₦airaland Forum

APC has said the mind of every right thinking Nigerians. Soon the GEJ e-warriors start flooding this thread to defend their paymaster and attack APC. GEJ should know that Abacha treaded this path, but where is he today. Even Abacha could not completely suppress opposition.
When he factionalised the NGF and Rivers PDP, he did know he was sowing a seed he will soon reap from. GEJ has completely lost it because of the kind of ill advisers around him. They keep telling him he is the president and has the power to do anything, but is the president above the constitution.

Please how many has been rehabilitated so far? Promise and fail.

For those of you speaking against OBJ, you forget that OBJ is instrumental to getting the governors' support for GEJ in the 2011 primaries. It was OBJ who encouraged GEJ to contest even GEJ did'nt have the liver to declare his ambition. It would not be wrong to say that GEJ may not have been there without OBJ.
Be that as it may, you fail to see GEJ for what he is trying to be- a traitor and a betrayer. Why agree to a condition you know you will not keep. Why he is fighting and trying to crush those who supported him in the past because they insist he keeps his own part of the bargain? Why divide the nation along tribal and religious lines? Nigerians have never been this divided after the civil war. I pray this crises does not degenerate more than this.

atlwireles: My friend, you people are the ones, that having been beating the drums of war and revolution. The president said get ready. "What of when he agreed to only run 1 term" Only a person suffering from Aboki born to rule madness will make this sentence in a country of 160M.

I day laugh o!
Ride on, bros . Which one you be? Egbesu or Asari /ateke?
But no burst your veins
abi they want remove food from your mouth.

atlwireles: This people are living in some different universe. They should walk the streets of the southsouth and take the politcal temperature. People here are mad at the president for not breaking this calabash. Look at the words of Asari today. What he is saying is nothing different, from what you hear in Warri, Benin Uyo Port, calabar. They want war, let's prepare for the war.

You want to prepare for war eh
You are on your own.
You want to die for Gej and Pej, while they greedily hold on to power
Or you think they are serving your interest or Ss interest
Sorry for you. How has Gej presidency helped SS
Its people like you they can manipulate with all those tribal and religious sentiments.
What of when he agreed to only run 1 term.
Or did the north not support him against Atiku
I believe in honour and integrity, if he agreed for 1 term, nobody is saying he should not contest but he should do so under another party since he is so desperate to remain in office
He should stop dividing this nation and drumming for war .

A man that can not honour an agreement can never be trusted. Idon't care if GEJ transforms Nigerians or not. He should be a man of his word. His unbridled lust to hold to power is not in our interest. I see a dictator who Will not to leave even after 2019. The ear

If these are true then the new PDP has a very strong case . I pity GEJ , his advisers have really misled him. So Tukur is a not legitimate member of PDP? . Let's see if GEJ Will be able to get the judiciary to twist this one like they did with the Rivers state PDP issue

INEC should deregister Tukur's PDP - Aggrieved govs, others

http://mobile.punchng.com/output.php?link=http://www.punchng.com/news/inec-should-deregister-tukurs-pdp-aggrieved-govs-others/

Reading through all the posts and comments since saturday, one thing is very clear:
Not only is GEJ on the edge, but his e-warriors on NL seem to be paranoid. The guys are just edgy and fretting.
Hehehe...GEJ is on the hot seat
Some weeks back it was Amaechi
What goes around, comes around.

Op and Chukwudi
You guys are giving GEJ ideas abi
okay na, let him rig 2015 elections (i.e if he has liver to contest) and see if he will not be chased out.
Things have changed o, this is not 2011.

chukwudi44: Grass root ki flower root ni.Where were all tis people during the last elctions.If they all voted for him he should @ leat have scored 63000 votes during the last elctions but funny enough he couldn't even muster that figure throughout the state only to get it @ just a party primaries.

