Aide denies Yar'adua will hand over
Sunday, 07 February 2010 00:18 Elombah.com Next >
The president's special adviser on legislative affairs, Abba Aji, has denied telling the BBC or anyone else that Nigeria's ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua will write a letter handing power over to his vice-president. On Thursday the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji was quoted as saying that President Umaru Yar’Adua will hand over to Vice-President

Goodluck Jonathan after transmitting a letter of his medical vacation to the National Assembly.

But speaking to the NTA today, Abba Aji "clarified" to the NTA the outcome of his meeting with the Senate and his address to the NASS correspondents and said: I only said that the president will respect Senate Resolutions, At no time did I say a letter from the president is on the way”.

Abba-Aji had said: “The President I know will transmit the letter. He has never disrespected resolution and there is also a court ruling, he will weigh both and he will act wisely there is no doubt about that.”

He, however, failed to be specific on the possible time for the transmission.

Fielding questions from State House Correspondents, Abba-Aji said: “the President has never shied away from making decisions. He will weigh the Senate resolution against the court ruling, and he will do what in his view is best for this country


http://www.elombah.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2827:aide-denies-yaradua-will-hand-over&catid=47:politics&Itemid=65

which way nigeria, where re we heading to? forward or backward? this box called locomotive is it for construction company use for coal, or for passenger use? sorry my country? sorry nigeria leaders,

PDP National Secretary’s Son Kidnapped

Written by Yekini Jimoh, Ilorin

ONE of the sons of the National Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Abiodun Baraje, was allegedly kidnapped by some armed men along New Yidi Road, Ilorin, Kwara State, at about 6.00pm on Thursday.

It will be recalled that some days ago, three suspected men were arrested by the Kwara State Police Command for allegedly demanding the sum of N2 million from the parents of a kidnapped 15-year-old girl, Suzan Bukar, in Jos, Plateau State.

The suspects, Biodun Adeleke and Laaro Abdul-Raheem of Eyenkorin Area, an outskirts of Ilorin, were said to have been arrested at the Ilorin branch of Access Bank Plc, following a tip-off, while the third suspect, Shehu Abdullahi, was also arrested at the same place alongside the victim.

It was gathered that the same week, Abiodun Baraje, son of Alhaji Kawu Baraje, the National Secretary of PDP, was kidnapped at a filling station.

Saturday Tribune also gathered that the hoodlums, numbering five, shot guns into the air sporadically to scare people that might want to stop them from abducting the victim.

It was reported that the hoodlums bundled Biodun into a waiting vehicle and then drove away to an unknown place.

When Saturday Tribune visited the family house of the Barajes at Adabata, Ilorin, it was disclosed that the suspected kidnappers demanded the sum of N100 million, saying that if the money was not paid, Biodun would not be released.


http://www.nigeriannews.com/

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Govs Want Jonathan Sworn In As Acting President On Tuesday
From Madu Onuorah, Abuja

GOVERNORS of the 36 states of the federation, under the Governors' Forum, were at the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday for a solidarity visit to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan over the ongoing constitutional crisis.

The governors also announced plans to visit the National Assembly next week to press home their resolve that the lawmakers pass a resolution that would enable the Vice President assume the power of an Acting President, pending the return of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.

A source at the Villa told The Guardian that the governors discussed with Jonathan the possibility of his being sworn in late on Tuesday, with the understanding that they would have persuaded the National Assembly to pass the resolution earlier that day.

Chairman of the Forum, Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State and his Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Godswill Akpabio, said the position being canvassed by the governors was a unanimous one.

According to Saraki: "We associate ourselves with the court ruling that has been given, concerning the President and the Vice President, and that we also agreed to meet with the leadership of the National Assembly to urge them to pass a resolution recognising the Vice President as the Acting President of the nation.

"Under the circumstances, we believe that the Vice President has been acting in that way. And in order to further give more force on that, the National Assembly as well should pass an order."

Akpabio added: "We unanimously resolved that all arms of government should support the Vice President to discharge his duties as Acting President of the country. It is not true that Northern governors said Jonathan should not act as President. The Northern governors are part of the Governors' Forum, and there was no dissenting voice."

Asked the response of Vice President to their position, Akpabio explained: "He was happy with the decision of the governors that yes, while he is praying for the President to recover, there is need for a more assertive action and for us to bring all these publications in Nigeria to an end.

"This is because we must re-emphasise that the constitution made it clear that there is no vacuum and in order to give teeth to the fact, that there must not be vacuum."

Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke, on his part, stressed the need not to allow any vacuum in the Presidency, especially when President Yar'Adua and Vice President Jonathan share a joint mandate from the electorate.

He said: "As the Governors Forum, we have taken a position, and we all stand by that position. We believe that at this point in time, it is necessary that appropriate actions be taken and solutions be found to what appears to be a problem of the existence of a vacuum.

"I don't share the view of the existence of a vacuum, because the Vice President clearly has the same number of votes as the President. They enjoy a joint mandate."

He also pointed out that the governors intend to go along with court pronouncements on the position and abilities of Jonathan in the absence of Yar'Adua.

"Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution is subject to interpretation and it has recently been interpreted in the court and what we cannot do is to question the judgment until such a time another judgment is obtained. That remains the position, and until that time, the Vice President can act. I think that is very clear.

"It is also very clear now that Section 145 starts with whenever, it does not start with any other word, other than the word whenever. In the event that the transmission does not occur, certain actions can be taken to guarantee the stability of the nation," he stated.


http://www.nigeriannews.com/

Yar’Adua: Jonathan shocked at govs declaration
Headlines Feb 6, 2010

From the right, VP Goodluck Jonathan, Kwara Gov, Dr. Bukola saraki, Niger State Gov, Dr. Babangida Aliyu and the Sokoto State Gov, Alh. Bagatakarda Wamako during at meeting by a delegation of the Governors' Forum and the VP at the State House, Abuja yesterday. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida
AS 36 govs insist on handover
By Daniel IDONOR, Abuja
AN indication that the heroic memorandum, seeking President Umaru Yar’Adua to step down, by the Minister of Information and Communication, Professor Dora Akunyili, may have smooth sail during debate at next Wednesday Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting came yesterday when the 36 governors of the federation yesterday rose from a closed door meeting with Vice President Goodluck Jonathan asking him to exercise the full powers of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The governors said while awaiting the unavoidable compliance by cabinet members through a unanimous resolution, which they will send to the legislative arm, the National Assembly should on its own go ahead to declare Jonathan as Nigeria’s Acting President without further delay, so as allow the unity of the country.

Vice President Jonathan, who was expecting only Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State who had earlier called that he would be coming to see him, was shocked to report to his office yesterday morning with over 20 governors waiting for him.

Overwhelmed by the large crowd he saw in his office, Jonathan jokingly asked, “Is this a coup or what? I hope it is not led by the Adamawa Governor (Murtala Nyako)?” befor directing that the meeting be moved from his office upstairs to the ground floor, where there is a larger conference room.

Chairman of the Governors’ Forum and Governor of Kwara State, Dr Saraki, who led 20 other governors to a meeting with Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, after they have met Thursday night, said the Forum has scheduled a meeting for next week with the leadership of the National Assembly with a view to passing a resolution that will declare the VP Acting President.

The Governors, who spoke separately to journalists, said they at the Governors’ Forum have been able to work together as team in arriving at the decision to allow Jonathan take over power so they expect Ministers and member of the Yar’Adua cabinet to the same thing so that Nigeria can move forward once again.

Gov Saraki said “we associate ourselves with the court ruling that has been given concerning the president and the vice president and that also we now agreed to meet with the leadership of the National Assembly to urge them to pass a resolution recognizing the vice president as the acting president of the nation”.

On whether there was division among the governors which led to a report that Northern governors do not want Yar’Adua to hand over power, the Governor maintained that “there was no division amongst the governors”.

The Cross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke, who also fielded questions from journalists on the outcome of their meeting said he expect the FEC members to do what is right in the face of the political crises the country is passing through.

