PRESIDENT JONATHAN WILL BE THE BEST LOVED LET GIVE HIM A SUCCESSFULL VOTE

 PRESIDENT JONATHAN WILL BE THE BEST LOVED PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA EVER

PRESIDENT GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN: The Beacon of Hope for a New Nigeria

Great presidents are made great by horrible circumstances combined with character, temperament and intelligence. Like firemen, cops, doctors or soldiers, most presidents perform best under pressure and crisis situations. However, most often than not, calculated effort at overcoming such challenges are usually taken for granted, and therefore, not appreciated by all.Goodluck Jonathan in the history of Nigeria is the first President, PHD holder and of course, the second fully fit university graduate to preside over the affairs of Africa’s most populous nation. His personal character and intellectual capabilities is also solid gold. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan took the oath of office on 29th May, 2011 amidst thunderous expectations of a new dawn, given the mountain of problems that characterized the nation.

A MAN OF INTEGRITY THAT CAN BE TRUSTED WITH CAMPAIGN PROMISES AND DIVIDENDS OF DEMOCRACY

Where many leaders are two-faced; publicly kind, but privately feared and/or hated by people closest to them, Jonathan is consistent in the way he treats people, consistently kind and personally humble. He lives by the code that those who lead must serve. He believes that. He lives it. He lived it long before he was in the public eye.Jonathan puts service ahead of ideology. He also knows that to succeed politically you need to be tough. He can be. This is a man who does what works, rather than scoring ideological points. In other words he is the quintessential non-ideological pragmatic Nigerian. He will (thank God!) disappoint ideologues and purists of the left and the right.

BEACON OF HOPE

Jonathan has a reservoir of personal physical courage that is unmatched in our presidential history. Why unmatched? Because as the first minority contender for the presidency who has won, Jonathan, and all the rest of us, know that he is in great physical danger from the seemingly unlimited reserve of unhinged tribal hatred, and just plain unhinged ignorant hatred, that swirls in the bowels of our wounded and sinful country.By stepping forward to lead, Jonathan has literally put his life on the line for all of us in a way no other Nigerian ever has had to do. (And we all know how dangerous the presidency has been) Thus putting the nation on the right track towards eliminating primordial sentiments, tribal loyalty, party loyalty, ideology and pride as against national loyalty and putting the country first in all that we do as a people.

CALCULATIVE AND UNTIRING

The greater point about Jonathan is that he inherited myriad problems and crises when he assumed office. Thus, President Jonathan has taken on the leadership of our country at a make or break time of historic proportions. He has therefore faced not one, but dozens of crisis, each big enough to define any presidency in better times. This, however, has been exacerbated by the opposition and doing all they can to undermine the government’s capabilities and programs. The word panic is not in the Jonathan dictionary.Jonathan brings a moral clarity to his leadership reserved for those who have had to work very hard for everything they’ve gotten. His experience of succeeding in spite of his social background could have been embittering or one that fostered a spiritual rebirth of forgiveness and enlightenment. Jonathan radiates the calm inner peace of the spirit of forgiveness

PDP Jittery as Obasanjo Meets Yoruba Women Today

  Former President Olusegun Obasanjo

Ademola Babalola in Ibadanâ
Hundreds of Yoruba women to be led by all the “Iyalodes” from across the six states of the South-west will converge on the Hill Top residence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo this Monday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

Indications emerged yesterday that the meeting conveyed under the auspices of the former president with all the Iyalodes and concerned women from the zone was not unconnected with next month’s general election.

Obasanjo has been having a running battle with the incumbent President, Goodluck Jonathan over his second term ambition. Reports said the meeting is already creating unease within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the zone

The issue of corrupt practice by soludo

Abuja - A former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Sdoolu, has alleged that over N30tn had been stolen under the watch of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Soludo, in a response to Okonjo-Iweala said the nation was in for a very turbulent time this year because the economy had been grossly mismanaged.

The Federal Government had last Wednesday described the five-year tenure of Soludo as the governor of the CBN between 2004 and 2009 as a disaster to the banking sector.
The comment came on the heels of an earlier article by Soludo last Monday in which he claimed that the Nigerian economy under Jonathan had performed woefully.

Okonjo-Iweala had in a statement on Wednesday described Soludo’s as an “embittered loser in the Nigerian political space.”


Allegations by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that President Goodluck Jonathan administration squandered the country’s reserves were absolutely untrue, Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said on Wednesday.

Jonathan missed the point on missing N30 trn - Soludo

Abuja - A former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwumah Soludo, has faulted the response of President Goodluck Jonathan to his claim that N30 trillion was missing from the Nigerian economy.
Soludo said in a statement on Tuesday that the  article entitled: “Jonathan Replies Soludo over missing N30 trillion,” which was extracted from the president’s interview with THISDAY Newspaper did not capture the points he raised, probably because the president was too busy with election campaigns that he did not read his article.
President Jonathan as saying that “Soludo said  under Ngozi’s watch they stole N30 trillion” but that since the sum of the federal budget over the last four years was less than N30 trillion, such an amount could not have been “stolen.”
Also referring to Soludo’s allegation, the President said “it is all political.”
Soludo noted that he had earlier stated that he would not make further comments on the issues until probably after the elections but that since the president has decided to join the fray, he was constrained to make a further brief clarification.
Soludo noted that he had earlier stated that he would not make further comments on the issues until probably after the elections but that since the president has decided to join the fray, he was constrained to make a further brief clarification.

“For me, President Jonathan is a gentleman and a friend but I have a fundamental disagreement on his management of the economy. On the issues at stake, I believe that the pressures of office and the hectic electioneering have not allowed him time to read my articles or that his staff have not explained the contents to him hence he totally missed the point in his comments,” Soludo said

CAN received N7bn bribe, Borno pastor insists

Borno State-based pastor, Kallamu Musa-Dikwa, who accused the Christians Association of Nigeria of collecting N7bn bribe from President Goodluck Jonathan to campaign against the All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate in the March 28 election, has insisted that the CAN collected the said amount.

