₦airaland Forum

Nsiman:
@ solomon, no politician aspiring that dn't bebave as a child as if they dn't knw what they are doing. Let me bet u that shld buhari win, all his mouth watering that he will do whatever to corrup past officials of govt will be pocketed because those guys make up the national council on states where major decisions are made, and if he wants to over rule their tho't they will call for his impeachment.  So a politician is a politician

You must have been listening to Jonathan TOO much. That is the impression he gave when he was asking for time to conclude the issue of the minimum wage
The national council of states is just an ADVISORY body. The president can ignore their advice
Impeachment! by past heads of state? That is treason. Forget about Buhari. If the NCS members cross the president, they will lose their pensions and other privileges so fast they will come round. Why did they not try it with Obj?

Nsiman:
This news is cooked propaganda, why didn't the informer disclose his/her identity or are there no news men in the villa? Infact i challenge 234next to publish names of the 133 presidential aides and their port folios

Righton:
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5678614-146/story.csp

Musikilu Mojeed, Idris Akinbajo and Elizabeth Archibong contributed to reporting for this story.

Are you saying you did not see the names of the 3 people who contributed to that report?

The same NEXT said Yaradua was brain damaged in a report that did not have an author
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5509847-146/yaradua_is_brain-damaged___.csp
Can you swear in the name of God that at the time you called that report propaganda?
Man, pls follow your own advice

Nsiman:
What experience has bukola saraki over Goodluck jonathan? Jonathan has been a deputy, governor, vice and now a president. But Bukola saraki should not play politics of calumny, deceit and pull him down syndrome because we don't take over power that way, all we need is good governance in Nigeria.

Anyway, your comment here is an afterthought, since you would retain 50doctors and 10 tailors while women who are in labour cannot get adequate medical attention
If Yaradua had done this, you would have been up in arms

http://ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39144:inec-uncovers-11000-names-in-imo&catid=1:national&Itemid=559


THE resolve of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to present a credible voter register for the April general elections has led to the discovery of over 11,000 cases of double registrations in Imo State.

The state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. Selina Oko, revealed this in Owerri at the weekend.

According to Oko, the software installed in the Direct Data Capturing (DDC) machines exposed and isolated the affected persons’ names.

“We registered over 1.6 million plus, but we have detected all those who did double registration. Over 11,000 were detected to have double-registered,” he said.

Indeed, INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega had promised that his Commission would remove all dual or double registered names from the voter register.

He said the DDC machines used in the registration had software that could detect the names of those that registered more than once.

In the wake of reported stolen or hijack of the DDC machines, he had warned that anybody found to have registered more than once risked jail term.

However, The Guardian learnt that though the deadline for display of the lists of potential voters had ended, only a few centres actually displayed the registers in Imo State.

At the Imo Concorde Hotel premises and Owerri Girls’ Secondary School, no list was displayed as at yesterday.

But the Imo REC attributed the problems encountered in making the lists public to faulty printing machines.

She had initially assured that the commission would produce and display the lists in all 27 local councils in the state before the deadline expired.

Council chairmen in the state, who were yet to receive the lists of voters for their areas, said that they were in constant touch with INEC officials at the headquarters on the issue.

^^^
with a lot of respect, I request that we keep such issues out of this matter.
I would like opinions (including yours) on the merits, suitability to national development of this development
Kindly oblige

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Opinion/Editorial/5678257-146/story.csp

A dearth of good luck

“As soon as governors finished receiving their flags, and the president was about to make his speech,” she revealed, “some of the people, who had come to celebrate with the president and their governors began to leave. Initially, the gates were opened, that is at the Liberation stadium. But people were leaving in an uncoordinated manner, and security personnel were trying to manage the crowd and in the process of managing the crowd, they shut the bigger gate. Then a woman fell down and the crowd started stepping on her, some other people fell subsequently, and more people were stepping on them; that was how the confusion started.

“Now, when that happened, the mobile police men, who were standing outside, shot into the air to scare others. They (MOPOL) released a shot into the air to stop further surge and rescue those on the ground. Unfortunately, that worsened the confusion and more people started pushing, rushing back, rushing forward, leading to more casualties.”

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5678614-146/story.csp

President Jonathan's 133 aides
By Elor Nkereuwem
February 20, 2011 01:32AM


There is a flurry of activity in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). Piles of files and documents are being collated and officials have been detailed to analyse the huge mass of documents and data. NEXT investigations reveal that the SGF’s office is working behind the scenes for President Goodluck Jonathan who is determined to produce a comprehensive response to the report of the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) which last month accused his government of wasting funds on a behemoth work force.

Among other things, Mr. Jonathan will put up a valiant defence for the over 133 personal aides which he currently hires for the Presidency and who get paid about N780 million every year. Sources who spoke with NEXT in confidence said that although there are civil servants officially stationed in the State House, the Presidency has not only hired this large array of private aides but is furious with the Theophillus Danjuma-led committee for questioning these appointments.

The advisory council was set up in March, 2010 by the president, “to evaluate policy implementation and advise on areas requiring adjustments; to advise the President on how to maximise the benefits derivable from government’s efforts; to advise on such actions and programmes that may improve credibility and performance of the government.” Almost a year later, on January 20, 2011, the group submitted a major report, which heavily criticised Mr. Jonathan’s government.

The council had among other recommendations, advised the president to prune the bloated federal bureaucracy. But few days after the report was released, Mr. Jonathan announced the appointment of new special advisers and assistants.

Yet, determined to respond to the charges by the council, the presidency has set up a team, mandated to prepare a report that will reflect the government’s gripe with the PAC report. The team is being coordinated by officials in the office of the SGF, Yayale Ahmed, and is expected to show that the PAC, made up of eminent Nigerians including Fola Adeola and Kanu Agabi, is largely ignorant of the intricacies of government affairs.

