Ex-GTB MD, Fola Adeola is Nuhu Ribadu’s Running Mate

Mr. Afolabi Tajudeen Adeola, former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc,  former chairman of the National Pension Commission (Pencom), and former member on the (Tony) Blair Commission on Africa, has been named the running mate of ACN presidential candidate, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

Brazil legend Ronaldo retires from football

2002 - Brazil win fifth title (available to UK users only)

Brazilian legend Ronaldo has confirmed his retirement from football.

The 34-year-old had a glittering career, helping Brazil win two World Cups and being named Fifa World Player of the Year in 1996, 1997 and 2002.
He had been expected to quit at the end of the season but the early elimination of his club, Corinthians, from the Copa Libertadores brought forward the date.
"I wanted to continue, but I can't. I think of an action, but I can't do it the way I want to. It's time," he said.
Ronaldo's career took him to some of Europe's top clubs, including Spanish rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid, as well as Italian neighbours AC Milan and Inter Milan.
But it was on the world stage where he made the biggest impact, scoring a record total of 15 goals at three World Cups.
He also went to the 1994 tournament in the United States as a member of the Brazilian squad that went on to win the trophy, but the 17-year-old did not get on the pitch.
However, four years later he scored four goals to help Brazil reach the final against hosts France.
Mystery surrounded the match as Ronaldo's name was left off the teamsheet when it was issued 72 minutes before kick-off, only for an amended version to appear in time for the start of the game amid rumours of panic attacks and a dispute within the Brazilian camp.

RONALDO'S GAMES AND GOALS Cruzeiro 1993-94 - 45 games, 41 goals PSV Eindhoven 1994-96 - 58 games, 54 goals Barcelona 1996-97 - 49 games, 47 goals Inter Milan 1997-2002 - 99 games, 59 goals Real Madrid 2002-07 - 164 games, 98 goals AC Milan 2007-08 - 20 games, nine goals Corinthians 2009-11 - 31 games, 18 goals Totals - 466 games, 326 goals

Whatever happened prior to the game, Ronaldo was below par and his performance was eclipsed by Zinedine Zidane, the only other footballer to have won the World Player of the Year title on three occasions.
The Frenchman scored twice as France won 3-0.
At the 2002 World Cup Ronaldo was at his imperious best, scoring in every game in Japan and South Korea, bar the 2-1 quarter-final victory over England.
He grabbed both of Brazil's goals in the 2-0 win over Germany in the final to take his tally for the tournament to eight.
In 2006 he scored twice in a 4-1 victory over Japan to draw level with Germany's Gerd Muller as the top scorer in World Cup finals history on 14, before breaking that record with a goal against Ghana.
He ended his international career having scored 62 goals in 97 appearances.
On the domestic front, Ronaldo first moved to Europe in the 1994-95 season, joining Dutch side PSV Eindhoven from Cruzeiro, scoring 30 league goals in his first season and 12 in 13 games during an injury-hit second campaign.
Ronaldo's strike rate alerted former England manager Sir Bobby Robson, who signed the Brazilian when he took over as Barcelona coach in 1996 and the striker continued his impressive record at the Nou Camp, scoring 47 times in 49 appearances.
In 1996, at the age of 20, he became the youngest player to win Fifa's World Player of the Year title and picked up the award again 12 months later.
By that time he had moved clubs once more, this time joining Inter for a then world-record fee of £19m. He hit 59 goals in 99 appearances during an injury-troubled four years with the Italian side.
He damaged his knee in 1999 and then again during his comeback in February 2000, which kept him out of the game for another two years.
His next move took him back to Spain, where he joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2002 for £20m. Injury stopped him making his debut until October, but he scored twice on his first appearance to endear himself to the fans and netted 21 more times that season to help win the La Liga title.
He also scored a hat-trick against Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
He also helped the Spanish side win another league title in 2006/07 but further injuries and a lack of fitness led to him being deemed surplus to requirements and he returned to Italy in 2007, joining AC Milan.
Another knee injury cut short his playing career at the San Siro in May 2008 and he returned to Brazil in 2009 to sign for Corinthians.

Mko Abiola's Son Kicked Out Of Acn

A son of the winner of the June 12 1993 presidential Election, Chief Moshood Abiola, Lekan, who is the candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change for Abeokuta North/Obafemi Owode/Odeda Federal Constituency, in this interview with NIYI ODEBODE and FIDELIS SORIWEI, bares his mind on the state of the nation and democracy in the country.

Between 1999 and 2010, you did not come out to contest. Why are you contesting now? How would you assess our democracy?

We’ve gone through dictatorship and my parents and a lot of other people were in the forefront in the fight against dictatorship. We didn’t want the military anymore and thank God that at the end of the day, we were successful. We now have a democracy. We have had two elections so far and each of these elections has been below par. Even the manner in which the candidates were selected in many cases was also not very good. So, we have never had the chance of having our best people rule us. Although we now have a democracy, we do not have the best people in charge of our affairs, if we did, things would not be this bad. You can hear the sound of a generator in the background. Look at how big this house is. Do you know how much it costs to run this house with a generator every day? After 12 years of democracy, we cannot fix the power situation. So, any Nigerian that has good ideas about how he can contribute something to this country should come out and try.

Your parents paid the supreme price for democracy. The expectation was that in 1999, some of your siblings would come out to vie for strategic positions, but you stayed away. What is responsible for this change of mind?
I don’t think that going for a political position is like a birthright. If your father is a good football player, it does not mean that automatically you too must be a football player. Look at Michael Jordan, none of his sons is playing basketball today. So, just because my father was a democrat, who won election, does not mean that all his children must follow that line. Everybody has his destiny. When I decided to come out as an individual, I was looking at the situation. I am not happy with the state in which Nigeria is, right now. I am upset about it and I am sure many people are upset about it. We have a lot of people who don’t have jobs. Salaries of those who have jobs are not even enough. Right now, crude oil is $101. This should be oil boom. When we had the oil boom in the 1970s, the oil was about $40 and we were only producing less than a million barrels a day. Today, we are doing like 2.2 million barrels a day and oil is $101 per barrel. It is disgraceful that we are having economic doom right now, when in Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and other countries, where crude oil is their main source of income, you see them building tallest buildings in the world and new railway systems. It is very sad. Unemployment is high. The interest rate is 24 per cent.

Do you have faith in democracy now?
You know that the good thing about democracy is that every four years or so, people have the time to chose and change their leaders. Now Nigeria is having that in April. April is a decision time again for Nigerians to come out and say, “We are tired of these people. We are tired of the PDP in the Presidency. We are tired of them in Senate. We are tired of them in the House of Representatives.” The only thing we know about the Senate and the House of Representatives is jumbo pay. We don’t know them for any other thing. These are the people that are meant to be doing oversight, making sure that the budget is implemented, making sure that roads they said they voted billions voted for, have been built. All you hear is that they are collecting jumbo pay. By the grace of God, Nigerians will make the right choice. They have already come out to register in large numbers. I hope that on that day, they will choose the right people to represent them. Americans have already said that in 2015, Nigeria is going to disintegrate. If we fail this time around, it might be like that.

Your father, mother and many other Nigerians made sacrifices for the country to enjoy democracy. Do the kind of people in power now merit being there?

We have had Obasanjo (former president). We had him for eight years. Everybody acknowledged that the country did not move forward at all. He basically did not move the country at all. He basically imposed Yar’Adua on us. Yar’Adua would never have won free and fair primaries but he was imposed on us. The election was not free and fair. Everybody knows that. You know Yar’Adua was very ill and for two and a half years, we did not see anything from him. So, whether he was a good president or not, the fact is that he didn’t have the health to do the job. We all know how that ended. Now Goodluck (President Jonathan), who was not prepared, who would not have been anyone’s choice, for the President, has now become the President. He was picked because the South-South people were making a lot of noise. To sort of appease the South- South, he was made the vice-president. If such a man becomes President, what can you say about him? What I can see about Goodluck is that December 31st, it (government) took out a $1bn and they shared it among themselves. The excess crude account before Yar’Adua died, the foreign reserve was like $13bn, now it has only $3m left, not $3bn; from the $13bn that Yar’Adua left. Goodluck Jonathan distributed a billion dollars, a day before the New Year. While everybody was going to the churches and the mosque for the New Year, they sat down, and divided $1bn. Where has the money gone? We don’t see it on the roads. We don’t see it in power. We don’t see it in security. We don’t see it anywhere.

