₦airaland Forum

ABOUT 24 hours to the presidential primaries of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, former members of the National Assembly from the 21 states of the North have kicked against the presidential aspiration of former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.



The ex-National Assembly members from the North, who met in Kaduna under the aegis of the Forum of Former Northern Parliamentarians for National Unity, declared that Abubakar was not qualified to become the president of the country in the next dispensation.



According to the ex-Northern lawmakers, the former vice president has demonstrated by his recent utterances that he will not be a leader that all Nigerians, irrespective of religion and ethnic origin, can rely on.



The former National Assembly members therefore endorsed the aspiration of President Goodluck Jonathan and directed Northern delegates to the PDP presidential primaries to cast their votes for him in the interest of the Nigerian nation and the people.



FONPNU said at a news conference addressed by its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Jonathan Asake, that the recent statements credited to Abubakar in the media during his visit to Bayelsa and Rivers states where he reportedly said that he would rather focus his campaign for the PDP presidential ticket on the Northern states which he said had more delegates than those of the two southern states, did not portray him as a true pan-Nigeria leader.



Abubakar had reportedly said during his visit to the two South South states that he only needed to campaign in the North which has 61 per cent of the delegates and not in the South with only 39 per cent of the delegates to the PDP presidential primaries.



He was said to have derisively added that his visit to Bayelsa State was a mere formality because the number of PDP delegates from the state was not even up to that of a senatorial district in Kano State.




http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20110113344435

President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday described their screening by the Peoples Democratic Party Screening Panel as ‘rigorous and comprehensive’



The two men and the only female PDP presidential aspirant Sarah Jibril, were at the party’s headquarters in Abuja where they answered questions from the Alhaji Aminu Wali-led committee shortly after they had been cleared by the panel.



Jonathan, who spoke with journalists after he left the committee, also said there was nothing wrong with the crises trailing the conduct of the party’s primaries across the country.



He said that was expected in a party with a large following.



The President said, “The screening was very rigorous, but it went well. Concerning the primaries, whenever you have a general election across the states in a party like PDP where you have presidential, senatorial and governorship primaries, there would be some cases where you normally have disagreements and flashpoints. But on the average, the primaries went well.”



Jonathan, who was the first to appear before the committee, was accompanied to the PDP headquarters by Vice-President Namadi Sambo; and the Director-General of the Goodluck/Sambo Campaign Organisation, Senator Dalhatu Tafida.



Governors Gbenga Daniel (Ogun), Alhaji Ibrahim Idris (Kogi), Timiprie Sylva (Bayelsa), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Godswill Akpabio(Akwa Ibom), Ibrahim Shema (Kastina) as well as a former President of the Senate, Chief Pius Anyim, and an ex- Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, were also in his entourage.



Abubakar, who appeared immediately after the President, said the screening was ‘comprehensive.’



Unlike Jonathan, who did not mention the kind of questions that the committee asked him, the former vice-president said he was asked many questions.



Among the questions, he said, were why he returned to the PDP which he left in 2007 for the Action Congress (now Action Congress of Nigeria) and the ‘critical ’ comments he had made about the PDP in the past.



Asked if he had an idea that he could be disqualified based on the questions he was asked, Abubakar replied that the committee had no such power.



He said, “I was asked many questions. I was asked about my return to the party and the critical comments I made before.



“They (the panel members) do not have the powers to disqualify me when they are not court of law. I think the screening is a good one. It was comprehensive; but they have no power to disqualify me.”



The former vice-president was accompanied by another former President of the Senate, Chief Ken Nnamani; ex- Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo; a former Minister of Health, Prof. ABC Nwosu; and the Director-General of the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, Senator Ben Obi.



Jibril, while speaking with journalists after she had presented herself for the screening, appealed to delegates to vote for a woman “who can deliver the goods.”



However, the fourth aspirant, Alhaji Sani Dutsinma, who was also at the party’s headquarters, said he decided to boycott the exercise because of the cases he instituted in court against the leadership of the party on zoning.



Before the arrival of the aspirants, security was beefed up around Zone 6, where the PDP headquarters is located.



All the roads leading to the area were cordoned off by men of the Anti-Terrorists Squad, the Bomb Disposal Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, the State Security Service, and the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps .



Before the screening ended, Governors Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers) and Theodore Orji, had said that Abubakar and Jubril would have a bad outing at the presidential primaries on Thursday.



The two governors, who spoke with one of our correspondents on the telephone, said with what they had seen and their discussions with their colleagues,



Jonathan would win the primaries with a wide margin.



“With what is on the ground, I can tell you that the President would win the primaries. In fact, it is going to be a walk-over. The entire delegates from the South-South are coming to Abuja to vote for him and I can assure you that the votes are coming only for him.



“Our votes are going to him not because he is from our zone, but because we believe in his ability and competence,” Amaechi said.



Orji, who is a member of the PDP Convention Committee, said, “Apart from the fact we have endorsed him individually and collectively, the Ohaneze Ndigbo has also pronounced him as our candidate.



“We would not go back on our words. Let me also tell you that with the discussion I had with my fellow governors from the North, those contesting with



the President will be shocked with the outcome of the primaries.”



Meanwhile, a combined team of soldiers and policemen on Tuesday sealed off roads leading to the Eagle Square, Abuja, venue of the PDP national convention.



They were seen on the Shehu Shagari Road by one of our correspondents diverting vehicles to other routes.



Operatives have also been deployed in strategic locations in Abuja, including the Transcorp Hilton, Sheraton Hotel and Towers and Nicon Luxury Hotel.



The three hotels and other luxury commercial accommodation facilities in the city were said to have been fully booked as at Tuesday.













http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20110112318490
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Ahead of the Peoples Democratic Party presidential primaries, the two main contenders for the ticket of the party, President Goodluck Jonathan, and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, have stepped up their campaigns through personal telephone calls to members of the National Assembly and known delegates.

This is even as governors on the platform of the party are tightening the noose on the control of delegates from their respective states to ensure effective control of the delegates and to prevent a situation in which aspirants and campaigners would break into the ranks of the delegates with the view of gaining access and control.

Abubakar was said to have commenced the one-to-one personal telephone calls and visits to some Senators immediately after the outcome of the primaries, congratulating those that won just as he expressed sympathy with those that lost their primaries.

This was believed to have been followed with text messages in which the former vice president requested recipients of his messages to respond with a ‘yes’ if they agreed with his campaign and proposal, which was not clearly defined.
It was gathered that it was not long after Atiku finished his calls and text messages that President Jonathan’s calls were equally received by some members of the National Assembly canvassing support from them ahead of tomorrow’s primaries .

President Jonathan was said to have appealed to the National Assembly members to choose him ahead of his rivals.
Some of the President’s aides also made efforts to disabuse the minds of the lawmakers many of whom failed to get return ticket, that he abandoned them to their fate.

It was not immediately known if the aggrieved lawmakers would be swayed by the overtures being made to them to support the president
A member of the House of Representatives from one of the North-central states told Daily Sun in confidence that President Jonathan found it difficult to talk boldly on what he really wanted as he could not freely converse on phone.

