₦airaland Forum

Is this the criteria for the april poll. where does US get this report from, who are they trying to fool. when did US become nigeria and nigerians teacher. I think we should also send Nigeria list of most influential Americans and exclude OBAMA name and some key offical.

Although he was the nation’s number two citizen at the time, the United States did not consider Goodluck Jonathan worthy of inclusion in a list of our country’s most influential personalities of the period. On October 24, 2008, former US ambassador Robin Sanders sent a cable to her principals in Washington detailing “a list of Nigerian leaders who would play a major role in keeping Nigeria either on track, off track, or trying to put it back on track”.

Justifying the rationale for drawing up the list, Ms. Sanders said, “Understanding who matters, not what matters, is often half the battle in Nigeria.”

Arguing that Nigeria lost its way as soon as Umaru Yar’Adua, now deceased, took over as president, Ms. Sanders said her list contained administration officials, businesspersons and other individuals “who wield tremendous influence and can shape the outcome of whatever current crisis is threatening to unsettle the country”.

But conspicuously missing on the list — which had Turai, the late president’s wife, members of Mr. Yar’Adua inner circle, some governors, legislators, businesspersons, regional leaders and traditional rulers — was our country’s vice president at the time. It is curious that he was omitted from the list despite being a person of tremendous influence in the Niger Delta region and presiding over the amnesty programme (which tried to get the Niger Delta insurgency to abandon militancy). He also performed his very important constitutional role of overseeing the National Economic Council at the time.


The exclusive list

In seven categories, the Americans named their top five most influential people constituting of governors, businessmen, military, traditional leaders, and politicians who would determine Nigeria’s future. Number one on the list was Turai Yar‘Adua, the president‘s wife, who was described as “having a vicious personality; causes great fear among ministers”. It was revealed that ‘Mrs. President’, as she was known, begged her husband “to stay the course as president” when two weeks earlier he had wanted to step aside.”

US officials had contempt for Michael Aondoakaa, Nigeria‘s attorney general at the time, who was tagged “not to be trusted” despite being in Mr. Yar’Adua’s inner circle. The minister was compared to Darth Vader, a character synonymous with evil in the Star Wars movies. He was condemned for his interference in the prosecution of disgraced ex-Delta State governor, James Ibori, and his cronies; and his role in the removal of Nuhu Ribadu as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Also mentioned as part of President Yar’Adua’s inner circle were wealthy businessman, Dahiru Mangal, said to have close links to fundamentalists in the north; Taminu Yakubu, the president‘s chief economic advisor, believed to be involved in unlawful enrichment schemes; and Yayale Ahmed, present secretary to the government of the federation (SGF) and a former classmate of President Yar’Adua’s. The only time the US ambassador mentioned Mr. Jonathan was while making reference to Edwin Clark, a former commissioner of information with seeming influence over Niger Delta militants, and access to the former VP. While Mr. Jonathan was ignored, House of Representatives’ member, Farouk Lawan, was recognised for “spearheading the removal of corrupt Speaker of the House Patricia Etteh”; while Ledum Mittee, leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) was also acknowledged for his efforts in the Niger Delta, ironically the region Mr. Jonathan comes from, and where he had served as deputy and later governor of Bayelsa State.


A cocky senate president

Under a special category, the Senate President, David Mark, holder of the nation’s number three position, was portrayed as “cocky and brash”. A former military general described as a “Babangida boy”, Mr. Mark was regarded as an opportunist who would capitalise on a Supreme Court annulment of President Yar’Adua’s 2007 election to head the country. According to the US cable, Mr. Mark, a supporter of President Obasanjo’s third term bid, had reportedly spent millions of dollars to keep his Senate seat. There were reports, the cable said, that Chief Justice Kutigi was looking into allegations that Mr. Mark bribed judges in order to ensure that he won his appeal against an Electoral Tribunal ruling (the Tribunal largely ruled against Mark).


The governors’ caucus

Five northern governors were singled out for wielding “tremendous influence”. The Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekerau, under the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) was described as a “disappointment as he has done little for his state”. It was however remarked that he “helped stop PDP from stealing state elections in 2003 and 2007”.

American concerns also dwelt on a key advisor to Mr. Yar’Adua, the Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki, and his family, who the US say was “involved in some questionably illicit deals”. The Saraki family was also accused of choosing current EFCC chairperson, Farida Waziri, in order to avoid prosecution. Five southern governors also made the list. The US official noted that Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State under the Action Congress party (AC) “leads the most populous state in the country (despite what the 2006 census claimed)”. In the Niger-Delta, Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State was quoted as telling the American ambassador he received $700 million in oil revenue yearly, while his Rivers State counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, received $1 billion yearly in oil receipts. Both governors were said to be supporters of the military’s Joint Task Force against militants in the Niger Delta.


Godfathers, traditional leaders and elders

Past heads of state and presidents were listed as political godfathers. Ibrahim Babangida was defined as “always a factor in Nigeria‘s politics”; Yakubu Gowon and Shehu Shagari were said to “both command respect from the street and elite”; while Muhammadu Buhari was described as having “showed principled positions on anti-corruption and electoral issues” in the 2007 elections. It was different for former military ruler and president, Olusegun Obasanjo, whose political influence was described as waning while being termed as “exceptionally wealthy”. Also in the exclusive list were traditional rulers, notably the Ooni of Ife, the Obi of Onitsha, the Emir of Kano, the Lamido of Adamawa, the Emir of Zazzau, and the Emir of Katsina, who the cable said helped in the past to broker elite compromises.


Business friends

US diplomats constantly looked for who had the ears of the “elite” in government. They, in turn, wormed their way up to those personalities. In the cable, Ms. Sanders said she knew well and had access to Aliko Dangote, “a major PDP financier”; and Jim Ovia of Zenith Bank, “with whom the Mission enjoyed a favourable relationship on a number of public diplomacy and AID projects.”

Also on the US list were Femi Otedola of Zenon Oil and Ndi-Okereke Onyiuke, then director-general of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), both close associates to former president Olusegun Obasanjo. Ms. Onyiuke’s relationship with stockbrokers was termed “questionable” for reportedly manipulating shares in favour of her friends. The Ibru family, running strings of companies, including Oceanic Bank and the Guardian Newspaper, were also identified as personalities the US government should watch. Peter Esele, the Trade Union Congress leader, and Olisa Agbakoba, the former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) president, were mentioned along with Dimeji Bankole, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Nigeria’s number four man, as being part of the younger generation of influential Nigerians.

Also of concern to Ms. Sanders was President Yar’Adua’s aide de camp (ADC), Mustapha Onoyiveta, whom she concluded, “we believe he is not to be trusted”. The American ambassador said Mr. Onoyiveta, an army colonel, and primarily responsible for Mr. Yar’Adua’s personal security, was to be watched “closely”.

“We also have heard (including from Governor Saraki) that he is not loyal to Yar’Adua,” the ambassador said. “We believe he is a wild card, being the man standing behind Yar’Adua, primarily responsible for his personal security.”

US view of Nigeria's most influential persons. How they were described


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5683783-146/story.csp

Contrary to the belief that former President Olusegun Obasanjo personally hand-picked late President Umaru Yar'Adua as his successor, a United States diplomatic cable obtained by Wikileaks and made available exclusively to NEXT, has detailed how a group of governors led by Bukola Saraki, the Kwara State governor, worked behind the scene to pressure Mr. Obasanjo into anointing the former Katsina State governor as his replacement.

No other person than Mr. Saraki himself gave the account of the political intrigues that threw up the late president to a former US Consul General, Brian Browne.

In a dispatch to Washington on November 28, 2005, Mr. Browne detailed a conversation he had with Mr. Saraki on October 29, 2005, during which the Kwara State governor disclosed the intrigues involved in searching for a successor for Mr. Obasanjo.

The cable revealed that Mr. Saraki and his colleagues had settled for Mr. Yar'Adua in 2005, long before Mr. Obasanjo's third term bid collapsed in the National Assembly and one clear year before Mr. Yar'Adua joined the race.

During his chat with the diplomat, Mr. Saraki identified the three options before Mr. Obasanjo as it concerned the 2007 elections. He said the options were for Mr. Obasanjo to continue in office through the duration of an extended second term, reconciling with and supporting the Vice President (Atiku Abubakar) as his successor and identifying an acceptable compromise successor candidate from among the governors of the time.

Yar'Adua as compromise

Mr. Saraki confided in the Consul General that prior to the 2007 presidential elections, majority of the PDP governors were "meeting constantly in large and small packs to reach consensus on a compromise candidate acceptable to the President."

In their consultations, Mr. Saraki disclosed that the governors agreed that in fulfilment of the deal reached by the leaders of the party in 2003, the presidency should move to the northern region. The governors, as a means to get the reluctant Mr. Obasanjo to accept their proposal, decided to lace the idea with the incentive that such an action would place him in a high pedestal as he would be "the first elected Nigerian civilian chief executive to hand over to another elected civilian".

Mr. Saraki said his camp then considered some northern governors (Abdullahi Adamu of Nasarawa, Adamu Muazu of Bauchi, Ahmed Makarfi of Kaduna, and Umaru Yar'Adua of Katsina) as possible replacements for Mr. Obasanjo. Of all those considered, the governor said, Mr. Yar'Adua was the most attractive.