“That’s a matter of the Federal Executive Council, to which we do not belong. I am a member of the governors’ forum, we have taken a position, and we all stand by that position. We believe that at this point in time, that it is necessary that appropriate actions be taken and solutions be found, to what appears to be a problem of the existence of a vacuum”.

According to him, “I don’t share the view of the existence of a vacuum, because the vice_president clearly has the same number of votes as the president, they enjoy a joint mandate”.

He explained that “Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution is subject to interpretation and it has recently been interpreted in the court and what we cannot do is to question the judgment until such a time another judgment is obtained, that remains the position, and until that time, the vice_president can act. I think that is very clear.

“It is also very clear now that section 145 starts with whenever, it does not start with any other word, other than the word whenever. In the event that the transmission does not occur, certain actions can be taken to guarantee the stability of the nation”.

Asked if it be possible to take this decision before the letter is transmitted, he said “under the circumstances, we believe that the president has been acting in that way and in order to further give more force on that, the national assembly as well should pass an order”.

Also speaking, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State said “we unanimously resolved that all arms of government should support the vice president to discharge his duties as acting president of the country”.

He denied the report credited to the Northern Governors that they were against the Vice President assuming the position of Acting President, saying that “it is not true that northern governors said Jonathan should not act as president, the northern governors are part of the governors’ forum and there was no dissenting voice”.

On the response of the Vice President to the issue raised, Governor Akpabio disclosed that he thanked for the visit and their decision, saying while Nigerians pray for the quick recovery of Yar’Adua there is need for a more assertive action and for us to bring all these publications in Nigeria to an end.

Because we must re_emphasize that the constitution made it clear that there is no vacuum and in order to give teeth to the fact that there must not be vacuum”.


http://www.nigeriannews.com/

NFF redeploys Amodu
By Agency Reporter, Published: Saturday, 6 Feb 2010








Shaibu Amodu has been removed from his position as the coach of the Super Eagles and redeployed to lead the home based Eagles. The decision was arrived at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation at its secretariat in Abuja on Friday.

In the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the NFF applauded the decision of the Federal Government to fund the hiring of a new coach for the Super Eagles through the Presidential Task Force and the Nigeria Sports Commission.

The new coach to be appointed soon will lead the Eagles to the World Cup in South Africa. The committee also directed that the Technical Committee commence the screening of the shortlisted coaches, while the successful candidate will be unveiled at the end of February. The candidates are Bruno Metsu, Guus Hiddink, Ratomir Dujkovic, Louis van Gaal and Peter Taylor.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201002060233346

here is pro - yaradua's pic, for those dat want to see their pic

First GE locomotives arrive in Nigeria
05 February 2010

NIGERIA: The first five of 25 GE Transportation diesel locomotives have been delivered to Nigerian Railway Corp, the supplier announced on February 5. The rest will arrive in the second half of the year.

The order for the C25 EMPD locomotives to haul both freight and passenger trains was placed under an agreement signed by the Nigerian Ministry of Transport in May 2009. They are being built in Brazil by GE Transportation South America, with 7FDL engines of 2 500 hp supplied from the Grove City plant in the USA. GE said similar locomotives are in service in South Africa, but the Nigerian locomotives are designed to suit the axleloads and clearances on NRC's 3 505 km single track 1 067 mm gauge network .

'This represents an important step in GE Transportation's entry into the Nigerian marketplace', said GE Transportation President & CEO Lorenzo Simonelli. 'GE experts performed an extensive analysis on Nigeria's narrow gauge railway network, haulage requirements and traffic patterns to determine the best-fit locomotive.'


http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/first-ge-locomotives-arrive-in-nigeria.html?

Court stops INEC from conducting elections
By OLA AGBAJE
Friday, February 5, 2010


•Photo: Sun News Publishing
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A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos yesterday declared the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) incompetent to conduct election anywhere in the country.
According to the judgment of Justice Mohammed Liman, the commission as it is presently constituted does not comply with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Justice Liman gave the verdict, while delivering a judgment in a suit brought before him by the Action Congress (AC) challenging the composition of INEC and power of the body to conduct or take any decision as it is presently constituted. He held that by virtue of section 159 of the 1999 constitution the quorum of INEC is five members and not four as it is presently constituted.

Pointing out the glaring illegality in the way the electoral body is presently constituted, the court said:
“On a very sad note despite the fact that INEC consists the most important and indispensable bedrock on which our democratic institutions are built and that it functions are central to the smooth evolution of our political structure it is not an understatement to say that without a functional INEC no election into any political office would be possible then how come that in the eleventh year of the nation’s journey into constitutional governance. We do not have an electoral body with its full complement members.

“We continue to pretend that all is well with our electoral system when the membership continues to drop from 13 down to four and it seems that we remain complacent as if all is well. I think that something is wrong somewhere and the earlier both the executive and the legislative department of the government act to reverse this shameful tread the better for the people of the country.”
The court pointed out that the four members currently on the board of the commission are not competent to take any decision in the name of INEC.

It will be recalled that AC had in December last year dragged INEC, its chairman, Professor Maurice Iwu and the three other members of the board of the commission alleging that the respondents lacks the quorum to conduct the rerun elections in Osun state.
Apart from Iwu and INEC, others joined as defendants in the suit include: Philip Umeadi, Victor Chukwuani, Mr. A Shoyebi, and the Resident Electoral Commissioner of Osun state.
Before the judgment was delivered, AC’s counsel, Femi Falana, had sought for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from taking any decision on the election until formation of sufficient quorum in accordance with Section 159 of the 1999 Constitution.

However, INEC in his reply to the suit through its counsel, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Kanu Agabi (SAN) had insisted that the objective of the application is to review the judgment and orders of the Court of Appeal and to frustrate indefinitely the conduct of the election.

Agabi also argued that the court is not competent and does not have the jurisdiction to entertain the suit because it related to an electoral matter and that other parties involved and that might likely be affected by the decision are not present before the court.
The judge disagreed with the submission of the INEC lawyer, according to him the case before the court had nothing to do with the election petition decided by the Court of Appeal but on the composition of the board of the commission.
Justice Liman noted that reliefs sought by AC are within the jurisdiction of the court and that the reliefs were never an issue before the Court of Appeal.

He, however, refused to grant any of the declarative injunctions being sought by the AC that the election be reverse or nullified according the judge the court could not undo a completed act.
The judge also refused to upheld the prayer of AC that the tenure of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of Osun State during the reran election expired he stated that the plaintiff failed to provide the court with any evidence showing the date the REC was appointed to enable the court take a decision.

It would be recalled that the Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan the Oyo State capital had ordered for the rerun of elections into Osun East Senatorial District of the National Assembly and Osogbo Local Government seat of the Osun State House of Assembly.
INEC then fixed December 12, 2009 for the rerun elections into the legislative seats, which became vacant when the Appeal Court sitting in Ibadan voided the election of Senator Iyiola Omisore of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and AC’s candidate, Babajide Omoworare who boycotted the election which was later held on December 29, 2009.


http://www.nigeriannews.com/

Kidnapping: Former NYSC DG, Akpan, released

Written by Jackson Udom

A former Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and a supporter of Chief Godswill Akpabio, the Akwa Ibom State governor, General Edet Akpan, who was kidnapped on Sunday, has been released by his abductors.

This happens less than six hours after the state governor, Chief Akpabio, convened an emergency stakeholders meeting to deliberate on the incessant kidnapping in the state.
General Akpan was released in the early hours of Thursday.

The state governor, in his reaction after the release of the PDP chieftain, accused the opposition of sponsoring crimes and working in concert with some members of the party to instigate the kidnapping of prominent Akwa Ibom sons and daughters.

According to the governor, “I have it on good authority that the aim of this politically-motivated kidnapping is the handiwork of the opposition who believe that through this kind of uncivilised manner, I would be forced out of the 2011 governorship election.

“They are also working in concert with some disgruntled members of the PDP to paint a picture of insecurity in the state so that what they could not achieve at the poll, they would get it through the backdoor, which is a declaration of a state of emergency.”

