Buhari’s Campaign Co-ordinator Defects To PDP

In less than 48 hours to March 28 presidential election, the presidential campaign co-ordinator to Gneral Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential candidate has defected to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

General Muhammadu Buhari

Channels Television on Thursday reported that the Buhari presidential campaign co-ordinator in Cross River State, Engineer U.Oko, left the APC to the PDP with all his supporters.

READ ALSO: PDP Will Claim Back Five Lost States – Mu’azu

Oko reportedly pledge to mobilise support for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan, the candidate of the PDP.

The defector, who addressed a mammoth crowd of PDP supporters in Bekwarra Local Government Area of the State, revealed that his decision to dump the APC for the PDP was informed by President Jonathan’s excellent achievements in office.

It was gathered that Barrister Legor Idagbo, the PDP candidate for the House of Representatives elections for Bekwarra, Obudu, Obanliku Federal Constituency, received Oko back into the party.

Idagbo, who thanked Oko for the bold step, stated that unlike the broom, the PDPs umbrella was big enough to accommodate everyone.

READ ALSO:  21 Commissioners To Dump APC For PDP In Rivers

The House of Reps candidate while praising Oko’s decision stated that he is a grass root mobiliser and an intelligent politician who would contribute a great deal to the continued growth of the state’s PDP.

The PDP in Cross River state have reportedly started to distribute bags of rice and other food items to sway voters to support its candidates in Saturday’s presidential and national assembly elections.

The deputy national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, had earlier said the APC would totally crumble towards the last days of the campaign as more governors and chieftains will return to the ruling party.

5 Things Buhari Should Do If Elects As President

Few hours to the presidential election, no one is sure what the outcome will be. The two main contenders are President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress.

If Buhari is declared winner by the electoral commission, here are five things the new President should – or will have to – do:

READ ALSO: The 5 Biggest Losers if Buhari Wins

Apologize

Thirty years ago Buhari and his deputy, the late Tunde Idiagbon, ran the country as stern, unsmiling, bordering-on-ruthless military generals. They jailed hundreds of politicians (a good number of them unfairly; such was the blanket nature of the clampdown), muzzled the press, retroactively instituted the death sentence for drug trafficking (resulting in the execution of three convicted persons), and generally presided over an increasingly stifling atmosphere. While they may have had good intentions – cleaning up in the wake of a corrupt and inept set of politicians – and while it is important to understand that a dictatorship, by its very nature, requires dictatorial action, I still think that Buhari owes some people, or groups of persons, an apology; a symbolic action to turn the page on a past that was as marked by error as it was by its idealism. People like Adeyemi Adefulu and Tinuoye Shoneyin, who insist the Buhari regime unjustly, treated him – even while taking their place on a growing list of Buhari victims who have since forgiven him and are now championing his candidacy. Shoneyin’s daughter Lola, a writer, is even on Buhari’s campaign team and has written on this.

Adefulu says: “I [would] still like Buhari to vocalize an apology and offer some succor to people like me whom his government brutalized in the past. It is the least he can do. To do so is not weakness. Indeed, it is strength to admit the mistakes of the past and to promote national reconciliation.”

Assert

There will be hundreds of appointments to be made, starting May 29 – ministers, special advisers, senior special assistants, special assistants, ambassadors, members of governing boards for tens of federal government bodies, possibly even new leadership for the military and police. Much of the attention will be on his choice of chief of staff, finance and petroleum ministers, and his economic management team.

In his book, The Sixteen ‘Sins’ of General Muhammadu Buhari, Tam David-West, Buhari’s minister of petroleum during his days as military head of state, and an enduring supporter, says his appointment as a minister came as a surprise; based purely on his resume and his reputation. While Buhari’s pedigree suggests that in making his key appointments merit will stubbornly trump political pressure, it is important to note that he is also now, in his most recent incarnation as presidential candidate of a motley coalition of politicians, a much more pragmatic player than ever before.

Nigerians will also be expecting him to provide moral authority and hands-on leadership to the team. He has himself hinted, in a recent letter to Nigerians, of his desire to ensure “the Federal Executive Council, which has been turned to a weekly session of contract bazaar, will concentrate on its principal function of policy making.”