Do you believe that INEC can conduct free and fair elections in Nigeria in April?

I think that Prof. Attahiru Jega (the Independent National Electoral Commission chairman) will try. I think he too has a lot at stake. We are going to have a better election this time around than we had in 2007. Jonathan is going around saying that he wants free and fair elections. The President is saying he wants free and fair elections, and the other day, Jega too said that he swore by the Koran. For any Moslem, you cannot swear by the Koran and play.

How would you assess the support you have got from your father’s political associates? Do you feel abandoned by them?

I am disappointed. You know, but then I am not particularly surprised. I would have been surprised if they were actually being supportive. In the Action Congress of Nigeria (the leadership), they claim they are democrats and progressives. I wanted to come through the ACN because it is the strongest party for the opposition in the South-West. I am from the South –West. They have so many supporters in Lagos, Osun, and other states. Most of the people in the ACN are the people that I have always known. People like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former Governors Olusegun Osoba and Niyi Adebayo, Governor Rauf Aregbesola. I went to them and a lot of the members, the bonafide members embraced me. They were very happy and I had a lot of support, I went to different wards, I went to meet different leaders and everybody was happy that I was coming out. Then I heard that what I wanted to get, a son of one of the leaders, Chief Osoba, was interested in it and that I should go and meet Osoba to discuss this issue with him. They (some party members) said, “This particular seat that you are looking for, Osoba’s son is interested in it. We have left it for him, so you should go and see Osoba.” So I called him (Chief Osoba) and he gave me an appointment and I went to his house. I said, “I came out for this position and they (some members) are telling me that your son is interested in the seat” He said it was true his son was interested. I asked, “What are we going to do now?” He said, “Well you can go for a seat in the House of Assembly or you can wait for an appointment.” I said to myself, “Why can’t you tell your son to go to the Assembly? And why can’t you tell your son to wait for an appointment? The fact is that I am older than your son.” That was what I was saying in my heart because I could not be arguing with Akinrogun (Osoba). He is older than me and I have to respect him.In my heart, I said, “I have more experience in politics than your son. I have been part of Buhari’s campaign team in the past. Apart from that, I have been married for over a decade or so. Your son is not even married. So, why should I step down for him. The Electoral Act states that there should be primaries.” I told him, “Sir, I will go and think about it.” I went back home in Abeokuta and I called my uncles, aunties, and other family members. In fact, Hafsat (his sister) was even there. Hafsat was even more upset than me. She said, “How could he tell you that you should step down for his son? For what? Who is his son?” She got really angry. I said according to the party’s constitution, we are going to do primaries. So I now started going around trying to get ready for primaries until, they (the party leaders) called a meeting at Akinrogun’s house, where he said that there would not be any primaries and that they would handpick candidates and that whoever was not picked should not worry. He said people not picked would be given appointments. They could go the House to Assembly. I was the only the aspirant who raised his hand. Others were angry but kept quiet. He said I should speak. I said, “ Sir, consensus by definition means everybody is in agreement. So if in a particular case, you pick somebody, and people are not in agreement, what do they do?” He said they could appeal to the appeal panel of the party. I asked who would be in the Appeal Panel? He said the leaders of the party. I asked him if it was the same leaders who made the initial decision that we would appeal to. He said yes. I said thank you very much. At that point in time, I just had to leave; I knew that was the end of the road for me in the ACN.

You said you had an edge over his son; when Osoba asked you to step down for his son, what was in your mind? Did you miss your father’s support then?

I would have stepped down. But I did not because the man was telling me about how he too was about to be killed by Abacha; about how he suffered because of June 12. And when I got home, and I was thinking about it, I said “You said Abacha wanted to kill you, but he didn’t (laughs). You are still alive (heavy laughter). Both my parents are dead. So what are you talking about? Where is my dad today? Mummy oh, I am sorry, she is in the grave. You are telling me to step down for your son? That you suffered for June 12? If you suffered for June 12, and you are still alive and your wife is still alive, then, what can we say has happened to us, the June 12 that fell on our heads? That was what happened to me. I went to join Buhari’s party. The General supported me. He called the leaders of the Congress for Progressive Change in Ogun State and told them to give me all the necessary support and they did that. I met other leaders and they all said no problem.

You are also close to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other leaders in the ACN. Did you tell Tinubu about this issue and did he intervene?

I am not into politics to cause trouble; I am in politics by the grace of God to get into the House of Representatives to represent the people of Abeokuta North/ Obafemi Owode /Odeda. That is what I am going there for. I want to keep my eyes on the ball. It is not for me to be going from one person to the other trying to cause trouble between Asiwaju and Akinrogun. There is no way that Asiwaju will call Akinrogun to tell him that his son should step down. I don’t want anyone to step down for anybody. What I thought would have happened was that there would have been primaries. That would have been proper. When they said that they were going to handpick candidates, I realised that it was the same handpicking that they were doing in different parts of the South-West basically. It was the same handpicking that they did in Oyo State and in a large part of Lagos and Ekiti states and in other places. So I didn’t want to go and meet Asiwaju for that even though I knew that Asiwaju would not be happy with the situation. He wouldn’t be happy but what could he have done? Their policy is to handpick and their chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, said they know best who they trust to fly the ACN flag. It is just that unfortunately for them, the trust ends with their wives and their children. So if my own father is not alive, I guess no one can trust me to fly the party’s flag.

Why are you supporting the CPC?

Someone like Buhari, whom I am still supporting has picked Pastor Bakare. It is a wonderful masterstroke because a lot of people used to think that he is a religious fanatic and that he would Islamise Nigeria and things like that. So by picking someone like Pastor Bakare, everybody now knows that it is not possible. Even though in a democratic set up like Nigeria, it is impossible for you to Islamise Nigeria because, to pass any law, you have to go to the Senate and the House of Representatives, but still they use that against him. He has picked Pastor Bakare, who is very intelligent; apart from being a preacher, he is also a lawyer. He is somebody who is also into social activism. I think that it a wonderful choice by the grace of God and I pray that they will finally succeed this time around to tackle the problem of corruption. Corruption is one of the major problems that we have in this country today. If you have very good leaders like General Buhari and Pastor Bakare, then you have less of corruption.

What is you view about our lawmakers?

When people who should not be there end up going there, then they do what they should not be doing. The main thing is to bring the dividends of democracy back to their constituencies. It is not to start going to stuff your pockets. But I have met some of them; I asked them, bawo le se ma gba iru owo yi (How can you be collecting such money?). Many of them showed me text messages from their constituents – “My wife wants to give birth. Someone wants to get married.” One of them said, “Look I am sending N30,000, N20,000, N15,000 to party members. At the end of every month, N4m or N5m goes to all these people.” They said that if they did not collect the money, they would not have money to give to their people. When the lawmakers don’t give their people money, the people say they are useless. So I guess you cannot blame them 100 per cent too. This is because the financial burden on a representative or a senator is huge. But, if we can have a good government that can somehow turn this economy around, the burden will reduce. We have to sit down and decide what we are going to do about the Naira. We have to call a national summit. We should call the CBN governor and the minister of finance and ask, “How can we get the Naira to 40 to one dollar? How can we get it to 20 to one, what can we do to strengthen the Naira because the more the Naira loses value, the poorer we become as a people.” We have to do something urgently about the naira. From one Dollar to one Naira in the 1970s, it is one to 155 today. The South African Rand is seven to one Dollar. And they don’t have more reserves than we do. We have more reserves than them, they only have enough reserves for five months for import.

There is this belief that Chief (Moshood Abiola) was more pro-IBB than Buhari. Specifically, there is this rumour that chief was one of the people that caused the down fall of Buhari, 

Yes, I have heard the rumour. I think it is just a rumour. Definitely, my father did not really like some of what Gen. Buhari did. But, looking back now, you see Gen. Babangida was a very close friend of my father; they were very close at some point, and then he annulled the election, a big mistake on his part. I think he has apologised, maybe not openly but he feels sorry about it. That singular move has cost him heavily.

Has he apologised to the family?

Yes, he has sent some messages to our family. In fact, when he thought he would be running, he gave some indications that he wanted to visit the family house. He had come before. He wanted to come and visit the family and talk to us. So he has made some efforts to reach out to the family.

Has he personally apologised to the family?