He said about 20 prominent indigenes of the state, who were in support of his administration, had been marked for abduction before the next general election, all in a bid to stop him from contesting.

Before the release of General Akpan, the stakeholders meeting, which was presided over by the governor, had threatened to invoke traditional methods toward fishing out the kidnappers.

The meeting issued a communiqué with a vow to deal with kidnappers and their sponsors, no matter how highly placed they were.

At an enlarged stakeholders’ meeting held at the Government House, Uyo, on Wednesday, Akpabio condemned sponsors of kidnapping in the state and promised to deal with the perpetrators and their sponsors.

He regretted that in recent times, some militant groups had found their way to Iwukem in Etim Ekpo, Ika and some through Obot Akara to perpetrate their nefarious activities in the state, while attributing this to the handiwork of some disgruntled politicians of Akwa Ibom origin living in Abuja.

Akpabio assured the people of the state that government would not be intimidated by the people who tried to fan the embers of disunity, adding that the identity of the sponsors of the kidnappers were known to the government

http://www.nigeriannews.com/

Nigeria leader to respond soon to handover calls-aide
Thu Feb 4, 2010 4:05pm GMT Print | Single Page[-] Text [+]
ABUJA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua will write to the Senate soon in response to its resolution and court rulings on his failure to hand over to his deputy during a two-month absence, an aide said on Thursday.

"The resolutions of the Senate and the various court rulings have been transmitted to the president. He is a man who respects the rule of law," presidential adviser on national assembly matters, Abba Aji, told reporters in Abuja.

"He will transmit a letter to the Senate after weighing both the Senate resolutions and the court rulings wisely. He will then do what is in his view the best for the nation." (For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: af.reuters.com/ ) (Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Nick Tattersall

US: Atiku Abubakar in $40million money-laundering accusation with wife, Jennifer
Written by Saharareporters, New York
Thursday, 04 February 2010 12:28



A United States Senate report has accused Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice-President, of laundering over $40 million in suspicious funds into the United States between 2000 and 2008. And his partner in the lucrative effort was Jennifer Douglas, his fourth wife. Ms. Douglas is sometimes known as Lady Jamilah Jennifer, or Douglas E, or Jennifer Iwenjora, the name by which she was known in the 1980s when she was a reporter with the Nigeria Television Authority in Lagos. According to the report, which was written by the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations, most of the funds were through wire transfers sent by offshore corporations to U.S. bank accounts.

Of the $40 million identified in the US investigation, $25 million was reportedly wire-transferred by offshore corporations into more than 30 U.S. bank accounts opened by Ms. Douglas, primarily by Guernsey Trust Company Nigeria Ltd., LetsGo Ltd. Inc., and Sima Holding Ltd.

“In a 2008 civil complaint, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Ms. Douglas received over $2 million in bribe payments in 2001 and 2002, from Siemens AG, a major German
corporation,” the report says. “While Ms. Douglas denies wrongdoing, Siemens has already pled (pleaded) guilty to U.S. criminal charges and settled civil charges related to bribery and told the Subcommittee that it sent the payments to one of her U.S. accounts.

The report also recalls the 2006/2007 corruption brouhaha in Nigeria between Abubakar and then President Olusegun Obasanjo over the Petroleum Technology Development Fund. At that time, both a government panel and an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission panel found Atiku guilty of diverting funds meant for the Fund's operations nationwide to various banks to promote his private interests. Obasanjo dismissed his own extensive gains from the account as pointed out by Abubakar as mere "gifts" over which he had no control.

The report goes on: “The U.S. banks maintaining those accounts were, at times, unaware of her PEP (Politically Exposed Person) status, and they allowed multiple, large offshore wire transfers into her accounts. As each bank began to question the offshore wire transfers, Ms. Douglas indicated that all of the funds came from her husband and professed little familiarity with the offshore corporations actually sending her money. When one bank closed her account due to the offshore wire transfers, her lawyer helped convince other banks to provide a new account.

”In addition, two of the offshore corporations wire transferred about $14 million over five years to American University in Washington, D.C., to pay for consulting services related to the development of a Nigerian university founded by Mr. Abubakar. American University accepted the wire transfers without asking about the identity of the offshore corporations or the source of their funds, because under current law, the University had no legal obligation to inquire.”

The full text of the report is attached:

Abubakar Case History. From 2000 to 2008, Jennifer Douglas, a U.S. citizen and the fourth wife of Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and former candidate for President ofNigeria, helped her husband bring over $40 million in suspect funds into the United States, through wire transfers sent by offshore corporations to U.S. bank accounts. In a 2008 civil complaint, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Ms. Douglas received over $2 million in bribe payments in 2001 and 2002, from Siemens AG, a major German corporation.

While Ms. Douglas denies wrongdoing, Siemens has already pled guilty to U.S. criminal charges and settled civil charges related to bribery and told the Subcommittee that it sent the payments to one of her U.S. accounts. In 2007, Mr. Abubakar was the subject of corruption allegations in Nigeria related to the Petroleum Technology Development Fund.

Of the $40 million in suspect funds, $25 million was wire transferred by offshore corporations into more than 30 U.S. bank accounts opened by Ms. Douglas, primarily by Guernsey Trust Company Nigeria Ltd., LetsGo Ltd. Inc., and Sima Holding Ltd. The U.S. banks maintaining those accounts were, at times, unaware of her PEP status, and they allowed multiple,large offshore wire transfers into her accounts. As each bank began to question the offshore wire transfers, Ms. Douglas indicated that all of the funds came from her husband and professed little familiarity with the offshore corporations actually sending her money. When one bank closed her account due to the offshore wire transfers, her lawyer helped convince other banks to provide a new account.

In addition, two of the offshore corporations wire transferred about $14 million over five years to American University in Washington, D.C., to pay for consulting services related to the development of a Nigerian university founded by Mr. Abubakar. American University accepted the wire transfers without asking about the identity of the offshore corporations or the source of their funds, because under current law, the University had no legal obligation to inquire


http://www.saharareporters.com/real-news/sr-headlines/5049-us-atiku-abubakar-in-40million-money-laundering-accusation-with-wife-jennifer.html