Musa-Dikwa on Monday in Kaduna insisted that the Jonathan government gave CAN N7bn to campaign against the APC candidate, Maj. Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

He however said that neither Jonathan nor Buhari was fit to govern the country.

The cleric said CAN collected N7bn from Jonathan and not N6bn as alleged by the Rivers State governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, who is also the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation

Suicide Bomber Attacks Potiskum, Yobe

A blast ripped through a bus in Potiskum, Yobe state, on Tuesday. The explosion happened at the Tashar Dan-Borno motor park, on the outskirts of the city but rescuers could not immediately determine the number of casualties.

“The bus had just loaded with passengers on its way to Kano when a huge explosion happened inside the bus at exactly 11:40 am ” said a driver’s union official at the bus station. “We still don’t know how many people were affected. We are waiting for the fire to be put out before we can have a figure of casualty”, he added.

35-000-applicants-struggle-for-immigration-jobs-in-delta

No fewer than 35,000 job seekers across the 25 local government areas of Delta State are currently struggling for the recently advertised vacant positions at the Nigeria Immigration Service.
The various cyber cafés in Asaba and its environs are filled daily with the applicants struggling to do the on-line registration.
It was reliably gathered that most cyber cafés around Ogbesowe Summit road are making brisk business as some operators allegedly charge N2,000 as their own fee apart from the money the applicants paid into the bank before they could commence registration.
Married and nursing mothers among the applicants are having a hard time completing their registration as some of them were seen begging the operators in tears to attend to them so that they could return home to attend to their spouses and kids.
Investigation revealed that unemployment rate in the last few years across the globe, has remain on the increase a situation many unsuspecting applicants have been swindled by employment agents.

Details Emerge as Twin Blasts in Mogadishu Are Investigated

Somali police arrive at the Central Hotel after explosions were touched off by al-Shabab in Mogadishu, Feb. 20, 2015. Somalia's government has released new details on Friday's al-Shabab attack on a popular hotel in Mogadishu, where at least 25 people were killed and more than 50 were wounded. Somali Security Minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed told VOA's Somali service that the first of two bomb blasts came from a vehicle…

                   

Bombers Hit 3 Locations in Nigeria

The village of Ngouboua was attacked by Boko Haram militants, leaving a burnt compound, Feb. 13, 2015.

Bomb blasts struck three different locations in Nigeria on Tuesday, amid tensions caused by the coming elections and Boko Haram insurgency.
In the first reported attack, a VOA Hausa service reporter says multiple blasts hit a military checkpoint in Biu, in northeastern Borno state, killing 12 people. According to local media, two suicide bombers riding a three-wheeled vehicle were stopped at an entry checkpoint, where they dismounted their vehicle and detonated their explosives.
Other reports say soldiers killed 17 militants who fired on them after the blasts.
A second attack took place in the city of Potiskum, in nearby Yobe state. Police say a suicide bomber blew himself up at a restaurant, killing three people and wounding 12.
Boko Haram has launched previous attacks in both locations.
Meanwhile several explosions occurred and gunfire erupted at a political rally for the opposition APC party in Okrika, a town in southern Rivers state. The APC is challenging the ruling PDP party in presidential and parliamentary elections next month.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for any of the attacks.
Earlier Tuesday, witnesses reported that Boko Haram fighters stormed the Borno state city of Askira Uba and burned much of it down.
Fleeing residents say militants first raided Askira Uba in Borno state on Sunday, torching the home of the city's top official. They say the militants returned late Monday and set fire to homes and public buildings.
Also Monday, suspected Boko Haram militants killed five soldiers during a cross-border attack in northern Cameroon.
Cameroon's military said Tuesday the soldiers were killed during a "series of clashes" with the militants the day before. Officers say Boko Haram attacked a military base in the Waza region, but were driven back. The army says many of the attackers were killed.
Cameroon, Niger and Chad are helping Nigeria fight the Islamic extremist group. In response, Boko Haram has launched attacks in all three countries during the past two weeks.
On Monday, representatives of the Economic Community of Central African States met in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, and announced they are contributing $86 million to help fight the militants.
On Tuesday, the commander of U.S. Special Forces Operations in Africa, James Linder, told the Reuters news agency that the United States will provide communications equipment and intelligence to the effort.
Boko Haram has killed thousands of Nigerians during the past five years and controls numerous towns and villages in the northeast. Regional concern grew after the extremists seized a multinational military base last month on Lake Chad.
Boko Haram has warned Nigerians not to take part in the March 28 elections. The polls were originally scheduled for February 14 but electoral officials postponed them, saying Boko Haram posed too big a security threat.
Analysts say the APC poses a strong threat to the PDP. President Jonathan has come under intense criticism for failing to stop the insurgents or rescue more than 200 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram from the village of Chibok in April 2014.

                                                                                                                collected by Rexy.

Dokubo-Asari insists: Jonathan will win presidential poll

‘My case against PVC for elections’
By Levinus Nwabughiogu
He has remained optimistic about the second term of President Goodluck Jonathan even before this time. Now, with the time ticking closer to the presidential election, he appears firmer in his conviction.
There is nothing anybody says that will make him to believe otherwise. Not even the “fireworks” from the opposition. He picks hole in the distribution of the permanent voter cards, PVCs, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, saying millions of Nigerians cannot be “deliberately” disenfranchised.

my support

To this end, he advocates for a return to the temporary voter cards, TVCs. The leader of Niger -Delta People’s Volunteer Force, NDPVF, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, says, in this interview, that Jonathan is facing unusual opposition to his second term bid because some people feel they have the divine right to rule Nigeria.
Excerpts:

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Soldiers shot dead a suicide bomber suspected of belonging to Islamist militant group Boko Haram on Monday after he tried to detonate an explosive belt near a military post in the southern Niger town of Bagara, the army said on Tuesday.
Three Boko Haram fighters armed with knives also attacked a military post and wounded a security agent in the town, an army statement said.
Boko Haram has launched attacks into Cameroon, Niger and Chad from Nigeria as part of a six-year insurgency that aims to set up a breakaway Islamic state and now threatens the Lake Chad region.
The African Union has authorized nations including Niger to mount a counter-insurgency campaign.