Assess

Four years of $100 plus per oil barrel prices have come to an end, and Nigeria hasn’t got very much to show for it; understandable when you consider that the last four years have been awash with stories of dodgy oil deals and large-scale oil bunkering. Buhari’s first task will be to assess just how bad things are. (We already have an idea, Nigeria is expected to earn, this year, only two thirds of what it earned in oil revenues last year). In recent speeches Buhari has repeatedly hinted at drawing a line between past and present, by which he means restricting his anti-corruption clampdown to infractions that occur on his watch as president and not those that preceded him. This seemingly mollifying stance is likely to have arisen on account of the frenzy with which the ruling party has sought to portray him as being still as obsessed with sending perceived opponents to jail as he was three decades ago. As a civilian President he will probably realize that he has to decide, on a case-by-case basis, where that line-drawing will apply, and where it will not.

Finally, Nigerians deserve, within Buhari’s first hundred days in office, a State of the Nation Address, in which he will provide an honest and detailed view of the country’s financial situation. This leads to the next point:

Articulate

The entire system of government communication requires overhauling. Currently it’s divided among several officials, including a minister of information, a special adviser to the president on media, and any number of presidential assistants and special assistants assigned to specific functions like “social media”, “new media” and “public affairs. The result is an alarming incoherence, visible every time you open a newspaper, or your Twitter feed. As president Buhari should immediately take steps to streamline government communications, and create a unified, hierarchical structure in which all roles and responsibilities are clarified. He may also want to consider creating a central management team for government communications, similar in intent and style to the one former president Obasanjo created for the economy.

READ MORE: Jonathan, Buhari Renew Peace Accord At The 11th Hour

Attack

Boko Haram has in the last few years proven to be the ultimate disciplinarian of the Nigerian state. If elected, Buhari should take immediate steps to shore up the confidence and capacity of the Nigerian military. His opponents have worked hard at labeling him an Islamic fundamentalist, an apologist for Sharia Islamic law, and even a Boko Haram sympathizer. On the strength of available evidence – including testimonials, and his record as Head of State – the allegations are implausible. In his book Honour For Sale, Debo Bashorun, one-time Nigerian presidential spokesperson (during the regime of military dictator Ibrahim Babangida, who overthrew Buhari in August 1985) suggests that Babangida, not Buhari, was the one who tolerated religious fundamentalism. Bashorun writes of the “sudden re-emergence” during Babangida’s time, of “self-proclaimed clerics and Islamic fundamentalists whose nocturnal and divisive activities had earlier been effectively curtailed during the Buhari/Idiagbon administration.” As head of state Buhari showed little mercy or tolerance towards religious extremists or militant challengers of the Nigerian state whether they were Chadian bandits laying siege to the northeast at that time Boko Haram, or the rump of the Maitatsine sect, a 1980s precursor of Boko Haram. A similar approach to Boko Haram will be required.

READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/410324-5-things-buhari-should-do-if-elects-as-president.html

FG Explains Why There Is Fuel Scarcity

Federal Government has blamed marketers capitalising on panic buying by customers to hoard and divert petroleum products as the reason for the present fuel scarcity in the country and has directed two of its agencies to sanction those marketers.

A mobil filling station in the Lagos Metropolis affected by the scarcity

The government directed the Department of Petroleum Resources and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency to penalise those that were found wanting.

The directive was given by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, according to a statement made available to a correspondent of Business News Nigeria by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

“The minister has directed the DPR and the PPPRA to sanction any marketer found hoarding, diverting or selling products above regulated prices,” the statement read in part.

The NNPC called on members of the public to shun panic buying and stock-piling of petrol, stressing that it had enough stock of the product to keep the country wet for two months.

READ ALSO: NNPC States When Nigeria Will Stop Importing Petrol

The corporation put the current stock of premium motor spirit in its depots across the country at 1.9 billion litres.

The NNPC also appealed to tanker drivers, who had stopped hauling fuel from depots in the coastal states to the northern part of the country for fear of being caught in post-election violence, to return to work, adding that it was working closely with security agencies to provide maximum security for the transporters.

It advised members of the public to “discountenance rumours or insinuations of petrol scarcity as all issues relating to the importation of fuel by marketers have been resolved and the Petroleum Pipelines and Marketing Company has released a huge volume of petrol into the market.”

However, the queues by motorists at the few filling stations selling petrol in the country grew longer on Wednesday.

READ ALSO: 50% Of Construction Workers Sacked Because Of… – Fashola Reveals Cause Of Unemployment

Sources have told Business News Nigeria that the government was meeting with the marketers and gave an assurance that the scarcity would be addressed before the end of the week.

Meanwhile, the Department of State Services (DSS) has attributed the fuel queues across the country to the refusal by petrol tankers to load petroleum products to the North for fear of being caught in likely election violence as witnessed in 2011.

READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/410253-fg-explains-why-there-is-fuel-scarcity.html

PDP Plans To Kill Our Finance Director - APC Benue Laments

The Ortom/Abounu Governorship Campaign Organization has revealed that they have discovered plans by a group of militia men belonging to the People’s Democratic Party, to assassinate its Director of Finance, Mr Sarwuan Tarnongu.

They revealed this in a letter addressed to the Benue State Commissioner of Police dated 24th March, 2015.

Chief Samuel Ortom

In the letter, Barrister Josephat Abaagu, Director, Legal Services, stated that the leader of a criminal group called Civilian Joint Task Force are planning to assassinate Mr. Tarnongu, a former Chairman of Konshisha local government council.

“I am looking for a way to kidnap Tarnongu. Moreover, he is hypertensive so even if you kidnap him and take to Makurdi alone, he would have died,” the letter quoted the gang leader.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Amaechi Escapes Assassination

“I don’t know why he (Tarnongu) is still living in this world. Our group known as Civilian Joint Task Force would always go after its target. For instance, the recently kidnapped multimillionaire was whisked away in the presence of the police and V.I.O.”

According to the letter, “in the enclosed recorded audio compact diskette (cd) recorded in Tiv language and the translated English version also enclosed,” the gang leader, names withheld, “has clearly demonstrated his gang’s mastery of kidnappings and armed robbery.”

READ ALSO: Shettima Used Us To Become Governor – Boko Haram

It stated that the leader “shockingly revealed the complicity of Governor Gabriel Suswam in a particular previous kidnap wherein his intervention resulted in the release of the unnamed multimillionaire kidnap victim after payment of N9m as ransom.”

Barrister Abaagu begged the Commissioner of Police to take the matter serious and take steps to arrest and interrogate the gang and ensure security in the step.

Chief Dr. Samuel Ioraer Ortom is the Former Minister of State, Industry, Trade & Investment and the 2015 Benue guber aspirant under the flag of the All Progressives Congress.

Don’t Disappoint Jonathan - Ex-NDDC Boss To Ndigbo

Ahead of tomorrow’s election, a former Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, has urged voters, particularly of the Igbo extraction, not to disappoint President Goodluck Jonathan of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) when Nigerians march to the polls.

According to Mr. Ugochukwu, Jonathan remained “the best option” for Ndigbo, considering the numerous gestures of his administration to the race.

In an interview with Punch, the PDP chieftain said he did not expect Ndigbo who had remained the main support-base of the President to fail him at the poll, arguing that “it is better to work with the devil you know than the angel you do not know.”

READ ALSO: OPINION: Nobody Rightfully Cares About The Igbos

Mr. Ugochukwu, however, expressed faith that Jonathan would sweep the poll considering his commendable achievements in key sectors of the economy.

Former Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Onyema Ugochukwu

The former Abia State PDP governorship candidate also appealed to Abia electorates to help deliver all PDP candidates in the state, saying Abia had fared better under the party and “cannot afford to be in the opposition.”

Predicting a peaceful poll, the ex-NDDC boss begged the opposition not to resort to violence in the eventuality of defeat contending that, “it is inevitable that PDP will win.”

READ ALSO: An Igbo President Has To Come In After Buhari Or GEJ

He admitted that the use of card readers in the election would significantly check rigging, if properly managed, but expressed fears that as a new technology experimenting it with crucial elections as the Presidential and National Assembly polls, could be risky.

However, some political leaders in the East have continued to ponder if Goodluck Jonathan lived up to expectation and have spoken up on why Muhammadu Buhari represent a new hope. One of whom is the incumbent governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha who expressed his displease with the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration which according to him has seen the south-east completely marginalized.

READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/410263-dont-disappoint-jonathan-ex-nddc-boss-to-ndigbo.html

Most Significant Things That Happened As We Prepare For 2015 Elections

Nigeria’s 2015 presidential elections is one that will surely go a long way in the history of the country.

With only one day before Nigerians head for the polls, the political atmosphere is certainly getting hotter, and politicians are trying their best to get the votes of those undecided people.

As the politicians are making efforts to come out victorious in the upcoming elections, so is INEC also in tune to provide Nigerians with the best electoral process ever witnessed in Nigeria. Although we have 14 presidential candidates, only two look to be contesting for the position as the other parties don’t put efforts in campaigning for reasons best known to them.

READ ALSO: Fashola Accuses GEJ Of Taking Glory For Lagos Project

Let’s take a look at the whole process so far;

Primaries

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP): The PDP’s Presidential primaries was a one man race, as Jonathan was the only one going for the position, after the controversial withdrawal of Jelil Tafawa Balewa, son of Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa, and Mrs Duke-Abiola, widow of late Moshood Abiola. On 10 December 2014, during PDP National convention at the Eagles Square, Abuja, Jonathan was validated as the parties flag bearer for the presidential elections. He also retained his vice-president, Namadi Sambo, to be his running mate.

