₦airaland Forum

Keneking: Is he now an electrician? Why would a prison have flying cables in cells for inmates to toy with? Anyway i-t-c!

neily: Boko Haram is a crime, and i think one country is missing in that list.
Thank God Nigeria is not there.

Mcdee13: Thanks so much. I finally went to a study centre closer to me and the counsellor affirms ur statement. Please is the school fees paid once or at the beggining of each semester? What about the fees for the course materials, is it compulsory or optional? Thanks! Ur quick response will be appreciated!

Mcdee13: Thanks so much. I finally went to a study centre closer to me and the counsellor affirms ur statement. Please is the school fees paid once or at the beggining of each semester? What about the fees for the course materials, is it compulsory or optional? Thanks! Ur quick response will be appreciated!

Mcdee13: im interested in MSc Business Admin, i have a first Degree in Marketing with 2.1. In a nigerian university. Whats my chance of been selected. And when possibly will i write exams? If it is Nov, can I defer it till next year? Thanks! Quick response will be appreciated!

The long-awaited merger of opposition political parties into a stronger entity came to fruition yesterday with the announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission of the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

INEC said APC’s application was successful and was therefore granted, days after media reports said there was a plot to refuse the merger on the grounds of a court case.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved the application by three political parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) – to merge into one, to be known as the All Progressives Congress,” INEC’s out-going secretary Abdullahi Kaugama said in a statement.

“On considering the application, the commission found that the applicant-parties have met all statutory requirements for the merger, and has accordingly granted their request.
“Consequently, the commission has approved the withdrawal of the individual certificates of the applicant-parties, and the issuance of a single certificate to the All Progressives Congress.”
There was no mention of the faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), led by Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, which is aligned with the APC.
INEC’s statement came a day after the commission said its decision on APC would be made public today, following reports on Saturday that some officials sympathetic to the ruling People’s Democratic Party were plotting to have the opposition’s application refused.

Though analysts say the new party represents a strong challenge to the PDP ahead of the 2015 elections, the ruling party remains dominant at all levels of political leadership in the country.
APC has 11 of the 36 state governors against PDP’s 23, 32 senators to PDP’s 72 and 134 members of the House of Representatives against PDP’s 214. These include APGA elected officials who have publicly aligned with the APC.
But APC is upbeat. It hailed the registration yesterday, saying the new party represents an alternative to the PDP.
In a statement in Lagos, APC’s interim spokesman Lai Mohammed said “with the birth of APC, Nigerians now have an alternative to a ruling party that has taken the people for a bad ride in the past 14 years.”
“With the approval of our merger by INEC and the emergence of APC, today marks the beginning of a new dawn for our country and her long-suffering people.
“We thank Nigerians both here and in the Diaspora for standing by us. We thank the media for their fairness, and we commend INEC for doing the right thing and for not succumbing to pressures from phantom political associations that sought to force it to circumvent the law.

“We promise not to disappoint Nigerians who have reposed much confidence in us. We say that contrary to the lies being peddled by the naysayers, we are not seeking political power for the sake of getting it, but in order to use it to empower our people and allow their long-nursed hopes and dreams to become a reality,” Mohammed added.
APC said it would in the days ahead announce its membership registration plans “to give all Nigerians, especially those who have become disenchanted with the way things are going in the country, the much-awaited opportunity to be part of
the country’s democratic process in the true sense of the word.
“‘We will also be unveiling our plans to turn today’s hopelessness into a time of great opportunities, to reverse the downward slide in our socio-economic development, and to ensure that every Nigerian benefits from the commonwealth, instead of the present situation in which a few fat cats are milking the system dry at the expense of the citizenry.”
But PDP said, while it welcomes APC’s registration, the new party poses no threat.
In a statement, acting national publicity secretary Tony Caesar Okeke said: “This is very healthy for our democracy. We hope that from now the opposition will eschew all forms of bitterness and desperation and desist from politics of propaganda which characterised their former parties.”

He said registration of the new party poses no threat to the PDP and that the ruling party still maintains its “pre-eminent position and enjoys the widest popularity and acceptance among Nigerians across the country.”
Okeke added: “We hope to see a vibrant opposition that will constructively engage the PDP on issues of governance in a way that Nigerians will be the utmost beneficiaries instead of overheating the polity by promoting violence and hatred among the people.”