Read more:http://www.gbooza.com

Drama as APC Reps move to assume House leadership

  

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal

The House of Representatives resumed to a mild drama on Tuesday as members of the All Progressives Congress demanded to assume majority control of the 360-member legislature.

The development came as six more Peoples Democratic Party members announced their defection to other political parties on the floor of the House.

Three of the defectors, Mr. Robinson Uwak (Akwa Ibom State); Mr. Ibrahim Garba (Jigawa State); and Mr. Chinenye Ike (Abia State), joined the APC.

Two others, Mr. Tobias Okuwuru (Ebonyi State); and Mr. Peter Ali (Ebonyi State) defected to Labour Party, while Mr. Micah Umor (Akwa Ibom State), joined the Accord Party.

The APC now controls more members than the PDP, hitherto the majority party, owing to rising cases of defections hitting the latter since December 2014.

A total of 179 lawmakers are now in the APC, while the PDP has 162.

Smaller parties share the remaining 19 members, making 360.

However, the leadership positions in the House have remained unchanged with the PDP still occupying the seats of the Majority Leader, the Chief Whip and the Deputy Majority Leader.

But, on Tuesday, the APC caucus moved to assume full control of the House by demanding that the sitting PDP Majority Leader, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, should quit.

The Deputy Minority Leader, Suleiman Abdulrahman-Kawu (Kano State), spoke on behalf of the caucus at the session presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal (APC, Sokoto State).

The PDP camp expressed discomfort with murmurs as Abdulrahman-Kawu cited Orders 6 (19) and 7(27) to demand that the PDP should give up the House leadership to the APC.

“APC is now the majority party in the House. In line with our rules, Mr. Speaker, let us do the right thing with the positions,” Abdulrahman-Kawu stated amid cheers from his APC colleagues.

Although Akande-Adeola and her deputy, Mr. Leo Ogor, attended the session, none of them rose to object to Abdulrahman-Kawu’s demand.

Akande-Adeola was seen removing and cleaning her lenses several times as Abdulrahman-Kawu spoke, while Ogor kept shaking his legs.

However, in a bid to douse the tension, Tambuwal quickly intervened to assure Abdulrahman-Kawu that his point of order was “noted.”

The Speaker went on to clarify that matters relating to the change of leadership of the House were still before competent courts of jurisdiction, awaiting disposal.

He explained that until the courts decided on the issues, the composition of the leadership would remain unchanged for now.

“Your matter of privilege is noted. But this matter is before competent courts of law. So, let us thread softly on it for now,” Tambuwal ruled.

Earlier while welcoming members back after their recess, Tambuwal urged them to redouble their efforts to leave a lasting legacy for Nigerians as their tenure wound down gradually.

The Speaker asked them to work hard to pass the 2015 budget, the Petroleum Industry Bill and the Constitution Amendment Bill soonest.

On the postponement of the general elections by six weeks, Tambuwal observed that much as it might raise credibility questions for the polls, he appealed to Nigerians to come out and vote for the candidates of their choice on March 28 and April 11.

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All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. 

                                                                                                       by John Ameh

Contact: editor@punchng.com                      

PDP plots fresh poll shift, APC senators allege 

House of Senate

Nigeria Senate

Members of the opposition All Progressives Congress in the Senate, on Tuesday, raised alarm of a fresh plot by the Peoples Democratic Party to postpone the forthcoming general elections slated for March 28 and April 11.

The senators, who walked out of the plenary to address the National Assembly correspondents in the Senate, alleged that the Presidency in collaboration with the ruling PDP were planning to arm-twist the electoral umpire in the country to canvass fresh postponement using the card reader as an excuse.

Their reaction followed the submission of the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, while moving a motion for the summoning of the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, over the planned use of the card reader for the election.

Ndoma-Egba had argued that the use of card readers would contravene Section 52 of the Electoral Act which prohibits the use of electronic device during election.

But the senators, led by their leader, Senator George Akume, insisted at the news conference that anything short of conducting the elections as scheduled, and using the card reader to avoid rigging, might lead to a civil war.

They argued that since the card reader was just meant for the accreditation of the voters, its usage would not constitute a breach of the electoral act as postulated by the senate leader.

The opposition senators alleged that the PDP leadership having failed to use the security challenges and poor collection of Permanent Voter Cards as excuses to postpone the polls again, had started a fresh plot by hiding under the card reader usage.

Akume said, “Elections must be held as rescheduled, it is important that the Independent National Electoral Commission must do this in order to avoid unpleasant consequences.

“Nigeria is a huge and complex society, culturally, structurally, and all hands must be on the deck to avoid the Somalia experience. There would be too many warlords in this country should we fail to do what is right.

“Nigerians deserve the best. Card readers will add value to the conduct of the elections; we are talking about free and fair elections. Time has passed when people carry ballot boxes and papers to their respective rooms, thumb-print and bring them for counting the following day.

“The whole world is watching this country. We have become a laughing stock, we are becoming a banana republic.

“We are even more patriotic than those who are in government. We want elections and card readers must be applied, they must be used, otherwise, the elections can never be free and fair.

“If a country like Ghana can get it right, using the card reader, why can’t the giant of Africa do it? If Sierra Leone can do it, even Liberia, why can’t Nigeria do it? We are waiting for INEC to do it, INEC must use it.

“Card readers are a must to ensure free, credible and acceptable elections. To do otherwise, won’t be acceptable.”

