₦airaland Forum

folakeewatomi:
Goodday people, please i need information about giving birth in us (new York) to be precise, am based in Nigeria, i need a hospital that i can register with, any doctor that i can contact pls.
Thank you

Please ask you question here
https://www.nairaland.com/4250945/give-birth-usa-cost-procedures/401

Good morning House,

What documents am I to take for my Tls appointment? I'm using self-service.

*Original passport
* Appointment confirmation
* Visa payment receipt
* Checklist


Kindly indicate if I missed any document. Thanks!

Good morning NL family, My sister-in-law is interested in a shared accommodation in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador. If you have any, please hit me up. Much appreciated!

Thanks for your response!

Nchabuomo:
Nope

Good afternoon guys

Please do I need to upload my VAF on Tls?

I'm so sorry for the refusal. Please put yourself together and refire. Don't forget to address the VO concerns. Your second application will be a blast, I can feel it.

Mummy4life1:
My application was refused today

Today is something else o! Windows of heaven has opened for every OPR hopefuls.
Congratulations!

kenbracey:
People of God, please help me thank the Lord God almighty!!!

Congratulations! [quote author=Fisssssyyy post=105383908]PPR ALERT!!!!!!
I was in church this morning and I told God I wanted my PPR today and he did it
I got my bvl since 19th of August and it has been ghost update since then.

New Month blessings...Congratulations!

LadyMerciee:
PPR ALERT!!!
Good morning everyone!! May 4th applicant here!!!
I’ve been a hopeful applicant and a silent reader on this platform and God gave me my ppr this morning.
Timeline:
May 4th: application submission
May 7th: biometrics done
July 8th: biometrics updated
August 12th: upfront medical done
August 16th: medical updated
August 25th: Correspondence letter received
September 1st: Passport request

Congratulations! I can imagine the joy.

Lindimama:
The Lord has done it ooo!!! PPR Alert!!! What God cannot do indeed does not exist ��������

Ok, thank you @Tutu82

Tutu82:
He is a minor but he still spends your money no? so calculate his needs and give an estimate as it is your statement of account and cover letter that would be included in his application.

Please I need help!

Filling my son's visa application form. What do I fill as total money he spends every month? My son is a minor.

PPR ALERT!!!!

My sister-in-law just got her OPR this afternoon.
I handled her application from start to finish and I'm super grateful to God and to everyone on this forum that has contributed to the success of her application.
I submitted her application before joining NL and trust me when I say "I learnt a lot".

Document I submitted before joining NL
SOP
Her brother's account statement
Letter of acceptance

Document I submitted via webform after I joined NL

Family picture
MBS
CAC document
Sponsorship letter from brother
Brother's Birth certificate
Brother passport data page
WAEC
One year Diploma certificate
Recommendations letter
Police character certificate

Please don't underestimate the power of webform.

Rochas is just a very big liar, How long will he continue to deceive the people? The schools do not even have chairs and tables not to talk of ceilings in the building, yet he is busy sharing money to school kids, may heaven help Imo State

In the so called state of Imo address, Governor Okorocha made promises that are out of this world. He said he will, within the next three years, build a Five Star hotel in each of the three senatorial zones in the state. Yes, Five Star hotels even when there is none yet in the state (not even Concorde Hotel in Owerri in a Five Star Hotel); give scholarship of N25,000.00 per annum to every primary school pupil in the state; N40,000.00 scholarship to every secondary school student in the state; N60,000 scholarship for every OND student of the state Polytechnic; N80,000.00 scholarship per annum for every HND student and N100,000.00 scholarship for every Imo State indigene studying at the Imo state University in addition to receiving tuition free. Meanwhile, out of the over 35,000 student enrolment at the Imo State University, about 31,500 are indigenes of Imo State. Governor Okorocha also announced that he will build three new universities in the state, one in each of the three senatorial zones, before 2015. Already, about 6,000 students are currently enrolled at the State Polytechnic. Imo state has an estimated 700,000 school enrolment in primary and secondary schools. When these figures are put side by side with the Governor’s promises, the following scenario will emerge: It will cost the state N3.5 billion to offer scholarship to the University students as proposed; N416 million for Polytechnic students; and N21 billion for primary and secondary school pupils and students, each year.