All Progressives Congress (APC): The APC presidential primaries held on 10 December, 2014, at the parties National conference in Lagos state. Those who contested at the primaries includes Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Atiku Abubakar, Rochas Okorocha and Sam Nda Isaiah. At the end of the primary polls General Buhari won with 3,430 votes which was 57.9% of the total votes. Coming behind him was Kano state Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso with 974 votes (16.3%), followed by former Vice-president, Atiku Abubakar with 954 votes (15.9%), followed by Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha with 400 votes (10.4%) and the shock of the day, Leadership Newspaper publisher, Sam Nda Isaiah managing to get only 10 votes (0.2%), he wasn’t even around for the final score announcement. 7 days later on 17th of December, 2014, the party announced prof. YemI Osinbajo as General Buhari’s running mate.

Postponement

On February 8, 2015, six days to the original Presidential election date, INEC announced that due to the situation in the Northern part of Nigeria, and since the Armed forces could not guarantee the safety of INEC officials and the people, the commission had to postpone the elections for another six weeks, to give the armed forces more time to restore normality to the affected areas.

Campaigns

The two main parties have carried their campaign all around Nigeria. However the APC’s General Buhari and his team has been more physical in their campaigns, going from state to state, organising town-hall meetings and meeting with notable Nigerians. He also used other mediums like television, radio, newspapers and billboard adverts, but he focused more on meeting people physically. On the other hand PDP has done more of what I call telecampaigns, with his campaigns adverts running on almost all mediums available and it also started very early, even before he confirmed to be running for the post in 2014. He also organised some interactive sessions but he was mostly campaigning trough TV and Radio advertisements.

Both parties have relatively done well with their campaign organisation, but one aspects were they didn’t do well was with the speeches at their rallies. The APC tried to tell Nigerian what change they have to offer, however in-between their speeches some offensive words were thrown at PDP, which weren’t right, but the PDP were more guilty of the offence. At the beginning of their campaign they did nothing that to attack the personality of the APC’s candidate and kept raising irrelevant issues just to distract the opposition, after realising it didn’t work, they went back to talking about their achievements and agendas, which was what they should have been doing from the beginning.

Vote for my husband

As the saying goes, ‘ behind every successful man there is a woman’,the wives of leading candidates came out to affirm the statement. Wife of President Jonathan, Patience Jonathan and Aishat Buhari wife of General Buhari, went around Nigeria to campaign for their husbands, promising that their husbands will fulfil their promises. Patience Jonathan has however been widely criticised for some of her ‘provocative’ utterances and have been reported to the ICC for making inciting statements . Aishat Buhari was also in the spotlight for the wrong reasons as her words were twisted out of context, and it went viral that she referred to Edo women as ‘Prostitutes’. After a few investigations it was revealed that those claims were false.

Some Parties Against The Use Of Card Readers

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, disclosed that in a bid to prevent multiple voting and other forms of rigging, the commission will be using Smart Card Readers to authenticate cards during accreditation and to confirm that the person who presented the card is the rightful owner. However, some politicians kicked against its use, claiming that it could fail or could be manipulated. Nevertheless the commission has assured Nigerians that the card readers will not fail and even if it does, which is very unlikely, the commission has a Plan B to make sure the elections takes place. It has now been finalised that the machines will be used for the elections.

Jega Must Go!

Just as some politicians fought against the card readers, so did some people the APC said were ‘sponsored’ by the PDP, led by Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), took the streets of Lagos to protest against the INEC chairman, prof. Jega, and demanded his removal and replacement. Reasons given by them was that prof. Jega was not effective enough and that he was biased and favoured the APC. The protest yielded no fruit however as prof. Jega remained Chairman and is still the one leading the commission to the 2015 polls.

READ ALSO: Photos Of Key Presidential Candidates’ And Wives’ PVCs

Violence

Both parties have had their fair share of violence, during this election season. The most controversial so far being the Okrika incident, when gunmen said to be ex-militants, stormed an APC rally in the first Lady’s home town, killing a policeman man and injuring several others. The APC came out to say they were sure it was PDP who masterminded the attack. The PDP also didn’t keep quite on the issue, as the media rep of President Goodluck Jonathan campaign organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, said it was the APC who planned the attack in order to rubbish the name of the First Lady. With all these experiences witnessed before the elections, one can only hope that there will be no post-elections violence.

