₦airaland Forum

I dislike the PDP for their continued plundering of the Nigerian treasury! I would happily see it crumble to pave way for more credible ideology based parties!!

But no, I'm changing my mind! Todays Primaries as I watched on TV are the best I have seen anywhere. The transparency and organisation of the whole event was beyond impressive!!

No other Nigerian party would have the courage to conduct its primaries live on TV; neither the acclaimed ACN nor the puritanical CPC. These other parties are just rubber-stamp organisations for certain individuals.
Tinubu owns ACN, while Buhari owns CPC. What goes on in these parties is no democracy. Only the PDP exhibits true internal democracy.

Once again I am very impressed and I can't believe I've just opened a thread to sing PDP's praise!!!

If you watched the primaries , lets hear your comments!!

Other people are telling Nigerians how they intend to govern and someone is talking about suing over slogan!!

A New Nigeria is possible? ? ? Were they the first humans to use the phrase!

Whoever came up with this idea is only going to end up making Ribadu look very stupid! Slogan!!Psceeeew!

Wow!! This is a first! I've been in Egypt twice and I must say I was impressed by the character and friendliness of the people. Nice!! Northern Nigerian muslims and even Christains have lots to learn from this. Muslims in the south (Yoruba and Edo) are very capable of this.

sochan:
@Papabrowne

Sadly financial inducement is not [b]Legality in use as tool for winning over voters, hence it falls within the ambit of the law.[/b]

Are you frigging kidding me? inducement with cash is not wrong^moral? Well i guess only in ngiera this rubbish can happen, and people like you will say it is ok.

I think my discussion with you guys is over. Let us wait and see what happens

Legality and Morality are two different things. To me, financial inducements are surely immoral, but they are not illegal. Now morality is relative to an individual, while legality is tied to the constitution.
Sochan, Enlighten yourself so you don't end up with wrong assumptions.

sochan:
@Zechy09,

Sorry oh, but what has Uduaghan done for the masses for you to think that he is so loved? Please I want concrete answers.


The truth is that Nigeria has not grown politically. in 2011 it is still chicken and rice politics. Nigerians still dont understand why things must be done the right way, I even hear people endorsing money giving and bribery, it is our way they say, meanwhile nothing works in the state.

Like someone rightfully put it, The violation victim believes it is her fault.

I don't think anyone is endorsing money giving and bribery. What is at stake is power. You have to do what ever it takes within the ambit of the law to grab that power. Sadly financial inducement is not illegal in use as tool for winning over voters, hence it falls within the ambit of the law. What opposition has to do is to raise the bar. Get more people who are enlightened to come out and vote. Thats the only way victory can come their way. Not by screaming foul on the pages of newspapers and on the internet.

The truth is that the middle class, of which internet users are a part of never venture out on election day. They stay at home, enjoying the holidays,eating chicken and insulting PDP. Urbanites are not the voters. It is ruralites that do much of the voting that is the result we are seeing in Delta election.

Of all the Nairalaners complaining of rigging, I haven't read from any one of them who said they went out to vote.
Most of the people I know in Warri who were shouting Ogboru on wednesday stayed at home yesterday and still expected Ogboru to win. PDP on the other hand went out to the villages and doled out cash and items and the villagers trooped out en mass to give Uduaghan victory. If you look at the result of the election, Uduaghan's victory came from the riverine areas and that is an area Ogboru obviously wouldn't bother campaigning in for fear of insecurity.

Any wise politician would ignore city people and focus on the villagers because their votes are cheap to buy and they don't read all the rantings of the opposition on the pages of the newspapers!

PDP will continue to win elections until opposition parties learn that power is not given to you because you complained. You can only take it by force!!

^^^
Mr Ovo, have you not noticed already that of the hundreds if not thousands of Deltans on Nairaland, no single one has come out to say he voted. They all stayed at home. Most people in the cities stayed at home and enjoyed their holidays. The ruralites on the other hand came out and voted for the PDP massively. That is the results we are seeing. I know so many people in Warri who were shouting up, up Ogboru on Wednesday, but yesterday they were at home watching TV and chopping chicken!!

expert1:
His last post was refering to Atiku. As at now he got 349 comments and 358 likes. Unlike before he uses to get attention. Even majority of the comments is not in his Favour.

