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Genaral Muhammadu Buhari, Professor Osinbajo and members of the APC campaign council on Tuesday met with Catholic Bishops of Nigeria in Abuja. In his speech, he stated that he had no personal religious agenda and will neither islamise of christianze Nigeria if voted into power. 

General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR

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.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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For the sake of a dear, seemingly inevitable friend, Nasir el-Rufai, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, is once again attracting flaks. El-Rufai is well-known to be a close pal of Jimi Adebisi Lawal, former managing director of the defunct Alpha Merchant Bank and businessman with the scruples of an alley cat. On behalf of Lawal, el-Rufai is currently entangled with Gbenga Ikuomola, consultant to a firm based in Venezuela.

Ikuomola is claiming that el-Rufai, on 16 July 2006, threatened to use the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, “to deal with me,” because he, Ikuomola, is insisting that Lawal refund a sum of 45,000 pounds sterling, balance of 160,000 pounds sterling that the former banker swindled the consultant. The story is that Lawal sold two plots of land in Lekki to Ikuomola after using the same property as collateral to secure a loan from a bank. The matter became so messy that, according to Ikuomola, the bank began suspecting him of conniving with Lawal to commit the fraud. The bank eventually took ownership of the property and Ikuomola ended up the loser.

But Ikuomola, who told TheNEWS he had known el-Rufai and Lawal to be some special kind of friends since 1991, would not give up. Last year, he reported Lawal to the EFCC after which the latter was picked up by agents of the Commission. But, the creditor stated, el-Rufai used his influence as an incumbent minister in the present dispensation to get the debtor off the hook. “It is on record that the EFCC investigated the above and found it to be true and correct. Jimi could have been facing prosecution by now from the EFCC, but you made his abscondment possible as a result of your relationship and influence,” Ikuomola told el-Rufai in an open letter dated 17 August 2006 addressed to the minister.

El-Rufai and Lawal seem to be more than ordinary friends. Ikuomola actually described Lawal as “your boyfriend” in the letter to el-Rufai. When asked to elaborate what “boyfriend” connotes, Ikuomola only chuckled, but promised to unearth a stinking can of worms on the manner of the relationship between the two men at the appropriate time. The consultant reminded the Minister of how he had assisted him and Lawal in their businesses when el-Rufai was, as he put it, “a nobody and junior business partner to Lawal.” He specifically mentioned a proposal on the establishment of Omega Cement Company, “when Jimi used to send you to my house at Probyn Road to see, talk and brainstorm with me.” El-Rufai was said to have actually written the proposal on the cement project. But the project allegedly failed when the two partners could not put together the required credible documentation to back up a government policy demand that such a project must have a certain degree of local content.

Ikuomola also mentioned Lawal’s importation of Uncle Ben’s rice for which he (Ikuomola) arranged the foreign exchange sourcing, but “which Naira value he (Lawal) never completed.” Ikuomola threw light on the controversial Banco Bilbao shares which Lawal sought to use to buy over Afribank when he was managing director of Alpha Merchant Bank, but failed because he could not provide genuine documents as demanded by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. He told el-Rufai in the letter that “at BPE (Bureau of Public Enterprises), you sold to Jimi shares which he and Lord Chief bought from Banco Bilbao (40 per cent shares in IBWA) and this you know made Jimi a lot of money without references to shareholders of Alpha Merchant Bank and its depositors. You are fully aware that Jimi Lawal was sentenced in absentia to eight years imprisonment for converting depositors’ money, public funds and shareholders’ investment and went to hide in London, Toronto and Atlanta with your knowledge and connivance.” 

