₦airaland Forum

GEJ, like the rest of us, is a victim of circumstance

ah! seriously?

wetin pesin no go see for Nairaland self.

Pharoh:
The first question people should ask is how much was spent from 1999 to date before criticizing the one for this year.

why should that be the basis?. . . .except of course, such questions were brought up with a view to probe the spending of the past administrations.

People should be asking " Given the current economical outlook of the country and the financial standing of the average Nigerian, Is the amount budgeted Justifiable?"

Spending 1.57 million on food /household maintenance, on a daily basis in a country where more than half of its population will never lay claim to half a million in their life time is ridiculous!

one wonders if the President dessert is made of platinum!

The lowest paid civil servant is expected by the federal government to survive and care for his family on #18,000 a month,  which is 1.14% of the President's daily pocket money!

Lawdy lord, and someone says our president is a humble breed? . . .how much would it cost tax payers if he's not?

No wonder he kept shut when allegations were raised on the NASS spending, he was busy munching his lunch made with the world's finest cooking materials.

I really can't undesrtand some of the donkey comments some clowns are making here. Do some of you think cooking for the Aso Rock is the same as simply going to market and getting a couple of yams? In todays Nigeria where opponents are threatening mayhem and bombs are exploding? That is idiocy!

Feeding anybody in Aso Rock is a matter of national security, and that will never ever come cheap. Hang yourselves if you like or go lay more bombs, we will crush you.

Yar Adua's govt spent N405.3m in normal times, in these unsecure times that, has naturally gone up to N574m. Die if you don't like it, but Aso Rock will be kept safe and GEJ will continue to be President.

Please tell me someone hacked your account to type this shyt!. . .it surely can't be you, we must inform the administrators ASAP!

Interesting post!

@MODS

can we move this thread to crime section please? some of us don't get cybergasms from looking at pictures of the dead, also it says something about respect for people who lost their lives to this unfortunate circumstance!

MODS PLS?

The first one doesn't look authentic, because it bore no signature and anyone could have had access to a government's letter headed, but if that is the case, then the feds have a duty to investigate individuals/cabals behind this falsification----unless of course, there is an element of truth somewhere!

State governors of Nigeria’s dominant People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have begun to cough up a whopping N500 million each to support Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential ambitions.

Saharareporters has obtained a document which shows that the donations are a modern-day legitimized extortion of the Nigerian people, because they are mandatory.  According to the document, dated December 6, 2010, six states have so far dug deep for the Jonathan/Sambo Presidential Campaign Organization.  They are: Bauchi, Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, Katsina and Ogun.

In his letter acknowledging receipt of their contributions, Mr. Jonathan assured them he would be guided at all times by his “unwavering commitment in the common good of our nation and fear of God.”

The letter was signed by Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Political Matters, Dr. Akilu Sani Indabawa.

Other letters signed by Dr. Indabawa shows that Mr. Jonathan has also started to market his influence within the PDP.  In a letter dated August 19, 2010, he introduced to the Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, the well-known senior political player, Godwin Daboh Adzuana.

In carefully-coded language, the Special Adviser urges the governor to be generous to Chief Daboh: “I shall appreciate if you will grant him audience and assist him within the bounds of the law and extant regulations.”

While it is unclear how many governors have now provided Jonathan with the N500 million demanded of each of them, as many as 26 of the 36 states are known to have agreed to support him, at least in public.  That means that Jonathan stands to rake in a quick and easy N13 billion from just the governors’ first cash call.

This story is breaking just as Nigerians are also learning of last week’s overnight sharing by the Jonathan government of $1billion from the Excess Crude Oil Savings Account.    In another sign of the times, that New Year eve bonanza was shared in US dollars, a practice that not only undermines sovereign currency, the Naira, but is likely to encourage corruption and financial speculation.

Observers are today left wondering if the emergency were today asking whether the sharing of the $1 billion from the Excess Crude Oil Savings was designed to make the Jonathan/Sambo campaign “donations” possible and whether the donations were provided for in state budgets.

“These questions are very important,” a political analyst in Abuja told Saharareporters, “because we know that some of the states have severe fiscal difficulties and are falling behind in such areas as health and education.  Where are their governors finding the funds to give to external political events?”

Another commentator said such donations ought to be approved by the House of Assembly in each state because the governor lacks the legal right to donate funds belonging to the state in such large chunks, particularly to a political organization.  “Now that these stories have broken, the citizens must ask their governors to explain the management of their commonwealth,” he said. 
Some of the states that have already donated to Mr. Jonathan have well-known financial woes.