This comes to a total of N24.56 billion per annum. Meanwhile, the average annual income of the state is N 34 billion. With a recurrent expenditure of 70 per cent or N 23.8 billion ,a balance of N10.2 billion will be left for capital expenditure. That is not all.

Three Five Star hotels and a 25 storey office building is estimated to cost N180 billion. As at today, projects already embarked upon by the state government amount to N1.275 trillion. If this figure is divided by 34 ( the state’s annual income figure),it means that it will take 37.5 years to complete the projects, assuming that total income accruing to the state will be put into them. You then ask: what sort of abracadabra is this? Why does Governor Okorocha believe that Imo people are this daft.

I can bet that Okorocha’s colleagues, especially in the sister Southeast states, must have been stunned by Okorocha’s claims. How will they now cope with the wrath of their people who will soon confront them on why they cannot perform the same miracle as their Imo counterpart?

Back home, the implication of the Governor’s fairy tales is that he has come to a cross road. There is also total confusion in the state. As I write, the same state university whose students have been promised heaven-knows- how scholarships is under lock and key due to non payment of salaries. Primary and secondary schools lack consumables, contractors are not being paid, road contracts already awarded without papers stand at N850 billion while those advertised for award are worth N87 billion. To crown it all, none of the things promised by the governor is captured in any budget. With this bizarre and weird economics, Governor Okorocha has suddenly brought the state to a bind.

But there is a window of escape for Owelle Ethelbert (my name sake) Anayo Rochas Okorocha. There is an opportunity for him to save himself from the mess. If I were him, I would pray that the PDP wins its appeal at the Supreme Court. He will be the biggest beneficiary of such a victory because it will save him the wrath of Imo people whom he has made to look like people without brains.

THE LIES AND DECEITS OF GOVERNOR OKOROCHA
by Anayo Herbert Kelechi

The executive governor of Imo State, His Excellency, Chief Rochas Okorocha while narrating the full import of his government’s rescue mission likened it to the Israel’s rescue operation in Uganda tagged “90 minutes at Entebbe”. Although, the Entebbe raid was acted with exquisite sense of timing, its target of rescuing Israeli hostages from Field Marshall Idi Amin Dada was of vital strategic importance to Israel’s prestige as a nation. Nevertheless, the rescue operation as mission accomplished had all the hostages rescued and airlifted to Israel.

In view of the foregoing, governor Okorocha’s rescue agenda in Imo State lacks vision, since it was likened to the Israel’s operation in Uganda, which has its distinctive circumstance. In fact, such an imitation cannot pass for a vision. It can be a mere daydream, which most times, cannot be turned into reality due to lack of originality and reasonable concordance.

Apparently, within 10months in office, a state government that purports to be on rescue mission could not pass simple litmus test as it still appears insensitive to the two factors, namely to rescue people in supposed desperate plight, and to achieve it within a time frame. Thus, the only question on the lips of Imo people is “who is the rescue government actually rescuing or for whom is effort made in that direction?”

Is it the Transition Committee (TC) Chairmen at the Local Government Councils (LGCs) that have neither members nor appointment letters and all the paraphernalia of office? Or, is it the stooge members of the Imo State House of Assembly (IMHA) and the rescue government appointees who act as guinea pigs in the midst of being denied the pleasure of using brand new official vehicles and the benefit of all the entitlements attached to their offices? Or, is it the state civil servants who are at a crossroads between asking for a stop to an endless screening of certificates and craving for the actual computation of the hyped N20,000 new minimum wage, which should have placed them above the federal civil servants?

Let’s tell ourselves the bitter truth! Is governor Okorocha in all sincerity paying the state civil servants far and above their counterparts in the federal civil service who are earning N18,000 minimum wage? What is this lackadaisical mentality beclouding Imo people that a spade can no longer be addressed as such? Nevertheless, the civil servants know too well that the table used by governor Okorocha in calculating the so-called N20,000 minimum wage does not give a value worth up to N11,000 minimum wage, and they are afraid to voice out this truth for fear of victimization.

BUILDING TRUST AND ENGAGING THE PEOPLE
One is worried at the level of lies, falsehood, deceit, and abracadabra, which the Imo people have brazenly admitted to contend with.