Mr Saraki liked Mr. Muazu, but questioned whether he had sufficient scope to handle the presidency. He described Mr. Adamu as a poor administrator and someone too much in Mr. Obasanjo's pocket.

Mr. Saraki said Mr Makarfi was an able political strategist who was doing a good job of positioning himself as a dark horse. Mr Makarfi was an intelligent and a good governor, the Kwara governor said.

But overall, Mr. Saraki and his clique preferred Mr. Yar'Adua whom he described as the truly intriguing prospect. "Yar'Adua is quiet, has received good reviews for his performance in office, and he would likely continue Obasanjo's economic reform programs, but with a more humane approach," he said.

Apart from the quiet mien and perhaps his performance as governor of Katsina State, by choosing him ahead of other contending governors from the north, the PDP governors hoped to score some political points for Mr. Obasanjo against his estranged deputy, Abubakar Atiku.

The Kwara state governor explained to Mr. Browne that as the younger brother to Shehu Yar'Adua, the founder of the Peoples Front of Nigeria (PFN) which transformed into the Peoples' Democratic Movement (PDM) under the control of Mr. Atiku, if Mr. Yar'Adua was chosen to succeed Mr. Obasanjo, this might lead to a split in the ranks of the powerful and influential PDM.

"Atiku could lose a significant chunk of his rank-and-file support. The resultant diminution of Atiku's political base by the ascendancy of Yar'Adua would be a consideration Obasanjo would find highly attractive because it would also make it difficult for Atiku to leave the PDP to join forces with another group," Mr Saraki said.

He told the American that these arguments were placed before Mr. Obasanjo while his camp continued to press until the former president buckled.

However, Billy Adedamola, Special Assistant to Mr. Saraki, in a telephone conversation with NEXT described any insinuation that his boss suggested the late president to Mr. Obasanjo as ridiculous.

"Obasanjo is an independent minded person", he said. "Obasanjo has given a detailed account of how he settled for Yar'Adua even when he was aware of his illness. Obasanjo has never said that anybody imposed or introduced Yar'Adua to him. Obasanjo has had a long relationship with the Yar'Adua family even before Bukola knew anything about politics. So, Bukola is not the kind of person that will introduce any member of the Yar'Adua family to Obasanjo."

Tenure extension

Of the three paths available to Mr. Obasanjo to choose from, Mr. Saraki told Mr. Browne the one the former president was most willing to follow was that which would enable him to extend his tenure in office.

The governor's disclosure is contrary to Mr. Obasanjo's oft-repeated claim that he never sought tenure extension.

This plan hatched by the president, the governor explained, involved a constitutional amendment "establishing a single presidential term of six years, with the term extension effective immediately".

If this plan had sailed through, it would automatically have added two more years to Mr. Obasanjo's tenure.

Mr. Saraki explained that the process of constitutional amendment was too arduous, lined with many unyielding opponents and fraught with uncertainties and that he therefore doubted whether Mr. Obasanjo would be able to garner the required support across the country to effect such an amendment.

Wikileaks CABLE: Governors got Obasanjo to anoint Yar'Adua

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5684048-146/story.csp

These US officials are just writing about their opinions and interpreations of actions. These wikileaks stories suck! Yes, OBJ is vindictive, but did they find money on Alams or not? The way to fight people like OBJ is to be clean, that way, you fight him to finish. Even if you are taken to the cleaners, you come out sparkling!

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has a penchant for “storied vindictiveness” and “proverbial vengefulness”, American embassy officials told their superiors in Washington. In a cable titled ‘Bayelsa governor’s arrest strikes fear in the hearts of his peers’ and sent to Washington on October 21, 2005, the consul general at the American embassy in Nigeria at the time, Brian Browne, described how governors of other southern states became jittery following the arrest of the former Bayelsa State governor. Mr. Alamieyeseigha was arrested in London in September 2005 on charges of money laundering. At the time of his arrest, about £1 million cash was found in his London home. He jumped bail in December 2005 but was impeached upon his return to Nigeria and prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for corruption. Two years later, on July 26, 2007, Mr. Alamieyeseigha pleaded guilty to a six-count charge of corruption and was sentenced to two years in prison on each count. The consul general, in his cable, which was sent before the former governor’s escape from the UK, told his superiors that Mr. Alamieyeseigha’s arrest in the UK was not only due to corruption allegations, but also due to his friendship with former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, who was Mr. Obasanjo’s arch enemy at the time.

Governors fear Obasanjo

According to Mr. Browne, “The arrest of Bayelsa State Governor Deipreiye Alamieyeseigha in London has unnerved some of his fellow pro-Atiku southern governors. His interception abroad, where he does not enjoy constitutional immunity, has not only sullied the attraction of frequent travel (one of the governors’ favored pastimes), but is causing many of them to rethink the wisdom of backing a retreating Atiku against a surging Obasanjo.”

The consul general told his superiors that despite the fear being expressed by other pro-Atiku governors, they could not return to Mr. Obasanjo because of his vindictive nature.

“Many of them probably would have turned tail and angled towards Obasanjo but for his storied vindictiveness. They cannot be certain if, in running to him, they would not be running into his hard clutches rather than the accepting embrace of a magnanimous chief executive for his prodigal junior executives,” Mr. Browne said.

Alamieyeseigha’s fate

Mr. Browne who stated that Mr. Alamieyeseigha’s corruption tendencies was not the only cause of his arrest, stated that: “His profligacy is part of his predicament but the Bayelsa executive is no more spendthrift than many of his colleagues.”

Mr. Browne said that because of the fear of being arrested abroad, many of the governors “who seemingly spent as much time abroad as in their state capitals, suddenly have become stationary homebodies.”

“Alamieyeseigha’s arrest has frightened many other southern governors, who have quickly shelved their rather liberal international travel habits,” he stated.

The American consul general predicted that “some governors will be tempted to wash their hands of Atiku and seek rapprochement with Obasanjo.”

He, however, explained why some of them would not return to Mr. Obasanjo, saying, “However, Obasanjo’s vengefulness is proverbial. Surrendering to him is no guarantee of his lenient reaction.”

Contacted yesterday, spokesperson for Mr. Obasanjo, Adeoba Ojekunle, said the Americans were entitled to their views, saying it was wrong to accuse the former president of vindictiveness because a man was caught with stolen money.

A history of vengeance

After the rumored interest of Mr. Abubakar in the 2003 presidential race and the eventual resolution of the matter between the former vice president and Mr. Obasanjo, their relationship never remained the same. Mr. Abubakar’s roles in government were effectively diminished after the 2003 elections and only got worse after he opposed the constitutional amendment which would have allowed Mr. Obasanjo a third term in office. Another person who suffered from Mr. Obasanjo’s unforgiving vengeance was Audu Ogbeh, former chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Mr. Ogbeh, formerly an ally of Mr. Obasanjo who helped him become party chairman in 2001, disagreed openly about Mr. Obasanjo’s roles in the Anambra State imbroglio where Chris Ngige, then governor, had been abducted by police officers led by a former assistant inspector general of police after a forced resignation. The matter led to the loss of property worth billions of naira, including the destruction of a state television station. Mr. Ogbeh, in an open letter written on December 6, 2004, chastised Mr. Obasanjo for his role in the fracas, with the president also openly responding to the party chairman. However, after a reconciliation meeting where Mr. Obasanjo and his host, Mr. Ogbeh, were treated to a meal of pounded yam, the party chairman was asked to resign by the former president.

Daniel may suffer similar fate

Another person who may suffer from Mr. Obasanjo’s vindictiveness is Gbenga Daniel, the incumbent governor of Ogun State. Mr. Daniel and Mr. Obasanjo had been in a running battle over the control of the PDP in Ogun State with each side having its own faction. The decision by INEC to respect a court order and recognize Mr. Obasanjo’s faction however led to the Ogun governor going to beg the former president.

Two days after, Mr. Daniel confirmed his plea to Mr. Obasanjo saying: “I am a true Yoruba son. And in Yoruba land, it doesn’t matter who is right or who is wrong. It is the younger that will beg the older person. So I have begged Baba, and I will continue to beg him.”

WikiCable: The fear of Obasanjo



http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5683545-146/story.csp

In all, Ojo Maduekwe remains pupet in the government circle, He made no devolopmental impact to his people. He is a selfish being. He can sell his right to remain in power, infact that is what he dose. Remember his word that says: '' It is idiotic to think Igbo president''

A former minister of foreign affairs, Ojo Maduekwe, is an opportunist who is willing to serve any administration in power irrespective of how it gets to office, according to a leaked United States diplomatic cable made available to NEXT.

In the October 19, 2007 cable to Washington, Lisa Piascik, the Charge d'Affairs of the US embassy in Nigeria, analysed the different contending groups pulling and pushing for the soul of the ruling People's Democratic Party.

Mr. Maduekwe was portrayed in the dispatch as a member of former President Olusegun Obasanjo's network of the governing PDP who would be too willing to defect to the camp of late President Umaru Yar'Adua once Mr. Obasanjo's influence diminished.

In profiling the former minister, Ms. Piascik described him as "former Abacha supporter, current Minister of Foreign Affairs, seen as opportunistic and may decamp to Yar'Adua's camp if Obasanjo's influence wanes."