Ogun state is broke and has been looking into the possibility of raising N100 billion bonds;

• Benue State has serious economic and development challenges, including the HIV/Aids pandemic and acute water shortages. In May 2010, The News magazine reported as follows about Benue: "The shortage is particularly acute in Makurdi, the state capital, where a substantial part of the over 600,000 residents are forced to rely on untreated water from boreholes, water tankers, streams and water vendors, popularly called mai-ruwa;"

• Cross River State has an internal refugee crisis due to communal clashes;

• In the Ebonyi State budget speech just weeks ago, the governor said, “The major revenue base of the state in 2011 fiscal year still remains our share from the Federation Account. This is estimated at N27.32 billion or 45 per cent of the total revenue." It is of great irony that a state which has admitted to local sources of revenue is donating what is coming in from the Federation Account to an external political organization.

http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/jonathan-%E2%80%9Cextorts%E2%80%9D-nigerian-states-n500-million-each-fuel-presidential-campaign

I don't see the selective Justice here, the system was wrong, and the dude in mention should be suing the state of Texas for every dollar he had ever dreamed of!

I would be asking for 2 million dollars per year spent in Prison!

deleted!

Dede1:
I do not care if Laurent Gbagbo has ruled Ivory Coast for twenty (20) years as long as the Ivory Coast’s constitution stipulates his stay in power.

The problems of Africans include lack of integrity and penchant to circumvent constituted process. As you stated Konan Bedie was candidate for first round and should remain a candidate for second.

If Konan Bedie tends to drop out of election midway, every vote accrued by his candidature must be disqualified. The primordial idea of a candidate being coached to support another candidate after first round of election is unacceptable in any society.

dude,. . Konan Bedie has a right to make his own informed choices and that, he did!. . . .The second round was simply and strictly between  Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, the fact that Konan now supports Bedie should not be a basis when deciding the winner, it's a common thing for parties to merge and consolidate powers during elections  . . .you don't just disqualify votes like that, those votes weren't made by robots!!!

Konan's supporters just like other Ivorians have a democratically protected right to have their votes counted, and they made their choices to vote this time, neither Konan nor Gagbo, but Ouattara.

which part of it is unacceptable?

Akainzo:
The question I want to ask is this: Why would the UN Observer be the one to decide who he thinks has won the elections and not Ivorian institutions?

It's been a gentleman's agreement that U.N. mission chief Y.J. Choi is required to sign off on election results according to the accords reached to end the political deadlock that followed the civil war in 2002-2003, which left the north of the country in rebels hands.

It was insulting for Sarkozy to issue a 48 hours ultimatum to a country;s President to vacate. As much as I dislike GEJ, if Sarkozy should insult him penren, I would take up arms on his behalf.

It became necessary to oust any leader that choses to hold onto power against the wish of the populace, a situation which could lead to a civil outbreak and as usual, france being the former colonial country will be required to send in troops to restore peace to the place.
The use of Ultimatum is not a new thing in settling International disputes in today's political climate. . .how many times has ultimatums been issued from south Korea to North Korea and vice versa? should we talk about the number of times Israel has issued ultimatums has well?

Why would the International Community want to override the country's Constitutional Council?

An international community will attempt to overide a country's Constitutional Council in cases where the lines of democracy has been breached. If it was true as alleged that Gbagbo actually cheated along with his pal, a president of the Constitutional Council, than it will be cowardly of the rest of the world to just fold arms and watch a dictator rule Ivorians against their wishes!

where in the world do you cancel half a million votes?

Akainzo:
For clarity, the constitutional council did it's constitutional duty, to step in after a stipulated time period.
If the CEI had announced its result within the 72 hour period, there wouldn't have been an issue. Note that elections are driven by acts which stipulates certain guidelines and deadlines. Why do you think there are two versions of the electoral act currently in circulation in Nigeria? The reason is there is a deadline for voter registration which is you fall foul of, any elections conducted under it would be null and void.

No matter what happens, you cannot be [b]independent [/b]and [size=14pt]announce result at the campaign headquarters of a candidate[/size]. BTW, how can you then proove that the announced result was genuine?

The constitutional council's duty and integrity here is what is in question, the committee cancelled half a million freaking votes just to push Gbagbo into the 51% landmark!

It's a clear case of moving the goal post.

Dede1:
The issue of Ivory Coast is a brazen example of neo-colonialism swiping across African content all in the deceitful frame of “New World Order”. 
Did you inquire why France, USA, EU and UN brought the so-called president of the Independent Electoral Commission, Mr Youssouf Bakayoko, to the Hôtel du Golf, the campaign headquarters of Mr Ouattara, facing the foreign press, including France 24, in order to declare wrongful results?

Wrongful Results? how do you even know that?

The situation in Ivory Coast boils down to this:

Gbagbo has ruled Ivory Coast for ten years, five of which he earned by continually postponing general elections. On October 31, 2010, elections were held in which the turn-out was 80%.