* It is beyond every reasonable doubt that governor Okorocha did not cut down any state security vote as claimed. Reference to the 2011 budget reveals that the said state security vote was N2billion and not N6billion. Therefore, for governor Okorocha to claim that he cut down the said state security vote to N2.5billion is a criminal projection aimed at hoodwinking the Imo people for self aggrandizement to the tune of N500million. This is fraud.
* Imolites are no daft to be deceived that governor Okorocha paid 2-12years pensions to retirees whereas he merely paid 3months arrears in a dramatized interactive session. This window dressing to attract undeserved applause was stage –managed to portray the past governors of Imo State as insensitive to the plight of the retirees while masquerading as “a self acclaimed messiah”.

SECTORAL REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE
(a) PUBLIC WORKS/INFRASTRUCTURE

* The totality of the public works and infrastructural projects embarked upon by governor Okorocha are all at their teething stages that should not warrant any self glory or applause. It is sad to note that the award of these contracts did not follow due process because according to governor Okorocha, “in rescue mission, there is no protocol”.
* The verbosity in respect of breaking the age-long jinx about Okigwe and Orlu regarding the location of such white elephant projects as a five star hotel, a civic centre, a modern stadium, etc are the usual fallacious promises of governor Okorocha. It can be likened to the N100million development fund promised to each of the LGAs in the State, which till date is yet to be realized. To add salt to injury, governor Okorocha promised another N1billion to each of the LGAs in a manner that presents him as one in need of psychiatric diagnosis and spiritual deliverance so as to bring his flippancy to a bearable level.

(b) EDUCATION

* Governor Okorocha has made a ruse of education in the Imo State public school system with his ill conceived free education programme. Disappointedly the governor is busy politicizing the N100 stipend to school children, while the imprest to run the schools have not been made available, which invariably affects the quality of the so-called free education. Recently, the school children were restive on why the state government could not live up to its words of N100 daily stipend, which was paid for the first (and last) time in October 2011.

* In the face of the above, governor Okorocha perfected another lies and deceit phenomenon where he promised free education scheme and mouthwatering bursary for all Imo State undergraduates in the Imo State University (IMSU), Owerri and the Imo State Polytechnic (ImoPoly), Umuagwo. If Lagos, Rivers, and Bayelsa States whose Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) surpasses the federal allocation to Imo State cannot offer free tertiary education programme, and are finding it difficult to grapple with that of the secondary and primary schools, one marvels at why governor Okorocha thinks he can always play on the intelligence of the enlightened Imo citizens.

(c) SECURITY

* Imo people witnessed how governor Okorocha rebranded all the Hilux vans and Healthcare delivery hummer buses in the State to credit his so-called rescue government. Even, the additional 100 Ford Ranger Trucks, which he claimed to have purchased were actually donated by banks to the State government. The said governor was not ashamed to present these trucks to Imo people as his achievement in his first 100days in office, which he earlier planned not to celebrate.

* In the same manner, the said governor re-allocated all the official vehicles (acquired by the past administration) to his political appointees who invariably were denied the comfort of brand new official vehicles. Thus, the money so conserved from not purchasing any new vehicle is not seen to have been meaningfully utilized by the Okorocha’s government.

* In late January 2012, governor Okorocha visited Gombe, Bauchi and Kano States for his 2015 presidential ambition. However, he claimed to have visited and held meetings with the Igbos, and found out that no Igbo was killed in any of the Boko Haram attacks. Thanks to God that Rochas abracadabra did not charm the visibly annoyed Chairman of Ohaneze ndi Igbo of Kano State who was quick to respond that, “Okorocha did not enter Sabon Gari to see anybody. He came for his own political business. He did not come to see Ndigbo. He did not set foot in the community”. This is how governance has been reduced to a child’s play where time, effort and money are wasted on frivolities.


(d) IMO STATE CIVIL SERVICE REFORM AND COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAMME

It is on record that governor Okorocha has addressed Imolites on several occasions on the issue of the State being very rich. However, one is amazed on why, in the midst of this professed plenty, the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) were directed by the governor to engage in commercial activities in order to generate their salaries and allowances, while subventions to these MDAs have since been completely withdrawn. What a contradiction and double speak by governor Okorocha!