‘Inner circle'

True to the US official's prediction, Mr. Maduekwe, who worked hard for Sani Abacha as the late dictator made to transmute from a military leader to a civilian president, crossed to Mr. Yar'Adua's camp once Mr. Obasanjo's influence began to abate.

In the same cable, the former minister was described as a supporter of Abacha's self-succession plan, special advisor without formal appointment or portfolio under Abacha, immediate past national secretary of the PDP, current minister of foreign affairs.

In yet another dispatch, dated December 24, 2008, Mr. Maduekwe was described as a member of the "AGIP" (Any Government in Power).

"He has been successful in making the transition from Obasanjo's inner circle to Yar'Adua's," the cable said.

Mr. Maduekwe was one of only two ministers who served in both Mr. Obasanjo's and Yar'Adua's cabinets, the other being Hassan Mohammed Lawal, who was minister of works and housing in Mr. Yar'Adua's government.

Career minister

As detailed in the cable, Mr. Maduekwe has hovered around the corridors of power since the Second Republic.

He served in the House of Representatives in 1983 and the Constituent Assembly in 1988. From 1993 to 1995, he was advisor to the minister of foreign affairs and was part of the National Constitutional Conference from 1994 to 1995.

He worked for the transmutation agenda of Mr. Abacha before he was elected to the Senate in 1998 after the late dictator died. He curtailed his Senate tenure to become minister of culture and tourism (1999-2000), minister of transport (2000-2003), and legal advisor to the president (2003-2005). In 2006, he was appointed PDP national secretary following the removal of Vincent Ogbulafor.

He became minister of foreign affairs in 2007, a position he held until his removal last year, after Mr. Yar'Adua died suddenly and Vice President Goodluck Jonathan took over the top job. After his sack, Mr. Maduekwe held a church service in Abuja where he purportedly rededicated the rest of his life to prison outreach ministry.

But the former minister appears to be plotting his way back to power. He is known more these days as a campaigner for the election bid of President Jonathan, rather than a prison evangelist.

Wikileaks CABLE: Maduekwe

Wikileaks CABLE: Maduekwe in Obasanjo network


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5683035-146/story.csp

PDP, the party of the crooks, this is another signal that can educate Nigerians to make the right choice at poll. Weather to keep PDP or brings a new party is completely up to the citizens of Nigeria, but one thing is absolutely clear that PDP as a political organ needs ideology that can put forth the worthiness of Nigerian people rather than behaving nothing less than thugs. Thank you, Next for sharing this at this juncture just three weeks to the D-Day.

The United States does not consider the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party a political party, a US diplomatic cable leaked to the whistleblowing site, Wikileaks, and made exclusively available to NEXT has shown.

Charge d’ affaires of the US embassy in Nigeria, Lisa Piascik, in a dispatch dated October 19, 2007, informed Washington that despite its labelling as a political party, the PDP did not meet “the common western understanding” of a political party.

According to Ms. Piascik, the PDP “lacks key ingredients most political parties share”.

After taking a swipe at the party’s mission statement, the American diplomat proceeded to deliver what is probably the most scathing analysis yet of the PDP.

“The PDP remains an agglomeration of interest groups formed around persons of prominence and power which are loosely tied together by a desire to remain in office and maintain access to the “national cake” or resources of the state”, Ms. Piascik declared.

“The PDP remains a highly fractious and opportunistic coalition of interests. True opposition, in the form of a powerful group with access to the pillars of power, comes from within the PDP - not from without as would be expected in a democratic party structure.”

She added that the party, which claims to be the biggest political platform in Africa, has no “ideological consensus” whatsoever and had remained divided from the start.

In a comment attached to the cable, the American diplomat said, “The PDP remains a highly fractious and opportunistic coalition of interests. True opposition, in the form of a powerful group with access to the pillars of power, comes from within the PDP - not from without as would be expected in a democratic party structure.”

However, the leadership of the PDP yesterday faulted Ms. Piascik’s analysis, saying she had no right to deliver such a verdict on the party.

The party’s spokesperson, Rufai Alkali, said “the People’s Democratic Party is governed by its constitution and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

“We are an organisation, recognised and registered by the Independent Electoral Commission,” Mr. Rufai said. “It is only its membership and leadership of the party and the law governing its operation that can determine it status. It is strange for any organisation outside the shores of the country that is not part of the operation of the party to give it any other name outside of what is known by the party”.

Mr. Alkali therefore urged his party’s supporters to “disregard any information that is likely to undermine the credibility of our great party”.

Interest groups in the PDP

In her breakdown of the configuration of the PDP, Ms. Piascik described the party as a network of pockets of interest groups largely centred around former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his successor, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

She also pointed out that the PDP is a party divided within itself with different interest groups jostling for prominence. According to her, the biggest threat to the PDP is within the party itself rather than from the opposition.

“When viewing and interpreting developments such as the scandals surrounding House Speaker Patricia Etteh and Senate President David Mark or the intrigues surrounding investigation of former PDP governors, it is important to remember that the largest opposition to the PDP continues to come from within the party, not without”.

Ms. Piascik identified the contending forces in the PDP as the conservatives, the progressives, the Abacha appointees/supporters, the retired generals, the Obasanjo Network, the Yar’Adua network and the Immediate past governors Network”.

The conservatives and the progressives

The conservatives, the cable explained, are made up of the initial 18 northern politicians (G-18) that were opposed to the self-succession bid of former military dictator Sani Abacha and the southern politicians that later joined them to form the G-34.

This group, according to the diplomat, were the bedrock of the PDP and commonly referred to as the founding fathers of the party. The cable explained that this group was sidelined soon after the victory of the party in 1999 elections.

“Several original members left either because they disagreed with the influence of former Abacha-appointed politicians in the party or because of disagreements with President Obasanjo. Obasanjo was well-known for his fickleness and shortly after coming into office side-lined many of the G-34 who had been influential in bringing him into office”.

Notable members of the conservatives, as listed by the dispatch, include, former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, Chairman of the Northern Political Leaders Forum, Adamu Ciroma, former Ambassador to the U.S, Jibril Aminu and Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum Sunday Awoniyi.

The cable further classified the immediate past chairman of the party, Okwesilieze Nwodo, the second republic governor of Plateau State, Solomon Lar, the late former governor of Kano State, Abubakar Rimi and former Minister of Environment, Iyorchia Ayu, Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido and former information minister, Jerry Gana, as members of the progressive camp in the party. Also in the group, Chairman of the All Nigerian Peoples’ Party (ANPP) Ume Ezeoke, who Mrs. Piascik explained is “considered a PDP mole within the ANPP”, and former Minister of Justice who was assassinated in 2001, Bola Ige.

Abacha-appointees and the retired generals

According to Ms. Piascik, the Abacha-appointees are those who had served in different capacities under Mr. Abacha. They include former minister of works in the Obasanjo administration, Tony Anenih, former Chairman of the PDP, Barnabas Gemade, second republic governor of Anambra State, Jim Nwobodo and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Yar’Adua administration, Ojo Maduekwe.

The retired general’s faction includes former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, Former National Security Adviser, Aliyu Gusau, former Minister of Defence, Theophilus Danjuma, and a former military Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar.

Mr. Abdulsalami is not known to be a member of the PDP.

The main power blocks

Despite the preponderance of loosely aligned factions struggling for control of the party, Ms. Piascik identified three power blocks at the top of the PDP hierarchy as at the time the cable was written. The factions were listed as the Obasanjo Network, the emerging Yar’Adua Network and the Babangida Network. The faction, which appears to be the most influential of these three, according to Ms. Piascik, was the Obasanjo Network.

“By the end of his presidency in May 2007, President Obasanjo had completely taken over the organisational machinery of the PDP,” Ms. Piascik wrote.

“He made all major decisions on membership, candidates, and matters of party structure, including amendments to the PDP Constitution in December 2006 which virtually guaranteed him chairmanship of the Board of Trustees”.

Prominent members of the Obasanjo Network identified by the Charge d’ Affair are Senate president David Mark, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Patricia Etteh, who was described as the “romantic interest” of Mr. Obasanjo, owner of the Dangote Group and chief financier of Obasanjo’s campaign in 2003, Aliko Dangote, self-acclaimed godfather of Anambra politics, Chris Uba, who the cable described as having “criminal ties” and his brother, Andy Uba, a former domestic aide to Mr. Obasanjo. Other members of the camp were former PDP deputy national chairman, south, Olabode George, former Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Adamu and his Bauchi State counterpart, Adamu Muazu.

Immediate past governors’ network

This group, according to the cable was “formed and coalesced largely around a shared desire to avoid prosecution”. They are also suspected as being the major financiers of Mr. Yar’Adua’s campaign. They include former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, his Abia State counterpart Orji Kalu, Peter Odili of Rivers State, James Ibori of Delta State and Joshua Dariye of Plateau State. Others are George Akume of Benue State, Ahmed Makarfi of Kaduna State, Adamu Aliero of Kebbi State, Saminu Taraki Jigawa State, and Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State.

Wikileaks CABLE: The PDP lacks key ingredients most political parties share


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5684470-146/story.csp

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commisson on Monday arraigned a U.S-based Nigerian Attorney, Mr. Emeka Egwuonye, at an Abuja High Court on a one-count charge of corruption.