“They have concluded that the Danjuma group is made up of people who do not understand the workings of government,” a source within the SGF’s office said, asking not to be named since he was not speaking in official capacity.

“Danjuma and his people have become infamous because of the report. To them, the group does not understand issues like national character or the constitutional provision for the engagement of assistants,”

133 aides

An official document obtained by NEXT, titled ‘List of presidential Aides as at February, 2011’ shows that the country currently pays for at least 133 personal aides to the president, the vice-president, and the first lady. These aides, who are mostly political appointees, include the Chief of Staff to the President, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President, Principal Secretary to the President, Principal Secretary to the Vice President, 25 special advisers, 42 senior special assistants, 52 special assistants and 12 personal assistants. [color=#550000]Two of the personal assistants are Malian and Senegalese tailors who sow the president’s clothes.
[/color]
Activist Shehu Sani, president of the Civil Rights Congress, said most of the appointees were simply engaged by President Jonathan as campaign foot soldiers.

“The president is simply wasting our national resources and applying pressure on the economy by settling cronies, bootlickers and parasites on the corridors of power with appointments,” said Mr. Sani who wants labour, civil society and opposition parties to check the trend.

Looking through the list, some of the appointments indeed appear to be duplication of duties. For instance, there are six physicians (two senior special assistants and four special assistants) who attend to the health needs of the president, the vice president and the first lady. They include two chief physicians to the president and vice president, two personal physicians to the President and the vice president, an assistant personal physician to the president and a personal physician to the first lady. Yet some public hospitals across the country do not have a single physician.

Apart from the large number of domestic staff in the presidential villa, who are civil servants, there are also six special assistants in charge of domestic matters for the president and his vice. Their job descriptions are special assistants on presidential household matters, domestic affairs, domestic matters, household administration, social events and household matters, and domestic affairs.

Eleven of the presidential aides on the list work for the unconstitutional office of the First Lady. They are Ike Neliaku and Oroyemisi Oyewole, both senior special assistants on administration to Mrs. Jonathan; Mary Oba, a special assistant on administration; Grace Koroye, coordinator, Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS, and Martha Owuzurumba, coordinator, African First Ladies Peace Mission. Other aides of Mrs Jonathan are Hannah Offor, a special assistant on protocol, Isiaku Aliagan, her media assistant, and Elizabeth Austin Amadi, her personal physician. On August 13, 2010, Mrs. Jonathan’s stylist, Agnes Aineneh, was appointed a presidential assistant. Two ladies-in-waiting were also appointed for the president’s wife. In the United Kingdom, the term Lady-in-Waiting, according to Wikipedia, is used to describe a woman attending a female member of the royal family other than the Queen or Queen Consort. In Cambodia, the term refers to high ranking female servants who served food and drink, fanned and massaged, and sometimes provided sexual services to the King. It is however not clear what Justin Adaba and Amina Iye Ahmadu do for Mrs. Jonathan.

Yet, there are other aides of the First Lady that are not on the list. Among them are her steward, Benson Okpara; her luggage officer, Geoffrey Obuofforibo; her aide-de-cap, Jacob Tamunoibuomi; her orderly, Abigail Jonah, her chief security officer; Francis Ibiene; her director of protocol, Mfama Abam; her principal protocol officer, Nuhu Kwache; and another media assistant, Ayobami Adewuyi.

It remains unclear the exact number of official staff permanently employed by the federal government for the state house in addition to the 133 personal aides. This would include bureaucrats, directors, security personnel, administrative staff, and cleaners. Indications are that this figure would be higher than that of the special aides since the State House has budgeted an additional N1.42 billion for the payment of salaries of these other staff this year.

The cost to the nation

The Nigeria Labour Congress is seeking a minimum wage of 18,000 naira for civil servants. The total sum used in paying the annual salary and allowances of the 133 presidential aides is N775, 207,125. This money will pay the basic salary of 3,600 civil servants. The money is also more than the Federal Ministry of Education needs this year to construct new schools (N202 million) and provide infrastructure in existing ones, including all the 103 unity schools (N102 million).

This money, even by government estimate, can construct 100-room hostels in each of the nation’s five first generation universities which will comfortably accommodate thousands of young undergraduates who have no place to sleep in our universities. (Cost of constructing a 25-room hostel is N41million.)

Between Jonathan and Yar’Adua

Investigations by NEXT indicate that Mr. Jonathan has more appetite for personal aides than his predecessor. After he was sworn-in in May 2010, following the death of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Mr. Jonathan retained almost all the special aides appointed by his late boss. But he has also appointed 57 new ones. In the nine months that he has been president, Mr. Jonathan has appointed a chief of staff, a deputy chief of staff, nine special advisers, 23 senior special assistants, 21 special assistants and two personal assistants.


The situation in other climes

In the United States, there are 470 employees working in the White House. But most of them are employees on permanent appointments who have worked there for years. President Barack Obama only appointed a handful of key advisers.

Similarly, in South Africa, according to the 2009 annual report of the presidency, President Jacob Zuma appointed only seven advisers while the remaining 582 members of staff were mostly career civil servants.

What the law says

Section 151 of the 1999 Constitution provides that, “The President may appoint any person as a Special Adviser to assist him in the performance of his functions.

“The number of such Advisers and their remuneration and allowances shall be as prescribed by law or by resolution of the National Assembly.

“Any appointment made pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be at the pleasure of the President and shall cease when the President ceases to hold office.”


“By appointing such ridiculous number of aides, the president is building a brigade for the election. For instance, Bianca Ojukwu was appointed to capture APGA. His action shows that all he is saying about reforming the economy is an orchestra of deception. Can you reform the economy when you are increasing the recurrent expenditure profile instead of trying to limit it to enable you to have more funds for capital projects like the Mambilla power project? It’s wastage and this does not give confidence to investors. Foreign direct investment cannot come to a country with that level of wastefulness,” he said.