“I think, the president is not too sure of the kind of support he now enjoys from the members of the National Assembly, following the outcome of party primaries in which about half of PDP Senators and members of the House of Representatives failed to secure return ticket.
“The development showed that President Jonathan is only concerned about pursuance of his interest and not that of any person yet we stabilise the polity for him. He certainly knows that his stand to ditch members of the National Assembly for the governors was certainly not fair and good enough,” he opined.

Meanwhile, members of the National Integrity Group in the House of Representatives that drummed support for the emergence of Jonathan as acting president through the adoption of “Doctrine of Necessity,” were at daggers drawn with some members of the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation and others in the presidency, who they believed shortchanged them over some financial gifts sent to them before the PDP primaries.

Daily Sun gathered that some cash assistance and gifts to the tune of $10,000 per member of the Integrity Group were allegedly sent to them but at point of delivery, the members were instead given $7,000, which they turned down obviously having knowledge of the amount they were expected to receive.
The monies were never returned to the members, who had to go for their party primaries until Tuesday when those assigned with the responsibility of giving out the cash to the members returned with $15,000 for each of the members to gain their support for tomorrow’s primaries.
The development angered the members, who wanted to address a press conference to denounce their support for President Jonathan but were prevailed upon not to do so owing to the political meaning that might be read into such a move.

It was, however, gathered that since some of the members of the National Assembly, who lost primary election had defected to other parties, then strength of members of the National Assembly is not enough to be a deciding factor if the governors kept their promise for President Jonathan who was believed to have the odds in his favour so far.

Daily Sun equally gathered that members of the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation, particularly those at the directorate level, usually cornered most materials and cash for campaign to themselves without reaching out to those for whom the items and cash support were meant.
The development was believed to have discouraged most supporters who saw them as self-serving rather than working for their principal,who entrusted them with so much but with result not commensurate with the support they received from some governors and friends of the president.
Daily Sun’s findings also indicated that despite the incumbent factor, President Jonathan might still have to reach out to other delegates if he was desirous to clinch the ticket with an appreciable margin.





http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/jan/12/national-12-01-2011-001.htm

Former Enugu State governor, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani and Chairman Senate committee onInformation, Ayogu Eze, were not part of the primaries for senatorial tickets of Peoples Democratic Party in Enugu State on Tuesday.



While Nnamani may have decided to contest under a new platform, Ayogu Eze was a casualty of the deal brokered by President Goodluck Jonathan between the state Governor, Sullivan Chime and the PDP National Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo.



Under the arrangement, Jonathan ceded to Nwodo, the senatorial seat in Enugu North zone, currently occupied by Senator Eze, three House of Representatives seat and nine House of Assembly seats in the zone.



On the other hand, all elective offices in Enugu West and Enugu East senatorial districts will go to Chime, in a bid to resolve the protracted dispute between him and Nwodo over the dissolution of Vita Abba-led Enugu State executive committee of the party by PDPNational Working Committtee.



However, Eze frowned at the situation where the Nwodo was given the chance to determine the emergence of candidates for various elective positions in the North senatorial district.



He told journalists in Enugu that the arrangement was a mockery of internal democracy, which Nwodo preaches.



The Senate spokesman dismissed reports in the media that Chime traded him and other elective office holders in Enugu North off.



He said Chime fought Nwodo for seven months to stop him from handpicking candidates but the national chairman had his way.



“The governor did not celebrate Christmas. Between January 1 and today (Tuesday), he must have made trips to Abuja almost 100 times to stop this,” Ayogu said.



“It was wrong for anybody who saw the humiliation the governor has suffered to say that he traded us off.



“For the past seven months, he has known no peace trying to stop Nwodo. We are happy with what the governor has done and are grateful to him.



“Anybody saying he traded us off must be speaking out of ignorance,” he added.



Meanwhile, counting of votes was ongoing in Enugu West and Enugu East National Assembly primaries at about 7.30pm on Tuesday.



Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, was leading in Enugu West senatorial primaries, while a member of House of Representatives, Gilbert Nnaji was leading in Enugu East.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201101121574082

My All

Too much

The Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (retd), has opposed the siting of the proposed federal university in Ikole Local Government Area of the state.



Olubolade stated his opposition at a press conference in Ijero-Ekiti on Tuesday. He said that Fayemi was wrong to have taken the Federal Government team, which visited the state recently, to a site in Ikole.



The minister said, “The choice of Ikole-Ekiti as the site of the Federal University coming to the state is not final. The Federal Government, which is the owner of the university, will decide where to site the university. Where to site it will be discussed at the Federal Executive Council meeting and the FG has the final say.



“It is not a state government’s project so the governor cannot say where the varsity will be. The FG will fund the project. What is needed from the governor is the certificate of occupancy.



What we need from the governor is land, he only has to give certificate of occupancy.



“The delegation sent to the state ought to have been taken to two or more sites and come up with its recommendation.”



But the governor has said that he didn’t do anything wrong by siting the varsity in Ikole.



Fayemi. who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Mojeed Jamiu, said that the governor announced the site of the university in the presence of the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Kenneth Gbagi, and officials of the National Universities Commission. The team had about three weeks ago visited Ikole-Ekiti.



He said, “ The governor is right in siting the university in Ikole. Although the governor is from the district but he did not use his power to site the varsity in Ijan-Ekiti his home town.



“Governor Fayemi approved the siting of the university in Ikole to correct the imbalance in the distribution of tertiary institutions in the state.”



The governor warned against using the university to create enmity among the people of the state.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012223562950

Doctors at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, on Tuesday confirmed that ex-Biafran warlord, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, was in a coma at the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital.



Though Odumegwu-Ojukwu was still unconscious when THE PUNCH visited the hospital, it was learnt that he was in a slightly improved state than when he was brought in on Sunday morning.



A source said the leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance was not rushed to the hospital on Monday as reported by some newspapers (THE PUNCH not included).



A doctor at the ICU said the politician was brought to the Accident and Emergency Unit by his wife, Bianca, and some aides. The doctor, who declined to give his name said he (Odumegwu-Ojukwu) was later moved to the ICU in the afternoon after he was diagnosed of Cerebral Vascular Accident.



He said, “The CVA occurs when there has been a destruction of the cerebral vessels and it could keep one unconscious for not more than two weeks.



“His case is a bit worse because he was hypertensive before now and probably did not take his drugs as recommended.”



CVA, according to seniorhealth.about.com, is “another name for a stroke. It is damage to the brain caused by a disruption of the blood supply to a part of the brain.



“This disruption of blood supply can be caused by a blood clot, or by a ruptured artery.



The website also states that “symptoms of a CVA depend on which part of the brain is affected. Common symptoms may include paralysis of a part of the body, loss of all or part of the vision, or loss of the ability to speak or to understand speech.”



When contacted, the UNTH, Chief Medical Director, Dr. Anthony Mbah, said Odumegwu-Ojukwu would be flown abroad in an air ambulance as soon as his health condition stabilised.



“No doubt, his condition is very critical but not as bad as it was the first day. He is still in a coma and as soon as he pulls through, we will fly him abroad for further medication,” said Mbah.



Also speaking, the APGA National Chairman, Chief Victor Umeh, said the elder statesman’s health was not as bad as reported.



Umeh told THE PUNCH that he only had a relapse and would pull through soon.



He said, “The Odumegwu-Ojukwu I saw today should be on his feet in a week. It is not something to panic about. There is no cause for alarm.”



Bianca corroborated Umeh’s views, when she told our correspondent that “there is no need for worry.”



President Goodluck Jonathan had visited Odumegwu-Ojukwu on Saturday after performing the official reopening of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.



According to an aide at Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s residence, “When Jonathan came in with governors of the South-East states, ministers and senators, he alone went upstairs to see Oga (my boss).”



Odumegwu-Ojukwu was born on November 4, 1933 at Zungeru, Niger State, to the first President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Sir Louis Phillippe Odumegwu-Ojukwu.



As a Lieutenant Colonel in the Nigerian Army and governor of the old Eastern Region, he declared the succession of the region from Nigeria in 1967. His action resulted in a 30-month old civil war between Biafra Republic and Nigeria.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012223544450

There were indications in Abuja on Tuesday of the Peoples Democratic Party being in a dilemma over those to be appointed as members of its Presidential Screening Committee.



THE PUNCH learnt of this just as the PDP delegates in the North-Central and the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday unanimously adopted President Goodluck Jonathan as their candidate for the 2011 presidential election



It was gathered that members of the party’s National Working Committee, who met in Abuja over the matter on Saturday, could not agree on the modalities to be used in picking the screening committee members.



The timetable released at the end of the party’s National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja on Thursday, had indicated that the screening of the presidential aspirants would hold on January 11.



A member of the NWC, who spoke with one of our correspondents, said that all the names suggested at the meeting were rejected by the majority of the members.



Among those whose names were rejected were two former chairmen of the party and a prominent politician from the South-East.



The NWC source, who did not want his name in print because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said that most those suggested had identified with either Jonathan or former Vice- President Atiku Abubakar.



Members of the NWC are to meet again on Wednesday (today) to further deliberate on the issue.



The NWC member said, “We met on Saturday to consider those to be on the committee, but those suggested by my colleagues are either close associates of the President or Abubakar.



“Those who are not their close associates had at one time or the other expressed their support, either for zoning, or against it.



“So, we disagreed on the list and we asked ourselves to go back and think of other names. We hope to reconvene in Abuja on Wednesday to further look at the issue.”



He said the list, when agreed on, would be forwarded to the PDP NEC for ratification.



The party’s guideline says there shall be a PSC “appointed by the NEC on the recommendation of the NWC of the party, whose sole responsibility shall be to screen presidential aspirants.”



The PSC , according to the guideline, shall consist of a chairman, a secretary and eight other members.



The guideline also says each geo-political zone will have a representative in the committee and two women, each from the North and South.



Any aspirant aggrieved by the committee’s decision is free to appeal in writing to the Presidential Screening Appeal Panel within 24 hours from the time of the announcement of the result of the screening.



The appeal panel is expected to consist of 12 members of the NWC, plus six members of the Board of Trustees, one from each zone.



The National Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, is to chair the panel.



Efforts to speak with the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Prof. Rufai Alkali, were unsuccessful as he was said to have travelled to Gombe State, where he is running for the governorship position.



The PDP delegates in the six states in the North-Central and the FCT, however, endorsed Jonathan during a meeting in Lafia, Nasarawa State on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by the President.



A former FCT Minister, Prof. Jerry Gana, who moved the motion for the President’s adoption, said it was in line with the yearnings of most Nigerians.



A former Nasarawa State Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, seconded the motion.



Adamu said that the North-Central was always at the forefront of democratic struggles at critical periods in the history of the country.



The President, while thanking the delegates for their support, said the PDP had a bright chance of winning the presidential poll if it presented a candidate that would be acceptable to Nigerians.



He said, “The PDP primaries are the elections before the elections and that is why all the political parties are interested in the PDP primaries.



“They know that any person produced by the PDP as a candidate has a brighter chance of winning the main election except we produce a candidate that will be rejected by Nigerians.”



Jonathan promised to move the country forward if elected as president, adding that he would implement the agenda of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.



The President said he would focus attention on energy, security, agriculture, power, solid minerals and the economic base of the country.



These, according to him , will enable the country to catch up with other countries like India, Indonesia and Brazil.



Meanwhile, Nigerians have said that the PDP is not in a position to realise the country’s development potential.



Nigerians responded to an opinion poll conducted by the party on its website, which asked: “Which party is better positioned to realise Nigeria’s development potential?”



The poll, which was monitored by our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday, showed that 140 respondents had voted.



However, 100 of them, representing 71.4 per cent of the respondents, said that they did not believe in the party.



Only 28 respondents, representing 4.8 per cent, voted in favour of the party.



Six respondents said they had yet to decide, while the same number of people said no political party was capable of achieving anything significant.









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President Goodluck Jonathan has sounded a note of warning to those making inciting statements, challenging Nigeria’s sovereignty as a nation and warned his government would no longer “take that kind of rubbish lightly.”

The president, who was speaking at the decoration ceremony of some newly promoted Nigerian Navy and Air Force Admirals and Air Vice Marshals yesterday in Abuja, said those who made such incendiary utterances were always the first to take their families abroad to stay until other people’s children and families suffered and died as a result of their mischief.

He was apparently reacting to perceived inciting statements by former president Ibrahim Babangida and former vice president and presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.

Atiku had, while speaking at the National Stakeholders Conference organised by the Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF) in Abuja, on Wednesday, warned the Federal Government on the likelihood of violence in next year’s election, saying, “those who make peaceful change impossible, make violent change inevitable.”

President Jonathan warned: “We will no longer allow that kind of culture. I will not allow anybody to take the country for a ride. And sometimes, I frown at some people making statements, especially those of us who are politicians making statements, challenging the sovereignty of this nation.

“Government will no longer take that kind of rubbish lightly. Because when we have crisis, we lose army officers, police officers and some of us who are the cause of the trouble are the people flying to the United States to go and stay until other peoples’ children will die, other people’s wives will suffer then they come back to be our leaders. We will no longer allow that kind of culture. I will not allow anybody to take the country for a ride.”

President Jonathan, while decrying inciting utterances by some politicians in recent times, said Nigeria was bigger than any individual. He called on those guilty of such inciting statements to focus on how to move the country forward and not toe the path of destruction. The president commended the role played by the Nigerian military to keep the nation one, saying but for the role played by the Nigerian Armed Forces in international peace support operations all over the world, Nigeria would not have been recognised as the giant of Africa.

He said the country, more than ever before, was ready to take her rightful place in the African sub-region, adding that the whole world was looking up to Nigeria to settle the political situation in Cote d’ Ivoire. “We have to thank the military for keeping the country together. You have shown leadership in the whole of Africa.

As for what is happening in Cote d’ Ivoire everyday, presidents all over the world are calling on me because they feel it is only Nigeria that can solve the problem of that country. That tells you how others rate Nigeria and we have no reason to derail. “I have to commend the military for doing that. We have that standing role in the society because of the role the military is playing.”

The president, who personally decorated the first female rear admiral in the Nigerian Navy with her new rank, said his administration was conferring with the leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces to commence the admission of women into the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) to be trained as regular combatant officers.


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/dec/17/national-17-12-2010-001.htm

In the civilized societies the customer is always right, employees should hold their cool under every provocation & then get the management to settle disputes. But being 9ja businesses don’t mind fighting some customers to show who is in charge. We know that in Europe or US an aggrieved can always sue the business and often settle out of court because the jury will always award heavy damages to the customer even when he is not right. 9ja has a lot to learn from real human beings.

A few hours after garnering applauses for a good outing at the MAMA last Saturday, American returnee rapper, Ikechukwu became the object of scorn and ridicule when he got into a fight with the bouncers of a popular night club in Victoria Island, Lagos, Rehab.



So dirty was the fight that Ikechukwu allegedly removed his shirt and exhibited some of his karate skills to the consternation of revelers and his fiancée who tried to restrain him. But like a dog fated to derail, he was uncontrollable, at least not until the erring bouncer tasted his own blood. Good enough for him, the brawny bouncers, according to E-Punch sources, are bound by the club’s rules and regulations never to engage in a brawl with any customer, no matter the level of provocation.



Speaking to E-Punch during the week, the rapper said he never really liked clubbing at Rehab because of its reputation for manhandling people. ”I told my people that I didn‘t want to go there but they insisted that since Tribecca was the venue of the after party (for MAMA), we should chill at Rehab. On getting there, one of the bouncers apparently wanted to use me to catch trips so he refused to open the gate until one of his superiors told him to let us in. Then, he started hitting on my brother who had a bottle of drink with him. What he should have done was just simply tell him to drop the bottle but he saw that as an opportunity to get at me and there is no way I‘d watch anybody ride roughshod over my brother.”



Some hours after the brawl, Ikechukwu tweeted on social networking site, Twitter, “I stopped going to Rehab cos not only does the club just suck as far as space is concerned but it always has one funny smell. Then I just can’t stand the people running the club. Feel among dey vex them. If I no gree be ur friend no be by force na. Ah jo oo. The club‘s twitter handle, @Rehablagos, tweeted at Ikechukwu; ”At the end of the day, if you‘ve got an issue with us and you‘re going to take it to twitter, be a real G and (tweet) @ us at least.” Later, this time sober and penitent, he tweeted, “Just wanna apologise to my fans for bringing myself so low yesterday. This is not the kind of character I portray or expect anyone else to. People will always test you. Show strength with restraint. God bless.”



Ikechukwu told E-Punch that he has put the incident beside him and would rather not talk about it again because it was past. Several attempts to hear from the Lolu Shodehinde-led management of Rehab were unsuccessful.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012170175875

There are indications that a former board chairman of the Nigeria Port Authority and a chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, may regain freedom in February 2011.



Our correspondent, who was at Kirikiri Maximum Prisons on Monday, gathered that the authorities of the Nigerian Prisons Service are preparing a formal discharge programme for the PDP chieftain.



NPS discharge programme include different session with doctors to prepare him for life after incarceration.



A senior official of NPS serving at the prison, who declined to have his name in prints because he was not authorised to speak for the service, told our correspondent that George had already been enjoying some level of freedom in preparation for his release in February.



The prison official said, “Barring any last minute pronouncement from the court, which could order immediate release of the inmate, he will leave by the end of February, going by our records here.



“As a very important inmate he was given some privileges; but now we are allowing him and others who were sentenced with him more room. We want them to adjust very well. The programme includes some psychological session and medical examination for them.”



Another NPS official told our correspondent that George was also looking forward to his release date. “He keeps more to himself and meets only with family and selected friends. He is more humble and friendly with other inmates,” he said.



However, Spokesman of the NPS, Lagos State Command, Mr. Ope Fatinikun, said it was a security risk to disclose George’s release date.



He said, “What I can tell you for now is that unlike what has been published in the media; Bode George is still with us and will only be allowed to go after he has completed his term.”



George was on Monday, October 26, 2009, convicted by Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Lagos High Court.



Oyewole sentenced George and four other former board members of the NPA to two years each on a seven-count charge and another six months each on a 28-count charge.



The board members, who were jailed with George, are a former NPA Managing Director, Aminu Dabo, Olusegun Abidoye, Abdullahi Tafida, Zanna Maidaribe and Sule Aliyu, who was joined as the sixth defendant after the charges were amended.



http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012171521371

My problem with people who condemn zoning as planned by PDP is that those people are not sincere in thier arguments. No one has ever said that anyone from the south, east, north, west or central should not contest for the office of presidency. At issue is what PDP agreed to in their constitution. If Jonathan as a qualified Nigerian desires to contest, he can always do that through another party. There are other presidential candidates from the South, no one is stopping them. It is a simple issue

A former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani, on Wednesday said the North would determine the winner of the presidential nomination of the Peoples Democratic Party.



He said the majority of the delegates that would choose the presidential candidate would be coming from the north and that the region should not be treated with levity.



Nnamani spoke at the National Stakeholders Conference, which was held in Abuja by those in support of zoning.



He said about 61 per cent of the delegates that would vote for the party’s presidential ticket would be coming from the north.



With this figure, he said the southern part of the country would be left with a mere 39 per cent of the delegates.



According to him, “Our brothers from the north are going to produce 61 per cent of the delegates. They (the people from the north) have the strength to keep power to themselves.



“Those who are against zoning are products of history and opportunists. I was a product of zoning myself.”



The former senate president said that in Switzerland, rotational presidency was being practised, adding that it had helped in stabilising the country.



Also speaking at the occasion, former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who is the consensus candidate of the north, called on the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party to reform the party before it becomes irrelevant.



He said, “If the PDP does not reform, it stands the risk of making itself irrelevant.”



A former senate president, Dr. Iyorcha Ayu, also debunked the claim that the north was always in the habit of dominating the rest of the country politically.



He said, “The north released my former boss, Obasanjo from prison, pardoned him, raised money for his campaign even when he was rejected by his people, we still made him president.”



In his remarks, a former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd.) warned that abandoning zoning would be injurious not only to the PDP but the entire nation.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101216542589

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, has said he did not engage in an exchange of words with the Enugu State Governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime at the party’s aborted National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.



Nwodo, who referred to the Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the party, Mr. Vita Abba, as a former chairman, said he did not even notice his presence at the meeting.



In a statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Mr. Ike Abonyi, the PDP national chairman denied ever engaging in a confrontation with Chime or any other NEC member over the matter.



“Therefore, this unfortunate account of deliberations at the 54th National Executive Committee meeting is utter falsehood and a sharp contrast to the camaraderie with which the entire NEC unanimously resolved to adjourn till Thursday to enable members to consult further on party issues,” he said.



He said, the case of the “former Enugu State Chairman, Mr. Abba, is not different from that of the chairmen of the party in Anambra, Oyo, Osun and Delta States who, under the directive of the NWC, were asked to excuse themselves from the meeting.



“At no time did the presence of these men, especially that of Abbah, catch the attention of the national chairman much less leading to any unpleasant exchange throughout the duration of the meeting.”



Meanwhile, ahead of today’s NEC meeting of the PDP, its former National Auditor, Mr. Ray Nnaji, has stated that Nwodo should be restrained from presiding.



Nnaji said on Wednesday that Nwodo’s legibility as PDP national chairman should be put to question since he (Nwodo) was a beneficiary of a waiver granted him by a state executive that had been termed by the Independent National Electoral Commission as illegal.



Taking a cue from a suit filed against INEC by Mr. Tony Chukwuelue at the Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra State, he stated that “the waiver given Nwodo should be regarded as invalid since the Enugu PDP has been purportedly dissolved.”


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012164493282

Asiwaju Tinubu’s political and social status transcends the likes of stark illiterates like AlaoAkala, whose almost fouryear inglorious rule has been a curse rather than a blessing to Oyo State, no thanks to the Amala politics of Late Adedibu. Akala is only deluding himself with an ecstaic, unrealistic dream of a 2nd term. The battle line has been drawn between Oyo State people and the theiving Akala, whose end in 2011 is imminent!

Oyo State Governor, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, has said that a former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, goofed by comparing his (Alao-Akala’s) administration with that of his predecessor, Alhaji Lam Adesina.



He recalled that the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, to which both Adesina and Tinubu belong, said Adesina performed poorly during his tenure as the state governor.



Alao-Akala was reacting to a statement credited to Tinubu that there had been no visible development in Oyo State and that the Action Congress of Nigeria would upstage Alao-Akala in the 2011 elections and rescue the state.



The governor’s reaction was contained in a statement titled ‘Tinubu’s gambit unstuck in Oyo’ made available to our correspondent in Ibadan, the state capital on Tuesday, by his Special Adviser on Public Communications, Mr. Dotun Oyelade.



He said the former Lagos governor’s “expansionist project will come unstuck in Oyo State.”



He said, “While we marvel at his ignorance and mischief, Tinubu should perish the thought of installing his District Officer in Oyo State as done in Ekiti and Osun states.”






http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2010121656434

Mr Fash will surely be back for 2nd trem and if they is chance for him he will come back for 3rd and 4th term

Alhaji Sale Shehu was Minister of State for Works in the Obasanjo administration. Shehu, a pro-Atiku Abubakar politician, speaking with Daily Sun in Gombe, Gombe State, was confident that ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar would beat President Goodluck Jonathan to get the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket. Excerpts:

Atiku as the North’s consensus aspirant in the PDP
Atiku is a true politician, a politician with pedigree. A politician that has prepared himself for the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is somebody who contested in 1992 in Social Democratic Party (SDP) but stepped down for the late Chief MKO Abiola. He had an opportunity to contest in 2003 but in defference to an agreement signed by the PDP caucus, that is to allow the South to go for the presidency for eight years before it returns to the North, he stepped down in spite of the pressure he had from the PDP governors. It is a welcome development. I sincerely appreciate the magnanimity of other aspirants, Generals Ibrahim Babangida, Aliyu Gusau and Governor Bukola Saraki.

PDP presidential ticket
Atiku is not a new face in the politics of Nigeria. Atiku has enormous political structure. We are not discounting the fact that we are confronting an incumbent, a sitting president in an election. If you look at what happened in Ghana recently, you could see that the sitting president, though did not contest, but he sponsored a candidate who was like contesting but eventually an opposition candidate defeated him. It is not going to be new and we believe in Nigeria, Atiku will be the first person that will set the pace of defeating an incumbent. It happened in Kano and Bauchi states whereby sitting governors were defeated. It is not going to be a new thing. Of course, we are taking into cognisance that we are confronting a monster, but Atiku is a lion. The lion is the biggest and the bravest animal in the whole animal kingdom.

Discarding zoning
Zoning was done for the greatness of this country. If you don’t consider zoning, you will find out that there are some certain segments of the population or the Nigerian nation that will never taste power. But when you zone it, surely even the minorities will taste power. Without zoning, there was no way that the incumbent would be president. Jonathan is a product of zoning. He is from the South, he had a ticket with a northern candidate. In the 1999 Constitution whereby the president dies or is incapacitated, the vice president takes over. After Jonathan took over as president, he took somebody from the North as his vice president. Zoning is done in good faith. It is done to promote the unity of this country.

Free and fair elections in 2011
We hope we will have free, fair and credible elections next year. To start with, the leadership of INEC is credible. That one is good. But there are other parameters, there are other things that constitute or will give you a free, fair and credible election. If the Electoral Act for instance, is good, you will expect something will come out of it. If at the end of the day, all the needs of the electoral body are provided and the umpire is fair enough, we will expect credible elections in 2011.

Lessons from Cote D’Ivoire
What happened in Cote D’Ivoire is a monumental disaster. A disaster in the sense that this a a situation whereby somebody was duly elected and the umpire, that is the electoral body announced him as duly elected. But unfortunately, because of our African nature, the incumbent decided to announce himself as the winner, and had himself sworn-in. Unfortunately for the incumbent, other bodies that witnessed the election are saying that he is not the one that was duly elected. The lessons for Nigeria is for the umpire to be free and fair, one, and for the government also to accept the outcome of the result. That is to say that if a candidate is duly elected, he should be announced as the duly-elected and given the mandate. The electoral body should be bold, it should be resolute. It must ensure that it does not allow the powers that be to cow it into taking an unpopular decision because the whole world is watching us.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/dec/15/national-15-12-2010-04.htm

The Senate on Tuesday bowed to public pressure and criticism over its planned passage of the proposed amendment to the Electoral Act 2010. The controversial clause in the ammendment which sought to make members of the National Assembly automatic members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of their political parties, was rejected entirely before it could be passed.

The development came even as the House of Representatives shelved the passage of the Bill to another legislative day following the advice of its Chairman on Business and Rules Hon. Ita Enang that members should be allowed time to study the clean copies of the Bill which was distributed to them at the plenary only yesterday.

The development came on the heels of protests staged by hundreds of students, youths and market women who stormed the gate of the National Assembly in the early hours of yesterday to protest the likely passage of the Amendment of the Electoral Act 2010.

The protesters that gathered under the aegis of “New Nigeria Project” trooped to the National Assembly and paralysed legislative activities. They were however, prevented from entering the premises of the National Assembly by a combined team of security agencies made up of policemen and the State Security Service operatives who blocked the main entrance to the complex thereby forcing them to make use of the security back gate that was linked to the Presidency.
President of the Senate, David Mark who was caught in the fray had to use the presidential gate when he met a blocked entrance as he was not allowed to drive through the gate with his convoy. Thus, he was forced to alight from his car and walk to the National Assembly.

The protesters who insisted on gaining access into the complex, brandished placards with inscriptions, “No, National Assembly, No,” “We cannot have appointed delegates,” were led by their Coordinator, Mallam Abdullahi Maibirgi who explained that they were in the National Assembly to reject the attempt by members of the National Assembly to amend the Electoral Act.
This happened even as some of the protesters and miscreants that participated in the protest openly fought one another over money allegedly paid to them by their sponsors.