He hasn’t said sorry, but he said what happened was unfortunate (laughs), which I guess is close to saying it. You know I don’t want to be accusing him anymore. I know that he is not going to be coming back to power anymore so we can just forgive but not forget. We should forgive him as a nation for the annulment of the June 12 1993 election, because the Bible teaches us to “Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Also, we should focus on reviving our railways and pipelines by possibly privatising them so as to reduce the burden on our highways. We can look beyond that, you know, the man did some good things in power. He built the bridge and some other things. I think people are abusing him too much. He is not coming back to Aso Rock, except as a guest. So we can afford to be nice to him; I think he is a nice man and we just look at that mistake, which I am sure he himself regrets more than anybody else because that mistake alone has stopped him from coming back. As for my father being a part of the coup, I don’t think that military people really talk to a lot of civilians before they overthrow somebody, but even if my father was involved in that coup, I apologise on behalf of my father to Gen. Buhari.

Wikileaks Cables: Nigeria Pressured Uk To Drop Charges Against Politician(ibori)

The Nigerian government refused to discuss a prisoner transfer agreement with Britain unless the Crown Prosecution Service dropped corruption charges against a favoured member of the ruling party, leaked documents disclose.

James Ibori, a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party, is accused of stealing more than £196m of state funds and channelling 'dirty money' to Britain Photo: GETTY
By Heidi Blake 2:26PM GMT 04 Feb 2011
Britain is keen to secure an agreement allowing the transfer of more than 400 prisoners back to Nigeria. There are currently more than 1,000 Nigerian inmates in British jails – costing the taxpayer around £40m a year.

But talks over the agreement stalled after Britain refused to drop charges aganst James Ibori, a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party, who is accused of stealing more than £196m of state funds and channelling "dirty money" to Britain.

A diplomatic cable from the US embassy in London claims that Nigeria's attorney general attempted to blackmail British officials into abandoning the corruption case against Mr Ibori, the former governor of the oil-rich Delta state. The cable sent to Washington in May 2009 states: "Nigerian Attorney General (AG) Michael Aondoakaa has directly told the UK the [Government of Nigeria] will not begin negotiations on the PTA unless the UK drops its case against former Delta State Governor James Ibori and his associates".

Two months later, Lin Homer, chief executive of the UK Border Agency, disclosed to the Home Affairs select committee that Britain had offered to build a state-of-the-art new prison in Nigeria in return for the transfer of at least 400 Nigerian inmates. The offer was rejected.

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Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought 170 corruption charges against Mr Ibori in December 2007, but a court in Asaba cleared him in 2009, saying there was no clear evidence on which to convict.

Southwark Crown Court froze UK assets of £17m allegedly belonging to Mr Ibori after the EFCC passed a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Mr Ibori, who denies all charges against him, was arrested in Dubai last May after the intervention of the global police agency Interpol.

Dubai's highest court has ruled in December he could be extradited to Britain to face corruption charges.

Mr Ibori's sister, Christine, and his alleged mistress, Udoamaka Okoronkwo, were convicted of money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison at Southwark Crown Court last June.

Britain and Nigeria currently have a voluntary prisoner transfer agreement in place, allowing for the transfer of prisoners on case-by-case basis, only if both governments and the individual inmate all give their consent to the move.

Negotiations over a more comprehensive compulsory agreement are ongoing.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice refused to comment on whether the Nigerian government had pressured Britain to drop the case against Mr Ibori.

He said: "The United Kingdom and Nigeria have a prisoner transfer agreement in place. The scheme allows for the transfer of prisoners between Nigeria and the UK where the consent of both states and the prisoner is obtained. A separate compulsory transfer agreement is currently being negotiated.

"We believe that prisoners should normally serve their sentences in their own country – freeing up prison spaces and saving the taxpayer money on enforced removals."

Gov Suswam's Certificate Scandal resurfaces

Second Term threatened by formidable opposition
…Whistleblower says: "I also forged a certificate for his wife"

Gov. Gabriel Suswam

Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam is currently fighting the political battle of his life, as he struggles with baggage like the senior school certificate scandal, and a formidable opposition from Prof. Steve Ugbah, and Senator George Akume of the Action Congress of Nigeria.

There is also controversy trailing his Master’s degree in law , LLM, he obtained from the University of Jos, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Abuja .Also he recently defended his dissertation for a Doctorate in Law at the same University. Critics and opposition wonder how a sitting Governor, with so much on his plate including the Goodluck Jonathan project, could obtain two graduate degrees and a doctorate under five years. The development brings to mind former top shot in the Economic and Financial Crime Commission(EFCC), Tunde Ogunshakin, who was indicted for using proxies to write examinations and continued assessments while a student at the University of Abuja law faculty .

His spokesman, Cletus Akwaya, told Pointblanknews.com in a text message” Suswam graduated from UNILAG in 1989, went to law school and was called to the Bar a year later. In 2005 he was undergoing MPA at UNIABUJA which he has since completed. He later took an LLM at UNIJOS and only on Tuesday (January 25, 2011), successfully defended his PhD in Law at the same UNIJOS…”

Pointblanknews.com learnt that one of his problems is his concentration on the Goodluck Jonathan’s project at the detriment of some home grown problems in Benue. However, despite getting huge cash backing from the Jonathan’s camp, and also spending from the lean purse of the state, but failed to deliver Benue as promised. Jonathan got 72, while Abubakar Atiku got a surprise 15 votes, unlike Edo, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River, where Atiku didn’t get a single vote. Even Adamawa’s result was more impressive than Benue.

Suswam’s alleged forgery of his high school certificate has just refused to go away. The whistleblower, one Chigozie Ukpabi, added a new dimension recently when he alleged that he also forged some documents for Suswam’s wife . A Governorship aspirant, Terver Kakih, who ran against Suswam in the Governorship primaries, went to a Federal high Court Makurdi to order the EFCC and ICPC to investigate Suswam. But curiously Karkih has withdrawn the suit. Few days ago an Abuja based anti –corruption crusader and Attorney, Osuagwu Ugochukwu, wrote to the Principal Assistant Registrar, C. A. O Uduh, at the office of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), in Lagos, to verify the authenticity of Suswam’s school certificate result.

Ukpabi, who is being represented by Ahmed Yusuf of the Festus Keyamo chambers, alleged that he fell out with Suswam when a magazine published details of the deal he had with the Governor, brokered by his cousin, Orseer. He said Suswam and his men felt he made it public because he (Governor) did not live up to his promises of linking with top shots for contracts. He said when the story came out , Akwaya sent him a text saying his boss has approved some cash for his services. He said “Cletus Akwaya Suswan’s media adviser sent a text to me saying his oga has approved some money for me . I have the text right here with me…I sent them my account details, on September 6, I went to the bank to withdraw some money but was told by the manager my account was frozen. They called the security and I was arrested…How they (Power Steering Magazine) got the details of the deal I don’t know. But due to what we had, Suswam concluded that I was in cohorts with them. That was the whole genesis of the problem. The editor of the magazine is one of the accused persons in my case “ He alleged further “ I was fired because I removed from documents from the(WAEC) office to protect Suswan. I thought Orseer was a friend. They promised me so much. They even said my Toyota was old that I should send the cost of a new car that they would fit the bill. They even promised me contracts . I went to the Ministry of Water Resources with all sorts of quotations. Before the arrest at the bank I was first arrested at the airport when Suswan’s cousin said we should meet. When I got there I was arrested and taken to ikoyi where the then Director, barrister Njoku who ordered my release after telling Gaizama I was innocent. “

Ukpabi who spoke with Abuja based National life, alleged further “they handcuffed me around 6am and took me from the bank to the airport…during my second arrest. They put me on a an IRS flight and flew me to Abuja. At the police headquarters they took me to the police commissioner, in charge of SIU, Ali Ahmodu. They told him I had no case to answer based on what they have heard, but said it was Onovo (then IGP) who insisted I should be brought to Abuja. Incidentally that was the day Onovo was removed as the IG At Onovo’s desk, I saw Hon. Ndidi Elumelu of the power probe fame and Suswam who pointed at me and said ‘this is the criminal’ I replied that ‘ I wasn’t a criminal’ The police later took me to Area10.and for the next 24 days without a lawyer of friend’

On Suswan’s wife he alleged “ In 2007 she said she lost her certificate . I don’t want to bring her into the matter because this is a man to man thing. Relevant security agents should check with INEC for the result Suswam submitted there and the verify my claims “

Ukpabi who was fired from WAEC because of the Suswam deal, and was detained for 31 days on the orders of Suswam, has been facing strings of charges from the Suswam flank. They range from kidnapping, threat to life, to defamation of character

At home, Suswam is facing a formidable opposition led by former Adviser to California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Prof. Steve Ugbah. In his camp are gladiators like Ex Governor, George Akume, Lawrence Onoja, former Katsina State Military Administrator, Lawrence Akaagerger.

