₦airaland Forum

Adamawa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has confirmed receipt of former Vice-President Atiku Abubaka‘s applications for membership and waiver.



The state Secretary of the party, Mr. P. P. Elisha, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Yola on Tuesday that the party received two letters from Atiku addressed to the national chairman through the state chairman.



“The letters were delivered to the state party office by DHL courier service on the 27th of August. One of the letters is dealing with issue of rejoining the party and the other is requesting for exemption and waiver,‘‘ Elisha said.



Elisha said that Atiku wrote in compliance with the party’s constitution, which stated that any member who lost his membership for any reason other than the non-payment of subscription and would want to rejoin the party, had to be recommended by the state chapter of the party to the national working committee.



Elisha said the former vice-president cited Alex Ekwueme’s reconciliatory committee’s recommendation which provided for unfettered access for all returning founding members of the party among others in his request letter.



The state party secretary, however, said that the state chapter had not deliberated on Atiku’s applications due to the absence of Governor Murtala Nyako whose presence was necessary as the party leader in the state.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201009012362059

At the unveiling of a book, Diary of Debacle, written by a popular columnist, Dr. Olatunji Dare, dignitaries revisited the annulled June 12 1993 presidential poll and warned Nigerians to beware of dictators pretending to be democrats, MUDIAGA AFFE writes.

It was the 73rd posthumous birthday of the late Chief Moshood Abiola, the winner of the annulled June 12 1993 presidential election. The AGIP Hall of the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, was full to capacity. Democrats, did not only come to felicitate with a columnist, Dr. Olatunji Dare, on the unveiling of his new book, “Diary of Debacle,” they also told Nigerians that the harbingers of June 12 annulment were parading themselves as democrats.


At the centre of this attack was ex-military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, who annulled the most credible election ever conducted in the history of Nigeria.



From the erstwhile governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to a former vice-president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the immediate past Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the description of Babangida was that of a leader who denied Nigerians the opportunity to freely elect their president.



Obviously referring to Babangida, Abubakar and Tinubu lamented that some of the perpetrators of Nigeria‘s democratic woes were planning to return to power. They, therefore, charged Nigerians to wake up and ensure that democracy was not left in the hands of such people.



Babangida, whose regime annulled the election, is seeking to come back to power in 2011 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.



Tinubu, the chief launcher of the book, said that Dare had through the book ”enlisted us to quickly wake up from our deep political slumber because the architects and harbingers of our political debacle have sought to return to the political stage they had earlier destroyed.”



He recalled the author‘s ”courageous write-ups in the wake of the June 12 crisis,” saying that he was constantly harassed by the military, adding that unlike many, who turned a blind eye to the efforts by the late Abiola after benefitting from the June 12 struggle, Dare did not abandon the struggle.



The former governor said, ”In fact, one of the grand beneficiaries (Chief Olusegun Obasanjo) that the Almighty saved from the hangman‘s noose and who later became President, did not even want to hear Abiola‘s name much less of honouring him.



”Yet, many like him (Obasanjo) reaped bountifully from his (Abiola) toil and still wanted more than their entitlement but for public outrage and vigilance.



”Today, rather than the celebration of this highly principled first-class intellectual by the nation, we prefer to give national awards to enemies of democracy; those who truncated our lofty dreams, setting Nigeria back by several years through collaboration and active involvement in one of the worst electoral heist in human history.



”There are many of them now, who preside over several of our democratic institutions, including amending the constitution for us as well as devising a tailor-made Electoral Act with the intention of achieving a pre-determined objective while the grandmasters of the despicable cult of annulment are preparing to come back and reap from where they did not sow”



Tinubu added that the book was an expose on the steps, actions and statements of Babangida that showed he was not willing to quit office in 1993.



The former governor said, ”It (the book) will refresh the memory of many and illuminate on the roles played by gladiators of that era that later robbed Nigerians the opportunity of entrenching democracy as far back as 1993.



”The book will surely make a loud scream about the satanic roles played regarding that epoch by those in power or still hanging around the corridors of power. Dare has also come out with the skeletons that some anti-June 12 have hidden for 17 years.



”Until Nigeria recognises him (Abiola) as the 4th president of Nigeria, justice is not done.”



He noted that if not for the death of Abiola, democracy would have remained a mirage in the country.



Another dimension was introduced to the June 12 election annulment when the former vice-president disclosed that his political mentor, the late Gen. Shehu Yar‘Adua, foresaw the cancellation of that presidential election by Babangida.



Abubakar said most Nigerians, including the chieftains of the defunct Social Democratic Party, did not believe that the Babangida-led junta would accept the outcome of the election. This, according to him, led to several meetings by the SDP chieftains to strategise before the elections.



He said, ”Before the SDP primaries, Northern and Southern delegates met in Kaduna to vote for Abiola. Our calculation was that after the elections, Abiola would be the presidential candidate and I would be his running mate.



”There was, however, confusion in Jos, Plateau State, because what we had earlier discussed in Kaduna, Kaduna State, was not agreed upon in Jos. At that point, I called the Shehu Yar‘Adua to come and settle the impasse.



”He (Yar‘Adua) came to Jos and said we should vote for Abiola. His position was that the South-West voted for him (Yar‘Adua) in the SDP primaries and there was need to pay back. He had argued that if Alhaji Babagana Kingibe or I emerged, Babangida would most likely annul the election and if he did, the North could not protest.



”He also believed that if Abiola emerged, the South-West could lead a protest because they had the political will to fight the military, and that was how they (West) also chased the military out of power. That was how we elected Abiola in the second ballot and he won, but Babangida annulled the election. We protested and then drove out the military from power.”



The former vice-president also extolled the late Abiola‘s determination to actualise his mandate.



The former Chairman of EFCC, however, dismissed insinuations in the South-West that the annulment of the June 12 election was the handiwork of the North.



According to him, ”That is the biggest lie of the century. All Nigerians voted for Abiola, including the Northerners. It was a few people, who robbed 14 million voters of their franchise. I was in the police force back then and I knew what happened. We almost lost Nigeria in 1993.”



The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who spoke as the chief host, charged Nigerians to see the June 12 struggle as an opportunity to stand up for their rights and demand true democracy and governance from their leaders.



Also, the widow of the late politician, Dr. Doyin Abiola, lamented the backward slide the nation had experienced even with 10 years of uninterrupted democracy.



”I feel that something is about to give way. It may take some time. Soon people would tell us the truth. We are failing as a nation. I feel if this country must take a balance. Women must be actively involved,” she said.



Dare said the book, which he dedicated to Abiola, would reawaken the consciousness of Nigerians on the June 12 struggle.



”The June 12 spirit enjoins us to forgive, albeit it does not enjoin us to forget because a nation puts itself at a great risk when it forgets,” he said.



Among dignitaries at the event were a former military administrator of Lagos State, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (retd.), who chaired the occasion; the National Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Chief Bisi Akande and the Chairman, Newspaper Proprietors‘ Association of Nigeria, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola.



Others were the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa; a business mogul, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas; the governorship candidates of the ACN in Osun and Ekiti states, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola and Dr. Kayode Fayemi respectively; and the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji.



The book explains Babangida‘s political transition and his economic policy, the Structural Adjustment Programme.



Dare‘s vehicle of tracking the era was his weekly columns in The Guardian, where he was the editorial page editor and chairman of the Editorial Board for nearly a decade.



