Go Jonathan go! NO shakings.

For me it is a big YES

so far he has proven to be a correct man and he promises to be a great leader. wish he stay another 4 yrs.

@chidichris

What are your fears? Would you call Ribadu old stock?
No he is not. He was just pushed out by enemies of progress. He has been consulting for the US and the world bank. we need him still.

Nuhu Ribadu, the former chief of Nigeria's anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has accepted an offer from Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, to be his special adviser on anti-corruption, good governance and sundry matters.

Presidency sources said at the weekend that Mr. Ribadu is expected to resume "in a matter of weeks" in Abuja. As part of his remit, Mr. Ribadu will be the presidential anchorman supervising the broad anti-corruption platform of the country which includes his former agency, the EFCC; the ICPC; the Code of Conduct Bureau and other related agencies.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5549547-146/the_return_of_ribadu__.csp

What was done in the dark shall be revealed in the open.The counsel of the wicked shall come to zero.

Nura must be one of Turai's hired agent.

That woman is very desperate. She is a Jezebel. Let all those Imam's beware of her.

@poster,

What exactly are you trying to say?

The Chief Imam said after they prayed for the President recovery which he actually took part by raising his hands to join them, they left the sitting room and wish him well, upon coming to the ground floor Turai who was also escorting them out of the House alongside the President Chief Security Officer discuss four disturbing issue’s openly.

Firstly, the first lady was not happy with how the President illness was politicized and the role played by the acting President and she told a story of what happened on November 23rd 2009, the day they flew to Saudi Hospital. '' You see when we were leaving the country, the President asked for the Vice President but they couldn’t locate him at that particular moment, the President ADC tried reaching the Vice President security details but no avail, when we came down stairs the President instructed them to use the Villa intercom still the Vice President could not be found and eventually on our way to the Airport then a call came from the Vice President through the President ADC and President Yar’adua told him ''My Vice President, Please I’m flying to Saudi Arabia for my routine medical checkup and to also get some treatment, please manage Nigeria as if it’s your ''personal property’’, do not wait for me, continue with the task of Governance, my Principal private secretary Mr, Edibe is around use him whenever you need to contact me anytime and do not wait for me in case of anything please continue in acting capacity Mr Vice President’’ and the VP wish the President safe flight to Saudi.

Secondly, according to the Chief Imam, Turai told them when Yar’adua recovered and was out of the intensive care unit for the first time he requested to speak with the Vice President on phone and eventually the Senate President and the Speaker of the National assembly respectively. Thirdly, Turai said upon their return to Nigeria Jonathan did not consult any of them concerning Governance or personal issue’s and when Gusau came on board as National security adviser last month he tried to change the President ADC and Chief Security Officer to the President, she however, stopped him and also warned him for anything that may happen to the security of the President they would be held responsible, However, Turai believe Jonathan and co really want to kill the President through poisoning or whatever way possible and also according to her SGF Yayale is the greatest betrayer she has ever seen in her complete life.

She gave a story when the going was good ''Yayalle would always bring some water to the President saying it’s a traditional and spiritual medication for enemies and all those who may have want to harm the President directly or indirectly and the President will always drink without any hesitation because he trusted Yayalle so much, at a point in time according to her she once warned Baba (referring to the President) that he trusted people so much in his life especially Yayalle’’. Hajia Turai finally told the Clerics to please pray for her ailing husband and they left the Presidential Villa at around 6:30 p.m.

Sheikh Pantami noted to me that indeed President Yar’adua’s inner caucus had made mistakes for hiding and keeping in secrecy the President Health condition and to him is what made the situation worst across the nation. I remember him citing examples with former leaders like Fidel Castro of Cuba, Arafat of Palestine and recently Mubarak of Egypt all of whom were sick at a point in times but their health status and report were made public.