The AC N’s three Senatorial candidates for the 2011 polls are Senator Joseph Akaagerger, who is the Benue North East candidate; Senator George Akume for Benue North West and Gen. Lawrence Onoja for Benue South. For the House of Representatives seats, incumbent member representing Logo/Katsina Ala/Ukum Federal Constituency, Mzenda Iho, would fly the flag of the party; Orker Jev, a current member representing Buruku Federal Constituency is the candidate of the ACN.

Other candidates for the remaining nine federal constituencies of the state are mainly defectors from the ruling PDP in Benue State. One prominent candidate is the immediate past Security Adviser to Governor Suswam, Col. Benjamin Abohol, who is the ACN candidate for Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency.

For the state Assembly constituencies, out of the 29 candidates, two are serving members of the Benue State House of Assembly who defected from the PDP after the primaries.

Pointblanknews.com learnt that due to the hold Suswam has on the Benue PDP, several frontline politicians left for the Action Congress leaving him with President of the the very inept and corrupt senate, David Mark, whose rating has dipped in recent times, and former Justice Minister, Mike Aondoakaa who has defended Suswam vehemently. The former Attorney General who is been trailed by strings of allegations of corruption and recently stripped of his Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) tag said recently “ if Suswam won election as a federal lawmaker in 199 and 2003, and then Governor in 2007, of what use will it be to forge 2005 WAEC certificate result when it is clear he passed out from government college in 1982”

But the opposition is not buying it . They argue that his 1982 result had neither mathematics nor English. He had P7 in English. They also contend that he had his result altered at the time he submitted his credential to INEC in the run up to the Governorship election, mindful of the fact that the opposition could point out his subject deficiencies.

In 2005 he claimed his result was missing , and the curiously a fresh one was issued , and this time with English and mathematics. How he got into the University of Lagos is still a mystery. As for his call to Bar, there is also some grey areas. The Nigeria Law Directory has two entries. One is for Suswam, Gabriel T with call to Bar date as December 5, 1990, and the other for Suswam, Torwua Gabriel as June 8, 1991.

It was learnt that Suswam’s camp is having sleepless nights over the emergence of Ugbah. An aide of the Suswam who spoke with Pointblanknews.com in Abuja but prefers to be anonymous said the rising profile of Ugbah is a worry. According to him, “ we want to know if he was really an adviser to the California Governor. If we can prove he was not then we will checkmate him. We will want you to help us find out if his claim is true” But checks reveal he was an adviser to Schwarzenegger.

Interestingly, analysts say the major factor likely to threaten the return of Suswam is his frosty relationship with his predecessor, Senator George Akume, who is believed to have labored to install him in 2007 against all odds, and who is still commanding good followership.

The duo were said to have parted ways after Suswam assumed office as governor and Akume moved to the senate. But they had managed the feud until recently when both personalities began to nurse ambitions for second term.

Though no one is certain about the cause of the rift, two schools of thought emerged. First, they say Suswam considers some of Akume’s actions in the state as overbearing while Akume on the other hand, perceives some of Suswam’s actions as destroying some of his political structures in the state.

Daniel Saror who was a minority leader in the senate and now the leader of the opposition in the state, gave Suswam a big fight in 2007. He claimed to be the rightful winner of the governorship election but was allegedly rigged out.

Hon Clement Uhondo, an ANPP chieftain corroborated Saror, insisting that his party was ready to take over the state next year, adding that the party was solidly on ground in the state.

Claiming that his party was more on ground than the PDPD, he said in 2003 his party’s flag bearer, Paul Unongo defeated Akume in the governorship election while in 2007, his party candidate, Daniel Saror beat Suswam but was rigged out.He said Suswam has not done well to deserve re-election, adding that for Benue to move forward, the PDP government in the state must give way.

On his part, Dr Sam Abah, another governorship aspirant said that his posters were printed without party logo because the PDP has endorsed Suswam as its candidate for 2011’ hence some of them with ambition have to look for other platforms.

Abah who ran in 2007 on the PDP platform told Sunday Trust that he has begun consultations on which party to run since PDP has shut its doors against other aspirants.

He said the greatest cry of the people of Benue was for positive change. “We want to reduce poverty, we want to reduce unemployment. Suswam should take a leave to enable us take the state to the next level.”

Abah admitted that Suswam started very well but lost focus along the line, adding that he was among the people who endorsed him for second term during the early stage of his administration but sooner than later he ‘slept off’. According to him, the problem of the state was demonic; hence it needed God for change to occur, adding that he has the backing of the people and the support of God to prosecute his ambition.

On his LLM, MPA and Phd a source said “ Going by what we have on the senior school certificate, we are not sure he obtained these certificates legitimately. They claim he got an MPA, LLM and PhD in five years. Even the most serious candidate would sweat to achieve that. The Governor had been all over the place between 2006 and today. We doubt if he attends classes , take exams, and does his continuous assessments “ But Akwaya has dismissed the opposition describing Ugbah as Akume’s stooge who has no idea “ how the game is played “ He said “” Rt. Hon. Suswam is a bona fide lawyer having been called to bar in 1991. He has since then discharged several professional duties and therefore, his professional standing as a lawyer is not in doubt. We want the public to totally disregard the report being published as it is a work of blackmail and mischief aimed at smearing the Governor’s hard_earned reputation”

On Ukpabi’s allegation of ‘settlement’ promised by Suswam Akwaya said “ The guy claims Suswam refused to settle him. The matter is that as a member of the House and Governor, Suswam could afford to ‘settle’ but he cannot do such a thing with a criminal who is out to blackmail a public official for monetary benefit. Don’t forget he has publicly admitted he is a forger of WAEC results for many people, this means he is a pure criminal. As for Suswam’s performance, you are not in touch because of many years staying abroad. He is one of Nigeria’s best performing Governors. The challenge of the people you mentioned will be proven at the polls in April, after the polls I will call you by the grace of God to confirm to you that Suswam has defeated them all.

Former INEC Chairman, Abel Guobadia, Is Dead

caption: Dr. Abel Goubadia

Former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission
between 2000 to 2005, Abel Goubadia has died. The former public servant died this morning at the age of 79 in Benin City, Nigeria.
An entry on Wikipedia stated that Sir Abel Guobadia, was Officer of the Federal Republic(OFR) who was born on June 28, 1932 in Benin City, Nigeria.
Goubadia according to the entry is an educationist, administrator, diplomat and retired public servant.

Torres Vows To Score Against Liverpool

Chelsea's new £50m signing Fernando Torres has said it would be "destiny" to score against former club Liverpool when the teams meet on Sunday.

By coincidence, the Spaniard could make his debut for the Blues against the side he left on Monday.
The 26-year-old striker has not asked to be left out of the Premier League clash and stated: "It is like destiny."
He admitted: "It is not perfect but if I have the chance to play, I will do my best and hopefully I can score."
Torres' departure from Anfield, where he spent the best part of four years, was greeted with anger by many fans, some of whom burnt replica shirts bearing their former hero's name.
But the player stressed: "I only have good words about Liverpool. They made me a top player and gave me the chance to play at the top level.
"I will never say anything bad about Liverpool. I have been very happy there but now the history is different and I am playing for Chelsea."
Torres, who scored 81 goals during his spell on Merseyside, risked further annoying fans of his former club when he told Chelsea TV: "I am joining a team that is at the top level. There is not another level after Chelsea.
"I am joining with big names like [John] Terry, [Frank] Lampard, [Didier] Drogba and [Nicolas] Anelka and I can be part of this great team."
Torres admitted he had not yet met up with the Blues manager Carlo Ancelotti but said: "I wanted to join because Chelsea always have shown a big respect for me.
"They really want me and it is important when you have the support of the people in the club, and the support of the fans who always showed respect to me when I came to Stamford Bridge and at Anfield.
"Now I am very happy to be a Chelsea player."
Fans of the Stamford Bridge outfit will be relieved not to have Torres lining up against them for once, after he proved to be a thorn in their side with seven goals against them while playing for Liverpool.
The striker added: "I have good memories and bad memories of games against Chelsea. All the goals are good memories because all of them are special.
"If they are happy as well because I am not going to score any more against them then it is good."