He said Nigerians are not deceived by the change of flag by the opposition as this does not remove their “dictatorial tendencies and penchant for deceit and propaganda”.
In its reaction, the Presidency said APC’s registration would deepen the nation’s democracy.
Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Matters, Barrister Ahmed Gulak, told Daily Trust by telephone that the Presidency had never been opposed to the registration of APC.
“The Presidency has never been against the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In fact, we have always believed that the smaller parties need to come together so that we can deepen democracy and ensure that political parties are not run like personal estates,” he said.
Long walk ACN and CPC’s efforts to work together began ahead of the 2011 general election but were botched because of irreconcilable differences then.
The talks were revived last year, with the two parties opting for merger. The ANPP was then brought into the discussions, and later a faction of APGA also came on.
Signs that the merger talks were serious this time came when opposition party governors met on January 29 in Lagos where they announced their support for the plans.
On February 5, leaders of the merger teams of the parties involved announced agreeing to the merger and unveiled the APC name in Abuja.

However, several hurdles propped up along the way to yesterday’s regulatory approval for the new party. Rival groups claiming the APC name came up, quickly filing papers with INEC to claim the name ahead of the opposition parties.
Later on, one of the APCs slowed down but the other took its case to court when INEC rejected its application on the grounds of non-fulfilment of constitutional requirements.

It was this court case that almost scuttled the opposition parties’ bid, according to reports on Saturday. INEC had said, however, there was no court injunction before it on the merger of the APC parties.
APC now controls Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Nasarawa, Lagos, Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Edo and Imo states.
Reports during the year had said some aggrieved PDP governors and many National Assembly members were looking to defecting to APC when it gets registered. Some of the governors have publicly denied such moves, while others were not specific in their comments on the reports.

la Capri: @ op are u surprised?
Seun is in Tinubu's pay-roll.
Have u asked urself how seun survive? Do u think seun survives on d meager income from d few adverts on dis site?
If u insult d president/PDP ur post will not be hidden, u will even make front page. Every rat here calls GEJ all sorts of names yet dey go scot free, but if u do same to d opposition ur post will be hidden or u will be banned.
Seun & his mod should know dat d truth cannot be buried.
I know d mods would hide dis post.

The Action Congress of Nigeria in Ekiti State has been polarised by the insistence of the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele, to contest against Governor Kayode Fayemi.

The party before now denied the existence of a rift between the governor and Bamidele.

The state chapter of the party is now split between those who support Fayemi and those sympathetic to the lawmaker.

This has become a threat to ACN’s dominance of the state’s political landscape. Aware of the not too pleasant consequences of allowing the dispute linger, the national leadership of the party sent a high-powered delegation to Ado Ekiti to reconcile the two prominent sons of the state.

Bamidele, who did not attend the meeting, claimed to have received the text message inviting him two days after.

At the meeting, ACN National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, stressed the need for the party to unite. He cautioned Fayemi’s supporters against treating aggrieved members of the party as outsiders, saying there was no need to tear anybody’s campaign posters.

Tinubu, the ACN National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, and others who were obviously happy with Fayemi’s performance openly endorsed his desire to seek a second term.

Tinubu, who said an official endorsement would be announced later, urged Bamidele to temporarily shelve his governorship ambition to enable the ACN unite and prepare to face the 2014 governorship election in the state.

Many believe that Bamidele would heed this advice, especially when it is coming from Tinubu, who brought him into political limelight. Recent events have however proved them wrong as Bamidele barely allowed his former boss conclude his speech before insisting he would forge ahead with his plans.

Bamidele said that there was no going back on his decision to contest against Fayemi. This is despite the advice of party leaders which include: former Governor Niyi Adebayo, who stood solidly with Bamidele against Babafemi Ojudu during the 2011 struggle for the ticket to represent Ekiti Central Federal Senatorial District.

The struggle between him and Ojudu was so fierce that it polarised the party and almost cost the ACN the senatorial election.

It is generally believed that the ruling party could enjoy a smooth ride if Fayemi is allowed to run on the party’s platform unopposed.

Fayemi may not have scored 100 per cent in terms of performance in his almost three years in office but observers say he has done well.

There have been rumours that Bamidele is working behind the scene with the Labour Party. The rumour started late in 2012 and by December of that same year, his campaign posters with LP logo flooded Ado-Ekiti, Iyin-Ekiti and Igede-Ekiti . He denied being behind the posters, blaming it on his detractors . But some ACN members, who argued that the lawmaker had since left the party, claimed that he rendered financial assistance to Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko to enable him win the October 20 governorship poll.

Bamidele had addressed his supporters in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday, just three days after Tinubu and other leaders of the ACN left the state capital.

The ACN leaders are all of the opinion that Bamidele should temporally shelve his ambition because contesting against the incumbent could rock the boat. But the lawmaker has told who ever cares to listen, that he would no longer ignore the people of the state who had severally asked him to save the state from poverty and underdevelopment.

There are speculations also that Bamidele may team up with ousted Governor Segun Oni and a former Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, to resuscitate the LP in the state. Although, Bamidele has not been categorical about dumping the ruling ACN, his threat to defect if not allowed to contest on its platform, is an indication that there may be an element of truth in these speculations.