Folks, I’m not Yar’adua’s Spokesman or family member that can speak or write on their behalf, therefore, whatever you read here is what the clerics told me today at Sheraton Hotels in the morning. By now I believe the first lady has learn a lot of lessons about life, power, politics and power intrigues, the acting President also should learn from history, himself as example, both should realize and concur that indeed power is ‘’transient’’ and no condition is permanent in life!

Nura Manu Soro
nuramanu2002@yahoo.com


http://www.saharareporters.com/letters/your-letters/5696-on-yaradua-what-the-chief-imam-told-me-.html

Investigations by Saharareporters indicate a widening schism within the extended family of ailing Nigerian ruler, Umaru Yar’adua, even as his wife this week embarked on another desperate ploy to sell the propaganda that her husband is on the cusp of recovering enough to take back power. On Thursday, the “First Lady,” who has emerged as greedy and blinded by political power, recruited four Islamic clerics to propagate the falsehood of her husband’s steady recovery and imminent return to office. It was her fourth major push in recent weeks to present Yar’adua as a fast recovering patient itching to return to work. “Many members of the family now regard her moves as ridiculous,” stated a source, a member of the Yar’adua clan. He added, “She is turning her husband into an object of ridicule.” The source stated, however, that those opposed to Turai have kept quiet so far in order not to further degrade the family's name and cause more damage to the image of the ailing ruler.

Turai’s desperation for power has created a split within the Yar’adua family, a family source told Saharareporters. “Most members of the president’s extended family wanted him to resign from office two weeks after his return from Jeddah and for Jonathan to look after his interests by providing him the best medical treatment as long as necessary,” said the source. However, a furious Turai vetoed that sensible plan.

Our sources said Governor Saidu Usman Dakin Gari of Kebbi State, one of Yar’adua’s sons-in-law, supported the plan for Yar’adua’s resignation, and had offered to broker the deal with Jonathan. He was forced to retreat when Turai and another son-in-law, Isah Yuguda, vehemently opposed the move. Both Turai and Yuguda preferred to use some elements in the Nigerian military to ensure Yar’adua’s continuation in office regardless of his health condition. “Those military elements helped to organize and facilitate his return to Nigeria on February 23 2010,” said one source. Since that shadowy return, Yar’adua has neither been seen in public nor spoken to anyone.
The four clerics enlisted in Turai’s latest propaganda are Ustaz Musa Mohammed, the Chief Imam of the Abuja National Mosque; Sheik Yakubu Musa, leader of the Izala Muslim sect in Katsina State; Sheik Ibrahim Datti Ahmed, the President of the Supreme Council of Sharia in Nigeria (SCSN), and Sheik Isa Pantami.

The four men became tools in Turai’s latest game plan that included her sponsorship of a syndicated story that appeared in the Daily Trust and Thisday newspapers. Even though the two newspapers have different owners and pools of reporters, the same reporter wrote their latest reports on Yar’adua’s ostensible recovery. “Both Daily Trust and Thisday have been reliable outlets for Mrs. Turai Yar’adua’s deceptive reports,” said a source in Abuja, adding that other newspapers, especially the Bola Tinubu-owned The Nation, have also been used for the nefarious purpose.

Last week, Saharareporters debunked planted reports in the two newspapers that claimed that Yar’adua was well enough and was on his way to resuming work last week or early this week.

Even though those stories turned out to be false, the newspapers sponsored by Yar’adua’s wife are not relenting in their propaganda. “Turai’s desperation grows as she and other members of her cabal realize that Nigerians are moving to further confine her husband’s era to history,” said a member of the House of Representatives from one of the middle belt states. He added that the Senate’s quick approval of “acting President” Goodluck Jonathan’s ministerial nominees took Turai and her cabal by surprise.