Abortion: Group reports Ngige to Pope
04 February, 2010 07:28:00 PATIENCE AKPURU
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Dr. Chris Nwabueze Ngige, flag bearer of the party in the February 6 Anambra governorship election.
The attempt by the governorship candidate of the Action Congress (AC) in the Anambra State election, Dr. Chris Ngige, to return to Government House, yesterday suffered a setback as a group, Human Rights Guard, asked Pope Benedict XVI to prevail on Catholics not to vote for him during Saturday’s poll.
In a letter sent to the Pope, the group said Ngige lacked the moral credentials to lead a predominantly Christian Sate like Anambra which has three Dioceses of the Catholic Church: Onitsha, Awka and Nnewi.
Ngige, formerly of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was declared winner of the state governorship election in 2003 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). His victory was later nullified by the Supreme Court, which ordered that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate Mr. Peter Obi, be sworn in as governor.
However, in the letter, the group said Ngige allegedly committed many atrocities while in office and should be stopped by the Catholic Church in his re-election bid.
Part of the letter which was sent to the Pope through the Papal Embassy in Abuja and signed by Dr. Michael Nwokedi read: “When Dr. Chris Ngige illegally and immorally occupied the seat, he committed a lot of atrocities that were unbecoming of a true Christian. Besides visiting shrines, he caused to be passed by the State House of Assembly, into law, the Bill legalizing abortion in the state known as Reproductive Rights Law.”
Group Petitions the Pope against Ngige
“It is regrettable, Your Holiness, to note that while he was doing all these, he was compensated by the Church by being made a Knight of the Catholic Church.
“We believe sincerely that the Church as well as the civil society should work hand in hand to promote the values they share together, such as the respect for human rights and the preservation of the sanctity of life by guarding against any act that will promote acts geared towards the killing of lives whether at foetal stage.
“Your Holiness, from the little that we know about the Church’s stand, we are convinced we share the same views with her, which is rooted in the Bible and the teachings of the Fathers.
“We are aware that the Catholic Church has long opposed all forms of artificial birth control and abortion. Moral and philosophical grounds of the opposition can be traced back to the fathers and doctors of the Church - St. Jerome , John Chrysostom, Epiphnius of Salamis, Augustine, Lactantus, Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria etc, who condemned any and all means of frustrating the natural “end” of the procreative act.
“In modern times the Catholic Church’s hostility has been made explicit in a series of Papal encyclicals, including Casti Cannubi (“On Chaste Marriage”) of Pope Pius XII; Humanae Vitae (“On Human Life”) of Pope Paul VI; Evangelium Vitae ( “The Gospel Of Life”) of Pope John Paul II. The Catholic case against abortion cannot be expressed better than in the words of Pope Pius XII:
“The unborn child is a human being in the same degree and by the same title as its mother. Moreover, every human being, even the child in its mother’s womb, receives its right to life directly from God, not from its parents, nor from any human society or authority.
“Innocent human life, in whatever condition it is found, is immuned from the very moment of its existence, to any direct deliberate attack. The life of an innocent human being is inviolable, and any direct assault or aggression on it violates one of those fundamental laws without which it is impossible for human beings to live safely in society.
“Having taken the foregoing into consideration, it is condemnable that Ngige, a Catholic knight who legalised abortion in his State is still courted by some officials of the Church. Why can’t our clergy take a cue from what happened in America, how Archbishop Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Denver and Bishop Joseph F. Martino, of the Diocese of Scranton, among others refused Mr. Joe Biden, the Vice President of America communion because of his stand on abortion.
“We believe that the Church should be more vocal in the promotion of Christian virtues by dealing decisively with her members that refuse to abide by the teachings of the Church, especially while in public service.
“The man under reference was reported to have also visited one shrine in our state called Ogwugwu Akpu where he swore, thus telling us that he was not a Christian in the right meaning of the word.
“We appeal to his Holiness to direct Archbishop Valerian Maduka Okeke of the Archdiocese of Onitsha; the Bishop of the capital city of Awka, Bishop Simon Okafor and his Auxiliary, Bishop Paulinus Ezeokafor to furnish Your Holiness with the true state of the report we are humbly bringing before your Holy seat. We believe that the strong stand of the Church in matters like this will discourage others from taking a similar line of action.”
The letter was copied to the Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Valarian Okeke; the Catholic Bishop of Awka, Most Rev. Simon Okafor; the Catholic Bishop of Nnewi, Most Rev. Hilary Odili Okeke; the Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Awka; Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor and the Emeritus Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Albert Obiefuna.


http://www.champion.com.ng/index.php?news=27419

Written by By Lilian Agih and Bidon Mibzar, Abuja
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 22:18
The latest report by the Internet Crime Complaint Centre has placed Nigeria third on the global list of countries with the highest rate of cybercrimes at 7.5 percent behind the United States with 66.1 percent and the United Kingdom with 10.5 percent.

This is even as the Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, Dagmar Thomas, estimates that the nation had lost millions of dollars to the fraudulent act.

She was speaking on the need for the West African Cybercrime Summit billed for September 7 to 10, 2010.

Dagmar, who spoke following the pre-summit workshop and launch of an anti-corruption song, explained that the summit is being hosted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in partnership with UNODC and Industry in Abuja.

While harping on the need to get both government and non-governmental organisations to back the fight and eradicate the problem, Dagmar listed the objectives of the summit as raising political awareness and commitment to combat cybercrime, building capacity for scalable and sustainable solutions and developing multi-lateral cooperation.

Also speaking on the occasion, Mr. Bala Sanda, the Principal Staff Officer to Chairman of the EFCC, Mrs. Farida Waziri, said the fight against cybercrimes has yielded result as over $500 million had been saved due to preventive measures taken.

He said by working with Microsoft and other technical companies, several emails being used for fraudulent dealings have been shut down.

http://www.leadershipnigeria.com/index.php/news/headlines/11566-cybercrimes-nigeria-ranks-third-in-the-world

US to review terror list, may delist Nigeria
By Agency reporter, Published: Thursday, 4 Feb 2010







The United States said on Wednesday that it might remove Nigeria from the terror watchlist when it conducts a review of countries whose air travellers are subjected to tighter screening.

US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, told reporters in Accra, Ghana, that Nigeria would be dropped if its presence was no lonegr tenable.

“There is going to be a review soon and if it turns out that the warning is no longer applicable to Nigeria, it would be removed. The United States has nothing against the people and the government of Nigeria and we still maintain good relationship with that country,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

Carson told reporters that the measure was designed to “create awareness” about possible threats.

Nigeria and other key allies such as Saudi Arabia and Algeria have voiced their displeasure at being included in the 14-country list, which the US unveiled last month after a botched attempt by 23-year-old Nigerian, Umar AbdulMutallab, to blow up a U.S. airliner.

Passengers travelling from or through the 14 countries to the United States are subjected to special pre-flight screening under the measure, including body pat-downs and carry-on luggage searches.

The 14 countries on Washington‘s list are Cuba, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201002044512831

Yar’ Adua: Nigeria mocked in South Africa
By Obinna Ezeobi and John Alechenu, Published: Thursday, 4 Feb 2010




President Umaru Yar’Adua


The refusal of President Umaru Yar’Adua to hand over power to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan has turned Nigeria into a laughing stock at an international conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

One of the speakers at the Mining Indaba Conference and a global economist, Dr. David Hale, told participants on Tuesday that Yar’Adua was very ill and might pass on within six months.

He was not done with the comment as he went on to add that Nigeria would prepare for another election in six months after the expected passage of the President.

He said, “In Nigeria, the President has been in Saudi Arabia for nearly three months for medical treatment and he refused to hand over to the vice-president, even though the people are calling for it.

“He is suffering from acute heart problems and should be dead in six months. So, in Nigeria, there should be a new election in six months after the death of the President.”

The remarks by Hale, who is the Chairman of David Hale Global Economics, surprisingly elicited loud laughter from the participants and protests from members of the Nigerian team at the event.

Delivering the keynote address titled “Global Outlook,” Hale also said that Nigeria, which needed at least 20,000 megawatts for stable electricity supply, however, regretted that the nation was only able to generate 2,000MW.

In a country by country analysis, the respected economist said that Nigeria’s poor power supply made it a difficult environment to invest in.

Hale, whose clients include investment management firms, major hedge funds and multinational companies, is based in Chicago, United States.

He is a member of the National Association of Business Economists and the New York Society of Security Analysts.

The participants comprised mining executives from across the world, investors, analysts, financiers, journalists, policy makers, etcetera.

Speaking at the Nigerian Day at the Indaba Conference, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Senator George Sekibo, described Hale’s comments as unfortunate and highly condemnable.

Sekibo said that Nigeria would make its displeasure on Hale’s comments known to the organisers of conference and demand an apology .

According to him, the Nigerian government will be advised to also take up the matter diplomatically when the delegation returns home.

Sekibo said, “It is important for participants at the conference to note that Nigeria has taken giant strides in mining, especially in the last few years; that is in addition to providing the much needed infrastructure for investors’ participation.

“We assure you that Nigeria is stable. There is not going to be any war anywhere, there is not going to be any division anywhere.

“Mr. President is not feeling very well now, every person can have such a situation. And I believe he will come out of it. Nigeria will still stand as a very strong country.”

Another member of the Nigerian team, Alhalji Suleiman Kassim, also condemned the claim by Hale that Nigeria’s total electricity output was only 2000MW.

Kassim, who is the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, explained that Nigeria was generating over 3000MW and was hoping to increase it to 6000MW.

He maintained that since Indaba was a professional conference for stakeholders in the mining industry to relate, it should not be exploited by “uninformed political commentators” to deride a sovereign nation.

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji, is to appear before the Senate on Thursday (today).

The Peoples Democratic Party caucus in the Senate is also scheduled to meet at the official residence of the President of the Senate, Mr. David Mark.