Response from the presidency

The Special Adviser to the President on Communications, Ima Niboro, wouldn’t comment on his boss’ penchant for appointing special aides. He did not respond to text messages and calls to his mobile telephone on the matter.

Musikilu Mojeed, Idris Akinbajo and Elizabeth Archibong contributed to reporting for this story.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fola-adeola-is-nuhu-ribadu-s-running-mate/86548/

By Olawale Olaleye

Barring any last minute changes, Mr. Afolabi Tajudeen Adeola, former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, former chairman of the National Pension Commission (Pencom), and former member on the (Tony) Blair Commission on Africa, may have been named the running mate of the fledgling candidacy of the anti-corruption czar, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

Ribadu is the presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). If this happens, it would follow on the heels of the Chief MKO

Abiola-Alhaji Babagana Kingibe Muslim-Muslim ticket, which was widely accepted by Nigerians across regional and ethnic lines in the annulled 1993 presidential election.

Analysts believe it may work again because both Ribadu and Adeola are not known to be religious champions, practising their faith privately and quietly. They are equally known to work across religious and tribal lines.

Party sources confirmed that discussions and consultations are still on-going on the choice of Adeola, and it is expected that matters relating to the pairing of duo will be concluded later today in the evening to beat the INEC deadline tomorrow (February 21) for the substitution of presidential candidates and their running mates.

When contacted last night, Adeola confirmed that he had been approached by the leadership of the ACN but that they were yet to conclude discussions.

The former banker, who likened the decision to a marriage between two people, also admitted that issues relating to the development must be concluded today.

“By the grace of God, everything will be resolved by this time tomorrow (today, Sunday).”

Adeola added that all related issues have to be carefully looked into before a final decision is taken. He said the offer is not what he is taking lightly.

Also confirming the story, one of the ACN governors said the choice of Adeola as Ribadu’s running mate is one of the intelligent decisions the party has taken at this time of the year.

He described Adeola as a detailed person who would naturally pair with a Ribadu, an administrative hand.

The governor said there is the need for a running mate, who would take up all the detailed assignments that the presidential job demands, especially in the quest for a better Nigeria.

He said the Ribadu-Adeola ticket would go down in history as one of the best ever produced in the country by any political party, adding, “We are in this to win and not to consider what some class of people would think about a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

“Even the political class is waiting to break away from the old order. They don’t just know how to go about it.”

The governor, who sounded excited about the development said Adeola is a respectable young man who has paid his dues in the development, of the country.

As co-founder and ex-managing director of GTBank, he said Adeola walked away when the ovation was loudest. He posited that Adeola had also handled many sensitive and vital assignments in the country and beyond.

“He has what it takes to rebuild this country. This country needs rebuilding and not rebranding like the PDP is doing. Nigeria needs root and branch reformation.

“So, we can’t have people who are part of the problem as part of the solution. It would not work. That is the difference between the PDP candidate who is though a nice guy, but is clueless,” he said.

Nsiman:
@ apoti, Sincerely speaking, some of the things on ground are: the price stability and availability of petroleum products, power suply has increased and more contracts has been awarded for more power plants, the over 100 schools for the evacuation of the almajiris in the north from the streets into classrooms, the release of over N11b to check gully erosion menace, the activation of the textile industry in kano (cotton farmers are eased on how to mkt their produce, the coming up of the three refineries in nigeria, etc

Consumers dispute FG's 4,000mw generation claim
http://businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/18118-consumers-dispute-fgs-4000mw-generation-claim-

Contracts, Contracts
Obj awarded many

100 schools!
Where? Pls provide evidence

Please give evidence for all the other things you mention

Beaf:
What sort of party has Buhari cobbled together? From stone throwers to rioters, thugs and those in open rebellion; all in a party thats just a few months old!
The North West which should have been a sure banker for Buhari is looking increasingly shaky. We could see ANPP trouncing him across the core North. or at the worst, in Kano.

Typical; very typical of you! So which party has the greatest incidents of criminal acts at its primaries - PDP
Look at even that PDP senatorial primary rerun in Delta state
I also believe no rebellion can be greater than walking out of the president and the vice president in the VP's home state
where people even said - it Kwankwanso that we want, we don't want Jonathan!

So if you were in CPC and an Abacha is voted into power, you would still be comfortable
Democracy is not perfect. what the crowd decides is not necessarily right

againstGEJ:
U are gassing air. I wonder why he was overthrown if he was such a good leader and everything was going in good for him. I wonder why he hasnt been voted to power 2003, 2007, and why is 2011 going to be different? Because of Bakare? Childish my foot. Use something else, that childish line is so weak. ok?

What has he got now that didnt work for him in 2003 and 2007? Because the election was rigged? I am sure that will be your answer. Old man. Age deosnt mean intellect, its just a number, just like you have proved here. Old papa!

So Murtala was overthrown because he was a bad leader?

Buhari was not voted into power in 2003 because Obasanjo presented him as a religious extremist
Now, Obj who was personally contesting against him could not bring any evidence of corruption against him
Of course, most Nigerians believe in beer parlour rumours - this suits the corrupt politicians
Opinion of course still favoured retaining power in the south

In 2007, Obasanjo introduced do-or-die
Do you remember the number of elections that were sent back for rerun
Do you remember that Yaradua himself said the elections were flawed
Do you remember Yaradua promised electoral reform and set up Uwais panel - the report of which Jonathan has not really done anything about
Do you remember that at the Supreme court - a body into which Yaradua had even nominated a member - Buhari lost narrowly by 4-3 against a sitting president

In 2011, most people in the South South want to vote for Jonathan because of tribalism
Or why else would SS Peeople Assemble (SSPA) declare Dokpesi persona non-grata for supporting IBB in a democractic country?
Look at GEJ's supporters here - Nsiman, Rasputin, Beaf, AganistGEJ/Ma-Blige etc
You think they are doing this because of issues? No, just affirmative action
Although I really don't blame them because tribalism is a major issue in our country

BTW - don't you think your name is a product of deception - a supporter of GEJ calling using the name AgainstGEJ!