When Lawal first attempted to buy the BIAO shares in 1992, TheNEWS’  investigation revealed, he was rejected because he could not provide  proof of ownership of the fund and proper documentation as demanded.  Desperate to have the shares, Lawal was said to have dropped the name of  the then Head of State,  General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.) before the  erstwhile CBN governor, Abdulkadir Ahmed (now deceased), as having  approved the transaction. Ahmed was, however, shrewd enough to seek  confirmation from Babangida rather than just take Lawal for his word.  Babangida, it was gathered, was angry at the effrontery of the banker to  attempt to use his name to perpetrate an illegal transaction.  He was  quoted to have directed Ahmed to ‘‘bring me that boy.’’ In Babanigda’s  presence, Lawal was said to be speechless. That was how the BIAO share  purchase effort flopped.
But Lawal and el-Rufai allegedly cooked up the deal once again when the  latter became the BPE director-general under President Olusegun Obasanjo.
For Lawal, the opportunity was a timely rehabilitation because, by 1999,  he was known to be so financially unhealthy. With el-Rufai in the saddle  at BPE which prioritised the sale of the BIAO shares, Lawal made $3.7  million. Details of the scam were reported in the 5 February edition of  TheNEWS. The windfall marked the beginning of huge monetary gains for  Lawal, as el-Rufai grew more influential in the Obasanjo administration. In 2001, Lawal was recommended as technical adviser to the Investors  International (London) Limited’s bid to buy the Nigerian  Telecommunications Limited, NITEL, even though he has no pedigree  whatsoever in telecommunications. When the IILL bid failed, Lawal and his  cohorts would not give up. [i]TheNEWS[/i] has it on very reliable authority how  Lawal, fronting for some other partner(s), went to Holland to make  efforts at registering a telecommunications company, mainly with a view  to buying over NITEL or bagging a management contract. He, however, ran  into problems on registration because he had no resident permit, a vital  requirement.

That would not stop Lawal and his gang. From Holland, in 2003, suddenly  came Pentascope as the preferred bidder, by the BPE, for NITEL. As also  extensively reported by TheNEWS in its edition of 13 March 2006, the  Pentascope deal was clearly a fraud to fleece Nigeria of billions of  naira. By April 2004, within only one year, when Pentascope was stripped  of the contract, it had ruined NITEL completely to the tune of about N100  billion loss. As the House of Representatives committee on commications  which investigaed the case found out, the huge money went into the  pockets of the Nigerian traitors who collaborated with the Dutch company  to destroy NITEL.

Lawal’s hand might not be absent in the Pentascope set-up. After the IILL  failure and his hurried trip to Holland to try and register a  telecommunications company in 2001, Pentascope suddenly came up. It was  curiously registered on 1 January 2002, a public holiday, and only three  months before the BPE advertised for Expressions of Interest from  qualified firms to manage NITEL. As required by the Companies and Allied  Matters Act, it was not even registered in Nigeria to do business. The  firm did not even meet any of the criteria listed in the BPE  advertisement. The pre-qualification criteria demanded that “interested  managers MUST be international telecommunications operators and MUST  demonstrate, one, evidence of having installed and managed at least a  million telephones; two, a successful track record of expanding a  telecommunications network in a developing country; and three, sufficient  management resources to grow NITEL and enhance shareholder value.  Pentascope was grossly deficient in all those.

When a team of NITEL directors travelled to Holland to verify the claims  put forward by the BPE and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the firm of auditors  that was supposed to have done the due diligence on the Dutch firm, they  were stunned by their discoveries. Pentascope had only eight staff,  including its janitor, and operated from an abandoned old church  building. The Pentascope rip-off of about N100 billion at NITEL was  clearly a premeditated steal and why those behind it have not been  prosecuted only President Olusegun Obasanjo can explain. Although Lawal ran away from Nigeria, to escape trial after he ran Alpha  Merchant Bank aground, el-Rufai assisted him well to pave way for his  return. And after making hay from the BIAO shares and telecommunication  deals, the minister further enriched him with a consultancy on land deals  in the Federal Capital Territory.

Even here, Lawal’s activities were  tainted with numerous allegations of shady deals. Ikuomola frowned at  el-Rufai’s “unwholesome relationship with Jimi Lawal who you continued to  offer succour, to the extent of appointing him a consultant in the  Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to superintend over the allocation and  distribution of landed property.” After he escaped from Nigeria, Lawal,  TheNEWS scooped, is now in Canada to where he ferreted the stupendous  financial gains he made in Nigeria, courtesy el-Rufai. In Canada, the  conman now runs  J & I Investment, which deals in real property, on  behalf of his business partners. Ikuomola was patently furious at el-Rufai’s threat, although Amina  Salihu, media aide to the FCT minister, told TheNEWS he (the minister)  “does not threaten people; it is either he acts or he doesn’t.” Effort by  the magazine to make Salihu comment on the allegation raised by Ikuomola  in his letter to el-Rufai were fruitless as she would not respond to  calls.

In concluding his letter, Ikuomola said: “I reported your boyfriend Jimi  Lawal to the EFCC on good grounds, leading to investigation and it was  found that he truly defrauded me. He promised to pay all the money at  conclusion of the said investigation, but instead, he ran away again as  usual. You want EFCC to arrest me? May I ask you when has the EFCC become  an agent of repression and suppression? I, Gbenga Ikuomola, therefore,  dare you to take the unenviable path of instigating my arrest. You cannot  use the name of EFCC to intimidate or harass me. Don’t ever try. I hereby  challenge you to carry out your threats.”  