Egwuonye was charged with illegally withholding $1.35m tax refunds from the sale of some Nigerian properties in the U.S.



Reading the charges before Justice Suleiman Belgore, the EFCC accused Egwuonye of not remitting the said amount, which he claimed was used to pay tax on the properties.



Counsel to the EFCC, Mr Festus Keyamo, however, said investigations carried out by the commission revealed that diplomatic missions in the U.S did not pay tax.



The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.



Counsel to the accused, Mr. Michael Ugwuanyi, prayed the court to grant his client bail.



Ugwuanyi told the court that the accused had filed another suit before Justice Salisu Garba at another Abuja High Court.



He said the suit was for an order declaring that his detention by the EFCC and the State Security Service since February 12 was “unlawful, unconstitutional, illegal and a gross violation of his fundamental human rights.”



He told the court that Garba had on March 17, granted his client’s prayers.



Ugwuanyi argued that the continued detention of his client by operatives of the EFCC was a violation of his right to freedom of movement as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution.



He said the judge had also ordered the EFCC and the SSS to unconditionally release his client from their custody, pending the determination of the suit.



Belgore, however, refused to grant the accused person bail and ordered that he should be detained by the EFCC.



He adjourned the case to March 30.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201103224225054

The senator representing Oredo South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Ehigie Uzamere, on Sunday night escaped death in the hands of suspected assassins, who opened fire on him at the Ogbe area of Benin City, the Edo State capital.



While Uzamere, who is an Action Congress of Nigeria senatorial candidate in the forthcoming April general elections escaped; his Aide-de-Camp, Sgt. Onyisi Ekeaze, was not so lucky, as one of the bullets hit him on the chest, killing him instantly.



Also hit in the gun attack was Uzamere’s driver, identified as Muhammed, who was shot in the hip.



Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. David Omajola, who confirmed the incident, said investigation was on, adding “we are mourning because we have lost a gallant officer.”



Omajola also refused to disclose whether or not any arrest has been made in the matter, saying “I am bereaved and would not want to comment on that.”



Narrating his experience to journalists on Monday, Uzamere said he would not be deterred in his determination to improve on the lot of his people through representation, and called on the police to investigate the attack, alleging it was a politically-motivated assassination attempt.



Uzamere said, “Yesterday, between 7.30 and 8 am by Zabayo, I had two of my vehicles, one with my aides and I was on my own. As soon as I got down to meet my aides in the other vehicle, I heard gunshots. Immediately we heard the gunshots, we took cover, first to identify where the shot was coming from. My police orderly, Sergeant Onyisi Ekeaze, was gunned down; my driver, Muhammed, was shot in the hip.



“We called in SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) and in the process we discovered my driver was shot in the chest. The Mopol returned fire and killed one of the assailants while the other three escaped in the vehicle they brought. We want the police to investigate this issue.”



“This afternoon, I was called by SARS to say two of them were caught. I asked the young man, do you know me, and he said, ‘yes, you have helped me before.



“While we allow the police to investigate, I consider it an assassination attempt. The ACN primaries are over, three of us contested and I won. It is one man one vote, not one man one bullet. The election is near and no doubt tension will be high.



“I have offered my services to my people and one or two bullets will not deter me. In my campaigns, I discuss issues and not personality. And, I am ready to lay my life down for the emancipation of my people. We have been short-changed but whether you will kill me today or tomorrow, somebody will take up the struggle.”



Also speaking, the state chairman of the ACN, Thomas Okosun, said he thanked God that the party’s candidate was not killed just as he commiserated with the family of the slain policeman.



He said, “Uzamere was not imposed on anybody and we must not shed blood as we approach election day.”

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20110322430423

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat on Monday said that power of incumbency would not ensure electoral victory for any serving governor in the forthcoming April election.



The Director-General of the secretariat, Mr. Asishana Okauru, stated this.



The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Okauru said this was so because the electorate had become politically conscious enough not to vote for a governor that had not performed in his first tenure.



He, however, urged the electorate to know that their voter card was a very important document that should not be sold for anything.



He urged them to ensure that they come out on election days to vote into offices, only those they know could change their situation.



He said, “It is easy to vote for anybody because of instant money, but you should realise that after that vote, you will be handing over your asset and liability to that person and your future for the next four years.



“You really have to be careful because this is about you, your future and your community development,’’ Okauru said.



He urged the electorate to note that schools, water and electricity that are not be working now, could only be fixed by the right person, adding that it was their votes that could enthrone such a person.



Meanwhile, the NGF has concluded arrangements for a one-day interactive session as part of efforts towards ensuring free, fair and credible general elections in April.



According to Okauru, the interactive session scheduled for March 28 is in consonance with a pledge made by the 36 state governors in February.



In February, the governors produced a nine-clause pledge to commit themselves to a free, fair, credible and transparent electoral process.



“As a follow-up to that, they equally resolved that there was the need to put up a one-day interactive session together and that has been scheduled for March 28.



“The President is committed to be there, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, will deliver a keynote address.”


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Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Monday, defied police order as he addressed a rally in Jos.



Buhari’s action was said to have forced Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang to reschedule his planned rally which was earlier fixed for Monday till Tuesday (today).



The police had a hectic time controlling excited supporters of Buhari and those of other political parties who were annoyed with the attitude of the CPC supporters.



The police in Jos had earlier told Buhari not to come to Jos on the grounds that the Peoples Democratic Party governorship rally was scheduled to hold on the same day and at the same venue.



But before Buhari’s arrival, residents of the metropolis woke up to behold a clash between some youths in the Ferin Gada area.



The youths were said to be protesting Sunday’s bomb blast in Angwan Rukuba area.



The police had to disperse them before they regrouped as the CPC rally got under way at the Polo Field.



Two people were said to have been killed, though the figure was not confirmed.



Youths from Jenta Adamu, Jenta Mangoro and Apata had gathered to prevent Buhari from holding a rally at the field.



The entire stretch of Yakubu Gowon Way, BD Zang road, Ahmadu Bello Way, Old Bukuru Motor Park and Enugu Road were deserted as the CPC youths held sway.



They rode their motor bikes dangerously along the road, while they stopped and harassed other road users.



But they were dispersed by soldiers attached to the Special Rask Force. Thick smokes of cans of tear gas were expended by the security agencies to keep the surging youths at bay.



After Buhari managed to hold the rally, which lasted for less than 30 minutes because of the tense situation, he was smuggled out of the venue by security operatives.



The retired General had to take a detour from his earlier route from the venue through Enugu Road to Bauchi Road when on security instruction, he had to turn back as scores of youths had formed a barricade at Jenta Junction.



Many motorcycles were burnt while some people sustained injuries as the clashes spread. Shops were hurriedly closed as parents rushed to schools to pick their children. The enire metropolis was engulfed with tear gas as security agents tried to control the irate youths.



Journalists had a hectic time entering the venue of the rally just as a NAN photographer and Daily Trust correspondent escaped death by whiskers as they tried to leave the venue after the short rally.



It was gathered that the unruly behavior of the CPC supporters prompted an emergency meeting between the security agents where they took the pains to allow the Buhari campaign team to stage the rally.



A source at the meeting told our correspondent that Buhari was allowed to hold the rally on the condition that it would not last for more than 30 minutes.



But when he visited the state governor, Jang told Buhari that both of them had intervened at one time or the other in the politics of the country as military officers.



Jang said, “The former head of state and I were once coup planners, but now we have embraced democracy and therefore doing everything possible to ensure the success of democracy in our nation otherwise we become a pariah nation to the world.



“For democracy to succeed, we must play the game according to the rule. I want to advise that the problem is not with us, the problem is with our followers. If we want democracy to succeed, we must have absolute control of our followers, otherwise they will continue to create problems and give wrong impression to the world.”



Responding, Buhari told the governor that he was in the state for a presidential rally and to pay a visit to the chief executive of the state.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20110322442542

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Monday released the list of candidates that would contest the House of Representatives election on April 2.



According to the list on the INEC website, www.inecnigeria.org, incumbent members of the House, who made the list included the Speaker, Mr. Dimeji Bankole.



Other principal officers on the list included the Chief Whip, Emeka Ihedioha , who is the Peoples Democratic Party for Aboh Mbaise Ngor/Okpala Federal Constituency Imo State; the Minority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila of Action Congress of Nigeria, and Majority Leader, Mr. Tunde Akogun, (PDP Akoko Edo).



One of the major highlights of the list is the appearance of members of a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State loyal to Governor Gbenga Daniel as candidates of Peoples Party of Nigeria.



Besides, a candidate, Mr. Oladipupo Adebutu, featured as a candidate of the PDP and the PPN in two different constituencies in Ogun State.



While Adebutu is a PPN candidate for the election in Ijebu-Ode/Odogbolu/Ijebu North-East Federal Constituency, he is also a PDP candidate for the Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North seat.



But curiously, the Chairman, House Committee on Communications, Mr. Dave Salako, who was elected by former President Olusegun Obasanjo group to contest the Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North seat and had his name published by INEC, was missing on the list.



However, Salako is seeking court’s adjudication on the matter.



Also, in Abeokuta North/Odeda/Obafemi/Owode, a member of the House, Mr. Kayode Amusan, made the list, while Mr. Abiodun Oni, who was elected by the Obasanjo group, was missing.



The Daniel loyalists had defected to the PPN, after the list of their faction was rejected by INEC, which acted on the orders of a Federal High Court, Abuja.



The two PDP factions in the state had held parallel primaries.



While INEC rejected Daniel’s group’s list, it accepted candidates produced by Obasanjo’s group.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201103224352053

Four heavily-armed young men on Sunday night beseiged the Igbotako country home of billionaire politician, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, and kidnapped his 65-year-old mother, Mrs. Mafe Jimoh.



The Police Public Relations Officer of the Ondo State Command, Mr. Aremu Adeniran, who confirmed the development to our correspondent on Monday, explained that the incident was reported at the Igbotako Police Station around 11.30pm on Sunday night.



He, however, said men of the command had commenced investigation into the matter to ensure that the woman was released unhurt.



Our correspondent gathered that the four gunmen arrived the house, a one-storey building, located in the outskirt of the town, around 8.00pm and pretended to be customers, who wanted to buy some locally-made mats, which the woman was selling.



The guard on duty, who simply identified himself as Mr. Donatus Ekuma, explained to journalists on Monday at Igbotako that the old woman was upstairs when the kidnappers arrived.



Ekuma said, “Four of them came in a vehicle. Two of them came down from the car and demanded to see Mama. They claimed to be her customers and that they wanted to buy some mats.



“I told them that Mama was resting upstairs but they insisted on seeing her personally before they make their purchase and I obliged them,” he said.



Ekuma, however, said the story changed when the old woman came out to meet her ‘customers’ only to be held with force and dragged into the waiting vehicle.



“I immediately raised the alarm but the gunmen pointed their guns at me and the other domestic staff on duty, ordering us to lie face-down,” he added.



Our correspondent further learnt that the driver of the woman was sent on an errand when the incident happened, and that he did not go with the car.



The kidnappers, it was futher gathered, escaped with the old-woman on top speed.



Meanwhile, the kidnappers were yet to demand any ransom from the family of the biillionaire politician because she left her phone at home and she did not know any number off-hand.



Jimoh told THE PUNCH on Monday night that he had been in touch with the police and the state government on how to resolve the situation.



He said, “I have been inundated with calls within and outside Nigeria making inquiries on thisunwholesome development.”


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201103224214340

Lagos state Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola on Monday said the popularity and performance of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has scared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) out of Lagos State. He noted that members of the rulling party even found it difficult to campaign.

Fashola who made the observation during a political rally in Ikorodu area of the state also urged the citizenry to dump the party in the forthcoming elections saying, “their leaking umbrella is incapable of protecting the interests of Nigerians when the need arises.”

While reeling out some of his achievements in the past four years, the Governor also disclosed plans by his administration to expand the Ikorodu Road Expressway to a six-lane as well as construction of Bus Rapid Transit Scheme (BRT) to the axis.
The governor said the Ikorodu–Lagos expressway hitherto plagued by traffic jams would be expanded from four to six lanes. He disclosed, “this would include the BRT lanes to help ease the burden of traffic borne by Ikorodu people.’’
He said the state has delivered on its promises in 2007 to the people of Ikorodu with the construction of about 31 roads, some of which are still ongoing.
He continued:“Our 2011 budget includes the construction of 28 roads in Ikorodu and will all be completed before the end of this administration.

`We are aware of the diversion of cars especially heavy duty vehicles from Lagos-Ibadan expressway to Ikorodu to link with Sagamu expressway as a way of avoiding traffic thus putting pressure on Ikorodu roads.’’
The governor assured the people that if voted for a second term, the first term performance would be a child play compared to what Lagos people would witness.
Victory for the ACN next month, Fashola promised “will translate to more dividends of democracy for the people,” enthusing, “you haven’t seen anything yet.”
As part of measures to ease transportation and limit pressure on the roads, Fashola said the state has added four new jetties to the Ikorodu –Badore/Victoria Island water route.

“The new jetties have a speed of about 17 minutes as against the previous speed of 27 minutes of former jetties” he said, informing that the state has embarked on regional town planning of how Ikorodu would be in the next 25 years.
Fashola, blamed the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP led Federal Government for the underdevelopment in the country and urged the people to churn all antics and overtures by PDP in the coming April polls but vote massively against them, “because PDP is a virus that must be thrown out to where they belong.”
Earlier in his speech, the Lagos State Chairman of the ACN, Chief Henry Ajomale urged the people to shun violence in the April polls.
“We should vote and defend our votes but not through violence’’ Ajomale said.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/mar/22/national-22-03-2011-07.htm

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Super Eagles’ striker, Osaze Peter Odemwingie, has dedicated his goal in West Brom’s 2-2 draw against English Premier League title contender, Arsenal,to the club’s kitman, Dave Matthews, who has been working with the Albion since 1961.

Matthews joined West Bromwich Albion as an assistant kitman 50 years ago, the balls still had to be sewn back together after training, players wore T-shirts and shorts in snow and if they were sissy enough to want to protect their precious shins they put sticks of cane down their socks.

Most jobs in football, come with a life expectancy that would worry a mayfly, so no wonder after managing 50 years at West Brom their kitman was this week presented with a spectacular cake made by the club doctor’s wife, and a Barclays Merit Award in recognition of his dedication and professionalism in preparing players for matches.

“To complete 50 years of service at a football club is really quite remarkable,” said Roy Hodgson, the West Brom’s manager. “It is almost mandatory for there to be change these days, but it is important for a club to have an identity and Dave gives West Brom that. It is good for the players to know that this club existed before them, and it will exist after them.”

In a time of such rapid turnover, to have a thread running through the club is invaluable. Matthews has seen 24 permanent managers come and go, the FA Cup and League Cup won, two League Cup finals lost, six promotions, and six relegations. Naturally, he is hoping not to see a seventh. These days, the kitman no longer needs to file down studs or sew up balls, but Matthews still needs six metal containers and five kit bags to carry laces, pens, bibs, cones, chewing gum and all other paraphernalia that the players might need. “It has grown and grown out of all proportions,” he says. “When I started, it was T-shirt, shorts, ankle socks. Definitely no snoods.”

Even then change was slowly taking place. It was only two years after Matthews joined that the players went on strike over a pair of tracksuit bottoms.“Jimmy Hagan liked running,” Matthews recalls. “You warmed up running, training was running, and he was always in T-shirt and shorts, even in two foot of snow. “He wouldn’t let the players wear tracksuits and they rebelled. The manager finally agreed that they could warm up in tracksuit bottoms, then they had to take them off.” The memories flood back. Matthews wrote to the club as a 15 year-old in the hope of getting a job as a groundsman. The only vacancy was as an assistant to the kitman, and Matthews jumped at it.

“For a fan to be working alongside his heroes,” he says, “well, it doesn’t get much better.” Of course, as a supporter of the club, it can be difficult to keep quiet when players do not perform. Matthews had an argument with Geoff Horsfield in 2004 after Birmingham had beaten West Brom 4-0.
“There were a few verbals,” he admits. But he can also be a conduit for supporters.

When Odemwingie was worrying about how the terraces would react to a goal drought this season, Matthews was on hand with some reassuring words. “I said ‘Peter, as long as you try, keep working hard, you won’t get any stick off the fans’.”

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/sports/2011/mar/21/sports-03-21-2011-001.htm

Oyo State Governor, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, in this interview with OLALEKAN ADETAYO, speaks on his second term ambition and the various controversies over his re-election bid among other issues. Excerpts:



How has it been governing a state like Oyo with all its peculiarities in the last four years?



It has been good. I have been enjoying it. You know that I am not unfamiliar with governance. I am familiar with the terrain. I had prepared for it before going into government; I know what to do, when to do and how to do it. Things have been working to plan to the glory of God. I have delivered substantially most of the campaign promises I made in 2007 and the people are happy with me. I am also very happy that the people are happy with me.



Does that mean you have not encountered any challenge so far?



In this type of terrain, there is no way there will not be some challenges but the important thing is for you to look for how to overcome the challenges.



What are the major challenges you can easily point to that came your way in the last four years?



I cannot really say there are major challenges that came my way that are not expected. Majorly, the challenges are not in governance. Maybe they are political. I don’t think I have challenges that are insurmountable and we thank God for that.



Why do you think you deserve to be re-elected as the governor of Oyo State?



I deserve to be re-elected because during my first term, I got it right. For us to continue to get it right, there must be continuity so that we will lay a good foundation for whoever will come after us. Once we lay this foundation, if the fellow that is coming after us is not doing well, it will clearly show that something is wrong somewhere. We have laid a good foundation. For instance, it was when I came on board that I fixed the School of Science, Pade that was started by former governor Kolapo Ishola.



Since you made your decision to run for second term public, it has been one rumour and controversy after the other. Sometimes it was a rumour that you were feeding pupils with fetish food; at another time, it was a video clip exposing your alleged ritual activities. What do you think is responsible for these and how do you receive them?



When your opponents are far behind you and you give them a mileage that they cannot cover, the only thing they can do is to resort to cheap blackmail. Unfortunately many of our people are gullible. They will fall into the trap of believing such stories. If you look at it very well, all these stories are concentrated in Ibadanland alone, not throughout the state. It was when they discovered that they cannot discredit my government in terms of performance and good governance that they decided that the only thing they can do is to embark on character assassination. That will not work because truth is constant and it will surely come out. What they are doing is just to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it. Nobody can say I have not performed because I can say it with all sense of responsibility that no government has performed the way I performed. Ibadan is no longer what it used to be. We have improved on all the infrastructure we met on the ground. We have touched the lives of all the people of the state positively. It is all falsehood and cannot stand the test of time.



