[size=14pt]Yar'Adua's Brother,Quits Military for Politics[/size]

7 October 2010

[size=14pt]Katsina — Lt.colonel Abdul'Aziz Musa Yar'adua, younger brother to late President Umaru Yar'adua has resigned from the Nigerian military and may join the race for Katsina Government House.

Daily Trust learnt from sources close to the Yar'adua family that Abdul'Aziz, also known as Audu Soja, may be seeking to actualise his governorship ambition on the platform of the newly formed Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).[/size]


[size=14pt]The source said the late President's younger brother tendered his resignation last week and it has since been accepted by the Nigerian military authorities, and that he had already handed over his official duties last Monday.[/size]

The source further confirmed that Yar'adua would be going into partisan politics but said he was yet to declare for any political party until his resignation notice expires at the end of October.

[size=14pt]Before his resignation, Yar'adua was a Lieutenant Colonel in charge of records at the army secretary's office at the military headquarters, Abuja.[/size] He was closest to late President Umaru Musa Yar'adua amongst the family members.

Since the demise of the former president, rumours have been flying round Katsina that Audu Soja was joining politics and had since started mobilizing towards his ambition to contest the governorship race.

Daily trust gathered that Abul'Aziz is seen as the most appropriate and emerging leader of the late Yar'adua's family due to his acceptability in the family circle as well as his antecedents as a very religious, firm but easy going person.

[size=14pt]Further checks revealed, however, that there may be a crack within the family if he decides to challenge the incumbent governor because some of the family members have public endorsed Shema for a second term.[/size]

Another hurdle the younger Yar'adua may face, sources say, is that the widow of the late President, Hajiya Turai Tar'adua may not support his candidature. Turai was said to have told her aides recently that she was not interested in supporting any politician or participating in any political activity.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201010070513.html

[size=14pt]Okah’s interview with Aljazeera: Security operatives doubt authenticity[/size]
From JULIANA TAIWO, Abuja
Friday, October 08, 2010


[size=14pt]Nigeria’s security operatives are seriously doubting the authenticity of Tuesday’s celebrated interview with Henry Okah, Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) former leader by Al Jazeera,
In the interview, Okah accused President Goodluck Jonathan of attempts to implicate Northern politicians, over October 1, 2010 bomb blasts that left 12 persons dead.

A top security source disclosed yesterday that investigations within the security services in Nigeria and South Africa revealed that the interview with Okah, may have been faked to deceive the Arab cable news network, maintaining that there was a great deal of doubt about the authenticity of the telephone contact between the media organization and the embattled militant leader.[/size]

The security source said last night that their [size=14pt]South African counterpart have confirmed that, “at no time did we allow Okah to make such telephone contact.” Said a top security source: “Following suspicion raised about the authenticity of the interview, we contacted South Africa to confirm its validity but were shocked to find out that at no time did such interview take place.[/size]

“In fact, our contact wondered why it took us so long to cross check this information because they did not want to interfere since the issues did not concern their government directly, they have been waiting for such security inquiries from their Nigerian counterpart before revealing the veracity of the interview since the content does not concern them directly”, the source said.[size=14pt][b]These findings have further raised questions as to whether the purported interview with MEND members, in crispy military uniforms, 48 hours before the bomb blast, was also true or not.

Already, the Joint Task Force (JTF) on Niger Delta has debunked the veracity of the interview insisting that after an aerial surveillance of the region, there were no militant camps anywhere, as claimed by Al Jazeera. According to the source, “Al Jazeera, it will be recalled had also during the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s health saga also staged a similar interview with the late president’s cousin claiming that the sick man was healthy, playing with his children and climbing 13-story building.”

The Cable News Network (CNN), had a couple of years ago sacked one of its African correspondents, following a similar faked interview purportedly granted by Niger Delta militants. According to the security source, “The psychological warfare that has been waged against the presidency in the past week has been ratcheted up with deliberate falsehood and outright lies being served up in the media.

“We have found that this was contrived and sold to Al Jazeera as a dummy. [/b][/size]These all have the discredited military style written all over them, and we are watching the situation very closely”, the source disclosed.
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/oct/08/national-08-10-2010-007.htm

Here is the problem with most of his supporters here (like you too) on this matter:
- Militants (except for the few freedom fighters - most are common criminals) they now have conference meeting in Aso Rock Villa - Is GEJ telling our Youth to aspire to blow up things to also get invitations - Its a sad example

That is the price we have to pay to keep the oil flowing,its funny the likes of u in one hand shout oh the amnesty is not working. . blah blah bla. .then in the same breadth accuse the president of meeting ex-militants. . .which one is it?. . we all know that since the amnesty of last year oil production has more than doubled to over 2.2million barrels a day. .
Yaradua met with this same ppl while they were blowing up pipelines,before they accepted the amnesty,OBJ met with asari dokubo,the military chiefs at the time also came out to say the problem needed to be solved politically as there was no military solution

so its dis-ingenious to suggest the president is wrong by meeting these ex militants. . i dont know about u but i like that am not hearing stories about bombings in niger delta anymore over here. . .cause back then we heard bombing,sabotage stories like once a week

and it is also for the benefit of the Nigerian economy

- You put the cart before the horse. Making arrests and blaming of your opponents before getting a single security report or analysis is very wrong and jeopardizes your future efforts on that issue.

- If you believe Atiku/IBB (interestingly only your opponents) are criminals prosecute them independently - instead of hiding behind a National tragedy to witch-hunt them.

If dokpesi is implicated he must be arrested. . .u fail to realize that this issue is an international one. . .when evidence starts coming from SA against okah,and linking him to dokpesi pls dont still say they werent responsible
There is nothing wrong in arresting dokpesi for interrogation
again u talk as if the president is not better served by having a successful celebration. . u should ask yourself who stands to gain more from disrupting the party?

The point is the president does not need a bomb blast in front of the world on OCT1 to get an excuse to persecute opponents thats just ridiculous
there is the $12billion dollar oil windfall that can be used against IBB
there is the corruption case against ATIKU in the USA that can be used against ATIKU

only a non thinking person will believe otherwise

- Why arrest Dokpesi when you don't have anything against him (ok, I see, he was celebrating the Vuvuzela he expected Okah to send from South Africa to change the story of MEND).

Have u asked yourself why dokpesi is so quiet?. . who told u there is nothing against him. . .even in the USA the police can arrest u for interrogation during a murder investigation,and hold u all day. . .u will then continue to be interrogated for as long as they suspect u
so what exactly is your problem?. .is Dokpesi above being arrested and interrogated?

- He told us 18hrs he know those behind it, THE TRUTH? He doesn't. So he lied - is he going to apologize - Never (Oga is always right).

I suggest u wait till the investigation is done. . .there is a difference btw knowing who did it and proving who did it
I expect forensic experts from the UK and USA are already in the country,and they have already established the Explosives were shipped from outside the country

so just relax lets see what happens and how the investigation pans out. . .

[size=14pt]N500m Suit: Bailiffs cart away properties from Thisday Lagos Office[/size]


[size=14pt]Bailiffs acting on the orders of an Umahia High Court, today stormed the Lagos office of Thisday Newspapers, carting away valuables.

Pointblanknews.com learnt that the action was sequel to a judgement in a N500 million libel suit in favor of Ex Abia Governor, Orji Kalu.
[/size]
A columnist, Bello Barkindo, [size=14pt]had a few years ago , in his column, depicted Kalu as a fraudster with international dimension. Kalu took exceptions at the characterization and subsequently dragged Thisday to court.[/size]


 
Sources told Pointblanknews.com on wednesday that the bailiffs, backed by policemen, carted away scores of the company's vehicles, and computers, while staffers watched helplessly in disbelief.

The development, it was further gathered , may slow down the publication of thursday's edition of the newspaper. Thisday also has a formidable press in Abuja .

[size=14pt]The CEO, Nduka Obaigbena is said to be unruffled as he is relying on the Abuja press. He is expected to appeal.[/size]

http://www.pointblanknews.com/News/os4012.html

^^
Believe u me IBB will meet his waterloo. . .sooner rather than later. . .and not later than Dec 2011. . .

Him whom the gods want to destroy,they first make mad. .