Our sources indicated that Mrs. Yar’adua’s exploitation of sectional and religious sentiments to maintain a fantasy of her husband’s phantom recovery and return to office is calculated to politically damage and emasculate “acting President” Goodluck Jonathan. Jonathan, a Christian and member of the minority Ijaw ethnic group, is seen as vulnerable to the kind of scheme adopted by Turai and her coterie. In recent weeks, Mrs. Yar’adua and some members of her inner circle have sponsored massive campaigns in the north portraying Jonathan as anti-north.

Paralyzed by the fear that Jonathan’s reconstituted cabinet is likely to declare Yar’adua incapacitated, Turai quickly lined up four senior clerics “to create confusion, uncertainty and panic,” said one of our sources.

The clerics were quoted as saying that Yar’adua’s condition was not in anyway as bad as presented in the media. Even so, they reportedly confirmed what Saharareporters had reported exclusively, which is that Yar’adua, since returning to Nigeria, has not been able to communicate through speech or to move around on his own.

However, one of our sources disclosed that the clerics’ mission was to shore up Turai’s failed bid a week ago to present Yar’adua to the public at the National Mosque in Abuja. One source told us that Turai’s foiled plot, which was to be televised by some television stations, was to display “Yar’adua’s body double at the National Mosque.” The ploy was for a “Yar’adua look-alike” to make a short brisk visit to the mosque that would have been televised to Nigerians, “but they wanted to carry out the plan without pre-publicity,” said our highly connected source. He added that a report by a local newspaper that Yar’adua would appear at the mosque “effectively derailed the plot.” Once the report of Yar’adua’s “appearance” was leaked, Turai abandoned the ruse. Even so, hundreds of Muslim faithful – young and old – trooped to the National Mosque last week curious to catch a glimpse of Yar’adua, a no-show.

Last week, two sources told Saharareporters that Turai’s group had also contacted the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to play a role in a broadcast that would create the impression that Yar’adua was making steady progress. But a members of the BBC’s Hausa Service crew, who were in Nigeria two weeks ago, insisted on taping a televised interview with the ailing ruler. They were never contacted again.

The BBC had taken critical hits earlier this year when it broadcast a so-called interview with Yar’adua that lasted less than a minute. Many critics questioned the authenticity of the broadcast.

Since Yar’adua’s commando-style return to Nigeria in the wee hours of February 23, Turai and a tight-knit group of her allies have sponsored a series of propaganda stunts, in the international and local media, to paint a picture of a healthy Yar’adua who is merely taking his time to fully regain his energy. But Saharareporters has written several investigative reports, based on interviews with highly knowledgeable sources, to expose the grand deception about Yar’adua.

Turai’s first international hoax appeared on the Qatar-based Al Jazeera Television. Yvonne Ndege, the network’s Abuja correspondent, interviewed Yar’adua’s cousin, Zubairu Aliyu Gafai, who claimed that Yar’adua was walking around. Mr. Gafai told Al Jazeera that he and Yar’adua had had tea during his visit to the ailing president. He also claimed that he spoke with Yar’adua who asked after family members.

However, our investigations revealed that Gafai never met Yar’adua, but was goaded by Turai to give the false interview. “Madam Turai wanted to capitalize on Al Jazeera’s popularity with Nigerian viewers to perpetrate a major scam,” said one of our sources.

The Abuja-based Daily Trust has been recruited, as the major organ for spreading a series of lies concocted by Turai’s group. Some of the fabrications amount to outright mockery of Yar’adua. In one report, Yar’adua was reported to be walking around on the gardens of the presidential villa grounds playing with birds and animals.

But a medical source knowledgeable about Yar’adua’s condition insists that his purported recovery and planned return to office is a fallacy. But the source also pointed out that if Nigerians permit an incapacitated man to run their affairs, then “a Yar’adua limited in speech and movement will be readily available anytime to take over power.” Otherwise, said another source, Yar’adua’s doctors and family members know full well that Yar’adua can never make the type of recovery to enable him to read and respond to memos much less to move around commissioning or inspecting projects. Yar’adua was for more than 90 days marooned in a Saudi Arabian hospital and has spent close to 40 days sequestered in the Presidential Villa.