^^^^
So bad things that happen can be conveniently dumped on Yaradua lap
But were it a good thing, you would claim it for Jonathan
where is integrity?

^^^
I am sorry. I heard that the guy was to resign but later the AGF withdrew the case by calling for the case file from ICPC. I don't know what happened really. But the man has not resigned.

againstGEJ:
I thought we read the news that the President asked him to resign to face the ICPC charge?

Post it - let us see it

It is actually worse than this

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/27486.html

Tension in Senate as AGF moves to
Font size: Yusuf Alli 10/02/2011 00:51:00

The moves by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke to withdraw alleged corruption charges against former Federal Capital Territory Minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai is causing tension in the Senate.

It is the fifth time that Adoke will be withdrawing high-profile cases.

The matters withdrawn or discontinued by the AGF were those of Vaswani brothers, top officials of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Halliburton case against Julius Berger Plc and the one instituted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) against the Minister of State for Health, Sulaiman Bello.

http://businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/analysis/columnists/18172-corruption-exemplary-leadership-required-

Beautiful Article by Chairman of Editorial Board of Business day
Corruption: Exemplary leadership required
TUESDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2011 00:00 OGHO OKITI
As I write this, Suleiman Bello, the minister of state for health, despite admitting to corruption charges while he was resident electoral commissioner in Adamawa State in 2007, is still hanging on to office. He has not resigned as the BusinessDay editorial last Friday said he should, and President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has not fired him. What is at stake here? Nigeria, with an already battered local and international image as an endemically corrupt nation, has as a minister someone who has already admitted to corrupt act.

The minister is in a ministry that depends and relies extensively on international contacts and donors for its work. Can you imagine this minister representing Nigeria at any of these international settings while corruption charges hang over his head? It is also hard to believe that he is not feeling distracted from his work at the moment. Still, when we it comes to corruption in Nigeria, this Bello’s type and level of corruption is a child’s play. Everywhere you go, you can actually feel and touch corruption, and as I argued in one of my articles last year, we are all corrupt.

To many, the cost of corruption to the country is simply the value of the money stolen from public purse; that is, the many roads, airports, education, and health care not provided. Mind you, this is huge, but it is a simplistic way of looking at corruption in Nigeria and these costs are perhaps just 20 percent of the actual depth of corruption. The remaining 80 percent is mainly indirect and relates to the distraction generated by corruption in the first place.

These distractions occur because the focus of the average government official is not to do his or her job but to continuously find ways and means to enrich himself or herself. In the context, [list]
[li]the jobs carried out and how they are carried out is selective and depends on the expectations of “corruption profit” and not necessarily on how the job impacts the lives of ordinary Nigerians.[/li]
[li][/li]
[/list] From local governments to states and to the ubiquitous federal government, there is a serious level and depth of corruption. This is what every Nigerian knows, and the issue then is how do we significantly reduce corruption?

Only a great leader can significantly reduce it. Without a great leader, Nigeria will continue to wallow in corruption. Corruption cannot be stopped from the bottom because those at the bottom often react to the impunity at the top. Only a leader with enormous discipline and restraint can solve Nigeria’s corruption problem. It is not the place of EFCC or of ICPC, but the place of the number one leader in this country.

I have often argued, and I repeat the same argument here that it would be very difficult for me to be corrupt if my CEO is not. If he is not corrupt and I am, I will constantly be haunted by the fear that the moment I am caught, I will be out of the door. I am so sure that efforts to tackle corruption have failed because those at the helm of affairs have never been sincere about stopping it, because they too are corrupt. Can you imagine a situation where a president is giving a speech about corruption and the press secretary, the minister or director general of one of the agencies just laughs it off? They are able to laugh it off because they know that the president is not sincere. Only an exemplary leader, if one emerges in April, can begin to reduce corruption in the Nigerian society.

When Brazil’s former leader, Lula, left office, the house he moved to has been described as small and “nondescript". The same cannot be said about Nigerian leaders. What this demonstrates is that, while he was president, Lula was sure of the future he was building for all Brazilians, including himself. This is important because corruption reflects a sense and measure of uncertainty about the future – economic uncertainty in this case. It reflects a primitive and crude sense of uncertainty about the economic prospects of the country and that of the individual. When there is that feeling, the natural response is to “steal enough” for the future.

But I expect a great leader to be sure of the economic future he is building for all Nigerians, including himself, and instead of being distracted by uncertainties about his future, he is busy building the future for all Nigerians. Indeed, this distraction is at the heart of our economic policies and approaches. If you examine over time, the thought of further limited opportunities for corruption and state patronage has limited the nature of economic policies we pursue.

And this brings us to a horrible feature of corruption in Nigeria: collusion. Corruption has become an extensive network of favour and patronage. It is commonplace to see government officials at both sides of the table. The same government official is awarding the contract, and the same government official is more interested in getting more value on the other side. This is not limited to physical contracts but applies all forms of licencing and approval. A disciplined leader can begin to tackle this enormous problem through exemplary leadership. This is one problem that rhetorics and mere sermons will not solve. It is only the determined demonstration of whoever becomes president that will genuinely lead the effort against corruption. May a great leader emerge.

