Akeredolu: PDP is Showing Signs of Desperation

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Read Time:3 Minute, 48 Second

 Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State in the 2013 elections, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has condemned in strong terms, acts considered as desperation on the part of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Akeredolu, while reacting to the last Monday advertorial placed in some national dailies demeaning the person of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), tagged ‘Nigerians Be Warned – Choose Between Life and Death,’ by the Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, said such acts was provocative and an exhibition of desperation ahead of the general election coming up next month.

While condemning Fayose for acting in manners that are unbecoming of a governor of a state, Akeredolu called on Nigerians to condemn the act by the governor, saying rather than resort to blackmail and person attacks, Nigerians expect public office seekers to address the germane issues affecting Nigeria and its people.

“The base and uncouth verbiage does not befit anyone occupying the exalted office of the governor of a state. The mere suggestion of the possibility of  Buhari meeting a grim end if elected should not be taken lightly. Fayose must be made to explain what he means and the information that he possesses that other Nigerians may need to know.

“Fayose’s reference to former Heads of State who died in office is instructive. The suggestion that Buhari will die in office if elected must not be treated with levity. This is the time when all lovers of peace in this country must come out to defend her interest. The Directorate of State Security (DSS) should cast aside the embarrassing garb of undisguised partisanship and avail itself of the benefits derivable from the ‘clairvoyant’ governor. He should be asked to explain to the whole world what he knows that is shielded from the rest of us.”

He said: “The ludicrous charges bordering on his (Buhari’s) age, educational qualification, antecedents in politics and adherence to his faith as a Muslim, asinine and provocative, are regarded as permissible in politics. Not a few Nigerians believe that politicians must concentrate on the problems of insecurity, corruption, economic instability and political violence.  
“No one is left in doubt that the ruling party is not ready to campaign based on socio-economic challenges facing the country in spite of its repeated avowal to do so.”

The former Ondo State Attorney-General said the widespread feeling among Nigerians is not to pay attention to abusive people who are reacting because they are losing power.

“The ruling party, PDP, through its spokespersons, continues to assail the sensibilities of Nigerians with deeds and words in its bid to hang on to power by any means, both fair and foul.

“The pervasive tendency among Nigerians favours ignoring the puerile tantrums of those who seem to find it difficult to come to terms with the reality of losing power and the privileges attendant on the exercise of same without responsibility in the last sixteen years.

“What started as a campaign to showcase the achievements of the incumbent president of the country, transited to crude abuse and downright denigration of the candidate of the main opposition party in the forthcoming presidential election,  Buhari.

“The disinformation on the state of health of Buhari, the release and liberal dissemination of falsehood on the purported diagnosis for a terminal illness is however deplorable to assert the least. The latest crude assault credited to Fayose, must be condemned by all well-meaning people.

He inferred that with Fayose’s advertorial on the suitability of the APC candidate to contest the presidential election, and his warning to Nigerians to choose between life and death, he was referring to the overwhelming support currently enjoyed by Buhari  in the country and the “ever-increasing likelihood of his being elected to succeed the incumbent.

He warned that anyone planning something untoward Nigerian will not succeed because “Nigerians will not accept any news of a sponsored ‘terrorist attack’ which will achieve a contrived end. The general was lucky to have escaped once. Many Nigerians lost their lives in the attack. The choice of who rules should be left to Nigerians. It is uncharitable and very rude, to be mild, for some ill-educated persons to seek to direct their betters on the best way to govern this country.”

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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President Jonathan Withholds Emir Lamido Sanusi’s Severance Benefits

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Read Time:1 Minute, 18 Second

President Goodluck Jonathan has refused to release the severance benefits of the former Central Bank Governor of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who is now the Emir of Kano.

In 2013, Sanusi sent a letter to President Jonathan in which he alleged that over a 19-month period, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had failed to remit $49.8 billion into the federation account.

He alleged that between January 2012 and July 2013, the corporation lifted $65 billion worth of crude oil but remitted only $15 billion, meaning that about $50 billion was missing.