Really Anyways, below is pictoral evidence showing 3400 comments on the post you refer to!! Jonathan is still as popular as ever. What his opponents were supposed to do was to field very popular candidates, but no, they had their eyes on the theiving Atiku and terrorist Babangida or coupist Buhari. What happened to the likes of Marwa, El Rufai et al?

honeric01:
Nobi by debate? na by wetin? counting fishes and crabs as voters? how come the riverine areas where alot of Deltans have evacuated from during the unrest periods is not the most populated of the whole of Delta state?

Is it the rural dwellers that do not even know how to register to vote that suddenly knew how to register, increased in triple amount to vote all of a sudden?

Which structures are you talking about here? the structure of fabricating votes from the RIVERINE areas or what?


INEC, if you love this country, you better do the stand and count vote (Open ballot system), this is a total mess.

Mr man, it is rural people who go out to vote. Urbanites don't vote. And PDP understands that clearly. That is the lesson I'm learning. Most people doing well financially stayed at home yesterday. Warri Urban and Effurun constitutes a large population of middle class people with their nice nice cars. They all stayed at home yesterday.

[quote author=~Bluetooth link=topic=581072.msg7480754#msg7480754 date=1294403167]very unsound arguement .

i have been to odi before and what i saw were few buildings,so stop yarning rubbish here.why on earth will people live in riverine areas and abandon dryland ?

[/quote]Really, you've been to Odi only and you have an opinion already Please let those who have been around the creeks pretty much speak while you listen. Mr Man, the riverine areas of Delta state are very well populated. Rural Itsekiris and Ijaws hardly leave in the hinterlands.That doesn't neccesarily say they are more populated than the hinterland.However,the waters make navigation pretty easy. All you need is a canoe for short distances or an on board engine for longer distances. For the hinterlands, even if you have a vehicle, you need to have a road to ply. That makes navigation difficult.

Anyways, the important thing is that fact that PDP knows how to win elections either via rigging or financial inducements. Here the rigging was minimal. Financial inducements carried the day.

Remii:
na waa o, there are more people are in riverine areas than dry land. 

Not exactly. However, it is easier to move around in the riverine areas than on land. While the riverine areas has creeks for the people to navigate through, the hinterland has few plyable roads.

The results we a seeing is as a result of the fact that Uduaghan and the PDP worked real hard (Financial inducements) to ensure that their base came out en-masse to vote. If you look at the results for Delta North, which is the Igbo speaking areas, although Uduaghan won there, the turnout was very low and that wouldn't have given him victory.
But areas like Warri north, Bomadi, Warri South tec, there was massive turnout. In Uvwie, Ogborus stronghold, which happens the largest population center in the state, many voters stayed at home and couldn't be bothered.

The lesson in my opinion is that opposition parties should learn from PDP. PDP understands one very strong principle in elections.  It is Rural folk that vote. Urbanites just make a lot of noise before elections and for fear of violence stay at home on election day. Rural folk don't read papers so they don't care for all the bad news about PDP. What interests them is the man who comes around to their village just before elections and doles out cash and items.
Just to put things in perspective, Bomadi with just 10,000 voter turnout would cost a politician just just 50 million naira to buy out all the votes there at 5,000 per voter. Do so for another 10 LGAs and youy would coast to victory. It is all about money. And Nigerians are still very willing to trade off their votes because they've realised that PDP, AC, DPP, ANPP or whatever goes the acronym, they all consist of the same thieving politicians.

9ja4eva:
Wow tori don dey spoil.Heard Great won but PDP will be declared winner.

How did Great win when when Uduaghan had Delta North and Delta South on lock down. The only place where Ogboru is leading is in Delta Central.

Most of the reports here are from Delta Central which happens to be the only place where Ogboru has a chance of winning. Delta south and Delta North would be swept by the PDP. The problem however is that, even after Uduaghan has visibly won the elections free and fair, his opponents in Delta central which have this funny impression that Delta starts and ends in their domain would go ahead to forment trouble. You can already see that attitude from the likes of Bombay.

