nigeria news lead

Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) Deploy soldiers against B’Haram, not for elections – Buhari THE presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to deploy more soldiers and other security operatives in the troubled North-East ravaged by Boko Haram insurgents rather than keep them for the 2015 general elections. Buhari, who made this call during a meeting with stakeholders of Ogoni ethnic nationality in the Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State on Thursday, also said that, if voted into power, his administration would implement the report of the United Nations Environment Programme on the clean-up of Ogoniland. He argued that the Boko Haram onslaught would have been a thing of the past if the Federal Government had moved the number of soldiers, police and operatives of the State Security Service deployed during elections to Borno and Yobe states as well as the other areas...

Niger Delta militants MEND replies PDP, says Buhari best candidate REACTING to the criticism of its endorsement of the All Progressives Congress candidate, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for the presidency in the 2015 elections, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has insisted that Buhari is the best candidate in the race. MEND, the umbrella body for militancy in the oil-rich Niger-Delta, said it would support the APC candidate. Candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, President Goodluck Jonathan, an Ijaw man from Bayelsa State, is also from the Niger Delta. MEND had on Wednesday declared that it would support Buhari for the presidency, alleging that Jonathan had not performed up to the expectations of Nigerians, a position that did not go down well with the PDP and the Ijaw Youth Council. Why the PDP, through its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, queried APC’s link with MEND, the IYC through its Publicity Secreta...

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo I’m ready to die for Nigeria —Obasanjo A former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has said he can sacrifice his life in the interest of Nigeria. However, he said he would not do the same for any political party. He said this on Thursday during a visit to his Hilltop residence in Abeokuta by the presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party, Dr. Martins Onovo. He said since he left office his pre-occupation had been the promotion of the country’s interest, adding that it would be foolish for anyone to say Nigeria did not belong to anybody. He said, “My first pre-occupation is what is best for Nigeria. Nigeria first, party second and any other thing, third. I can sacrifice anything in the interest of Nigeria and I can sacrifice my own life for Nigeria. “I can’t sacrifice my life for any party’s interest but I’ll sacrifice my life in the interest of Nigeria.” He frowned on the situation where everyone would...

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Godswill Akpabio 22 governorship aspirants dump PDP in Akwa Ibom Twenty two aggrieved governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom State, otherwise known as G22, have finally defected from PDP to All Progressives Congress. They will meet the APC’s presidential candidate, Major-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, January 12, 2015. It was learnt that the 22 governorship aspirants of the PDP in the controversial December 8, 2014 primary in the state decided to defect from PDP to the APC on Wednesday. One of the aspirants, who spoke on condition of anonymity with our correspondent on Thursday, said their decision was based on the way they were treated by the PDP in the state. The aspirant also said President Goodluck Jonathan could not find a solution to the crisis. He said the crisis came to a head on January 6, 2015 when Jonathan, after scheduling to meet with them, later declined. The aspirant said, ...

I won’t fight graft by putting people in crates –Jonathan President Goodluck Jonathan began his re-election campaign in Lagos   on Thursday, saying he would not fight corruption by arresting and putting people in crates. Jonathan, in his 33-minute speech that centered more on responses to criticisms of his administration by some prominent Nigerians and the opposition, faulted a recent statement credited to the APC presidential candidate, Maj.Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, that he would send corrupt Nigerians to jail. Although he did not mention   names, he   was indirectly making reference to   Buhari’s role in the 1984 botched attempt to smuggle a former Transport minister, the late Umaru Dikko, to Nigeria. He said, “They said they will start fighting corruption after they have crossed the bridge. And only two days ago, somebody stood in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and said he would catch people that steal and throw them in K...

Re: Come and see Senate Building The above subject caption was the title of the weekly treatise from Prof. Niyi Akinnaso in his regular column, “Thinking with You”, which appeared in The PUNCH of Tuesday, January 6, 2015. Earlier, an advert announcement with the picture of the Senate Building of the Ondo State University, Akungba Akoko and the subsequent reporting of the project inauguration had captured and directed my attention to the said Senate Building. I must admit that the picture I saw in that advert was fascinating and good to behold. Akinnaso’s description of the Senate Building and its facilities as unquestionably the best in Nigeria, if not in Africa, will naturally elicit reaction.  In terms of contemporary architectural design, I will say the picture I saw does not in any way throw it up as an architectural masterpiece.  However, that does not in any way diminish the value and purpose of the project. Surely, the building stands out w...

Police arrest lorry with ballot boxes in Ibadan The Oyo State police command on Wednesday arrested a lorry conveying ballot boxes said to belong to the Independent National Electoral Commission around 2am in the Yemetu area of Ibadan. The ballot boxes were stored in a 40-feet container. Sources said that the trailer was arrested on the suspicion that it was carrying contraband items but was later discovered that its contents were ballot boxes meant for the next month election in Osun State. It was learnt that the trailer and the consignment were later released after police investigation revealed that the boxes were being transported to Osun State by INEC. However, the arrest created anxiety in political circles as politicians made effort to know if the boxes were empty or stuffed with ballot papers. At a point, rumour spread in the city that a certain political party had connived with INEC to bring in thumb-printed ballot papers into Oyo State. ...

