in June.

However, there were indications that INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Information and Publicity, Barrister Phillip Etomike Umeadi (Jnr.) had assumed the headship of INEC, because six mobile policemen and three other plain cloth security agents were seen guarding his once easily-accessible office at INEC headquarters.

Several INEC management staffers who spoke to our reporters yesterday also said they were not favourably disposed to Umeadi’s taking over of the leadership of INEC. They described Umeadi as “arrogant and someone who does not tolerate dissenting opinion.”

Professor Iwu had arrived at INEC headquarters in the morning yesterday and summoned a close-door meeting with its top management staff, including Umeadi and the third national commissioner, Mr Solomon Adedeji Soyebi.

A senior INEC officer familiar with yesterday’s events told our reporter that Iwu refused to hand over because there were some grey areas to be clarified.

He said, “Prof. Iwu cannot hand over. The statutes of the commission are not like that of the ministries. There is no seniority among the national commissioners, so the chairman (Iwu) went to see the Acting President on who to actually hand over to. Also Chukwuani’s letter was not copied to Iwu as expected.”

Professor Iwu’s spokesman Andy Ezeani refused to speak to our reporter yesterday, saying he had nothing to say on any issue, but INEC’s Director of Public Affairs Emmanuel Umenger told reporters that Iwu told them at the meeting that he was leaving the commission and that he was preparing his hand over notes.

“We met with Prof. Iwu; he appreciated and commended us for working with him. He told us he is leaving and preparing his handing over notes,” Umenger said.

However, soon after that meeting, Iwu locked up his office, pocketed the keys and drove straight to the Aso Rock Villa. Asked to explain why Iwu locked up his office, the senior INEC official said “asking Iwu to go on leave is different from dismissing him. Iwu still has the constitutional mandate of his tenure till June.”

Iwu’s position was supported yesterday by the Rights Monitoring Group (RMG), which faulted the directive for Iwu to depart and said Acting President Goodluck Jonathan’s order was an abuse of the 1999 constitution.

RMG’s National Coordinator Olufemi Aduwo told our reporter that “Prof. Iwu’s appointment is guaranteed by the constitution like the governors and even the president. Why ask him to go on leave? We hope the Acting President will also proceed on terminal leave in April 2010.”

Iwu arrived at the Presidential Villa at about 2pm yesterday, hoping to see with the acting president, but he was told to see the Principal Secretary to the acting president, Mike Ogiadomhe. Daily Trust gathered that Iwu presented a letter to Ogiadomhe for onward transmission to Jonathan. Though neither Iwu nor the Presidency revealed the contents of the letter he submitted to Ogiadomhe, a competent source said it protested the order for him to leave INEC before his tenure ends in early June. The former chairman argued that his tenure was guaranteed by the constitution and that the Acting President’s order was illegal.

Iwu, who looked unruffled in his well tailored suit, refused to speak to newsmen who ambushed him on his way out of the Presidential Villa. He entered his car and zoomed off. Reports had it that his travelling documents had been seized by security agencies with an instruction that he must not travel out of the country.

Professor Iwu was appointed to a five-year term by the Obasanjo regime in 2005. Under him, INEC conducted the 2007 general and presidential elections, unanimously condemned by local and foreign observers as the worst in the world’s history. Last month, some youths alleged to be hired staged a demonstration in Abuja urging the government to reappoint Iwu, who they said is the best person to deliver credible polls in Nigeria. However, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) together with several human rights and civil society groups staged a large counter demonstration urging the government to quickly sack him.

http://nigeriannews.com/

Child Marriage: I’ve Not Broken Any Law, Says Yarima
From Imam Imam in Kaduna, 04.30.2010

For the first time since the news broke about his marriage to a 13-yeard-old Egyptian, Senator Ahmad Sani Yarima has defended his action, saying he is not bound by the provisions of the Child Rights Act

According to the Senate Minority Whip, his home state of Zamfara did not domesticate the law and as such, he cannot be accused of violating its provisions.