(e) REDUCING THE COST OF GOVERNANCE

* Governor Okorocha, in his address on the STATE OF IMO told Imolites that, “one of the biggest setbacks to the development of our nation has been the unusually high and largely unjustified cost of governance. Unfortunately, our State was a classic example of how resources could be frittered away by the excessive overheads and a plethora of unwholesome practices fueled, to a large extent, by greed and avarice”.
The same governor Okorocha who claims to be patriotic and prudent by his so-called rescue agenda deceived Imo people by wasting a whopping sum of N2billion on a trip to woo investors from purported seven countries. Imolites are still waiting for the investors to arrive.

* During the same address on the STATE OF IMO, governor Okorocha disclosed that “my government since inception has not borrowed a kobo”. Thus, the governor should in the spirit of his acclaimed prudent management of the State resources explain the following:
- Who borrowed the N10billion and N50billion respectively in 2011, and which were approved as supplementary budgets by the stooge IMHA?
- Who borrowed N6billion for repayment of purported loan owed to UBA PLC by the past administration?
- Who borrowed another N6billion for supposedly counterpart fund for UBE, ETF, MDG, etc?
- Who, also, borrowed N5billion for fruitless adventure of re-surfacing good and motorable roads in Owerri municipality?
- Who, too, borrowed a whopping sum of N10billion for phantom infrastructural development?

The loans are endless. Who is governor Okorocha fooling? Perhaps, governor Okorocha is right, because he is yet to start the actual borrowing spree.

* Whereas governor Okorocha is busy siphoning the State funds, he turns round with a Catholic look to tell easy-going Imolites what they like to hear about manna falling from heaven. Without fear of contradictions, Concorde hotel has been suffocated in the guise of renovation to pave way for LA MONDE hotel (owned by governor Okorocha) to reap all government sponsored socio-political activities. Roche group International (owned by governor Okorocha) controls all the ETF and UBE contracts at IMSUBEB as well as manages ADAPALM, Concorde hotel, and ITC. LA MONDE Press, LA MONDE Guest House, Concorde newspapers, and Rochas Convention Center Fast Food are other conduit pipes of governor Okorocha for siphoning state fund. No wonder, governor Okorocha once said, “I am here for a mission, and the mission shall come to pass. Don’t see me as a conventional governor, but a radical governor, that is why I don’t observe protocol”.

* As a friend, Kenneth Uwadi once wrote, “Okorocha has been proclaiming heaven that will become of Imo State. Every month, he will make press release, promising Imolites heaven on earth. To get cheap popularity, he rents praise singers who lie to the world that all is honky dory with Imo State. Our ears are sore with ‘we will build this and that’ in place of ‘we have done this and that’.” Indeed, Imo people are yearning for result. Do governor Okorocha realize that he sacked the following groups of Imo people from the government pay roll?
(a) The beneficiaries of the 10,000 jobs

(b) The elected LGC chairmen, the deputy chairmen, the councilors, the supervisory councilors in the 27 LGAs (their personal assistants and drivers).

(c) The Co-ordinators and members of the Local Government Development Centers in the 27 LGAs (including their personal assistants and drivers).

(d) The chairmen and members of the various boards of government departments and agencies (including their personal assistants and drivers).

In fact, these groups result in a combined total of about 16,000 Imo people displaced. Till date, there is no replacement with other Imo people begging for rescue. Then, where do we place governor Okorocha and his rescue mission in the annals of Imo history?

CONCLUSION
It poses a great difficulty to reconcile the random and reckless utterances of governor Okorocha with the realities on ground in Imo State. A situation where MDAs are subjected to generate their salaries and allowances; where contractors are subjected to fund government projects to completion without payment; where in ten months in office, a government borrowed a sum of money more than the sum total of the borrowings of three previous administrations in Imo State; where governor Okorocha sets up numerous private outfits which took over the management and control of government contracts, departments and agencies for his self aggrandizement; where about 16,000 Imolites were deprived of their legitimate jobs without payment of their entitlements or their replacement thereof smacks of a government cover-up and hypocrisy. It’s time to stop the lies and deceit. EFCC will, indeed be needed to help Imolites unravel the true accountability of the reckless and mischievous financial transactions of governor Okorocha’s rescue government in Imo State.