In the first round, Conan Bedie had 25%, Alassane Ouattara had 32% and Laurent Gbagbo had 38%. U.N. mission chief Y.J. Choi was required to sign off on the results according to the accords reached to end the political deadlock that followed the civil war in 2002-2003.

It is instructive to note that Gbagbo accepted the results of the first round without protest.  In the second round of voting Konan Bedie threw in his support for Alassane Ouattara, and this singular act by itself portended defeat for Gbagbo.

The second round was generally successful and the electoral process was proclaimed by the international observers as generally free and fair. But trouble began to brew with the declaration of results by the Independent Electoral Commission. After several delays, an attempt by the electoral commission to announce the results was interrupted when a supporter of Gbagbo ripped the papers into pieces before the media cameras.

Afterwards, the commission was frustrated from announcing the results on several occasions until on the 28 of November, when at the Golf Hotel, the commission announced to the whole world that Alassane Ouattara had won by over 54% as against Gbagbo’s 46%.

The following day, the Constitutional Council of Ivory Coast, headed by a staunch supporter of Laurent Gbagbo, overturned the results after cancelling half a million votes belonging to Ouattara, and giving Gbagbo 51% percent victory. Gbagbo then swore himself in office for another five year term.

I don't see neo colonialism here! What i see here is a power drunk fella bent on riding on the tails of neo colonialism to prove he's just a victim of western political interference

someone put a leash on Mama gee already!

@Eku_bear

It was obvious that the author was biased from the onset as he cleverly made statements that paints Gbagbo as a victim of western manipulation. He blamed france, USA, EU, AU, ECOWAS, and every individual in between but Gbagbo for the many ills of Ivory Coast, shall we then say he wrote from an independent unbiased point of view?
He smartly made a mess of the reputation of the UN appointed electoral  independent auditor who maintained that Outtara won the election while he polished the image of the President of the Constitutional Committee, a friend of Gbagbo, who nullified the results of the election and proclaimed Gbagbo the winner. . . .and you still don't see any bias?

The information that the US Ambassador in Cote d’Ivoire played a role, alongside his French counterpart, in stealthily conveying Mr. Youssouf Bakayoko to Golf Hotel on Thursday 1/12/2010 so that he can declare Alassane Dramane Ouattara the winner is the type of politics which we in Africa find difficult to identify with the Obama Administration. In the electoral process, such an act is worse than stuffing ballot boxes or carrying them in the boot of one’s car into the night

As for the quoted, here is a link to the events of the day http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=15877306073&topic=16253

It was quoted that supporters of Gbagbo had torn up the announcement of the first provisional report and had prevented media journalists from gaining access to the Independent Election Commission’s office.  There were also allegations that Gbagbo being the sitting president had put efforts in place to manipulate the results of the election, if this was the case, then it is only necessary that the election materials and result remain in sight of independent bodies to ensure a fair and Just outcome. The author had cunningly omitted this parts and had instead painted a picture in a reader's mind of a case where everyone and country wanted Gbagbo out of the picture. . . . and as usual, US gets the bigger part of the blame, not especially at a time when she's known to interfere a great deal in international affairs. . . and guess what, the EU, the African Union, the United Nations, Ecowas, etc, all of them just so hated Gbagbo or were they all just doing Mr Obama's bidding?

Is there any plausibility that the author maintains close links with laurance Gbagbo and therefor feels obliged to " stand by him" in troubling times?

why does the author not talk about how the Constitutional Committee in its mighty power find it fit to cancel election result in 4 northern regions, and only then was Gbagbo fit enough to win by 51% of votes?. . . It's just like cancelling election results in Kano, Maidiguri, Borno, Bauchi, and Taraba and then declaring Goodluck Jonathan as the President  . . .now that's a big factor that the author had forgotten to talk about

No one wishes to mess about with the sovereignty of Ivory Coast, but in the interest of democracy, and in the interest of the populace, it is important that all parties abide by principles of Justice and fair play.  Gbagbo had the Constitutional Council and the armed forces in his pocket, Outtara relies on the backing of the international community. . . one of them will eventually become president. . .or perhaps neither of them, but in either case, i don't think Gbagbo will be leading Ivory Coast anytime in the future

This is a good write up!

What i need someone to explain to me however is that if the results of the elections are constitutionally void as claimed by the writer based on non declaration withing a 72 hour time frame, on what basis, does the Constitutional Council declare Gbagbo as the winner of the elections?

Contrary to what many people seem to think, Paul Yao Ndre is a very able and independent-minded legal thinker who is sure about the legal grounds on which he made his ruling.

Why does the writer make statements as above? what evidence, past achievements, recognitions does Paul Yao Ndre hold to back up his claim on integrity?

Does it make any sense that the fact that the Judiciary and Executive maintain close personal ties could have influenced the Constitutional Councils Judgement ?,  . .

Should we just assume based on the writers vouch for Paul Yao's integrity that this is not a clear cut case of abuse of office and powers?