From reports I'm getting, the election is going on impressively! I've just spoken with someone who alluded to the fact that if this is how the 2011 general elections would play out, then it probably would be the freest and fairest election we have witnessed in the country.

The most impressive factor is the absense of thugs and thge organisation of thge INEC officials.
That is the report I'm getting!

Uduaghan will win and he deserves the victory! First, he has performed creditably well and secondly while all the other candidates have been thumping the tribal card Uduaghan has been going around campaigning vigourously!

Urhobos are the largest ethnic group in the state, but at the same time they have the highest number of candidates in the race. Ogboru and Omo Agege both Urhobo candidates would do good to split the votes while Uduaghan coasts away with the votes smaller ethnic groups Igbos, Isokos, and Itsekiris which collectively make up more than the Urhobos.

Its sad how the ethnic factor is the only determinant in this election. Uduaghan has done pretty well, but many Urhobos I've talked to completely disagree  simply because he is an Itsekiri man. Warri has changed dramatically under Uduaghan, same with Asaba and a couple other cities.

ogagusps3:
If Uduaghan wins then the election isnt/wasn't free and fair

Fatalistic! You think Delta state comprises of just Uvwie abi? Go to other areas and U will find Uduaghan is extremely popular!

Nice analysis from some of the guys here!

But much of our assumptions are baseless as they consider only parties!
Who said ACN would sweep Yoruba states?? With Buhari on the Ticket more than half of the SW would vote GEJ.

The strongest voting bloc in the SW is pentecostal Christians. [/b]Their population is massive. The likes of Redeemed, Deeper Life, MFM, Christ Embassy and a host of these large pentecostal denominations are all domiciled mainly in the South West. Across the country, Pentecostals happen to be Jonathan's strongest support base and at the same time are the most antagonistic towards Buhari's ambition.Every politician knows not to ignore this voting block, hence the visit by all aspiring politicians to the stable of Pastor Adeboye. Buhari was there. Jonathan was there. Lots of others have been there.

[b]In a nutshell, a Buhari on an ACN ticket doesn't make any impact on pentecostal christians which happen to be the largest voting bloc in the south west.



In a two way contest between Buhari/ Adebayo(ACN) and GEJ/Sambo(PDP), the outcome would look like this:

South West-      Buhari-  40%       GEJ - 50%    Others - 10%
South East-       Buhari -  10%      GEJ-  80%       "       -  10%
South South-     Buhari-    5%       GEJ-  90%       "       -   5%
North West-      Buhari-  70%      GEJ-  20%    Others    10%
North East -       Buhari-   60%     GEJ-  30%     Others    10%
North Central-   Buhari   50%       GEJ-  40%       "            10%

That would give you 39% for Buhari and[b] 51% for Jonathan[/b].

The North west has Kaduna with the second highest population. First, it has Sambo on the ticket, secondly, there is a massive Christian population in the state, hence Jonathan could get 20% there.
The North East has Adamawa, Taraba and Bauchi. The first two have massive christain populations while Bauchi has a fairly sized one. Jonathan would get a good chunk of votes from here. 30% is fair.
The North Central is the popular Middle Belt. Here, Jonathan should beat Buhari. The Middle beltans are still seething with anger over the current Jos Crisis.They are not in a hurry to see any Fulani man in power any time soon. Plateau, Nassarawa, Benue, Niger, Kogi are all majority Christian states.

Religion and Tribalism would be the factors that would shape the 2011 elections. Not parties! ACN's hold on the southwest is not as strong as the religious sentiments that rule the region. Buhari's purported hold on the North doesn't extend beyond the Sharia states. This election is Jonathan's to loose. Nothing, except some  divine shift can change these facts!!