Analysts believe that as preparations for party primaries and 2011 elections gather momentum, the book should serve as a reminder of evil deeds of enemies of democracy. To them, such people, who killed the dream of Nigerians in 1993, must pay for their sins.


Link:At the unveiling of a book, Diary of Debacle, written by a popular columnist, Dr. Olatunji Dare, dignitaries revisited the annulled June 12 1993 presidential poll and warned Nigerians to beware of dictators pretending to be democrats, MUDIAGA AFFE writes.







It was the 73rd posthumous birthday of the late Chief Moshood Abiola, the winner of the annulled June 12 1993 presidential election. The AGIP Hall of the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, was full to capacity. Democrats, did not only come to felicitate with a columnist, Dr. Olatunji Dare, on the unveiling of his new book, “Diary of Debacle,” they also told Nigerians that the harbingers of June 12 annulment were parading themselves as democrats.



At the centre of this attack was ex-military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, who annulled the most credible election ever conducted in the history of Nigeria.



From the erstwhile governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to a former vice-president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the immediate past Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the description of Babangida was that of a leader who denied Nigerians the opportunity to freely elect their president.



Obviously referring to Babangida, Abubakar and Tinubu lamented that some of the perpetrators of Nigeria‘s democratic woes were planning to return to power. They, therefore, charged Nigerians to wake up and ensure that democracy was not left in the hands of such people.



Babangida, whose regime annulled the election, is seeking to come back to power in 2011 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.



Tinubu, the chief launcher of the book, said that Dare had through the book ”enlisted us to quickly wake up from our deep political slumber because the architects and harbingers of our political debacle have sought to return to the political stage they had earlier destroyed.”



He recalled the author‘s ”courageous write-ups in the wake of the June 12 crisis,” saying that he was constantly harassed by the military, adding that unlike many, who turned a blind eye to the efforts by the late Abiola after benefitting from the June 12 struggle, Dare did not abandon the struggle.



The former governor said, ”In fact, one of the grand beneficiaries (Chief Olusegun Obasanjo) that the Almighty saved from the hangman‘s noose and who later became President, did not even want to hear Abiola‘s name much less of honouring him.



”Yet, many like him (Obasanjo) reaped bountifully from his (Abiola) toil and still wanted more than their entitlement but for public outrage and vigilance.



”Today, rather than the celebration of this highly principled first-class intellectual by the nation, we prefer to give national awards to enemies of democracy; those who truncated our lofty dreams, setting Nigeria back by several years through collaboration and active involvement in one of the worst electoral heist in human history.



”There are many of them now, who preside over several of our democratic institutions, including amending the constitution for us as well as devising a tailor-made Electoral Act with the intention of achieving a pre-determined objective while the grandmasters of the despicable cult of annulment are preparing to come back and reap from where they did not sow”



Tinubu added that the book was an expose on the steps, actions and statements of Babangida that showed he was not willing to quit office in 1993.



The former governor said, ”It (the book) will refresh the memory of many and illuminate on the roles played by gladiators of that era that later robbed Nigerians the opportunity of entrenching democracy as far back as 1993.



”The book will surely make a loud scream about the satanic roles played regarding that epoch by those in power or still hanging around the corridors of power. Dare has also come out with the skeletons that some anti-June 12 have hidden for 17 years.



”Until Nigeria recognises him (Abiola) as the 4th president of Nigeria, justice is not done.”



He noted that if not for the death of Abiola, democracy would have remained a mirage in the country.



Another dimension was introduced to the June 12 election annulment when the former vice-president disclosed that his political mentor, the late Gen. Shehu Yar‘Adua, foresaw the cancellation of that presidential election by Babangida.



Abubakar said most Nigerians, including the chieftains of the defunct Social Democratic Party, did not believe that the Babangida-led junta would accept the outcome of the election. This, according to him, led to several meetings by the SDP chieftains to strategise before the elections.



He said, ”Before the SDP primaries, Northern and Southern delegates met in Kaduna to vote for Abiola. Our calculation was that after the elections, Abiola would be the presidential candidate and I would be his running mate.



”There was, however, confusion in Jos, Plateau State, because what we had earlier discussed in Kaduna, Kaduna State, was not agreed upon in Jos. At that point, I called the Shehu Yar‘Adua to come and settle the impasse.



”He (Yar‘Adua) came to Jos and said we should vote for Abiola. His position was that the South-West voted for him (Yar‘Adua) in the SDP primaries and there was need to pay back. He had argued that if Alhaji Babagana Kingibe or I emerged, Babangida would most likely annul the election and if he did, the North could not protest.



”He also believed that if Abiola emerged, the South-West could lead a protest because they had the political will to fight the military, and that was how they (West) also chased the military out of power. That was how we elected Abiola in the second ballot and he won, but Babangida annulled the election. We protested and then drove out the military from power.”



The former vice-president also extolled the late Abiola‘s determination to actualise his mandate.



The former Chairman of EFCC, however, dismissed insinuations in the South-West that the annulment of the June 12 election was the handiwork of the North.



According to him, ”That is the biggest lie of the century. All Nigerians voted for Abiola, including the Northerners. It was a few people, who robbed 14 million voters of their franchise. I was in the police force back then and I knew what happened. We almost lost Nigeria in 1993.”



The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who spoke as the chief host, charged Nigerians to see the June 12 struggle as an opportunity to stand up for their rights and demand true democracy and governance from their leaders.



Also, the widow of the late politician, Dr. Doyin Abiola, lamented the backward slide the nation had experienced even with 10 years of uninterrupted democracy.



”I feel that something is about to give way. It may take some time. Soon people would tell us the truth. We are failing as a nation. I feel if this country must take a balance. Women must be actively involved,” she said.



Dare said the book, which he dedicated to Abiola, would reawaken the consciousness of Nigerians on the June 12 struggle.



”The June 12 spirit enjoins us to forgive, albeit it does not enjoin us to forget because a nation puts itself at a great risk when it forgets,” he said.



Among dignitaries at the event were a former military administrator of Lagos State, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (retd.), who chaired the occasion; the National Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Chief Bisi Akande and the Chairman, Newspaper Proprietors‘ Association of Nigeria, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola.



Others were the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa; a business mogul, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas; the governorship candidates of the ACN in Osun and Ekiti states, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola and Dr. Kayode Fayemi respectively; and the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji.



The book explains Babangida‘s political transition and his economic policy, the Structural Adjustment Programme.



Dare‘s vehicle of tracking the era was his weekly columns in The Guardian, where he was the editorial page editor and chairman of the Editorial Board for nearly a decade.



Analysts believe that as preparations for party primaries and 2011 elections gather momentum, the book should serve as a reminder of evil deeds of enemies of democracy. To them, such people, who killed the dream of Nigerians in 1993, must pay for their sins.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201009012271046

I agree with what Chukwu said. All these boys started from some where right, so let see what other home base too will do. When they keep relying on them, what will happen if these guyz cant play anymore, is that when we need to start looking for replacement, hell NO.

A former Super Eagles coach Christian Chukwu has said the team would not miss Olympique Marseille defender Taye Taiwo and Everton forward Yakubu Aiyegbeni as Nigeria prepare to face Madagascar in a Nations Cup qualifier on Sunday.



Taiwo, Aiyegbeni, Sani Kaita, Elderson Echiejile, Dele Adeleye and Rabiu Afolabi were among the players not invited for the clash, following the Eagles‘ poor performance at the World Cup in South Africa.