On one hand, there is Laurent Gbagbo, a long time opposition leader who started challenging the rule of President Felix Houphouet Boigny when he was still in his 30s

On the other hand there is Alassane Dramane Ouattara, a man who is considered by many Ivoirians as an interloper

Is it just me, or does this statements in quote really show a bias attitude of the writer? i.e, Gbagbo being an opposition and Ouattara being an interloper?
If Ouattara was indeed an interloper, how then could he amass voters support to have supposedly won an election by over half a million votes.

Let's say for an instant that wasn't true, should we ignore the fact that someone considered an interloper by majority actually came close to winning the election?

don't make a phone call!

Send a well drafted official letter if possible with a letter head, to the Public Complaint department, make sure you Cc to the commissioner and the state governor. In your letter, you should threaten civil action against the Lagos State Police command in any case you get embarrassed {without officials holding warrants} at that same location in the near future.

A letter makes it official a phone call proves nothing.

tht movie is so sick!

Time to change your Naira to Euro fellas, otherwise, In 10 months time, your 1 million naira deposit in the bank will only be good enough to buy yoghurt!

Neatly tailored suit!
Impeccable english!

where did you get those from?

Violent!

[size=5pt] erhm, sorry, I think m drunk, wht's erhmm . . .wha. . wha. . .what's erhm the topic about again![/size]

[quote author=Kilode?! link=topic=577783.msg7446684#msg7446684 date=1293930485]Eniyan mi, na so I see am o. Iya to n je awon eyan wa ti po ju! [/quote]o po ju lo o to, kilode?

ah ah! Kiiiiloooodeee?. . . . .nitori olorun!

nah that answer is not good enough. So what you telling me is that after the suffering, wickedness and stealing Obj did his god will steal protect him to live a long life?  This is Why i have said it several times that there is no god and the christian god is an imaginary being.  Ha. Seriously as days pass by i continue to see reasons religion and religionist should be wiped off the face of the earth

oh well, can't you see the picture? you are here, cussing and pissing in your pants while the dude is playing "Ayo" and eating bananas. . .life is not fair, i know

Ymodulus:
O my god!, so this Yoruba man is not dead Yet?
Only if he knows how i so much long to see him die.
In fact Obasanjo Die, Die, Die, Die, Die, Die, Die, Die, Die, Die, Die, Die, somebody say Amen

he had an answer for you

what I know is that until the good Lord, who has created me, decides to say yes, I have reached my take-off point to return to Him, people may speculate, people may rumour, and that will be their own handicap."

"There, I was given two pieces of banana, which I ate and then returned to the church

and he just had to include this? Obj self

Batubo:
If they like, they should bomb everywhere in Nigeria,it is still Jonathan for president!

Perhaps once your village goes up in flames and the President tells you to calm down as it is the work of "demons" . . .you might start thinking logically!

"My words to Nigerians is that wishes are not horses. People wish but God does not make it to happen. But I know that anybody created is bound to die some day. When my time comes, it will not be man that will decide. It is in the hands of God," he said.

The former President, who smiled intermittently as he spoke with journalists yesterday, said until "the good Lord" calls him home, the brains behind his rumoured death would continue to take delight in doing the same thing.

He said: "I think people take delight in speculation and rumour. A friend of mine broke to me the news of my death this morning. He was trying to confirm, and he said he had counted seven times that I have been rumoured dead since the eve of my inauguration as a democratically elected President of Nigeria in 1999.

"Those who indulge in this will not give up. And there are those who have the superstitious belief that when there are rumours and speculations like this, it means longevity.

"Whether longevity or not, what I know is that until the good Lord, who has created me, decides to say yes, I have reached my take-off point to return to Him, people may speculate, people may rumour, and that will be their own handicap."

Looking at the year just gone by and peeping into 2011, Obasanjo said Nigerians should show gratitude to God for how far He has taken the country. He wished "all Nigerians, young and old, male and female, every good fortune the year 2011 can offer."

According to him, the new year also promises to be a year of "high expectations for all Nigerians and a divine year for the sustenance of our unity in democracy."

He urged all to pray for success in all the elections scheduled for 2011 as well as for other African nations, because Nigeria, he said, is not unmindful of what is happening around the continent.

The Egba high chief also denied media reports that he slumped in Ondo during a church service, blaming what he termed the false information on the Nigerian press, which, he alleged, rather than report the truth, twisted the issue to make huge business out of it.

His words: "I did not slump. But when I got choked in the church because there was no AC (airconditioner) and fan, I went into my car, which had an AC. And after staying there for about three minutes, I felt okay and decided to go to my host’s house because I had not taken my breakfast.

"There, I was given two pieces of banana, which I ate and then returned to the church. I was shocked three days after. It is part of the gimmick for selling newspapers," he said.