INEC’s Readiness

According to the commission’s chairman, prof. Attahiru Jega, INEC is ready to give Nigeria the best elections ever. Materials to be used for the elections are in the country already and the collection of Permanent Voters Card is currently at about 82% which is good enough for a fair election.

On March 28, 2015, Nigerians will decide if they want continuity or change. Whichever one you are going for, exercise your right to the fullest, go out and vote based on your conscience and not sentiments. Do remember that so far the elections are free and fair, who ever wins, is the person Nigeria wants, and if you have a problem with the process instead of resorting to violence, take your case to court and let justice be done.

READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/410345-most-significant-things-that-happened-as-we-prepare-for-2015-elections.html

Gunmen Shot One At Kashamu’s Rally In Ogun State

Tragedy struck in Ogun State on Wednesday when one person was shot by unknown gunmen after a political rally organised by PDP  Senatorial candidate in Ogun East, Prince Buruj Kashamu, at Okun-Owa town in Odogbolu local government area.

PM NEWS reports that Ogun state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP Ademuyiwa Adejobi, has confirmed the incident, saying that no suspect has been arrested so far.

According to the report, an eyewitness however, claimed that security operatives attached to Kashamu’s convoy allegedly shot the victim.

It was disclosed that the victim, who was simply identified as ‘Bembe-Bembe’, was later rushed to Babcock University Teaching Hospital Ilisha-Remo in Ikenne local government area of the state for treatment.

Buruji Kashamu

The eyewitness, who preferred not to be named, said the incident happened in ward 3, Okun-Owa, along Sabo market, adding that many people sustained various degree of injuries while trying to flee for safety during the sporadic gunshot by the security attaches of the Ijebu Igbo-born business man turned politician.

“The campaign team of the Senatorial candidate was done with the campaign when a vehicle in the convoy allegedly shot a passer-by.

“People in the area reacted to the incident and attempted to block the convoy as they refused to wait to attend to the boy that was hit by one of their vehicles, but they were repelled by security operatives and personal security men attached to the politicians.

“Some of Kashamu’s boys who dressed in black vest started shooting sporadically into the air to scare the people. The people, subsequently, took to their heels for safety of their lives. In the process, the gunshot hit a man and the bullet pierced through his stomach”, the eyewitness narrated.

The State Police spokesman told PM NEWS reporter that the victim was recuperating in the hospital.

He added that the State Commissioner of Police has directed that a thorough investigation be carried out on the matter.

“We had the report of unidentified gunmen after the rally, we can’t get anybody for now, but we are going to do thorough investigation into the matter.

“The victim is in the hospital, recuperating and responding to treatment, but we are unable to identify the perpetrators who fired the shot, but we are going to spread our tentacles to get them,” Adejobi stated.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of Kashamu’s campaign organisation, Otunba Leke Adekoya, denied that such incident happened during the campaign.

Adekoya, who spoke through phone conversation, simply said, “nothing like that happened, we didn’t record any such case during our rallies.”

2015 Elections: Jonathan Charges Political Parties, Politicians to Allow Nigerians' Will to Prevail

2015 Elections: Jonathan Charges Political Parties, Politicians to Allow Nigerians' Will to Prevail

President Goodluck Jonathan

•  Commends Nigerian troops on security in N'East
•  Says no political ambition justifies violence, shedding Nigerians' blood
•  Vows to deal with anybody who breaches peace

Jaiyeola Andrews in Abuja

As the Presidential and National Assembly elections  hold this Saturday, President Goodluck Jonathan has charged all political parties and politicians to allow the free, unfettered will of Nigerians  to be expressed without any hindrance during the  elections in keeping with the hallowed principles and tenets of democratic governance.

The will of the people freely expressed through the ballot, according to Jonathan, was the bedrock of all democracies and as such that of Nigeria could not  be an exception.

The president spoke during the nationwide broadcast on the 2015 elections on Friday.

"As we prepare to go to the polls tomorrow, I have come before you this morning to express my immense appreciation for the opportunity you gave me to lead this great nation of ours in the past four years.

"I also wish to place on record, once again, my sincere gratitude for the support you have given my administration without which the significant progress we have made in recent years would not have been possible.

"In spite of the many challenges we have had to contend with since 1999, our present democratic dispensation continues to endure and grow stronger in keeping with the yearnings and aspirations of our people.

"We have all worked very hard to nurture and strengthen our democratic institutions and promote the good governance practices which they were designed to deliver for the better well-being of  our people.

"I believe I can say without fear of contradiction that we all clearly cherish the democracy we now have and will never willingly give it up for any other form of governance.

"This much-cherished democracy of ours is about to be put to the test once again.