Mr. Jonathan ignored the letter until it subsequently leaked to the public.  Eventually, with the reeling government arguing that only about $10 billion remained to be accounted for, Jonathan fired Sanusi from his post.  A panel was set up to investigate that amount but its report has yet to be released. 

SaharaReporters learnt that after some northern traditional leaders led by the Sultan of Sokoto brokered peace between both men, Sanusi’s passport, which was seized when he was fired, was returned to him.  Efforts towards that recovery led Sanusi to visit Jonathan twice at the presidential villa.

Since then, however, the President has refused to allow the CBN to release its former governor’s severance package. Sources told SaharaReporters that Jonathan, who holds that stealing in office is not corruption, has not forgiven the Emir for exposing the monumental corruption at the NNPC.

President Jonathan paid a courtesy visit to the Emir today during a campaign stop in Kano.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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APC to Jonathan: Take Charge Of Your Campaign; Don’t Leave It To Warlords

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Read Time:2 Minute, 22 Second

The Campaign was reacting to a front page wrap-around cover advertisement in some Nigerian newspapers today in which Nigerians were asked to choose between life and death, grouping General Buhari among former Nigerian leaders who were either killed, or died of natural causes, while in office.

“This is the height of desperate tactics by the PDP, which is capable of degenerating into unnecessary bloodshed and destruction,” it said.  “They are choosing death for us. This is not politics. We are therefore, asking our supporters to stay calm and be law-abiding.”

The statement, signed by Mallam Garba Shehu, Director of Media and Publicity of the Campaign said, “Even as a candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has a duty to lead the country with responsibility up until May 29, when a new President will be inaugurated.”

APC alleged that, taken in its ordinary meaning, the on-going campaign on Buhari’s health, using forged medical reports, and now suggestions of death, reek of plots to eliminate him before or after he wins.

The statement therefore warned that the whole world is watching and that if anything happens to General Muhammadu Buhari before, during or after the elections, under the pretext of X, Y, or Z, the APC would be left with no option than to conclude that the PDP and their surrogates are to be held accountable.

It appealed to all APC members and millions of supporters of Buhari across the country not to play into the hands of the PDP hatchet men to be provoked and thereby, giving them the much-needed excuse to abort Nigeria’s democracy before or after the elections.

Shehu explained that APC campaign remains faithfully committed to the peace accord signed by the country’s political parties under the auspices of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

He, alleged, however, that the PDP is paying lip service to that commitment by trying to stroke the embers of hate and smear campaign, stressing that this is inconsistent with the commitment to peace.

The statement also advised the police, the SSS, the Independent National Electoral Commission and the advertising regulatory agency in Nigeria (APCON) to do their jobs by not allowing these dangerous threats to democracy go unchecked.

“Once again, the APC campaign advises all its supporters to strive to stay above the "rofo-rofo", which is clearly designed to provoke our supporters to help the PDP sinister agenda to abort this hard fought for democracy in view of their impending defeat in the forthcoming general elections,” Shehu said.

Meanwhile, the APC Campaign said that petitions are being sent to Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), INEC, DSS, Nigeria Police and concerned newspapers involved to protest the malicious death wish on General Buhari.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Buhari is liar as PDP tells Nigerian armed forces to strip him of his rank and privileges

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Read Time:2 Minute, 9 Second

PRESIDENTIAL Campaign Organisation, PCO, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, accused the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, rtd of committing perjury, alleging that he (Buhari) lied on oath.

Addressing Journalists, the Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode who asked Buhari, to as a matter of urgency throw in the towel by withdrawing from the race.

The PDP campaign Organisation Spokesperson who urged him to report himself to the nearest police station, adding that the Armed Forces must strip him of his ranks and privileges, stressed that with the papers on ground, General Buhari who rose to the rank of a Major- General and and a former Head of state, was never qualified to enlist in the Nigerian army as a commissioned Officer, adding that if h fails to report to the Police, the PDP would then hand him over to God.

Femi Fani-Kayode whose speech was titled, ” And Buhari lies on Oath, said, “Information reaching us now has shown that the Presidential candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed today in Kano at a press conference that the affidavit he swore to in which he claimed that his credentials were in the custody of the military was not true after all.