^^^
what is the basis for comparison. God has blessed? How? By being president? Abacha was also one.
The blessing should rub off on Nigeria - Rice sharing fatalities, Oct 1st fatalities, PH campaign fatalities etc

KBrown:
One can not but wonder how to satisfy Nigerians.
Here is a sitting President, with good intentions, making categorical statements that he is not desperate to win at all cost. Yet, some never-do-well people on Nairaland are not satisfied.
What would have been their reaction if GEJ had declared like OBJ in 2007 that the election wil be a "Do or Die" affair?
O su mi o!

Tell us the good intentions - we cannot read his mind
Harliburton, Siemens, Minister of State for Health cases
Freedom of Information Bill
May 1st last year - I will finalise minimum wage in 3 months - 9 months after where are we?
Anenih said (in the presence of GEJ) that whoever voted for Atiku would be fished out - imagine what would happen to his opponents in other parties

Nsiman:
All repliers, tell me if gej's admin has touch your live -vely. Be sincere

Ask
the people who died in PH
And those who died while collecting Oct 1 rice from Patience Jonathan
Or the family of Eleweomo or even Senator Folarin
The ICPC people who are wondering why the charge against the Minister of State for health was withdrawn
The people who throught Siemens and Harliburton scandals would have been resolved now
The PDP in Ogun State who don't know their candidates
or Nwodo - used and dumped

8360

loma:
I would be accuse dof spamming and be banned.

But what if you could convince ten of your friends to vote for us (with two of their email address) -that will give us 200 points.  Now imagine if there were 20 other people who did the same thing, we would be assured of winning.

A lot of times when we complain of the way things are, I marvel at how much we underestimate what we can really do if we just decided to do it!

You are doing a project for Africa and somebody is talking about spamming
Go and do it and let us see the ?? who dare accuse you of spamming
Is it only Jonathan and Buhari that we will talk about on ten threads in a week?
Just tell all the moderators that this is a trans-national assignment
if I had my way, people who have not voted should lose their posting privileges for 4hours

BTW - Indian population is far more than ours and all those guys at the call centres can each register 10email add and do it
Indians will do it without thinking
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_re_us/us_university_immigration_fraud

Come back and voter after checking out that link pls

againstGEJ:
Yea yea yea. I dont have to knock my head on the floor five hundred times in a day in  guise of prayers just because of NairaLand. You can do it better.

Yes, like this

Matthew 26:36-39 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gesthemane, and saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be very sorrowful and heavy. 38 Then saith he unto them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou Wilt.

and this

Numbers 20:6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.

ladoma:
you lied.no one left the stadium before the head of state.i was there life at the stadium.the only comma was that kaduna people left immediately the vip's left and did not watch daddy shokey and the other musician billed to perform after the show because of the security situation in kaduna as all the security agencies withdrew after the dignitaries left.pls publish fact and not fiction.

Who lied? The reporters (Nation, Guardian, Compass and Thisday) or the original poster?
Maybe you should take your own advice on fact/fiction

http://www.compassnewspaper.com/NG/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74991:-supporters-walk-out-on-jonathan-at-pdp-nwest-presidential-rally-&catid=43:news&Itemid=799
http://ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=38450:jonathan-queries-sambo-over-poor-attendance-at-kaduna-rally&catid=1:national&Itemid=559
http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/27608.html
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/jonathan-campaign-delegates-walk-out-of-venue/86096/

http://businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/18118-consumers-dispute-fgs-4000mw-generation-claim-


Industry operators say impact is minimal

Electricity sector stakeholders and consumers have hit back at the Federal Government's claim that the nation's electricity generating capacity has reached 4,000 megawatts, saying the claim was false and that generation has indeed nosedived to less 3,600 megawatts.

With most of the plants scheduled for maintenance, others producing less than installed capacity and most cities and towns across the country still grappling with long periods of lights-out, it would be 'unwise' for the minister to give the impression that the government was serious about solving the electricity sector problems, the stakeholders say.

They suggest that the country needs more strategic investment and an investment-friendly environment to convince consumers that they are developing a process that would end the sector's woes.

Muda Yusuf, director general, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who strongly echoed this view, said he believes the government should be talking about fundamentals of sustainable improvement in power supply.

"Talking about 4,000 megawatts is only a sad reminder of the sorry state of affairs in this country. The escalating cost of diesel is a new concern to industrialists and the private sector as a whole", he told BusinessDay.

"There are issues of consistency and sustainability. The power issue is not just about generation. It is about the entire power delivery chain. Across this chain, there are loads of problems. In any event, should we be celebrating 4,000 megawatts at this stage of our development and with all the resources at our disposal as a nation?" he queried.

The minister of state for Power, Nuhu Somo Way, claimed recently that power generation had hit 4,000 megawatts, prompting mixed reactions from a cross section of Nigerians.

"As I am talking to you now, electricity supply from the national grid has been off since I resumed work today. We are currently running on our private generating set", says John Aluya, managing director, Crystal Glass Nigeria Ltd and Chairman of Apapa branch of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).

"If PHCN says they are generating 4,000 megawatts of electricity, I do not think it is true because we have not felt the impact so far. 4,000 megawatts should provide electricity to a reasonable extent for small scale industries to operate. Now, the price of diesel has gone up, so we are operating at a higher cost and as a result, consumers will have to pay more for our products".

Babatunde Odunayo, managing director, Honeywell Flour Mills Ltd, told BusinessDay that they had not been on public power supply for a long time now, so he wouldn't know if they were supplying up to 4,000 megawatts.

"Because we do not feel the impact of electricity supply from the national grid, we do not depend on them. You know, in manufacturing, any slight cut in power supply can destroy a whole production process, so, relying on PHCN will make us waste our raw materials and spend more".

"It is a far cry from what we expect," says Herbert Ademola Ajayi, national president, National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, (NACCIMA).

Ajayi is optimistic, however. "We hope that in the next few months we will smile".