One major issue that has been attracting negative publicity to your administration is your alleged partisanship in the leadership crisis rocking the state council of the National Union of Road Transport Workers. How will you react to this?



I am not a member of the NURTW. When they are disturbing public peace, I am expected as the Chief Security Officer of the state to take a stand on the issue. I am not interested in who becomes the leader of the NURTW, what I want is that there must be peace. Initially, their fights were limited to their members. What made me to take a drastic position against them is that at a time, they started disturbing the peace of innocent persons who are not members of the NURTW. I have the responsibility to maintain peace and that was why I told them that I would acquire their secretariat; build a school there and relocate them to a place where they will not be able to disturb the peace of innocent people. I am not taking sides with anybody. When their national leaders came here, I told them that I was ready to unban the activities of the union in the state once they are able to resolve their issues but they have not been able to do that. Why will I allow them to continue to disturb the peace of the state? You will see that since they were banned, there has been relative peace in the city.



If you are not in support of the late Eleweomo’s faction, why did you wait till the National Industrial Court reinstated Tokyo before you decided to ban the activities of the union?



No, I was not in support of Eleweomo. Eleweomo was recognised by the national headquarters of the union. Anybody that is recognised by the national headquarters will be recognised by me because I cannot know their association more than they do. If the national headquarters in Abuja says today that Mr. A is the chairman of the Oyo State council, so be it. I will abide by it. But there was a leadership crisis among them. The national headquarters has expelled Tokyo from the union, so how can he become the chairman? For instance, if the Nigeria Union of Journalists says you are no longer a member of the union, how can you say you want to be the chairman of the same union? If tomorrow they write me that they have resolved the crisis and send Tokyo’s name to me as the chairman, so be it; I don’t have a special interest in the matter. When both of them were claiming to be the chairman, the best thing to do was what I did: ban all of them. I don’t have reasons to take sides. I don’t have a fleet of commercial vehicles that ply the roads.



The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology issue is another major issue. You were quoted as saying that Oyo State government is now the sole owner of the school hitherto jointly owned with the Osun State Government. That statement has drawn the ire of your brother governor in Osun,



I don’t always like to discuss LAUTECH. I don’t know why people are making issue out of nothing. We are not the first state to jointly own a school and we are also not the first to say we should go our own way. It has happened in many states like that. Must you force a union? There can only be a union if the two of you agree to move; if you don’t agree, you go your separate ways.



But the position of Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, is that the law that established LAUTECH has not been abrogated,



Which law? The only law that established LAUTECH belongs to the Oyo State Government. Can two states jointly enact a law? When they talk sometimes, I just look at them. Do they think they are talking to fools? The only law that established LAUTECH is in Oyo state’s law book, not in any other place. If they know any other law, let them quote it. Can Osun State Government enact a law on how a university in Oyo State would be run? Can they enact a law for us from Osun? Is there any sense in it? It is true that they don’t want to go and it is also true that we want to go. Whatever is not movable in our property in Osun State, they should take them; likewise, whatever property they have here in Oyo State that are not movable, we take them We are the only two states in Nigeria that jointly own a university. What is the noise about? They said they are going to court; can a court force a union? It is not done anywhere.



The National Universities Commission intervened in this matter at a time. What has become of that intervention?



What they were able to do was to tell us what to do and we signed a Memorandum of Understanding. I still abide by that MoU we signed. You need to note that the NUC is just a regulatory body, it is not expected to poke its nose into who owns what. It is not their business. This university is on our soil, we are not fighting for something that is on the soil of Osun State. I don’t know what the hullaballoo is about.



What are you doing to reconcile with the chieftains of the PDP in the state who are not in your camp ahead of the general elections?



Who are the PDP chieftains you are referring to?



Senator Lekan Balogun is not in your camp. Senator Teslim Folarin and Hazeem Gbolarumi among others are also not in your camp.



Which camp do they belong to?



I wouldn’t know but they have made it public that they are against your second term bid.



Okay. They are not God. They are playing God, they are not God. If you are a good party man, immediately there is a primary and a candidate has been elected, you fall in line and work to ensure that the party wins. At that point, you will not look at the messenger; you look at the message. The message now is PDP and not Alao-Akala. I am not aware that they are doing anything contrary. If they are working against the party and they are in the party, they will be disciplined when the time comes. I don’t think we have a major problem in Oyo State PDP compared with other states. We are forging ahead; I am not alone, I have other people with me. If they change, it is good. As the candidate, I can go and plead with anybody that I think can be of help to me to win the election. Since they have not gone to another party, that means that there is still hope.



Do you see your former boss, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and Senator Abiola Ajimobi as threats to your ambition?



Not at all. I know them and their strengths. They know me too. Because they know I am not just a cheap politician, that is why they have been looking for ways to blackmail me. I heard that because they discovered that they won’t be able to remove me, they are planning a coalition. By the grace of God, I will bulldoze my way and I will bulldoze them along. A lot of things are in my advantage to succeed in the coming elections.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20110321233790

Those whom the gods wish to destroy the first make mad. The outrage over sending a minister as personal representative at the infamous celebration of criminality has not died down. Jonathan is still digging himself deeper into the infamous deep, dark hole of Georges creation. What is Jonathan thinking? I would distance myself from a criminal and exfelons if I were seeking to be elected president.

Indications that the Peoples Democratic Party is serious to take over Lagos State in the coming elections emerged on Sunday as President Goodluck Jonathan held a crucial meeting with former National Deputy Chairman of the PDP in the South West, Chief Olabode George and some party leaders in the state.



Though, details of the meeting, which started around 9p.m could not be ascertained as at press time, it was believed that the meeting with George, who was recently released from prison after serving two years in prison on account of contract splitting and inflation, was aimed resolving the crisis in the PDP in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states.



It was also gathered that the meeting, held at Dodan Barracks, Lagos, was attended by the Ogun State Governor, Otunba gbenga Daniel; PDP governorship candidate in Lagos, Dr. Ade Dosunmu; Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, and other party leaders.



A reliable source, who craved anonymity, said the meeting was informed by the concern of Jonathan that the PDP would be roundly defeated if the intra party crisis in Ogun, Oyo and Lagos were not resolved before the April elections.



It was also learnt that the President, which had earlier met with some party leaders in Ogudu GRA, Lagos, would spend about three days in Lagos in order to have enough time to meet with all aggrieved PDP factions in the three states.



PDP leaders had, during the Presidential campaign rally in Lagos recently, restated the resolve of the party to wrest power from the Action Congress of Nigeria, which had been in power in the state since 1999.



It was learnt that the meeting, apart from using it to resolve the intra party crisis in the party in the states, would also be used to fashion out strategies that would be employed to win the close to seven million votes in Lagos.



The source said, “The President in worried about the crises in Ogun, Oyo and Lagos.



His concern stems from the fact that in the three states, different factions of the party are fighting themselves. This has put the chances of the PDP at risk. So he has to do something about it.



“With this meeting, there would be opportunity for all the factions in the three states to state their cases and the crises with will resolved. Don’t forget that Lagos alone has about seven million voters.”






http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201103212435917

The attempt by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Minister of Commerce and Industries, Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye, to rally the support of stakeholders in the crisis-ridden Ogun State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party for the party’s governorship candidate appears to have suffered another setback.



The two principal characters, who are said to be leading a faction of the state PDP, failed to convince the group of 15 members in the State House of Assembly to support the ambition of the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Maj. Gen. Idowu Olurin (retd.).



After the party’s turbulent primaries, series of litigations and high-level political maneuverings, the faction of the PDP led by Obasanjo, was able to produce the governorship and the three senatorial candidates among other offices in the state.



The turn of events forced the candidates produced by the faction of the State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, to seek political refuge in the Peoples Party of Nigeria.



At a meeting held in the late hours of Friday at the Presidential Hilltop mansion of Obasanjo in Abeokuta at the instance of the former President and Martins-Kuye with the G-15, the PDP leaders, however, ran into a brick wall in their bid to convince the aggrieved lawmakers to support the governorship ambition of Olurin.



Equally, the legislators, who were led by the Speaker, Mr. Tunji Egbetokun, all purportedly suspended by nine of their colleagues, loyal to Daniel on September 6, 2010, demanded to know what Obasanjo had done to ensure that the Assembly was opened to the 26 legislators and not to the G-9, which had continued to sit since the beginning of March.



It was learnt that besides Obasanjo, Martins-Kuye and Olurin, those who attended the meeting as observers were former presidential adviser, Dr. Doyin Okupe; PDP leaders in the state, Senator Tunde Osholake and Chief Dayo Abatan as well as the Senatorial candidate of the Labour Party in Ogun West, Senator Lekan Mustapha.



A source, who attended the meeting and spoke to THE PUNCH on Saturday, said Martins-Kuye informed the lawmakers of the need to put aside their grievances and support Olurin to emerge as the state governor in the April election.