The opposition senators further alleged that the APC representatives, former Heads of State and the former Chief Justices who attended the National Council of State meeting where the issue of election postponement was discussed, strongly opposed the idea.

Akume said, “From the records, we know that all the former Heads of State supported the holding of the election as scheduled. Former Chief Justices, those who know the law also supported the holding of the elections.

“But INEC later said the elections could not hold on the flimsy grounds that the service chiefs said they could not provide security. Security for what?

“We have over 774 local government areas in this country and serious security breaches in the North-East are registered in only 14 local governments and therefore, there was no reasonable grounds to shift the elections.

“We recall that in 1999, there was no election in Bayelsa during the first round of voting, elections were later held.

“Under normal circumstances, we believe the situation is also normal now, these affected areas should have been isolated for the purpose of holding elections at a later date but this was not to be.

“We are all learned people, educated people to know that elections have been held in Columbia, which is perpetually at war with itself, elections have been held in Egypt, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Syria, in Pakistan, in Mali, Tunisia and other countries.

“Nigeria cannot be an exception. The reason was lack of adequate distribution of PVCs, later, it turned to be inability to provide security cover and we wonder that the multi-national force that has been assembled to fight Boko Haram is just 7,000, including the Nigerian troops and we have a troop level of over 100,000 in this country.

“Why is it not possible to hold elections with adequate security cover for those who are supposed to do their jobs constitutionally? We believe that there is serious manipulation and a deliberate attempt to undermine and to manipulate the democratic institutions and structures.”

Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

                                                                             by Sunday Aborisade.

collected by Rexy Anthony

 

Olusegun Obasanjo
| credits: www.gbooza.com

Some retired senior military officers have lashed out at the Defence Headquarters for describing former President Olusegun Obasanjo as an embarrassment to the military institution.

The Defence Headquarters in a remark on its Facebook page on Monday had accused the former President of politicising serious national security and military issues.

The military authorities were reacting   to a statement credited to the former President that the general elections were postponed to enable President Goodluck Jonathan to use the Service Chiefs for tenure extension in an electronic mail on Monday.

 Boko Haram vows to disrupt polls

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau vowed to disrupt Nigeria’s upcoming general elections in a new video released Tuesday, after two suicide attacks in the northeast blamed on the Islamists killed 38 people.
“This election will not be held even if we are dead. Even if we are not alive Allah will never allow you to do it,” Shekau said in the Hausa language, presumably referring to the polls scheduled for March 28.

Jonathan Claims Rigging Audio Tape Secretly Recorded By Army Captain During Ekiti Poll Was “Fabricated”

 

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has ruled out investigating the scandalous audio tape of the collusion between military officers and top guns in the Peoples Democratic Party to rig last year’s June 21 election in Ekiti State.

President Jonathan told The Wall Street Journal that the audio was a fabrication despite the confirmation of its authenticity by U.S.-based voice-verification firm, Guardian Consulting LLC.
“It’s all fabrications,” he said of the audio. “Why should I investigate things that are not real?”
Jonathan’s shocking indifference to the scandal that gravely questioned the integrity of the governorship election, said to have been won by Ayodele Fayose of the PDP, triggered melancholic reaction from Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress, who allegedly lost.
“It’s very sad,” Fayemi told the Wall Street Journal. “The military has lost any democratic control.”
Starring in the scandal were Brigadier general Aliyu Momoh, Ayodele Fayose, Musiliu Obanikoro, Caleb Olubolade, a former minister and Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan,Police Affairs Minister, Senator Iyiola Omisore, a failed governorship candidate in Osun State. Adesiyan had confirmed that the conversation took place.
We share the audio transcript of the rigging conspiracy here:
Sahara Reporters

Why Obasanjo attacks Jonathan – Fani-Kayode

why fight

A former Minister of Aviation and spokesperson of President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has stated that former President Olusegun Obasanjo has intensified his attacks on president Goodluck Jonathan because he has strong fears that Mr. Jonathan will win next month’s presidential election.
Mr. Fani-Kayode made the assertion Sunday at a press conference in Abuja.
Mr. Obasanjo had on Saturday accused Mr. Jonathan of working towards a controversial poll and possibly, exit from office, the same way former Ivorian president, Laurent Gbagbo, did in his country.
In his earlier reaction, the president accused Mr. Obasanjo of harbouring an ambition of heading an interim government after instigating a constitutional crisis in the country
Speaking on Saturday, Mr. Fani-Kayode, who was also a spokesperson to Mr. Obasanjo while the latter was in office, said Mr. Obasanjo’s allegations are “serious and grave”.

Nigerian Military retakes Monguno, other communities from Boko Haram

 

Nigerian troops fighting the insurgent group, Boko Haram, have reclaimed the town of Monguno and other communities in the North East after nearly two days of fighting.
Boko Haram carried out a pre-dawn attack on Monguno, which is about 137 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital over two weeks ago.

Boko Haram Plans Massacre In Maiduguri, US Reveals

According to the statement, security sources had noted that owing to the bombardment of Boko Haram camps in the northern parts of the states close to the borders with neighbouring countries by Nigerian troops in cooperation with troops from the Multinational Joint task Force (MNJTF), the insurgents were moving southwards.

Members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect, on Saturday, wreaked havoc on Gombe, the Gombe State capital, as they attempted to take over the city, forcing some residents to flee while some were forced indoors.
However, the army has stated that it was able to repel the insurgents’attack on the capital city with a combination of air and ground operations, while the state government has imposed a 24-hour curfew on the town and its environs.
The army, through a statement made available to newsmen by PRNigeria, confirmed the attack and how the military overcame through a tweet on the Defence Headquarters’ handle, saying troops were in pursuit of the insurgents.