Mark, who announced this during plenary on Wednesday, did not give reasons for Abba-Aji’s invitation.

It was, however, gathered that it was a fallout of the closed- door session which the Senate held with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, on January 21, 2010 over the President’s health.

Abba-Aji is expected to, among other things, answer questions as to whether or not the President asked him to transmit a letter to the National Assembly on his behalf.

A national newspaper (not THE PUNCH) had reported that the President wrote a letter to the National Assembly in line with the provisions of Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution before he travelled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The newspaper report said the Presidential aide did not transmit the letter for unknown reasons.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20100204450971

Nigeria’s Information Minister Dora Akunyili: I do not want to discuss it.


Dora Akunyili drops a bomb

By Elizabeth Archibong and Gowon Emakpe


February 4, 2010 12:06AM
print email





The cabinet must stop lying to Nigerians about President Yar’Adua’s illness and face up to the reality that he is no longer able to perform his duties, information minister Dora Akunyili bluntly admonished fellow ministers yesterday.

At the regular weekly meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation, Mrs Akunyili stunned her colleagues by presenting a memo in which she challenged them to tell Nigerians the truth about the president’s health and stop deceiving the people.

The Council had, at its meeting last week, reiterated its position that Mr. Yar’Adua, who has been away in Saudi Arabia for medical treatment in the last 73 days, was still capable of leading the country. The ministers also said the president did not have to write a letter to the National Assembly empowering his deputy, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to act on his behalf.

Mrs. Akunyili, however, ensured that yesterday’s meeting did not follow the usual bland form when she submitted a memo to the council asking members to face up to the incapacitation of the ailing president and seek the right means to transfer power to Mr. Jonathan in the interest of the nation.


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5521965-146/dora_akunyili_drops_a_bomb_.csp

Again, Explosion Rocks Yenagoa
From Segun James in Yenagoa, 02.03.2010

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Journalists and other workers of the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) narrowly escaped death in Yenagoa yesterday when explosives were thrown into a neighbouring premises along the Azikoro road in the Ekeki area of the capital of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.


The bombers were apparently targeting the NUJ secretariat, which was being used for the state election of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) elections which was holding within the premises.
THISDAY gathered that the NULGE election, which has been contentious has been postponed three times due to crisis among the contestants.


The bombers were said to have lobbed the explosives from a SUV car, but they landed by the fence of the NTA and NUJ, creating a large crater on the floor.
The over 1,000 delegates for the election and NUJ officials took to their heels as the bombers escaped through the Isaac Boro expressway.


Following the explosion, a contingent of over 500 policemen from both the state police command and the Ekeki B Division, which is about 300 metres from the point of the explosion were deployed to ensure safety.
The battle for the control of the local government workers’ union was between the incumbent Chairman, Mr. Patrick Singabele and Mr. Nathaniel Kaka, the Director of Personnel, Yenagoa local government
council.


It would be recalled that that the division among their supporters led to the postponement of the election, initially planned for January twice, with delegates and thugs loyal to the two camps threatening fire and brimstone.


When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa Command, Mr. Solomon Omoregie confirmed the explosion.
He said men of the bomb disposal unit had been dispatched to the area.
Meanwhile, the election later held amidst tight security as the entire area was condoned off.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=165679

UN Names Nigerian Casualty in Haiti Quake
02.03.2010

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A Nigerian was among United Nations (UN) workers confirmed dead in the earthquake that devastated the Haitian capital on January 12, according to the latest UN staff fatality list.
The UN correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes the updated list as listing Ms. Dede Yebovi Fadairo among the dead.


Fadairo was an Associate Report Writing Officer with the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
No further information was provided about the Nigerian on the MINUSTAH web site.
The UN building in Port-au-Prince, the Haiti capital, was brought down by the quake, described as the single largest disaster in the history of the UN.


The head of the UN Mission in Haiti and his deputy were among more than 90 personnel killed in the rubble.
There were 121 Nigerian police officers among the more than 9,000 UN military and police personnel in Haiti prior to the earthquake.
A UN official from Nigeria, Kayode Aderanti, had told NAN in New York a day after the quake devastated the south of the capital that the Nigerian police contingent did not record any fatality.


On Monday, John Holmes, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator in Haiti, told reporters that 92 UN staff had been confirmed killed with 44 unaccounted for.


MINUSTAH held a memorial service last Thursday in Port-au-Prince for staff members who had died in the earthquake.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe had told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon that the country would be sending 50 people to Haiti to support humanitarian efforts.

The contingent, according to Maduekwe, will consist of doctors, nurses and engineers from the Technical Aid Corps

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=165665

Yar’Adua: Nigeria may opt for two vice presidents
•Clause may appear in Constitution amendment
From NOSIKE OGBUENYI, Abuja
Wednesday, February 3, 2010


•Goodluck &•Yar’Adua
Photo: Sun Publishing
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As the country remains on the tenterhooks following the absence of ailing President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua from the country for over 70 days, indications have emerged that the National Assembly is set to amend the 1999 Constitution to include a provision for two vice presidents. Daily Sun gathered from highly reliable sources that the Senate and the House Committees on Constitution Review may have been requested to expeditiously tinker the relevant sections of the Constitution to accommodate a provision for two vice presidents.

Our source, who is a ranking member of the Upper Chamber, said the calculation is that the separate review committees of the two houses may be left with no choice than to adopt the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Constitution Review (JCCR) which was made in 2007. The committee was headed by former Deputy Senate President, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu. The 103-clause draft report was tabled at the two chambers just before the 2007 general election but was thrown out because of one controversial clause, which sought to introduce a Third Term for the president. The controversial clause was suspected to have been included primarily for the benefit of President, Olusegun Obasanjo, who allegedly wanted to elongate his tenure beyond the maximum two-term tenure.

But Daily Sun gathered that with the current power vacuum and the looming constitutional crisis in the country occasioned by the protracted illness of President Yar’Adua, the imperative of two vice presidents as recommended by the Mantu committee might have dawned on the lawmakers. They now want to revisit the Mantu committee report by “sifting the grains from the chaff,” the source revealed.
“We will not make the mistake of carrying the entire 103 clauses for amendment as the last National Assembly did. We will restrict ourselves to few vital clauses among them, including the clause that provides for two vice presidents,” the source further disclosed.

It is noteworthy that the Senate had last Wednesday directed its “committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution to propose an amendment” to “…the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 to resolve the flaws exposed by the present circumstance” in the country. Although, the Senate resolution, which also urged President Yar’Adua to formally notify the National Assembly of his medical vacation only mentioned Section 145 of the Constitution as the aspect that needed urgent amendment, the source hinted that a new clause making provision for two vice presidents was also part of the mandate given the review committee.
When Daily Sun interviewed the former JCCR Chairman whose committee initially made the recommendation, he said it was not his business what the current National Assembly did with the report even as he confirmed that his committee actually recommended two vice presidents for the country.

Mantu, who spoke at his Abuja residence, said: “We made our recommendations with the stability, peace and unity of the country at the back of our minds. You can see that if that report was debated and accepted, we would not have been in this tight corner that we have found ourselves today because we envisaged that this kind of development might arise once in a while in our political history. What we proposed with good intention is that one of the two vice presidents should be from the geo-political zone where the president comes from so that in the event of incapacitation, resignation or death, the vice president from the incumbent president’s zone would serve out the remaining years for the zone. But unfortunately, those who believed that they know better than the rest of the people came with their blackmail and what resulted was the throwing away of the baby with the bath water.”

Asked whether he would re-submit the report to the present National Assembly if called upon to do so, he said it was not for him to do that, adding that the report was still there in the archives as the property of National Assembly. “It is left to them to revisit it or throw it into the dustbin. We have done our bit, but what I can say is that we did a good job to the best of our ability. We may not have been perfect as human beings but we contributed our quota. No one person can be blamed for the clause on Third Term because it was something majority of the members of the committee adopted; but if one out of over 100 clauses was considered bad, why not remove that clause or few clauses and pass the rest for the benefit of the society rather than sacrifice the whole report. It is really painful, considering the time, resources and energy spent in reaching that stage and putting together that report. And remember, Nigeria is a very big and complex country that requires some peculiar political engineering to manage,” the former deputy Senate president between 2000 and 2007 emphasised.