One of the protesters who had seized N10,000 from the monies meant to be shared among those recruited had a raw deal as others pounced on him in an attempt to snatch the money from him.
Mallam Maibirgi said there was nothing wrong with the existing Electoral Act even as he accused the National Assembly of fragrant disregard to the yearnings and aspirations of majority of Nigerians with the introduction of the obnoxious and self-serving sections that had the potential of derailing the gains of democracy in the country.

Maibirgi also declared that the group’s rejection of the alteration of the sequence of elections to the advantage of members of the National Assembly members in addition to the attempt to make the federal legislators members of the NEC of political parties.
According to Maibirgi; “The current provisions of the amendment to the Electoral Act 2010 are nothing but a tyranny of the legislature; an abuse of privilege; a rape of our democracy and an invitation to anarchy. We, as true democrats and patriots will not stand idle and allow this to go on.

This protest is one in the series of objections and actions we are embarking on until this undemocratic self-serving ill-intentioned clauses inserted into the Electoral Act are removed.” Maibirgi therefore called on the Senate to as a matter of concern, reverse the obnoxious sections and allow the will of the people to prevail.

While addressing the protesters, Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Dimeji Bankole, who was represented by the House Committee Chairman on Business and Rules, Hon. Ita Enang, said the controversial Bill has not been passed but only listed in the order paper for consideration.
The protest and public outcry may have forced the Senate to embark on a last minute u-turn on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill by throwing out the controversial clause seeking to make members of the National Assembly automatic members of the National Executive Committee of their parties.
The Senate Joint Committee on Constitution Review and INEC had at its meeting on Monday recommended the inclusion of one Senator and a member of the House of Representatives to represent each State of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

While presenting the Report of the Joint Committee, Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Maina Ma’aji Lawan said the fundamental objective of the bill was to strengthen and deepen democracy the country’s democracy as well as amend certain sections to provide adequate time for the Independent National Electoral Commission to issue notices, receive nominations of candidates from political parties and ensure the entrenching of internal democracy within political parties.
However, at the time the Senate commenced the clause by clause consideration of the Bill, Senator Lawan stood up and moved a motion urging the upper chamber of the National Assembly to remove Section 87 (11) of the bill that was hitherto recommended for passage by the Committee.

The removed section had read thus; “Every political party in Nigeria shall establish in its Constitution a National Executive Committee (NEC). The membership of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of a political party shall in addition to what is provided in its constitution include the following: (i) one Senator per state and the FCT, where applicable; (ii) one member of the House of Representatives per State and the FCT where applicable.”
Senator Maina’s motion to have the Section deleted received an overwhelming support of the Senators thereby putting to rest the controversy surrounding the amendment of the bill.

Later during a press conference, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu who presided over yesterday’s plenary session, said the Senate’s latest decision was in response to public outcry adding that Senators were determined to settle once and for all, the issue of membership of the NEC of political parties.
In the words of Senator Ekweremadu; “Although the House had passed it and with the public outcry, we felt that we needed to have another look at the bill. We have now removed the aspects that talked about the NEC and we hope that parties should have the liberty to decide the membership of their NEC.”

He explained that already, nearly 90 per cent of political parties have lawmakers as members of their NEC. Thus, he expressed the hope that the Peoples Democratic Party would eventually make its Constitution to accommodate more lawmakers in its NEC.
Ekweremadu further said one of the major ingredients contained in the amendment was the provision that removes the power to disqualify candidates from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and vested only with the Courts.

The Section 31(1) as amended states: “Every political party shall, not later than 60 days before the date appointed for general election under the provisions of this bill, submit to the commission, in the prescribed forms, the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the elections, provided that the Commission shall not reject or disqualify candidate(s) for any reason whatsoever.”

Commenting further on the tactical withdrawal from the passage of the Bill, particularly against the backdrop of threats by the State Governors, Ekweremadu retorted; “The Governors are only 36 out of about 150 million Nigerians. We’re more interested in what Nigerians are saying and not the opinion of Governors. We did what we did because of Nigerians.”

The Deputy Senate President also denied that the Senate resolved to withdraw from the controversial section of the Bill owing to a deal it struck with the PDP leadership stressing that the upper chamber of the National Assembly considered it as an act of wisdom to know when it is time to give up.
According to Ekweremadu; “Wisdom is about knowing when to give up. We are not afraid to give up now that we know the public opinion and we are doing this in the interest of the public. We have gone through primaries before now and we will go through it again, we are not afraid at all.”
Ekweremadu said the resolution of the Senate would not be problematic when the conference committees of both chambers of the National Assembly meet to resolve the differences in the two versions.

As a way of curbing unnecessary litigation, the Senate also passed a new clause, Section 87(9&10) to ensure that litigations on non-compliance with party constitutions would not stop the holding of primaries by parties. “Notwithstanding the provisions of the Act or Rules of a political party, an aspirant who complains that any of the provisions of this Act and the guidelines of a political party have not been complied with in the selection or nomination of a candidate of a political party for election, may apply to the Federal High Court or the High Court of a State or FCT, for redress.
“Nothing in this Section shall empower the courts to stop the holding of primaries or general election under this Act pending the determination of the suit.”






http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/dec/15/national-15-12-2010-01.htm

Abimbola AdelakunThe Publisher of Ovation Magazine and presidential aspirant for 2011 elections on the platform of Labour Party, Bashorun Dele Momodu, has resigned from the party.



In a letter he sent to the Chairman of his party, Barr Dan Nwanyanwu, on Tuesday, Momodu claimed that the party had no serious intention of fielding a presidential candidate for next year’s elections. He said he had earlier drawn the attention of the party chairman to this in a letter he wrote on November 20 after Nwanyawu allegedly made some comments to this effect in the media.



He wrote in his resignation letter, “Since the Labour Party has decided, in the wisdom of its leadership, to remain in the stagnant waters of primitive party politics, I have resolved to move on by resigning my membership of the party with immediate effect. I consider all the resources and efforts both financial and material that I contributed to the development of the party during the period of my membership as a sacrifice towards strengthening the democratic process in my fatherland.”



He also alleged that he was informed by party officials that Nwanyawu had sold his ticket in the party.



Momodu said his strategy was to use unconventional methods to reach his goal of becoming president as he represented the change Nigerians crave.



In the letter he wrote in November, he pleaded for understanding on the part of the National Chairman saying he believed miracles would happen even if he didn’t have money.



The letter said, “I‘m very alarmed at some of the comments being credited to you by most of our mutual friends. It has become fashionable by many people to stop or call me to ask “what’s going on between you and Dan, the Chairman of your party?” And whenever I asked why the question the answer was often that ‘Dan believes you are not serious, that you only exist on the Internet, that you have no money to run a presidential campaign.’


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012151344279

Oyo State Governor, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, on Tuesday reacted to some comments ascribed to the former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in which he described the Oyo governor as ‘ignorant and mischievous.’