PDP laments Obasanjo’s exit, says ex-President rejected pleas

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party has expressed sadness over former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s decision, Monday, to dump the party.
Mr. Obasanjo announced his resignation from the party at a dramatic meeting where he ordered his party membership card be shredded.
PDP officials had earlier condemned the act, with the secretary of the party’s Board of Trustees, Walid Jibrin, saying Mr. Obasanjo acted irresponsibly.
The chairman of the board, Tony Anenih, said the former leader will not be missed by the party.
In its official statement, signed by spokesperson, Olisa Metuh, the PDP said it was “saddened” by Mr. Obasanjo’s departure, and lamented the party’s inability to pacify the former president after several pleas.
Read full Statement below:
The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has received the news of the decision of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to withdraw his membership of our great party. We have also carefully examined the circumstances and the reasons adduced for this unfortunate decision.
While we concede to the inalienable rights of every citizen to hold opinion and to decide who to associate with, we are however deeply saddened that Chief Obasanjo, a revered leader of our party, our first Presidential flagbearer whom the PDP offered the platform to rule our nation for eight years, could decide to abandon this party at this critical point in time.

This is especially as Chief Obasanjo, who was also the Chairman of the highest advisory organ of the PDP, the Board of Trustees (BoT) discountenanced all pleas by elders and leaders of our great party with regard to his reservations on certain issues within our fold.
Many Nigerians are still bewildered as to what manner of provocation could have led a former President to lose his composure and go to the extent of tearing the membership card of the party that he once led.
Indeed, the PDP is hugely at loss as to how the decision and action of the former President who had enjoyed the benefits of being elected to the highest position of leadership will assist in deepening our democracy and stabilizing the polity.
It is our considered opinion that no matter the provocation, a statesmanly disposition from a person of Chief Obasanjo’s status could have encouraged our citizens and help in stabilizing system.
We believe however, that what this country needs now is patriotic actions that engender national unity, tolerance and peaceful coexistence of our people irrespective of political, ethnic and religious
persuasions. The overall interest of our nation and wellbeing of our citizens must remain paramount and above all personal and group interests.
Finally, we direct all our members across the country to remain focused on our campaigns and not to be distracted on this issue. With an array of credible candidates led by our Presidential flagbearer, President Goodluck Jonathan, we are sure that we will emerge victorious come March 28 and April 11, 2015 general elections.

 

Nigeria’s Secret Police Accuse Reuters ​Journalist Of Spying

reporter with Reuters News Agency, Tife Owolabi, taken in for questioning by operatives of the Department of State Security Service in Yenagoa,​ has been freed.

Nigeria Secret PolicePremium Times
Mr. Owolabi, who confirmed his release on Monday, said his personal computer, tablet device, cameras and external hard drives and memory cards remained in the custody of the DSS.
​He was freed Saturday.​
The ​​​Nigerian ​government ​had been ​accused of trying to restrict the ​​international media from covering the​ 2015​ general elections by refusing to issue visas and accreditation.
Mr. Owolabi ​said​ his ordeal ​at​ the hands of the security services had to do with his work for the foreign media platform.
“They came to my place and searched the apartment and carted away my work tools including my mobile phones and detained me and said that they had suspicion that I was engaged in espionage for foreign concerns.
“I had no fears because I was sure I had not done anything in the discharge of my duties as a journalist. They said I was unpatriotic and held on to my working tools.
“I am hoping that they will release those items when I return to their office later today. I express my gratitude to fellow journalists who stood by me and I guess it is one of the hazards of the job,” Mr. Owolabi said.
When contacted on the development, a top official of the Bayelsa Command of DSS, who declined to be named, dismissed the charges of espionage levelled against the reporter.
“I am not aware of his arrest because I am not the one handling the matter and moreover I am not authorized to speak on operations. But I can tell you that if he is accused of espionage, he should not be handled at the state command level,” the official said.
Premium Times

 

Patience Jonathan visits families of Bayelsa politicians who perished in auto crash

     

the mama of africa

President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife, Patience, on Monday paid a condolence visit to the bereaved families of 11 female politicians from Bayelsa State who died Saturday in a car accident along East-West Road in Rivers State.
The women were political associates of the First Lady, and died while returning from a two-day visit to her in Okirika, Rivers State.
Dressed in black, and accompanied by prominent members of her Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Women for Change Initiative, Mrs. Jonathan met with respective families of the lost women.
On her entourage were the wife of the state’s former governor, Margaret Alamieyeseigha, and a former Transport Commissioner in the state, Marie Ebikake.
At the home of one of the deceased and wife of a staff at the Bayelsa Radio Corporation, Ayakpo Otolo, Mrs. Jonathan condoled the family, sobbing intermittently.
She prayed to God to be with the family in the time of grief and asked God to give everyone, including herself, the fortitude to bear the loss, describing the women as her friends and sisters.
She also visited the homes of a former member of the State House of Assembly from Brass Local Government and Special Adviser to Governor Seriake Dickson, Ruby Benjamin.
 

President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife, Patience, on Monday paid a condolence visit to the bereaved families of 11 female politicians from Bayelsa State who died Saturday in a car accident along East-West Road in Rivers State.
The women were political associates of the First Lady, and died while returning from a two-day visit to her in Okirika, Rivers State.
Dressed in black, and accompanied by prominent members of her Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Women for Change Initiative, Mrs. Jonathan met with respective families of the lost women.
On her entourage were the wife of the state’s former governor, Margaret Alamieyeseigha, and a former Transport Commissioner in the state, Marie Ebikake.
At the home of one of the deceased and wife of a staff at the Bayelsa Radio Corporation, Ayakpo Otolo, Mrs. Jonathan condoled the family, sobbing intermittently.
She prayed to God to be with the family in the time of grief and asked God to give everyone, including herself, the fortitude to bear the loss, describing the women as her friends and sisters.
She also visited the homes of a former member of the State House of Assembly from Brass Local Government and Special Adviser to Governor Seriake Dickson, Ruby Benjamin.
                         