Concerning the lingering ill-health of the President, Mantu said: “First of all, I’m happy that you acknowledged that anybody can be sick and that anybody can die at any given time. Sickness and death are two things that can befall anybody at any given time, Therefore when somebody falls sick, ordinarily what he deserves is sympathy and prayers that God will heal him fast. That is the case particularly if the person is very highly placed like the president of the country. The nation should pray for him so that he will recover quickly and continue with the affairs of running the state.

He said it was unfortunate that people were politicizing the illness of the President, contending that: “This is not the first President to fall sick while in office. There are many Presidents in the world that I have read about who had fallen sick while in office. In fact, recently Cuban President, Fidel Castro was sick and could not be in his office for about two years while somebody was acting in his place and when he recovered he returned and continued with service as the President of that country. I also know that at a point in time, the President of the USA was on a wheel chair and yet continued in office as President until his tenure expired.”

According to Mantu, administering or governing a country or state “does not require the energy of Mike Tyson necessarily,” adding that it is the mental capacity that is most needed. He also argued that there was no power vacuum as some people believed. “The Vice President is there and basically, the job of any Vice President is to act in the capacity of the principal when the principal is away. So, Goodluck Jonathan has been acting as President in the absence of the President. And I know that since the advent of this democratic dispensation in 1999, major government decisions had always been taken at the Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meetings. And since President Yar’Adua left the country, there has never been a Wednesday that the Federal Executive Council failed to hold.”

Mantu expressed satisfaction with the manner Vice President Jonathan has been acting in the absence of the President. “I’m happy with the actions he (Jonathan) had been taking in that capacity so far, like ordering that troops be deployed in Plateau following the crisis in Jos to assist the Police,” he stated.



http://www.nigeriannews.com/

Yar’Adua: Zamfara recruits 1,767 prayer warriors •Pays them N10,000 each

Written by Muhammed Sabiu
ZAMFARA State government has recruited 1,767 Islamic clerics to pray for the quick recovery of President Umaru Yar’Adua.
Disclosing this at the 481- week Friday preaching in Gusau, the state governor, Alhaji Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi, said the Islamic clerics would lead the special prayers in the 1,767 Friday Juma’at mosques across the state.

The state, according to Nigerian Tribune findings, will spend about N17.6 million on the prayers as each of the cleric will go home with N10,000 for the service rendered.

Represented by the state Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Sheik Tukur Sani Jangebe, the governor remarked that the prayer session was necessary in view of the present situation the country was passing through.

According to the governor, the health of the president was very important for the survival of the country and, as such, he needed the prayers of Nigerians instead of playing politics with his health.

The governor also directed the Islamic clerics to pray for the victims of the recent Jos mayhem.

Governor Shinkafi advised Muslim Ummah (community) to make good use of the Islamic teachings that said Muslims should promote the culture of peaceful co-existence.

He admonished both Muslims and Christians in the state to remain united and peaceful with each other, stressing that both Islam and Christianity condemned violence

http://www.nigeriannews.com/

Hausa traders deny rumour of food poisoning in P-Harcourt
National News Feb 3, 2010 By George Onah
Port-Harcourt — Hausa traders in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, have complained about series of “wicked and damaging text messages” making the rounds to the effect that Hausa traders planned to poison suya, carrots and green peas to kill Christians.

Consequently, funseekers, who usually visit drinking joints and suya spots in the city, have kept their distance from the barbecue sellers to play safe.

Source of rumour

Vanguard learnt that authors of the text messages were some South-South indigenes that fled from the fighting in Jos, Plateau State, and are taking refuge in their states, and are planning a total boycott of such edibles.

However, when Vanguard visited Victoria Street, a popular suya spot in downtown Port-Harcourt, there was business as usual, as some of the folks spoken to said they were not bothered by the text messages and that “some-thing must kill a man anyway”.

But Mallam Maikudi said the text messages were “evil and potential agents of disunity”, explaining that it would be counter produc-tive for any Hausa trader to imagine such a thing. He added that “we do not stand to gain anything by such act.”

Wariboko Jones, a civil servant, said he received the text message but was “approaching the matter with caution while not losing sight of the fact that anything can happen in Nigeria these days.”

Although northern traders who sell yam, onions as well as white and red beans at the Mile 1 Market have not complained of dearth of patronage, two northern traders of carrots in wheelbarrows said they had received some uncomplimentary remarks from residents in Diobu area of the city.


http://www.nigeriannews.com/

Corruption: Taming the monster
By Olalekan Adetayo, Published: Wednesday, 3 Feb 2010




The The Chairman of the EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri


Not a few Nigerians believe that corruption is the biggest problem facing the nation. Wherever one turns to, corruption stares one in the face. Corruption is in both the public and private sector.

To move forward as a nation therefore, it is believed that this monster must be dealt with.

The desire to see the end of the monster spurred an advocacy group, the CLEEN Foundation, to convene a national conference on corruption and governance challenges in Nigeria recently.

The conference, which was aimed at breaking the cycle of corruption, was held between January 21 and 22. It was organised by CLEEN in conjunction with Ford Foundation.

Speakers at the conference which attracted members of civil society groups and students among others, included the Director, Office of the Public Protector, South Africa, Mrs. Thuli Madonsela and the African Director, Open Society Justice Initiative, Dr. Chidi Odinkalu.

The Executive Director of CLEEN. Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, set the pace for the conference when in his welcome remarks, said that it was an understatement to say that corruption had undermined Nigeria in many ways, frustrating its development potentials and exacerbating the conditions of its many poor people.

”We only need to look around and beyond us to see the havoc we have wrecked on ourselves because of our inability to deal decisively with corruption and improve our governance standards,” Chukwuma said.

Towing Chukwuma‘s line in her welcome remarks, the Regional Representative, Ford Foundation‘s West Africa Office, Dr. Adhiam Odaga, said although corruption was a transnational problem, it was more visible in Africa.

Odaga, while regretting that most Africans had accepted corruption as part of doing business, the continent would not move forward until the menace was tackled.

In his keynote address at the conference, the Central Bank Governor, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido, said it had been globally proven that countries which have high incidence of corruption are associated with poverty as weak corporate governance does not encourage sustainable development.

”In other words, there is a high correlation between corruption, poor governance and high incidence of poverty.

”It is against this backdrop that we posit that the war against poverty must be multi-faceted. That is, not only through providing finance for the active poor but also ensuring that institutions are transparent, accountable and citizens‘ rights are well protected,” Sanusi, who was represented by Mr. Sola Awoyungbo, said.

On her part, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs. Farida Waziri, said that the highest level of corruption in Nigeria could be found in the corridors of power.

This, she said, was evident in the huge number of state governors and local government chairmen being investigated by the commission for corrupt practices.

Waziri, who was represented by the commission‘s Head of Economic Governance Section, Mr. Kabir Shehu, said that investigations had shown that same contracts were being ”awarded and re-awarded” by government officials.

The EFCC boss identified inadequate funding of law enforcement agencies, absence of comprehensive database to provide information on citizens and slow nature of the judicial process as some of the factors aiding corruption in Nigeria.

She said that breaking the vicious cycle of corruption in the country required a strong political will, adding that casual approach won‘t work.

She said, “To break the cycle, it starts with all of us. We should eschew corruption and fight against its spread by refusing to vote for idolised leaders who are corrupt.

”We should all support laws that fight corruption. War against corruption, like terrorism, is a special war. It requires a strong political will.”

”It is against this backdrop that we posit that the war against poverty must be multi-faceted, that is, not only through providing finance for the active poor but also ensuring that institutions are transparent, accountable and citizens‘ rights are well protected.”

Proffering solution to the menace, Odinkalu said Nigeria must ”show up with better than feet of clay.”