"I urge you all to troop out en-masse to peacefully perform your civic duty of voting for leaders of your choice tomorrow (today).

"As we do so, let us all - political party leaders, contestants, party members, party agents, supporters and ordinary voters alike, be very conscious of the fact that the eyes of the entire world are on us.

"We must therefore comport ourselves in a manner that will further strengthen our democracy and consolidate our place in the comity of truly democratic nations.

"I made a commitment on assumption of office to progressively deliver freer, fairer and more credible elections in our country. In keeping with that commitment, the Federal Government has given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) all necessary support to ensure that it conducts very successful elections tomorrow and on April 11.

"We have all been assured that INEC is fully ready for the elections. I believe that we can all trust that they are certainly more ready now than they may have been before security issues and other concerns necessitated a re-scheduling of the dates for the 2015 general elections.

"As an administration, we welcome the fact that millions of Nigerians who were yet to receive their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) as at February 14, and would therefore have been unfairly disenfranchised if the polls had gone ahead  on that date, have seized the opportunity of the re-scheduling to collect their cards and can now exercise their right to vote tomorrow.

"We are also glad that our gallant Armed Forces have successfully stemmed the seizure of Nigerian territories in the North-East by the terrorist group, Boko Haram.

"They have recaptured most of the communities and territories formerly occupied by the insurgents, making it possible for thousands of internally-displaced Nigerians to begin returning to their homes and communities.

"I heartily commend the very courageous men and women of our Armed Forces for the immense sacrifices which they continue to make in defending the nation and protecting its citizens.

"I also thank all Nigerians for keeping faith with us over the past six weeks.

"I call on all political parties and politicians in the country to allow the free, unfettered will of our people to be expressed without any hindrance in the coming elections in keeping with the hallowed principles and tenets of democratic governance which we all profess.

"The will of the people freely expressed through the ballot is the bedrock of all democracies and ours cannot be an exception.

"Let us all therefore be prepared, as true democrats, to graciously accept the outcome of the elections as the rightful choice of our people from whom all political powers in our democracy must emanate" Jonathan said.

People Can Use Cameras And Smart Phones Tomorrow – INEC

With less than 24 hours to the elections, The Independent National Electoral commission is bent on ensuring that Nigerians witness a free, fair and credible elections come March 28 and April 11.

This can be observed in a recent announcement by the Lagos Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC, Mr Akin Orebiyi, yesterday, who said that the electorate could use camera  and other devices which have camera  to capture the voting process during the elections tomorrow.

He said: “The world is now a global village so pictures are allowed to be taken at the polling booths. An electorate can come with his camera phone and take pictures of the voting process. The whole world is monitoring us and we will not be left behind as people hiding information”.

READ ALSO: No Plot To Rig For APC, But… – INEC

Orebiyi also urged the electorate not to be afraid of the use of the smart card readers because the commission has put everything in place towards a successful conduct of the general election.

Speaking at a briefing on the state of preparedness of the Police and other security agencies towards a successful and violent free 2015 general elections at Ikeja, Orebiyi said that the commission has made adequate arrangements for seamless balloting in the 205 polling units across the riverine areas of Lagos.

According to him, the commission has several life jackets, speed boats, large commercial boats and canoes for the polls.

“I was also in Ondo some years ago to conduct election and there were 271 polling units in the riverine areas and we had a very successful election. So I do not see Lagos with 205 polling units across the riverine areas and islands to be a problem.

READ ALSO: Photos Of Key Presidential Candidates’ And Wives’ PVCs

“INEC is committed to ensuring a free and fair election and we do not intend to disenfranchise anybody or stop people from voting. In ensuring a credible election, we introduced two things which are the Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) and the smart card readers, which will help the commission to authenticate genuine and fake PVCs’’, he said.

This approval given by INEC would prove the commission’s innocence that it has no plans to rig and further crushing reports that the commission had conspired with the opposition party the APC to rig the general elections.

READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/410196-people-can-use-cameras-and-smart-phones-tomorrow-inec.html

'Okorocha Must Go' l

Imo state indigene, Clem Aguiyi writes to a clergyman via The Sun Newspapers over what he literally describes as the high-handedness of Governor Rochas Okorocha.

Article Highlights

– Okorocha has remained a study in lawlessness

– The percentage of Imo indigenes admitted into the state university compared with non-indigenes has gone down

– Under Okorocha, local council administration has been deliberately and brazenly destroyed

Dear Archbishop Obinna,

I am Clem Aguiyi, a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Greetings of Christian love to you. May grace and peace be multiplied to you and the Church in the knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

I write this letter with all diligence to stir your heart to the plight of our people, even though you are aware of the facts I will record here again. Permit me to begin by restating that I have nothing personal against Governor Rochas Okorocha, whom I also helped bring to power as governor believing he will govern our beloved with the fear of God.