We are the ones who started the push for six months delay in the elections to enable us [to] put in place an interim government which would then enable the party to change its presidential candidate to somebody that is more competitive,” one official confessed. He added that Mr. Jonathan’s faction also sought the extension for their own designs, which was to explore ways of rigging the elections.

SaharaReporters has learned of a new twist in the desire of some top officials of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for a six-month postponement of polls in Nigeria, with several sources saying a faction of the party would work to replace President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s presidential candidate.

In separate interviews with SaharaReporters, numerous PDP officials disclosed that many founding members of the party had lost confidence in Mr. Jonathan’s viability as a candidate, adding that a faction within the party had discussed easing the incumbent president out of the presidential race, and replacing him with another candidate from the Niger Delta zone.
“The only obstacle to the plan is that the South-South might kick against it, so we have arrived at a consensus to find another candidate,” one of our sources, a northerner, said.
“If elections could be postponed for six months, we will definitely replace President Jonathan as our candidate,” another member of the faction confirmed.
In a clear sign that the party was crumbling was within, several high ranking PDP members said they regretted letting President Jonathan carry the party’s flag as a presidential candidate in the forthcoming elections. Some of them confessed to being aware that the party’s prospects looked dire with Mr. Jonathan holding the presidential ticket.
“We are the ones who started the push for six months delay in the elections to enable us [to] put in place an interim government which would then enable the party to change its presidential candidate to somebody that is more competitive,” one official confessed. He added that Mr. Jonathan’s faction also sought the extension for their own designs, which was to explore ways of rigging the elections.
Our interviews revealed that many PDP governorship candidates in the north and elsewhere in the country were secretly working against Mr. Jonathan’s re-election or quietly distancing themselves from him.
One party leader revealed that some candidates in the northern area were all but campaigning for Mr. Buhari, the presidential flag bearer of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, some PDP officials told SaharaReporters that, while they hoped that President Jonathan could be sidelined to increase the chances of the party in the upcoming elections, they also wished that the APC would also dump Mr. Buhari as its presidential candidate.
The party officials claimed that key political figures across Nigeria continue to view a Buhari Presidency with mortal fear because of his stubborn personality and his promise to punish the corrupt.

Father of baby who won PZ's Baby Moment competition cries out after wife took another man to represnt him at competition

Father of baby who won PZ's Baby Moment competition cries out after wife took another man to represnt him at competition

Oluyinka Davids, the father of Morireluwa, the beautiful girl who won the 2015 PZ Cusson baby moment which held in Lagos on February 1st, has cried out after his wife, Funmi Davids, who he is currently separated from, took another man to represent him at the grand finale of the competition

In an interview with Encomium mag, Oluyinka (above) said he and his wife separated a while back and she moved out of their matrimonial home. He said to get back at him, she took another man, her younger sister's husband, to pose as the father of his daughter during the finale of the competition. He said he got his daughter registered for the competition but that as the little girl was advancing in the competition, she shut him out. I got a copy of the mag and typed out the interview. See it after the cut

"Yes I started it all, got my daughter registered, got her a professional photographer, personally worked and also employed a PR person who worked tirelessly for her on the contest. I knew she would win. I often told her so. I sometimes even rehearsed how she would be announced the winner and yes she did win, all the glory to God. Myself and my wife had a serious misunderstanding which led to temporary separation but I never ignored or denied the fact that the baby she's carrying is my daughter. I am still responsible for her upkeep even till now. She called me  and said "Your daughter Morireoluwa Davids needed a two minute video for the next stage of the competition". That was when I knew she made it to the third stage. And I was like so because she needs a video and her father is a cinematographer, that is why I am getting to know my baby had gone this far in a competition I registered her. Meanwhile shortly before this, during my daughter's first birthday, I ordered a big customized cake, clothes and toys for her. She turned the person I sent to deliver the stuff. I was embarrassed and deeply hurt. She was so rude and mannerless. She said so many things to me. I still have her message saved. So I told her to go and get the video done elsewhere for our baby because she only had to tell me because some of my staff she asked without my permission turned her down" he said

Oluyinka said what his wife did by bringing another man to represent him at the finale was clearly a case of impersonation & blamed the organizers. (Pic of the man his estranged wife took along above)

"Impersonation. That is what it is and it is punishable under the law. I had a misunderstanding with my wife so she probably thought she could get at me by taking someone else along as the father of my child, not realizing the consequences. I blame PZ! Why? Because they claimed she told them she was having a misunderstanding with the father of the baby and when eventually someone showed up, they didn't confirm before they addressed him as Mr Oluyinka Davids as published in The Nation Newspaper February 9th 2015"he said

Oluyinka said the man used to impersonate him at the PZ baby competition was the husband to the younger sister of his wife

"It feels terrible to be impersonated. Especially because I know the guy. His real name is Dehinde Olayokun. He is married to Boluwatife Olayiwola Olayokun who happens to be my wife's youngest sister. She and her immediate elder brother, Dayo Olayiwola, with some boys had harassed and beaten me up in my house which is one of the reasons my wife and I are having a misunderstanding"he said

Oluyinka says his lawyer is working to seek legal redress.

 

His wife, Mrs Funmi Davids when contacted via phone told the magazine...

"It is better you sleep around than the cheap job you think you are doing. If you ever call my number again, you will regret your life".

