₦airaland Forum

IBB and Norther consensus aspirantion
Well, one thing that I can assure you is that the North will certainly do justice to the entire issue of consensus candidate. I know my principal, General Babangida. When he was military President, he was able to put up some structures, build the economy, though a lot of people are not aware of what he has done. Based on the things General Babangida did when he was in office, I think the North, they are wise enough to know that Babangida is the best; not only for the North, but for the nation as at now.

I will give you an example. Today, there is no light, everybody is complaining that you have two, three hours of electricity. But do you remember that the same Babangida was the one who constructed and commissioned the Shiroro dam, that is giving us electricity today. The Egbin power station, also came from him. We are enjoying it today. But you see, it is not everybody that is aware that the economy on which we are sitting Babangida put it together. Let me give you an example. Port Harcourt Refinery Company, who established it? Babangida. Warri Refinery Company, who established it? Babangida. Kaduna Refinery Company, who established it? Babangida.

Have you checked the motive behind the establishment of all these organizations and the impact on the lives of Nigerians? Let me just digress a little bit. Do you know what would have happened if third mainland bridge in Lagos was not constructed? Do you think the entire Lagos Island, Ikoyi, Victoria Island and neighbouring towns can ever be an economic centre. All those who are benefiting from the boom in the economy in Lagos today should also give thanks that somebody like Babangida constructed the bridge.

Today, Benin- Ore Road, has claimed many lives. If the way Babangida looks at construction of roads were the same ways other leaders are seeing it, Benin-Ore Road would have been better. So, what I am just trying to say is that Babangida has really impacted on Nigerians. Today we import fertilizer into Nigeria, why? Babangida was the one who established NAFCON, the National Fertilizer Company of Nigeria. They produce what is called urea fertilizer. Urea fertilizer was confirmed to be the best in the world. Not one of the best. The best fertilizer in the entire universe. The same way the Americans, Europeans came for crude oil in Nigeria was the same they came for Urea fertilizer. They pay in advance. Today that thing that Babangida established that has kept our farmers busy is gone. No other leader has really done as much as that.

I expect the North to put into consideration the benefit of Nigerians in their choice.

Gerontocracy
I am sure you know that because you are getting mature, does not mean that you have nothing to contribute to the society. Attimes, experience, you can’t buy it. You can’t buy experience. Babangida left power 17 years ago. You have had many presidents after him. What impact have you seen? If Nigerians want to have the same thing that they missed in the past 17 years. Then they can do something else. But if we do not want to go back then it is better we bring that person, who as a military leader went far. I will give you a very good example. In the course of Babangida’s government, you know that we had what we call the middle class. And after him it vanished. I will give you another example; you know what is called NEXIM bank? Nigeria import and export bank. And you know what NEXIM bank does? Your outfit here can access funds, the same way every other person can access funds to import or export products that will be of benefit to the Nigerian economy and that can help in the creation of employment in the country. Opportunities were always available to Nigerian youths and Nigerian people. Babangida established it.

This is why I said that experience like this cannot be thrown away. We need it now at this time of our national development. Especially when we do not seem to be getting things right so far, if we have been getting things right after him we will not have reason to be discussing him. It is simply that things are not right. So, we need somebody to come and do all the corrections. That is why we think the North should give Nigerians the best; the best that has been tested and proven. That is Babangida. We are saying that they could afford to help Nigeria put behind this mess by making Babangida the choice.

Allegations of dictatorhsip and serial murders
I don’t think so. You used the word alleged. He had been out of power for so long, I have never seen any court give a judgment that Babangida has killed anybody. I have never seen that. And if you want to talk about the time that people are really murdered it is in the last ten years.

Bola Ige was murdered in his house. The minister of Justice and Attorney General was murdered in his house.
All I know is that Babangida, by the time he came to government ran a military government. It was not a democratic setting. And today, you will agree with me that nobody wants a military government, because they come to power using the gun. And most decisions that a military government takes are done by a fiat through the barrel of the gun. So, a decision that has no input of National Assembly but through the barrel of the gun, you can imagine the kind of decision. So, you have to excuse a part of our history. We came from that background, Now we are not praying to have such any more. We are talking of a democratic setting. We are talking of people having dividends of this democratic setting. I only hear some people talking back about the military. It is no more about the military. He was a military officer. Yes. He has left the military for so many years. He has also mixed with the civilian populace. So, he is also part of us. But what we are saying is that the man has done so well.

I am yet to hear from those who are opposing him; I am ready to go on discussion with anybody who says that Babangida is not the best today. At least for the sake of the economy of Nigeria.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/politics/2010/nov/11/politics-11-11-2010-002.htm

This goes to show that when nigerian security agency means business,they can deliver. sss open the next page who are their sponsors.

The State Security Service (SSS) yesterday, said that Henry Okah, a suspected leader of the Movement of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) was connected to the March 15 bombings in Warri, Delta State.

Marilyn Ogar, assistant director of public relations for the service, said Mr. Okah, who is standing trial in South Africa as a suspect in the twin car bombings in Abuja on October 1, used the same people to orchestrate the two acts.

“Those behind [the bombings] have been unmasked by the State Security Service,” she said. “The perpetrators have also been arrested.”

Same method

The March bombing disrupted the post amnesty conference organised by Vanguard Media Limited, publishers of Vanguard newspapers in Warri, killing one person.

Ms. Ogar described how Mr. Okah came to Nigeria from his base in South Africa to buy the cars used for the Warri bombing. She said he had welders create compartments in the cars for the bombs and then moved them to the house of one of his accomplices and brother, Charles Okah.

On 13th March, Mr. Okah personally wired the bombs, she said, and on 14th March, he reportedly flew out of the country, creating an alibi for himself, as the bombs were detonated the following day.

“The car dealers in Auwo-Odofin, Lagos, from whom the cars were purchased [and] the welder who welded the compartments in the car for the housing of the bombs, have been arrested,” said Ms. Ogar. “Also, the receipt of the purchases has been intercepted.”

Ms. Ogar said the same method was used in the bombings at Eagle Square in Abuja during the nation’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. She said that the Abuja car bombs were wired at the home of Charles Okah, the younger brother of Henry Okah, in Apapa, Lagos.

Arms shipment

The security service also told newsmen that the cargo containing concealed arms and ammunition intercepted by its operatives at a Lagos port did not come to Nigeria by mistake.

“The bill of lading read: ‘building materials and pallets of stones with destination Nigeria,’ hence any argument that the cargo came into this country by mistake is false,” said Ms. Ogar. “Presently, the consignee and the clearing agent are under arrest.”


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5640996-146/sss_links_okah_to_warri_bombings.csp

The Federal Government has approved the construction of a new town in Ogoniland. Already, the perimeter survey for the acquisition of land for the new town is in the works.

President of the Pan-Ogoni organization, the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Mr. Ledum Mitee, announced the official approval for the new town on Wednesday in a statement to mark the 15th Ogoni Heroes Day.