READ ALSO: PHOTOS: Buhari Campaigns In Owerri, Receives A Nickname (UPDATED)

I am also aware of the role the Church played in bringing Okorocha to power, hence we must collectively take the responsibility of thrashing him into the dustbin. We must not shy away from our God given responsibility.

History beckons on you as the leader and shepherd of the faithful to speak-out against this four years of impunity, tyranny, shortcomings, unbridled lies and trickery suffered by the people due to the singular mistake of electing the wrong man.

From inception, Okorocha has remained a study in lawlessness. Rule of Law is non-existent under his watch as court decisions, including Supreme Court’s judgments are obeyed in breach. The cases of Eze Ilumoanya vs state government; ALGON, Imo State vs state government readily comes to mind. Put more crisply, Okorocha has disobeyed virtually all judiciary pronouncements, and thus creating ample room for anarchy, civil dictatorship, constitutional crisis and absolute disregard for the concept of separation of powers. The traditional institution is not spared of his sordid assaults; traditional rulers now rule as conquered people; they are forced against their will to belong to the APC or be dethroned.

Because of our silence, the church is under threat. Christian youths are brazenly induced with Arab money to convert to Islam. Seventeen Imo youths were on November 16, 2013 at the Abuja National Mosque paid N2 million to renounce their Catholicism (Christianity)  and defect to Islam. If we allow this to continue, Imo will become Turkey. God forbid that the Assumpta Cathedral will become a mosque.

Owing to our silence, government has refused to give back missionary schools as it is the practice in other sister states. The free education, which is the governor’s cardinal project, is a packaged fraud. Whereas the constitution provides for free and Universal Basic Education (UBE) for every Nigerian child from the primary to junior secondary school, the governor now makes this a political trick to hoodwink the ignorant members of the public.

Imo that used to post top rated results during external examinations now records dismal performances in WAEC, NECO and JAMB examinations. Number of teachers in key subjects, such as English and Mathematics has scaled down significantly. Juxtapositioning the JAMB and WASC performance between Anambra and Imo from 2011- 2014 will show how poor Imo has performed.

The percentage of Imo indigenes admitted into the state university compared with non-indigenes has gone down. The scam, which many refused to see, since the indigenes pay little or nothing is now hydra-headed. The admission figure of non-indigenes is scaled up to the detriment of the number of indigenes admitted so as to raise money to cater for the purported subsidised education for indigenes.

READ ALSO: IMSU Students Blast Gov. Okorocha For Giving Them Toy Laptops

If we have spoken, the fraudulent impeachment of Jude Agbaso would have been averted. Okorocha engineered the impeachment to avoid keeping the agreement he reached with the Agbaso family for a single tenure. He used deceitful allegations of bribery to pursue the fraudulent cash-induced impeachment, which took place on March 28, 2013. Okorocha had accused Agbaso of collecting N485million bribe from JPROS, a construction company he awarded N1.3billion contract to execute Warehouse-Orlu Road Junction, Odense, Aba Road and old Nekede Road projects. The money was later traced to the contractor’s account in Dubai and Lebanon. Interestingly, one of the governor’s aide in charge of Monitoring and Implementation of Road Projects is on the board of the company and controls the largest share.

The dishonesty surrounding the impeachment was reinforced nine months later, as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission concluded its investigation and revealed that Agbaso did not collect any money; rather the money was actually paid into the contractor’s account, and if we dig further it might be discovered that Akano who holds a controlling share in the company may well be a front.

If we had spoken, the widows who were physically assaulted by thugs would have been spared the horror; if we had spoken, the Odenigbo debate sponsored by the Church wouldn’t have been disrupted right inside the cathedral; if we had spoken, the priests who were physically assaulted would have been spared the unprovoked humiliation.

Today, the talk within the governor’s circle is that we the people and the Church has been swallowed and defeated. I don’t think the church has been swallowed but if the butcher is reelected the Church certainly will weep. We cannot, in good conscience, pretend we are helpless. If the government that we install is behaving badly, we have both moral and democratic duty to demand for accountability.

Under Okorocha local council administration has been deliberately and brazenly destroyed peeving way for the governor to manage allocations to the 27 councils in the state. He spends public fund and collects loans and raises bond without recourse to known fiscal principle and lay down procedures for public fund management.