Christian Protecting Muslims During Their Prayers In Egypt

Amazing pic of Christians protesters protecting Muslims during their prayers in Egypt yesterday. Naija lets take note! Jos lets take note! We can too,

http://www.myweku.com/2011/02/photo-of-the-week-christians-protecting-muslims-during-their-prayers-in-egypt/

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New look Maltina Hits the Market

Have you seen the new look Maltina recently? The new product has hit the market and it looks refreshingly different and cool. It's the brand's unique way of further strengthening its leadership position in the Nigerian malt drinks market. That is definitely not all, there is also a brand new pay-off line “Sharing happiness” - all these are part of a brand proposition rejuvenation process designed to ensure Maltina remains connected to the sophisticated and savvy 21st century Nigerian consumers.

The brand is also planning something big and to this effect the custodians are encouraging their customers and prospective customers to log onto www.maltina-nigeria.com, facebook.com/maltina to get invites and VIP passes to come and share happiness with the brand.

Maltina has been leading the malt drinks market for the past 35 years by being close to the hearts of many Nigerian consumers. As a result it is bringing a refreshed brand proposition to the market for Nigerians to share their happy moments with their loved ones and with the brand.

The initiative stems from the brands desire to continuously offer the Nigerian consumer the highest possible value for money. “The brand should always remain appealing and aspirational to consumers and should always remain in the lead versus competitor offerings. That is why we have chosen to premiumnize and refresh the brand’s identity. We are confident that it will further carry on the positive image of Maltina as the number one nourishing malt drink and as the brand that inspires sharing happy moments with loved ones.

We must also tell you that Maltina remains the same in composition and taste and can be enjoyed as before. Only now, it carries a modern new label that will better help it standout amongst other malts and give Maltina even more appeal.’

Also the design elements of the refreshed brand uses a number of interesting colours, all with great significance in Maltina’s new identity; Classic white for purity, Black for boldness and rich content, warm red for energy and vitality, orange for vibrancy, yellow for happiness and gold as a promise of high quality. The cool new look and new pay-off line contribute to the brand being perceived as the number one malt drink, best known for its superior nourishment and for ‘sharing happiness’. This means that Maltina will not only nourish and revitalise consumers as it did before, but will also inspire moments to share happiness with friends, family and loved ones at home, at school, at work, at parties and social functions alike. In addition to the Maltina bottle, the Maltina ‘Can’ will also carry the vibrant new look. The Maltina bottle and ‘Can’ will continue to share nourishment as well as happiness with everyone, everywhere.”

The consumers’ever changing needs and environment requires that a market leader such as Maltina stay contemporary and relevant. To support the new packaging and positioning, there will be full media support. To this end, new TV commercials, radio spots, press and outdoor ads will be unveiled.

The Maltina brand is noted for exploring creative avenues to consistently engage and reward its teeming consumers. One of these creative consumer engagement platforms is the popular and highly rated Maltina Dance All (MDA) TV reality show, a platform for promoting family values and bonding.

Since it hit the Nigerian market in 1976, Maltina has consistently satisfied its consumers with high quality natural malt drink, fortified with essential vitamins and minerals. It is the first and only malt drink officially endorsed by the Nutrition Society Nigeria. This provides Nigerians the vitality and superior nourishment necessary for their daily activities - including those special fun moments shared with friends and loved ones.

NPL Wins Case Against Globacom

A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered Globacom to pay the Nigeria Premier League it's outstanding sponsorship fee from the final year of their contract.

The League organising body was forced to head for the courts after the telecommunications firm defaulted on their sponsorship commitment.

Attempts by new NPL chairman Davidson Owumi to have the issue resolved yielded no fruit and the they we forced to take the matter to court.

In his judgement at the court on Thursday afternoon, Justice Olasuyi Olateru-Olagbegi, ordered Globacom to pay up the contract fee of the 2009/2010 season owed NPL.

The judgement means that Globacom will pay up the sum of N922,383,000 for last season's fee for the title sponsorship rights of the Premier League in Nigeria.

Globacom's defense for their refusal to pay was based on alleged corruption at the NPL, but the judge was left unimpressed, according to NPL counsel Emmanuel Oboh.

“The judge didn't entertain their prayer on the issue of corruption for breaching a contract since that cannot stand in this situation and was not an issue of objection,” Oboh said.

The NPL has been in the High Court in Lagos since March 9, 2010 challenging Globacom Nigeria Limited for breach of contract before it won the case on Thursday.

P Diddy throws fortune away

P Diddy caused a meltdown in a Miami club after he started throwing money, reportedly totalling $1 million, into the crowd.

Fans and non-fans alike scrambled for the cash, in one of the rapper's more generous outpourings.

He was attending the birthday of rapper Rick Ross when the giveaway began, with pals Busta Rhymes and Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes also in attendance.

All eyes will now be on Diddy for his next appearance - he has announced that he plans to stage a free gig for fans in London soon.

Nigeria's Uche Given Green Light To Play Football Again!

Nigeria international Ikechukwu Uche has been told he can play football again after undergoing two knee operations.
The 27-year-old striker picked up the injury during his second league match with Spanish club Real Zaragoza in September 2009.
Uche seemed to have recovered from the injury but had a second operation in July 2010.
Now the club's doctor has given him the all-clear to resume playing.
Uche, who made his international debut for Nigeria's Super Eagles in 2007, has spent most of his career playing in Spain.
He moved to Zaragoza from another Spanish side, Getafe, on a four-year contract.
The injury cost Uche a place in the Super Eagles squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola and the subsequent World Cup in South Africa.

Only In Nigeria: Monarch Orders Closure Of Church For Three Months

Hundreds of worshippers at Saint Paul African Church, Alagbado, Ogun State, on Sunday took to their heels as some hoodlums in the area attacked them with canes, stones and other weapons, preventing them from having normal Sunday service in the church.



Saint Paul African Church, Alagbado. Inset: The locked gate.



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The hoodlums, who were said to have arrived the church as early as 6am, stayed in the church premises until 12noon; successfully preventing the church service from holding.

PUNCH METRO gathered that the closure was the culmination of a cold war between some elders in the church and the town's new monarch, Oba Adedayo Shyllon. It was gathered that the monarch ordered that the church be closed for three months and the hoodlums were merely enforcing the king's order.

The Peoples' Warden and head of administration of the church, Mr. Sola Akinsanya, told our correspondent that the attack on the church by hoodlums suspeted to be the king's loyalists was as a result of a simple security measure taken by the church, which the king was not happy with.

According to him, the elders in the church met on Saturday, January 22, and decided that there would be no church service the following day because they feared that there might be a violent protest in the church.

He said, "There was a court injunction, which was served on the church. The injunction prevented Shyllon from parading himself as the king. The elders met and decided not to hold church service on that day."

"Ironically, that Sunday the elders decided to close the church coincided with the day that the new monarch chose for the thanksgiving of his coronation in the church.

But one of the elders in the church, Chief Theophilus Amodu, said there had been violent protest against the king by the youth and market women, prompting the elders to believe that his presence in the church might cause problem. "That Saturday, a young man was killed and we feared that our church might become the centre of another protest, hence the closure," he said.

However, the elders' action put the king in bad light as he and his visitors were stranded and had to quickly relocate to another church for the service. The angry king was said to have vowed to close the church for three months.

On Tuesday, January 25, the king made good his promise by locking all the entrances to the church. But the elders broke the lock and reported the case to the police.

Akinsanya said, "I called the vicar of the church and we went to the police station to make statement. The Divisional Police Officer said we should break the lock which we did. On Saturday, we wrote to the DPO requesting two armed policemen at our service today (yesterday). This morning, the sexton of the church, Mr. Wale Ogundimu, called to tell me that the church was locked again. Later we learnt that the sexton had been abducted by the thugs sent to the church.

"We went to the police station, where we also found the sexton. We made statement and the head of the station patrol and guard duty sent five policemen with us to the church on the DPO's instruction.

"When we got there, we were prevented from entering the church by the thugs numbering about 22, sent by Shyllon and led by one Fatai. After discussing with the policemen, Fatai instructed his thugs to beat everybody, we fled."

However, Amodu said that the elders would not allow the king to lock the church for three months. "We want the whole world to know our plight and we want our church opened," he said.