Chukwu, who praised coach Austin Eguavoen for inviting 11 domestic league players for the encounter, told our correspondent on the telephone on Tuesday that the composition of the team would strengthen it.



”I still believe the camping should have started earlier with about 25 home-based players,” Chukwu said. ”That would have made the foreign-based players more serious in honouring the invitation. They would have realised that they would need to be at their best to get a role in the team.



”The exclusion of Aiyegbeni and Taiwo from the squad should not be seen as a problem for the coach. Eguavoen knows what he wants to do with the team against Madagascar and he has selected those that best fit in his plans.



”If he thinks these players would add extra value to his team, he would have invited them. If he needs them in the future for a more tactical game, he might invite them. Their exclusion doesn‘t mean they are finished and the Eagles will still do well without them.



”We should not forget that these players started from the domestic league before going abroad to ply their trade.



“ So the coach‘s decision to include the home-based players is a good one if we are serious about improving our league.



”If the trend of inviting home-based players to the national team is maintained, the players would not be under pressure to play abroad before getting an invite for a national assignment.”


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201009013245118

I hope Segun Oniru is aware that people are illegally reclaiming land from the sea. Too many people in Lagos are in danger of flooding. I think we should start preparing people to move away from the danger. We should “make hey, while the sun shines.” But in generally, Lagos State has done more for Lagos people than other Governors of the old western region government.

Lagos State Government, on Tuesday, alerted residents along the Lekki and Victoria Island corridor that there might be rise in the water level of the Atlantic Ocean.



The state Commissioner for Waterfront and Infrastructural Development, Mr. Segun Oniru, said the persistent rise in water level in the Atlantic Ocean, which, he said, might have triggered excessive flooding in countries such as Pakistan, India and the Caribbean, was likely to repeat itself at the Lagos water front.



He, therefore, cautioned residents along the Lekki and Victoria Island corridor to reduce their activities along the Lagoon and ocean at this period in order to stay off danger.



While Oniru ruled out any imminent danger, he, however, warned against what he referred to as ‘spring high tide’ which usually occurred in June and mid- November.



He said, “When strong wind activities happen in the Atlantic, we get ripple effect or direct effect passing our shorelines and such happened about a year ago. But it was not as bad as what happened earlier this year.



“This wind effect in the Atlantic actually blew some vessel anchored within our shore line about 5 kilometres to the beach front, around lighthouse area. We had about 13 vessels along the waterway and from Badagry to Epe about seven or eight were affected during that time of wind activities.”



Oniru explained that the information was not to create panic, but to enlighten Lagosians on what is going on around them and also to make sure that they are careful around the Atlantic Ocean and Lagoon.



He said his ministry recently engaged the service of a consultant to carry out a study on the entire shoreline in Lagos, from Badagry to Epe. He said the study was, among other functions, geared towards informing the government on areas where there might be problems in future and how such would be prevented and also to give warning signs of when this problem will occur.



He said, “What we have done with developer of Eko Atlantic city was to keep testing that wall that they use to protect the city as it develops, the latest test was carried out about two weeks ago and all the test that they carry out, the state government is carried along NPA and NEMASA representative were always invited to come.”


Link:
http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201009012551159

Why do we like deceiving ourselves in this country? imagine when we have a lot of serious issues to be addressed:unemployment, poverty and the likes.why do they need to beg for money that will not be judiciously spent., anyway most of our leaders are selfcentred.Except the importance attached to politics in this country is removed, Nigeria cannot move forward. May God help Nigeria!

The Action Congress of Nigeria on Tuesday asked the Federal Government to withdraw its letter, to 17 major companies in the country, soliciting donations to fund advert placements on Nigeria’s 50th independence anniversary celebration in an international newspaper, the International Herald Tribune.



The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the withdrawal of the letter should be followed up with an apology to Nigerians for the embarrassment caused by the “ill-thought-out letter.”



It wondered why the government would want to “sell the country‘s sovereignty” for such a paltry sum—N401m— just because it wanted to project Nigeria’s image in the International Herald Tribune.



The ACN advised the companies not to succumb to the subtle attempt to armtwist them into contributing money that would, in the end, not be properly accounted for.



THE PUNCH had reported exclusively on Monday, that the Director-General, Nigeria @ 50 Dr. B.K. Kaigama, met with representatives of 10 major firms, which he had earlier written to soliciting for funds.



The firms are Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited, Chevron, Mobil Producing Nigeria Limited, Nigeria LNG Limited, Total E & P Nigeria Limited, Globacom Limited, MTN Nigeria, Dangote Group, Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company Limited and S.C.C Nigeria Limited.



Kaigama had in the letter to the companies explained that the special publications in the IHT were to promote Nigeria on the global stage during the milestone event.



The Federal Government had provided N10bn in a supplementary budget to take care of expenses for the Nigeria @ 50 celebration, but it was slashed to N6.37bn by the National Assembly following public criticisms.



But the ACN, in the statement that was made available to our correspondent, said, “Several African nations, most of them less endowed than Nigeria, have been celebrating their 50th independence anniversary this year, but we have not heard that they went cap-in-hand begging multinationals in their countries to foot the bills for their celebrations.



“We are even more confounded at the beggarly posture of the Federal Government, especially because huge funds have been earmarked for the celebration, which is shaping up as an unnecessary jamboree at a time our citizens are facing untold hardship and are dying from preventable diseases like cholera and measles.”



Denouncing the government’s action as “frivolous and indefensible,” the party said “the government should have cut its coat according to its cloth if it knew it could not finance the anniversary jamboree.”



It added, “This is a reflection of the kind of wastage of funds for which our successive governments have become notorious around the world.



“In the first instance, what are we going to be advertising at such huge costs that the world does not yet know about us? Of what use is such an advert? How does it enhance the golden jubilee celebration? Did anyone hear of the US, with all its strong economy, advertising in the IHT during its 200th anniversary?



“We have said before, when we criticised the plan to hold a big conference in London as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, that the anniversary calls for a sober reflection, not the wastage of scarce public funds on frivolities, especially since the dream – at independence in 1960 - of making Nigeria a great nation, has become a nightmare, 50 years on.‘‘



It said the “beggarly letter” must be ranked on the same “level of infamy” as the one by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed. Ahmed had written political appointees, asking them to pay five per cent of their basic salaries to the People‘s Democratic Party while in office.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201009012501390

Ume ezeoke i’ knows fare back as 1979 politice .is like different from the Ume ezeoke of this days .i’dont know if its an old age or what ?.i’dont see the vision and focus in him any more .

A faction of the All Nigerian Peoples has accused the National Chairman of the party, Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, of being an agent of the Peoples Democratic Party.



The faction, which sacked Ume-Ezeoke and other members of the party’s National Working Committee on Friday, said the party’s chairman was being sponsored by the ruling party to destabilise the ANPP.



During a press briefing on Monday night in Abuja, the chairman caretaker committee set up after the sacking of Ume-Ezeoke, Senator Mohammed Mohammed, said the PDP resorted into the manipulation of the ANPP because it (the PDP) was afraid that the opposition party could win the presidential election.



Mohammed said the plan was to make sure that the ANPP did not present any candidate during the presidential election.



Apart from Mohammed, other members of the committee who were at the briefing included Abdulsalam Sumaila, Dr. Vitas Ajumbe, Prince Martins Bishop, Farouk Yahaya and Chief Abiodun Oyebolu.