Ledum, a lawyer and chairman of the Presidential Technical Committee on the Niger Delta, said the new Ogoni town was a fall-out from his committee’s recommendations that a new town be built in each of the Niger Delta states.
He said the new Ogoni town would be located between Nyokuru and Beeri communities.

Looking back at the Ogoni struggle, the MOSOP leader said the people’s preference for non-violence was due to their firm belief in its ultimate triumph. “We need to remind ourselves and this generation of our youths that our heroes and us squarely considered and rejected other options in preference for non-violence. “Our preference for non-violence was not an act of cowardice or weakness but consciously driven by the Ogoni belief that spilling blood contaminates a struggle and our firm belief in the ultimate triumph of non-violence.

“Today, 20 years after the launch of the Ogoni Bill of Rights and 15 years after our non-violent leaders were violently murdered, even those who yesterday were advocates of the violent approach including those who derided our methods, have now come to accept that non-violence works after all. The gains of non-violence may be slow but they are certain and enduring.”

Mitee was, however, quick to add that while the Ogonis, “savour in our little victories, they must continue to be vigilant over their rights.” Referring to what he described as, ‘Shell’s intrigues’, the MOSOP president said the Ogoni would not be blinded by their determination to see to the successful remediation of their polluted environment.

On the proposed Bori State for the Ogonis, he said three out of the six constitutional hurdles required for the exercise had been satisfied. “By the time the next parliament is in place, we shall embark on the next more crucial stages for the realization of this vision. It is my belief that if we muster the same courage and resources marshalled against the military for this Bori State venture, we certainly will succeed.”

On 2011 elections, the MOSOP leader urged Ogoni people to, “reject any candidate who does not come home and explain comprehensively what he or she will do to represent our people.” Paying glowing tributes to Ogoni heroes, Mitee said the lesson of the MOSOP struggle; “is that we must call a spade by its real name by distinguishing between genuine community agitations on the one hand and criminality, and even terrorism on the other hand, and respond to them as they respectively deserve.”
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http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/nov/11/national-11-11-2010-025.htm

Following nullification of the election that brought Emmanuel Uduaghan to office as Delta State Governor by the Court of Appeal, a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state has vowed to work against his return to Government House, Asaba.

Besides, the group, led by elder statesman and former Federal Commissioner for Information in the First Republic, Chief Edwin Clark, has also invited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to effect Uduaghan’s arrest for the purpose of prosecuting him for allegedly depleting the state treasury while in office as chief executive of the state.

Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja, Chief Clark said the PDP would lose the election in the state if Uduaghan eventually emerged as its governorship candidate in the re-run election.

He listed series of alleged sharp practices carried out by Uduaghan, whom he said was imposed on the people by his cousin and former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, to cover up his misdeeds in office. At a crowded press briefing attended by prominent members of the Delta State Elders and Leaders Forum, at his Asokoro residence, Clark said the judgment of the Court of Appeal was God’s answer to the people of the state who were denied the opportunity of choosing their governor in the 2007 general elections.

He told Journalists that a letter would immediately be dispatched to the anti-corruption agencies, to pave way for the arrest and prosecution of Uduaghan, whom he alleged was involved in the massive looting of Delta State’s treasury during the administration of Ibori. in court.

Clark also lauded the Appeal Court for the judgment which ousted Uduaghan, saying “a Daniel has arrived.” The Ijaw leader also recalled that the April 14, 2007 governorship election in Delta State was characterised by mass rigging and other forms of electoral malpractices and concluded that there was no election.

He said, “Ibori deliberately and criminally imposed Uduaghan on the people of Delta State to cover his misdeeds. Since then, politically, Delta State has not known peace. But God has decided; God never wanted evil in Delta State.


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/nov/11/national-11-11-2010-018.htm

Former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) may have emerged as the anointed choice of the Mallam Adamu Ciroma led Northern Political Leaders Forum, (NPLF) Committee, Daily Sun has learnt.

Findings have revealed that while the Committee had been torn between the choice of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, it decided to settle for the latter following informed comments of a former military governor and Adjutant-General of the Nigerian Army, who is a member of the committee, who impressed it on his colleagues the wisdom on the choice of IBB.

‘’He had told them that the former civilian president and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, [PDP] Board of Trustees, [BoT], Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had pitched tent with President Goodluck Jonathan and the North should settle for someone, who also enjoys considerable influence and goodwill among retired and serving military officers and would be able to square up with Obasanjo and Jonathan as far as the military class is concerned’’.
The Daily Sun source revealed that from the extensive consultations done by the committee, it discovered that the former Vice President and Action Congress [AC] presidential candidate in 2007, Atiku enjoys the sympathy of opinion leaders in the North, because of the political persecution he suffered in the hands of his former boss, Obasanjo, “but wise counsel prevailed on the choice of IBB.’’

Meanwhile, former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct National Republican Convention, [NRC] and one-time Special Adviser on Media to former President, Olusegun Obasanjo , Dr Doyin Okupe, had expressed concern over the efforts of the Mallam Adamu Ciroma committee to pick an anointed candidate, as the choice of the North for the PDP presidential ticket.

Speaking with journalists Tuesday in Abuja, the PDP stalwart noted that such a regional project could undermine the nation’s democracy. ‘’The consensus candidate that Malam Ciroma has been advocating for and has become a crusader is a very dangerous trend, in a democracy, because we have never had a situation like this before where a particular region will make it compulsory and try by all means possible to bring just one candidate, as if he is going to work with all other regions.

“It isn’t right; it is something that should be roundly condemned by all. Leaders, particularly from the North, should call Adamu Ciroma to order. That at this stage of his life, he should not be doing such things, if he has not been able to help Nigeria to develop, he shouldn’t not at the later years of his life destroy Nigeria. “When you pick a Northern consensus candidate and you have to go and contest, what do you expect the Southern candidate, or Southern leaders to do. They must accept whatever you have chosen. This Northern candidate, are they going to be voted for only in the North. These are issues that are begging for answers and people aren’t really asking Mallam Ciroma.

“Democracy should be played according to the rules of the game and I think we have a constitution that guides us according to the rules of the game. Okupe called on former presidents to prevail on Ciroma, who is former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, [CBN], to halt the Committee of wise men set up by the NPLF, so as not to balkanize the country.

‘’ Anything that is extra- constitutional should be condemned by all of us. It isn’t right ; I think and I believe very, very strongly that Mallam Ciroma and his group are still holding on to this doctrine of North- for- North, South- for South, which has lost application. It has no meaning in modern day Nigeria. If they are still working on such a platform, then we should actually be discussing how to dismember this country, because this thing, (consensus candidate) doesn’t make sense. You mean you have to galvanise an entire section of the country to support a particular candidate? This thing is moving from a political thing to a national warfare.’’Okupe said.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/nov/11/national-11-11-2010-002.htm

As a motivation ahead of Thursday’s semi-final clash between Nigeria and Cameroon, the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) has promised Super Falcons cash prizes of $1,500 each for victory against the Indomitable Lionesses.