Meanwhile the management of PZ Cusson speaking through its brand manager, Seun Ayeni, say they see the matter as a domestic one and do not want to get involved

"We have spoken to the lawyer of the biological father of the baby, Mr Oluyinka Davids and we do not want to get involved in their domestic issues. Our lawyer is already handling the issue and we are okay with that" he said

Posted by linda ikeji. www.linda ikeji.blogspot.com

Non-qualification/Perjury: Case Against Buhari Cannot Stand – Justice Amaize

       

A former jurist, Justice R. I. Amaize, has declared that those seeking the disqualification of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), over the non-attachment of relevant documents to the INEC form he submitted, perjury and alleged lack of requisite qualification may have to think of something else as the three issues lack evidential value.
Justice Amaize, who retired from the Edo State high court, disclosed this in his legal opinion exclusively made available to LEADERSHIP
According to the judge, the aforementioned points, when issues are joined by the parties in court, would be resolved in favour of Buhari, adding that the three issues being promoted by the proponents of Buhari’s disqualification were of no consequence and cannot stop Buhari from contesting the rescheduled March 28 presidential poll.

by  Tony Amokeodo
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South Africa parliament brawl new low

The clouds were sliding, majestically, down the slopes of Table Mountain.

There were brass bands outside the parliament below. A red carpet on the cobbles.
And a steady procession of dignitaries – all dressed to impress.

South Africa does this sort of thing well. World Cups, state funerals, pageantry… the “rainbow nation” still in thrall to its own miraculous journey.
But things are changing here.
I was sitting in the press gallery overlooking the parliamentary chamber when I noticed my cell phone wasn’t working.
Nor was anyone else’s.
In a few minutes’ time, President Jacob Zuma was due to deliver his annual State of the Nation address.
It is normally a rather bland affair. Sweeping promises. Polite applause.
But today – the nation was poised for a showdown.
In recent months Mr Zuma has been ducking an important issue. He’s been ordered to pay back public money spent on lavish renovations to his private rural home in Nkandla.
In a country where corruption scandals are often murky, complicated affairs – Nkandla is pretty straightforward. We’ve all seen the president’s new amphitheatre, his swimming pool, built courtesy of the taxpayer.
Mr Zuma insists he’s in the clear.
But privately even his closest aides admit he should pay up. He’s just stubborn, one told me gloomily.
And so – smelling blood – a group of opposition MPs announced plans to disrupt President Zuma’s speech to parliament by demanding that he reveal exactly when he plans to pay back the money.
Which brings us to the telephones.
“Why do you always look for a conspiracy?”, one of the president’s staff asked me irritably when we started wondering if the signal was being jammed.
But before long it became clear that it was indeed a conspiracy. A jamming device had been switched on; a clumsy, unprecedented attempt to prevent the outside world from learning about any trouble that might crop up in parliament.
Things quickly started getting noisy – as they usually do here.
The journalists stood and shouted: “Bring back the signal!” Opposition MPs joined in the chorus.
From the government benches, came a different chant: “ANC! ANC!”
Ministers started passing notes. One of them left the chamber. Suddenly, the speaker of parliament announced that the scrambling… had been “unscrambled.” The phones were back on.
President Zuma stood, and began to read his speech.
If you were to choose a righteous public figure to hold South Africa’s rulers to account, you probably wouldn’t pick Julius Malema.
He’s a brash, bullying figure. Expelled from the ANC, he’s since formed his own small party, the Economic Freedom Fighters.
Mr Malema’s critics say he’s a dictator in the making. But it seems unlikely he’ll get that far. He makes enemies too quickly. And he’s facing serious criminal charges of his own – of racketeering and fraud.
But when Julius Malema stood up in parliament on Thursday evening and demanded to be heard it felt, for a moment, like he was doing so on behalf of many South Africans.
The country is in a gloomy mood right now. There are daily power cuts. Foreign investors are losing patience. And after two decades in power, the ANC seems to have lost its way – the Nkandla scandal just one of many glaring examples.
The question preoccupying many here is how will the ANC deal with the possibility – you might say the inevitability – of losing power?
Will it stick to the rules, or will it dig its heels in?
Suddenly, the chamber was full of police and security guards. White shirts surrounding the red uniforms of the EFF’s MPs.
From above, it looked like a colour-coordinated bar-room brawl. Shirts were ripped. Punches thrown. One MP brandished his red construction-worker’s hard hat like a weapon.
And within a few minutes, the white shirts had won – bundling Mr Malema and his team out of parliament.
On the steps outside, Mr Malema said he’d proved South Africa was turning into a police state – that democracy was dying.
Back at the podium, President Zuma offered up one of his trademark chuckles and read out the rest of his speech as though nothing had happened.
Much later that night, I sat down for a few drinks with some local newspaper editors and columnists all trying to make sense of what we’d just seen. The mood was sombre.
Yes, the media had won a skirmish over the jamming of phones.
And sure it was a cheap, predictable stunt by the EFF – who’d suffered a few bruises in exchange for exactly the sort of publicity they so obviously wanted.
But it was more than that. Maybe not a turning-point, but a sign of things to come here in South Africa.
President Zuma could have answered the question. Instead he sat down, smiled, and let the men in white shirts handle it.
A South African colleague drained her glass and shook her head. It feels, she said, like something died here tonight.
(ANDREW HARDING for BBC)

ROM TAIWO AMODU, ABUJA

THE NATION IN UNITY

Peoples Democrat­ic Party (PDP) has called on all political parties in the country and other relevant stakeholders in the electoral process to relegate all narrow group interests and join hands with the Independent Na­tional Electoral Commis­sion (INEC) to guarantee the success of the 2015 general elections.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Olisa Metuh, in a statement at the weekend, said all parties must come together in the interest of the nation and ensure that measures that create the envi­ronment for credible, free and fair elections were firmly put in place.
Metuh said: “The respon­sibility of building a united, strong and prosperous nation anchored on democratic prin­ciples lies on all of us collec­tively.
“We, therefore, charge all political parties, other relevant groups and all stakeholders in the electoral process to jettison all personal/group interests and put that of our nation and its people ahead of all.
“The future of our nation is determined by what we do or say at this point in time. We must, therefore, resolve to work together as patriotic citi­zens and join hands with INEC and relevant institutions of government to ensure credible, free and fair elections devoid of rancour and avoidable dis­agreements.
“At this point, what should be paramount is the wellbeing of our people and the survival of our dear nation and its de­mocracy. We must, therefore, close ranks as brothers and sisters and resist the machina­tions of enemies of our coun­try who do not wish us well.