Mohammed said, “Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke is an agent of PDP. Such a man cannot be trusted to lead ANPP to victory come 2011.



“It is regrettable that police to whom a written communication was made to provide security for the meeting of our NEC and who had indicated their readiness to provide security at the venue of the meeting did not show up at all.



“Instead, hired hoodlums took over the venue in a bid to prevent the legally convened ANPP NEC meeting. We suspected a foul play.



“It is our belief, therefore, that PDP-led government is sponsoring Ume-Ezeoke and his cohorts to destroy ANPP.



“They are afraid that ANPP has the chances of winning the 2011 presidential election and so, they are working to ensure that ANPP does not produce a presidential candidate for the 2011 elections.”



The group also questioned the impartiality of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the crisis.



The electoral body had said that it did not recognise the new caretaker committee, saying that it was not given the mandatory 21 days before the meeting could hold.



As a result, INEC said it did not recognise the decision taken at the meeting, insisting that the tenure of the Ume-Ezeoke-led NWC would end on September 6.



But the caretaker committee said 21days notice was only for convention and not NEC meeting, adding that the party gave the seven days notice to the commission as required by the constitution.



The group also insisted that the tenure of Ume-Ezeoke would end September 2, when he was elected and as shown in his certificate of return issued to him by the party.



But Ume-Ezeoke has described his sacking as a wishful thinking, saying that his tenure would end on September 6.



He also described those at the briefing as impostors who were not known to the party both at state and national levels.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201009012303848

Hi John Terry, thanks man, pls kindly advice my guy mikel to keep it up, soon we know that we can do without him at the super eagle, Mikel try and score goals, this season

Chelsea captain John Terry has heaped praise on teammate Mikel Obi for his start to the season. Mikel has impressed in the opening games of the campaign.



Terry told Chelsea TV on Tuesday, ”Mikel had a really good pre-season and looks slimmer. He has done a bit of weights and really looks fit. We have missed Michael Essien the last couple of years and there is competition now. I think John feels that with Ramires coming in and Michael coming back, and he feels he needs to step it up.



”He had a great season last year and the season before that but again he has kicked on which is important for the young players to do.”



Mikel feels his hard work on the training pitch is responsible for his new form. He now fully fit after a knee injury forced him to miss Nigeria‘s World Cup campaign, is relishing the challenges ahead.



”Towards the end of last season before I was injured I was in good shape and playing almost every week. Then I got injured, had surgery and did my rehab,” Mikel said on the club‘s official website. ”I just put my head down and knew I had to work twice as hard as the other players to get myself ready for the start of the season.”



He added: ”I feel like it is paying off and I don‘t want to stop, I want to keep going and working hard in training.



”If you speak to the guys they will tell you I work as hard as anyone else on the training pitch, maybe harder and I just want to keep going like this.”


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201009013531540

Nigeria my Nigeria why is it taking you 4 generations to act on a crime that was committed on your soil? The criminal(s) has/have since been charged and sentenced by his homeland court and you (Nija) are dragging ur feet only to make noise and sweep the case under Aso rock carpet. May God help you see beyond ur nose.

All those who took bribes in awarding the contract for Africa’s first liquefied natural gas plant will soon be charged to court, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, said yesterday in Abuja.

He said the Federal government is close to prosecuting those indicted in what has come to be known as the Halliburton bribe scandal. The trial is expected to boost Goodluck Jonathan’s anti-corruption credentials as the 2011 elections approach.

Mr. Adoke who spoke to NEXT in an exclusive interview in his office yesterday, however refused to name those on the list.

Investigations by United States law enforcement agencies have named past Heads of State – the late Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Olusegun Obasanjo – among those linked with the scandal.

Mr. Adoke denied insinuations that the presidency had stepped down the report ahead of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) primaries scheduled to take place next month, so as not to rock Mr. Jonathan’s chances of picking the party’s presidential ticket.

“No, no, no! Whoever says that is not saying the truth. The federal government did not and has not stepped down the report. President Jonathan has not in any way interfered in my work. Particularly, he has not interfered with the report on Halliburton bribery. He is a president whose work ethic recognises the fear of God and rule of law. For that, I am eternally grateful to him,” he said.

Asked why the report was not made public within the first two weeks of August as he promised in a previous interview, Mr. Adoke said the government is perfecting plans to begin the prosecution of all those that were indicted in the preliminary report.

“We have been working on the report even though we do not need to make noise. The courts have been on vacation, so there was no way we could have done that until now.

“But the courts will be resuming very soon. I can assure you that we are working on the file over there. Once the courts resume, we will prosecute all those who have been indicted in the preliminary report before me. We will be filing charges against them soon.”

Yerima is free

Speaking on Ahmed Sani Yerima’s controversial marriage to an Egyptian minor, 14-year-old Eladly Maryam Maged Saleh, Mr. Adoke was emphatic that the senator has no case to answer before the law.

Responding to child rights advocacy groups and activists who have called for his sack for not prosecuting the former governor of Zamfara State, the Justice Minister said he would rather be sacked for doing what is backed by the constitution than for doing something illegal.

“I swore to protect the constitution of the Federal Republic when I took this post,” he said. “So, I would not want to expose myself as an incompetent lawyer and Justice Minister by prosecuting a case simply based on popular agitation; or embarrass the government by prosecuting a case that is not backed by the law.

“I have already said it and I will say it again that I will not play to the gallery. Having looked again at what the law says, I found that Yerima’s marriage was a legal marriage contracted under the Islamic law and rites. And the constitution recognises marriage under Islamic and customary laws as exceptions. And to those people who called it a case of child trafficking, it is not at all. The girl in question was brought into the country by her parents for the marriage. The marriage had their blessings. Of course, the Child Rights Acts was enacted by the Senate to protect the Nigerian child, not the Egyptian child as this case was.

“If on the basis of this action, some people are now calling for my sack, they are free to do that. All I will like to say is that I want to be sacked for taking a legal action than for permitting illegality.”

Bribery cesspit

The British police on March 5, 2009, arrested a London lawyer, Jeffrey Tesler, accused of conveying millions of dollars in bribes to officials of the Nigerian government, in order to obtain engineering, procurement and construction contracts to build the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas in Bonny Island. Mr Tesler was implicated along with another British citizen, Wojciech Chodan.

Tesler’s arrest followed an extradition request from the United States government. He was charged before the City of Westminster magistrate the same day.

Until now, the federal government has not demonstrated a willingness to prosecute Nigerian officials involved, claiming it was yet to receive a legal notification from the countries taking action on the bribery scandal.

About $182m in bribes was allegedly paid by Halliburton’s subsidiary, Kellogg Brown and Root, to obtain contracts worth over $6 billion, to build and expand the Bonny Island liquefied natural gas terminal.

Kellog Brown has since agreed to pay a US criminal fine of $402m as part of a plea bargain for guilt.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5613547-146/government_to_begin_trial_of_halliburton.csp

The federal government’s target to increase power generation in Nigeria to between 8,000 and 9,000 megawatts, as contained in the new electrical reform blue print, would still not meet the power demands of Nigerians, chairman of the House committee on power, Patrick Ikhariale, said yesterday in Benin.

Mr Ikhariale, who spoke when he led other members of the committee on inspection of facilities of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Benin distribution zone, said that this was owing to the expectations that cottage industries which have packed up because of low power generation may spring up again to take advantage of improved power supply.