But Abuja where the wedding ceremony was held is under federal laws, being the capital city.
The issue has generated controversy across the country with women groups condemning his action. The Senate has ordered an investigation into the case following a petition sent by rights groups.

Also, the Egyptian Embassy said on Wednesday that its hands were tied since the matter had not been officially reported to it.
However, in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service monitored in Kaduna yesterday, the former governor of Zamfara State said the marriage is his private affair and should not be the concern of others.

While not denying that he married her, he stated that the claim that she is 13 years is not true.

“It is true that I got married but it is not true that I married a 13 year old girl. But what I want to say on this issue is, when I was governor, I said on several occasions that Allah (SWT) has made me to take life like any other Muslim. All the things that Allah said we should do and all the things that the Prophet (SAW) said we should do, I have tried to do them.

“I have not done anything that violates Sharia, so I am not bothered about anything if anybody accuses me and I don’t think I have committed any offence," he argued.

When asked to specifically state the age of the girl, Yarima declined. Instead, he argued that “there are laws laid down by Allah (SWT) regarding marriage. In my position as a Muslim, I followed all the procedures for marriage in Islam. If I had violated any provision of the law in Islam, I would have been disturbed, the issue of age does not arise.”

He blamed his political opponents for his current travail and acknowledged that the girl in question is an Egyptian.

“Yes (she is Egyptian). There are women that Allah (SWT) prohibits us from marrying, there are those he permits us to marry. I married the one Allah permits us (Muslims) to marry. The entire controversy in this marriage, it is the hand work of my political opponents and those against Sharia. (Remember that) I introduced Sharia in Zamfara in 1999.”

When asked why he married the girl when he knows that it would generate this controversy, Yarima said: “Anything I want to do, I always ask myself whether Allah prohibits it.”

Yarima was the first governor in Nigeria to introduce the Sharia legal system after which a host of other states in the North followed suit. He reportedly married a 15-year-old girl in 2006 and later divorced her to make way for the Egyptian. This would be his fourth wife.

Nigeria adopted the Child Rights Act to domesticate the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2003. But the law is only effective in states where the Houses of Assemblies have enacted it.

Since then, campaign has been on for states to adopt it in order to protect children. So far, 16 states have adopted it.



http://nigeriannews.com/

naija here we come, suffering and smiling, in episode welcome to lagos by bbc

attach pic

Nobel laureate condemns 'colonialist' BBC series on Lagos
A BBC documentary set in the slums of Lagos has been branded "condescending" and "colonialist" by Wole Soyinka, Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate.

By Alastair Jamieson
Published: 9:31AM BST 29 Apr 2010

The series was made by independent producer KEO Films for the BBC Photo: KEO FILMS
Mr Soyinka, who in 1986 became the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, said the Welcome to Lagos programme, shown on BBC Two, was "jaundiced and extremely patronising”.

In comments to The Guardian, the 75-year-old said the documentary, which follows the lives of the city’s poorest inhabitants as they struggle to make a living, was "the most tendentious and lopsided programme" he had ever seen.


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Aung San Suu Kyi fears trial verdict will be 'painfully obvious'The series, made by independent producer KEO Films for the BBC, featured Lagos citizens picking through a landfill site searching for items that could be sold.

Mr Soyinka, an emeritus professor at the University of Ife, told the newspaper: "There was no sense of Lagos as what it is – a modern African state. What we had was jaundiced and extremely patronising. It was saying 'Oh, look at these people who can make a living from the pit of degradation'.

"There was this colonialist idea of the noble savage which motivated the programme. It was patronising and condescending. It surprised me because it came from the BBC which is supposed to have some sort of reputation. It was not worthy of the BBC."

He added: "One could do a similar programme about London in which you go to a poor council estate and speaking of poverty and knifings. Or you could follow a hobo selling iron on the streets of London. But you wouldn't call it Welcome to London because that would give the viewer the impression that that is all London is about."