[size=14pt]ZONING AND THE BURDEN OF AMNESIA[/size]
Font size: CHUKWUMA DIKE 05/10/2010 19:57:00


President Goodluck Jonathan’s opponents have cited the so-called zoning arrangement by the ruling People’s Democratic Party to rotate the country’s presidency between the North and the South as the basis of their objection to his 2011 presidential aspiration.

Last week, a group that identified itself as Concerned Members of People’s Democratic Party in a letter to the party Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, had argued that "Article 7, Section7.2(c) of our party’s constitution prescribes that in pursuant of the principles of equity, justice and fairness, the party shall adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of party and public elective offices and it shall be enforced by the appropriate executive committee at all levels."

The group added that the clause is reinforced by Preamble (2) of the same constitution which states that the policy is meant "to create socio-political conditions conducive to national peace and unity by ensuring fair and equitable distribution of resources and opportunities, to conform with the principles of power shift and power sharing by rotating key political offices among the diverse peoples of our country and evolving powers equitably between Federal, State and Local Governments in the spirit of Federalism."

The group noted that in compliance with the arrangement the South, through former President Olusegun Obasanjo, led the country for eight years (1999-2007) while the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua took over the mantle of leadership in May 2007 on behalf of the of the North.

They said but for the demise of Yar’Adua on May 5, this year, barely a year to the end of his tenure, the North would have been in the saddle for 8 years. They argued that by virtue of his position as Yar’Adua’s deputy, Jonathan should only conclude the first term (2007-2011) and hand over to a Northerner to utilize the second term which terminates in 2015.

As logical as this argument appears, it overlooks certain procedural issues. For instance, the group is asking the PDP to look into a matter that its appropriate decision-making body had already settled. At its meeting of August 12, 2010, the National Executive Committee (NEC) decided that while retaining the zoning and rotation principle in the party’s constitution, it would respect the overriding provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which allows every qualified Nigerian to vie for the topmost office in the land as well as guarantee the right of an incumbent to seek a second term of office. This was why the NEC resolved that Jonathan being a part of a subsisting ticket would be allowed to seek to exhaust the unexpired tenure of the Yar’Adua-Jonathan mandate while permitting other Nigerians interested in the position to put up their bid.

What the group is seeking to do, therefore, is to reverse the decision of the NEC on zoning. This by the constitution of the party could not be done by the Chairman of the party but by the National Convention which is the highest decision-making organ of the PDP. It is only that body that can exercise the power of review over the NEC.

[size=14pt][b]Beyond the technical hurdle in the way of the protesting group is the historical antecedent of the gentleman agreement among the party leaders. Following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election widely believed to have been won by Basorun Moshood Abiola, the South-West of Nigeria felt aggrieved.

Incidentally Gen. Ibrahim Babangida who annulled the election believed to be the freest and fairest in the nation’s electoral history is one of the aspirants now bidding for the PDP ticket. It was in an attempt to assuage the injured feeling of the region that there was a consensus among the political leadership in Nigeria to cede the presidency to the South-West.

This was why all the major political parties presented Yoruba presidential candidates in 1999. Many people have credited the quick recovery from that crisis and the ensuing stability of the country to that singular act of political engineering.

By 2004, however, a challenge similar to the pre-1999 situation that gave rise to the zoning arrangement had surfaced. The South-South from where Jonathan hails had been agitating for a fair deal from the Nigerian federation for years.[/b][/size] The agitation arose from the fact that the greater percentage of the country’s oil earnings comes from the huge hydrocarbon deposits in the region yet the zone is the headquarters of poverty as its physical development had stunted and living standard remained low.

The otherwise peaceful agitation for a better deal boiled over by 2004 when the youths in the region took up arms against the state, bursting oil pipelines and taking expatriates as hostage. By the time Yar’Adua took the mantle of leadership in 2007 the agitation had turned the full circle of violence and was approaching a full scale armed struggle.

The impact on the economy was severe. Nigeria was unable to meet its oil production quota and lost considerable oil revenue. The pervasive climate of insecurity in the region also caused huge divestment in the oil sector. For a country dependent on oil as its main source of income, this no doubt impacted negatively on the country’s economy generally.

Indeed a recent report has also attributed the preponderance of arms, both heavy weapons and small arms across the country and the subsequent general sense of insecurity to the campaign of violence waged by the aggrieved Niger Delta youth against the Nigerian state.