You really are undermining APC . You forget that APC =ACN+ ANPP +CPC . In the last elections Ngige contested under ACN .

berem: Wetin dis one dey talk? abi bomb dey your head? you no see 21 LGAs wey get the 63,000 votes? you just wan talk abi? teeth full your mouth!

hehehe ..the guy is shocked to see that APC already has that level of grassroots support in Anambra. Another SE goes to APC!

jmaine: They just gave GEJ an express ticket to the 2015 polls . . .

So why is he begging them? Keep deceiving yourself.

Billyonaire: I have learnt not to take apc on top someone else's headache. Ibori defrauded Delta State and it seems Delta State people still love him very much. If Deltans want Ibori sent to Nigeria, it should be done. But for the sake of justice he must remain there in prison till the expiration of his term. It should serve as a lesson to thieving Governors and those gallivanting from states to states in the name of Governors forum, instead of putting their a.s.s down and working their states to success.

Oh my God! Are you for real? I never knew your blind support for GEJ is as bad as this.

Enough of this wastage! It is time to hold our leaders accountable. SAY NO CORRUPTION!

Mixed reactions continue to trail the Delta State House of Assembly’s alleged N1.2 billion leadership training jamboree currently taking place in faraway Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, San Francisco, USA.

Twenty-nine members of the House as well as Emma Okoro, the pioneer Speaker of the House who is now Chief Adviser to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan on Legislative Matters, along with directors and aides to key officers of the House led by the current Speaker, Mr. Victor Ochei, are said to have left the shores of the country two weeks ago for what has been described as a jamboree at the expense of tax payers.

The size of the Speaker’s entourage, which our correspondent learnt has about 40 persons, is already generating ripples among Deltans who described the “training” as a waste of public funds that has no direct positive impact on Deltans, questioning the justice of elected officials funding such training from the public purse.

According to the Speaker, who spoke on the phone from the United States, the training programme being attended by members of the 5th Assembly in California is to prepare them further for the challenges ahead.

“The training programme is a must for all members of the House as capacity building is a priority to the leadership of the fifth Assembly.”

He said the choice of the School of Public Policy, was because of the institution’s track record in capacity building training, adding that certificates would be issued to participants at the end of the programme on August 9, 2013.

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state who sopke with our correspondent condemned the training, describing it as a “kangaroo training” for the purpose of looting public funds.

“We learnt here that the training programme is focusing on the power of legislation in sustainable development of society, leadership and public management, social media and public policy, public and private partnership, innovation and sustainable development, Californian political system, education as well as the place of agriculture in human development. Our question is that this is not the first time they are embarking on such frivolous trips abroad and what has been the gains and impact on the people?

“Has this stopped them from being contractors, has this stopped them from been corrupt and fraudulent? The answer is no,” he declared.

A House of Assembly staff who spoke under condition of anonymity described the act of the lawmakers as unfortunate saying that the lawmakers are among the many problems facing the state right from the beginning in terms of corruption and amassing wealth for themselves.

“Ask them what has been their contribution to the growth of the state and democracy, apart from their usual votes of confidence passed on the state governor so that “Ghana must go” bags will keep on coming. Just look at the list of the persons that went, what has the training got to do with directors, Uduaghan’s aid and aides of the speaker if not to waste and loot public funds?”

One of the lawmakers participating in the training who pleaded that his name not be mentioned confided in our correspondent that the whole exercise is nothing but fraud. “Honestly speaking, this training is a waste of funds as far as I am concerned because it will not have any impact on our people, it will not change our way of life, rather just to siphon public funds all in the name of training abroad.

“I was telling a colleague of mine that rather than wasting taxpayers’ money why not we hold this training even at Calabar or any other place in Nigeria and the purpose will still be achieved. For over two weeks we arrived here if I tell you how much taxpayers’ money that has gone you will be shocked. Though, I must tell you the truth, Ochei is only doing all this to impress us the House members so that we don’t nurture any mind to impeach him since he is contesting for the governorship position come 2015.

“Are you talking about the bills for our accommodation alone at the Hotel Shattuck, Berkeley?” he queried. “ What about the feeding, drinking, hanging out with all these Oyibo girls, what about the money for our instructors taking us the programme?”

But when asked to give the total figure expended so far in the programme, he declined but simply said “several millions of Naira my brother.”

Reacting to the development, a socio-political pressure group, Emede Political Focus Forum (E.P.F.F), Isoko South local government area of Delta State, described the lawmakers as “mere rubber stamp” who are just amassing wealth to the detriment of the people.

In a press statement, the Founder/Secretary General of the group, Comrade Geoffrey Osiama, expressed sadness and disappointment, describing the trip as "a waste of resources” and a way of undermining such institutions as the Lagos Business School, Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies in Jos, and the Center for Development Studies within the country which can offer capacity building training on Governance and Leadership.

“The lawmakers should realise that with this recent accord with University of California, they have passed a vote of no confidence in their own universities which some of them are currently attending and some graduated from as well as the numerous federal and private universities in this country."

Said the group, simply, “The clamour for foreign training among public servants is the "the quest for estacode."

Also reacting, a member of the state executive council who pleaded for anonymity stated, "This is insensitive distraction on the grounds that a lawmaker ought to have his ideas on leadership and governance before running, if he does not then he can hardly be of any use. It is truly unbelievable that our lawmakers could even think of such a wasteful project as enhancing their capacities through a stint at California or at any University outside our shores. We need to know who would be paying for the workshops and seminars-for that is what such stints invariably boil down to.”

The executive council member pointed out that the likes of Nasir el Rufai, former FCT Minister; and Frank Nweke Jnr, former Minister of Information; recent graduates of Harvard's one year fellowship programme attended the school at their own expense after serving in the Nigerian government.

While lamenting that the trip to California may have cost the Deltan taxpayers millions of dollars in airline tickets for the lawmakers, directors and aides in payment of bloated official allowances and hotel accommodation, the executive member lamented: “This is just another intelligent avenue for squandering of scarce public resources.”

A clearly outraged Delta state chairman, Campaign for Good Governance and 2011 Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) Governorship candidate also expressed his outrage.

“I think there is an urgent need for them to be called to order by well-meaning Deltans,” he said. “What impression are they giving to the outside world? The same government that is talking about attracting investors to the state through road shows to various countries of the world and without anything to show for such wasteful trips and adventures now trooping to America as tourists with tax payers money.

“I'm beginning to feel that some of us will soon look towards the direction of the courts for urgent intervention to stop these kinds of counterproductive summer jamborees. Many of the putative legislators came in into the house with very doubtful pedigrees and in most cases with forged certificates so, one is not surprised at their desperate attempts to jump at every opportunity of openings of exposure and phony certificates.

“Besides, the allocations and provisions for them in the 2013 budget for globetrotting and transfer of illicit funds have to be thoroughly exploited. But again, the cry of the traumatized and over exploited Deltans will soon come to an end because 2015 is just staring us on the face. They are all "Teke, U, fares sin" they are all found wanting and are moving precariously towards their political retirement. They cannot be termed or named as legislators. They are lootercrators,” Unuafe said.

On his part, the state chairman of Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), Chief Tony Ezeagwu stated that it’s all a waste describing it as a terrible thing.

“They have nothing to legislate upon, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan is absolutely in charge, the legislators are out of the governance and instead of sitting here in Delta state wasting their time they have to create a kangaroo programme and travel abroad to enjoy themselves at the expense of the tax payers hard earned money.

“What is happening in Delta State one cannot reconcile, I don’t even see the kind of leadership they are going far away in the United State of America to learn and come and practice in Nigeria. What kind of leadership training, the leadership which you are seeking that you waste tax payers’ money? Is it to come and make laws on how to tar our roads, make laws so that we can have good water, electricity or what? It’s all waste of public funds, waste of resources and tax payers’ money.”