He said the federal government was exploring collaboration with the government of Brazil to start the Manbila power plant in Taraba State which, if fully operational, he said could generate over 2,000 megawatt; about 35 per cent of our nation’s power needs.

“The federal government is trying to indeed enhance the power situation in Nigeria but, for some reasons at different points in time, we’ve really not got the mark. As we speak today, it is obvious that we operate below 4,000 megawatts in terms of energy generation transmission and distribution,” Mr Ikhariale said.

“The requirement of Nigeria conservatively today can’t be less than 8,000 to 9,000. But I need not educate anybody that if indeed we get to that, because of the cottage industries, most of them that have shut down a couple of years ago, coming on board, springing back to business, it will certainly reduce the potency of that 8,000 megawatts to meeting the demands of Nigerians as of today. Therefore, it is to be expected from such reasonable projection that indeed Nigeria as a country needs a lot more than 8,000 megawatts of electricity.”


Improved funding

The lawmaker said that to boost government’s determination of making power available to the people, the National Assembly allocated over N500 billion for the power sector even when, on request, the 2010 budget was slashed by 40 per cent.

“It is because of the belief and the focus that the federal government has in the energy sector that we had so much allocated to the power sector so to achieve this, all hands must be on deck and if you choose to develop the generating aspect and overlook transmission and distribution, it is not going to achieve any meaningful result.” He commended the federal government for unbundling the PHCN and exploring other sources of power generation such as wood and solar energy.

“We know the importance of power that is why whenever the issue of power is raised in the Assembly, it is followed with so much enthusiasm and nationalistic interest,” he said.

George Chiatula, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Benin distribution zone of PHCN which oversees activities in Edo, Delta, Ekiti and Ondo states, said the zone was expected to generate 513 megawatt and distribute same to customers in the area.

“But we would only meet that target by the time the 2009 Capital Intervention Projects are fully operational,” he said.

He added that some of the operational challenges facing the zone were the inability of the NIPP (Nigeria Independent Power Projects) to complete the transmission projects at Asaba and Agbor in Delta State; and Okada and Eyaen in Edo State, and others.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5613510-147/house_leadership_supports_power_deregulation_.csp

Tinubu, if u drop Fashola, PDP is ready to take him.

The Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday advised the pressure group, True Face of Lagos, to join itself as a party in the lawsuit which seeks to stop the House from investigating allegations of corruption levelled against the state by the pressure group.

The group broke a six-month silence on the probe matter, which generated agitation from several quarters within and outside the state, by forwarding a petition dated July 27 to the speaker of the House, Adeyemi Ikuforiji.

The petition, which was signed by the group’s chairman, Adebayo Adesina, was read yesterday and titled ‘Stalling of investigation of corruption allegation against the executive arm by the Lagos House of Assembly: Where lies the hope of justice?’ In February and April, the House set up committees to investigate the allegations and on both occasions, Richard Akinola, a self-acclaimed human rights activist, challenged the decision in court, obtaining injunction that restrained the committee from proceeding with its assignment.

The petitioners accused the lawmakers of conspiracy, claiming the House knows what to do to vacate the court injunction restraining it from proceeding with the investigation, but refused to do it.


Allegations against Assembly members

“Six clear months after we revealed the damning corruption allegations in the Fashola government with a follow-up petition to the House for further action, all that we have so far are mere official foot-dragging exhibited in elaborate legislative window-dressing in the guise of inconsequential adhoc committee on a matter for which many of us staked our lives,” the petition said.

The petition also contained several accusative reasons why the House will not investigate the allegations. But a House member, Babatunde Ogala (Ikeja 1), was quick to condemn the group’s action as “cheap blackmail.”

“Who will investigate the allegations then, since they have blackmailed everybody including the committee, the House, the judiciary, and the executive government? Why are they running to us if they do not trust us? Let them apply to the court to be joined in the case,” he asked.

Mr. Ogala, though, acknowledging the right to freedom of expression, said the House should not encourage such petitioners that continue to defame House members.

“That we are public officers does not mean we don’t have rights,” he said, suggesting that those who are subjects of the group’s “fictitious” accusations can sue them and ask for proof of the allegations, if indeed they are traceable.

The Speaker said as long as the court injunction remains, the House can do nothing about the probe.

“Let them go to the court and ask for the vacation of the injunction and then they will see whether we are ready to probe the government or not. We are lawmakers and not lawbreakers,” he said.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/5613493-146/group_blames_assembly_for_delay_in.csp

buhari can never be vice president and insha allah 2011 is for buhari bcas no one can change destiny its the will of god every delay is a success and i tink its time for buhari to rule our beloved country nigeria so dat we may move foward.buhri

In preparation for next year's elections, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday met with a former Head of State and Presidential aspirant, Muhammadu Buhari, behind closed doors.

Though details of the meeting were not immediately known, sources said Mr. Jonathan used the occasion to breakfast with Mr. Buhari, as part of the Islamic month of Ramadan.

The meeting comes barely 24 hours after Presidential spokesman, Ima Niboro, affirmed that the President is engaging notable past leaders, on best ways to achieve free and fair elections next year.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5613561-146/jonathan_meets_with_buhari_behind_closed.csp

The famous Langtang military mafia of yesteryears is regrouping to foster the political fortunes of former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB), under whose tenure they blossomed. The group made up of largely retired military top brass now being led by Senator John Shagaya, met in Jos penultimate week to perfect their strategy for actualizing the return of their major benefactor.

Daily Sun learnt that the meeting, which was facilitated by the serving senator, was not specifically held under the aegis of the all-conquering group of yesteryears, but most of the retired military top shots were in attendance.
It was a move to counter the powerful presence of Jonathan’s campaign machinery in the Plateau State.
We learnt that the existing faction of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state led by Prof Dakum Shawn is rooting for Goodluck Jonathan.

‘We have our machinery very firm and intact. We have total control of the party down to every ward. The so-called regrouping military top brass cannot make any impact at the grassroots level. If you conduct any congress in Plateau tomorrow, I can assure you that Jonathan will surely win. We are not scared of their meeting said a top member of the party.
The status of the ruling party in Plateau is, however, contentious.

There are two factions. One is a caretaker committee set up by the national executive, but declared illegal by the state High Court, while the other said to be recognized by the courts, but not necessarily the national PDP, is operating in the state with the full backing of the state government.
The anti-Jonathan elements also, said to be at daggers drawn with Governor Jonah Jang, are mostly operating within the caretaker committee. It is believed that a large chunk of their members are also rooting for IBB and were present at the Jos meeting.

The Jos situation is posing a hard nut to crack for the national officials who are in favour of getting a fresh executive in the state. A fresh exco in Plateau may translate to handing the party machinery to anti- Jonathan elements, a move that may end up favouring the IBB camp.
National Chairman Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo is at the middle of the two groups, though he is said to be awaiting the outcome of an appeal to the initial ruling of the Plateau High Court on the matter.

Apart from General Jerry Useni, who is still nurturing his own political party and Gen Domkat Bali, known to be highly apolitical, most of the other retired soldiers have regrouped for the impending political battle in the state.
President Jonathan is scheduled to visit the state in September, ostensibly to commission some projects but insiders say he would use the opportunity to oil his machinery and ensure that everything is going on course.
Ahead of his visit, finishing touches are being put to scores of projects which commissioning will lend create a big boast to Governor Jonah Jang’s political standing and re-election bid.




http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/aug/31/national-31-08-2010-010.htm

National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh has warned President Jonathan and his PDP to steer clear of Anambra State as the party is ready to fight to protect the mandate which the people gave to Mr. Peter Obi in the last election.