A BBC spokesman said: "Welcome to Lagos explores the impact of the massive rate of global urbanisation in one of the fastest growing mega-cities in the world.

"The series has generated a broad range of comment, but it has been well received by both viewers and media commentators, many of whom have specifically highlighted the positive and unstereotypical portrayals within the film."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/7650138/Nobel-laureate-condemns-colonialist-BBC-series-on-Lagos.html?

You may not know that the beginning of new era has just begins in Nigeria. Iwu managed one of the worse elections in Nigeria that of 2007 which brought in the criminals to government houses in many states of our dearest country. Look at those who are ruling and ruining Nigeria and look at how Iwu and his gang of aiding and abetting elections officers sanctioned and allowed these people to continue to hold Nigeria into ransome. Iwu you are a basket case for Nigeria. So long Prof Manipulator

Nigeria among worst violators of freedomGroup says violence strikes both Muslims, ChristiansFont Size -+PrintEmailCommentTweet this!ShareArticleComments (0)Click-2-Listen

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By Julia Duin

Nigeria has risen to the top tier of the world's worst violators of religious freedom, according to an annual report to be released Thursday by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The independent bipartisan governmental agency, whose report details abuse in 28 nations, singled out Nigeria for not punishing religiously motivated violence, such as what took place in January when 500 Christians near the city of Jos were hacked to death by Muslims.

Calling Nigeria "a tragic case," the USCIRF said its investigators visited Africa's largest country three times over the past year to find out why more than 12,000 Nigerians - Christians and Muslims alike - have died in sectarian violence since 1999.

"Not a single criminal, Muslim or Christian, has been convicted and sentenced in Nigeria's 10 years of religious violence," the report says. "The Nigerian government and judicial system have so far been unwilling or unable to protect either side."

A spokeswoman for the Nigerian Embassy could not be reached for comment.

Other nations named by the commission - which makes policy recommendations to the State Department, Congress and the president - as among the worst violators are China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Vietnam, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, North Korea, Eritrea, Iraq and Uzbekistan.

The following are "watch list" countries, which have only slightly better records: Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Laos, Russia, Somalia, Tajikstan, Turkey and Venezuela.

Saudi Arabia, the report says, continues to circulate "educational materials that instill hate and incite violence throughout the world"; the Iranian government denies all rights to its Baha'i minority; the Egyptian government mistreats Baha'is and Coptic Christians; China restricts all manner of religious activities; and North Korea imprisons even the grandchildren of those caught praying.

There are an estimated 40,000 religious prisoners in North Korea, including 6,000 Christians in the infamous Prison 15 in the country's north. Those prisoners are treated worse than other inmates, the report says, and those who are pregnant are sometimes forced to abort their children or their newborns are killed in the camps.

Those lucky enough to escape into China are often forced back over the border by the Chinese government despite international obligations to help asylum seekers, the religious-freedom panel says. Once back in North Korea, the prisoners suffer even worse tortures.

Since Iran's disputed June 12 election, the report says, religious freedom conditions have sunk to a 30-year low, with the country's Shi'ite rulers imprisoning other Shi'ites as well as Sunni and Sufi Muslims. Of the non-Muslim groups, the nation's 300,000 Baha'is are treated the worst, the report says, with seven of their top leaders in Tehran's notorious Evin prison for the past two years.

Christians, the report adds, also are subject to heavy doses of imprisonment, arrests while attending church services, harassment and the seizure of their belongings to the point that many have fled the country. The year 2009 also saw increases in officially sanctioned anti-Semitic propaganda, with one newspaper sponsoring a Holocaust-denial editorial cartoon contest.

Next door in Iraq, religious minorities such as the Mandaeans - who follow the teachings of John the Baptist - see no future for themselves in the country, and 90 percent of them are said to have been killed or to have fled Iraq.

The numbers of Christians are down by two-thirds from 1.4 million adherents in 2003, the report says, and in February, 10 Christians were killed in Mosul, prompting 4,300 other Christians to flee the city. No perpetrators have been arrested; a chronic problem facing religious minorities in Iraq.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/29/nigeria-among-worst-violators-of-freedom/?

