₦airaland Forum

I can believe that if it is true, then let the strike continue

I will give it all to Charitry

HAPPY NEW MONTH , PRAY THAT THE GOOD GOD WILL FREE US TOTALLY FROM THE HANDS OF OUR OPPRESSOR, Amen

Let this NYSC thing stop for once and LET Nigerians be,

total madness

ogb5:
What specifically did ibori do wrong in delta state.

If you were Ibori, what would you have done differently in the 8 yrs he was there, pls be specific, i like to learn.

he could not give the voters the dividends of Democracy

The Same He Ran and Ruined the State of the Big Heart, turned the Big Heart big for Shame

A PZ Nig Plc factory manager shot dead along the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway
By Eugene Agha, 09.29.2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Few days after The Guardian Assistant News Editor, Bayo Ohu, was killed in Lagos, another socialite and top manager with one of the blue-chip companies in Nigeria, PZ Nig Plc, was weekend, shot dead by yet to be ascertained gunmen.

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The deceased, identified as the company’s factory manager, Mr. Lucky Egbah, was killed along the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, while returning to his Ifo, Ogun State home after the close of work on Saturday.

Ohu was killed by gunmen who visited his Egbeda, Lagos homeh on January 20, during the Sallah holiday.

THISDAY learnt that Egbah, who was said to have packed into his newly completed home in Ifo, Ogun State, barely 30 days ago, allegedly met the agents of death at Sango Ota, few kilometres away from his home.

A visit to the Ilupeju Industrial Estate, Lagos corporate headquarters of PZ yesterday, revealed that the organisation was thrown into mourning, as the employees, including management and board members, were seen discussing in groups about the incident.

THISDAY investigations revealed that the deceased, while driving, was overtaken by a jeep, who blocked his car at about 8.30 p.m., after which he was shot dead on the spot.

Egba was allegedly shot by the assailants both in the chest and in the groin, and was left in a pool of his own blood.

Corporate Affairs and Head of the Administrative department of the company, Mrs Yomi Ifaturoti, described Egbah as a "lover of peace and a gentleman per excellence."

She said the company had dispatched a powerful delegation of management staff to commiserate with the bereaved family.

She said, “we are still trying to investigate what really happened to the deceased, because of the conflicting information by Ogun State Police Command, who initially told us that it was an accident, but upon further enquiry, said a jeep double cross him and that the occupants shot him.”

She said the police were not forth coming with satisfactory explanation as to the remote and immediate courses of Egbah's death, until they were allegedly challenged by the company’s representatives who visited the scene of the attack.

10 killed as security operatives, kidnappers clash in Abia
National News Sep 30, 2009

By Eric Ugbor

ABA—TEN Persons in cluding two policemen, a soldier and a pregnant woman were yesterday killed when security agents and kidnappers clashed in different parts of Aba South and Obingwa Local Government Areas of Abia state.

This is coming barely one month after hoodlums suspected to be kidnappers sacked the entire police station at Umuobiakwa in the same Obingwa Local Government Area of the state, killing an inmate in their desperation to release one of the suspects held at the police state.

The security situation in Aba and the entire Aba South senatorial zone of the state is now source of concern to residents of the area, as activities of hoodlums continues unabated despite stringent security measures employed by the Abia state government to checkmate their activities.

Last Sunday, at Nnetu in Aba South Local Government Area of the state, the police on a tip-off confronted kidnappers with their victim and in an exchange of gun fire, in which the police overpowered the kidnappers, three of them were killed at the spot, while the remaining two, who ran into the bush were chased and arrested by the special security squad operating in the state.

Unfortunately, the victim of the kidnappers identified as a prominent businessman in Aba, was killed in the exchanged gun fire, while many other residents of the area sustained severe injuries.

And just this week, the latest clash at Abayi in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia state, claimed the lives of two policemen, a soldier, a pregnant woman and three other civilians.