He said, ”Currently, Nigeria is one of the continent‘s poster-territories for how not to address corruption or governance reform. To change this, we must return to the basics of state-building and take the anti-corruption project out of the realm of the exotic.

”A major commitment to re-building the legitimacy of government and the institutions that underpin it is where we must begin.

”Unlike sex, this must not only be done, but must be seen to be manifestly done. Politicians without electoral legitimacy have no stake in or incentive to support an effective public governance or anti-corruption system.

”On the contrary, their self interest lies in undermining and frustrating the emergence of such system. In effect, there can be no successful fight against corruption without credible elections founded on credible electoral reform.”

Madonsela observed that the big cars and houses that corrupt people own were financed from funds that should go to the building of schools, houses, health care, maintenance of roads and other public projects.

She said, “Without society owning the fight against corruption and seeing as an affront on it, we will not win the fight.

”It‘s important that each ordinary person understands that corruption deprives them of what is rightfully theirs. It is also important that the dangers of corruption are understood by all, including school children. We also need to enforce international instruments such as the OECD Convention on Bribing Corruption of Foreign State Officials


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201002033541065

Shooting resumes in Port Harcourt as gunmen invade Elechi Beach
By Agency Reporter, Published: Wednesday, 3 Feb 2010







The relative peace in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was shattered on Tuesday when heavily armed men invaded and opened fire at Elechi Beach.

Elechi Beach is located in Mile 1, Doubu and is less than three kilometres from the Government House.

Our correspondent learnt that the sporadic shooting was heard from the beach at about 5pm and later the gunmen advanced towards Njemanze and Nsukka Streets.

Elechi Beach and Njemanze Waterfront were some of the flashpoints during the 2007 cult war in which several persons died and property worth billions of naira destroyed.

Shortly after the renewed shooting which lasted for over 10 minutes, a police patrol vehicle appeared from the troubled area and sped towards Mile 1 Police Station.

An amoured personnel carrier from the station was later seen speeding towards the beach followed by three patrol vehicles loaded with armed policemen.

Barely five minutes after the police moved into the troubled area, a police van appeared with a wounded officer lying still at the back.

The officer, who might have been shot by the rampaging gunmen, was rushed to Teme Clinic.

It was not possible to ascertain the degree of injury sustained by the policeman.

When contacted, the state Police Commissioner, Rivers State Command, Mr. Suleiman Abba confirmed that there was an incident at the Mile 1 area of the city


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201002031145257

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
we don't need a military takeover, pls we should resist any attempt of the military to take over



then if military show up now, can u witstand them,  with the kind of situation now in nigeria politice, with this present cabal, i also seen militry coup,,,,,,, but we have to pray,

Nigerian police investigates al-Qaeda's comment on arms20:40, February 02, 2010 Email | Print | Subscribe | Comments | Forum Increases the bookmarktwitter facebook
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The Nigeria Police Force has said they are probing a report credited to an al-Qaeda group in north Africa to train and arm Nigerian Muslim groups to fight perceived enemies in the country.

The al-Qaeda group in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said in a statement on Monday that it was ready to defend "our people in Nigeria."

Reacting to this, the police said its men were ready to counter any form of terror in the country.

Yemi Ajayi, assistant police spokesman, told Xinhua on phone from Abuja that the police would look into any news or information that has any security implications with all seriousness.

He said the police would not treat such information with levity, as their men were on standby on a daily basis to counter any crisis in any part of the country.

"We are not resting on our oars concerning any report, be it mischief or not, we are fully prepared to tackle any unrest in any part of the country," Ajayi told Xinhua.

"And do not forget that our work now is intelligence based and we want to say that Nigerians should not talk more on rumor," he added.

The al-Qaeda group, did not state the reason for the offer.

"We are ready to train your people in weapons, and give you whatever support we can in men, arms and munitions to enable you to defend our people in Nigeria," the group said in a statement.

"You are not alone in this test. The hearts of Mujahideen are in pain over your troubles and desire to help you as much as possible," the AQIM added, noting that it had done so in Somalia, Iraq,Afghanistan, Palestine, and Chechnya.

Analysts told Xinhua that the group's offer might not be unconnected with the recent sectarian crisis in northern city of Jos.

More than 300 people died in the Jos riots that erupted on Jan. 17, when some youths attacked worshippers at St. Michael's Anglican Church in Nasawara Gwom of Jos.

The fighting ultimately turned into a fight between Muslim and Christian gangs.

The recent clashes between Muslim and Christian gangs have claimed more than 100 lives in the central city which experienced the same riots in November 2008.

The riots in 2008 killed hundreds of residents in the city.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/6886020.html?

Tuesday, 02 February 2010 00:00 Wole Oladimeji
THE committee raised by the House of Representatives to travel to Saudi Arabia to assess the fitness, or otherwise, of the ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua to continue in office may leave the country this week.


It was learnt yesterday that the committee may go with a letter already prepared for the President, in which he is to be asked to obey the provisions of Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, or risk impeachment.

As at yesterday, more than 200 members of the House had signed the letter.
More signatures are still needed, it was further learnt.

Some members of the lower chamber had tackled the House leadership for alleged complacency over the Yar’Adua issue, leading to the setting up of the panel. The leadership yesterday expedited actions on the proposed visit.

On Thursday, last week, the House Minority Leader and member of the delegation Ali Ndume, raised the alarm that he was yet to be contacted on the plans for the trip and that his constituents were asking him questions.

But yesterday, Ndume confirmed that the Deputy House Leader, Baba Sheu Agaie, who is the leader of delegation, had sent for his passport in readiness for the journey.

He, however, warned that if it is impossible for the committee to make the trip this week, he may have to reconsider going to Saudi Arabia, “because the delay in making the trip has cost me two weeks of non-visit to my constituents.”

He added: “I want to confirm to you that today (yesterday), my passport was collected. The leader of the delegation called me around 11am, asking me to bring my passport. I have submitted it and I am waiting for when the trip will take place.

“But I have informed the Speaker that I will not go again after this week. This is the first time that I will miss my constituents for two weeks. I have been waiting here in Abuja for the trip, let us see what will happen this week.

“I am waiting to be asked to proceed to the airport for the Saudi journey. As I am talking to you, all I know is that they have asked for my passport and I have given it to them.”

Meanwhile, a group led by former Senate Deputy President, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, yesterday in Abuja, declared that the demand for Yar’ Adua to step aside for Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan to take over as acting President was uncalled for.
Mantu, who addressed newsmen on behalf of the People’s Movement for a New Nigeria (PMFNN), maintained that the constitution is very clear about the absence of the President.

He argued that since the President has been away for medical treatment, the Vice-President has been doing wonderfully well in the discharge of his duty and there is no vacuum created.

According to Mantu, what the country needs is to place its faith in God in order to lay a solid foundation for generations to come.
Indeed, Mantu, who spoke in the presence of other members of the group, including Comrade Pascal Bafyau, Mr. Damishi Sango and Prof. Yusuf Obaje, among others, maintained that the courts of law had already ruled that Jonathan was in charge as acting President.

The former deputy Senate president said: “The issue of who is in charge has been settled by the courts based on the interpretation of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution. There is no more need for anybody to provoke any further debate no matter how long Yar’Adua stays away.
“The choice available to Nigeria is to rekindle her faith in God as well as invoke the undying spirit of her people, while harnessing her common talents.
“Finally, we have the option to rekindle our faith in the Almighty God, invoke the undying spirit of the Nigerian people, harness our common talents, summon unusual courage as a people of common destiny, and as a matter of utmost urgency, commence the task of rebuilding our country together, in order to save our generation and give hope to all, as we also lay the solid foundation for generations to come.

“This is the very choice that we must hang on to and begin to revisit as well as prioritise our collective agenda for achieving true greatness for all Nigerians.”

Mantu added: “It is, therefore, against this background that we, members of the People’s Movement for a New Nigeria, are calling on all Nigerians to join us in our dream as well as in our total support for the success of the present administration of President Musa Yar’Adua and Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan.