An exasperated member of Yar’adua’s extended family told Saharareporters that Turai “must now be reined in because she is acting in a manner that is at odds with her husband’s personality and conduct.” He said most members of the family were disturbed that Turai was using her husband to hold Nigeria to ransom, asking whether “she plans to set Nigeria on fire.” The source said the family might soon be forced to publicly state that Turai was not acting in her husband’s best interests.


http://www.saharareporters.com/real-news/sr-headlines/5694-split-in-yaradua-family-over-turais-latest-ploys.html

“What I will tell them is that posting is approved by God. Nothing happens without God’s approval.God wants me to be where I am today at this time and He has His purpose for where I am today and I can feel it. Come to think of it, Nigeria ’s image needs, to some extent, to be revived."

"I am honoured to be recognized as one of MEA Magazine's '50 Powerful Women in Business. I could not have achieved this honour without God and Nigerians for whatever I am today I owe to Nigeria and the good people of Africa, "

"I am not saying that President Yar’Adua should resign or condemn him for being sick. He did not choose to be sick. We will continue to pray for him, but all I am saying is, let us encourage him do the right thing so that our hard earned democracy will not be truncated. Anybody who feels otherwise is unfair to our President (who has been preaching the rule of law), and utterly unfair to our country."

"I never cooked for madam,I was not in any way part of the cabal. I want to state clearly here that President Yar'Adua is a fine gentleman with a fine spirit , "

"The cabal wants to continue with their usual statement of 'the President said and you must comply'.They want to continue dishing out instructions even when the President did not say so , They sneaked him into this country in the night , I think it's something that is unnecessary and uncalled for."

"If anybody comes up tomorrow to explain to me why it is necessary for me to resign so as to help stabilise the polity, I will not waste one minute."

"If we fail to act now, history will not forgive us. I rest my case.”

true talk.

Are pharmacists not health professionals again?

The United States will implement new airline security measures this month to replace mandatory screening of air travellers from 14 countries, a step that had angered some allies, including Nigeria, when it was imposed after a failed bombing by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Christmas Day.

Based on the new measures, the US has ditched the list of 14 countries as the measures supersede the list of countries concerned that was put in place as an emergency response on January 3, 2010.
Under the new measures, all travellers to the US will be affected and not just travellers from Nigeria and 13 other countries that were short listed by the US last January as either “sponsors of state terrorism” or “countries of interest”.

Travellers from the 14 will no longer automatically face extra security screening before they fly to the US, Reuters said yesterday.
Announcing the new measures yesterday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, said the Transportation Security Administration will begin the new enhanced security measures for all air carriers with international flights to the US.

The new terror-screening strategy is as a result of a review ordered by President Barack Obama.
Beginning this month, anyone travelling to the US will instead be screened based on specific information about potential terrorist threats, a senior Obama administration official explained.

With the new measures, Napolitano said "passengers travelling to the US from international destinations may notice enhanced security and random screening measures throughout the passenger check-in and boarding process, including the use of explosives trace detection, advanced imaging technology, canine teams, or pat downs, among other security measures."
She said the new measures which are aimed at strengthening the safety and security of all passengers, "utilize real-time, threat-based intelligence along with multiple, random layers of security, both seen and unseen, to effectively mitigate evolving terrorist threats."

Noting that "terrorist threat to global aviation is a shared challenge and ensuring aviation security is a shared responsibility", the US top official said, "these new, enhanced measures are part of a dynamic, threat-based aviation security system covering all passengers travelling by air to the US while focusing security measures in a more effective and efficient manner to ensure the safety and security of the travelling public".

A release from the department of Homeland Security noted that "Napolitano, in conjunction with the United Nations’ specialised agency for civil aviation, International Civil Aviation Organisation, has been leading a global initiative to strengthen the international aviation system against the evolving threats posed by terrorists, working in multilateral and bilateral contexts with governments as well as industry."