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.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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Former Minister of Information and gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Nasarawa State, Mr. Labaran Maku, on Tuesday denied linking President Goodluck Jonathan with the sponsorship of the insurgency in the North-east region.Maku also said his support for the re-election bid of President Jonathan was more important than his gubernatorial ambition.

“I still believe in President Jonathan; I am leading his campaign in Nasarawa State,” he said.

The former minister who addressed journalists on the matter in Abuja, noted that reports making the rounds suggesting that he accused the president of supporting the insurgents were malicious, fictitious and pure imagination of the president’s political detractors, instead of dealing with the evolution of this terror and see how we in the North can join hands to defeat insurgents.

“I therefore want to make it very clear here, that at no time in my life have I ever attributeed the president to the sponsorship of terrorism. This is absolute fiction, and this fiction is deliberately designed by the opposition to quote one of the most ardent believers of the president as telling a story against him,” he said.
Maku wondered why he would be accused of speaking against the government he had defended in the last four year.

“As a human being, I work with my conscience, I cannot come against the government I defended for four and half years, the government I believe in and I still almost remain its face in terms of public utterances. If were to say that, who will believe me? When I do something, I do it because I believe in it,” he added.
According to him, desperate politicians were more interested in making insurgency a campaigning tool than finding lasting solution to the problem.

“As President Jonathan struggles to deal with terrorism, some people are desperate to use it as a licence to turn the public against him, because they want political power. Terrorism in Nigeria is not quite different from what is happening in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Algeria and several other troubled nations across the world,” he stated.

Maku however commended the current administration for having recorded remarkable achievements even in the midst of war.

Speaking on the security situation in Nassarawa State, Maku said: “In the last four years of the All Progressives Congress (APC) rule in our state, we have also had a devastating advent of terror attacks in form of insurgents attacking villages, destroying communities, and as I speak with you, more than 60 towns and villages in the state had been destroyed in the last two years by insurgents, mostly brought in from outside Nigeria.” (Leadership)

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.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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Last week, Victor, a carpenter, came to my Lagos home to fix a broken chair. I asked him whom he preferred as Nigeria’s next president: the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, or his challenger, Muhammadu Buhari.

“I don’t have a voter’s card, but if I did, I would vote for somebody I don’t like,” he said. “I don’t like Buhari. But Jonathan is not performing.”

Victor sounded like many people I know: utterly unenthusiastic about the two major candidates in our upcoming election.

Were Nigerians to vote on likeability alone, Jonathan would win. He is mild-mannered and genially unsophisticated, with a conventional sense of humor. Buhari has a severe, ascetic air about him, a rigid uprightness; it is easy to imagine him in 1984, leading a military government whose soldiers routinely beat up civil servants. Neither candidate is articulate. Jonathan is given to rambling; his unscripted speeches leave listeners vaguely confused. Buhari is thick-tongued, his words difficult to decipher. In public appearances, he seems uncomfortable not only with the melodrama of campaigning but also with the very idea of it. To be a democratic candidate is to implore and persuade, and his demeanor suggests a man who is not at ease with amiable consensus. Still, he is no stranger to campaigns. This is his third run as a presidential candidate; the last time, in 2011, he lost to Jonathan.

This time, Buhari’s prospects are better. Jonathan is widely perceived as ineffectual, and the clearest example, which has eclipsed his entire presidency, is his response to Boko Haram. Such a barbaric Islamist insurgency would challenge any government. But while Boko Haram bombed and butchered, Jonathan seemed frozen in a confused, tone-deaf inaction. Conflicting stories emerged of an ill-equipped army, of a corrupt military leadership, of northern elites sponsoring Boko Haram, and even of the government itself sponsoring Boko Haram.

Jonathan floated to power, unprepared, on a serendipitous cloud. He was a deputy governor of Bayelsa state who became governor when his corrupt boss was forced to quit. Chosen as vice president because powerbrokers considered him the most harmless option from southern Nigeria, he became president when his northern boss died in office. Nigerians gave him their goodwill—he seemed refreshingly unassuming—but there were powerful forces who wanted him out, largely because he was a southerner, and it was supposed to be the north’s ‘turn’ to occupy the presidential office.