When Vanguard visited Abayi, the village was in mourning mood as residents of the area were seen in corners, lamenting the ugly incident that had befalling their village.
A traditional ruler in the Village, who preferred his name not to be mentioned, told Vanguard that the incident happened when residents of the area arrested two suspected robbers in the village and invited the police to come and take them (suspects) to their station.

Unknown to the villagers, the suspects belonged to a gang and while they were waiting for the arrival of the policemen, other members of the gang got the wind of the arrest and re-enforced and stormed the village.

He said, “when the policemen finally arrived, they met the entire gang, who confronted them and in the process, shooting ensued between the security agents and the gang.

El-Rufai's wife, children, held at Murtala Muhammed International Airport
By Charles Ajunwa, 09.29.2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The family of former Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, was yesterday stopped by immigration officials at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.


Mrs. Asia el-Rufai, who returned to the country from Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE) with three kids aged three, nine and seven, was delayed for about 40 minutes to one hour.

THISDAY learnt that their passports were siezed without any tangible explanation.

The officials reportedly claimed they were conducting routine "checks" on their travelling documents. For the entire period, Asia was neither asked a question nor told why she was being held longer than usual.

They were released after she protested. When contacted on phone, the former FCT minister said the government is deliberatly "harassing" his family in order to stop his imminent return to the country.

"All these harassment was because they are trying to scare us from coming back but I am coming back," declared el-Rufai.

He continued: "I know I will spend my Christmas in Nigeria. The country does not belong to anybody's father. I will come back," he said.

El-Rufai stated that he was astonished that the Nigerian government would attempt to stop her citizens from entering their country. He said he was particularly miffed by attempts to scare minors.

"Even in war, children are allowed to go, which is not even a war. It's just political difference," he said. El-Rufai and his family have had a running battle with the authorities.

Only three months ago, his wife was unable to renew her passport and that of her children until she complained bitterly to the relevant authorities.

The former FCT minister was also denied a new passport last month by the Nigerian Embassy in London.

His trouble started after his tenure as FCT minister came to an end. He has been accused by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of confiscating land in Abuja and allocating same to friends among other weighty allegations.

But el-Rufai who is currently locked in a legal battle with the agency has denied all allegations against him, saying they are baseless. He claims he is being persecuted politically.

I think will or might Mohammed is a failed Gani Dynasty

Atiku Abubakar, Fawehinmi’s son boost mega party

29.09.2009

FORMER Vice President and Action Congress (AC) Presidential standard-bearer in the 2007 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubarkar, has charged all democrats and stakeholders in the Mega Party Movement to urgently come out of their comfort zones to enforce genuine political changes in Nigeria from the polling booth to Aso Rock.

According to Alhaji Hamisu San Turaki, MSM Director of Media and Publicity, who disclosed this while addressing the press on Monday, in Kano, Atiku’s advice to the leaders of the Mega Movement came on the a day the eldest son of Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Mohammed, registered the total support of the Gani Fawehinmi Chambers for the mega party initiative.

Mohammed Fawehinmi had earlier in the month, during the burial of the late legal Icon, told the leaders of the movement, who had come to commiserate with his family members, the desire to give a strong legal support to the alternative peoples’ mega party, Turaki said.

Atiku Abubarkar, while addressing MSM stakeholders’ council meeting held last Thursday in Lagos, was quoted by Turaki as saying the current struggle for system change in the country was not about the present political leaders in the country, but for “70 million Nigerians between ages one and 18, who will have no future unless we act now and act decisively to confront this system and change the rules of the game.”

Atiku Aburbarkar’s position paper on the need for a popular manifesto and constitution for the mega party was presented at the forum by his political confidant and former Governor of Kaduna state, Alhaji Lawan Kaita, who led a high powered delegation to represent Atiku who is currently abroad.

AGF CHANGES GEAR: Ibori: I won’t cooperate with UK - Aondoakaa - Says ‘My critics are illiterates’

Lanre Adewole and Kolawole Daniel, Abuja - 29.09.2009

THERE appears to be a twist to the London trial of former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, as the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa (SAN), on Monday, said he could not grant the request for assistance from Britain on the prosecution of the former governor and some of his relatives for money laundering at a Southwark Crown Court.