According to Solomon Onafowokan OON, national vice president, NACCIMA, "the claim by the Federal Government that it is currently generating 4,000 megawatts is not impacting on the electricity supply to the industries as all of us in Lagos State live with three to five hours supply every other day, helplessly.

"This has assumed a worse status in the last four weeks with serious shortage of diesel which is now selling at a prohibitive price of N140 per litre from between N95 and N100 a month back. We need emergency in this sector to get it right".

But while some Nigerians remain pessimistic, others are hopeful and attest to some improvement.

"I am saving some N1.5 million on my diesel consumption now. This attests to some improvement", says Billy Gillis-Harris, President of Forum of South-South Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (FOSSCCIMA).

"It is a gradual process that will filter down and that is why consumers should channel their observations to the Chamber to pass on to the relevant authorities".

However, respondents to Businessday's inquiry across most cities, including Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Maiduguri and Kano, say power supply averages only four hours on a daily basis.

Again, investigations show that most of the power plants have been shut down for maintenance, causing a shortfall of about 400 megawatts in generation.

Afam VI with a capacity to generate 650 megawatts has shut some of its units for maintenance according to an industry source. Ibom power plant which has capacity for 100 megawatts has been out of service for some time because of low supply of gas.

Further investigations revealed that Shiroro power plant is still suffering from the effects of an explosion which occurred in the plant about two months ago and which consequently dropped the capacity of the plant to100 from 600 megawatts.

Our source said the Shiroro plant managers did not realise that the explosion had affected the foundation of the plant and as a result, some of the units would have to be taken out.

In addition, the 100 megawatt Delta power plant which has been grappling with hydrogen problem has been out.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=38450:jonathan-queries-sambo-over-poor-attendance-at-kaduna-rally&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

A Kaduna Government House source noted that, “Governor Yakowa is aggrieved having approved the disbursement of N10 million for mobilization of supporters to attend the rally from the local government areas, a project which the committee, headed by the deputy governor, did not execute.”

“INEC is being rascally in this matter and it is entering into the political arena, which ought not to be so. INEC has the general
elections to contend with, instead of venturing into the internal affairs of the political parties.”

Have they just discovered this word or is it their campaign theme?

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/pdp-explains-flags-given-to-chime-alao-akala-others/86183/

PDP Explains Flags Given to Chime, Alao-Akala, Others


Reacting to complaints that the Peoples Democratic Party had defied court orders by handing over symbolic flags to Governors Sullivan Chime, Theodore Orji and Adebayo Alao-Akala of Enugu, Abia and Oyo States respectively to contest the governorship elections in their states, the party yesterday stated that the gesture did not make them its final candidates to contest the April poll.

PDP’s clarification came after Justice P.F. Olayiwola of the Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra State on Friday, directed the Indepe-ndent National Electoral Commission to discard the list of candidates submitted to it by the Benji Udeozor-led faction in the state.

In its place, the court ordered that it is only the list of candidates from the Senator Joseph Waku-committee that conducted the National Assembly primary election in the state that should be recognised, pending the determination of the substantive suit before it.

Speaking to newsmen on allegations that the PDP had defied court orders, which restrained it from recognising Chime, Orji and
Alao-Akala as governorship candidates of their states, the National Legal Adviser of PDP, Mr. Olusola Oke said: “The flag of the party
doesn’t make you a candidate.

“What makes you a candidate is the nomination, which has been completed since January 31, 2011. As the saying goes, the hood does not make the monk.”

Oke added that the party can decide to give anyone a flag and that nobody can restrain it from giving out the flags, as it isn’t
government property. “There are one million flags there, which anybody can take. Handing over the flag is ceremonial, they aren’t part of the orders of court, they are just the internal affairs of the party,” he explained.

He added that the inability of the PDP to implement the various court orders against it was partly because he has not been able to
communicate the court orders to his colleagues, who are members of the National Working Comm-ittee.

He said: “I have not been privileged to actually brief them on the happenings on the various suits in court. For instance, the one that
was issued on Thursday, I still haven’t received the enrolment of order from the court.

“But for these campaigns that our people are attending, I would normally have briefed my colleagues on developments at the courts at
the NWC meeting, but I haven’t been able to really make contact with them.

“If anything has been done, which I am not personally aware of, it must have been done out of the fact that they don’t have the correct
facts about the developments in the courts. In other words, our party believes in the rule of law.”

Still exonerating the party from allegations of disobedience to court orders, Oke added, “Ordinarily, if anything had been done in that
regard, it must have been done because those involved in the campaigns don’t have proper briefing.”

The party’s legal adviser admitted that he had been part of the campaigns since the rally in the south-west one and had completely
lost contact with members of the party’s NWC.

“If you go to our secretariat now, you would find out that it is desolate. We have no reason to disparage or be defiant of any court
order, because we believe most of these orders that have been issued are temporary,” he explained.

However, Oke described INEC’s insistence on the Benji Udeozor list of National Assembly candidates from Anambra State as “strange and curious.”

According to him, “by insisting that it will collect the list of candidates from the state and not the national secretariat as prescribed in the party guidelines, INEC’s behaviour very curious and strange.

“INEC is being rascally in this matter and it is entering into the political arena, which ought not to be so. INEC has the general
elections to contend with, instead of venturing into the internal affairs of the political parties.”

Justice Olayiwola in the fresh order last Friday directed INEC to “maintain the status quo” and adjourned the case till February 17,
2011.

By this order, INEC has been ordered to refer to the list from PDP that submitted the names of Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, Hon. Chudi Offodile and Margery Okadigbo and other candidates for the National Assembly to represent Anambra State.

Nsiman:
@ oyindalu, if that word was used, it is not directed to all s.westernes but to an individual tho used in a generic term.