IBB: Why I Want to Be President Again
04.28.2010

Former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida was in Lagos last weekend on a social visit. He however, took time off to speak to journalists on his presidential ambition in 2011. He also spoke on the controversies surrounding the annulment of June 12,1993 presidential election among other issues. Zacheaus Somorin was there

Seventeen years after you left office as a military President, you are joining the race again to contest for president in 2011. Why do you intend going back? Did you forget anything while leaving the office?
Thank you. Seventeen years ago when I left Aso Rock, I left so many things that I think I should go and bring back. I left for example, the value of the naira, I left, again, for example, the stable price of fuel, I also left a whole lot of reforms and I think I need to go back and get them back. So there are lot of things I left behind that I want to go and pick up for the benefit of ordinary Nigerians.


Now that you want to contest an election, PDP is in serious crisis, how do you intend to do it, going by what is happening now?
I think naturally, all political parties in the world, not only PDP, have crises internally; the way to solve the problem without rancour is by following due process. The present situation in PDP is unfortunate, one of our most eminent leaders in this country. Mallam Adamu Ciroma, has spoken. If you want to remove anybody, there are processes to do that, and that process must be followed; whoever is the leader of the PDP got there by convention.


So, I believe it is only the convention that can remove the present leadership of the party. So they should not be removed through garrison process. I also believe that whatever may be the problem, they should resolve the problem through the party’s due process, this is because PDP has norms, and those norms must be followed. So if you follow that, it would be fair. Ogbulafor remains the chairman of the party; you don’t just wake up and say that I sack Ogbulafor! There is a process, and that process must be followed, that is what democracy is all about.
This is not the first time that we’ve heard of your intention to run for the presidency of the nation, only for you to back out at the last minute.

so this time around what has given you the conviction to run again?
Well, some of us who are, well, even when some you don't want us to use that word patriots, have sacrificed our lives to keep this country together; so will definitely be concerned if events are not okay. That is the idea behind it.


But can you be specific about these events that prompted you to intervene?
To intervene? Or to throw my hat and seek the mandate of the ordinary Nigerians? I have the experience, I have done it before.
Whenever people remember your ambition, they remember June 12,


(Cuts in). Well, I have accepted it. You would talk about June 12, you would talk about $12.4 billion; which ''I stole''; they would talk about Dele Giwa; you would talk about, pls remind me [laugh], they will always talk about the negative ones. Anybody who is a follower of events in the country with a little common sense, would know that the money that accrued to the Federal Government then in eight years is the $12.4 billion, and not wind fall. please get the issue correct, because windfall is the money you never expected. So the money was the money that accrued to the Federal Government, and the money was properly used to meet the demands of the government as at that time. Agreed, there was an interregnum period of Gulf war in Iran. So there was an additional grant of $1.4 billion. We did not indict the government of that time, so those issues are matters of opinion, the money should have been sent to the reserve, but I said no as I don't like keeping money, because there are things I want to do with them, so what do we do? And those projects were itemised, they are there, they are verifiable, you could see it, you could feel it.


On June 12?
June 12? First, of all. you must give me credit for conducting the first freest election ever conducted by anybody in this country, that was on June 12. Then that election was annulled. So here I am. I conducted the best election and I annulled the best election! And I did say that every president, a leader, that is what a leader should be respected for is taking responsibility for anything good or bad. Agreed, but it is not for me to now be saying somebody this, otherwise I wouldn't be a leader.
People have been saying that you should tender a public apology for annulling the election,
(Cuts in) I want the definition of public apology. I said that I accept full responsibility.
So in your own way, you have accepted full responsibility, and to you, you think that is an apology?
I have said that as a leader, I accepted it. I think you would analyse it, judge it. Well, after all every leader makes mistake. I am not an exception.