Britain had through the Metropolitan Police, asked Nigeria, through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to release 25 officers with the commission as witnesses in the trial in London.

A Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) exists between the two countries to assist each other in the prosecution of trans-border criminal case. The minister had penultimate Sunday backpedalled on his refusal to release the EFCC witnesses to testify in London, saying that he had no power to stop any Nigerian from exercising his constitutional right to testify anywhere.

Last Wednesday, he reportedly endorsed a formal request by the anti-graft agency seeking the release of the 25 witnesses. But Aondoakaa told journalists in Abuja on Monday that Nigeria did not owe Britain or any other country legal assistance in the prosecution of Nigerians abroad, because the Western world had also not been forthcoming on such requests from Nigeria.

He also described his critics as illiterates. The minister who spoke while fielding questions from newsmen after the inauguration of the National Committee on Torture, stated, “are you saying Nigeria is answerable to other countries? Are you saying that whenever any request is made by any country I have no right to review it? Such request is an indictment of the country’s security and judicial system.”

He added that, “when I requested for evidence from UK on Halliburton scandal, I was told to wait, the same thing from France and Switzerland, they are yet to comply.”

However, in his statement penultimate Sunday, the minister had said “On the issue of 25 witnesses needed by the Met Police, nobody has brought that information to my notice and immediately I saw the publication in the papers today, I contacted the Secretary of the EFCC, Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye, who said they will be bringing whatever they have got from the Metropolitan Police on the next working day as regards the witnesses to testify in Ibori’s case.

“I have no request on my desk in relation to these witnesses. As soon as my office receives the request, it will be treated with dispatch and as the law requires

“Let me make it clear on record that every Nigerian has a constitutional right of free movement and freedom of expression and therefore, the office of the AGF will not breach the constitution by stopping anybody from testifying before any tribunal or court in Nigeria or outside, including the UK. That is the true fact.

“Lastly, these people are witnesses, they are not accused persons and they have a right to go anywhere to give oral testimony. “So, the issue of trying to blackmail people and trying to create sensation does not arise. I will never prevent any Nigerian from testifying.”

@ Location of Opobo.

Opobo kingdom is in the creek of Rivers State, and bounded by the Ijaws and Kalabari, Great King Jaja , you were of the likes of Ovoramen no Gba ise of Benin and Nana of Itshekiri


U r Remembered

Six Flags eyes theme park in Nigeria

By Michelle J. Nealy

ix Flags Inc., one of the world's largest theme park operators with 21 properties in North America, is planning to open a theme park in a place where no theme park has gone before: Nigeria.


The world's wildest roller coasters are crouching in the theme park wilds, ready to uncoil and strike the visitors with an irresistible adrenaline rush, the only addiction without any noticeable side-effects (other than a crazed look).

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Six Flags officials hope to open a 250-acre park by 2013 in Calabar, a historic city in Cross River state on Nigeria's southeastern border.


Six Flags

Six Flags already owns two international theme parks, one in Montreal and the other in Mexico City. But Nigeria, which has no large-scale theme parks, is a new frontier.

"We saw Nigeria, a country with a population of more than 140 million people, a rapidly growing middle class and relatively few theme-park options, as a good emerging market to expand Six Flags' global brand," said Andrew Schleimer, executive vice president of strategic development and in-park services for Six Flags.

Six Flags filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June. Its chairman, Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, hired Mark Shapiro as chief executive officer in 2005 to help return the New York company to profitability.

"Shapiro is one of the brightest guys in the industry," said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, a consulting firm in Cincinnati. "Under his leadership, the company has been on the correct reconfiguration path."

However, Mr. Speigel has some doubts about the company's Nigerian venture. "I'm not sure if this announcement brings credibility to Six Flags' table," he said.

Some analysts say Six Flags' plan to build a park in Nigeria may be motivated by market saturation in the places where it operates, suggesting that the company wants to test an untapped market.