On the involvement of five DPP lawmakers on the training trip, the party chairman said his partymen could not have turned down the offer in view of the fact that other legislators were going. “Don’t they like good things too? They should go with them if that is the way and manner the House is operating, they should operate with them. We don’t have the majority, assuming we have the majority they would have called the House to order since the training is seen as a jamboree.”

As to whether the party would scold them, the chairman disagreed, saying that since the money is for all of them they should also go and waste the money because it is for all of them, and if they are going to share the money let them share too and enjoy with them as well.
Source: http://saharareporters.com/news-page/reactions-trail-delta-assembly-n12-billion-usa-leadership-training-jamboree

This is how Nigerian money is being wasted! Bayelsa has nothing to show for all the allocations she gets, yet the Niger deltans are being made to believe that their underdevelopment is because of marginalization by the North or Southwest. The corruption and wastage in this country is just too much, and the government keeps on borrowing. We need to hold our leaders accountable for how they spend our common wealth.

Gov. Seriake Dickson today shocked his listeners when he admitted to making payments to two foreign firms for a project that he said were still being negotiated.

The governor's response to a question by a reporter on the value of the contract raised eyebrows.

Dickson, who presented payment instruments for 80 per cent of the contract, had declined to mention the contract value but merely said that the government was making a 30 per cent and 50 per cent payment to the two contractors.

Curiously the heavily-indebted state is still servicing a commercial agricultural loan and sundry bond obligations undertaken by his predecessor, Gov. Timprie Sylva.

Responding to the question on the contract sum denominated in dollars, Dickson committed blunders as he said that he was still looking at the figures with a view to arriving at the final figures.

In a lengthy and convoluted explanation, the governor failed to give reasons for making such a princely upfront payment for a contract that is still being negotiated.

Bayelsa governors are notorious for using projects to siphon public funds, then abandoning them. President Goodluck Jonathan, for instance, commenced a multi-billion hotel project in Yenagoa that is still in the “abandoned” category.

Silva also awarded many phantom projects across sectors where contractors got upfront payments and simply abandoned the site.

Source :http://saharareporters.com/news-page/bayelsa-state%E2%80%99s-governor-dickson-questionable-441million-fishery-projects

staggerman: The projects, according to him, are the construction of four new science secondary schools in Kaduna State worth $17,9m; construction of a 300-bed specialist hospital in Kaduna State at $43.15m; and the Zaria water supply project worth $81.0m.

Assuming 1 dollar = 160 Naira
Four Secondary Schools will cost $17.9m = N2.864 billion
Therefore, one secondary school will cost N2.864 billion divided by 4 = N716 million each

Please tell me what this school will contain to drive the cost of constructing just one secondary school to over 700 million Naira

A 300-bed hospital will cost $43.15m = N6.904 billion

Dear God, I hope it will be the greatest and most equipped hospital in the planet.

The more you look, the less you see. 4years from now, look out for these projects. They will either be abandoned at 25% stage or not all.

biafranqueen: United Kingdom
Debt as a percentage of GDP: 80.9 percent
General government debt: $1.99 trillion
GDP per capita (PPP): $35,860
Nominal GDP: $2.46 trillion
Unemployment rate: 8.4 percent
Credit rating: Aaa

Germany
Debt as a percentage of GDP: 81.8 percent
General government debt: $2.79 trillion
GDP per capita (PPP): $37,591
Nominal GDP: $3.56 trillion
Unemployment rate: 5.5 percent
Credit rating: Aaa

France
Debt as a percentage of GDP: 85.4 percent
General government debt: $2.26 trillion
GDP per capita (PPP): $33,820
Nominal GDP: $2.76 trillion
Unemployment rate: 9.9 percent
Credit rating: Aaa

United States
Debt as a percentage of GDP: 85.5 percent
General government debt: $12.8 trillion
GDP per capita (PPP): $47,184
Nominal GDP: $15.13 trillion
Unemployment rate: 8.3 percent
Credit rating: Aaa

Nigeria
Debt as a percentage of GDP:20.77 percent
General government debt:$6.3 billion
GDP per capita (PPP)$3,460.00
Nominal GDP:$244 billion
Unemployment rate:23.9%
Credit rating:BB-

Nigeria's debt is not that bad actually If we can use the money wisely is the question.