“JMK (Martins-Kuye) explained that Olurin would surely win the governorship contest in the state, saying the G-15 need to support him so that we can be sure of sharing political appointments in the new administration. The minister was so sure that Olurin would win the election, but reminded us that we will need to partake in mobilising support for him,” said the source, who craved anonymity.



It was gathered that Egbetokun asked the former President why the leaders had not taken the same step in prevailing on President Goodluck Jonathan to re-open the House of Assembly complex after six months of closure.



The source said, “The Speaker also wondered why the Assembly was opened to the minority faction when the Presidency finally decided to open the house. Baba Obasanjo said he called the attention of the President to the situation of the House during the PDP rally in Lagos, but that the President claimed he was not aware that the Assembly had not been opened.



“He said President Jonathan promised to look into the matter. Baba said he was surprised that the Assembly was opened to the wrong group instead of the whole House of 26 members.”



The explanations and the two leaders were said to have, however, fallen short of the lawmakers’ expectations as one of them, who had defected to the Action Congress of Nigeria to contest the Odogbolu State Constituency seat in the House of Assembly, Pastor Remmy Hazzan, kicked against the move.



Hazzan, the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, was said to have told Obasanjo and Martins-Kuye that it would be improper for him to be called upon to rally support for a PDP candidate, when the ACN had its own governorship candidate.



“He (Hazzan) said three of the G-15 members had defected to the ACN while one is already in Labour Party. He believed that the other 11 members did not need to be persuaded to support Olurin. The other members, who were also in attendance, were not even persuaded by the explanations offered by JMK. Baba (Obasanjo) then said it was impossible for him to force the G-15 to do what they did not believe in,” the source said.



The meeting was said to have ended without the convener being able to extract any positive commitment from the lawmakers.



The former President was said to have continued the second phase of the meeting with other attendees, who, though, were present during the meeting, but did not contribute to the proceedings.



In an interview with THE PUNCH on Sunday, Hazzan confirmed the meeting and the statement ascribed to him at the meeting.



“Yes, we were called for a meeting in Baba’s place, but I guessed the meeting was meant for the PDP members in the House. A situation where someone is saying I should leave the party where I’m already campaigning for election into the House of Assembly cannot be said to be ideal. I’m in ACN and cannot be called upon to rally support for a PDP candidate or leave my present party. How will the people and the party perceive me?” he said.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20110321353231

Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN and former governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Lam Adesina yesterday raised the alarm that the voters’ registers in 27 of the 33 local government areas in the state had been doctored by Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) agents.

The alarm is coming on the heels of the arrest of four persons, including an official of the INEC in the state allegedly caught with six Direct Data Capturng (DDC) machines in a hotel in Ibadan, the state capital at the weekend. The men, who are chatting with the police, were said to be erasing names of registered voters stored in the machineand replacing it with fictitious names.

Addressing reporters at his Felele residence in the city yesterday on the development, Adesina claimed that the state resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Ayo Adekeja had admitted that registers in 27 council areas were affected.
The former governor accused the state INEC and the top hierarchy of the PDP of colluding to rig the forthcoming elections, saying they were behind the “unholy scheme.”

But, in a swift reaction, Ayodele Folami, the INEC spokesperson denied the claim credited to his boss, saying he could not have made such a statement, as nothing of such happened.But, he admitted that the Saturday incident had been reported to all the appropriate security agencies in the state. Folami said the commission was still investigating the ‘ugly incident.’He said the commission was making contact with the police and other security agencies on the way forward, adding that at the end of the investigation, the commission would tell the world on the next line of action.

Also, the ruling PDP in the state dissociated itself from the incident and accused the opposition party, ACN of maligning the party ahead of the April polls because of what it described as electoral defeat awaiting the ACN and Accord Party. Of the four people arrested, three of them were allegedly members of the ruling PDP officials of the Akala/Arapaja Campaign Organisation in the state, a development Adesina described as part of the desperate moves by the ruling party to retain the state at all cost.

He, however, vowed that any attempt to resist the popular move of the people of the state to eject PDP and its governorship candidate, Adebayo Alao-Akala through the ballot would meet with untoward consequences. The ACN leader, who was flanked by his former deputy, Iyiola Oladokun, the party governorship candidate in the state, Abiola Ajimobi, the Oyo South Senatorial candidate for the April poll, Chief Olufemi Lanlehin and other party chieftains said Saturday’s incident had confirmed his allegation against the Oyo State REC of having “an unholy marriage with Governor Alao Akala,” remarking that it had affected the integrity of the voters’ register in the state, wondering which one would now be used for the elections. He therefore made a four-point demand of INEC National Chairman, Attahiru Jega to restore confidence in the electorate in the state, ahead of the April polls.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/mar/21/national-21-03-2011-001.htm

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has alerted Nigerians to a vote-for-pardon deal between the Federal Government and Chief Bode George. “The deal, cut at a meeting in the presidential villa in Abuja is simple:

If Bode George delivers Lagos, he will receive a state pardon for his corruption conviction for which he spent two years in the gulag,” the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in a statement issued in Ilorin yesterday, adding that everything he will need for this capture has been provided by his masters.

It said the deal reflects the desperation of the PDP-led FG to “capture” Lagos at all cost during next month’s general elections. “The implication is that even President Goodluck Jonathan, for all his sweet words on ensuring free and fair elections and avoiding unethical measures to win at all cost, is ready to do anything just to “capture” Lagos for his party. This is sad,” it said.

But the ACN said it would not lose any sleep over the devilish deal, since the battle of Lagos will be fought by the people of Lagos themselves, having realised the giant strides made by the party in the renewal of Lagos since the present political dispensation started in 1999.

“We make bold to say that none of the country’s 36 states has witnessed the kind of rapid development, security and peace, infrastructural renewal and growth that Lagos has experienced under the ACN in the past 12 years or so. It is the people who have enjoyed these dividends of democracy, therefore, that Bode George and his pay masters will have to contend with next month, deal or no deal,” the party said.

It said, however, that the belief in PDP circles that the morally-challenged Bode George can actually deliver Lagos is the biggest insult that can be passed on the people of Lagos. “This is a man who, without the opprobrium of going to jail for corruption, could not deliver Lagos to the PDP. Now, with an added baggage of corruption conviction and doing time at the nation’s maximum prison, how can he lead a people who are strong believers in accountability, transparency and good governance? Where will he get the moral courage to lead this battle of Lagos? Has Bode George not worsened his case by his failure to show penitence after serving time?” ACN queried.

The party said the latest deal between the FG and Bode George has shown the PDP for what it is, “a party of anything goes.” “We are not surprised at this deal. After all, President Jonathan appeared at the same rally with the same man, even when he has refused to show contrition for his action, and has instead blamed everyone but himself for the fate that befell him. Sincere penitence, we must add, is the minimum requirement for any convict wishing to be reintegrated into the society,” it said.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/mar/18/national-18-03-2011-010.htm

Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, yesterday took a swipe at former President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying, he could not claim to be the conscience of the nation.
The embattled governor said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees chairman “has no conscience at all.”

Daniel, who spoke yesterday in Abeokuta, during a programme tagged: “Congress of Gratitude: A festival of appreciation by secondary school teachers in Ogun State, a summary of the impacts of the OGD years in the education sector,” apparently, was reacting to a warning by the state PDP governorship candidate, General Tunji Olurin (retd), that he (Daniel) should stop his reckless spending of the state funds or risk going to jail.

Olurin told party supporters during the flag-off of his campaign at Ilaro, in Yewaland on Wednesday, that any move by Daniel, to run the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) with state funds would lead him (Daniel) to jail. But in a swift reaction, Daniel, quoting William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, captured recent statements credited to the former president, and Olurin thus: “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

The unfolding scenario, however, were indications that the supposed truce between the Obasanjo camp, and that of the state governor, was not only fragile, but heading for collapse.
With that, the battle line may have been drawn again between the two PDP factions, in the race for the Government House, in the April election.

Daily Sun exclusively gathered that there was a grand plan to stop the PPN governorship candidate, Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka, through a court injunction or resort to kidnapping out of desperation.
A source, quoted a PDP big gun as saying “it would be a total disgrace if the PDP fails to deliver Ogun State without OGD, since PPN has refused to return to the PDP.”

Governor Daniel has, however, vowed to remain resolute till the last day of his administration, admitting that his government had been battling with challenges in the last three years. He assured the teachers across the three senatorial districts of the state that no amount of intimidation or threat would make him waiver from his stand.

“There is no doubt that there was a lot of thunderstorm in Ogun State. Not many people believed that we are going to be here till today. Even, as I stand before you, those people are not relenting.
“Let me assure you that your governor OGD is standing firm and let me assure you that I will stand firm till the last day,” he said. The outgoing governor said that his administration through “thick” and “thin” had made history and had brought out it best through its programmes and policies.

“We’ve created legacies that nobody can change in Ogun. Whether people like it or not, we have brought out the best in everything that we have touched. We have brought out the best in education. As you aware, in the last few years, we have employed 10,000 teachers in secondary schools alone. I am not aware of any state, in this country that has been able to do this in this country in the last eight years. If that state exists, I like to be challenged. We have created legacies that nobody can change,” he said.