So the annulment was a mistake?
Every mistake, everything good comes to my table. I accept.
PDP appears to be a party that is always known for crisis towards elections. There was disharmony in 2003, 2007, there is another crisis now, making some of us to believe that the whole problem is hinged on the battle for the control of the party, can we then say that, that is what is responsible for what we are witnessing in your party now?
If we follow this process, I mean the rules of the party as explained earlier, the constitution of the party, all these problems would not have been there. This is because of the fact that it is the people that form the party, so allow them to complain. So those who clamour remove him! remove him! I think are being undemocratic.


Recently, some prominent members of the party were suspended and this has been happening for quite a long time, don't you think that this can endanger the party?
That is the point I was making, one of the founding members of the party spoke to the media. He was saying that the rule of law and the constitution of the party must be followed. You cannot just wake up in the morning and ask people to get out. So, as a democratic party, you must play by the rules.


Why are you so confident that after 17 years you can contest election? Assuming that you are not contesting on the platform of the PDP, would you contest on the platform of any other party?
First of all, the constitution allows me to; there is also the provision for independent candidature. So you don't necessarily have to run to the party. I have this conviction that having done it for 8 years, I can do it again. And for the fact that we made some progress for those 8 years, so why not now? We can review where we stopped so that we re-launch Nigeria into the next 50 years.


When the campaign starts proper, how are you going to handle the issue of June 12 in the South West?
I think South-west is the most enlightened part of Nigeria politically. I challenge anybody that says I am saying the wrong thing. they are civilised people. They have controlled the government, they have also ran democracy. Despite the fact that such an event happened in the country, there are other events too. There was war, even during democracy, we had crisis in Odi, Benue and the rest of them. All these happened in the life of a government. The important thing is that you cannot continue to be lamenting on issues that are 17 years old. I think Nigerian people are more important. They should devote more of their time trying to see how we can advance this country, how do we provide water, how do we make food available on our tables, how do we protect lives and properties. Those are more important to the ordinary man.


In 1998, you went to Ota to see Obasanjo, you then supported him and he ruled for 8 years. Now it is your turn, have you consulted him?
Well, we always talk, we can talk to each other, we relate with each other. Arguing is never an issue. We are more democratic. Surely, you should accept that I must have talked to him. He is a politician.
You were once a military dictactor, how can you convince us that 17 years is actually enough to change you from being one to a truly democratic leader? Again, are the years enough to change you from being a general that gives order?
Don't forget that most of us in the military, we were well informed about democracy, about governance, and all that. So it is an issue of adaptation and responsibility. At least one of the principles of life is to adapt. And we have no problem adapting from militarism to democracy.



http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=172093

Nigeria among worst violators of freedomGroup says violence strikes both Muslims, ChristiansFont Size -+PrintEmailCommentTweet this!ShareArticleComments (0)Click-2-Listen

More National Stories
Snow springs surprise on Northeast U.S.
HOLMES: In search of an Obama doctrine
Insurance-plan coverage for infertility urged
DUIN: Churches ride immigration wave
By Julia Duin

Nigeria has risen to the top tier of the world's worst violators of religious freedom, according to an annual report to be released Thursday by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The independent bipartisan governmental agency, whose report details abuse in 28 nations, singled out Nigeria for not punishing religiously motivated violence, such as what took place in January when 500 Christians near the city of Jos were hacked to death by Muslims.

Calling Nigeria "a tragic case," the USCIRF said its investigators visited Africa's largest country three times over the past year to find out why more than 12,000 Nigerians - Christians and Muslims alike - have died in sectarian violence since 1999.

"Not a single criminal, Muslim or Christian, has been convicted and sentenced in Nigeria's 10 years of religious violence," the report says. "The Nigerian government and judicial system have so far been unwilling or unable to protect either side."

A spokeswoman for the Nigerian Embassy could not be reached for comment.

Other nations named by the commission - which makes policy recommendations to the State Department, Congress and the president - as among the worst violators are China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Vietnam, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, North Korea, Eritrea, Iraq and Uzbekistan.