Umeh, who addressed a press conference in Enugu, Monday against the backdrop of attempt by the PDP to take over the entire South-eastern states, also warned that any attempt to claim Anambra would amount to an attempt on former Biafran leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu whichwould not be tolerated.

The APGA chairman, who was particularly concerned with the utterances credited to President Jonathan over the weekend in Abia State where Governor T.A Orji defected to the PDP, that Anambra State would be next, warned that the people would resist such an intimidation.

He urged Dr. Jonathan not to dissipate energy trying to annex the South-east but to first of all solve the problems in his own home front if he wanted to run for presidency in the 2011 general elections.
Said he: “That is a wishful thinking; Jonathan should learn from Obasanjo, who in his brute dictatorship could not conquer Anambra State under the control of APGA. So for him to begin to imagine that the state will join the PDP so soon is a very wrong calculation on his part. One is that Mr. Peter Obi who is governor of Anambra State today is holding a sacred mandate of the people given to APGA, Governor Obi, and principally, to Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu.

“If you go through the longest road running through Awka today you will still see Ojukwu’s billboards with Obi, ‘this is my last wish’ vote for him. Our people voted for APGA, Ojukwu in the main and then Peter Obi as an instrument. So it’s not something anybody can stay somewhere and think he can takeover. All the things Obasanjo did to destroy APGA failed due to our resistance; he even admonished the Igbo to stop following Ojukwu’s party. So this time around, the last thing Goodluck can achieve is taking over Anambra State, he cannot do that. Governor Obi on his own cannot join the PDP with this mandate he has now; that mandate is the most sacred mandate in Nigeria; it is the only one, anybody can safely say that was given by the people.

“From what we have read in recent times it is obvious that his own backyard is leaking, so if he is serious about bidding for the presidency he should go back home to patch-up his backyard instead of being desperate to annex the whole of Igbo land. It is not the way to get the support of Igbo people by intimidation and force; it has not worked for anybody in the past and it will not work this time around.

On T.A Oji’s defection, Umeh said the Abia governor “is confused and we shall look for a man of valour who will fly our flag for the governorship election in Abia State.He has a personal right to join any political party but in doing that is expected to be very firm and decisive.

“On his invitation, Ojukwu went to receive him in Umuahia alongside the governor of Anambra on July 2; that he can within so short a time make a u-turn, he has in-advertently slighted Dim Chukwuma Odimegwu Ojukwu who we hold in very high esteem in Igbo land by telling the people that he had to join the PDP on the directive of President Jonathan. What he simply exhibited is lack of courage. And portrayed Igbo as slaves in Nigeria and I want to say that Igbo are not slaves and we can never be slaves; nobody can take Igbo by force the way Governor Orji made it to look. By abandoning Ojukwu and pitching his tent with Jonathan the way he presented it, what it shows is that he doesn’t have the courage to stand on anything Igbo.”

On Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo’s assertion that APGA was a village party, the APGA boss challenged his PDP colleague to name the parties those prominent Abia leaders belonged to at their time. “Dr. M.I Okpara who was the premier of the Eastern Region and the greatest Igbo man from Abia State was a member of the NCNC; Okwesilieze Nwodo’s father served M.I Okpara in the government of NCNC.
So if NCNC cannot be described as a village party but was able to impact in the lives of the people of Eastern Region, the people who made it happen then never belonged to an amorphous party like PDP; it could be said that Nwodo lost his head when he couldn’t remember historical records.

The PDP which Nwodo is leading is an amorphous party and it doesn’t represent anything in Nigeria.”
Also Reacting to recent endorsement of presidential aspirants in the zone, Chief Umeh said; “I was with Ojukwu in Dallas USA and we monitored all these developments in the internet and we were laughing away because if you look at the endorsements being paraded you will know that Igbo have not endorsed anybody. These endorsements were procured by those being endorsed and in a period of hunger and joblessness in Nigeria people are ready to do anything for money.

“Ojukwu will come back in the next one week from his vacation and when he returns APGA will hold a leadership meeting to review all the shenanigans going on in the Igbo land politically and he will be speaking to our people. And I am sure when he speaks the people will respect him because they know where he is coming from all these people running round the streets are doing that because Ojukwu is not at home. And they are also sending people to Ojukwu to secure his support but one thing is very clear, Ojukwu is not looking for anything in Nigeria today except the uplift of the generality of the people.
APGA as a political party will play the lead in determining who becomes president and anybody looking for support in the South-east must get the nod of APGA.”


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/aug/31/national-31-08-2010-006.htm

Vice President Namadi Sambo has faulted the position of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on the recent decision of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to throw open its ticket for next year’s presidential election, noting that the position was informed by selfish interest.

Sambo, in a short interactive session with media executives at his Akinola Aguda residence in Abuja Sunday, said that rather than any claim to fighting for the interest of the North, the duo were only opposed to the arrangement because it has failed to hand the PDP ticket (and by implication, the 2011 presidency) on a platter. “They are opposing it because they are interested parties,” the VP said, pointing out that the two aspirants would have been taken more seriously if they were not going to be direct beneficiaries of a reverse in policy on the issue.

Responding to a question on the call for him to step down as VP in order to preserve the zoning arrangement that would ensure the presidency returned to the North in 2011, Sambo said: “If the people that are talking do not have personal interest, then it will be a different matter. But when you see people that have interest, and they are the same people talking, then it becomes a kind of a problem”.

The VP further restated: “This issue is a purely a matter of PDP and I can tell you to go and investigate and find out the true position of the North. For the majority of the North or the majority of Nigerians, their concern is who can save the present situation and let Nigerians live above poverty level. Their concern is about who can deliver so that our society will change to a society we can all be proud of and so that our socio- economic status will improve. I think that is the major concern of Nigerians.

We are today at 50, our concern is not whether North or South, our concern is who can deliver Nigeria for us?
On this count, he said Nigerians should rest assured that Jonathan is delivering and would deliver even more. “We are delivering Nigeria and I believe we are in the position to deliver the promise that Nigerians want” he said.

The VP was however, not categorical on if or when his principal, President Goodluck Jonathan, would declare his intention to run for the 2011 presidential election. He said it would be “very soon”, adding: “there is no specific date yet but it will be very soon”.
Pushed further, the VP said it would definitely be after the Ramadan. “You know the Ramadan period is a Holy month and you know it is not the best period to go into all those kinds of activities. You also know that Ima Niboro (Jonathan’s spokesman) has made a press statement on that. So, already there is a statement from the presidency.

Sambo also tackled a few other issues bordering on the contentious zoning issue and the performance of the Jonathan administration. Excepts:
You are a Northerner, your zone has taken a decision that the power must remain in the North come 2011, how comfortable are you with the decision?
Am I not part of the power? I think I am from the North and, as the Vice-President, I have confidence that whatever a President from the North will do, I am in the best position to do it for the North. And today we are 50 years old, the party has made it clear that the issue of its candidature will be in line with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and zoning is still an existing factor, it is part of the PDP constitution. We have gone up, we are just going to celebrate our 50th anniversary. And at the age of 50, we expect any state to have grown. This country (Nigeria ) has come a long way and therefore, the issues that have to do with our development, of effecting programmes of government that will rejuvenate the country and create a better standard of living for Nigerians are what we are looking for.