In the so called state of Imo address, Governor Okorocha made promises that are out of this world. He said he will, within the next three years, build a Five Star hotel in each of the three senatorial zones in the state. Yes, Five Star hotels even when there is none yet in the state (not even Concorde Hotel in Owerri in a Five Star Hotel); give scholarship of N25,000.00 per annum to every primary school pupil in the state; N40,000.00 scholarship to every secondary school student in the state; N60,000 scholarship for every OND student of the state Polytechnic; N80,000.00 scholarship per annum for every HND student and N100,000.00 scholarship for every Imo State indigene studying at the Imo state University in addition to receiving tuition free. Meanwhile, out of the over 35,000 student enrolment at the Imo State University, about 31,500 are indigenes of Imo State. Governor Okorocha also announced that he will build three new universities in the state, one in each of the three senatorial zones, before 2015. Already, about 6,000 students are currently enrolled at the State Polytechnic. Imo state has an estimated 700,000 school enrolment in primary and secondary schools. When these figures are put side by side with the Governor’s promises, the following scenario will emerge: It will cost the state N3.5 billion to offer scholarship to the University students as proposed; N416 million for Polytechnic students; and N21 billion for primary and secondary school pupils and students, each year.

This comes to a total of N24.56 billion per annum. Meanwhile, the average annual income of the state is N 34 billion. With a recurrent expenditure of 70 per cent or N 23.8 billion ,a balance of N10.2 billion will be left for capital expenditure. That is not all.

Three Five Star hotels and a 25 storey office building is estimated to cost N180 billion. As at today, projects already embarked upon by the state government amount to N1.275 trillion. If this figure is divided by 34 ( the state’s annual income figure),it means that it will take 37.5 years to complete the projects, assuming that total income accruing to the state will be put into them. You then ask: what sort of abracadabra is this? Why does Governor Okorocha believe that Imo people are this daft.

I can bet that Okorocha’s colleagues, especially in the sister Southeast states, must have been stunned by Okorocha’s claims. How will they now cope with the wrath of their people who will soon confront them on why they cannot perform the same miracle as their Imo counterpart?

Back home, the implication of the Governor’s fairy tales is that he has come to a cross road. There is also total confusion in the state. As I write, the same state university whose students have been promised heaven-knows- how scholarships is under lock and key due to non payment of salaries. Primary and secondary schools lack consumables, contractors are not being paid, road contracts already awarded without papers stand at N850 billion while those advertised for award are worth N87 billion. To crown it all, none of the things promised by the governor is captured in any budget. With this bizarre and weird economics, Governor Okorocha has suddenly brought the state to a bind.

But there is a window of escape for Owelle Ethelbert (my name sake) Anayo Rochas Okorocha. There is an opportunity for him to save himself from the mess. If I were him, I would pray that the PDP wins its appeal at the Supreme Court. He will be the biggest beneficiary of such a victory because it will save him the wrath of Imo people whom he has made to look like people without brains.

In the so called state of Imo address, Governor Okorocha made promises that are out of this world. He said he will, within the next three years, build a Five Star hotel in each of the three senatorial zones in the state. Yes, Five Star hotels even when there is none yet in the state (not even Concorde Hotel in Owerri in a Five Star Hotel); give scholarship of N25,000.00 per annum to every primary school pupil in the state; N40,000.00 scholarship to every secondary school student in the state; N60,000 scholarship for every OND student of the state Polytechnic; N80,000.00 scholarship per annum for every HND student and N100,000.00 scholarship for every Imo State indigene studying at the Imo state University in addition to receiving tuition free. Meanwhile, out of the over 35,000 student enrolment at the Imo State University, about 31,500 are indigenes of Imo State. Governor Okorocha also announced that he will build three new universities in the state, one in each of the three senatorial zones, before 2015. Already, about 6,000 students are currently enrolled at the State Polytechnic. Imo state has an estimated 700,000 school enrolment in primary and secondary schools. When these figures are put side by side with the Governor’s promises, the following scenario will emerge: It will cost the state N3.5 billion to offer scholarship to the University students as proposed; N416 million for Polytechnic students; and N21 billion for primary and secondary school pupils and students, each year.

This comes to a total of N24.56 billion per annum. Meanwhile, the average annual income of the state is N 34 billion. With a recurrent expenditure of 70 per cent or N 23.8 billion ,a balance of N10.2 billion will be left for capital expenditure. That is not all.