"There are already a number of theme parks in parts of Asia, Europe, Australia and parts of the Middle East," Mr. Speigel said.

"It's a worthy cause for Six Flags to spread this type of entertainment, but [Nigeria] is a tough place to do business given the role corruption and government interference play there," he said. "Some parts of the country are having trouble clothing its people. I have to question whether Nigeria is ready for an attraction of this nature."

Nigeria derives about 95 percent of its foreign exchange earnings and 80 percent of its budget revenues from oil production, according to data collected by the CIA. That crucial revenue stream has been threatened by a spate of kidnappings of foreign oil workers by militant groups.

More than 500 people have been kidnapped in Nigeria so far this year, up nearly 70 percent from 2008. Several foreign companies, including Willbros Group Inc., a U.S. oil services contractor, have withdrawn from Nigeria.

Six Flags and Cross River state reached the agreement as another promising business partnership goes awry.

Virgin Nigeria, launched in 2005, recently announced that it was changing its name to Nigerian Eagle Airlines, deepening its fractured relationship with British founder Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. Hopes were high for Virgin Nigeria to establish itself as a safe and credible flagship carrier, but Virgin Atlantic officials have told Reuters that they were looking to sell the company's 49 percent stake in the Nigerian airline, for which it paid about $25 million.

Although development of a Nigerian theme park is still in the early stages, Six Flags officials expressed confidence about the project. "We have certainly done our due diligence," Mr. Schleimer said.

"The first phase of this project is designed to get to know the partners, the lay of the land and to conceptualize the look and feel of the project. The first phase is a fact-finding mission for both parties.

"We are aware of pockets of civil unrest in the country, mainly in the north. So far, we are comfortable with the stability of the region that we are working in," he said.

Once the initial planning phase is complete, Six Flags and the Cross River government will collaborate on the design, construction and management of the park. Construction labor is expected to come from the local population, which will spur economic growth, said Mr. Schleimer, adding that financing probably will be the result of a public-private partnership in which the government pays a portion of the cost. Six Flags would not divulge details of its financing plan.

Despite the global economic downturn, attendance held steady last year at North America's top 20 theme parks, according to a 2008 report by the Themed Entertainment Association.

Abroad, attendance for the top 20 European parks rose 1 percent from 2007 to 2008. Six Flags' Mexico City park was No. 1 in the Latin America market even though it recorded a half-percentage-point drop in attendance.

© 2009 The Washington Times

this people needed to be developed not to be feed, tell this leaders to do them well,

bEAF PLS STOP THIS MAN 2 MAN ATTACK

let them use those money on their Education so that they will not go into killing, feed them uhs, tech them how to fish not give them fish,

@Niger_d
Oya, land make we break some kola and pour libation (but still tell that boy make 'e lef Clara waist o! )
[quote][/quote]my broda bring am i don sit down ,

NO ONLY HIM DEM PLENTY, INCLUDING OBASANJO

U DON COME WITH UR ABUSE, CONTINUE, I HAVE NO TIME FOR UUU, I WISH I CUD JUST C U FACE2FACE, BYE OMO IGBO

michelin89:
Obviously someone reported you. It would make no sense for me to report you to the mod since I am the mod right?

If you haven't been unbanned let me know. I'll inform the admin of the misunderstanding.

AM STILL BLOCKED ,

citizenY:
What is the message.

3 papa docs from Haiti don marry one woman?

just jiving

JUST TRYING TO MAKE A POINT WITH MY BROTHER UDEZUE

platinumnk:
they look like brothers and sister

WE ARE BROTHERS AND SISTER BY REGION BUT NOT BLOOD AS BIRTH, WE ARE FROM THE SAME PLACE

WE ARE BROTHERS AND SISTER

Not a particular one but, update on the ones and new ones, so that one can easily get , and how spiritual and timing the msg is, thanks and shallom

please let talk about christian movies, ve tried to read through i cud not see any thread that talk on christian movies, lets try to update our selves on Christian movies,