I remember in the 1960s, when we were still children, these issues that have to do with religion, zoning and what have you were part of the issues that do not really exist. So, I am from the North, I am part of the power and everything that is needed to do for the North is being done. Look at what has been happening of recent. The major programmes that are being implemented for this part of the country, that is the Northern part, these are evidence to show that we have a President that is patriotic, a President that does not have anything that is religious or sectional as part of his disposition or administration.

Is that why you prefer the back seat to the front seat?
That is why we have chauffeur- driven car. If you are chauffeur-driven, which will you prefer, will you sit in the front or at the back?
Your Excellency, how are you carrying the PDP Governors along, we learnt some of them are not backing the possibility of a Jonathan-Sambo ticket?
The Northern Governors, and in fact all the Governors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, are being carried along and we have good relationship, we are moving this country together. And the position of all the sections or the zones of this country has been made very clear. The governors of the South-South, the South-West, have made their statements, the governors from the Northern states have made their statement, members of the Nigerian Governors Forum have also made their statement. These statements are all in line with our position. So we are all together.

Sir, it was reported that there was a plan to stop you from contesting in the 2011 elections even though the government had come out to deny it, there were reports on Sunday that governors are still demanding Vice-Presidential slot, which is which?
The position of the Government is the right thing.

With some of the Governors indicating interest in the Vice-presidency, is it not an indication that your position is threatened?
You see when you talk of about threats in terms of political issues, you know there are even different parties that want to take over the government, there are different parties, we have the ANPP, CPC, all these. You know politics is a question of continuous challenges, it is like life and anybody can sit down and create their stories too. That is politics.

How comfortable are you with the situation in Kaduna where they said you are losing grip?
I have not heard of that really. And in practice, I have not seen anything like that. In fact, just before you came in I received a group of political friends from Kaduna and they said the government is doing everything in line with the programmes we have put in place together in Kaduna and all these politicians are from Kaduna . We are even always getting stronger and strengthening all issues with politics in Kaduna State . It is just the same thing like I said. It is the same story; people say a lot of things that may not be right.

One thing in politics, is that people make a lot of speculations and say a lot of things that may not be right. It is like one time, I was attending a conference here and Andrew Young was delivering his speech and part of the statement he made was that you have to feed the press with information, if you don’t feed them, they will create their food. If you have not been giving them information, the likelihood is that somebody will just sit down and start creating his own information because you have to write news. So, really as far as I know, Kaduna is still a strong PDP State and we are moving on as one family.

How busy are you your Excellency? Are you fully engaged? Or just another spare tyre, considering that deputies are always neglected?
Oh! Fully. You can even see the proof (pointing to a stack of files he had to treat before dinner with the president that evening). I am here with so many documents to address and I am fully, fully engaged. As you know, you must have seen that we are handling a lot of important national matters like power, the issue of infrastructure, and others. The analysis that we have made is that we must address all the issues that have been pending and those that will enhance the development of the country.

The first major issue is power, if we can give Nigerians power, 50 percent of our socio-economic problems will be solved and this as you know, we are addressing with all seriousness. The issue of access to finance, you must have noticed that just recently, I signed the N500billion intervention funds for industries and power sector, and we are doing everything to ensure that we make funds accessible to people so that the private sector will grow, so that there won’t be any problem. When we complete the projects we have on power, the other sectors that will evacuate the power will be active. There are other funds that will come very soon. We have the textile funds. Arrangements have gone very far too also to support the automobile sector and all other sectors. The SMEs and there are other measures to ensure that the issue of housing is addressed so that every Nigerian will be able to access the facilities and own a house in this country.

What do you make of INEC as it is now?
We are confident that the members of the present INEC set up are up to the task. They have made certain proposals to meet their targets. Since their requests (the men, resources )have been met, they are now implementing their plans. Of course, the issues are always that they must be given leverage in achieving certain objectives. As far as we are concerned, we are confident that INEC will meet their targets.

In the event that they have any problem, I am confident that the chairman will come out and tell Nigerians the true position and Nigerians will come out and agree. That is the true position as far as I am concerned. He (Jega) is working as scheduled and he will deliver according to the programmes

How will you and the President cope since PDP has retained its zoning formula?
We have agreed that zoning is part and parcel of PDP, it has not removed zoning. But PDP has said that as far as its candidate is concerned, it respects the Federal Constitution. And in all previous elections of the PDP, despite the fact that there is zoning, all Nigerians that were interested participated in such elections (presidential). Just look at the last election, there were fifteen (15) candidates from the South, and about twelve (12) or so from the North. Despite the fact that there was zoning in PDP, still the Constitution is still the prime factor that is considered in the candidature for PDP. Any interested candidate from any part of the country, as a Nigerian, has the right to contest if he wishes just like it has been proved in other PDP’s presidential election (primaries).






http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2010/aug/31/newsbreak-31-08-2010-001.htm

The presidency has debunked insinuations that President Goodluck Jonathan tried dissuading former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida from pursuing his presidential ambition come 2011.
The Presidency also assured that Jonathan is not against Nigerians seeking to occupy the highest office in the land, hence, he will not dissuade aspirants from pursuing their ambitions.

In a statement, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ima Niboro, reacting to a publication (not Daily Sun), insinuating that President Jonathan complained to some northern groups that visited him that some South-South governors were out to sabotage him, said the newspaper’s refusal to correct the report despite being reminded that it was false, was an ongoing campaign of calumny against the President.
Niboro said this is even moreso when there is no purpose to be served by it, since the long suffering masses would decide who governs them in a free and fair contest.

“Anyone who has even a passing acquaintance with the President knows he is not one who dissuades people from pursuing their personal ambitions. This is even moreso when there is no purpose to be served by it, since the long suffering mass of the Nigerian people would decide who governs them in a free and fair contest.

“Since June 12, 1993, Nigerians have in successive elections become wiser. The next presidential elections, no matter who the candidates are, would sound a resonant. Never Again! Never again shall the will of the Nigerian people be quashed underfoot by the vaunting ambitions of a few.

“This is what the President has promised Nigerians, and he is fully committed to delivering on this pledge. It is therefore, unfortunate that any self-respecting newspaper should lend its pages to reporting a series of lies against the person and the institution of the Presidency. These tales are unverified and sourced from openly interested parties. They are lies, pure and simple.

“The fact is that President Jonathan had been meeting different leaders on different occasions and platforms. Some have come to inform him of their intentions to run for the Presidency. Others he has met with as a matter of courtesy being a sitting President, and keen to ensure that the next presidential elections do not degenerate into a do or die affair as our elections are sometimes wont to do.

“He has met with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; he has met with Babangida; he has met with Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and will meet him again soon. He has met with Gen. Yakubu Gowon, two-time president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; former president, Alhaji Shehu Shagari; former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, and former head of state, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. He will meet with even more leaders and political actors as the race to 2011 heats up.
“It is extremely uncharitable for anyone to spin these meetings in such negative lights, and attempt to force the President into retreat from these well-thought out engagements with political leaders of all hue and disposition in the interest of the country.
“We think it is time to put an end to this long line of false stories and verify what is served to the general public,” Niboro said.




http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/aug/31/national-31-08-2010-001.htm

The emergence of Goodluck Jonathan is an arrangement by God himself to correct some of the major imbalances in Nigeria’s power structure and reposition our country for a greater future, Femi Akinyemi, a leader of Goodluck Support Group, has said.