Three Five Star hotels and a 25 storey office building is estimated to cost N180 billion. As at today, projects already embarked upon by the state government amount to N1.275 trillion. If this figure is divided by 34 ( the state’s annual income figure),it means that it will take 37.5 years to complete the projects, assuming that total income accruing to the state will be put into them. You then ask: what sort of abracadabra is this? Why does Governor Okorocha believe that Imo people are this daft.

I can bet that Okorocha’s colleagues, especially in the sister Southeast states, must have been stunned by Okorocha’s claims. How will they now cope with the wrath of their people who will soon confront them on why they cannot perform the same miracle as their Imo counterpart?

Back home, the implication of the Governor’s fairy tales is that he has come to a cross road. There is also total confusion in the state. As I write, the same state university whose students have been promised heaven-knows- how scholarships is under lock and key due to non payment of salaries. Primary and secondary schools lack consumables, contractors are not being paid, road contracts already awarded without papers stand at N850 billion while those advertised for award are worth N87 billion. To crown it all, none of the things promised by the governor is captured in any budget. With this bizarre and weird economics, Governor Okorocha has suddenly brought the state to a bind.

But there is a window of escape for Owelle Ethelbert (my name sake) Anayo Rochas Okorocha. There is an opportunity for him to save himself from the mess. If I were him, I would pray that the PDP wins its appeal at the Supreme Court. He will be the biggest beneficiary of such a victory because it will save him the wrath of Imo people whom he has made to look like people without brains.

@ bandley
Can u see your small brain? U can believe his junk but cannot believe the truth about his email. I feel for Nigerians cos the real media has been raped. there's no more investigative journalism. Every dick and harry can sit in his house and publish articles without anyone investigating, Have u asked urself if Samuelson is a journalist? of cause, HELL NO! Did u check the alleged strokes on his back? It was one sided, Imagine this, look deeply into the strokes on his back, It means he was flogged either he was held or tied, When you are flogged and you are rolling on the floor, wouldn't the strokes scatter around your back? He would have showed us more images showing his full back. Can samuelson come out in the open and show Nigerians his full back, We cannot be decieved!

even samuelson cannot deny this. It will be a shame if your from Imo State. The same kerosine seller now flies aircraft and lodges at the Hilton. He even has the money to hire Festus Keyamo, We cannot be decieved, what is the source of his wealth? Is keyamo doing all this for free? You guys are bunch of fools if you believe this junk! He's been sponsored by Orji Uzor Kalu. But our Governor cannot be moved!

Samuelson Apology to Ohakim!

Why would he? Give one good reason why a governor would personally brutalise a helpless individual, Even the so called powerful in Imo State has never complained of harassment from the state government. This is another cheap blackmail!

Why would he? Give one good reason why a governor would personally brutalise a helpless individual, Even the so called powerful in Imo State has never complained of harassment from the state government. This is another cheap blackmail!