S’South can collapse economy if Jonathan loses —Agbaje The Lagos State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has warned that if President Goodluck Jonathan fails to win next month’s election, the South-South could shut down the oil sector and this would affect the nation’s economy which is oil-dependent. Agbaje, however, asked that if another part of the country shuts down over the failure of its candidate emerging President, would it have an equal effect on the economy since Nigeria relies heavily on the Niger Delta for its foreign exchange earnings. Jonathan hails from the South-South while his major contender, Maj. Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the All Progressives Congress, hails from the North-West. The PDP governorship candidate said this at meeting in London organised by his supporters and the UK chapter of the PDP. In the six-minute video clip posted on DiasporaPr.com, which was sighted by our correspondent, ...

Some senior citizens are motor park touts –Jonathan President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday condemned some politicians parading themselves as statesmen and senior citizens whereas, they are by their utterances, “ordinary politicians and motor park touts.” He said such politicians could not be described as statesmen because of the big offices they occupied before but by virtue of what they brought to bear on the nation. Jonathan spoke while playing host to a delegation of the Tanko-Yakasai-led Northern Elders Council in the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Although the President did not mention names, former President Olusegun Obasanjo had on Monday said Nigeria was facing economic problems due to the failure of the present administration to plan for a rainy day. Obasanjo had told Iyalodes and eminent women leaders from the South-West, who visited him at his Hilltop residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State, that the nation’s reserves which as of 2007 stood at $67...

Imo guber: opoca lauds inec for obeying the law Wants PDP state chairman, secretary to resign By WILLY EYA A frontline political organisation in Imo State, the Orlu Political Consultative Assembly (OPOCA), has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for abiding by the rule of law by not displaying the name of any governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Imo State for the forthcoming February elections. A statement in Owerri yesterday,  signed by the organization’s National President, Dr. Samfo Nwankwo and Acting National Secretary, Prince Marshal Okafor, said INEC by its action had shown that it was a law-abiding institution that would not be cowed by any person or persons, no matter how highly placed. OPOCA noted that, after the PDP governorship primaries of December 8, the Electoral panel that conducted the primaries  “declared Hon. Emeka Ihedioha winner to the utter disbelief of PDP faithful i...

DSS Accuses APC Of Training Its Members On How To Hack INEC Data The Department of State Service (DSS) says investigations by the service revealed that there was an elaborate plan by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to inflate its membership data ahead of the February 2015 general elections. Addressing a news conference in Abuja, spokesperson for the DSS, Marilyn Ogar, says the party also had plans to hack into INEC’s voter registration database through the creation of party membership forms and cards to match INEC’s voter register across the country. She said a search conducted by the service at number 10 Ajibola street, Ikeja, Lagos in November, 2014 was backed by a search warrant as required by law. “Investigations revealed that the property was being used for illegal voter registration exercise,” she said. The DSS claims are coming barely five weeks to the general elections. Ogar displayed pictures of persons alleged to have been registered illegally by the...

EKWUEME’S BOMBSHELL onathan may not have maximum support from South-East …President betrayed us, say other S’East leaders, clergymen COMING IN SATURDAY SUN. IT IS EXPLOSIVE. KEEP A DATE

With Boko Haram tearing the country in two, Nigeria cozies up to Israel   The government of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas began the year with a resounding loss at the United Nations, failing to win a bid for the organization to recognize Palestine as a state.The move failed largely due to one member of the Security Council, Nigeria, abstaining from the vote. That vote, previously a near-guarantee in Palestine’s favor, has turned, and some suggest Boko Haram’s radical Islamist terror in Nigeria’s northeast could have contributed to the pivot. The decision to abstain from the vote on Palestinian statehood last week was reported by Nigerian papers to have been a “last-minute” one. As the nation’s Daily Trust reports, Nigerian ambassadors to the United Nations had previously been open to the idea of a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinian territories, with a former Nigerian foreign minister calling in 2011 for “a solution whereby two states, Palestine ...

7 APC members shot as Buhari flags off campaign in Rivers From CHRIS ANUCHA and TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt No fewer than seven supporters of All Progressives Congress (APC) were shot yesterday by suspected political thugs who ambushed them on their way to the flag-off ceremony of the presidential campaign  of  the APC  candidate, General Muhammadu  Buhari (retd), held at the Chief Adokiye Amieyesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt. Daily Sun gathered that the vehicle carrying some APC supporters from Kana Local Government Area ran into an ambush laid by some trigger-happy political thugs, who opened fire on the bus, and in the process wounded six persons, including women. Some gunmen who laid ambush on Trans-Kalabari Road for the APC supporters also shot at three persons. At the time of filing this report, it was learnt that some of the victims were battling for survival, even as the ...