The word was used. Several papers quoted it! Being paid money to defend GEJ does not imply that you no longer have a soul
How did you know the target if you are not sure if it was used?
And who is this individual that deserves the plural rascal[b]s[/b] ?
And who then is the individual in Ondo (LP), Osun, Ekiti, Lagos (ACN)?

^^^
My view is that the protests are spontaneous - but there are people who have interests to protect and are experienced in manipulating positions. The US will NOT and can NOT allow Egypt to fall into the hands of fanatics. So they will side with the Egyptian people openly and continue to work with and advise individuals they trust. Elbaradei is in that mould. He can listen and work with the west, but the muslim brotherhood will not

Simon Kolawole - Editor ThisDay
Interesting

Is there any institution that cannot be damaged in Nigeria? The answer is, unfortunately, no. The judiciary, which has been arguably the most forthright institution in this democratic dispensation, is beginning to fall like a sack of spuds. It is currently displaying its underbelly in the public. The consequences are difficult for us to determine now, but I have a strong feeling the institution may end up doing more damage to our democracy than what the legislature and executive have done in the last 11 years. I am one of those who have generously celebrated the judiciary on this page. Even though I am aware that, just like any public institution, it has its own bad eggs, I have always believed that, by and large, it has done more good than harm to this democracy. However, if you ask me today if I still hold on to this belief, I will say yes, but my “yes” will be weak.

What we are witnessing today is nothing but an introduction to anarchy. The first pointer to this is the indiscriminate granting of ex-parte orders by judges all over the federation over the list of candidates for the April polls. If care is not taken, we would go into the polls without knowing most of the candidates. I have lost count of how many states we are still not sure of the actual governorship and parliamentary candidates. One court issues an injunction today and another one counters tomorrow. Injunctions, counter-injunctions and counter-counter-injunctions are now two for a penny. I wonder why the judiciary would lend itself to this senseless exercise, throwing away every tradition, convention and common sense known to the profession. Only very few judges have refrained from this ex-parte madness in order to avoid causing confusion in an already confused system.

The second “open sore” of the judiciary is the disgusting face-off between the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Isa Salami, and Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, over the move to “elevate” Salami to the Supreme Court. For the first time in this dispensation, the judiciary is making every effort to demystify itself. The myth of the entire legal profession is built around dignity and Latin. The Latin may still be thriving, but the dignity is threatening to wane. In theory, Justice Salami is being tipped for elevation to the Supreme Court. In practice, it looks like a power struggle. Different interpretations are being advanced. Some analysts think Salami is being “punished” because of the way and manner the PDP lost two states—Ekiti and Osun—to the Action Congress of Nigeria at the Appeal Court. The two panels were constituted by Salami. He is seen as sympathetic to the ACN.

Many are of the opinion that the PDP is actually preparing for post-election litigations. By law, it is the President of the Court of Appeal that sets up the tribunals all over the country. It is believed that the PDP is scared that if Salami remains president, the tribunals may be sympathetic to the ACN. So the best thing to do is “promote” him now before the polls. Yet, because this “promotion” is unprecedented, it has become a major controversy discussed on the pages of newspapers. I don’t know of any time in our history where the two most senior officers of the judiciary will be so openly hostile to each other. Indeed, the judiciary is fast losing it.

As a journalist, however, I have thoroughly enjoyed some aspects of the revelations spewing forth. One of them is the claim by Justice Salami that he is being victimised because the CJN asked him not to allow a judgement that would remove Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko as the governor of Sokoto State. If this is true, as I strongly suspect, then the final jigsaw has fallen into place. The Sokoto election petition is one of the most curious in the history of this country. The way the Appeal Court judgement was “arrested” and eventually quashed by the Supreme Court is one of the most mystifying deeds I have ever witnessed or read in the history of our judiciary. The twists and turns were beyond belief. Now I can make some sense out of the nonsense.

For those who may not know the facts of the case, Alhaji Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, the governorship candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) in Sokoto State in 2007, filed a petition after the poll. He ran against Wamakko, who was actually the ANPP candidate. The PDP had fielded former Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Alhaji Mukhtari Shagari, but changed its mind at the zero hour, wooing Wamakko to PDP and making Shagari his running mate. (As at election day, Wamakko was the candidate nominated by both PDP and ANPP in obvious breach of electoral laws). Shagari, meanwhile, was said to have filed his nomination papers (INEC Form CFOO1) 13 days after the polls! He simply backdated his affidavit.

In any case, INEC declared PDP the winner of the election. Dingyadi filed a petition and lost. He appealed. The Court of Appeal in Kaduna, led by Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, ruled that Wamakko and Shagari were not qualified to stand for the election because they were not validly nominated. The court said: “The documents attached to the said reply also established beyond peradventure that the Form CF001 purportedly filled by Mukhtari Shehu Shagari and deposed to on the 12th day of February 2007 was manufactured purposely to meet the challenge of the election petition. Exhibit P3, the certified true copy of the duplicate of the revenue collectors receipt no: 002187251, upon which Form CF001 was deposed, showed clearly that Mukhtari Shehu Shagari paid for the form on the 27th day of April, 2007… It is a flagrant rape of democracy and an arrogant and irresponsible disregard for the Constitution of this country…’’

The Appeal Court annulled the election and ordered a rerun. INEC fixed it for May 24, 2008. Top lawyers, including the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, faulted aspects of the judgement. Since the candidature of Wammako and Shagari had been adjudged as ineligible for the poll, the justices should have barred the PDP and its candidate from the rerun. If they were not qualified for the first election, they were not qualified for rerun. Even INEC was said to have got internal legal advice that PDP was not eligible for the rerun but it still went ahead with it. PDP won again, of course. In the meantime, DPP had asked Federal High Court, Abuja, to stop Wammako from contesting but the court declined jurisdiction. The Appeal Court also declined. DPP headed for the Supreme Court. While all this was on, the election was held.