My attention was drawn to recent newspaper publications of a letter reportedly written by Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, to His Excellency, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, the Governor Imo State. My first action was, however, to investigate the authenticity of the said letter before making any reaction. Although one cannot say with certainty whether or not the governor has received the letter, Keyamo has since owned up to the authorship of the letter which he has circulated both locally and in the internet
To have deliberately circulated a letter meant for a personality like that of a state governor in the internet and in the entire global media means that Mr. Keyamo’s interest in the matter goes beyond that of protecting one Mr. Ikenna Samuelson who, he, Keyamo, claimed was physically assaulted by Chief Ikedi Ohakim on Thursday January 21, 2010. I repeat, only a fellow who is out to do a hatchet job or acting out a script written by others could resort to that type of approach.
I do not know in which capacity Mr. Keyamo is handling Samuelson’s matter: As a lawyer or a newspaper columnist? I ask this question because Mr. Keyamo has the reputation of abusing the privilege he has as a newspaper columnist by using his column to tackle opponents of his clients. Quite often, this fellow, who claims to be a radical lawyer, has used his column to pass judgment on cases still in court. I am certain many Nigerians have wondered why Mr. Keyamo seems immune to the doctrine of subjudice.
If Mr. Keyamo is handling the matter as a lawyer, then he is at it again. For, even the least discerning fellow would see from the content of his letter that he has already passed a judgment of condemnation on the governor. I reproduce here part of the opening paragraph of Keyamo’s letter now circulating the whole world: "I write this letter to you in reaction to the wailings and lamentations of one Mr. Ikenna Samuelson who got in touch with me in respect of the physical assault you unleashed on him on Thursday, January 21, 2010. I know it is so convenient for politicians like you to quickly point to "political enemies" when you are publicly engaged on thorny issues. But you cannot bathe with petrol and stay close to fire when your enemies are around. In other words, you have a duty to act decently and in tandem with the laws of the land so as not to arm your political opponents …"
From the above, does it not follow, quite clearly, that Mr. Keyamo has found Chief Ikedi Ohakim guilty even before hearing from him? Witness his phrase: "… you also have a duly to act … in tandem with the laws of the land …" I ask: Which law now? Which law has Chief Ohakim acted contrary to? Why talk about "the laws" when the matter is not yet on trial? Besides, we are aware that on the incident in question, aides of the governor issued statements to the effect that no such thing took place and that the governor was not in even in Owerri at the time and date the incident was said to have taken place.
True or false, the point to note hear is that no where in Keyamo’s letter did he make mention of the explanation by the governor’s aides. Which means that he believes hook, line and sinker what he was told by his clients, and is not ready to concede anything even if there is evidence to the contrary. Mr Keyamo describes himself as having a "well-acknowledged passion for human rights activism …"
I ask: Doesn’t Chief Ikedi Ohakim also deserve the right to be heard before he is condemned? For the avoidance of doubt, let me state quickly that I am not soliciting for Keyamo’s sympathy or asking him to soften because he does not have the capacity to hurt our governor.
Then take the other scenario: If Festus Keyamo, though not a journalist by training, is indulging in the pervasive media trial that has bedeviled our land, I answer: Then there is a big problem for the image of the media which the likes of Keyamo are using to breach the ethnics of his primary constituency, Law.
How did I know? In Mr. Keyamo’s letter, he quoted Mr. Samuelson copiously, giving a minute-by-minute graphic detail of his encounter with the governor. I am appalled to hear or read that Samuelson could recall such details and even quote the governor’s utterances, verbatim, even when, as claimed by Samuelson, he was almost giving up the ghost on account of the beating he was receiving from the governor. Reproduced here is what Keyamo quoted Samuelson as saying: "… Ikedi flogged, flogged and flogged me ruthlessly heartlessly and without mercy. He kicked me severally without mercy … I must have received well over 120 strikes of Koboko … I saw hell with my two eyes. Almighty God did not allow me to die …"
Now this: How was somebody in such a physical, mental and psychological state still able to recollect what happened so vividly that he was able to quote exactly what came out from the governor? I make bold to say that only those with a mindset can swallow hook, line and sinker what Samuelson said. For the avoidance of doubt, I wish to state that the purpose of making this article is not to act as Chief Ohakim’s public relations handlers. I merely want to point out the misadventure in yet another attempt by Mr. Keyamo to relish in stardom out of nothing.
I have made a thorough investigation and I have it on good authority that no such thing happened. Therefore, I wish to make it abundantly clear to Kayamo that Imo, the Heart of Igboland, will not offer him another opportunity to shine out of nothing. There is an abundance of cases in his native Edo State that can take him to the type of stardom he is looking for. My state is not lacking in bright chaps like Keyamo whom we could unleash on him but we would not because as Ndi Igbo, we do not believe in being too much in a hurry to get to stardom. We believe in hard work and good will earned over a period of time.

•Mr. Nwachukwu, a public commentator, lives in Owerri, Imo State capital

Its indeed painful how extreme, politicians can go in order to smear another. How can a governor flog, kick and headbutt one man who happens not to be a threat in anyway? What has he done to deserve that? They said he did that in his office? Is it that there was no other place to do such barbaric act but in the Governors office? Doesnt the office have CCTV cameras and watched by security personnel, People can indeed believe funny Stories. If he didn't molest over 21 opponents who challenged his mandate despite the publications, why would he molest just 1 individual? Even in all his policies which he introduced and implemented, he didn't intimidate anyone. Its very obvious that this is cheap blackmail! Abeg, post sth real,

Cheap balckmail, Pls, post something else, who doesnt know samuelson and his lies, pls, I wan go sleep,