The following are "watch list" countries, which have only slightly better records: Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Laos, Russia, Somalia, Tajikstan, Turkey and Venezuela.

Saudi Arabia, the report says, continues to circulate "educational materials that instill hate and incite violence throughout the world"; the Iranian government denies all rights to its Baha'i minority; the Egyptian government mistreats Baha'is and Coptic Christians; China restricts all manner of religious activities; and North Korea imprisons even the grandchildren of those caught praying.

There are an estimated 40,000 religious prisoners in North Korea, including 6,000 Christians in the infamous Prison 15 in the country's north. Those prisoners are treated worse than other inmates, the report says, and those who are pregnant are sometimes forced to abort their children or their newborns are killed in the camps.

Those lucky enough to escape into China are often forced back over the border by the Chinese government despite international obligations to help asylum seekers, the religious-freedom panel says. Once back in North Korea, the prisoners suffer even worse tortures.

Since Iran's disputed June 12 election, the report says, religious freedom conditions have sunk to a 30-year low, with the country's Shi'ite rulers imprisoning other Shi'ites as well as Sunni and Sufi Muslims. Of the non-Muslim groups, the nation's 300,000 Baha'is are treated the worst, the report says, with seven of their top leaders in Tehran's notorious Evin prison for the past two years.

Christians, the report adds, also are subject to heavy doses of imprisonment, arrests while attending church services, harassment and the seizure of their belongings to the point that many have fled the country. The year 2009 also saw increases in officially sanctioned anti-Semitic propaganda, with one newspaper sponsoring a Holocaust-denial editorial cartoon contest.

Next door in Iraq, religious minorities such as the Mandaeans - who follow the teachings of John the Baptist - see no future for themselves in the country, and 90 percent of them are said to have been killed or to have fled Iraq.

The numbers of Christians are down by two-thirds from 1.4 million adherents in 2003, the report says, and in February, 10 Christians were killed in Mosul, prompting 4,300 other Christians to flee the city. No perpetrators have been arrested; a chronic problem facing religious minorities in Iraq.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/29/nigeria-among-worst-violators-of-freedom/?

Yarima: My wife is not 13
Written by Abdul-Rahman Abubakar & Akor Ojoma
Wednesday, 28 April 2010 22:59
font size: decrease font sizeincrease font size Bookmark this page Yariman Bakura Senator Ahmed Sani spoke for the first time yesterday about the controversy surrounding his alleged marriage to a minor Egyptian girl, saying his wife is not 13 years old as is being claimed by some newspapers and women groups. He spoke just as the Senate ordered an investigation into allegations he had married a minor.
Speaking to Daily Trust on telephone from Egypt, the former Zamfara State governor however declined to state his wife’s age, saying it amounts to an invasion of privacy to ask a man his wife’s age.

Alhaji Ahmed Sani said in his life, he strives hard to be entirely guided by the injunctions of the Holy Qur’an and by the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. He said, “Whatever the Qur’an and the hadith of the Holy Prophet authorise, I try my best to live up to it. Whatever they forbid, I try my best not to do it. Those are the guiding rules of my life. So if anyone decides to judge me according to rules other than those prescribed by Allah and the Holy Prophet, then he is wasting his time, because those are not my guiding principles.” The senator declined to answer further questions about his marriage, saying it is his private life.

A political associate of the ANPP senator also alleged last night that the Zamfara State government is behind what he called “the smear campaign against Yarima.” He alleged that “it is the Zamfara State government that is sponsoring the newspaper reports and the NGOs who are making noise on this matter. They think that if they can destroy Yarima’s image, they would destroy the ANPP in Zamfara State which he leads.”

The Senate’s ordering of an investigation followed the laying of a petition from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the floor of the Senate by Chairman of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Senator Eme Ufot Ekaette (PDP, Akwa Ibom).

After the petition was laid on the table, Senate President David Mark directed that the issue be investigated by the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to ascertain its veracity.