It further disclosed that, "Over the past three months, Secretary Napolitano has participated in regional aviation security summits around the world in Spain, Mexico and Tokyo, forging historic agreements with her international colleagues to strengthen the civil aviation system through enhanced information collection and sharing, cooperation on technological development and modernised aviation security standards".

Reacting to the new measures announced by the US, Nigerian Ambassador, Professor Adebowale Adefuye, said: "It is very heart-warming coming so soon after my visit to President Obama on behalf of Acting President Goodluck Jonathan.

“It shows how sensitive the US is to Nigeria's plight and interest. Taking alongside the forthcoming signing of the bi-national commission agreement, the decision will improve and strengthen the quality of relations between the US and Nigeria. We are very grateful to the Obama government."

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=170036

INDICATIONS have merged in Abuja that there is more to the anger of the 'anti Dora Akunyili group' that were desperate to ruin the aspiration of Professor Dora Akunyili who was not allowed to express herself on Monday as the third ministerial nominee to be screened but has now been (grudgingly) cleared by the Senate.

Senator Kanti Bello (Katsina) had led the pack that mounted a strong opposition to her nomination on Monday when he asked the Professor of Pharmacology tough and hostile question on her description of President Umaru Yar'Adua's kitchen cabinet as "a cabal".

The Guardian learnt at the weekend that the clique that is still desperate to keep the ailing President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in power through spin on his health, has indeed anticipated that unless the former NAFDAC boss and former Information and Communication Minister is stopped in her track, "she will be sworn in as Health Minister and the office will be critical to the implementation of Section 144 of the Constitution, soon after the new cabinet is sworn in."

Even now, her adversaries have not left the former minister who denied outright that she was part of the cabal and cooked for the President's wife alone. It was learnt that they are fighting to ensure she does not get a particular portfolio she is said to be interested in.

The Guardian learnt that Yar'Adua kitchen cabinet generally believed to have been routed by the acting President's pulling down of their strongholds including the dissolution of the cabinet has not given up as they believe that "Madam Dora who has spoken boldly against them (the cabal) will gun for the Health portfolio that will be critical to the implementation of Section 144 of the Constitution, which deals with "Permanent Incapacity of President or Vice President" and the constitution of "Medical Panel" by the President of the Senate.

It was also gathered this week that, the clique that may not be pacified by any mediator, in the circumstances, had reckoned that it was expedient for them to deal with her (Akinyili) ruthlessly so that she would not show her fervency in the deal that is expected to be one of the first major assignments of the new cabinet to be constituted next week.

"The Opposition to Akinyili is real and deeper than has been expressed, That is the reason they (the clique) have attributed the trouble in Senator Joy Emodi's constituency to even Dora's manipulation so that they can get the Acting President to replace her (Dora) with Senator Emodi just sacked by a Court of Appeal," was the way another source put it even before she narrowly escaped clearance by the Senate.

But now, the opposition to Akinyili is back on the beat to ensure that she does not have the health portfolio especially now that a medical practitioner who was minister of state in the former cabinet has been cleared. Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong is a medical doctor.

Meanwhile, apart from the health portfolio, which Akunyili is said to be suitable for, the race for the Office of the Attorney-General is another keen contest for the three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) within the rank of nominees at the moment.

While Henry Ajumogobia is generally believed to be a good candidate for the Petroleum Ministry, the emergence of a candidate from Edo, who was until recently a big player in the oil industry Mr. Chris Ogiemwonyi and Mrs. Diezani Allison Madueke who worked in Shell as a director in non-exploration department before she joined the cabinet in 2007 has reportedly changed the colour of competition. Sources said last night that, "if Diezani wants the oil portfolio, she will get it because she is a member of the new clique in Jonathan's new deal in Abuja."