Media reports had on Tuesday quoted Tinubu as saying that the Action Congress of Nigeria, of which he is a leader, would win the 2011 election in Oyo and Ogun states.



Accompanied by some other chieftains of the ACN, including its National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, and a former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, Tinubu was said to have criticised Alao-Akala’s administration in Oyo State.



The former governor reportedly said that there was no visible development in the state under Alao-Akala, hence the need for the ACN to take over the administration of the state in 2011.






http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101215158354

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party worsened on Tuesday as its National Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, was shouted down by the governors at the party’s National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja.



Trouble started when Nwodo ordered the Enugu State Chairman of the PDP, Mr. Vita Abba, out of the NEC meeting. Nwodo was said to have pointed out that Abba was not the authentic chairman of the PDP in the state.



A NEC member told one of our correspondents in Abuja that the governor of the state, Mr. Sullivan Chime, rose in the defence of Abba.



According to a NEC source, Chime said that as the governor of the state, he was in a better position to know the state PDP chairman.



It was also learnt that Nwodo insisted that since Abba’s name had been deleted at the party’s national headquarters, he had no reason to be present at the meeting.



Our source said that it was at this point that other governors in attendance rose in defence of Chime by asking Abba to ignore Nwodo.



He added that when it became apparent that the NEC meeting would be chaotic, the PDP National Legal Adviser, Chief Olusola Oke, moved a motion for its postponement.



The meeting, which had President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice-President Namadi Sambo in attendance, was subsequently shifted to Thursday.



The PDP, in a three-paragraph statement read by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Rufai Alkali, said, “in view of the critical importance of issues to be deliberated upon, the meeting was adjourned till Thursday, December 16, 2010 to give room for further consultations.



“This decision became necessary because of the need to include all stakeholders in the process of arriving at mutually - acceptable decisions.”



Rufai refused to take questions from reporters, saying he needed to be at the Presidential Villa for a meeting called by Jonathan to discuss issues affecting the party.



The meeting was also attended by governors, ex- chairmen of the party, National Working Committee members of the PDP and former and president chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees.



Earlier, the party had announced that members of the NWC would want to meet the chairmen of the party in Enugu, Oyo, Ogun and Anambra states.



There had been reports that the crisis between Nwodo and Chime had to do with who would be the PDP governorship candidate in Enugu State in 2011.



Before the NEC members met behind closed doors, Jonathan had appealed to members to always seek reconciliation and peace in the interest of the PDP.



“This period is quite critical, not for the PDP alone but also the whole country. But the PDP is on top because anything about the PDP is paramount,” the President said.



He reminded the members to be aware that while “any ripple in the PDP would appear like a wind,” in other parties, it (wind) might not even be noticed.”



Jonathan added, “Let me use this opportunity to plead with those of you, especially those that are aspirants at one level or the other, to play the politics that would show that we are members of the same political party. And at the end of our primary election, we must come together to protect the interest of the PDP and no matter the challenges we have, we must realise that other parties want to weaken us.



“Some of the things you read in the newspapers about the PDP members wanting to defect; some of these stories may be true, but some of them are just to weaken us and make us feel that everybody is leaving the PDP.



“We shouldn’t take some of the stories too seriously. But at the same time, we must be mindful of how we conduct ourselves in this process of primary election.”



The President added that since the party controls the National Assembly and also had the majority members among the governors, it should take their views (lawmakers and governors) on any issue seriously.



He said, “We control the Nigerian Governors Forum, because we have more members in the forum. Anything that the PDP governors decide, that’s what other governors take. Of course, we have no choice, because democracy is all about number and by God’s grace, we are in the majority,” he added.



Jonathan also called on the members of the party to cultivate the habit of learning to resolve their grievances internally without resorting to the courts.



He said, “I am calling on all of us to unite and resolve our differences, if there are any, and let us play the politics in a way that we know that we belong to the same party.



“Just like all members of the same body, there is no way you can chop off one of your hands or nose and remain normal. There is no way we can remove any of these organs of the party and the party will remain the same. If we isolate the PDP NWC, there would be no party for us to come to.”



At the Presidential Villa meeting, Jonathan and the governors resolved that the party had the exclusive right to determine the membership of its NEC.



Another source at the meeting which lasted about four hours, said, “The meeting agreed that the party should determine who becomes members of its NEC. All other knotty issues have also been resolved”.



It was gathered that the decisions would be tabled at the reconvened NEC meeting on Thursday.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2010121515331131

Yes, No way for PDP at all

At last, the Nigerian Army Council has granted pardon to the 27 soldiers attached to the 323 Artillery Regiment, Owena Barracks, Akure, Ondo State, who were sentenced to life imprisonment, and later reduced to seven years jail term, for demonstrating violently over unpaid duty allowances.

However, in granting them full pardon, the Army Council, which said that the affected soldiers would be paid all their full benefits, also discharged them from service.

The affected soldiers, who served in the 15th Battalion of the United Nations Mission in Liberia, demonstrated in the streets of Akure over non-payment of the allowances meant for peacekeeping operation in the West African country from September 2007, to April 2008.

The cause of the problem was that the soldiers’ six months allowance of $7,368 at $1,228 per month, was unofficially slashed to $3,000. The Army had earlier explained that the shortfall emanated from a mix-up in the payment from the Finance Department of the Army headquarters.

As a result of the unruly action, which military authorities frowned at, they were tried and given life imprisonment in April 2010. The soldiers were found guilty of mutiny, an action contrary to Section 52(2) of the Armed Forces Act (Cap A 20) Law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Following public outcry and revulsion, and the insistence by their lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, to fight on until they get total pardon, the life jail term and dismissal was commuted to seven years imprisonment. The latest pardon might not be unconnected with the calls by Nigerians for leniency and the predominant feeling in the Army that the issue of the soldiers referred to as the ‘Akure 27’ be revisited.

We commend the military authorities, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshall Oluseyi Petirin, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Azubuike Onyeabo Ihejirika, and other top army officers, as well as the Minister for Defence, Mr. Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN), in seeing that the soldiers get reprieve.

Also, worthy of commendation is the role played by the media and members of civil society groups in decrying what amounted to trampling on citizens’ human rights even though they are soldiers. Injustice to one is injustice to all, no matter the language, creed, or professional calling.
The lesson of the entire saga is that military authorities should be humane in dealing with those under them. Those who laboured at the risk of life should not in any way be denied what is due to them. The issue of short-change in the payment of either the army or police personnel in peace-keeping operations has become rampant in the country. At times, those affected go away with the maltreatment without complaining. The ‘Akure 27’ came to the fore because of their audacity and the public interest it generated.

It is high time those in charge of these payments did the right thing and stopped exploiting those that represented the country in UN military duties.
Let the military authorities evolve an efficient payment system to ensure that this type of fraud is not perpetuated while also ensuring that those found culpable in this regard are made to face the music. It is inelegant and unedifying that this type of corruption exists in the army payment systems. Let the authorities stamp it out now.







http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/opinion/editorial/2010/dec/14/editorial-14-12-2010-001.htm

West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo on Monday admitted he would like to sign a striker in January to help Albion cope better without Osaze Odemwingie.