Recall that Buhari, at another press briefing Wednesday said; “I had assumed all along that all my records were in the custody of the Military Secretary of the Nigerian Army. Much to my surprise, we are now told that although a record of the result is available, there are no copies of the certificates in my personal file. This is why I formally requested my old school the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina (which is now known as Government College, Katsina) to make available the school’s copy of the result of the Cambridge/West African School Certificate. This will be made available to the press the moment this is available”.

Fani-Kayode continued, “The implication of the action of this so-called “Mr Clean” is nothing but perjury and we all know that this is a grave criminal offence under our laws and constitution.

“We urge Buhari and his party to do the right thing and tender an unreserved apology to the Nigerian people, throw in the towel and report to the nearest police station for interrogation and prosecution. Anything less than that would be an insult to the collective intelligence and integrity of the Nigerian people.”

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Fallout Of Secret Meeting With Pentecostal Pastors: “Osinbajo Is Adeboye’s Loyal Son”, PDP Strategists Tell President Jonathan

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Read Time:5 Minute, 34 Second

It would be recalled that at the secret meeting in Abuja, President Jonathan confessed, "Osinbajo is my problem." According to those at the meeting, the President added, "everything was okay until APC picked Osinbajo."

It is believed that this conclusion was reached by the President after extensive discussions with his political advisers and strategists on the APC's choice of the law professor – pastor of the RCCG as General Muhamadu Buhari's running mate.

A source at the meeting said while offers of oil blocks are being made to some of the top pastors at the meeting, PDP strategists are warning the president that General Muhamadu Buhari's running mate, Pastor Yemi Osinbajo is not just a senior pastor trained by the General Overseer of the RCCG, Pastor E.A. Adeboye, but a beloved spiritual son of the highly respected religious leader.

The concern of the PDP strategists is that their promises to support Jonathan's second term ambition may not after all hold much water.

Said another source, "Adeboye values loyalty and Osinbajo is widely known to be very loyal to the General Overseer of the RCCG."

President Jonathan's political strategists are believed to be looking for means to break that bond, but the General Overseer has simply refused to allow himself to be so politically encumbered.

A source said, for instance, that Adeboye did not attend the meeting last Thursday as he has said he would be apolitical since there are members of the church in both APC and PDP. But PDP strategists say coming from the same Pastor who publicly blessed Jonathan before the 2011 election, that was a sign things have changed.

Perhaps not sure of the kind of reception, Jonathan himself had last month stayed away from the December 2014 Holy Ghost Congress, the same event in 2010 where "Daddy G.O" , as he is fondly called by RCCG members, had publicly blessed him. Only a minister from his government, Dr. Tammy Wenike Danagogo, Sports Minister was in attendance and being an RCCG member, the minister was not introduced as representing Jonathan at the event.

One of the very close pastors to the RCCG leader said Jonathan's absence from that event " was a mistake on the president's part."

Some PDP members also point to the public appearance of Pastor Adeboye with General Buhari at the New Year thanksgiving service of Lagos State as proof that Adeboye will not abandon his spiritual children whenever they need him. The PDP strategists are also reminding President Jonathan that Adeboye okayed it that Osinbajo should accept the offer of a running mate from General Buhari even before it was eventually decided and announced by General Buhari.

An RCCG inside source said "Pastor Adeboye is known to have helped some of his pastors and spiritual sons even when they err and fall into troubles, why then do you think, he will not do everything to help his loyal pastor who is being promoted in answer to his prayers."

The source said in training many of his pastors several years back, Pastor Adeboye had always given them his word that he would personally be there for them in their hour of need, a promise he has endured to fulfill even under very challenging circumstances. Yemi Osibajo, Muhammadu Buhari, Gov. Raji Fashola, Pastor EA Adeboye and Mrs. Adeboye during the annual Lagos Thanksgiving service in Ikeja

There is therefore an acute confusion among PDP Campaign leaders, and the president's advisers on the effectiveness of the secret meeting held last week with the pastors, especially after SAHARAREPORTERS broke the story, and exposing the division among the pastors who attended.