And so, an agitation which started as a demand for the control of the natural resource in the region by its people had by 2006 developed into a demand for self-determination, posing a clear and present danger to the corporate existence of Nigeria. That the Niger Delta insurgency has come down to a zero level today is directly a function of the peace initiative by the Yar’Adua/Jonathan administration started shortly after it came to office in 2007 and its subsequent amnesty programme kick-started last year.

Many Nigerians know today that the peace in the Niger Delta is only sustainable if the confidence-building measures embedded in the amnesty programme are consolidated.

[size=14pt][b]The point, therefore, is that just as the South-West anger against the rest of Nigeria over the annulment of an election of one of their own held the country at bay for more than a decade and had to be pacified before the nation could move forward, the anger in the South-South over several years of neglect had approached a war situation before the pacification by Yar’Adua.

What we have now, therefore, is a reprieve which could be torpedoed if the people feel taken for granted. That feeling may arise if President Jonathan is denied the PDP nomination. The Niger Delta would justifiably query: if they could do it for the South-West, why not us? The feeling would be that he has been so treated because he is a minority and the natural instinct would be the urge to return to the trenches. Is this what we want? The answer is no.

Jonathan leading Nigeria for at least the next four years will go a long way to strengthen the people of the region’s sense of belonging to the Nigerian project, which all Nigerians are being urged to partake in nursing to fruition.[/b][/size]

http://thewillnigeria.com/opinion/6126-ZONING-AND-THE-BURDEN-AMNESIA.html

*Hauwa*:

Nah, that's where it ends

Not on your life. . .Nigerian Forces display on Independence day

[flash=640,480]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC4lXQS-2KQ?fs=1&hl=en_US[/flash]

[size=14pt]WEMPCO’s $1.3bn complex to begin operations Q1 2011[/size]
By Layi Adeloye
Wednesday, 6 Oct 2010

[size=14pt]The Western Metal Product Company Group‘s new $1.3bn integrated manufacturing complex is scheduled to begin operations in the first quarter of 2011.

The Chairman of the WEMPO Group, Alhaji Tokunbo Alli, who gave this indication during a facility tour of the Ibafo, Ogun State-based complex on Tuesday, said the huge investment was made based on the group‘s faith in the Nigerian economy.[/size]


The complex consists of ceramic tiles manufacturing company, a nail firm and a steel mill. The group got the nod of the Federal Government three years ago to set up the multi-billion naira steel and ceramic producing plants.


[size=14pt]It is believed to be the largest in sub Sahara-Africa. [/size]


Alli said that at full capacity, the complex would generate thousands of jobs and produce thousand of metric tonnes of steel.


[size=14pt]Already, the ceramics tiles and the nail companies have begun commercial production, with the steel mill at 80 per cent completion stage.[/size]


Work on the new complex began in 2006, following former President Olusegun Obasanjo‘s policy of investment liberalisation that provided generous incentives for foreign firms and existing local manufacturing outfits willing to expand their capacities to invest in the economy.


The administration‘s investment drive was marked by a regime of waivers and incentives, of which WEMPCO was a major beneficiary.


[size=14pt]”The steel mill will be ready next year, while the tile project should double to 2.5 million square metres in capacity in two years”, said the Director of WEMPCO Steel Mill, Philip Tung, adding that ”there are also plans for the group to export its ceramic tiles to the West African sub-region.”


To ensure adequate and uninterrupted power supply for the massive operations of the complex, Tung said the group had invested over $150m in a 50-megawatt gas power plant.[/size]


He added, ”We realise that importing these products costs a lot of foreign exchange and we thought that since the raw materials are available locally, producing them locally will help conserve foreign exchange.


”We have been in Nigeria in the last 40 years with established manufacturing companies and producing wide range building materials and associated products. [size=14pt]This is because we believe in Nigeria and we see a lot of potential in the country and its people.”[/size]


[size=14pt]”We are investing in the project in the larger interest of the economy. We have 100 per cent confidence in the economy, in the people and we believe if people see things the way we do, the better for the nation. Nigeria cannot continue to import products whose their raw materials can be sourced locally.[/size]

^^

But will the dumb ones on Nairaland that are his fans understand that

God help us survive till 2020 and by then all these old fools like ciroma,IBB will be long gone