At least we can see the development in these countries and they do not have oil. How many other oil producing nations borrow like Nigeria. Besides, with the level of looting and corruption a good part of that loan will be wasted.

Abagworo: Very funny indeed.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X9ehVkp0VM

And some people are still claiming the impeachment was legal. Imagine the nonsense, have Nigerians become so selfish and greedy that they lie even in the face of a glaring truth. Let Bipi and co go and prove to the court that they properly impeached the speaker. He is lucky and he is still talking because his in-law mistakenly found himself as president of Nigeria, otherwise what will a thug and illiterate like Bipi be doing in the RSHA( no insult intended), talkless of struggling to become speaker.

Maxymilliano: This part of the story is true, that's why Bipi keeps insisting that anybody that is not ok with the alleged impeachment should go to court but unfortunately for the pro Amaechi's faction, they knew it'll be a wasted effort considering the irrefutable documented evidence of names and signatures of those present at the impeachment proceedings.

Anybody interested in the truth should prevail on Amaechi and his co-travelers to go to court and challenge the alleged impeachment. Then and only then will the truth be made manifest, all the half talks about 5 against 27 is total crap!

We are tired of all these falsehood you people are peddling. Are you really interested in the truth?
Why would they go to court? Is Bipi the speaker? The impeachment procedure did not follow the due process and is thus null and void, going to court is accepting it. If Bipi and co think they went through the procedure properly, let them go to court. As long as we are concerned in Rivers state we have one RSHA speaker and that is Otelemaba Amachree. Let Bipi go and prove that they properly impeached the speaker.

Dibiachukwu: Its a pity that some almajiris still believe lies their fathers told them. Lies like we fed the whole nation with groundnut. Take a minute, think about that and laugh at yourselves.

What is there to laugh about. Countries without oil, are they not doing better us. Of what use is the oil if we still have to borrow to build infastructure.

How do they intend to pay off these loans? If our resources are properly managed, do we need to borrow like this? Money lost to oil theft alone is enough to build these infastructure. Truly, we need an upright, God fearing leader that will rule with an iron hand and fight corruption.

Of course he should be granted bail, the offence is bailable.

LFJ: Don't let us support illegality, it may favored you today, but let us think of the day when we will be at the receiving ends. Some Ibo are crying today, because they deported their ppl; nobody look at their faces because they didn't saw this as an issue when Northern alimajiri were sent packing. As an independent observe, you don't need to be told that Bipi suppose to be in the prison by now if we have the country that do things right. Let us put the sentiment aside and stand for the truth.

Please tell him the truth he needs to know.

tokunboh: There was no crisis that would have prevented RSHA from sitting. They house of assembly passed the appropriation bill into law after the said fracas - based on this, can we say the house was not able to sit? People called for Chidi Lloyd's head because the dastardly act he carried out is still in the public domain - just wondering why the NASS resolution did not address this act of terror.
Evans Bipi and other people have come forward to say the speaker was not impeached by 5 people but by the required percentage of honourables as required by law. Amaechi's supporters and the press are the ones telling the whole world that 5people impeached the speaker. It would be nice if they can release the CCTV recording of the impeachment to the public to prove their case or is it that they have something they are hiding? Why are they not bold enough to release the said CCTV footage? It is not in our place to be judge over this case, let them take it to court and let the court decide whether the impeachment was legal or not. People should stop saying 5people impeached the speaker, the CCTV footage can put an end to this grey area. Thank you

Did n't you see the video of the acceptance speech of Bipi? That video is on youtube and was even posted on nairaland, were there more than 5 people in that video?. I think its Bipi and co that need to go to court to prove that they legally impeached the speaker

I hope this is for real. If it is true, then that is good.