The lawmaker’s supporters held a rally on the platform of Ekiti Bibire Coalition. The crowd included some Peoples Democratic Party members , who asked him to contest.

In response, Bamidele, who said he would heed their call, expressed optimism that Tinubu would not begrudge him for nursing an ambition to take Ekiti State to the next level. He said the message of reconciliation which Tinubu preached at the meeting was deliberately distorted.

Bamidele said, “I am stating unequivocally that by the grace of God and the encouragement of well-meaning people of Ekiti State, I, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, will be contesting election to be Governor of Ekiti State come year, 2014. It is an irrevocable conclusion based on popular yearnings as well as my personal conviction and commitment to human capital development and the creation of a new and united Ekiti State.

“The deliberate mismanagement of information on the meeting’s proceedings no doubt, is in furtherance of a series of attempts to push me and my supporters out of the ACN, forgetting that even if they had succeeded in doing that, it still would not deter me from pursuing my vision and ambition on other progressive party platforms based on divine guidance and the leading of Ekiti stakeholders home and abroad.

“I have an aspiration to be governor.”

The Chairman of the ACN in the state, Chief Jide Awe, appealed to Bamidele to rescind his decision and work together with Fayemi and others to continue to develop the state. He, however, said that the only governorship ticket in the party had been reserved for Fayemi because he had done well.

He said, “For us in the ACN, we are meticulous about what we are doing and opinions that have been expressed by a very large number of our people cannot just be wished away by a handful of people.

“This is a party that has antecedents; it is a party that believes in leadership and history. When the leadership of the progressives talks, that is the law. It is bound to be obeyed. Opeyemi should not play God. He has been actively involved since 1999 and has received a huge support from the members of the party in the state.”

Another chieftain of the ACN told our correspondent in confidence that Bamidele, who played a role in Fayemi’s victory, was afraid that he might be too old and out of reckoning by the time the governorship ticket would swing back to Ekiti Central Senatorial District where he comes from.

If permutations by the ACN work out, the governorship seat will go to Ekiti South after Fayemi’s second term where whoever wins would also want to spend two terms.

He said the lawmaker has been fortunate since the dawn of the new democratic dispensation in 1999. The chieftain urged him to reconsider his plans before venturing into the game. He said that the ACN was still trying to see how the lawmaker could be brought back to work with Fayemi, in order not to allow the PDP return to power in the state.

He, however, said that the rhythm would change if Bamidele refused to heed the voice of reconciliation.

He said, “ Bamidele will be 50 on July 29. His ambition is to an extent borne out of fear that he may become too old by the time (an) opportunity to contest for governorship ticket would come back to Ekiti Central.

“He will probably be around 65 years and definitely things would have changed and new leaders would definitely have emerged. But he has forgotten that it is only God that enthrones; you can’t get it if it is not given by God.

“The leadership of the party will continue to talk to him to come back but if he is adamant, then we will know that he certainly wants to play a spoiler role and we will tell him that we are up to the task.

“We are all politicians and we will give it whatever it takes. The ACN is not ready to lose and we will work hard. We won’t leave anything to chance.”

While the crisis continues, the PDP is waiting and praying fervently for it to continue since it stands to benefit from it.

However, the PDP will also have a herculean task finding a suitable candidate for the governorship poll.

Juzzybabe: I have been hearing lots of unpleasant stories about noun after I got admitted for pgd for 2013/14 session. My fear,will UI or any other renown institution accepts noun credits when I want to do masters? Will they accept me coming from noun? Also I learnt noun has lots of administrative problem which can lead to the collasp of the school,how tru is this. I also heard no student has gotten cortificate from the school,pls sombody help me with answers to all these questions pls.

chalxdon: So we are not resuming tomorrow being 1st July abi??

RoyalP101: where is tobnical It has been long I see a post from him, pls guys come up with authentic info for us pls.

el bin manny: Nonsense!!!!!!!! Height of hypocrisy!!!!! So she was buried thought Lagos just passed the cremation bill.......? Wasn't she suppose to be burnt n her ashes put into a pepsi bottle So now the new bill is just for the poor Lagosians look at the type opposition we have they pass a law n still go back to do same thing!

blink182: People in pdp will definitely lose sleep over this announcement. This is bad for pdp, all apc governors have to do is deliver their states to the apc presidential candidate and pdp is out.

Juwonb007: Please, anybody with CIT 701, 735 & 753 (pgd) past questions? Kindly send copies to adeola92@hotmail.com.uk.
Thanks a million and all the best in your exams.

water4qb: please house,
i have bsc in cooperative and business management with a gpa of 3.29.

Will i be admitted to masters in information technology or will have to do pgd first .

Waiting for ur advice...

donchukey: Hahahahaha. True: Adeoti Elizabeth, Ondo State- making sure she is not employed. Lol