Now, President Jonathan is being advised to do more, possibly to reach out directly to the General Overseer for a more public outing with him as the elections draw near. For instance, they cited the impact of Pastor Adeboye's presence a the President's adopted daughter's wedding ceremony earlier this January 2015 in Abuja. It is believed that after his public appearance with General Buhari earlier in January at the annual thanksgiving service, Adeboye's visit to the wedding in the president's family restored some hope of his "neutrality."

However inside sources at the RCCG say Pastor Adeboye is not very particularly enamoured of President Jonathan because as the source disclosed "the president has not been as obedient to Pastor Adeboye as one would expect."

For instance, the source said Adeboye had asked Jonathan, not to run for a second term, and instead choose to support someone else, but Jonathan said ok, but still went ahead to run. This happened even before Osinbajo's name was mentioned as a serious potential running mate.

Others say Adeboye's close relationship with Obasanjo, is another reason he could not possibly support the president the way he did in 2011.

On the other hand, there are those on the APC side who think that Pastor Adeboye should do more, now that a very senior pastor he personally loves and counsels is on the presidential ticket, a first in the history of RCCG, the fastest growing church in Africa.

APC members also discount Pastor Adeboye's attendance at the recent Jonathan 's daughter's wedding in Abuja, saying even former President Olusegun Obasanjo was there.

Meanwhile, Bishop David Oyedepo may have run into trouble with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his role in the secret meeting with other PFN pastors in Abuja last week.

A source revealed after the news of the meeting became public knowledge that it was Obasanjo who had saved Oyedepo's neck when he ran foul of the law in Ogun State and the APC Governor Ibikunle Amosun's government was perfecting his arrest and prosecution.

Bishop Oyedepo's aides had assaulted some state government staff who were on visitation to one of the schools owned by the Bishop for assessment. It was alleged that it was Oyedepo who ordered the assault on the officials, provoking the government to threaten legal and criminal charges against him.

In the circumstances, Oyedepo reportedly ran to Obasanjo, who then asked him to come over right away to his residence, where the former president also invited Governor Amosun to amicably resolve the matter.

A source said Obasanjo may have been disappointed that despite Oyedepo's personal knowledge of his disavowal of Jonathan, the Bishop was still working hard to support his second term ambition.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Certificate Scandal: What Buhari Could Learn From Obama

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Read Time:5 Minute, 30 Second

It is a pure understatement to say that Nigeria's 2015 election is going to be a defining one. Whatever the outcome is, in more ways than one, it will define what becomes of Nigeria tomorrow. The stakes, as they say, have never been higher.

These same statements must have been made about past elections in Nigeria. But anyone with an eagle's eye will tell you that it has never been as true as it is this time around.

We have transitioned from a military rule to a civilian rule. We have also transitioned from one civilian rule to another civilian rule. What we have never done is to transition from one civilian political party rule to another. In fact, Nigeria has technically been under the rule of one party since independence – the center right party that has been called different names under different Republics, NPC, NPN, NRC and PDP. No opposition party has ever wrestled power from this mammoth. By all indications, this is the closest that the opposition has come to accomplishing that. Some may even say that the opposition is at the verge of dethroning the ruling party.

Which is why it is disheartening that less than 40 days to the 2015 presidential election, the presidential candidates are not yet involved in vigorous debates on very serious issues facing Nigeria. Most troubling is that Nigerians whose future will be in the hands of the eventual winner are not relentlessly demanding that these candidates appear before them and answer questions about their plans for the country and practical ways they hope to accomplish their goals.

The danger in this oversight is that the nation risks electing or re – electing a president based on promises and projections that have no basis in reality. Doing so will put Nigerians in a position where four years from now, they will regret not doing more to scrutinize these candidates before handing over the future of 170 million people to either of them.

The urgency of this is so glaring and it is demoralizing to note that the only debate going on seems to be about the academic qualification of the candidate of the opposition party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

In the past, issues of this nature have been handled with some degree of unseriousness. Two instances that quickly come to mind were the Bola Tinubu certificate scandal and the James Ibori phantom criminal records both in Nigeria and in Britain. They both came back to bite us in many ways.

Part of the credibility gap the opposition party faces in Nigeria today stems from unfinished businesses surrounding Bola Tinubu’s ascension to power, academic certificates and wealth accumulation while in power. In the case of James Ibori, Nigeria’s unwillingness to get to the bottom of his criminal records before he assumed office ended up biting Nigeria in the butt.

The excitement over Buhari’s academic certificate is understandable. It is important. It is especially important for a candidate advocating change.

Therefore, it is imperative that Buhari not only finds his certificates or their equivalents, but also presents them for the people to see. That’s all that Buhari needs to do to extinguish this distraction.

Here is what the constitution says: To run for president, a candidate must have a school leaving certificate or its equivalent.

Buhari should not have any difficulty finding an equivalent of a school certificate. And he should find it.

Some Nigerians born after the Civil War do not know that there was a time when there was no West African Examination Council (WAEC). Buhari, born in 1942 and joined the army in 1962, probably had none of those traditional certificates that we hold today. He should come out and state his path clearly. Did he finish primary school? Did he finish secondary school? What primary school? What secondary school? Even if he didn't, whatever certificates he received in military training should fulfill the minimum requirement.

What is not acceptable is to let this linger. With less than 40 days to an election, the distraction is damaging to the candidacy of Buhari. More importantly, if he becomes the eventual winner, it will be damaging to the legitimacy of his presidency. And Nigeria, as delicate as it is now, should be spared such dilemma, especially when it can be done easily.

Perhaps, Nigeria’s political landscape needs its own glasnost and perestroika. It needs openness and restructuring. In this age of connectivity, when people in remote parts of Africa are aware of standards in other parts of the world, the people’s expectations are increasing. The politicians need to be aware of that and rise to the occasion. Those who seize the opportunity will rise to the top while those who wallow in the old and discredited models will ultimately be discarded in that dreaded dustbin of history.

Following due process is one virtue that has been undermined by Nigeria’s elite. But it is one that when followed protects the society. If this election does not accomplish anything else, let it nudge Nigeria towards best practices.

In other parts of the world, a man like Buhari, or even Bola Tinubu, who have been in public life for years would have their story well known by the people. In fact, people like them would have written their memoirs and autobiographies that there would not be doubts at this point about who they are, where they come from, what school they attended and what they did while in office. These may be petty matters in the scale of things but, if we don’t get the little things right, we cannot get the big ones right.

Buhari’s certificate saga is beginning to look more like Obama’s birth certificate saga. In Obama’s case it was steeped in a conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was born in Kenya. The ultimate goal was to delegitimize the Obama’s presidency. Obama allowed the so-called birth certificate scandal to linger because he had the time before his re-election campaign. Buhari has no such time. And as a candidate pushing for change, he needs to epitomize that change in every sphere.

Buhari should end the certificate scandal the same way Obama ended his birth certificate matter.

And for the rest of us, we need to move on to the real debate about the real issues facing the nation and that should be the candidates’ goals- especially Buhari.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Jonathan And Buhari Are Infidels – SHEKAU

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Read Time:2 Minute, 40 Second

Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the Boko Haram sect, has released a disturbing video in which he was seen burning Nigerian flags, as he displayed a collection of arms and ammunition seized from the Nigerian Army in Baga, Borno State, Leadership Reports.Shekau, in the 36-minute video, also declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and President Goodluck Jonathan enemies and infidels who Nigerians are celebrating ignorantly.

Shekau fires AK rifle in the air, while his fellow jihadists watch Nigerian flag burn. Shekau, who was showing off the disturbing number of arms and ammunition his group allegedly seized from soldiers in Baga, ridiculed soldiers of the Nigerian Army as weaklings who were hiding under the lies that they didn’t have enough arms to prosecute a war against his group.

He also warned that more killings and attacks would soon be recorded across towns and villages in Nigeria.“We thank God for making us enter Baga and Doro-Baga in victory. We have today declared Baga as part of our territory and one of our operational bases,” he said in Hausa.“Jonathan you are in trouble. All governors of Nigeria are in trouble. All these war equipment that you see being displayed in the screen were got from Baga and Doro.

Your army keeps deceiving the world that you can’t fight us because you have no arms. Liars! You have all that it takes; you are just coward soldiers. You forgot that it is God that arms. Is it not amazing that we who started with sticks and machetes are today the biggest headache to the almighty Nigerian soldiers? What a shame!READ THE FULL TRANSLATION AFTER THE BREAK
“Jonathan is it not shameful that now even your supporters are insulting and cursing you. This should be a sermon to the world that you should not trust in humans. Any one that trusts in a man will end up regretting. This is just the beginning of the killings; what you’ve just witnessed is a tip of the iceberg; more deaths are coming. This will mark the end of politics and democracy in Nigeria. This is to confirm to you that we carried out the Baga massacre, and we are going to do more.

“Nigerians are busy with politics, hailing Buhari! Buhari, Jonathan! Jonathan! Do you think the two of them are spared? Do you think even Buhari is a good Muslim? Buhari is not a Muslim as far as we are concerned – He is nothing but an infidel and our enemy.”
Shekau was later shown in the video setting a Nigerian flag on fire, and hoisting a Boko Haram flag. He then lifted a black flag with Arabic inscription as he recited an altered version of the first few lines of the Nigeria National Anthem, speaking in English:
“I pledge to Allah, my God. To be faithful loyal and honest, to serve Allah with all my strength, to defend his Islam… Allahu Akbar!! Nigeria is dead; her constitution is dead!! Islam and Islam; war by war upon the Kafir who is the unbeliever.”

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Rivers APC Uncovers Plot by PDP, Wike to Clone Dakuku Peterside’s Four-Point Agenda

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Read Time:2 Minute, 49 Second

It has been brought to our notice that Chief Nyesome Wike, gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has set up a three-man committee to study and clone the well-researched Four-Point Agenda of our governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside. The Four-Point Agenda entitled ‘Road Map To Prosperity’ will serve as an instrument to be used to revolutionise Rivers State under the envisaged Dakuku Peterside administration.

This attempt by Chief Wike to steal our candidate’s ideas is entirely not surprising because he is a man without principles who has been campaigning without any defined agenda for the development and emancipation of Rivers State than the spreading of violence. The truth is that Wike is not prepared for the serious job of governing a complex State like Rivers and was conscripted into the race by his paymasters in Abuja as a ploy by the PDP and the Presidency to deny the Riverine part of Rivers an opportunity to have a shot at the seat of power after 16 years of governorship by the Upland part of the State, out of which Chief Wike’s kinsman, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, would have spent eight years by May 29, 2015 as Governor.

If Wike succeeds it means that the Ikwerre tribe from which both Amaechi and Wike hail from, will govern Rivers State for eight more years and sixteen years all together, to the detriment of other sections of the State. To us in Rivers State AOC, this is injustice and wickedness of the highest order We are happy that the royal fathers of Ikwerre Kingdom have adopted Dr. Dakuku Peterside as sole candidate for the gubernatorial election in the spirit of equity. Unfortunately, Chief Wike is hell-bent on truncating the rotating of power to the Riverine area of the State but he has already failed.

We strongly condemn this brazen attempt by Chief Wike to clone our agenda for his doomed campaign. We wish to appeal to the good people of Rivers State to take note of the emptiness and lack of vision and mission being exhibited by Chief WIke and the Rivers State PDP in the countdown to the February elections.

We once more appeal to the Rivers electorates to vote wisely during the elections as their interests will be best taken care of via the Four-Point Agenda, which serves as our commitment to revolutionise governance and take our State to the next level. The Four-Point Agenda, also known as ‘Road Map to Prosperity’ aimed at taking Rivers State to the next level, include Public Sector Accountability and Security of Lives and Properties; Employment Generation and Wealth Creation; Social and Human Capital Development and Empowerment; as well as Institutional and Physical infrastructure Development and Food Security.
 
Let us for the avoidance of doubt emphasise that the choice before Rivers State has never been so crystal clear as it is for the 2015 polls. It is a choice between darkness and light, good and evil, justice and injustice; it is clear to all that APC through Dr Dakuku Peterside represents the light, the good and justice.

 

The ‘Road Map To Prosperity’ is hereby attached for the interest of those who may wish to get the full details.

 

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About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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US-based influential think-tank,has rated President Goodluck Jonathan as the favourite to win the February 14 presidential polls

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Read Time:1 Minute, 27 Second

A WASHINGTON, US-based influential think-tank, the Brookings Institution/Africa Growth Initiative has rated President Goodluck Jonathan as the favourite to win the February 14 presidential polls

In a report entitled: “The 2015 presidential elections in Nigeria: The issues and challenges,” Brookings said the article published under the Africa Growth Initiative said Jonathan’s Peoples Domocratic Party, PDP, was more likely to win the February election.

The paper, which dwells on several aspects of the Nigerian election said that “though the election is expected to be very competitive, the odds still favour President Jonathan.”

While highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the two main political parties, the PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC, the institution said the APC will be unable to unseat the PDP in the February elections.

The paper said: “After suffering a wave of defections to the APC last year, including five of its governors, the PDP seems to have rebounded strongly. In the battleground South-West, for instance, the party won recent governorship elections in Ekiti State and got the governor of Ondo State to defect from the Labour Party to the PDP.

“The party is especially strong in the South-South (where Jonathan comes from), the South-East and among Christians in the North. Again, while the PDP remains weak in the Muslim North, it has gained new influential members who decamped from the APC including the former governors of Kano and Borno States.

And, of course, the PDP has power of incumbency.

“APC gets much of its strength from tapping into Jonathan sentiments in the Muslim North and grievances among the Yoruba who feel that the Jonathan administration has ignored them in key political appointments

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Nigeria Army speaks on Buhari’s certificates

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ABUJA—As controversy continues to trail the academic qualifications of the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Major General Mohammadu Buhari, the Army, yesterday, said it was not in possession of Buhari’s credentials.

The APC presidential candidate, Major General Buhari had averred in an affidavit he deposed before an Abuja High Court that all his certificates were with the Secretary, Military Board, while submitting his Form 199A to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
But the Army, yesterday, denied being in possession of the APC candidate’s original certificates or the certified true copies.

The outgoing Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier-General Olajide Laleye, who addressed newsmen in Abuja, said: “The Nigerian Army does not have the original copy of his (Buhari) West African Examinations Council, WAEC result or a certified true copy.”
But the APC in a swift reaction has warned that those who are bent on destroying Buhari on the basis of his certificates may end up destroying the country’s military.

The army spokesman told newsmen that what the army had and which he displayed were the information contained in the forms Buhari filled at the point of his entry into the military and some letters of recommendation by Principal of Provincial Secondary School, Katsina.

For the record

Olajide said: “Records available indicate that Major General Muhammadu Buhari applied to join the military as a Form Six student of the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina on October 18, 1961. His application was duly endorsed by the Principal of the school, who also wrote a report on him and recommended him suitable for military commission.”

The report which was shown to newsmen, read: “I recommend Muhammadu Buhari fit for military commission.”

On Buhari’s result, the Principal also wrote, “I consider that he will pass Maths, English and three other subjects.”
Laleye said the briefing was necessitated by deluge of requests from civil society groups and the media among others, over General Buhari’s eligibility for any political office.

He said: “It is a practice in the Nigerian Army that before candidates are short-listed for commissioning into the officers’ cadre of the service, the selection board verifies the original copies of credentials that are presented.

“However, there is no available record to show that this process was followed in the 60s. Nevertheless, the entry made on the Nigerian Army Form 199A at the point of documentation after commission as an officer indicated that the former head of state obtained the West African School Certificate, WASC, in 1961 with credits in relevant subjects: English Language, Geography, History, Health Science, Hausa and a pass in English Literature.

“Neither the original copy, Certified True Copy, CTC, nor statement of result of Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s WASC result is in his personal file. What I have said here is what is contained in his service records’ personal file. We have not added or subtracted anything.”

Earlier, Brig-General Laleye, said: “Let me state clearly that the Nigerian Army holds the retired senior officer in very high esteem and respect and would not be a party to any controversy surrounding his eligibility for any political office. Suffice it to state that Major General Buhari rose steadily to the enviable rank of Major General before becoming head of state of our dear country in December 1983.”

It’s a dangerous game — APC

The APC in a statement issued in Lagos, yesterday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, warned that the PDP and the Jonathan administration are playing a dangerous game by allegedly trying to compromise the military in order to satisfy selfish political objectives, and urged the military, as a symbol of national unity, to beware of those who may be seeking to use it to achieve selfish and divisive ends.

The APC said the statement credited to the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen. Olajide Olaleye, at a press conference in Abuja, yesterday, that the Army is not in possession of Gen. Buhari’s certificates, is in direct conflict with what he said on January 4, 2015 on the same issue.

“In an interview with the Punch on Jan. 4, 2015, Brig.-Gen. Olaleye had said: ‘Every serving and retired Army officer has at least a copy of his certificates and credentials kept in the Nigerian Army while that same serving and retired officer has copies of those same certificates and credentials’.

“Is Brig.-Gen. Olaleye now saying that he did not make that statement? If he did, what has happened between then and now to make him to recant? It will be interesting to know what has transpired between then and now,” APC said.

The party also said that there was no evidence that the certificates of all those who joined the army in the early 1960s were verified by the selection board.

“Is he now saying that all those who were commissioned into the officer cadres in the 1960s did not have their certificates verified? Does this not confirm what we said that in trying to destroy Gen. Buhari, the PDP and the Jonathan administration will end up destroying the army as an institution? Or is it only Gen. Buhari that was commissioned into the army in the 1960s?”

The party also quoted Gen. Buhari as saying in an affidavit on November 24, 2014 that “All my academic qualification documents as filled in my presidential form, President APC/001/2015 are currently with the Secretary, Military Board as at the time of this affidavit.”

APC said: “Those who are behind the latest controversy should now tell Nigerians what happened to Gen. Buhari’s certificates between the time of his affidavit and now”.

APC said further that even if the Army now says it does not have the certificates of Gen. Buhari, he is still very qualified to run for the country’s highest office, as stipulated by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
What the constitution says— APC

The party quoted Section 131 (d) of the Constitution: “A person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent”.

APC said the meaning and interpretation of “School Certificate level or its equivalent can be found in the Constitution under part IV, Section 318. In that Section, a “School Certificate or its equivalent” is defined quite succinctly thus:
(a) A Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate; or
(b) Education up to Secondary School Certificate Level; or a
(c) Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent.

The party said since Brig.-Gen. Olaleye has confirmed that Gen. Buhari indeed applied to join the Army from form six, that the principal of the school he attended even attested to his suitability, and that the form he filled contained his Secondary School Certificate results, there is no scintilla of doubt about his qualification to run for president as stipulated by the Constitution.

“However, we know that the PDP and the Jonathan administration have constituted themselves into a court of law and will like nothing more than the disqualification of our candidate so they will face no challenge in next month’s election. This is wishful thinking,” it said.

APC said the PDP and the Jonathan administration should expend their energy on how to revive their floundering campaign instead of seeking the disqualification of its (APC) candidate.

On the contradictions in the statements credited to the Army spokesman, the party said: “It is true that our once globally-respected military has now been made comatose by the PDP-led Federal Government, but we believe things have not reached the level where the same military will be engaging in actions that amount to self destruction, just to satisfy some political interests.

“We believe things have not reached a level where we, as a nation, will now be giving the impression that a man who rose to become a Major-General in the Nigerian Army does not have requisite qualifications?

“What really is happening in our country if some politicians have now decided to engage in an action that will amount to dragging the military into politics, dividing an institution that is a symbol of national unity, trivializing the service of those who fought to keep Nigeria one and ridiculing the same country it is supposed to be ruling?

‘’We have said it before and will like to repeat: Enough is enough about this distraction”.

– See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/army-speaks-buharis-certificates/#sthash.pV6dn17Q.dpuf

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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