[size=14pt]CPC, ACN alliance knocks out Ribadu
[/size]News Dec 28, 2010
By Leke Adeseri, South West Regional Editor


LAGOS—BARRING last minute changes, the much expected outcome of the alliance talks between the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, and Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, will be known today.
The most significant outcome of the friendship is that it has put paid to the presidential ambition of the former boss of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, under the ACN.
This followed the final talks held in Lagos last night where the CPC leader, General Muhammadu Buhari, is likely to run as joint presidential candidate of the CPC and Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, on ACN’s platform with former Ekiti State governor, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, as his running mate, according to feelers from top_level CPC/ACN alliance talks held at ACN leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s house at Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi.
The CPC team was led by Buhari himself whileTinubu led ACN’s team.
Joint presidential candidate
Sources said the ACN leaders had already accepted Buhari as their joint presidential candidate. However, at last night’s meeting, they demanded that, following the APP/AD alliance formula of 1999, the CPC leader should run on ACN’s platform, since it is already too late to merge the two parties, as the ACN leaders initially preferred.
The ACN’s leaders’ demand, sources said, was because CPC is little known in the West, where ACN is now dominant, and it would be easier for the ACN leaders if the joint candidate ran on their ticket. It was not clear whether the CPC leaders accepted the demand, which would make matters very difficult for them too, since CPC is just making an impact in the North and its supporters would be confused if asked to vote for ACN.
Another issue said to have dominated last night’s talks, was the issue of a running mate for Buhari. The ACN leaders’ first preference was for Tinubu, who became the most powerful politician in the South West with ACN’s snatching of several states from the PDP through the courts.
However, the CPC delegation was quick to point out the political dangers of fielding a Muslim_Muslim ticket, especially in some parts of the country such as the North Central Zone.
A flurry of political activities took place that tended towards reshaping the political landscape, particularly the outcome of the general elections expected to hold in April 2011.
Some of those activities included the amalgamation of opposition elements, under the auspices of Patriotic Electoral Alliance of Nigeria, PEAN, in their efforts to wrest power from the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
This was followed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC’s announcement of the shift and, perhaps, the final date for the conduct of the general election _ despite the pending debate at the National Assembly over the contentious Electoral Act.
Though an internal worry in the PDP, the emergence of the consensus candidate of the northern aspirants _ an exercise initiated by the Northern Political Leaders Forum, NPLF, led by the former Finance Minister, Adamu Ciroma, which endorsed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar _ was also another exciting activity which heightened the political tempo during the period in reference.
This is even more when the ambitions of heavy weights like former Military President Ibrahim Babangida; erstwhile National Security Adviser, Mohammed Gusau, and incumbent Governor of Kwara State who also doubles as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Bukola Saraki, were sacrificed for Atiku.
The implication of the development is that the coming elections would be a keen contest. PDP has within its ranks a lot of rivalries to contend with, particularly with the vexed issue of the zoning which has dangerously gravitated towards ethnic colouration of who flies the party’s flag.
Deployment of strategies
However, the most worrisome is the potential of opposition parties to supplant PDP in the coming election, deploying whatever strategies; be it through alignment, merger, coalition, alliance, union or whatever terminology they choose.
The tempo has indeed heightened in the last couple of weeks and given vent to the discourse on probable alliances against the PDP in a bid to wrestle presidential power from President Goodluck Jonathan.
Of all the alliances, however, the one that appears to be the greatest threat to the PDP is the merger or alliance talk between the ACN and the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, championed by two heavyweights, Senator Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State and unarguably the current strongest man in Southwest politics; and General Muhammadu Buhari, former military president, who today holds the record of the only Nigerian who has consistently but unsuccessfully sought to rule Nigerian in the last three general elections.
Though, it appears that the merger talks have witnessed many hitches, signals point to the possibility that both men are exploring other synergies to form a formidable force to confront their common foe.
Spokesmen of both parties, Lai Mohammed, ACN; and Denis Aghanya, CPC, agreed that there were irreconcilables over merger arrangement, but noted that the chances that alliances would sail through was a possibility.
The fact that ACN holds sway in the South West and are having serious impact in the South_South while CPC is the party to beat in the North, gave a ray of hope that there indeed was a possibility to wrestle power from PDP come 2011.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/12/cpc-acn-alliance-knocks-out-ribadu/

Muslims have to stand up and fight against Islam! Or it will consume them!!There is just a whole lot that isn't right about what is being done in the name of their religion!!