Falcons will face their longest African Women Championship rivals 10.30 a.m at the Sinaba Stadium in a repeat of their 2008 third place clash in Equatorial Guinea.

The amount , promised the players would be jacked up, if they make it to the finals on Sunday. Meanwhile, the NFA has urged the girls to brace up for the Thursday game.

The officials, who have arrived South Africa to boost the players’ morale, expressed, reservations on display of indiscipline among the players at the training ground Tuesday evening.
NFA board member, Suleiman Kwande, who was on hand to witness the team train, in a brief chat with Dailysunsports, disclosed that the players’ attitude duringt the training session left much to be desired.
Kwande said the Cameroon game is the most important match of the tournament because it is the determinig factor that would earn the Falcons a place in the final and automatically qualify them for the FIFA 2011 Women World Cup in Germany.
“I am bit worried with the conduct of the girls during training this evening.I expected them to be more bussiness minded but intstead, they were giggling and smiling too much.
“The stage we are in now is very high and crucial, the outcome of the game against Cameroon would determine if we would be at the World Cup next year. Kwande said.





http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/sportsonthehour/2010/nov/11/sportsbreak-11-11-2010-001.htm

Jega and 2011
Professor Jega is a man of integrity, man of honour; a man that follows the path of justice, equity, fairplay. But one thing that I will say is that it is not about Jega. It is about the Nigerian system. It is about the generality of the people involved in the electoral process.

Election is a process. It is not an event. It is about the credibility of the people who will be co-opted or will participate in the election. It is about the willingness of the political office holders to allow integrity to reign. As far as I am concerned, I am not expecting too much from Professor Jega, because I know that we are in Nigeria where we have desperate politicians; criminal people who have criminal intentions, who will do anything to get to office.

He cannot be in all the 36 states of the federation, in the 774 local government areas, in all the wards in Nigeria. He would be in one place. He is human. He is not God. A human being, there is a limit to what Jega can do. How about the others? What about the Resident Electoral Commissioners(RECs)? What is their level of integrity? That is why I agree with Nuhu Ribadu when the idea was mooted that they would give it to him. He insisted that he would appoint his resident electoral commissioners because it is not about the head, because the head may give directives. What is the guarantee that those directives would be carried out? The head may have the best of intention but what is the guarantee that those working with him are ready to cooperate? This is not about Jega but the 36 RECs. This is about the returning officers at the poling units. This is about the polling clerks. So it takes a whole lot of things. That is why I say election is a process not an event.

Jonathan and zoning
Some Nigerians are even worried that the polity might be overheated if Jonathan contests. What heat are we talking about? Look we are talking about elections, we are talking about Nigeria, and we are talking about our constitution.As far as I am concern, I have not seen it anywhere in the constitution where any person is restrained, or deprived of his right to contest election or participate in the process. I have not seen it.

All this issue about heating up the polity is contrivance of people with criminal intents. What is heating up polity about somebody who wants to come out and contest election. Somebody who wants to come out and canvass for votes? It is because we have not got the issue of our election right in this country. We talk of contrivances; we talk of issues that are not there. What is heating the polity about somebody coming out to go from door to door to campaign? If Jonathan is coming out to campaign, let him come out and campaign. Let him come out and contest if he thinks he has the credentials. But let me tell you it is because the votes of the people do not count.

These people know that once a certain political party anoints you, you are almost there. That is why they talk about heating the polity. What has heating the polity got to do with me? I sleep in my house, I wake up, and I eat. Somebody who sleeps on the streets and doesn’t have food to eat, what is his business whether the polity is being heated up? Are they heating it with heater or stove or with what? It is our mentality about the participants in the process.

Jonathan’s presidential race
Why not? Who says he cannot? Our Constitution says he can run and he has met that criteria. Once you meet that criteria nobody can stop you. The issue of zoning is a party affair. I am not a politician. I am not a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). So, I don’t care what they say. It is for their own contrivance. As far as I am concerned, all those fears of zoning, has it benefitted the ordinary Nigerian on the street? Does he have shelter? Does he have food? Has zoning placed food on the plates of the almajiri on the streets? The years that late Yar’Adua spent there, how was the lot of the ordinary Nigerians in the north? Was it better? For all I could remember, those years of zoning were queues in petrol stations, blackouts, no water. So what are we talking about zoning? Zoning is the contrivances of a group of people that want to control the country by other means that are not democratic.

Atiku, Babangida’s role in zoning
What did Babangida do in the eight years that he was there? In his eight years as a military head of state what did he do? What did he do as a person with military fiat that he wants to come and do now?

Salvaging the situation
The ordinary Nigerian can only salvage the situation if we wake up and insist on the right thing being done and we insist that our votes must count. But the issue is that how many Nigerians are aware that they have a right? Very few. Go to my village in Benue State, how many of my people know that they have a stake in what is happening? Go to the remote parts of Gamawa, or Jama’are, how many of them know that they have a right to participate in the process and that they have the right to cast a vote and they have the right to insist that their votes count? Very few. And that is why the elite continue to cash in on the ignorance of the people to continue to perpetuate the atrocities that they are perpetuating.

This corruption you mention, it is widely known that most of the politicians and other office holders are very corrupt, and they use their money and influence to buy votes. Is it impossible to stamp out this monster? It is not impossible. It is very possible. Ghana was once like that but there must be first of all the preparedness and then the will to tackle it by those in power. But so far, those in power in Nigeria are still the same circle of people who keep recycling themselves.

Let me tell you, from 1998 till date when the military mooted the idea of democracy nothing has changed. It is the same old people, and yet no democracy. For now, we are in a civilians rule, a shift from the military era where civilians rule and determine who rules. But when we get to a stage where it will be democracy, thepeople will actually decide. But we haven’t got there yet. If you like, it is a few elite who call themselves leaders that we have now. Look at the Senate President, he didn’t win any election but he is there today. But gradually it will change and we will get there. It is a process.




http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/politics/2010/nov/11/politics-11-11-2010-001.htm

The issue is more than the National Assembly members. It concerns all political office holders. The youth must move beyond rhetoric to demanding from the President that he should slash the salaries and allowances of political office holders, including his. That is the solution and not talk.

A conference of 44 inter- ethnic youth organisations convened by the President of the Ijaw Youth Council, Abiye Kuromiema, has criticised the jumbo pay package for members of the National Assembly.



The conference’s criticism is contained in a communique, read on Tuesday by the President of the Oodua Youth Movement, Mr. Olalekan Smart, at the end two-day meeting held at Bolingo Hotel, Abuja.



The communique stated that the increase in the remuneration of lawmakers inspired “the legitimate demand of the Nigerian workers for salary increase.”



The groups called on the Federal Government and the citizenry to give attention to the implementation of policies that would boost economic development rather than focusing on increase in salaries.



He said that the current dispute over the minimum wage was a fallout of “the accumulated mismanagement of the Nigerian economy.”



The youths called on the ethnic nationalities to focus attention on the need to develop economic framework designed to ensure economic development.



The President of the IYC, Mr. Abiye Kuromiema, who spoke before the communique was read, said that the current zoning arrangement being pushed by the Northern Elders Patriotic Front led by Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, was a ploy to divide the country and appropriate its resources.



Also, the National Secretary of the Igbo youth Alliance, Mr. Chigachi Ekeh, called on Nigerian youths to fight zoning which he described as a drift towards the enthronement of a one-party state in Nigeria.



The organisations at the conference include the Arewa youth Council, the Middle Belt Youth League, Oodua Youth Movement, Ogoni Youth Interraction Network, the Middle Belt Youth Forum, Ibibio Youth Council, and others.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011113512596

A renewed state of security alertness is in place at the Independent National Electoral Commission.



The PUNCH gathered on Wednesday that the current security measures emanated from a directive from the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega.



Under the new regime, security protocol for officials and visitors has been reviewed.



There are now greater restrictions on human and vehicular movements within the premises after 4pm.



Visitors are now more subjected to rigorous checks with the use of hand held scanning devices before permission for entry is granted.



A memo circulated among officials of INEC makes it mandatory for all to wear their identification cards before allowed entry.



Security officials are under strict instructions to turn back any official who fails to comply.



The memo titled, “Enforcement of Security measures at the commission headquarters, was sighted by our correspondent.



The document reads in parts, “As part of measures to improve security at headquarters, the Honourable Chairman has directed the enforcement of the following:



“That, henceforth all staff must wear their ID cards conspicuously on their dresses for easy identification.



“No visitor/contractor should be allowed to drive private vehicles into the commission.



“As from October 15, 2010 any member of staff who fails to wear his/her ID card will be denied access into the commission.



“Only officials on grade level 12 (and above) can drive their vehicles into the premises.



“Private vehicles of (members of) staff are not allowed into the premises after 4pm.



“All visitors must be tagged and documented (before allowed entry into the premises).



“Visiting days remain Tuesday and Thursday 2-4pm



“Directors are required to submit a list of their visitors to security officials at the gate each morning.”



Only officials on the rank of directors and above are to be allowed to drive into the premises on Saturdays and Sundays.



A combined team of no fewer than 12 riot policemen and women as well plain cloth security officials now keep watch at the commissions entry point daily.



Fruit and hawkers who were hitherto a regular feature at the main entrance gate of the INEC’s headquarters had been kept at bay.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011113583492

May God in his infinity take control and turned our captivity in OsunState like he did for Ekiti people, so that our mouth will fill with laughter and our tongue with singing of joy. Because, The Lord hath done great things for us in OSUN SRATE by free us from the hands of pdp CAPTORS. AMen

OLALEKAN ADETAYO writes on the imminent judgment of the Court of Appeal over the governorship election petition in Osun State and the anxiety of major stakeholders in the state.



Expectations are currently high in the political circle in Osun State. All eyes are on Ibadan, the capital of neighbouring Oyo State. The anxiety has nothing to do with the current disagreement between the governments of the two South-West states over the joint ownership of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso. Far from it!



The cloudy political atmosphere has to do with the impending judgment of the Court of Appeal, Ibadan over the governorship tussle in the state of the living spring. Not satisfied with the decision of the state governorship election petition tribunal that upheld the election Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, in the April 14, 2007 election, the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, had approached the appellate court. Oyinlola was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the disputed election.



Aregbesola’s prayer is for the court to nullify the governor’s election and declare him (Aregbesola) as the duly elected governor, having scored the majority of the lawful votes cast. Specifically, he is calling for the nullification of the results of the governorship election in 10 local government areas of the state. The local governments in question are Ife Central, Odo Otin, Ayedaade, Isokan, Ife East, Ife South, Boripe, Atakumosa West, Boluwaduro and Ifedayo.



He based his argument on alleged substantial non-compliance with mandatory provisions of Electoral Act, 2006, violence and malpractices which he claimed substantially affected the validity of the said election. Aregbesola also argue that neither he nor Oyinlola or any other candidates in the election could be validly returned as having validly won in the affected local government areas.



In the 10 local government areas, the results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission showed that Aregbesola polled 41,923 while Oyinlola scored 253,789. Aregbesola is, therefore, of the view that once the results from the 10 local governments are nullified and the figure deducted from the aggregate result declared (240,722 and 426,669 for him and Oyinlola respectively), he would be left with 198,799 votes as against Oyinlola’s 172,880 votes.



The anxiety in the air has become more complicated with the recent not too good developments for the PDP coming from similar courts in neighbouring states. In Ekiti State, the Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin had recently sacked the former occupant of the Government House, Mr. Segun Oni, and declared Dr. Kayode Fayemi as the state governor. Oni is a member of the PDP while Fayemi belongs to the ACN.



While still struggling to recover from the shock that characterised the loss of the state to opposition, another blow was dealt the PDP that prides itself as the biggest party in Africa on Tuesday when a Court of Appeal sitting in Benin, Edo State nullified the election of the former occupant of the Delta State Government House, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, and ordered that fresh governorship election be conducted in the state within 90 days.



The fear in the land is, therefore, precipitated on the African adage that says when members of one’s age group are dying in droves, death is only sending warning signals to one.



For Aregbesola and Oyinlola, the Court of Appeal, Ibadan is a familiar terrain. The ACN candidate had earlier dragged the governor to the court over his dissatisfaction with the verdict of the first election petition tribunal set up in the state. The appellate court had at that time faulted the verdict of the tribunal which was headed by Justice T.D. Naron and has Justices S. Mohammed, J.N. Akpughunum, A.T. Bademasi and J.E. Ekanem as members. It, therefore, ordered a retrial of the petition.



As a fallout to the judgment, another tribunal was set up to hear the petition afresh. The retrial tribunal had Justice Ali Garba as its chairman and Justices Benedict Agbattah, Ismaila Bashir, Muhammad Aliyu and Abimbola Obaseki as members. The verdict of that fresh tribunal delivered on May 28, 2010 is currently the bone of contention before the appellate court.



Any moment from now, the court is expected to make a pronouncement on the appeal before it, having reserved judgment on November 1, 2010. This was after all parties in the case had argued and adopted their briefs that had earlier been frontloaded. The court is expected to communicate the judgment date to the lawyers any time soon.



A lot of legal fireworks have gone into the case that featured highly respected and experienced senior members of the bar on both sides, therefore making it practically impossible to predict which side the pendulum will swing, hence the anxiety.



Senior Advocates of Nigeria who held brief for Aregbesola included Chief Ebun Sofunde, Chief Akin Olujinmi, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Chief Kola Awodein, Mr. Charles Uwensuyi-Edosomwan, Prof. ‘Yemi Osinbajo and Mr. Deji Sasegbon, among others. While men of the silk on Oyinlola’s side included Mallam Yusuf Ali, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde, Mr. Lawal Rabana and others.



The case is before a five-man appeal panel led by Justice Clara Ogunbiyi. Other members of the panel are Justices M.L. Garba, P.A Galinge, C.C. Nweze and A. Jauro. At the last sitting, Aregbesola was present in court apparently to shore up support for his counsel.



Before the appellate court reserved his judgment, in adopting his brief, Olujinmi representing Aregbesola, his running mate, Mrs. Grace Laoye-Tomori, and the ACN, argued that if the deductions his clients are seeking were made from the lawful votes cast in the 10 local government areas being contested, the petitioners would have more votes than the respondents and would have fulfilled the constitutional requirements to be declared winners of the election.



Others issues raised by Olujinmi, a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, were alleged discrepancies in the number of ballot papers produced by the INEC and results declared as well as the production of voters registers for only four wards out of 11 in Boripe Local Government Area despite the fact that such register is germane to a valid election.



He also called attention to one Alhaji S.O. Nofiu who was said to have served as agents of the PDP in nine out of 11 wards, saying that was impossible considering the facts that the exercise was done simultaneously in the different places. He also claimed that Exhibit 217 tendered by the appellants and Exhibit R18, tendered by respondents, although certified by INEC, were all blank with some not signed or stamped contrary to the provisions of the election manual.



He also faulted the lower tribunal for its verdict on his clients’ position on the alleged non-counting and non-release of results by INEC officials and their failure to produce voters registers used in the conduct of the election. Olujinmi said the tribunal claimed that it was mere allegation because his clients did not call evidence despite that they called 75 witnesses including supervisors whose evidence the court had in the case of Lasun and Awoyemi have been declared as competent and reliable.



Olujinmi urged the court to void the results of the elections in the 10 councils being contested and declare Aregbesola as the governor of the state. He said Aregbosola would have majority votes after the results of the 10 councils must have been deducted.



Adopting his brief, Ali representing Oyinlola, his deputy, Mrs. Olusola Obada and the PDP, faulted the testimony of the supervisors referred to by Olujinmi, saying that the court had in Amosun V. Daniel declared that supervisors have no roles in the Electoral Act. In the case of Boripe LG, Ali insisted that there was no place in the appellants’ petition where over-voting was pleaded and they could not be allowed at this stage to change the rule when the game is almost over.



He said that the totality of the evidence called were not enough to entitle the appellants to reliefs. The lawyer further stated that since the reliefs being sought are declaratory in nature, for a party to be granted such reliefs, evidence must be led and proved to the satisfaction of the court. “This appeal deserves only one thing: a dismissal and I pray your lordships to do so,” he concluded.



INEC’s lawyer, Mr. Ayodeji Bobaderin, said the commission elected not to call witnesses because the appellants did not prove their case.



“There is a difference between not calling witnesses and not adducing evidence. The burden of proof will only shift to us if the appellants have been able to prove their case,” he said. He also urged the court to dismiss the appeal.



Lead counsel to the Nigeria Police, Mr. Niyi Owolade, aligned with the submissions of Ali and Bobaderin. He said that rather confirming allegation of police’s connivance on alleged violence in the election, witnesses confirmed police presence in various polling stations.



The court also heard a cross-appeal filed by Oyinlola and a preliminary objection raised by Aregbesola’s counsel.



While all stakeholders are waiting patiently for the notice of judgment day with all eyes fixed on Ibadan, it is clear that the verdict of the appellate court, whichever way it goes, will go a long way in altering the political calculations of the state especially ahead of the 2011 general elections.



Where will the pendulum swing this time? Only time will tell!


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011111573323

Former Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, who was sacked by the Appeal Court in Benin Tuesday, has expressed confidence in his re-election.
Fielding questions from State House correspondents, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Uduaghan said he was waiting for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to set the date for the re-run election.

He assured that he had taken his sack by the Appeal Court in good faith, adding that he would be victorious in the forthcoming re-run election.
Asked if he was confident that he would be re-elected, the former governor replied “The electorate will decide.”

Asked why he was in the Presidential Villa, Uduaghan replied: “The President is the political leader of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), I owe him a duty to brief him on the current event in the state.”
Meanwhile, Vice President Namadi Sambo has shelved his planned visit to Delta State, following the political uncertainty in the state.

Sambo was expected to inspect key power projects in Ughelli and Sapele but put off the visit due to the sacking of Uduaghan as governor of the state. A highly placed presidency source said Uduaghan, who was also a member of the Presidential Committee on National Independent Power Projects (NIPPs) for the South-south zone, had better understanding and knowledge of the projects to be inspected by the vice president, hence the cancellation of the proposed trip.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2010/nov/11/newsbreak-11-11-2010-001.htm

This may sound good to the ears of the President Goodluck Jonathan /Sambo campaign organization as the plan by the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to handpick a consensus presidential candidate from its four top contenders from the North may have been rested after all.

A source told Daily Sun that the four candidates might have opted to go to the PDP primaries, expected to hold in January without a consensus.
This is as a result of sharp disagreements over the choice of one of the candidates, which was not acceptable to the other three aspirants in the consensus deal.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Governor of Kwara State, Dr Bukola Saraki, according to the source, emerged the two top contenders for the group’s endorsement, but the screening committee eventually settled for Atiku. According to the source, the choice of Saraki was jettisoned because of the perceived “baggage” he is carrying from his business, especially in the banking sector. It is feared that this would, again rear its ugly head and frustrate the North’s chances at the polls.

All these, added to the setback coming from his home front in Kwara, were said to have given NPLF the impression that Bukola would be difficult to sell to the electorate and compelled to thereafter opt for Atiku, who according to the source, was favoured because he had been a Vice President and could easily be presented to the electorate as someone with the knowledge of the workings of government. But when the choice of Atiku filtered to the aspirants before they were invited for a meeting with the selection committee, a sharp disagreement followed which resulted in a boycott of the talks, leaving the deal in a limbo.

Some of the aspirants in the consensus arrangement like General Ibrahim Babangida, who believe they have the required number of delegates to win the primaries, felt the selection process was not thorough enough. This caused their interest in the arrangement to wane. A source with knowledge of the dealings of the northern political elders told Daily Sun last weekend that the group has settled for the candidate chosen by the screening committee headed by Mallam Adamu Ciroma and the candidate was to have been formally named last week

The Mallam Ciroma-led committee had continually shifted the date for the announcement of the north’s consensus candidate until last weekend when the disagreement peaked, fueling speculations that a consensus candidate may never emerge. The NPLF screened four presidential aspirants in its search for an acceptable northern candidate for the North. The candidates are Babangida, Atiku, General Aliyu Gusau and Saraki.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/nov/11/national-11-11-2010-001.htm

Strike is not a must for everybody. People must be convinced to participate and not forced. Running to the Tarmac to stop a plane from fluing is equally crazy and against security protocols. I personally don’t blame the policeman for preventing his boss from being mobeed.

The three-day nationwide warning strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress recorded a casualty on its first day on Wednesday in Benin, Edo State, as the state chairman of the National Union of Air Transport Employees, Godwin Ehikioya, was shot by a police orderly at the local airport while attempting to enforce compliance.



Ehikioya was said to have angered the police officer by trying to stop his principal, a female judge, who arrived from Asaba, Delta State, to board a flight to Lagos.



The union members who were at the Benin Airport to monitor progress of the strike frowned at the arrival of an Arik flight from Lagos.



The unidentified female judge was said to have arrived at the Benin airport to board the same Arik plane to Lagos, but the unionists reportedly blocked her vehicle from moving near the airport entrance.



The police escort, whose name could not be ascertained, was said to have brought out his weapon and shot Ehikioya on the left arm.



The police detail reportedly fired several shots into the air to fend off attack, and in the process, the judge’s car found its way onto the tarmac for the judicial officer to board her flight.



The workers were said to have taken over the runway, insisting that the plane would not takeoff.



A high ranking police officer however prevailed on the rampaging workers to leave the tarmac



Some workers who spoke to our correspondent blamed their counterparts in Lagos “for allowing the flight to come to Benin in the first place.”



Chairman of Edo State council of the NLC, Kaduna Eboigbodin, threatened that workers in the state would embark on a separate strike beginning Monday, to protest the shooting of their colleague.



Meanwhile, passengers who made it to the airport for flights to other parts of the country were stranded as no other flights took off from Benin.



Wife of the victim, Rachael, expressed shock over the event, demanding that her husband be treated.



She said, “I am surprised and I hope my husband will be given good treatment,” she said.



Efforts to contact spokesperson for the state police command, Peter Ogboi was unsuccessful but a senior police officer who pleaded anonymity confirmed the incident, saying, “I must confess that this issue we don’t want it on the pages of newspapers because we have not been able to identify the police officer involved here.”


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011114115440

If you around major towns in delta state all you see at the roundabouts are gaint screens showing home videos and premiership matches,causing holdups and unnecessary gatherings.Our leaders in simple terms “don c us finish".Y not improve d lives of the delta man to afford things he needs ,They will all reap what they have planted BASTARDS.pLEASE PROBE HIM

The Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Mr. Sam Obi, was on Wednesday evening inaugurated as the acting governor of the state at a modest ceremony conducted by the Chief Judge, Justice Roseline Bozimo.



Obi‘s assumption of office followed the nullification of the election of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan by the Court of Appeal in Benin, Edo State.



The oaths of office and allegiance were administered on Obi by Bozimo at 5pm after an anxious long wait by journalists and other stakeholders, who had converged on the Government House since 8am for the ceremony.



Guests were eventually ushered into the Executive Council chambers of the Government House at 4.15pm. The acting governor came in 20 minutes later while the chief judge emerged at 4.45pm.



Guests were mainly commissioners in the sacked government of Uduaghan, Peoples Democratic Party chieftains, members of the house of assembly and Obi’s family members.



In his maiden speech, Obi called for the support and solidarity of Delta people for the 90 days he would serve as acting governor.



He promised to ensure stability in government and peace in the state while in office.



His former deputy, Mr. Basil Ganagana, was inaugurated as the acting speaker of the assembly.



The inauguration of Obi and Gana was initially delayed by labour’s warning strike over the non-implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage.



THE PUNCH learnt thast Bozimo was waiting to receive the Certified True Copy of the judgment of the Appeal Court in Benin, Edo State, to enable her to swear in the acting governor.



It was learnt that the strike might have delayed the delivery of the order from an official of the appeal court.



Court officials in Edo and Delta states joined other public service workers in the strike called by labour unions to protest the delay in the implementation of the new wage by the federal and state governments.



Asaba, the state capital, was, however, calm as residents went about their normal activities hours after Uduaghan moved out of the Governor’s Lodge.



The former governor and his family moved out after addressing sympathisers who thronged the lodge when the news of his removal filtered into the city.



Addressing the gathering, which included members of the PDP and Government House members of staff, Uduaghan sued for calm.



He advised the people not to lose sleep over the development, saying God’s wish would prevail.



In Abuja, a former minister of information in the First Republic, Chief Edwin Clark, again spoke on the appeal court verdict and called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to immediately arrest and prosecute Uduaghan.



He catalogued a series of corrupt practices to which Uduaghan had been allegedly linked, especially those involving his cousin and predecessor in office, Chief James Ibori.



Clark, at a conference in his Asokoro, Abuja residence, said the appeal court judgment was a reflection of the fact that God listens to His people.



He said, “We are, therefore, calling for the arrest, investigation and prosecution of Uduaghan by the EFCC, ICPC and other anti-graft agencies.



“There is a lot to be investigated by the EFCC. Like his cousin, Ibori, he cannot be governor of Delta State again.”



The Ijaw national leader said at the news conference attended by some prominent members of the Delta State Elders and Leaders Forum that a letter would soon be sent to the anti-corruption agencies requesting the arrest and prosecution of Uduaghan.



Clark said, “Our court has spoken once again. Uduaghan is no more a governor and, therefore, has no immunity, paving way for him to account for the alleged commission of financial crimes with James Ibori, which has been confirmed by a plethora of cases in London crown courts.”



He also maintained that the April 14, 2007 governorship election in Delta State was characterised by rigging and other forms of electoral malpractices.



Clark said, “Ibori deliberately and criminally imposed Uduaghan on the people of Delta State to cover his misdeeds. Even before then, we protested to then President Olusegun Obasanjo who also contributed to the imposition of Uduaghan.



“Since then, politically, Delta State has not known peace. But God has decided; God never wanted evil in Delta State.



“We are all in the PDP but it was not a PDP government that was removed; because majority of the PDP members opposed Uduaghan. We believe that with the appeal court judgment, God has come to judgment because God listens to His people.”



The former minister, who pointed out that the people of the state were not told the amount of money Ibori left in their treasury, added that in the past three years the state had received over N500bn.



He said, “Despite this amount, nothing has happened. The PDP had rejected Uduaghan because the evil committed by him and Ibori can only be removed by another person who does not believe in their dynasty.



“What Ibori started has been taken over by Uduaghan and our resources are draining. So this is the time for the people of Delta State to be saved.”



Also on Thursday, the Ijaw Professionals in Warri, Delta State applauded the appeal court judgment, saying the removal of Uduaghan marked the ‘end of apartheid in Warri North Council Area.’



In his reaction, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the PDP, Alhaji Aminu Dutsinma, said that laws governing electoral matters in the country were flawed.



Dutsinma told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja that the electoral laws needed to be reviewed to accommodate all exigencies.



He said a situation where the beneficiary of a rigged election enjoyed office almost to the point of the exhaustion of his tenure before judgment was handed down to the petitioner was inimical to democracy.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011113495120

NLC and others trade unions did well by calling off the strike because these guys in government may start to use divide and rule to polarise these unions. Moreover, the private sectors did not partake, so before government realise the strike did not cripple the economy, wise decision to suspend the industrial actions. How much is N18,000 to billions been stolen by individuals, please pay the poor workers atleast N50,000 as minimum wage I advised Goodluck to extend goodluck to them as well.

Organised labour on Wednesday suspended the three-day warning strike it called to protest the delay in the implementation of the N18, 000 minimum wage by the federal and state governments.



Acting President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Promise Adewusi, and the President -General of the Trade Union Congress, Mr. Peter Esele, announced the suspension of the strike at the end of a joint session of the National Executive of the NLC and the National Working Committee of the TUC in Abuja.



In suspending the strike, the labour leaders lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for his “humility and the commitment of his administration to the implementation of the minimum wage when passed into law.”



Shortly after the announcement, the NLC Acting Head of Information, Mr. Iduh Onah, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, accused the governors surreptitiously frustrating the payment of the new wage of ‘hypocrisy.’



Onah said it was inconceivable for governors receiving the same salary irrespective of differentials in allocations to their states to try to scuttle the payment of the minimum wage.



“This is the hypocrisy we are talking about. This is not about scarcity of resources. They just don’t want to pay. It is this selfishness that is pushing labour to adopt a hard stance on the issue,” he said.



Onah added that what the NLC needed was for the Federal Government to lay the legal framework for the implementation of the new wage and leave its enforcement to labour.



Adewusi had, while reading a statement issued at the end of the NLC NEC and TUC NWC meeting, explained that the strike was called off because the objective of bringing the minimum wage to the front burner had been achieved.



He added that labour decided to go on strike because the minimum wage issue was swept under the carpet, especially by state governments.



Adewusi, who is also the chairman of the NLC Committee on National Strike, said labour would not hesitate to expose some governors engrossed in discreet moves to scuttle the new wage.



The labour leader cited the declaration of the National Assembly that a bill on the new wage would receive accelerated attention as one of the reasons for labour’s decision to opt out of the strike.



He urged Jonathan to send, without delay, the bill to the National Assembly after the meeting of the National Council of State scheduled for October, 25, 2010 to fast track implementation of the new wage.



Adewusi warned that the NLC and the TUC would reject anything less than N18,000.



He said that the labour leaders would convene in the first week of December to review developments on the minimum wage.



The two-page statement by Adewusi; Esele; the NLC General-Secretary, Mr. John Odah; and the TUC Secretary-General, Mr. John Kolawole, also said labour had blacklisted an airline in the country for its alleged role in the shooting of the Edo State Chairman of the National Union of Air Transport Employees, Mr. Godwin Ehichioya, in Benin, by a policeman.



The statement urged other affiliate unions to emulate the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers which had halted the supply of aviation fuel to the airline.



It also called on the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, to “investigate, dismiss, and prosecute the policeman who shot the NUATE chairman.”



Investigations revealed that the minimum wage would have been implemented by the Federal Government long ago but for the sustained opposition of the governors to its implementation.



It was learnt that the Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, was the only governor who had agreed to implement the new minimum wage in his state during a discussion of the issue by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum.



Attempts to obtain a reaction from the NGF Chairman, Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki, failed on Wednesday.



Before the suspension of the strike, reports across the states showed that public offices and other critical sectors of the nation’s economy were shut down.



Some of the public workers who ignored the order were turned back by union leaders who went round to ensure that the strike succeeded.



Most banks, schools and airports in Lagos and Abuja also did not operate. Some of the banks that attended to their customers did so through their back doors.



Commercial vehicle operators, however, did not fully comply with the labour leaders’ directive as the roads and motor parks were busy on Wednesday. Many markets also opened for business.



In Lagos, for instance, while private businesses, markets and commercial transport operators ignored the directive, the fleet of the state government-owned Bus Rapid Transit stayed off the roads.



The state secretariat, Alausa, and Lagos State High Court, Magistrates’ Courts and Customary Courts also did not function as their gates were shut.



As part of the strike, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria cut off power supply to the entire secretariat as all the offices were thrown into darkness, including the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre.



The Secretary, Nigeria Civil Service Union, Lagos State branch, Mr. Olasunkanmi Olubade, said as at 9:35am on Wednesday, 95 per cent of civil servants in the state had strike.



He said the remaining five per cent was for those who dared the NLC by reporting for work but were turned back at the gate.



In most of the public schools visited by our correspondents in the state, teachers did not turn up for work. Most pupils too stayed away.



The strike, however, did not affect the ongoing November/December National Examination Council’s senior secondary school certificate examination.



Rumours that NECO might postpone the examination were denied by the examination body.



Although the NECO Registrar, Prof. Promise Okpala, could not be reached, his Special Assistant, who identified himself simply as Dr. Anyanwu, said the examination would go on as scheduled.



In Abuja, passengers were stranded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport as there were no officials of the airlines and other service providers to attend to them.



A spokesman of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mr. Alfred Itua, said, “There have been no scheduled flights today (Wednesday) except chartered flights. This is in compliance with the warning strike.”



Like in the states, the federal secretariat and schools in Abuja were shut.



Reports from Ibadan, Oyo State indicated that workers complied fully with the directive as the gates of the federal and state secretariats at Agodi and Ikolaba were under lock and key.



At the Federal Secretariat, Ikolaba, officials of the Amalgamated Union of Public Service, Technical and Recreational Employees were seen enforcing the strike by turning back workers who attempted to get to their offices.



In Ondo, where public services and commercial activities in its major towns were also grounded, Akure town was thrown into darkness as workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria stayed away from their duty posts.



http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101111348775

It is a welcome development and a bold step to balance the inequality in the education sector but more effort is needed in this sector that rotten away because of corruption and mismagement.Mr. minister go back to the drawing board and restrategise.

The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved six additional new universities for the six geo-political zones of the country.



FEC, which approved the establishment of the universities at its meeting in Abuja, also decided that the institutions would be located in states without federal universities.



It also approved $231.11m for the procurement of Direct Data Capture Machines for the voter registration to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission.



Ministers, who briefed journalists after the weekly FEC meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan, included the Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili; Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godsday Orubebe; Works, Senator Sanusi Daggash; (Water Resources, Mr. Andrew Obadiah; Minister of State for Information and Communications, Mr. Labaran Maku; and Minister of State for Education, Chief Kenneth Gbagi.



Akunyili explained that the Federal Government decided to establish the universities to “bridge the admission gap for Nigerian students.”



“The council approved today (Wednesday) to establish one federal university in the six-geo political zones of the country in the states which do not have a federal university after consideration. In future, we are even going to have more,” she added.



She said only about 10 per cent of qualified candidates had access to universities in the country. According to her, many Nigerians should be able have access to university education.



“The council approved these universities because the government of President Goodluck Jonathan does not only want to improve quality but also to improve access, which is as important as quality,” she stated.



The minister added that the establishment of the new universities would not lower the standard of education in the country.



She stated that the minister of education actually proposed 44 universities, noting that they would be approved in phases, beginning with the six institutions.



According to the minister, “The problem of Nigerian universities today is not their number.”



Commenting on the performances of ministries, departments and agencies in the 2010 financial year, Akunyili said the President had directed ministers to explain how they spent budgetary allocations for their ministries.



The council on Wednesday also approved N41bn for the construction and rehabilitation of eight roads across the country.



The roads include Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Osogbo-Ilesa, Ijebu Ode-Ibadan Road, Abeokuta-Ibadan Road, Ibadan-Lagere-Iremo-Enuwa-Ilesa By-pass, Ahoada-Omoku-Road phase 1, Ozalla-Akpugo-Amagunze-Ihuokpara-Nkomoro-Isu-Onicha Road, Umuahia-Ikot Epene Road, Suleja-Minna Road and Otukpa-Oweto Road.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101111411285

I feel the e-love thing is a way for lady's to get money from guy's !

[quote author=j.pilata link=topic=548441.msg7112900#msg7112900 date=1289370768]A so called kuala lumpur, what are u talking about?do u think to rule nigeria is an easy thing.First of all rule your family well.If u don't like OBJ and GEJ,go and kill yourself,[/quote]Help tell him !

let somebody tell okah,s wife that she will soon face the wrath of God aiding abetting her murderous husband.

The hearing of the bail application by terror suspect, Mr. Henry Okah, was on Tuesday deferred by a magistrate’s court in Johannesburg, South Africa, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.



Magistrate Hein Louw said he had not been able to listen to portions of the recorded CDs which were essential to his verdict.



Louw had ordered on November 4 that the CDs be made available to enable him to listen to them.



He said that the recordings, which were sent for transcription on the request of a media house, were only made available to him on a later date when he requested for them.



Louw added the late delivery of the recordings and some other important reasons resulted in the shift of the verdict.



The magistrate said he was considering issuing a summon letter to an Immigration officer, Willem Foster, who the prosecution said had raised issues of fraud that relate to Okah’s permanent residence permit.



The prosecution had argued that Okah’s permit, based on the observations, was technically faulty and that he could be staying in South Africa illegally.



The prosecution had also indicated that the Department of Home Affairs was considering administrative action in the issue.



Louw, however, stated that he was not yet fully convinced on the need to call Foster to testify in court but was still looking at it.



He expressed the hope that he would not call any more witnesses before giving his verdict unless it became crucial, noting that he will notify all the parties involved.



The magistrate said that due to the commitments of the counsel on November 10, he would adjourn the matter to November 12.



Louw said the reasons for the adjournment, especially the issue of the recordings, were beyond his control.



Rudi Krause, Okah’s counsel, said although his client was disappointed by the turn of events, he had no problems with the date.



Shaun Abrahams, prosecution counsel, said the explanation of the magistrate was okay as the reasons were beyond his control.



Okah’s wife, Azuka, looked pensive as she learnt that the verdict had been shifted.



Okah, who is the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, is standing trial on a two count charge of engaging in terrorist activity and conspiring with others to do so in respect of the October 1 bombings in Abuja.



He is being charged with delivery, placement and detonation of the explosive device and conspiring with others to do so.



Okah, who claimed innocence, is seeking bail while the prosecution is challenging it, saying he is a flight risk.



The prosecution says investigations into the case would take another six to nine months to complete before the trial begins.



Okah is currently remanded in a single cell at the Johannesburg prison.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011102424653

Your excellency, u can do better by telling us the real financial situation of the state i.e, tell the good people of Ekiti both the assets & liabilities of the government. Telling us only the debt inherited is like a one way traffic & it will allow more criticisms.

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday said he made public the financial situation of the state so that the people would know the position of things at the time he assumed office.



He said he had no intention of playing politics with the financial position of the state by declaring that he inherited about N30bn debt from the immediate past government in the state.



Fayemi, who stated this while receiving the state chapter of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, said he had no reason to deceive the people of the state.



He said his statement should not be seen as a political vendetta.



He said, “Ekiti people deserve to know what I met on ground and the challenges facing our administration.



“We lack the power to punish anybody found to have stolen government money as there are relevant institutions to try those guilty of financial crimes.



“When I said I met a N30bn debt, it was what I found on ground. I must tell the truth and it was not done out of acrimony.



“It was not done to intimidate anybody but to be open-minded; this government is not a financial crimes commission, it is the Federal Government that has the institutions that deals with such matters.



Fayemi said he was not on a missin to destroy anybody, adding, “As a Christian, I did not come with recriminations or reprisals. What has happened in this state is in accordance with God’s wishes.”



http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011101164132

And you will be the consensual president of the North not Nigeria.

Former vice-president and presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said he is confident that the Mallam Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Political Leaders Forum will be fair in selecting a consensus contender among the four Northerners aspiring to clinch the ruling party’s presidential ticket.



Abubakar, who spoke at a reception organised in his honour by a non-governmental organization, Inspirational Leadership and Empowerment Initiative, in Kaduna, also said he was confident that he would be selected by the NPLF as the consensus candidate to represent the North at the PDP presidential primaries.



He added that his track record and commitment to democratic ideals spoke volumes regarding his qualification to represent the North at the PDP primaries.



The former vice-president spoke through his North-West campaign Co-ordinator, Senator Mas’ud Doguwa.



He said he had no doubt that the committee would be fair in its choice of the consensus aspirant and would settle for Abubakar.



The chairman on the occasion, Alhaji Katukan Misau stressed that the unity of the North had become imperative, adding that it was time for the people of the region to come together and ensure that power remained in the North.



Misau added that Abubakar was the right candidate who would ensure power shift to the North.



He noted that the North with its huge land mass and a population possessed all the requirements to remain a leading player in the current democratic dispensation.



He urged the people to work towards the success of the former vice-president in his bid to pick the PDP’s ticket.



The National President of the Inspirational Leadership and Empowerment Initiative, Alhaji Umar Jada, said on the occasion that the aim of his organization was to unify the North so that the patriotic contributions of its founding fathers and their contemporaries would not be in vain.











Jada said, “The North is being seen today as politically weak, disunited and disorganised. Let us prove them wrong as always by presenting a man among men, the person that has the capacity to withstand the power of incumbency, the candidate that is loved in the East, cherished in the West and adored in the South-South and that person is Atiku,” he said.



The state co-coordinator of the NGO, Alhaji Namadi Musa said the aspirant record speak for itself, stressing, “But for him, we wouldn’t be talking about elections in 2011, or indeed in the near future.



“Atiku mobilised the media, civil society groups and the opposition to kill not only third term but a life presidency. No presidential aspirant has sacrificed in nurturing the nation’s democracy as much as Atiku.”


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011102491234

Apart from the founding fathers, Obasanjo is the only TRUE Nigerian that has ever ruled this country believe it or leave it. He takes all life events in good faith and always move ahead, including this one. God bless you Baba.