Senator Sani was alleged in the petition to have married a 13 year old Egyptian girl after paying a dowry of $100,000 at a marriage ceremony that took place at the National Mosque, Abuja last month.

Senator Ekaete told Daily Trust that “We have done our part and we expect that after the public hearing to be conducted by the committee we will be in a better position to take a decision on the floor of the Senate.”

Members of some women associations in the country also demonstrated at the Senate for two days calling for the immediate repatriation of the Egyptian girl as well as asking for punishment for Senator Sani.

Women Affairs and Social Development Minister Iyom Josephine Anenih said the ministry does not have full facts on Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima’s alleged marriage to a 13 year old Egyptian girl, saying till date we don’t know the name of the girl, her image and other proves concerning it and cannot act on what is still an allegation.

She said even when proven to be true some aspects of the constitution still provide a lot of stumbling blocks to the successful prosecution of the case citing section 29 sub-section 4 which she said is one of those that should be expunged.

“That is why constitution review is handy now so that we can solve all these problems,” the minister said.

http://nigeriannews.com/

Eagles move up in FIFA rankings
By Adekunle Salami, Published: Thursday, 29 Apr 2010



View All (1) Comment(s)




With just 42 days to the kick off of the 2010 World Cup, Nigeria moved up two places in the current world football rakings released by the Federation of International Football Association on Wednesday in Zurich. The country, placed 22 last month but was ranked 20 in the new rankings.



The rankings also revealed that Nigeria is 3rd in Africa with a total of 883 points. The country did not earn any point this term. Egypt remains number one in Africa and 13 in the world with 967 points while Cameroon is second and 19th in the world with 887 points.



Cote d‘Ivoire, Algeria and Ghana are fourth, fifth and sixth respectively on the continent and 27th, 31st and 32nd in the world. Gabon, Burkina Faso, Mali and Tunisia are the other countries in Africa‘s top 10 rankings.



The Super Eagles did not play any match in the month under review but the few games played by other teams helped Nigeria to move up in the global football ladder.



According to FIFA, only five matches were used for the current rankings because leagues all over the world were on their final lap. There was no FIFA match free day for international games in the month under review.



Argentina, Nigeria‘s Group B opponent at the World Cup moved up two places to claim the seventh position in the rankings while Greece is 12th despite dropping one place on the ladder.



Another opponent of the Eagles, Korea Republic is ranked 47 after moving up two places on the ladder.



However, Spain‘s five-month reign came to end on top with Brazil reclaiming the number one position and pushing the reigning European champions back into second place.



150 international matches have been played so far in 2010. There is likely to be significant movement in next month‘s edition of the rankings, the last before the big event in South Africa , as the 32 teams start their preparations in earnest by playing friendly matches to decide on their best line-up.



http://punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20100429015178

Iwu sacked, passport seized
By Olusola Fabiyi and Ihuoma Chiedozie, Abuja, Published: Thursday, 29 Apr 2010



View All (34) Comment(s)

Former INEC chairman, Prof. Maurice Iwu


Acting President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday directed the Chairman of the Independent National Commission, Prof. Maurice Iwu, to proceed on a pre-disengagement leave.



The directive to Iwu, whose passport is believed to have been seized by the State Security Service, takes immediate effect.



A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Jonathan on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ima Niboro, explained that the Acting President acted in line with Section 155 (1) (c) of the 1999 Constitution.



The section stipulates that the chairman and members of INEC should hold office for a period of five years. Iwu is due for retirement in June.



Niboro’s statement added that the Imo State-born electoral umpire, was also ordered to hand over to the most senior National Commissioner in INEC, pending the appointment of a new chairman for the commission.



The statement reads, “The Acting President, Dr. Jonathan, has directed the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Iwu, to proceed on pre- disengagement leave with immediate effect.



“The Acting President’s directive is in consonance with Section 155(1) (c), which stipulates that the Chairman and members of INEC shall hold office for a period of five years.



“Prof. Iwu’s tenure expires on June 13, 2010.