^^^
Ain't got ya time buddy, you ain't smart enuff!! Sowi!

tunyus:
What a Trickish way of buying there VOTE, goodluck u are criminal,because u know in urself that naija uni are not doing any research work

See your very poor reasoning!! Nigerian Universities are not doing any research work  because of lack of funding. So he has released funds now, so it is expected that research should begin. The onus of responsibility lies on the Universities.They've complained about lack of funding for years, now for the first time funds have been released and you are here thinking with the wrong side of your Neurofactory!

Blazay:
Let us not forget that for evey figure announced to gullible Nigerians. . . 50% has to go back to the government as 'ishi agwari'.

The university only gets less than 1/4 of all those fake figures given.

Naija na wah.

No solution at all to corruption.

Classic doom story.

Mr Blazay, can you explain where you got your figures from.If you can't thenI declare you a pathological liar for conjuring figures out of your imagination without any proof whatsoever to back you claims.
Asides, if the University only gets one quarter as you claim, isn't it the responsibility of the University authorities to seek redress either by reporting the case to the relevant bodies or better still scream out on the pages of newspapers or even go on strike as a protest!
You just talk bullcrap that makes no sense leaving people wondering how exactly it is that you make your living considering the level of reasoning!

Hmmmm!! Nigerians have become so pessimistic sick!!! Its so sad many of the comments you see here!!

Last time Jonathan established 6 new universities and people were screaming fix the old ones first. Now he has released money to fix the old ones and people are complaining.
Which kind of human beings dey this Nigeria sef?? These people are suffering from EPD- Extreme Pessimistic Disorder!!
I reeally do feel sad for people with this disorder! It must be hard on you guys.

Gbawe, Are you really serious about your writings or you still haven't woken up from the dream land in which you have always existed.
It is amazing that you can boldly support the bigotry Krendo has displayed in his write up just to express your hatred towards Nigeria's most popular candidate ever since Abiola.
Every poll that has been conducted, be it online, on phone or on the streets or here on Nairaland or NigerianVillageSquare or better still by the Gallup/NOI polls. Every single poll has shown that Jonathan is by a long shot the most popular candidate in Nigeria! No candidate comes close!

You can write all you want to express your hatred towards Jonathan, doesn't diminish his popularity. His facebook page has grown to almost 400,000 and the adulation from his fans continue on a daily basis.

For Your information, the people you claim to support are wise enough and have already entered a clandestine pact with Jonathan that will seal his victory in 2011. [b]Tinubu [/b]and [b]Ribadu [/b]are both working on the Jonathan Project! Just before the elections, your mentors are going to advise you to support the Jonathan project. Incase you are unaware, the recent AC legal victories in the south west are all part of a Jonathan/ Tinubu pact!! You will be so dispappointed at you mentors on that day!!
Wake up already Gbawe, it is long past morning!

I like Jonathan. Do I like his economics in 2010. Not really! Do I like his action in 2010. Very much so. Is he the best Nigerian  Presidential Material. Maybe not. Is he the best amongst the contesting lot? By a longshot , Yes!

[quote author=~Bluetooth link=topic=561699.msg7271030#msg7271030 date=1291473510]What has this got to do with the main issue ?[/quote]Can you please educate me on what the main issue is?

9ijaMan:
Which planet do you live on?

On the planet where Jonathan will be President of a country called Nigeria on the the Ist of June 2011.

I have gone through a large chunk of this thread and my observation is that the things that separate lots of Christians are very trivial.

Truth is, from a neutral perspective, Jo Agbaje's position is hardly any different in fundamentals from that of those against his stands. Looks like everybody on here has extreme fundamental similarities- Everyone believes in Jesus, believes in giving, believes in salvation, believes in the Holy Spirit, believes in the bible as the word of God! All the fundamentals are similar!
The difference people are expressing are in the ways we apply what we believe, which in truth should hardly be a subject of contention since since God has made us Humans as versatile beings.

Let me use this analogy,

Imagine for a moment a Father with say 10 children all living in different houses. They have the opportunity to visit the father at different occasions. If you ask those Children to explain how best to relate to their Father based on their different visits, one thing is certain- They would all come up with varying suggestions. Some would have a picture on the Father as being harsh, while others would say he is the most caring. Some will say he is short while others would say he is tall, depending on their own heights. So everyone would have different perspectives based on their own personal experiences.
However, the fact that one person opinion is different from the other doesn't in anyway then mean that they have different Fathers.