A former US Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, has warned that Nigeria is likely to experience large scale violence as a result of the upcoming general elections.

Campbell stated this in a report titled ‘Nigeria’s 2015 Presidential Election: Contingency Planning Memorandum Update,’ which was published and released by the US Council on Foreign Relations.
Campbell also predicts that incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan is likely to beat strongest opponent, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the polls.
“The upcoming elections are a rematch of the 2011 elections between the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan (a southern Christian) and Muhammadu Buhari (a northern Muslim and a former military chief). Tension between Washington and Abuja is higher than in 2011, largely over how to respond to the radical Islamist insurgent group, Boko Haram, which is steadily gaining strength in northeast Nigeria,” the report read.
“The APC is stronger than its predecessors (Action Congress of Nigeria and Congress for Progressives Change) and reflects a splintering of the political classes. The government’s inability to defeat Boko Haram, the economic hardships brought on by falling oil prices, and a growing public perception that the Jonathan administration is weak have fueled support for the All Progressives Congress. Though the APC’s voter base is in the North, it enjoys support all over the country, unlike the opposition in 2011,” it continues.
Campbell however notes that Jonathan is at an advantage due to the fact that he is “is at the centre of extensive patronage networks; he has access to the government’s oil revenue; and he and his party largely control the election machinery and ballot-counting infrastructure.”
“It is uncertain whether any provisions will be made for voters in the three northern states placed under a state of emergency because of Boko Haram, as well as the estimated one million people displaced by the insurgency. These displaced voters would likely support Buhari and the APC; their exclusion would benefit Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Thus despite the strength of the opposition, Jonathan remains the likely—but not certain—winner,” Campbell stated.
The former Ambassador also warned that the elections could “precipitate violence that could destabilize Nigeria.”
Campbell was ambassador of Nigerian from 2004 to 2007 and in 2010 authored a book about the country titled “Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink”.
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A teenage suicide bomber blew herself up at a crowded bus station in northeast Nigeria on Sunday, killing at least 16 and wounding 30 others.

Witnesses said most of the victims were children who had either been selling peanuts or begging for money at the time of the explosion.
The bomber managed to get through the security check at the entrance to the bus station in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state, and detonated herself at 1pm local time.
“It was an eyesore looking at the scene which is littered with chopped flesh and battered bodies of victims,” said witness Hassan Umar, who added the bomber was a teenager and that he had seen her remains.
“The girl that carried out the suicide should be around 16 years old, because her face was a bit matured,” he said.
At least eight of the bodies were taken to the mortuary at Damaturu specialist hospital, a hospital worker told the Associated Press by telephone. The worker insisted on anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing, but it fits the pattern of violence by Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown Islamic extremist group that caused an estimated 10,000 deaths last year and is fighting to impose sharia rule over Nigeria.
Boko Haram began using teenage females as suicide bombers last year, likely because they can evade security by hiding explosives under their hijab garments. In April, the extremists kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls who remain missing.
This is the first suicide bombing in Damaturu. The city of about 90,000 people in northeastern Nigeria has suffered several attacks by Boko Haram in past three years. On 1 December Boko Haram attempted to seize Damaturu, but was repelled after a lengthy battle with many casualties.
In recent weeks Boko Haram has attacked the neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Niger and Chad. Those countries and others are planning to form a joint force to help Nigeria battle the extremists.
(THE GUARDIAN)

     stop killing Innocent soul boko haram

 

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The Problems, Challenges And Solutions To Insecurity In Nigeria

By Godday Odidi

Few years ago, Nigerians were anxiously concerned on how the federal government can tackle the corrosive and caustic corruption, education, agriculture and power failure, but the recurring spate of hapless killings in the Northern parts of Nigeria diverted the minds of Nigerians to make the federal government to concentrate on tackling security threats in the country.
Government is meant to protect her citizens and property but in Nigeria the reverse is now the case. Over 10,000 people had been innocently killed while property worth millions of naira destroyed for no just cause and the federal government has abysmally failed to bring the unsympathetic committers to book. The emergence of this extremist called” Boko Haram” which means against western education has gone beyond the educational philosophy but politically motivated by some elements that derived joy in seeing fellow human beings being slaughtered as domestic animals and rendered homelessly.

people keep dieing every day cause by inhumane citizens

It is apparently clear that Boko Haram members are not unlettered as it was formerly described but assembled with highly educated people who are sponsored to disintegrate Nigeria in the hands of President Goodluck Jonathan. President Goodluck Jonathan should know that if the GDP of the country increases to 60 percent and number 26th economy in the world, her citizens are not protected, then the much celebrated GDP is zero percent to Nigerians.

What Does ‘Corruption’ Really Mean?

Kolawole Olaniyan

What does corruption look like? The short answer is: not what you think it does, at least according to President Goodluck Jonathan who while recently “rethinking corruption” said that: “Over 70% of what are called corruption offences, even by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption agencies, is not corruption, but common stealing.

2015 POLLS: JONATHAN DISMISSES THREATS OF WAR

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday in Abuja dismissed threats of war from some quarters of the country over the outcome of the 2015 general elections.
Jonathan, who fielded questions from newsmen at the presidential media chat, said that anarchy would not be condoned in Nigeria
as the country was bigger than the interest of any individual.
According to him, journalists also have a duty in defusing tension in the polity through their reportage.
The president reacted to a question that the Niger-Delta ex-agitators had threatened that there would be war if he lost the 2015 polls.
“We cannot destroy this country and we cannot encourage anybody who wants to destroy this country.”
On the war against insurgency and securing the release of the kidnapped Chibok girls, he expressed optimism that the synergy with neighbouring countries would yield positive results.
He said that the Federal Government had acquired weapons from some countries which would help in the prosecution of the war against insurgents.