Consequently, Imo is in serious debt and things will only go from bad to worse if  the Alhaji in Douglas House is allowed another four years. It is the regime’s financial indiscipline that informed the action embarked upon by the EFCC against two top officials of the state – Commissioner of Finance and Accountant-General of the state –who were arrested and interrogated by EFCC over alleged N456billion loan. A follow up to this was the interrogation of the Clerk of the State House of Assembly by EFCC officials over alleged poor management of the Assembly fund.

The governor that we foisted on the people runs the state as if it is his personal estate and dwelling largely on propaganda and disinformation to sway unsuspecting members of the public towards embracing his deceptive style of governance. His administrative approach is mainly on ad hoc basis, awarding contracts arbitrarily without proper record.

The result is that most of his projects, which litter several local councils are executed in abandonment due to none payment of contract obligations to contractors, except where in cases the contracts were awarded to his company, his family members, in laws and cronies. There are also cases of indiscriminate land grabbing and dubious acquisition of Imo Transport Company ITC and creation of another tier of government, which he called the Community Government, contrary to constitutional provision for three-tier government.  He has failed to pay salaries to those chosen to handle the community governments across the state.

READ ALSO: Okorocha And The ‘Evil’ Tales

The list of Okorocha’s sins is endless, but the real question is: what is wrong with us? Why are we not angry enough to reclaim our beloved Imo? The Church has a responsibility to guide the people and they will follow? Imo will be better with an honest, humble and God fearing leader.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and does not represent the opinion of Naij.com

READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/410179-okorocha-must-go.html

EFCC Reacts To Freezing Father Mbaka's Account

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has reacted to a report that it froze all the accounts of controversial clergyman Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka.

According to the EFCC, Father Mbaka’s claims, that his accounts had been frozen by the commission was a blatant lie, Daily Independent reports.

Report had earlier surfaced in the media that Mbaka at his Wednesday Adoration Mass for the sick and needy told his congregation how he went to withdraw money to buy food items for the poor that relocated from Northern Nigeria because of the election but to his surprise his cheques were returned. When he demanded to know why, he was told his accounts had been frozen by the commission.

READ ALSO: Mbaka Shuts His Church Because Of Jonathan 

EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren said they did freeze the Enugu-based Catholic priest’s account.

“There is no truth in the story and there is nothing like that. Our men have not frozen and do not intend to freeze the account of the cleric as he claimed,” Wilson said.

Father Mbaka has been the news a lot in recent times. He used to be a supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan, but recently made a u-turn and started criticising his administration.

After blasting the President in his sermon titled, “From Good luck to Bad luck” on New Year’s Eve, the cleric later claimed his life was under threat.

According to him, after an attempt by the president and his wife to bribe him failed, they have concluded to plans to assassinate him.

READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/410197-effc-reacts-to-freezing-father-mbakas-account.html

With Jonathan, Nigeria’ll go bankrupt in four years —Ambode

Akinwunmi Ambode

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has said Nigeria will go bankrupt in four years if President Goodluck Jonathan is allowed to return for another term.

He said since the rulling Peoples Democratic Party had ruined the nation’s economy, the option left for Nigerians was to vote en masse for the APC, pointing out that victory for the party would ensure freedom.

The candidate spoke on Thursday at the campaign rally of the party in the Alimosho Local Government Area of the state.

He said, “Victory for the PDP in Saturday’s election will lead to further bankruptcy of the nation’s economy. Vote en masse for the APC. The victory for the party will ensure freedom and liberate the country.

“If we fail to vote and PDP is still in government, Nigeria will go bankrupt in the next four years. This election is election of freedom to liberate Nigerians from the shackles of poverty and misrule.”

Ambode said the present generation should start thinking of, not only themselves, but also of their children and generations to come.

According to him, if Nigerians fail to vote out the present administration at the federal level, they have ruined the future of their children.

He said, “Parents should vote out the PDP for the future of their children. It is not a vote of tribal, religious or ethnic sentiments, we want to vote because of the progress of Nigeria.

“If your children ask for what you have done for the progress of Nigeria, you should be able to tell them how you voted out retrogressive government and replaced it with a progressive one; we must vote the APC at the federal level.”

Present at the event were the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, his deputy, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and members of the Akinwunmi Ambode Kommittee of Friends,among others.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria in the state, Alhaji Musa Mohammed, led members of the association to declare their support for Ambode.

Also, a leader of the Alliance for Democracy, Dr. Abimbola Ojora, and some members of the Unity Party of Nigeria, led by its state Chairman, Tunde Osibajo, defected to the APC.

The RTEAN boss, Mohammed, said the association took the decision based on the good performance of the APC-led government in the state.

THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER