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[Video] The Real Reason Jonathan Sees Osinbajo As His Problem

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<b>A video has surfaced on the internet to tell us the real reason President Goodluck Jonathan sees Pastor Yemi Osinbajo, the APC vice presidential candidate, as his "problem" in the race for Aso Rock.</b></div>
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President Jonathan had reportedly told a delegation of Pentecostal pastors led to a secret meeting with him by Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners' Chapel that the choice of Pastor Yemi Osinbajo as the APC running mate to General Muhammadu Buhari was his problem. He stated this while soliciting the support of the pastors for his re-election in next month's presidential election.</div>
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<b>READ: <a href="http://nigerianewsroom.blogspot.com/2015/01/osinbajo-is-my-problem-president.html">"OSINBAJO IS MY PROBLEM", PRESIDENT JONATHAN CRIES OUT</a></b></div>
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In this video, President Goodluck Jonathan was live and direct at the Olive Tree Parish of the RCCG on February 16, 2014 where the General Overseer of the RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye praised the parish pastor Yemi Osinbajo to high heavens. What a coincidence!<br />
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So this actually happened last year! Though, Pastor Adeboye has not publicly endorsed any politician.<br />
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Adeboye was commenting on the fact that he had not visited the church since he posted Osinbajo to head it. That the last time he was in the church, it was when the former pastor was around. He said:<br />
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"You know usually with your friends, you take them for granted. You want to rush to where there might be trouble spots. But when you know that there’s no problem here, you tend to forget. But once in a while, you need to know that your friend needs fellowship.<br />
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"Some of you might be thinking, maybe he didn't come because he doesn't like the new man. I didn't come because I trust him, because he’s a wonderful child of God. Very wonderful child of God. Absolutely reliable. He’s one of the few Christians, one of the few sons I have that if you give him an assignment, you can go to sleep. By the time you wake up, it will be done."</div>
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Now we can understand Jonathan's worry and fears.</div>
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[Video] The Real Reason Jonathan Sees Osinbajo As His Problem

A video has surfaced on the internet to tell us the real reason President Goodluck Jonathan sees Pastor Yemi Osinbajo, the APC vice pres...

APC Opts Out Of BON Organised Public Debates Over Allegation Of Bias

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<b>The All Progressives Congress (APC) said Thursday that it has boycotted the on-going electioneering public debates organised by the Broadcast Organisation of Nigeria (BON) on national television and radio, saying the organisers are bias.</b></div>
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‎The opposition party said its boycott was occasioned by bias and campaign of calumny by some key organisers of the programme, against the corporate political interest of the party and its candidates.</div>
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A statement by Malam Garba Shehu, Media and Publicity Director of the APC Presidential Campaign on Thursday said the Nigeria Election Debate Group (NEDG) powered debate was fraught with fundamental errors from the outset, by wearing the toga of government control, especially being composed mainly of agencies and allies of the incumbent People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) administration.</div>
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"A salutary inspection of the composition of NEDG brings into focus the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), National Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and the Africa Independent Television (AIT), owned by a PDP chieftain. And going by the avalanche of inflammatory statements, misinformation and blatant lies being propagated by some of these media against our party and candidates contrary to the Kofi Annan brokered Abuja Peace Accord, and the failure of these aggressors to desist and apologise, have left the APC campaign with no option than to steer clear of any premeditated smear campaign that could be inimical to our prospective electoral success", Shehu said.</div>
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The Buhari campaign spokesperson said the boycott by the APC should not be seen as disrespect to Nigerian voters, or an alibi for the party to dodge public scrutiny; but it must be viewed as an honourable right not to consent to any activity that could distract, demean, denigrate or derail the fast-moving train of the party.</div>
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"The APC is a party of progressive intellectuals, genuine technocrats, successful businessmen and women, and most of all eminent and courteous people of honour who would never condescend to the level of sadistic gutter propaganda, all in the name of political exigency and crass opportunism", he said.</div>
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He said many government-controlled media have clipped the wings of APC promotional advertisements on one excuse or the other adding that, "until a court upturned their decision recently, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shutdown some telecom portals for soliciting legitimate campaign funds from members of the public for APC."</div>
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He added: "Aside, elements close to sitting President Goodluck Jonathan have commissioned series of derogatory and death threat advertorials against the person, family and associates of the opposition leader, General Muhammadu Buhari, to which the APC had sent letters of complaint to the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of State Security, Advertisers Practitioners of Nigeria (APCON), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the erring media that published or aired such offensive adverts or documentaries."</div>

APC Opts Out Of BON Organised Public Debates Over Allegation Of Bias

The All Progressives Congress (APC) said Thursday that it has boycotted the on-going electioneering public debates organised by the Bro...

Soludo Is Nigeria's Worst CBN Governor, Says Okonjo-Iweala

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<b>The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has responded to former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Charles Soludo’s recent critique of the Nigerian economy, describing Soludo as the worst CBN Governor in Nigeria’s history.</b></div>
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Okonjo-Iweala in a statement from her office noted that "the consolidation of the banking sector was a good policy idea of the Obasanjo Administration but Soludo went on to thoroughly mismanage its implementation leading to the worst financial crisis in Nigeria’s history."</div>
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The Finance Minister stated that after Soludo’s consolidation exercise, "the regulatory functions of the Soludo-led CBN were very poorly exercised. As Governor, he failed to adequately supervise and regulate the now larger banks - an anomaly in Financial Sector Supervision. In his time there was very little separation between the regulators and the regulated which is a violation of a key requirement of Central Banking success."</div>
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This Okonjo-Iweala said "led to infractions in corporate governance in many banks as loans and other credit instruments running to hundreds of billions of naira were extended to clients without following due process, and several of these loans could not be paid back. This massive accumulation of bad debts or non-performing loans as they are called in the banking sector meant that our banks were ill-positioned to deal with the global financial crisis when it hit."</div>
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Okonjo-Iweala accused Soludo of bringing the banking sector to its knees and as such the sector "required a massive bailout by Nigerian tax payers. This bailout was done by his successor (now Emir of Kano) who cleaned up all the bad debts and transferred them to the newly-established Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), from where they are managed today."</div>
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For the record Okonjo-Iweala stated that "Soludo’s single-handed mismanagement of the banking sector led to an incredible accumulation of liabilities that will cost tax payers about ₦5.67 trillion (being the total face value of AMCON-issued bonds) to clean up."</div>
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This amount she said "which is more than the entire Federal Government 2015 Budget, constitutes the bulk of Nigeria’s 'contingent liabilities' mentioned in Soludo's article. It is only in Nigeria where someone who perpetrated such a colossal economic atrocity would have the temerity to make assertions on public debt and the management of the economy."</div>
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Concerning Soludo’s comments on the mismanagement of the economy and the imposition of the austerity measures, the Finance Minister lamented that "the fall in oil prices, a global phenomenon over which Nigeria has no control, has given every charlatan the opportunity to attack the economy, and by extension the managers of the economy."</div>
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Thorough examination of the facts on performance under the Jonathan Administration, Okonjo-Iweala said "will also reveal that at a time when global economic performance was mediocre, with GDP growth averaging about three percent per annum, Nigeria’s GDP growth - averaging about six percent per annum - is indeed remarkable."</div>
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Even more interesting she said "is the fact that the oil sector did not drive this economic performance but the non-oil sector (Agriculture, Manufacturing, Telecommunications, the Creative Economy, and so on), which shows that the current Administration’s diversification objective under the Transformation Agenda is working."</div>

Soludo Is Nigeria's Worst CBN Governor, Says Okonjo-Iweala

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has responded to former Governor of the Centr...

Court Sentences 29 Years Old Drug Dealer To Life Imprisonment

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<b>A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced a 29-year-old drug dealer, Abiodun Elemoro, to life imprisonment.</b></div>
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Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia pronounced the sentence on Thursday after Elemoro had pleaded guilty to dealing in 30.5 grammes of Heroin.</div>
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The convict was brought before the court on April 26, 2014 by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on the allegation that he was caught in possession of the illicit substance without lawful authority.</div>
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Elemoro, who appeared in court without any legal representation, had promptly confessed to committing the crime and pleaded for mercy.</div>
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In his confession before Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia, the father of a nine-month-old girl, told the court that prior to his arrest on April 24 last year, he operated on Palm Church Street on Lagos Island, where he used to dispense the hard drug to end users.</div>
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He added that the business fetched him between ₦3,000 and ₦5,000 daily.</div>
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However, the prosecutor, Mr. Orji Kalu, told the court that Elemoro, by his act, had put himself at variance with Section 11(c) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.</div>
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He therefore urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.</div>
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Consequently, Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia convicted Elemoro on the strength of his confessional statement and the evidence tendered by the prosecution.</div>
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While handing down the life imprisonment, the court said it had noted that Elemoro was well advanced in the crime and would constitute a negative influence on the society, particularly his nine-month-old baby, if pardoned.</div>
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The judge ordered the NDLEA to destroy the hard substance if there was no appeal against the judgment within 30 days.</div>
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In a related development, one Umeh Henry also confessed to Justice Mohammed Idris of the same Court that he was into drug trafficking.</div>
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Henry was brought to court on Thursday by operatives of the NDLEA on the allegation that he trafficked 15g of cocaine.</div>
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The NDLEA prosecutor, Mr. Vembe Emmanuel, said, "The accused was arrested on October 6, 2014, during the inward clearance of the Emirate Airlines from Brazil via Dubai at the E-arrival hall of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos."</div>
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Henry, whose wife and little baby were also in court on Thursday, promptly pleaded guilty to the crime.</div>
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The court adjourned till February 4, 2015 for a review of his case, when he may likely know his fate.</div>
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In the same vein, another man, Obijiofor Jones, also appeared before Justice Idris on Thursday for allegedly trafficking 1.82 kilogrammes of Methamphetamine.</div>
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According to his prosecutor, Mr. Abu Ibrahim, Jones was arrested on May 31, 2014 during the outward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight to Malaysia at the screening point of the MMA.</div>

Court Sentences 29 Years Old Drug Dealer To Life Imprisonment

A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced a 29-year-old drug dealer, Abiodun Elemoro, to life imprisonment. Justice Rita Ofili-Aj...

Buhari Trying To 'Smuggle' Certificate Into INEC - Fani-Kayode

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<b>The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari of plot to smuggle a new certificate into the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).</b></div>
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Briefing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, Director of media and publicity of the PDP presidential campaign organization, Femi Fani-Kayode asked INEC to resist any thing that would undermine its integrity. He alleged that Buhari neither submitted nor attached his personal documents to form CFOO1 he filled as of December 18, 2014, which was INEC’s last day for submission of the form.</div>
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"Yesterday [Tuesday], General Muhammadu Buhari made a shocking and belated disclosure that INEC has his documents. He has not been specific about the documents he is referring to but it is very clear that this is yet another squalid attempt to give the Nigerian people the impression that INEC has his certificate", he said.</div>

Buhari Trying To 'Smuggle' Certificate Into INEC - Fani-Kayode

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari of p...

Okonjo-Iweala, Ezekwesili Clash Over Soludo

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<b>The Federal Government on Wednesday said the five-year tenure of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria was a disaster to the banking sector.</b></div>
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While the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, described Soludo’s criticism of the management of the economy under President Goodluck Jonathan as "intellectual hara-kiri", a former Minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, called for a public debate by all parties on the actual state of the economy.</div>
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Similarly, a faction of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum led by Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State described as illusionary and attention-seeking, Soludo's recent article on the state of the economy.</div>
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Soludo, who was the CBN governor between May 2004 and May 2009, had on Monday <b><a href="http://nigerianewsroom.blogspot.com/2015/01/opinion-buhari-vs-jonathan-beyond.html">written an article in which he claimed that the Nigerian economy under Jonathan had performed woefully</a></b>.</div>
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While reacting to the article, <b><a href="http://nigerianewsroom.blogspot.com/2015/01/soludos-tenure-as-cbn-governor-disaster.html">Okonjo-Iweala through a statement issued by her Special Adviser on Communications, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, said not only was it littered with abusive and unbecoming language</a></b>, it showed Soludo, whom she described as an "embittered loser in the Nigerian political space", could get so derailed by misquoting economic facts and maliciously turning statistics on their head to justify a hatchet job.</div>
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However, Ezekwesili said on her Twitter handle shortly after Okonjo-Iweala’s response was made public, that the "nation and people seem to be on an accelerated race to the bottom. So sad! Why would a statement from (the) government read like that? Gosh!"</div>
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She also demanded to know what had happened to the report of the forensic audit on the reported missing $20bn from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as alleged by Sanusi shortly before he was suspended from office by the President.</div>
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Okonjo-Iweala had said the Federal Government had hired forensic auditors to scrutinise the accounts of the NNPC following the controversies generated by the allegation of the missing money. But up untill now, the report of the audit has not been made public.</div>
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In a telephone interview with one of <b><a href="http://www.punchng.com/news/okonjo-iweala-ezekwesili-clash-over-soludo/">PUNCH</a></b>'s correspondents, Ezekwesili said that rather than resort to abusive language over Soludo’s comments, the government and the critics of its management of the economy should opt for a national dialogue where the touted achievements of the administration of the President could be subjected to deeper analysis.</div>
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In an earlier tweet, she had said that with the character of the response the managers of the economy have given to Soludo, "a debate is imperative".</div>
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She told one of our correspondents that if the government had been receptive to her observations made in a lecture she delivered at the convocation of the University of Nigeria, Nnsuka in January 2013 on the management of the external reserves and the ECA, the nation would not have found herself in the current economic crisis as a result of dwindling revenue from crude oil.</div>
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Okonjo-Iweala had said in her response to Soludo, "It is a sad day for Nigeria and the economics profession that someone like Soludo, a former CBN governor, should write such an article. If Soludo wants to regain respect, he should return to the path of professionalism. He certainly needs something to improve his image from that of someone whose sojourn into national economic management ended in disaster for the banking sector.</div>
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"His sojourn in politics ended in overwhelming rejection by the electorate, and more recently, his sojourn abroad has put him out of touch with the reality of the Nigerian economy.”</div>
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Okonjo-Iweala noted that the banking sector was practically brought to its knees and required a massive bailout by Nigerian taxpayers during the tenure of Soludo.</div>
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This bailout, which according to her, was carried out by Soludo’s successor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, cleaned up all the bad debts and transferred them to the newly-established Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, from where they are currently being managed.</div>

Okonjo-Iweala, Ezekwesili Clash Over Soludo

The Federal Government on Wednesday said the five-year tenure of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria w...

Buhari Did Not Jail Ajasin - Family

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXIaMu-RdFE66O8iUnLF3BCSRdtSIQj0bmoxbEoZOkTEqAfXPb81CfLFJXZADYMfK-IoGTJl7p-X_9hXQYhV77VEmdhyy5b3EG4pwRBc9gdCBAq9Q2Azd02eJy2CSYz0f6pjfz5NfdFqe/s1600/Ajasin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXIaMu-RdFE66O8iUnLF3BCSRdtSIQj0bmoxbEoZOkTEqAfXPb81CfLFJXZADYMfK-IoGTJl7p-X_9hXQYhV77VEmdhyy5b3EG4pwRBc9gdCBAq9Q2Azd02eJy2CSYz0f6pjfz5NfdFqe/s1600/Ajasin.JPG" /></a></div>
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<b>Contrary to the insinuation by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, jailed the first civilian Governor of Ondo State, Chief Adekunle Ajasin, his family has said Buhari’s military government only detained the late Afenifere leader and was later released after interrogation.</b></div>
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The family cautioned the PDP to stop using their father’s name to campaign against the APC.</div>
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The Ajasin family also said they had forgiven Buhari over the arrest of the former governor in 1984.</div>
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The family spokesman, Chief Tokunbo Ajasin, who spoke to journalists in Akure on Thursday, maintained that his father had forgiven the former Head of State long before his death.</div>
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He cautioned politicians, particularly those seeking elective positions to base their campaigns strictly on issues rather than irrelevances.</div>
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He said, "It will be totally wrong for anybody to say that Gen. Buhari's government jailed my father. No, that is not correct. It was true that my father was detained under Buhari's military regime along with other former governors in Nigeria and two panels of inquiry were consequently set-up to look into the allegations against my father and others. But the panels found my father innocent and exonerated him as well.</div>
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"What Buhari did then was part of military policies and tradition. Though, many Nigerians were not happy with that, but my father had since forgiven Buhari before his demise.</div>
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"As far as the issue is concerned, the family of Ajasin had forgiven Buhari as well. Because as Christians we should exhibit the spirit of forgiveness always. The bible says Father forgive us as we forgive those who offend us."</div>
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The former governor’s son said he met Buhari at a function sometime ago where the duo happily embraced each other, indicating that the disagreement was over.</div>

Buhari Did Not Jail Ajasin - Family

Contrary to the insinuation by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen ...

Amaechi Is Right. I've Failed Rivers - Jonathan

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_TrrLcKhoZ0kGvwbewrpL9CuBcv-t54F21nlv5H11sdYOWqgZycC1tFuiM5VvSbamIQgNM59RtygdknBrTGxYF9MnyhilQ3k2847f5rVWczobH2s7AXStkfwcYIQXBwgmfV2ku04JrEw/s1600/GEJ+PHC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_TrrLcKhoZ0kGvwbewrpL9CuBcv-t54F21nlv5H11sdYOWqgZycC1tFuiM5VvSbamIQgNM59RtygdknBrTGxYF9MnyhilQ3k2847f5rVWczobH2s7AXStkfwcYIQXBwgmfV2ku04JrEw/s1600/GEJ+PHC.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>President Goodluck Jonathan has admitted the criticism by Governor Rotimi Amaechi that his government has not done anything for the people of Rivers State.</b></div>
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This, he said, was because he did not want to be seen as an ethnic leader. Hence, his resolve to ensure the equitable distribution of resources across the country.</div>
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Jonathan’s wife is from Rivers State.</div>
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President Jonathan, who spoke during the presidential rally of the Peoples Democratic Party at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Igwuruta-Ali, Ikwerre Local Government of Rivers State, however, promised to develop the South-South region if elected for a second term in office.</div>
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The President was reacting to the criticism by Amaechi, who is also the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation, that he (Jonathan) had not done anything for Rivers and Bayelsa states.</div>
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Describing Amaechi’s statement as a challenge, Jonathan admitted that though he had not allocated more development to his people, the situation was an indication that he (Jonathan) meant well for the country.</div>
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He pointed out that he accepted Amaechi’s challenge, but would do "something" for the South-South states when he is re-elected,</div>
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The President said, "What I want to tell you and the rest of the country is that the Director-General of the APC presidential campaign organisation, when he was in Yenagoa and when he was in Port Harcourt, mentioned clearly that the President had done nothing for the two states.</div>
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"Don't worry. It is good news because people are saying that I concentrated development in the South-South. Bayelsa State was part of Rivers State. Then, if I don’t concentrate development in this state, that means there has not been development in Rivers and Bayelsa states.</div>
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"The DG (Amaechi) is telling Nigerians that I have not done this. That means that I am a transparent person. I did not allocate positions to my people. The DG would have been the very first person to expose me to the rest of the world; not just Nigeria. He would have taken me to America, to South Africa, to France, to UK, but that shows clearly that we mean well for this country.</div>
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"In our development, every part of Nigeria must be carried along. You will agree with me that when we looked at the university education, and we insisted that look, the Federal Government must make sure that all Nigerian youths must have opportunity for university education.</div>
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"We did not divide North or South; we made sure that all the states that had no federal university got a federal university. I am not going to comment on development in Rivers State and Bayelsa state. I can reassure you that just work with us; vote for us on February 14, for me and Sambo and on February 28, for Wike and Ipalibo. Since we have been challenged that we have not done anything, we will do something."</div>
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Earlier, the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Chief Nyesom Wike, had expressed confidence that the party would win the February 2015 presidential and governorship elections.</div>
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Calling on the people of the state to vote for the PDP, Wike, who was formally presented with his party’s flag, criticised Amaechi for his (Amaechi) refusal to approve the application by the state PDP for the usage of the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium.</div>
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In her remarked, the President’s wife, Patience, boasted that the PDP would get over 2.4 million votes in Rivers State, adding that such a feat would be an improvement on the 2 million votes won by the party in 2011.</div>
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Mrs. Jonathan said that only the PDP had done a lot in the area of women empowerment, maintaining that the women had been able to manage the economy of the country.</div>

Amaechi Is Right. I've Failed Rivers - Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has admitted the criticism by Governor Rotimi Amaechi that his government has not done anything for the peo...

Ogun Vigilante Fires At Gov. Amosun's Convoy

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<b>A member of Ogun State vigilante group on Wednesday night fired gun shots at the convoy of the governor, Ibikunle Amosun, at Agbado in the Ifo Local Government Area of the state.</b></div>
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Amosun, his aides and some members of the Ogun State executive council as well as supporters of the All Progressives Congress were on campaign tour of the council area when the shooting occurred at about 10.00pm.</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.punchng.com/news/vigilante-fires-at-amosuns-convoy/">PUNCH</a></b> correspondent learnt that the local security outfit to which the vigilante belong was part of the security on ground for the visiting governor and his team.</div>
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The bullet from the vigilante’s gun reportedly hit a white Toyota Coaster bus, marked <b>Ogun 12 OGGH</b>, conveying commissioners and the governor’s senior special assistants.</div>
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The bus was said to be few metres away from the governor’s vehicle.</div>
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However, none of the government officials, said to have been shaken by the incident, was injured but the bullet made a hole on the side of the bus.</div>
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The Commissioner for Forestry, Adebayo Faari, was said to have sat directly at the side where the bullet penetrated the bus.</div>
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The security men on the entourage immediately rushed to the scene and dispossessed all the vigilantes of their rifles.</div>
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When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Vigilante Service, Soji Ganzalo, confirmed the incident but said the incident occurred when a security officer from the convoy alighted from his vehicle and was trying to take away the rifles belonging to members of the OSVS.</div>
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Police spokesman in the state, Muyiwa Adejobi, said he was not aware of the incident.</div>
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"We have not been informed about the incident," he told our correspondent.</div>

Ogun Vigilante Fires At Gov. Amosun's Convoy

A member of Ogun State vigilante group on Wednesday night fired gun shots at the convoy of the governor, Ibikunle Amosun, at Agbado in ...

French Police Question 8-Year Old Over Terror Remarks

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<b>Reports that French police questioned an 8-year-old after he allegedly made comments in school in praise of terrorists have highlighted fears that the authorities may be going too far in their crackdown on hate speech.</b></div>
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Police in the southern city of Nice said they questioned the child and his father on Wednesday following a report by the school’s headmaster.</div>
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The child raised concern when he refused to take part in a minute’s silence for the victims of a January 7 attack in which Islamist gunmen shot dead 12 people at the Paris offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, according to Marcel Authier, in charge of the region’s public security.</div>
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The <b><a href="http://www.punchng.com/news/french-police-question-8-year-old-over-terror-comment/">Punch</a></b> reports that the boy’s teacher said the child also expressed "solidarity" with the gunmen, who claimed their gruesome attacks were justified by Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, Islam’s holiest figure.</div>
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"In the current context, the school principal decided to report to police what had happened", said Authier, who stressed no complaint had been filed against the boy.</div>
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"We summoned the child and his father to try to understand how an eight-year-old boy could hold such radical ideas," he added. "Obviously, the child doesn't understand what he's saying."</div>
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The boy's lawyer Sefen Guez Guez was not immediately available for comment but on his Twitter feed he wrote that the child admitted having said the words: "I am with the terrorists".</div>
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According to the tweet, when police asked the child what the word "terrorism" meant, he replied: "I don’t know."</div>
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Soon after, the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF), a leading anti-racism watchdog, released a statement denouncing "the collective hysteria that has engulfed France since early January".</div>

French Police Question 8-Year Old Over Terror Remarks

Reports that French police questioned an 8-year-old after he allegedly made comments in school in praise of terrorists have highlighted...

All 68.8 Million PVCs Ready For Collection - INEC

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<b>The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, enjoined those who fear that non-availability of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) will hurt next month’s general elections to have a rethink. Reason: All the cards have been printed and are ready for collection.</b></div>
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The Pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, <i>Afenifere</i>, on Wednesday after a four-hour meeting in Akure, country home of its chairman, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, lamented that more than 15 million voters had not collected their cards and 14 million voters cards were yet to arrive the country.</div>
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It said non-distribution of 30 million PVCs, about half of the over 60 million registered voters will not lead to a credible election.</div>
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Indeed, the polity has been awash with hiccups trailing the collection of the PVCs, which prompted calls for postponement of the polls from some quarters.</div>
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Speaking on the issues, yesterday, Mr Kayode Idowu, Chief Press Secretary to INEC National Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, said it was not true that 14 million PVCs were yet to be printed.</div>
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His words: "All the PVCs have been printed. Altogether, 68.8 PVCs were printed. We have received 65 million PVCs which are out for distribution. The remaining 3.8 million PVCs will be out there between tomorrow (today) and Friday."</div>
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To ensure hitch-free polls, INEC urged would-be-voters who are yet to collect their PVCs to do so, warning those without the cards not to come to the polling booths during the polls.</div>
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Speaking at a stakeholders consultative meeting towards a successful and violence-free 2015 election, hosted by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti, the Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC, Akin Orebiyi, threatened to arrest those found around polling units on election day without voters cards.</div>

All 68.8 Million PVCs Ready For Collection - INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, enjoined those who fear that non-availability of Permanent Voters Card...

Soludo, Fayemi And Fani-Kayode: My Takeaway - By Iyabo Obasanjo

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<b>ProfesSor Soludo's article on the elections in Nigeria is the best writing I have read recently on the real situation politically and economically in Nigeria.</b></div>
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The well-articulated response from Dr. Fayemi compared to the abuse infused response from Femi Fani-Kayode on the PDP side is a great example of the contrast of the status-quo compared to the alternative.</div>
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Whatever the case and I don't expect miracles form APC but right now they have more thinking people than the PDP. As a Yoruba person, Dr. Fayemi's response is how we expect our educated elite to take up issues and not the mad rantings of Fani-Kayode.</div>
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I agree with most of his premise but I do not think they (APC) can take up a massive public works program in a period of "famine" i.e. low oil prices.</div>
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During the great depression when Roosevelt used public works to help provide jobs, it was the stock market that failed i.e. Government revenue was affected from tax income but income from exportation which was then mainly agricultural goods was not affected.</div>
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The government could use money from its coffers to create jobs and provide skills and training, which people could then use in the private sector.</div>
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The best part of Dr. Fayemi's response is that it is not elite focused. Nigerian governance as I saw it was not a democracy but an elitocracy - govt of the elite by the elite for the elite and even if you grew up in near death poverty once you left those circumstances you forgot where you came from and concentrated on your immediate family and matters affecting the well-being of the elite.</div>
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Changing this perspective to make the elite understand that their well-being was in fact dependent on the well-being of the masses will be APC's challenge.</div>
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They are sourcing from the same pool of elite talent that every Nigerian government has to source from and it is this pool that essentially has to be different or we will find ourselves again at precipice as usual.</div>
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<b>Iyabo Obasanjo DVM, Ph.D, a former Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wrote from the United States of America.</b></div>
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<b>Source: <a href="http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/soludo-fayemi-fani-kayode-takeaway/">Vanguard</a></b></div>

Soludo, Fayemi And Fani-Kayode: My Takeaway - By Iyabo Obasanjo

ProfesSor Soludo's article on the elections in Nigeria is the best writing I have read recently on the real situation politically a...