But the monarch said he did not send anybody to the church. "As you can see, I am just coming back from a service in another church. I don't know anything about anybody attacking them," he said.

He however admitted that he gave instruction that the church should not be opened for three months.

He said, "I went to the church last week and I met it closed. I went there with the Primate of the African church and also the Bishop of Ifako Diocese; not to talk of about four kings that accompanied me. I was totally embarrassed.

"I have my instrument of office since December 23, 2010. The coronation was just a ceremony. If somebody went to court, what is the business of the elders of the church; were they joined in the suit? What protest were the talking about? There was no protest, the boy that died was killed on Monday during the clash of the butchers at the market there, not here. My father was among the five people that established that church; I am the Patron of the Archdeaconry and they locked me out.

"Of course, I said that since the elders wanted to close the church, the church would remain closed for the next three months. I said it before the bishop and the primate and they said nothing. I am the king of this town. I don't know anything about today's disturbance, but I know I said that the church would remain close for three months."

Gbogbo’s Men Threaten To Kill Nigerians

ANKARA, TURKEY – DISGUISED as Journalists, President Laurent Gbagbo’s men who impersonated other nationals successfully infiltrated the just concluded 16th African Union Summit.

They tried to convince delegates and journalists at the summit that Gbagbo was the real winner while Alassane Ouattara was not just usurper but a rebel for the past two decades.

The African Union had blocked both Gbagbo and Ouattara’s men from taking part in the summit more so since the country has been suspended until when the crisis is resolved.

One of them, Richard Assamoa Ossey, Conseiller Technique Presse and Communication, Cabinet Du President, Republique de Cote D’Ivoire, approached Nigerian journalists alongside his female colleagues with documents, lunching into history of Ouattara’s rebellion which has resulted in the violation and killings of women and children in the past and why he couldn’t have been the winner of November 2010 elections.

After series of questions puncturing his points, Ossey got angry and warned Nigerians to stay clear of Ivorien affairs saying “you think because you send ECOMOG to other countries to interfere you can succeed in Cote D’ Ivoire? Try it and see if we will not wipe out the three million Nigerians in Cote D’ Ivoire, try it and see if Nigerians in Cote D’ Ivoire will not become dogs”.

When remained that Nigeria was only a chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the position taken was that of the region, Ossey his colleagues to stop convincing us, muttering angrily to the embarrassment of his other colleagues who Nigerians in that country will be wiped out if the interference does not stop.

When cornered at the interaction of President Goodluck Jonathan with Nigerians in Addis Ababa, Monday, to react, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Odien Ajumogobia, described the threats as unfortunate as Nigeria was only towing the line of regional decisions.

He was however silent on what the government was going to do about the safety of Nigerians under threat in that country.

Fg Waives Visas For Nationals Of Kenya, Seychelles

The Federal Government has relaxed visa requirements for citizens of Kenya and Seychelles with effect from February 11, 2011 following a directive from President Goodluck Jonathan.

Visitors from the two countries will from that date only be required to pay a visa fee of $25 at the point of entry, rather than go through the hassles of visa application at the Nigerian High Commission in Nairobi as was the case currently.

But for the nationals of Seychelles, their valid passport admits them directly into Nigeria without any recourse to visa fees.

This was the outcome of a meeting between the Minister of Interior, Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho (retd.) and the ministers of foreign affairs and aviation in Abuja on Tuesday.

Ihenacho said that as soon as all protocols were completed by the Ministry of Aviation, the Kenyan Airways would be granted permission to new frequencies at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja where it could operate direct flights to and from Kenya to ease logistic problems of travelers who wish to originate and terminate their flights in the Federal Capital Territory.



According to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs , Mrs. Salamatu Suleiman, the Federal Government took the decision to reciprocate the diplomatic gesture extended to her by the governments of the two countries which have been in place since May 2009.

In his remark, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Kenya and Seychelles, Dr. Chijioke Wigwe, described the policy as a new beginning that would improve the existing relationship between Nigeria and the two countries.

“I believe other African nations will take a cue from this relationship and explore such diplomatic options that will bring about unity in the continent,” he said

Imam guilty of raping boy at mosque

A Muslim cleric has been convicted of raping a young boy as he attended Islamic education lessons at his mosque...

Mohammed Hanif Khan, 42, was also found guilty by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court of sexual activity with a child, as well as the two counts of rape.
The charges relate to two boys who attended the mosque in Capper Street, Stoke on Trent, where he was imam, in 2009.
Prosecutor Tariq Bin Shakoor told the jury part of Khan's job was to lead prayers and give Islamic education lessons to boys at evening classes.
He told the court one of the boys claimed in police interviews that he was singled out by Khan after evening prayer on several occasions. He was sexually assaulted in various areas of the mosque which were not covered by CCTV, Mr Shakoor told the court.
The other boy was assaulted when he was an overnight guest at Khan's house, the jury of six men and six women were told.
But in his evidence to the court Khan, of Owler Lane, Sheffield, said he had a close relationship with the youngsters because he tried to help them with their unruly behaviour, adding that he would often be more lenient on the boys if they were late or did not turn up for classes at the mosque because he was aware they had issues at home.
Khan's lawyer, Robert Woodcock QC, asked him who had invited him to get involved in the family's business and he said it was mainly the mothers of the two boys who asked for his help.
Khan, who told the court he travelled to Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, India and Cyprus to complete his imam training, showed no emotion as the jury delivered its verdicts.
A further five charges were dismissed by Mrs Justice Dobbs because the jury could not reach a decision, and she adjourned the trial for pre-sentence reports to a date yet to be fixed.

Public Debate: I’ve No Time For Soludo – Aganga

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, has declined to engage a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, in a debate over the economy, saying that he had more important economic issues to attend to.

Aganga, who spoke in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Monday, instead referred Soludo to investors, “who lost so much money in the capital market.”

He said, “I’m not interested in responding. I made a first comment and he has responded. I’m not a politician; I’m a technocrat and I have work to do. Let Nigerians who have lost so much money in the capital market judge. Let taxpayers, whose over N2tn is being used to fund the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria to bail out the banks judge.”

The minister said his main assignment was to see the economy improve significantly, noting that the Federal Government was committed to seeing things work.

Aganga had, on a Nigerian Television Authority’s programme (Finance and Economy), taken on former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and his advisers on what he described as misrepresentation of facts about the Nigerian economy.

He had said, “They are the same people who told us that our banks are safe, there are no non-performing loans, What happened when the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi came on board? The can was opened, everything was completely rotten. These are the people who ran the economy down and they are the same people advising the man.”

He added that Atiku’s advisers ought to be serving a jail term for mismanaging the economy during their tenure.

However, Soludo, who reacted in strong words to Aganga’s position, floored the minister’s administration, saying his team lacked the capability to run the ministry.

He said, “You assumed office when oil price was about $75 per barrel and external reserves stood at about $42bn. Within nine months, you have earned a world record as the head of an Economic Management Team that lost about $10bn in foreign reserves at a time of unprecedented export boom, with oil price now over $90 per barrel.

“While the EMT I belonged to got Nigeria debt relief, you will get the world record as the finance minister who had the fastest rate of debt accumulation in Nigeria’s history, even at a time of oil boom, and presented a budget where not a kobo of oil revenue is spent on infrastructure like power etc, but 114 per cent of revenue (is) spent on consumption.”

He added, “My candid advice to you, Hon. Minister, is for you and your colleagues at the EMT to note that you need serious help on the economy. It is our collective destiny that is at stake. Threatening me with imprisonment or even imprisoning me will not solve the problem sir.

“But if you are convinced that you know what you are talking about in respect of the economy, and/or that you are sure of what you said about my regime, I challenge you to a two- to three-hour televised national debate on these issues.

Serena Williams Might Lose her leg ! Falls from No 1 to Number 13 after foot infection !

Serena Williams has already admitted that she had foot surgery, following an accident involving broken glass at a restaurant in Munich last summer. However, now it is being reported that her foot is badly infected and not responding to antibiotics.
SandraRose is reporting:
“Williams has a serious bone infection (osteomyelitis) in her right foot that is not responding well to intravenous antibiotics such as Vancomycin, considered among the last-line of antibiotics that doctors use when all else fails.
As a result, Williams is losing weight and her weakened state has caused mobility problems...
In addition to dizziness, muscle weakness and low blood pressure, IV Vancomycin’s serious side effects include a persistent sore throat and swelling of the tongue and throat.
Osteomyelitis can result in great loss of bone, but is treatable if caught early. The injury has caused Serena to miss the US Open, and she has plummeted from #1 to #13 in the world.”

Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook Fan Page Hacked !

Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook fan page seems to have been hacked, with the hacker posting a message calling on the company to transform into a “social business.”
The message, seemingly posted on Facebook from Mark Zuckerberg’s account, was quickly removed (together with the fan page), but not quickly enough to go by unnoticed, receiving more than 1,800 “likes” and hundreds of comments in the process.
The message read: “Let the hacking begin: If facebook needs money, instead of going to the banks, why doesn’t Facebook let its users invest in Facebook in a social way? Why not transform Facebook into a ‘social business’ the way Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus described it? [LINK] What do you think? #hackercup2011″
Facebook made no statement about the incident, but if Zuckerberg’s fan page was indeed hacked, it’s a big deal. If the Facebook CEO (more accurately, the PR team that’s handling the page for him) can’t keep his Facebook account safe from intruders, who can?..
We’ve reached out to Facebook about the incident and will update the post when we hear back.

Stop all killings now, IBB tells Jonathan

A former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahin Babangida (retd.), has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to stop all killings in the country.

Babangida, who was reacting to the killings of the All Nigeria Peoples Party governorship candidate in Borno State, Alhaji Modu Gubio and six others in Maidugiri, the state capital on Friday, said the spate of killings in the country was worrisome.

In a statement signed by his spokesperson, Mr. Kassim Afegbua, Babangida said, “There is cause for worry. The conflagration in the country, the mindless killings in the land and the heightening fear of uncertainty, which is currently enveloping the country, are not telling any good signs about our nationality.

“Different from what anyone may think, these negative indices have their negative impacts on our democracy, investment in the economy, planning, and forecasting for the future.

He said since democracy guarantees the right to elect leaders, it should then be used as a veritable platform for the people to speak their minds without equivocation.

“Killing ourselves in the name of democracy or for whatever motive will neither help us as individual members of the union nor help elected governments to pursue our collective aspirations,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Plateau State Police Commissioner, Mr. Abdurrahman Akano has said that none of the 15 students shot during the skirmishes that engulfed parts of Jos on Saturday died.

Some parts of Jos were engulfed in crisis when students of University of Jos staged a demonstration over alleged stabbing of two of their colleagues by some Muslim youths on Friday.

Breaking News - Buhari Picks Bakare

Wanted: a powerful candidate to give President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, a good fight at the general election in April. Enter my colleague, Dele Momodu, public intellectual, Dr. Pat Utomi, Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, former EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu and former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari. Each of the above candidates parade requisite credentials for good leadership. Momodu and Utomi are running on intellectual platform which usually in Nigerian context, hardly ever translate into votes. Their chances are as limited as the limited resources and structures at their disposals. One day, Nigeria would mature into politics of ideas but until then, we can only thank Utomi and Momodu for their courage to dare at least. Shekarau is coming into the race with a background of two successful tenures as governor of volatile Kano State who rode on the crest of religious-come-populist bubble to become governor in a fairy-tale manner that may be difficult to replicate in a highly polarized and heterogeneous national platform. With captive support in Kano State and expected reasonable impact in some part of North West, he certainly has a spoiler’s chance in a limited territory. Such men are dangerous, but they are no national competition. Ribadu is waving his highly controversial anti-corruption achievements and truly, for a nation so deeply mired in the cesspit of corruption, this would have amounted to much, but he also carries with him, the political incubus of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s desecration of the anti-corruption agency under Ribadu’s watch for selfish political goals, including the third term gambit. Enter the ascetic former head of state, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, perhaps one of Nigeria’s most incorruptible leaders. He had been oil minister, head of state and head of the Petroleum Trust Fund that used petroleum revenue to develop various sectors of the nation, but without enriching himself. On account of his moral probity, despite his harsh record of human rights abuses as a head of state, Nigerians have
Bakare Photo: Sun News Publishing
come to respect as well fear him. He is respected for his moral integrity and feared by Christians who think he is an Islamic fanatic who may turn out to be a Taliban! It was after all under his watch that Nigeria commenced romance with the controversial Organisation of Islamic Countries, (OIC), a romance that was consummated to a
limited but controversial degree under the presidency of Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. Since then, many Christian electorates had feared Buhari’s presumed
potential to islamise Nigeria far more than they respected his incorruptible
personality.
Twice Buhari ran for presidency and twice he lost, even when he insisted that he
actually won. Many who rode on his name to power as governors under ANPP soon
dumped him to cut survival deals with ruling PDP and in turn, his party repudiated his court battles at electoral tribunals. But unlike the typical politicians who cut deals to
survive, Buhari had remained faithful to his uncompromising principles, a fact that had endeared him to the masses of the north, making him today potentially the most popular political figure in the north. Students of branding have a good subject in
Buhari on how to grow a personal political brand without spending a kobo. In a nation
where politics is a game of money—at times, running into billions—Buhari and his followers barely scratch by to pay their most basic bills.
But the absence of money to spend has not diminished Buhari’s brand; if anything, it has enhanced his connection with the masses, making him extremely popular. It is said that Buhari is the only man capable of pulling a million-man crowd in many northern cities without spending money on publicity.
This type of profile makes Buhari a candidate to beat in the north and therefore,
President Goodluck Jonathan’s stiffest opponent in the north. The snag however, for Buhari is how to translate his popularity in the north to the south. This has been tough
because of Buhari’s perception as an Islamic fanatic. For him to pick a southern
candidate, Buhari not only needed a Christian, but a credible one at that who
commands respect of the people. On this score, many of the popular politicians just didn’t make the scratch.
Enter fiery and iconoclastic preacher, Pastor Tunde Bakare, general overseer of the
Latter Rain Assembly and also the convener of Save Nigeria Group, (SNG). Report in
The Guardian of Thursday states that Bakare was being persuaded to become Buhari’s running mate for the April presidential election. Unfortunately, Pastor Bakare has been dragging his feet. One, he didn’t want to run for political office. Nonsense. Here
was Bakare preaching to few thousands and God says it was time to preach by words and action to 150 million audience and he is dithering and developing sentimental qualms? Second, Bakare didn’t want it to look as if the reason he formed SNG was really as a political platform to sell himself for political office. Well, then, Bakare, a
lawyer, ought to show me any section of the Bible and the Nigerian constitution that says that if you form a non-partisan association that exposed your leadership gifts to the world, you should not offer yourself to serve the people if they so desired. Imagine what would have happened if Joseph had told Pharaoh that he would not serve as prime minister in Egypt because people would think that was why he was dreaming and interpreting dreams! Or what God would have thought of Daniel if he had declined public office in Babylon simply so that nobody would consider him opportunistic! The question is: why do I want Bakare to run as Buhari’s running mate? First, it has to do with Bakare’s eminent qualification for the position. His profile fits that of Buhari like a pair of gloves. As a former Moslem, he would best understand the mindset of a typical ascetic Moslem like Buhari and how best to deal with him. Bakare is extremely bold and well able to speak his mind to powers that be, and that is, to speak the truth as he perceives it—a simple virtue that is in acute shortage in the corridors of power in Nigeria, giving lily-livered sycophants a field day. As a lawyer groomed in the chambers of both the fiery radical, Gani Fawehinmi and the arch conservative Chief Rotimi Williams, both now late, nobody would be able to pool the wool over his eyes. As a pastor, a minister of righteousness, he would not go into public office to amass wealth. In terms of leadership by example, where the president and the vice president are not soiling their hands with corruption, God helps anybody in their administration who would steal public funds. Buhari had proved his mettle from different public office positions that he would not enrich himself from public fund, neither would he be afraid to take bold decisions, including firing or jailing corrupt leaders. If his natural ascetic lifestyle made that unnecessary in his younger days, it would be crazy to think he would do otherwise in his old age. In other words, his character is no longer forming, it is already set and unchangeable. This would be dangerous for those of us in the media since Buhari patently seems to dislike media freedom, but then we would give him the fight of his life on that, trust us. The corruption challenge is on Bakare. In other words, wouldn’t the lure of office corrupt Bakare as many before him had fallen under the spell of corruption? Well, Bakare was a successful lawyer before he came into the ministry. He passed through the tutelage of the Pentecostal fundamentalist, Pastor Kumuyi of Deeper Life Bible Church and Pastor E. A. Adeboye of Redeemed Christian Church before he founded his ministry, Latter Rain Assembly. He had refused to join the prosperity bandwagon; preferring to play the role of an Old Testament prophet who had been the scourge of fellow Christian leaders whom he
accused of sundry offences including cultivating personality cult around themselves, doctrinal deviations and diverting into building human monuments rather than focusing on the core purposes of the church. Meaning that his passion is not amassing wealth and it would be unbelievable human tragedy if he changes now. Men who had definite purpose in life are not likely to be swayed by material circumstances as much as those who are merely opportunistic and lack definite purpose or spiritual anchors. If the Buhari-Bakare ticket happens, it would be the pairing of two strong personalities who would certainly give the Jonathan-Sambo-Incumbency ticket a run for their money at the polls. Win or lose, their candidacy would enhance the profile of the election from a potential walkover for Jonathan to a real contest where the winner would be somebody that would pass through the crucible to offer real values to the electorate. At the PDP convention, we saw a coronation of Jonathan, not a real contest, and this was all down to the power of incumbency. But Jonathan’s possible victory at the polls is not the problem; the absence of keen competition would be the problem that would undermine the credibility of the election. We must grow beyond “se-election” to real electoral contest; that is the only way to extract accountability from public office holders. They must sweat to get into power and be threatened with sack if they didn’t perform. If anybody asked my opinion on whether Bakare should accept to become Buhari’s running mate or not, I would borrow a prophetic trumpet and mount on the rooftop and blow: Run Bakare, Run…