That is exactly what is obvious here. We have different opinions on trivail things don't in anyway mean the other person is a falsie!!

I think Christians should start looking for ways to focus on our similarities rather than those trivials that separate us.
Jesus prayed dearly about the Unity of Christians.It is his strong desire that Christains be united.

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

John 17

The Sun Newspapers!! No1 in comedic journalism! You have to give it to them!

Sometimes you wonder whether these journalists imported their brains from some factory somewhere in Guangdong, China!

You all missed out on the biggest moral in this post!!

The simple fact that citizens of a country feel like they have a leader they can connect with at any given time is a very, very very big thing!
That a citizen feels like he has the opportunity to share his very trivial personal problem with his president!! Thats big! Y'all just don't get it!
That guy in the first post (the one with "beaurriful becomerich-like grammar) perceives Jonathan as that "Big Uncle" out there in Abuja who can fix all his problems.
In an election year, that's the most ideal image you want to cut for yourself!! The people have to feel like you can fix their problems!


Jonathan has successfully penetrated the minds of the average Nigerian. Go out to the streets and interview the masses and you will find an extremely popular President. Same on all the polls conducted online! 350,000 facebook fans is no joke by any standard!!

Y'all can scorn his supporters all you want, but that doesn't change the fact that they are by far in the majority and come election day,free and fair he will smash the runner up by a wide,wide margin!

I thought Nuhu Ribadu was the candidate to beat in the 2011 elections! When he declared for ACN, it looked like he would be the one to give Jonathan a run for his money.

But from the look of things, Tinubu and the ACN gang have dumped Ribadu for Buhari. I wonder how the man Ribadu is feeling right now. His has lost out on the Jonathan end and now Tinubu has dumped him! Sad!
He doesn't even make news on the pages of Newspapers.

2011: ACN, Buhari’s party may join forces
Font size: Emmanuel Oladesu, Lagos 02/12/2010 00:00:00
Buhari, Shagari and Obasanjo , when the former leaders attended the last State of Council meeting in Abuja.

WITH congresses opening today, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has taken a step forward in its preparations for next year’s general elections.

The major opposition party held an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Lagos Wednesday. It released guidelines for its congresses and the National Convention.

But the congresses will not start today in five states, including Lagos. The other states are Sokoto, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Cross River.

National Chiarman Bisi Akande said the congress would not hold in Sokoto State because the party started the registration of its members late.

There was also late collation of registration in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Cross River states.

Akande said the party had just started integrating its registered members into the general register in Lagos State and, for that reason, the congresses will be delayed.

The congresses and national convention are to elect ward and local government executives.

Also speaking on the ongoing discussions between the ACN and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Akande said no decision had been reached regarding the talks.

He said: “We have begun talks with the CPC and it is true that Muhammadu Buhari met with me and after the meeting we set up a committee from both leaders. I nominated some people, and he did same.

He advised us to operate on the same platform but we have not reviewed the recommendation of the committee and we have not taken any decision on it.

A national leader of the party and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, described its chances as “bright because it is determined to change” the country.

He berated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has refused to impact the lives of Nigerians despite being in the saddle of leadership for about 12 years.

Tinubu said the PDP had not been able to fix the economy, put the roads in good shape and tackle the energy crisis. “Nigerians are tired of such a party and they will want a change,” Tinubu said.

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/20578.html

Plotting his return to the PDP!!

Lovely how this post about Edo line turned into an intelligent discussion on the place of Edo state in Nigeria courtesy of PhysicsQED [/b]and [b]igbobuigbo.
Thanks for the quality of your arguments.

Anyways you guys asked that I provide facts to substantiate my claims. I usually don't like doing that on NL, but this time I'll do it nonetheless one-by-one with links and diagrams.