That development as it affects the Petroleum ministry may alter earlier calculation about the Justice Ministry where the three SANs will have to vie for the prestigious Justice Ministry. Ajumogobia was Attorney-General of Rivers State in Peter Odili's administration.

Although it is said that the new nominee from Kogi State, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke too has been eyeing the Attorney-General and Justice Minister Portfolio, the trouble with his nomination now is that the Acting President and the Senate have been told about his relationship with former Delta State Governor James Ibori and Ex Minister of Justice, Michael Kaase Aondoakaa. "Adoke would have been dropped but for the Senate President who has extracted a written confession from him (Adoke) about his relationship with Ibori, generally believed to be very close to the so-called cabal," a source said.

Adoke, Igbira from Kogi, is said to have denied business relationship with Ibori but said he had some link through Aondoakaa as his chamber was used for some professional services between the two: Ibori and Aondoakaa.

Adoke, (SAN), has documented that to the Senate President when President of a Customary Court from his place in Abuja led him to see the Senate President in his residence last weekend before clearance. He reportedly said that it was not that "he was Ibori's lawyer but that his Chamber was a link between Ibori and the former Justice Minister," as a source in the Senate disclosed.

The Senate President was said to have promised "to assist in convincing the Acting President to retain him. That has been done as he has been screened and cleared" was the way the same source hinted us.

In the same vein, another revelation and allegation about a high profile cabinet nominee that has been spiked by the Senate is against Alhaji Murtala Yar'Adua, son of the elder brother to the ailing President who was reportedly blackmailed to reject the nomination.

It was revealed that while the screening was going on that the clique in his family "actually brought up a case against the youngest nominee to the extent that he was recently quizzed in the United States (US) on his alleged link to the Al queda network in the wake of the AbdulMutallab foiled attempt to blow up a Detroit bound plane in December last year. It was said that the junior Yar'Adua travelled to the (US) recently for a medical check-up and was allegedly arrested and released on the intervention of the Nigerian Embassy in the US".

We confirmed that though the young Yar'Adua was indeed quizzed, it was not serious enough to stop his nomination generally believed to have been politically motivated as a master-stroke to deal with the famous "cabal" alleged to be holding his uncle hostage.

As another insider said, "the denouement of the first assignment may result in nomination of the new National Security Adviser, (NSA) General Aliyu Gusau as Vice President while Col Kayode Areh, former Director General State Security Service (SSS) may emerge new NSA if the deal comes through as Yar'Adua's era is confined to history".

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article01/030410?pdate=030410&ptitle=Section%20144:%20Yar'%20Adua%20Group%20Oppose%20Akunyili%20As%20Health%20Minister

It was the same Yaradua that was supposed to attend Jumat the other day. Why has the Imam dragged himself into politics?

If the Imam truly met Yaradua, why must he talk to the press about it?Should not it be a confidential visit? Imams are not politicians, but this Imam has soiled himself in dirty political issues. How much was he paid by Turai to speak to the press? If we are to here about Yaradua's condition , it should come from a Gov personnel not an Imam.

The Chief Imam told Daily trust that he and the three others had sought to see the President only to pray for his full recovery so that he can resume office soonest.What is the craze about returning to office. If we pray for Yaradua's recovery, it is for him to get better and not for him to resume work. His life should be more important to him than the presidency.

Chief Imam, please stop allowing Turai to use you for her selfish ambitions.

good idea!

I knew she was gonna make it. 'Kanti Bello was just 'barking'.

All of you guys casting aspersions on Dora are enemies of Nigeria. Show me anyone that has the clean record that she has. Tell me any meaningful thing that Kanti Bello said. Foolish old man, instead of discussing issues he was shameless to talk about women matter on national TV.
Dora should be celebrated as a hero.She kicked started the process that brought stability to the process that brought Jonathan. Jonathan recognizes that and called her back to serve.Who is Kanti Bello? Why is it that more honourable senators do not share his wicked passion? If it were not for politics and the fact that he got there by rigging , is he qualify in anyway to stand Dora? Nonsense! absolute nonsense!!
And believe me, whether she passes the screening or not, she stays with her integrity and someday she will come back and serve this land on a higher capacity.