Na Wa For Naija Imagine Lamido’s Facebook Critic Remanded In Prison

Mukhtari Ibrahim Aminu, the man arrested and arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Dutse for allegedly insulting Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State on Facebook has been remanded in prison till February, 7, 2011.
The accused person was arrested by the police 10 days ago for allegedly sending an abusive text message against Governor Sule Lamido through his face book page.

In his ruling, the presiding judge, Magistrate Mustapha Saád fixed February 7 for ruling on the bail application filed before the court by the counsel to the accused person, Barrister Adamu Abubakar.  When the case came up yesterday at Dutse Magistrate Court II, the accused person pleaded not guilty after the prosecution counsel, SP Peter Amedi read the First Information Report (FIR) to him and the judge asked him whether he committed the offence or not.

The prosecution counsel, SP Peter Amedi, told the court that the accused person had on February 19, 2011 posted an abusive text message insulting Governor Sule Lamido on his facebook page, hence, defamed the character of the governor. SP Amedi told the court that the accused person’s action contravened section 393 of the penal code, therefore leading to his arrest by the police and now arraigned before the court of law for prosecution.

In another development, the state Commissioner for Justice Barrister Tijjani Inuwa Dutse has applied to take over the case from the police. Standing before the court for the Attorney General, Barrister Muhammad Lamin told the court that the Justice Commissioner was empowered by section 211 of the Nigerian Constitution to take over any case from anybody and or stop it entirely.

I Won’t Contest 2015 Elections !

President Goodluck Jonathan has assured Nigerians in the Diaspora that though he will not contest the 2015 elections, he will ensure a free and fair elections, beginning from the April polls this year. He has also assured that if voted in for the next four years, he would ensure significant improvement in key sector of the economy, security, power, education, road, health amongst others.

“Without security there is no government. So, it is not debatable, it is something we have to address and we are working towards that with vigour. But if I’m voted into power within the next four years the issue of power will become a thing of the past. Four years is enough for anyone in power to make significant improvement and if I can’t improve on power within this period, it then means I cannot do anything even if I am there for the next four years.”
President Jonathan said this while interacting with Nigerians mainly diplomats working in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union (AU).

While fielding questions from those present at the interactive session on whether Nigerians abroad would vote, President Jonathan said: “I would have loved that Nigerians in the Diaspora vote this year but to be frank with you, that is going to be difficult now. Presently the law does not allow the voting outside Nigeria and so this year, Nigerians in the Diaspora will not vote but I will work towards it by 2015 even though I will not be running for election.”

On the issue of security, President Jonathan said the government was doing everything possible to arrest the situation. He disclosed that all those involved in the October 1 bombing had been arrested and being prosecuted. He, however, said he ordered the release of the car dealers because they were just businessmen who could not have known that the vehicles were to be used for such heinous crime.
The President, while speaking on education, said the nine newly approved universities were to be specialised and to be headed by, at least, three Nigerians experts in the Diaspora.

On the concerns raised of having a database of Nigerian experts in the Diaspora, President Jonathan assured that he was working on creating a forum for interaction between them and government and also develop a database, where experts needed to address the various challenges of the economy would be drawn. He hinted that this was why the Diaspora Commission was being set up as the bill was already before the National Assembly.
The President also disclosed that the government was looking towards reviewing the country’s foreign policy to ensure that Nigeria got maximum benefit from its roles and contributions to international organisations like the AU, UN and ECOWAS.

Jonathan lamented that right now Nigeria’s contributions were not being recognised, adding that “there is need for Nigeria to have something in return for our investments. We are investing so much but it is not being noticed and there is need to reverse that trend.”
Addressing the concerns about road network and transportation in the country, the president assured that the railway system would be revamped because presently heavy duty vehicles were destroying the roads. “Why we cannot have continuous road maintenance for now is because no contractor wants to go into it because of the continuous pressure on the road by heavy duty vehicles. That is why we are working to ensure that we revamp the rail.”

He also assured that Nigerians working in international organisations and institutions would be issued diplomatic passports. He directed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajumogobia, to submit the list of those qualified within the shortest possible time to him.
On the 35 per cent affirmative action implementation and the domestication of protocols signed, he assured that he would present before the National Assembly within the shortest possible time.

Acn: Inec Can’t Detect Multiple Registration

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has raised the alarm over the capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to detect multiple registration.

According to the major opposition political party, “the INEC server lacks the capacity to detect double or multiple registration, contrary to the lies that the nation has been fed with by the commission, verification is only at the machine level and not at the server level,” the party said in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The statement said: ‘’That means anyone who registers in five different centres, for example, can indeed vote in all those centres without being detected. This is contrary to what Nigerians were told and it is a national calamity,’’ it said.

The ACN challenged INEC to disprove the claim of its inability to detect multiple registration by demonstrating to all stakeholders how it plans to do it, adding that failure to do this, “the Federal Government must set up a panel of inquiry to investigate how the country can be taken for a ride on an issue that is so critical to national survival.”

The panel, it said, must find answers to the following posers: “Who advised INEC to procure a system that cannot detect double/multiple registration? Why did INEC lure Nigerians into a false sense of security that no one can get away with double/multiple registration?

“What, if any, is the level of complicity of the PDP-led federal government in this national calamity? What guarantee can INEC, and indeed President Goodluck Jonathan, now give that April’s general election will be free and fair?” the A CN said.

The party urged other opposition political parties, the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform (CODER) and pro-democracy groups to hold a meeting urgently to find a way forward.

“It simply means that every time INEC wants to detect double/multiple registration, it will have to match each set of ten fingerprints of a voter against sixty million sets of ten fingerprints (assuming 60 million people were registered), and the technology procured by INEC simply does not have the capacity to do that.

The ACN said if “it took the British Police three years to establish a national finger print system, it is not what INEC can do in three weeks.”

“We are therefore left with no option than to conclude that the much-ballyhooed, N100 billion voter registration exercise will not produce a credible or accurate voter register. The voter register that will emerge will be packed full with fake names and riddled with double/multiple registration. Needless to say, therefore, that the forthcoming general elections will neither be free, fair nor credible,” it said.

ACN’s latest alarm over the voter registration is unjustifiable, the INEC said yesterday.

Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Mr Kayode Idowu, said all expenses incurred on the procurement of the DDC machines were logically justifiable, adding that contrary to AC N’s view, the embedded software in the DDC would effectively detect multiple registrations once the date is aggregated at ward, local government, state and national levels.

“How could anyone say this is a hoax? The commission has put software in each of the DDC machines to forstall double registration. The truth of the matter is that double registration will be detected once the data are aggregated.

“For instance, if someone registers at two polling units in a ward, that double registration will be detected when the data get aggregated at the ward level.”

He explained that multiple registrations in different local government areas will be detected when the entire date is aggregated at the state level, while multiple registration done at different polling units in different states will be detected by the time the entire data is collected at the national level.

On the DDC machines, Idowu said INEC saved the nation millions of dollars by purchasing the equipment directly from manufacturer at lower prices.