Point 1- √ Benin Airport is the fourth busiest airport in the country after Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
Here is a link to butress my point.
http://www.faannigeria.org/downloads/statistics/2009-Annual-Passenger-Traffic.pdf
As at 2009, Warri and Calabar were the 4th and 5th busiest airports. Benin was 6th. Benin had a growth rate of 32% while Calabar had 11%. With that, by 2010, benin definitely surpassed Calabar. As for Warri, many of the flights are charter flights by oil companies, so if you count commercial flights only, Benin would be placed as the 4th busiest airport in 2010. As for Enugu Airport, it is closed down for 2010.

Point 2- √ Benin City has the highest number of Bank branches after Lagos and Port Harcourt.
This is correct minus the fact that I omitted Abuja. Abuja actually has more branches. No other city has more bank branches than Benin. Mind you I stated Benin city and not Edo state. You can check it yourself by visiting websites of Banks or better still use the document attached below.

Point 3-√ Edo State produces one of the highest number of graduates in the country.
This is not debatable. I don't think I need to provide proof as there are many references to this fact even here on Nairaland. The states with the largest number of graduates are Imo, Edo, Delta and Ogun.

Point 4-√ Edo State produces the highest number of doctors in the country.
Edo state is the only state with 3 medical schools in the country- UNIBEN, Ambrose Alli and Igbinedion. The only oither state with 2 medical schools is Lagos- UNILAG and LASU. Everyother State in the Country that has a Medical school has just one. Infact many states have none.
Here is a link: http://www.mdcnigeria.org/MedSchools.htm

Point 5-√ Edo state has one of the highest per capita GDPs in the country.
From available data, Edo State is the 7th richest state in the country by GDP(PPP).
Here is link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nigerian_states_by_GDP

Point 6- √ There are 7 universities in Edo state. xxxx
5 accredited and a host of others in the works.
UNIBEN,Ambrose Alli, Igbinedion, Benson Idahosa, Wellspring University.

Point 7-√ Edo state has the second highest inflow of foreign remittances after Lagos state.

This is very accurate and and there's been a lot of research on this issue and it is a known fact that what drives the Benin economy is the inflow of foreign remitances.
Here is an excerpt from a research conducted by a rated international body.
Current housing finance requires a relationship based on trust and intergrity between the remmitance sender and the person that manages the process. Typically , the sender sends money to a friend or relative who hires a local contractor. The recipient uses the money to finance the construction and sends the sender pictures of milestones, that is, virtual updates of the progress of the construction. Benin City has the largest concentration of property development approximately 15-20% in Nigeria through remittances that originate mainly from Italy.
To see the complete document go to pages 43 on this link
[url]http://books.google.com.ng/books?id=1fy8ZK7K3ggC&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=money+remittances+benin+city+largest&source=bl&ots=AuFK9-qdp8&sig=DNOZqDCZCS2W8iO8ZpM8J7f_-SI&hl=en&ei=Qc7wTK2wMIbRhAeZ6_CtDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=money%20remittances%20benin%20city%20largest&f=false[/url]

Point 7- √ The best athletes, footballers and sportspersons in the country are from Edo and Delta state.
Without having to dwell on this too much let me leave you with a poser. How come all our National soccer coaches are from Edo state.
Shaibu Amodu, Samson Siasia, Augustine Eguavon.
Or ask yourself why Delta and Edo state are always the consistent winners in National Sports Festival for over a decade now.

DapoBear:
Expansion into Yorubaland.

All in all, I am happy to see this.  It is good for Yorubaland to see immigration like this. Just needs to be properly managed.

Sadly Yorubaland is very slow in even taking advantage of its proximity to Lagos. As close as the likes of Ibadan and Abeokuta are to Lagos, these cities have derived very little advantage from that proximity.

Funnily, it is the Eastern states that have been the smarter notwithstanding the distance and have made good use of the opportunities Lagos has provided.
A larger chunk of businesses operated in Lagos are run by Easterners and to a good extent also, south-southerners.

For Yorubaland to take advantage, they would have to shed that socialist toga that Awo(no offence intended) handed down and embrace full fledged , the spirit of entrepreneurship!

@Topic
I read in a report that Nigeria attracts almost a million immigrants yearly. While that shows Nigeria has some form of attraction, I think those in charge have to start looking into the implication this could have on our already over pressed infrastructure.