“He has also been directed to hand over to the most senior National Commissioner, who shall oversee the activities of the commission pending the appointment of a substantive chairman.



“The Acting President thanked the outgoing Chairman of INEC for his service to the nation and wished him success in his future endeavours”.



Iwu had in recent times faced stiff opposition to his continued stay in office, ahead of the 2011 general elections. The arrowheads of the opposition were the Nigeria Labour Congress and the civil society, notably the Save Nigeria Group, which recently held anti-Iwu protests in Abuja.



But the sacked INEC boss had spiritedly fought back, trying very hard to remain on the job.



Nonetheless, many prominent Nigerians had called for his removal from office as a recipe for free and fair poll in 2011.



Also, the United States Government had reportedly advised the Acting President to sack Iwu ahead of the 2011 poll.



Jonathan, during his recent visit to the US, hinted of Iwu’s sack, when he promised that major changes would be implemented in the management of the electoral body.



However, Jonathan later made statements also in the US, suggesting that he was not disposed to Iwu’s removal.



Responding to questions during an interview with the Cable News Network, Jonathan seemed to have passed a vote of confidence on Iwu.



It was learnt that shortly after Iwu’s sack was made public, the SSS swiftly acted by seizing his international passport.



“Iwu’s passport has been seized and he will not be allowed to travel until the commission’s accounts are audited, ”a highly placed security source told one of our correspondents in Abuja.



However, it was not clear if his American passport was also collected as he possesses dual citizenship.



The Conference of Nigeria Political Party had questioned Iwu’s handling of INEC’s account for which it sued the commission.



Our correspondent learnt that Iwu had, through the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, secured the support of PDP to back his second term bid.



A PDP source said, “The PDP governors tried in vain to make sure that the man stayed. As at Monday, there were still moves to ensure that he got a second term.



“I think that the interview Jonathan granted in the US where he said that the man had conducted three fair elections made them to think that he could get it. But all is now history.”



THE PUNCH learnt that among the governors who had spoken glowingly of Iwu and tried to save his job are the governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido; and that of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim.



http://punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2010042923120

Nigeria: Husband Seeks Divorce Over Wife's HIV Status
Romoke W. Ahmad
27 April 2010

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Abuja — A middle-aged man, Jacob Jackson, last Wednesday told an Abuja Upper Area Court to dissolve his marriage because of his wife's HIV positive status.

Jacob alleged in court that his wife engages in extra-marital affairs which led to pregnancy and the baby she is nursing presently."I discovered my wife's insincerity when HIV/AIDS screen was carried out on her when she was pregnant and the result was positive," he said.

He said after his wife's result, he went for the same test and tested negative, adding that he wonders where she got the disease.

In her response, his wife denied sleeping with any person outside marriage and linked the infection to a blood transfusion she underwent when she was ill.

She told the court that the HIV positive result surprised her but cannot prove her innocence.

The woman told the court to go ahead and grant her husband's petition since it was his wish.

Judge Issa Alhaji Yahaya granted the divorce and ordered that DNA test be carried out on their child when she reaches the age of seven years.

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http://allafrica.com/stories/201004280526.html?

Ivory Coast
Blatter: Waiting for an answer

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Blatter slams African nations
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has slammed both Nigeria and Ivory Coast for sacking their coaches so close to the World Cup.


The Super Eagles gave Shaibu Amodu the boot before appointing Lars Lagerback, while the Elephants showed Vahid Halilhodzic the door before bringing in Sven Goran Eriksson.


Blatter is not pleased with the duo's decision to change things at the top with a matter of months to go before the global showpiece and has called for consistency in that area in the future.


Football's head honcho told Daily Independent: "The talent of African players is at least as great as that of players from other countries, including Brazil and the Americas.


"What is missing is tactics. But how can they have this if they change the coach a few months before the start of the biggest competition in the world?


"This continuity is missing because it is so important to feel the soul of the country where you are coaching, and how can you do this in a few months."

http://www.football365.co.za/story/0,22162,14326_6121069,00.html?