“We stand solidly behind them in their effort to move Nigeria forward at such a time like this and here is our collective dream for a new Nigeria of true greatness for all.”

The group maintained that the Vice-President had been adequately in charge since the President was away, including chairing the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings as well as attending the Armed Forces Remembrance Day.

It argued that the intervention of the group was to douse tension in the country, adding that Nigerians had the duty now to join hands and address the sufferings in the country by fighting corruption, poverty, among others.

He, however, stated that the PMFNN had the dream that one day, Nigeria would become a nation of God-fearing people with unadulterated faith in one God.

His words: “We have a dream that one day we shall become a nation of truly reconciled ethnic groups, where we shall live together as real blood brothers and sisters created in the same and one image of the only true God who is the Lord of all; where we shall love one another, serve one another and celebrate together in times of joy and sorrow

http://www.compassnews.net/Ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39944:reps-set-for-showdown-with-yaradua-in-saudi-&catid=672:top-stories&Itemid=794

Tuesday, February 02, 2010
On the 19th of January, 2010, Jos witnesses another crises barely a year after the town was engulfed in a Riot that claimed hundreds of lives.
Societymailonline authoritatively can reveal that Jos crises and the former one were all masterminded by the Generalss that are Barun indigenes.

The Generalss that are core indigenes believed that Plateau capital, Jos has been taken over by the Hausas/Fulanis who are mere settler in the State, the Hausas/Fulanis came to settle in Jos over 50years ago, but the core-indigenes bent in recapturing the capital and the entire State from them.

Religion factor is just a camouflage in all the mayhem, according to the source, there are other factors like Economic and political factor.

The Barun, the core indigenes of the State believe that economic of the State had been taken over by the Hausas and they are in total controls of the Jos market.

The indigenes, rich and powerful but they are all in their villages, and used it as their base, while the Hausas/Fulanis are in the capital dictating the political affairs of the State.

The Generals mastermind the crises in order to wipe out the strong Hausas both economically and political so as to recapture the State, especially they want to take over Jos North Local Government where Hausa is the chairman, besides, they believe Senator Mantu, the former Deputy Senate President, who is an Hausa/Fulani from Wase but have Jos as his political based is becoming too stronger in the State that is not his own zone, thereby making the political affairs and political offices more competitive in the State.

Also the Barun feel that the King Palace, Gwong of Jos is surrounded by the Hausas/Fulaniss, the non-indigenes, which they count as their enemy, this led to the burning and destructing of properties of the Hausas within and around the palace territory, according to the source core-indigenes, Baruns are the people parading Jos with fake police and solders to terrorise the Hausas/Fulanis.

The Barun has produce the most prominent and powerful Generals in the history of Nigeria army including Rtd. Gen. Gowon, Rtd. Gen. Domkat Bali, Rtd. Gen. Jeremiah Useni, Rtd. Gen. Dongoyaro and the State Governor Jang.

The Jos crises is been sponsors by the untouchable Generalss disclose the source.



http://www.societymailonline.com/Jos_crisis.html

Judge beheaded in Kwara
•For dissolving marriage, suspect flees
From LAYI OLANREWAJU,Ilorin
Tueasday, February 2, 2010


Photo: Sun Publishing
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An Area Court Judge, Mallam Kazeem Zakari, in Yashikira, Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State has been allegedly beheaded by a Fulani man. The man, who is now on the run, was said to have murdered the judge at his residence shortly after the judge acceded to a request by the killer’s wife to summarilly terminate their marriage.

According to Daily Sun source, parents of the Fulani man’s wife had instituted a divorce suit before the area court in Yashikira over constant battering and bashing of their daughter by the husband whom they described as a ‘rascal.’

The judge, it was gathered, after hearing and careful deliberation of the case reportedly granted the parent’s prayers.
Displeased with the ruling, the man who currently at large allegedly resolved to ‘deal’ with the judge personally.
Daily Sun was reliably informed the on that fateful day, the judge, who was said to have reported for duty, dashed home after adjournment only to meet his untimely death in the hands of his alleged assailant.

It was gathered that at the close of work, when the court clerk and court assistant took the late judge’s books to his home, they met his head already severed off his lifeless body, lying by the window side.
The spokesperson of the Kwara State Police Command, Dabo Ezekiel(ASP) confirmed the incident.
He added that the command was yet to link anybody to the crime.
The spokesperson disclosed that the corpse of the judge had already been released for burial.
It was also gathered that the remains of the late judge had since been interred at his country home, Okuta in the same local government.


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/feb/02/national-01-02-2010-01.htm

Restates readiness for February 6 election
From GEOFFREY ANYANWU, Awka
Tueasday, February 2, 2010


Photo: Sun Publishing
More Stories on This Section
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has apologised to the Action Congress (AC) standard bearer, Dr. Chris Ngige over the omission of his name in the commission’s voters’ register. Consequently, the commission has included Ngige’s name, describing the omission as production error.
Disclosing this to Daily Sun, yesterday, the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Josiah Chukwudi Uwazuruonye also said that preparations for Saturday’s election was in top gear and moving accordingly.

He said: “When I came on board, I discovered that they were given CD ROM, each political party, where they now have to download the list of names of voters in their respective polling units. The purpose of giving them the CDs was for them to go through. Before the presentation of the CD ROMs, there was the problem of undue inflation of the registers and the polling units.
“It was also because of infiltration of politicians to create imaginary polling units with some unscrupulous staff of INEC. So, in the process, INEC came and investigated and found some of them culpable and most of them were dismissed, some still on suspension.”

This, he said, necessitated the production of the CD ROMs and presentations to the political parties to crosscheck, adding that AC wrote to him highlighting where they had problems and they were resolved.
He said further: “For instance, AC wrote to us highlighting where they discovered errors, I told the ICT people to look at their problems and solve them. So, Ngige’s name is now in the register. He came here two days ago, I told him and his IT man also came and I showed him where his name is and that one has been solved.

Asked if the commission was sorry for what happened, Uwazuruonye said, “when he arrived, I apologised to him about the mistake, it is a production error.”
Meanwhile, the REC said while the non-sensitive materials have been distributed and taken to the various local governments, youth coppers who would function as poll clerks in the election started their training yesterday, to end on Wednesday.

He also disclosed that sensitive electoral materials would arrive from Abuja on Wednesday, adding that the commission was preparing letters for all the political parties taking part in the election to send their agents (one each) to Enugu International Airport to observe the off- loading of the materials and their movement to INEC headquarters, Awka.

This he said was to ensure that they take note of the number of materials to be used, to avoid suspicion and speculations.
Meanwhile, over 150 journalists have been accredited as at yesterday to cover the election, while a list of 33 civil organisations and stakeholders have been approved by the commission to observe the exercise.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/feb/02/national-01-02-2010-06.htm

The British Government on Monday in Abuja vowed that it would do everything possible to repatriate 43 million pounds siphoned by corrupt Nigerian government officials to off shore accounts. British Liason Officer for West Africa of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), Mr. Michael Dockree made this promise when he visited headquarters of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), in Abuja.

A statement signed by Head, Public Enlightenment Department, Mike Sowe, said Mr Dockree came to ICPC to discuss areas of cooperation between the two agencies, particularly in the areas of education, public enlightenment, intelligence gathering and asset tracking.

Dockree also emphasized his Government’s Commitment and assistance to security agencies and anti-corruption commissions
ICPC Chairman, Justice Emanuel Ayoola, who was represented by Dr Uriah Angulu, assured Mr Dockree of the Commission’s readiness to partner with stakeholders in the United Kingdom in all aspects of the anti-corruption campaign.

Dr Angulu said the activities of the Commission would be enhanced as soon as the National Assembly amends the Act establishing the Commission, which will make it more proactive in dealing with cases of corruption.
Also speaking at the courtesy call, three honourable members of the ICPC, Sir Simeon Oguntimehin, Dame Julie-Nwariaku and Alhaji Abdullahi Bako thanked Dockree for his visit and commended the British government for its commitment to the fight against corruption in Nigeria


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/feb/02/national-01-02-2010-7.htm