All of you guys casting aspersions on Dora are enemies of Nigeria. Show me anyone that has the clean record that she has. Tell me any meaningful thing that Kanti Bello said. Foolish old man, instead of discussing issues he was shameless to talk about women matter on national TV.
Dora should be celebrated as a hero.She kicked started the process that brought stability to the process that brought Jonathan. Jonathan recognizes that and called her back to serve.Who is Kanti Bello? Why is it that more honourable senators do not share his wicked passion? If it were not for politics and the fact that he got there by rigging , is he qualify in anyway to stand Dora? Nonsense! absolute nonsense!!
And believe me, whether she passes the screening or not, she stays with her integrity and someday she will come back and serve this land on a higher capacity.

If the INEC chairman is Principled, the system can change. Just imagine Dora or Ribadu occupying the same seat, I don't think elections will be as bad as they have been. Believe you me or not, Iwu is a critical factor.

Yerima is possessed by many demons.

I knew that the Hausa Fulani's have been using the army all this time. After all all the top guys are hausa fulanis from Danbazau to the GOC jos.

God must help us. Jonathan needs to replace the army officers that have obviously failed in Jos.

Jonathn should not disgrace us.

He has the option to be:

1. Scared- to make change so as to save his life from possible danger, in which case I advise that he resigns and allow Mark to do it.
2. Greedy- try to just be there as a toy, use the opportunity to steal money for himself and just leave without making any impact.
3. Bold-shun the govs, sack the cabal and make a change, afterall he is not planning for re-election.

FRESH facts emerged yesterday on how the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has been sharply divided over the powers of the Acting President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, with 12 them who referred to themselves as wise men wrote a strongly worded memo to the Acting President to maintain the status quo.

The wise men also cautioned the Acting President to avoid any attempt to refer to the current administration as Jonathan administration, insisting that it remains YarAdua administration till 2011.

This formed part of the contents of the memo the 12 wise men were said to have submitted to the Acting President on Wednesday before the beginning of the Council meeting.

They also advised the Acting President against dissolving the cabinet and reasoned that since the ailing President Umaru YarAdua is in the country, the Acting President does not have the power to either dissolve the cabinet or tamper with the office of the Service Chiefs.

According to them, 'any attempt to move against the existing structure will fail'. They advised him not to see himself 'running a new presidency'.

The memo also warned of the grave dangers ahead if the Acting President should make moves to become a substantive president. Such moves, they reasoned 'will fail', and heat up the polity.

The ministers were said to have earlier met at the office of the Defence Minister, Gen Godwin Abbe (rtd) to fine tune their position. They also frowned at the composition of the Presidential Advisory Council headed by Gen T. Y Dajuma without consulting them and the Presidential Monitoring Committee on Federal Projects which they see as a threat to deal with the ministers who are not allied with the ambition of the Acting President.

They were also said to have met some governors who reasoned along with them for what a source called 'their political survival strategy.'

The source said the search light on the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources where projects worth N30 billion are being investigated was part of their major fears.

It was not surprising that the position of the governors when they met with the Acting President on Wednesday was not entirely different from some of the contents of the memo which the ministers had earlier submitted to the Acting President,” the source said.

The 12 'wise men' include, Senator Adamu Aliero, Dr Ibrahim Lame, Demola Seriki, Rilwan Lukman, Shetimma Mustapha, Shamsideen Usman and Chief Ufot Ekaette.

Others are Gen Godwin Abbe (rtd), Sam Egwu, Dr S. Abba Ruma, Prof Babatunde Osotimehin and Taminu Kurfi.

But other members of the cabinet were said to have faulted with the memo and reasoned that it was an attempt to remove all executive powers from the Acting President and make him a lame duck executive officer.