The Nigeria international on Monday began a race against time to be fit for Sunday‘s Black Country showdown with Wolves after missing Saturday‘s defeat at Villa with groin injury.



And Di Matteo confirmed he was keen to add another forward option to his squad in the January transfer window.



”It‘s a very good idea but it‘s easier said than done to find a goal scoring striker,” Di Matteo told Express & Star on Monday. ”The whole Premier League is after one but we are absolutely looking at that.”



Saturday‘s defeat at Villa Park means the Baggies have now collected just four points in the matches Odemwingie has not started, compared with 18 points from the leading scorer‘s 11 starts.



And Di Matteo said: ”Somen Tchoyi was a bit unlucky when he hit the crossbar on Saturday with a great effort and Jerome Thomas put a good crosses in. But we know we missed a bit of a cutting edge.



”With all due respect to the players who played, when Odemwingie is missing we miss a bit of a goal threat.”



Odemwingie‘s groin injury setback came last week as he continued to be nursed back from a niggling knee problem, and he is far from certain to recover in time for Sunday.










http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012141324851

VICTOR Anichebe has been warned to take or leave his lucrative new contract offer from Everton, according to the Liverpool Echo on Monday.



The 22-year-old has stunned Goodison officials by rejecting a deal worth £20,000 a week, which could rise to £30,000 based on appearances.



Now his agent has been informed that Everton are not prepared to haggle, and he will be allowed to leave the club in the summer if he is not prepared to sign.



The Nigeria international has made just 12 appearances since February 2009 because of fitness problems but, despite that, was presented with a new three-year deal based on David Moyes‘ faith in his physical power and ability to operate in right midfield and up front.



Anichebe has only got seven months left on his £13,000-a-week current deal, but has insisted he is worth more than the vastly-improved new terms.










http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012141242615

Three members of the House of Representatives reinstated by an Abuja Federal High Court were arrested on Monday and handed over to the police by the Sergeant-at-Arms to the National Assembly, Col. Emeka Okere (retd).



However, the legislators, Mr. Dino Melaye, Mr. Solomon Awhinawhin and Mr. Bitrus Kaze, were released shortly after they made statements at the Federal Capital Territory Police Command.



Since their reinstatement by a Federal High court in Abuja last week, the House has consistently prevented the lawmakers from entering the National Assembly on the grounds that it has appealed the judgment and filed a stay of execution.



THE PUNCH learnt that Okere and the Clerk to the House, Mr. Sani Omolori, had accused the three legislators of ‘breaching protocol’ by coming to the National Assembly on Monday (yesterday).



It was also learnt that Omolori wrote a separate petition last week alleging that Melaye and Awhinawhin “assaulted a sergeant-at-arms and a policeman” as both lawmakers entered the chambers of the House on December 8.



But the policeman and the sergeant-at-arms said to have been assaulted reportedly denied being attacked by the lawmakers.



Melaye and Awhinawhin had beaten the security network at the National Assembly to enter the chambers on Wednesday last week in a bid to enforce the court judgment.



Investigations by our correspondent revealed that Melaye, Awhinawhin and Kaze entered the National Assembly again on Monday unnoticed by security personnel.



They were said to have entered the New Building, a portion of the complex where the offices of some legislators are located.



On hearing of the development, policemen and operatives of the State Security Service trailed them to the area and invited them to Okere’s office.



Led by Okere, the three legislators headed to Okere’s office around 11.58am, where they met behind closed doors for over one hour.



The Director of the SSS Unit at the National Assembly, Mr. Abdulrahman Mohammed, was also seen making his way into Okere’s office for the meeting.



At the end of the parley, the lawmakers refused to grant a press interview.



“No, no; I won’t speak,” Melaye said, and walked past the journalists accompanied by Awhinawhin and Kaze.



A source privy to the deliberations claimed that the lawmakers were asked to make a commitment not to speak with journalists after the meeting.



The lawmakers were allegedly told at the meeting that they breached protocol by coming to the National Assembly in spite of the fact that the House forbade their entry.



“The legislators were directed to report to the FCT Police Command to respond to a petition on the breach of protocol and also to address the issue of assault on security personnel on Wednesday last week,” the source added.



When contacted later, Melaye declined to speak on the details of what transpired in Okere’s office, but he confirmed that he reported to the FCT Police Command.



He said he was there in company with Awhinawhin, Kaze and a female member of the House, Ms. Doris Uboh, who was also reinstated by the court.



“I told them that they could not arrest us because we didn’t know what offence we committed.



“They asked us to make a statement; those they claimed we assaulted came out to deny,” he stated.



Melaye also claimed to have been “under House arrest since Thursday last week, with policemen guarding my house.”



Our correspondent called Okere on his mobile telephone four times to get his comments but he did not pick his calls.



A text message sent to him about 3.10pm was not replied.



The spokesman of the FCT Police Command, Mr. Jimoh Moshood, told THE PUNCH that he could not explain why the legislators visited the command earlier in the day.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101214404131

Details of how the dreaded kidnapper in Abia State, Obioma Nwankwo, a.k.a Osisikankwu, met his waterloo in the hands of soldiers have emerged . The kidnap kingpin, who hailed from Ugwuati in Ukwa West Local Government Area, was killed about 2.30 pm, on Sunday, as he was driving in company with three other suspected kidnappers, including a woman said to be his girlfriend, who was believed to have played ‘active’ and ‘supportive’ to his man when he held sway in Abia.

Two of the suspected kidnappers, simply identified as Polycarp and Chinedu, were killed alongside Osisikankwu while the girlfriend, identified simply as Ogochi, was arrested and is now helping the army in its investigations.

Giving details of how the kidnap kingpin was killed while addressing newsmen at Asa High School, the headquarters of the Special Task Force in Abia State, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, Major-General Sarki Yaki Bello, said Osisikankwu had kidnapped a man last week and taken him to his hideout in the evil forest at Ugwuati.

He said the man escaped from the camp and took refuge somewhere else. But the kidnap kingpin together with his gang, stormed the man’s house, but when they could not find the target, they kidnapped his wife, the four children and burnt his car and house. However, the man reported the incident to soldiers.

Bello said the army immediately swung into action and deployed soldiers who laid ambush on the road, they gathered, Osisikankwu normally plied.
For over one week, the soldiers laid ambush for the notorious kidnapper. The GOC said the ambush paid off on Sunday afternoon when Osisikankwu was accosted at a thick forest near the Obokwe market in company with three others.

The notorious kidnapper was said to have resisted arrest when he was cornered for questioning. He was said to have rather engaged the soldiers in a shootout, and in the cross fire, he was instantly killed together with Polycarp. The third, Chinedu, was, however, taken to the Military Hospital, Port Harcourt, where he later died of gunshot wound sustained during the encounter.

He urged those in the mould of Osisikankwu to surrender as there was no hiding place for them.
The assistant director public relations of the 82 Division took newsmen round some recovered items.




http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2010/dec/14/newsbreak-14-12-2010-001.htm