Mr Akinyemi, former Speaker of the old Ondo State House of Assembly, and the coordinator of the group chapter in Ekiti State, also hailed the support declared by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors and other leaders of the party in the south west zone of Nigeria in a meeting which was held in Ibadan last weekend.

According to his press statement, with “the adoption of President Jonathan by the southwest governors, the coast is now clear for the president’s total victory in the southwest.” He, however, described President Jonathan’s yet unannounced ambition to contest the 2011 presidential election as “God’s Project.” “In 1999, the southwest got the presidency as a compensation for the injustice of the past, especially the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election believed to have been won by late Chief M.K.O.” He called on all Nigerians, including politicians, to look beyond any selfish agenda and consider the corporate existence of Nigeria as a country, by supporting a candidate from the south-south zone.

“On Saturday, our great party, the PDP, in the southwest, demonstrated its understanding of this dynamism by throwing its weight behind the presidential aspiration of President Goodluck Jonathan. It is believed that other zones will emulate the southwest and declare their support for the president soon,” he said.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5612968-147/choice_of_jonathan_is_divine_.csp

The campaign team of former military president, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, has declared that he will be the People’s Democratic Party candidate for the 2011 general elections.

They dismissed reports that alleged that governors from the south-west had declared their support for President Goodluck Jonathan.

Kassim Afegbua, Mr Babangida’s spokesperson, said Nigerians are coming out to lend their support to the former general’s ambition.

“[They] are too highly educated and politically sophisticated to endorse President Jonathan, who has not declared his intention whether to run or not to run,” he said.

However, he said the campaign would not reveal its strategies for winning over the south-west region on the pages of newspapers. He assured that Mr Babangida had solutions to the problems confronting the country. “IBB cannot lose,” Afegbua said.

“Rather, we are to ask if Jonathan loses the primary to him, will the former military ruler fly the PDP ticket?”

Not all confidence

Mr Afegbua also debunked recent media reports that Mr Babangida’s meeting with former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, suggests the former general may not be as confident as his supporters claim.

“Atiku is just one of the individuals we are talking to,” he said.

“We are not limiting our consultation to Atiku; we are consulting other notable personalities and groups all over Nigeria.”

However, supporters of the vice president were equally confident of their chances at the PDP primaries - provided he is allowed to rejoin the party.

Henry Iyanyan, an Abuja-based lawyer and member of Mr Atiku’s campaign team, said he was angry at the delays stalling Mr Atiku’s return.

“It is moral corruption for them not to allow Atiku to contest in PDP, waiver or no waiver. If the PDP grants Atiku a waiver today, he will empty Jonathan’s camp. That is why they are afraid of him,” he said.

Mr Iyanyan disagreed with Mr Afegbua that Mr Babangida was a force to be reckoned with.

“Atiku’s credibility cannot be found on any of [the other] politicians jostling to rule Nigeria today,” he said.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5613035-146/ibb_camp_dismisses_jonathans__2011.csp

Elections to the office of the president will hold January 15 next year, NEXT has been informed.

The date is historical because it was on the same date that the military truncated the nation’s first democratic experiment after the 1960 independence.

The military toppled the government of Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa on January 15, 1966. The prime minister, along with several prominent politicians, were killed, and this later precipitated events that led to the 1967 civil war. It is not clear if INEC took cognisance of this fact in deciding the date for the elections.

The actual election kicks off on January 8, with the National Assembly and state houses of assembly elections, while the governorship election is slated for January 22nd.

What the law says

Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who declined to be named because the date has not been formally announced, confirmed the date yesterday in Abuja. At least one political party confirmed that the electoral body has notified it about the schedule.

Formally, the electoral body has remained silent on the date, fuelling speculations on the election timetable, which are computed based on the time limit set by the new Electoral Act, signed into law by the president, Goodluck Jonathan, weeks ago. The electoral commission has promised to unveil the timetable this week. Yesterday, at a meeting with Farida Waziri, the chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, made no mention of the widely anticipated schedule for the crucial elections. However, his media aide, Kayode Idowu, told NEXT the timetable is expected “soon”.

But officials within the commission said January 15 has been fixed for the start of the elections, which, according to the Electoral Act, begins with the highest office -the presidency- based on the allowance of the Electoral Act which stipulates that polls must be held not earlier than 150 days, and not later than 120 days to the expiration of the current tenure. Based on May 29 termination date for that tenure, the 30 days common to the two limits falls on January next year.

Mr Idowu said the commission is awaiting the release of the date, but refused to state a categorical position. He said it is hoped the announcement will be made soon.

But political parties responding to inquiries yesterday appear to be in the know of the January 15 date. The All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) acknowledged receiving formal notifications to that schedule.

Work for electoral success

Spokesperson for the party, Emmanuel Eneukwu, said the party has been notified in writing by the commission’s chairman.

“We are aware of that, and we have no option but to work towards it,” he said, when asked if that will be a convenient date for the party. The national publicity secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Lai Mohammed, said his party too, will be satisfied with the date, although he could not confirm being in official receipt of the date.

“Whatever dates the INEC puts,” he said, “we will work towards it, provided they assure there will be free and fair elections.”

However, the All People Grand Alliance (APGA) said it was not aware of the date, but promised to also abide by the schedule too.

“The problem is not the date, but whether INEC will be able to deliver given that date,” said Ifeanacho Oguejiofor, the party’s director of publicity. “We don’t have any problem.”

The official announcement is expected to be made this week. This is expected to heighten preparations by political parties pushing for the polls, which is expected as vital test of the promise for credible elections by Mr Jega.

Mr Jega reaffirmed the commitment at the meeting with Ms Waziri yesterday. He said both commissions will work closely as they draw closer to the elections, but did not state specific areas of collaborations.

Ms Waziri denied media reports that the commission is considering compiling names of persons deemed to be unfit for public office on account of corruption allegations.

“I only see that in the newspapers, but I did not say we will disqualify bad politicians,” adding, “However, if there are areas that we can assist INEC, we will do that, but it must be within the confines of the law.”

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5613019-146/presidential_election_holds_january_15_.csp

Tom, now that you’re ready to talk about killing and especially the killers of Sobomabo George, may his soul rest where it belongs.They said you can confirm or deny that it was this same Kalabari boy who was your deputy that was commissioned and killed Dr. Marshall Harry.They said you knew about that. Is it true? They said also Dr. Harry’s brain fell out of his skull the same way Sobomabo’s?

A former militant leader in the Niger Delta region, Ateke Tom has asked the police to arrest and expose those behind the killing of his colleague, Soboma George.



George, an ex-militant leader, was shot dead in Borikiri Area of Port Harcourt by men suspected to be members of a cult group.



Tom, who spoke in a telephone interview with our correspondent, on Monday, said it would be dangerous for those who killed George to go scot-free.



The former leader of the defunct Niger Delta Vigilante Movement explained that apprehending George’s killers was necessary in order to serve as deterrent to others who were still planning to cause confusion in the state.



According to him, failure to arrest the culprits may send a wrong signal and jeopardise the relative peace being enjoyed in the Niger Delta region.



He maintained that though, the police were trying their best in ensuring that the culprits were arrested and brought to book, it was necessary for them to intensify their effort to achieve results.



“The police must continue to search for them (George’s killers) and this is the only way they can stop others from involving themselves in the kind of act.



“I am advising the police to look into this matter and make sure that those behind the killing of Soboma George are arrested,” he said.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201008313571593