Dingaydi and DPP again challenged the return of Wamakko at the tribunal, asking that Dingyadi be declared winner. The tribunal declined jurisdiction. They appealed again. The then President of Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdullahi, refused to constitute a panel to hear the matter until he retired in late December 2009. Justice Salami succeeded him. A five-man panel led by Justice Musa Mohammed Dattijo was constituted by Justice Salami. The panel expedited action on the appeal and fixed February 24, 2010 for judgement. At this stage, Katsina-Alu had become the CJN. That was the beginning of drama upon drama. The Supreme Court effectively stopped the Appeal Court from delivering judgement. The apex court wanted to rule on an interlocutory application that had already been withdrawn by Dingyadi! Using the application as an excuse, the Supreme Court made sure the case was closed abruptly. With Salami’s latest revelation, we now know why the apex court behaved so strangely.

The real tragedy, in my opinion, is that at a certain stage in your life, you are supposed to care about your name because of the way posterity will judge you. When you don’t care about your name and how history will judge you—even as you are getting to the age when you should be preparing to meet your Maker—that is really tragic. I would conclude thus: those in charge of the temple of justice, who are busy dishing out injustice through mindless manipulation, would do well not to plunge the system into anarchy. Nigeria is bigger than us all.


And Four Other Things,

Rascals and Company
President Goodluck Jonathan caused an outrage last week when he said, at his presidential rally in Ibadan, that the South-west was “too sophisticated” and “too educated” to be left in the hands of rascals.

The opposition parties have done a good job of hitting back at him. However, I agree with the president; I would even say Nigeria is too important to leave in the hands of rascals. My point of departure, though, will be if Jonathan thinks the rascals are in other parties only. PDP has its own rascals as well!

Barracking Mubarak
So long, President Hosni Mubarak. After ruling Egypt for 30 years, the strongman was forced to step aside by people’s power on Friday, barely 24 hours after he had wasted everybody’s time by insisting he would not relinquish power until September. That statement was an anti-climax: we thought he was about to announce his exit. As Mubarak finally bit the dust on Friday and the people burst into celebration, I was a bit cautious.

When Saddam Hussein was ousted as the Iraqi leader in 2003, there was celebration on the streets. But is Iraq better off today? I think not. While Egyptians continue to savour their victory, they should also have it at the back of their minds that they have just embarked on a journey to the unknown. There are no guarantees that Egypt and Egyptians would be better off. I don’t mean to spoil their party, but we’ve seen all this before. But my wish is that Egypt would be better off!

They Shot the Sheriff
Boko Haram recently claimed responsibility for the fatal shooting of the ANPP governorship candidate in Borno State, Alhaji Modu Fannami Gubio, and the governor’s younger brother, Alhaji Goni Modu Sheriff, among others.

This contradicts claims by Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and the state Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Moha-mmed Abubakar, that the killings were carried out by politicians. For me, it was a simple case: the initial suspects would always be Boko Haram because of the way they operate.

I wondered why the police were so eager to rule out the fundamentalists, especially as the group is also claiming to have a political motive in its campaign. Now they told us they want to establish Islamic rule all over Nigeria. That’s a tall ambition, anyway, but how does killing fellow Muslims help in the propagation of Islam all over the country? I can’t understand, honestly.

Ndigbo Then and Now
My article two weeks ago, “Ndigbo in the Fourth Republic”, got some readers angry. Some wondered why as a “nationalist” (what does that mean?), I would be “promoting” sectional issues (by discussing the fate of one of Nigeria’s three biggest ethnic groups). I was advised to focus on merit “because that is all that matters”. Relax, there is no contradiction between national integration and merit (I am preparing an article on this for future publication).

Anyone who has followed my writings for sometime now will know that I am passionate about national integration: nobody, no group, no region should feel left behind. That is a key ingredient in nation-building and development. We seem to believe that merit and power-balancing are mutually exclusive. No, they are not. Of course, my fundamental belief is that good governance is the solution to our problem, but we must make conscious efforts at national integration as well!

[quote author=eku_bear link=topic=602652.msg7712372#msg7712372 date=1297436649]^-- [b]So Bayelsa receives more derivation money than even Rive[/b]rs?

$15 million for Lagos, 47.1 for Bayelsa?

Bayelsa with a tiny population of 2 or 3 million, yet nothing to show for it?

Is it me, or should all of Bayelsa's past governors be investigated by the EFCC?

Where did all the money go to?

How can you earn more money than Rivers, yet be even less developed than Ekiti?

Na wa o![/quote]Bayelsa became no 1 in derivation allocation after President Jonathan gave the state a waiver from the offshore-onshore dichotomy
Today, Bayelsa is the only state that gets derivation money without restriction as to where its oil is produced
Others are limited to oil falling within 200m water isobaths

Lagos does not get oil derivation allocation

nvo5:
So why can't your religious head stop them
I know, he can do it. I mean the sultan
of sokoto. And put tight security in the boundary
between Nigeria and Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Why did CAN not stop Rev King!
You don't know how terrorists operate. How do you call a heretic to order when his very objective is to upturn what you represent. You think the king of Saudi Arabia can call Osama bin Laden when his very objective is to overthrow that same king?

Beaf:
I am not justifying anything. I only made a comment about someone I believe is a genuine rascal and provided proof.
Some folk are hurt by GEJ's comment, but lets remember we are all human.

Proof of what? Like you guys did with Atiku. A reasonable president does not call people names - he puts them in jail. Go and ask Bode George.
he should please prosecute just 1 person so that I know what to expect
What is the status of the Harliburton case - buried?
The Semen's case - buried?
The minister that ICPC took to court - buried?
How did Bankole get a ticket - Jonathan magic
How did Folarin get a rushed bail, flown to Abuja in a presidential plane to vote for Jonathan and now a crimal again - Jonathan magic