The governor said some “undertakers” were fighting tooth and nail to hijack his government.
“The undertakers have come. By the special grace of God their coffin will have no body. When they speak in public, they speak from the perspective of what they have done and the way they are doing things.”




http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/mar/18/national-18-03-2011-001.htm

The Peoples Democratic Party has raised the alarm that the Action Congress of Nigeria is planning to rig elections in the South-West.



The PDP, in a statement by a member of the PDP Integrity Vanguard, Mr. Adamu Gwazuwang, accused some leaders of ACN of planning to rig polls by replicating the voter register through the active connivance with some unnamed officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission.



It said the ACN was already compiling what it called a special voter’s register to be used during the election, where the names of PDP supporters would be expunged from the main voter’s register.



But in a swift reaction, the ACN said it was the PDP that was actually exposing its plan to make sure that the people’s votes did not count.



It, however, promised to make sure that the plan of the ruling party did not achieve “this diabolical action.”



The statement said, “The ACN and its leaders have embarked on plans to unleash the most brazen and unprecedented subversion of the electoral process since Nigerian’s independence during the April polls.



“Details emerging show that the ACN in all western states has replicated INEC’s voters register at all the polling stations of the region.



“It is now a known fact that this was made possible through connivance with yet to be identified officials who gave cover to the ACN agents.



“The register now compiled by the ACN, according to the plan, will be edited to expunge the names of PDP members and others not likely to vote for the ACN.



“The plan has been so thoroughly worked out that it may even be impossible to suspect that the ACN compiled registered voters list in the event that INEC officials are conveniently late or absent at polling stations on election dates.



“To forestall this rigging plan, the PDP Integrity Vanguard appealed to Nigerians to impress it on INEC to ensure its voter’s registers have security marks and indelible imprints that will make forgery impossible.”



The PDP added, “A subtle and surreptitious enlightenment of the subversive plans have been going on in all the states of the west since the end of INEC’s registration of voters two months ago.



“We call on the ACN to desist forthwith with all plans to carry out this nefarious and dastardly plan.



“Nothing can be more inspiring than the assurances President Goodluck Jonathan has consistently stated that the April elections will be free, fair and credible.



The PDP group reminded Nigerians that President Goodluck Jonathan has said that no one should rig for him and that every vote should count.



Speaking in a telephone interview with our correspondent, however, the National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said only the PDP was known for such action, but said the ACN would make sure that Nigerians did not allow them to carry out such action.



He asked how the ACN would have access to INEC officials, who he said were appointed by the PDP.



Mohammed said, “That is their job. That is what the PDP stands for – rigging of elections. Who appointed INEC officials? Who deployed them to states? Who will then have access to such officials?



“But tell them that we are ready for them; Nigerians are also ready for them.



“Whatever evil they are planning to do would be resisted by Nigerians irrespective of the zone they are.



“The PDP is already afraid that its evil deeds are being monitored and that we are going to deal with them at the polls. We will defeat them because the people are with us. The PDP is a crude party. The members are afraid of the people.”



In another development, the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign organisation has commended the people of the North-West for their tremendous support when the campaign train visited the zone.



http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20110318493318

Kwara State is bubbling with excitement as the crème de la crème of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) will today gather in Ilorin, the state capital, for the official flag-off of the campaign of the party’s governorship candidate, Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN).

Expected at the event are Governors Babatunde Raji Fashola (Lagos); Rauf Aregbesola (Osun); ACN national leader and former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu; ACN National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and other top notches of Nigeria’s leading opposition party.

All of them, including Belgore, will address the large crowd of party faithful and supporters at the event.
Slated to hold at LUBCON Baseball Park at Adewole in Ilorin from 10a.m., the rally comes as Belgore embarks on statewide tour of the state to sell his candidature to the populace now torn between choosing a better future the ACN is promising and the now double-faced status quo which the broom-wielding party says has kept the people in bondage for years.

Rafiu Ajakaye, media aide to Belgore, said in a statement that the mega rally would be the first of its kind in Kwara’s political history and usher in the “socio-political and economic freedom and genuine human and infrastructural development long denied our people when we go to the poll in April.”
The statement added: “Contrary to the lies being bandied about by the reactionary forces now being rebuked by the people, today’s rally will show to the world how popular Belgore and ACN are among the ordinary and freedom-loving people of Kwara.

“We urge our people to troop out en masse to listen to the progressive forces and governors whose sterling performances in their respective states have endeared our great party to the people in their states and nationwide. We also urge the good people of Kwara to shun any attempt from any quarters to provoke them into violent reaction, either through intimidation or threat of political punishment, which are the hallmark of the reactionary forces worldwide.

“Our party, the ACN, and indeed Belgore are reputed for constructive, issues-based campaign and non-violence, and our supporters are therefore urged to be law-abiding, orderly and peaceable before, during and after this epoch-making event.”




http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/mar/17/national-17-03-2011-026.htm

Jega God bless you. You reason like a true Professor. With you there is hope for approximately free and fair election. I just pray you should not dissapoint at the end.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Wednesday rejected a request by members of the House of Representatives for a closed-door meeting on the commission’s role in party primaries.



The House had in one of its resolutions last week accused INEC of partiality in its choice of which court orders on party candidates to accept or not and consequently summoned Jega to appear before its Committee on Electoral Matters and Justice to defend the role of his commission in the primaries.



“We were accused in the public; I think it is also fair for us to give our response in the public. This is an opportunity for us to clear some of the misconceptions (especially) that INEC has been partial,’ the INEC boss told the Committee members.



The Committee joint chairmen, Messrs Henry Dickson and Musa Adar, had requested that Jega went into a closed-door meeting with the Representatives at a point in his meeting with them, but the INEC chairman rejected the request and insisted that the session must held before representatives of the media.



He also challenged the lawmakers to mention specific cases where he had been selective in obeying court orders.



“If there are any specific cases that you have, mention them so that we can explain how we handled them on the advice of our Legal Services Committee,” he told the lawmakers.



Many aggrieved aspirants during the party primaries had filed several suits in courts and obtained orders against the electoral body to either substitute or retain their names as candidates of the political parties.



The lawmakers however did not mention any specific case but asked Jega to shed light on the 300 cases and 70 exparte orders against the commission arising from the disputes set off by the primaries.



Jega consequently asked the Chairman of INEC’s legal services committee, Mr. Philip Umeadi (SAN), to respond to the question.



Umeadi told the committee that there was no order served on INEC that the commission had deliberately ignored.



He explained that what was being interpreted as partiality by litigants was a situation where multiple orders were given on the same matter by courts of parallel jurisdiction.



Umeadi said, “One key challenge is when a candidate obtained an order saying that he is the right person recognised by the party.



“His opponents will not set aside the order or appeal it; they simply go to another court of the same jurisdiction to get a fresh order to serve on INEC. In some cases, we have up to three orders given by courts of similar jurisdiction on the same matter.”



He argued that faced with such situations, the law pre-supposed that the first order would be obeyed until it was discharged or appealed.



“There is no order served on INEC which we have not obeyed. We need to be told of specific cases, if there are, so that we can respond on how we treated them”, Umeadi said.



However, one lawmaker, Mr. Lanre Agoro, observed that INEC should be partly blamed for the multiplicity of orders against the commission.



Agoro claimed that some INEC employees had compromised their integrity.



He said, “If there is no receiver of bribe, there will be no giver.There are people in INEC who will advise litigants to go to courts of the same jurisdiction and obtain orders when they know that this is wrong.



“Whenever this happens, INEC now constitutes itself into another court, deciding which order to obey. This is why the allegation of discretionary substitution comes in.”



Agoro also said that Nigerian politicians were “bad losers,” who would still rush to court to challenge a “decent and transparent defeat.”



A recent investigation by THE PUNCH indicated that INEC was investigating some of its officials suspected to be behind the alleged altering of list of names of candidates submitted to the Commission by political parties for contest in the April poll.



“They forge signatures and documents to perfect their evil deeds,” a source within the INEC had told one of our correspondents.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201103172474946

I’m making effort to understand the Speaker. I will vote for a 80 yrs old who is transparent, capable, intelligent and believe in Nigeria as a nation than a 40 yrs person who possesses contrary characteristics. Bankole, who told you Jonathan is wining this election? This is not a contest among GEJ, IBB, Saraki, Atiku etc.

I am tired of hearing politicians defending their friends and colleagues whenever there is a laudable step or bold steps at stopping corruptions or reprimand corrupted officials. Mr Dairo should wait for the probe to take place and let Agagu defend himself. If Dr Agagu does not have anything in his cupboard then he should fear no probe. Let us wake up and develop.

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State, on Wednesday, condemned the alleged moves by the state Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, to probe his predecessor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu‘s administration.



The Chairman of the PDP in the state, Dr. Omotayo Dairo, who addressed journalists on the issue in Akure, however, said that Agagu operated a corrupt-free administration and that the timing of the probe by Mimiko was mischievous.



Dairo noted with concern that the planned probe of Agagu and elected officials, who served with him at the local government level at this time, was a clear case of witchunt.



But the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Kolawole Olabisi, said the PDP was not in the position to advise the LP government in the state on the appropriate time to probe the activities of the past political office holders in the state.



“We dont need the PDP to tell us the time and the schedule of the probe panel, when it comes, it would be to put record straight.



“The action of the PDP in the state towards the probe panel showed that they have ‘skeleton in their cupboard during their six year reign in the state,” he said.


Link;http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201103172135895