The Acting President should not be made a lame duck; he has the powers to exercise all the executive functions including dissolution of the cabinet and do whatever he feels will move the country forward,” they said.

Some of the cabinet members who spoke to defend full executive powers for the Acting President include the Secretary to the Federal Government, Yayale Ahmed, Ojo Maduekwe, Godsday Orubebe, Remi Babalola and Dora Akunyili.

A source close to the presidency said: The resolution given by the 12 wise men is an affront to the Acting President. Nigerians should be curious as to what gives them the courage to do this against constituted authority. Should the sanctity and respect of the constitution bow to self-serving interests that have not achieved any tangibles for the ordinary man on the street?”

http://www.nigerianewspapersonline.net/maintain-status-quo-twelve-ministers-write-jonathan

Agod is a fraud. Be careful I can trace and arrest you.

Who is the man in charge, Jonathan or Northern Governors?

Nothing yet but we are expectant.

we are so lucky to have a person like Dora, who will come out and say the truth. The polity is hot already. When they tell us Yaradua can rule from anywhere; that he spoke thruogh bbc, that he signed the sup[plementary budget; that he came back like a thief in the night, what can be more terrible than that? Let's praise Dora, she represents light, they represent darkness. Darkness can not overcome light. They tried to kill her in NAFDAC but could not. Nobody can harm her. If she is not scared, why are you guys scared for her. If you have fear, you can't lead in life.

Some presidential officials also revealed to NEXT that Mr. Yar’Adua’s inner circle of decision makers, last week, asked the presidential spokesman, Segun Adeniyi, to announce that the ailing president had dissolved the executive council, however Mr. Adeniyi allegedly declined to do so. Attempts to speak with Mr. Adeniyi on this were unsuccessful.

The dissolution of the council was planned so as to make it difficult for the body to reach a resolution regarding Section 144 of the 1999 constitution, according to sources who said this was just one part of a broad strategy by loyalists to Mr. Yar’Adua to ensure political survival.

‘It was a surprise to us all when the usually bubbling Segun looked worried and even confused,” said a mid level operative who asked not to be named for this story.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5534336-146/jonathan_at_wits_end_over_yaradua.csp

Our sources revealed that a tearful and subdued Turai expressed shock and disbelief at the level of opposition and hostility directed at her and her husband’s associates since their arrival from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

“The Turai who showed up at the meeting did not display her signature swagger and arrogance,” said a source familiar with the encounter.

Recent statements by Segun Adeniyi, Yar’adua’s spokesperson, also mirror Turai’s mellow manner. After Yar’adua’s team issued a first statement referring to Jonathan as vice president, instead of acting president, Mr. Adeniyi has clarified that Jonathan is properly in charge of the government. In addition, the presidential spokesman today corrected an earlier statement that Yar’adua had been forwarding medical updates to Jonathan.

In the last few weeks, ahead of her decision to rush her gravely ill husband back to Nigeria, Turai had ordered and personally coordinated salvoes of political and media attacks against Jonathan. The attacks were calculated to weaken Jonathan and to undermine his ability to assume any real power.

But at last night’s meeting with Jonathan, it was clear that Turai was slowly coming to terms with the fact that her much-treasured run as “First Lady” was about to end. She begged Jonathan to see them as part of the same family and implored him not to accept or believe the stories circulating that she brought her husband home as part of a strategy to rule Nigeria by force or proxy. She assured Jonathan that she recognized that he is in charge and should do everything he can to keep the Presidency rolling.

Our sources said Jonathan played along, assuring her of his unwavering loyalty to her ailing husband. He reportedly reminded her that since the president left for treatment in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, he had tried to keep a low profile and hoped as well as prayed that his “brother President” would fully recover soon.

However, the tone of their discussion reportedly changed when Jonathan requested to see the “President”. A visibly rattled Turai then said it was not possible, claiming the President was “resting”.