And so the provincial outsider suddenly thrust onto the throne, blinking in the chaotic glare of competing interests, surrounded by a small band of sycophants, startled by the hostility of his traducers, became paranoid. He was slow to act, distrustful and diffident. His mildness came across as cluelessness. His response to criticism calcified to a single theme: His enemies were out to get him. When the Chibok girls were kidnapped, he and his team seemed at first to believe that it was a fraud organized by his enemies to embarrass him. His politics of defensiveness made it difficult to sell his genuine successes, such as his focus on the long-neglected agricultural sector and infrastructure projects. His spokespeople alleged endless conspiracy theories, compared him to Jesus Christ, and generally kept him entombed in his own sense of victimhood.

The delusions of Buhari’s spokespeople are better packaged, and obviously free of incumbency’s crippling weight. They blame Jonathan for everything that is wrong with Nigeria, even the most multifarious, ancient knots. They dismiss references to Buhari’s past military leadership, and couch their willful refusal in the language of ‘change,’ as though Buhari, by representing change from Jonathan, has also taken on an ahistorical saintliness.

I remember the Buhari years as a blur of bleakness. I remember my mother bringing home sad rations of tinned milk, otherwise known as “essential commodities”—the consequences of Buhari’s economic policy. I remember air thick with fear, civil servants made to do frog jumps for being late to work, journalists imprisoned, Nigerians flogged for not standing in line, a political vision that cast citizens as recalcitrant beasts to be whipped into shape.

Buhari’s greatest source of appeal is that he is widely perceived as non-corrupt. Nigerians have been told how little money he has, how spare his lifestyle is. But to sell the idea of an incorruptible candidate who will fight corruption is to rely on the disingenuous trope that Buhari is not his party. Like Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party, Buhari’s All Progressives Congress is stained with corruption, and its patrons have a checkered history of exploitative participation in governance. Buhari’s team is counting on the strength of his perceived personal integrity: his image as a good guy forced by realpolitik to hold hands with the bad guys, who will be shaken off after his victory.

In my ancestral home state of Anambra, where Jonathan is generally liked, the stronger force at play is a distrust of Buhari, partly borne of memories of his military rule, and partly borne of his reputation, among some Christians, as a Muslim fundamentalist. When I asked a relative whom she would vote for, she said, “Jonathan of course. Am I crazy to vote for Buhari so that Nigeria will become a sharia country?”

Nigeria has predictable voting patterns, as all democratic countries do. Buhari can expect support from large swaths of the core north, and Jonathan from southern states. Region and religion are potent forces here. Vice presidents are carefully picked with these factors in mind: Buhari’s is a southwestern Christian and Jonathan’s is a northern Muslim. But it is not so simple. There are non-northerners who would ordinarily balk at voting for a ‘northerner’ but who support Buhari because he can presumably fight corruption. There are northern supporters of Jonathan who are not part of the region’s Christian minorities.

Delaying the elections is a staggeringly self-serving act of contempt for Nigerians.
Last week, I was indifferent about the elections, tired of television commercials and contrived controversies. There were rumors that the election, which was scheduled for February 14, would be postponed, but there always are; our political space is a lair of conspiracies. I was uninterested in the apocalyptic predictions. Nigeria was not imploding. We had crossed this crossroads before, we were merely electing a president in an election bereft of inspiration. And the existence of a real opposition party that might very well win was a sign of progress in our young democracy

Then, on Saturday, the elections were delayed for six weeks. Nigeria’s security agencies, we were told, would not be available to secure the elections because they would be fighting Boko Haram and needed at least another month and a half to do so. (Nigeria has been fighting Boko Haram for five years, and military leaders recently claimed to be ready for the elections.)

Even if the reason were not so absurd, Nigerians are politically astute enough to know that the postponement has nothing to do with security. It is a flailing act of desperation from an incumbent terrified of losing. There are fears of further postponements, of ploys to illegally extend Jonathan’s term. In a country with the specter of a military coup always hanging over it, the consequences could be dangerous. My indifference has turned to anger. What a staggeringly self-serving act of contempt for Nigerians. It has cast, at least for the next six weeks, the darkest possible shroud over our democracy: uncertainty.

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.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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Euphoria in Opobo/Nkoro as Campaign Train Hits Home

The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the victory of the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, as a forgone conclusion.

The State Party Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, made the declaration while commenting on the unprecedented crowd that turned out on Saturday to receive Dr. Peterside as his campaign train hit home.

“It is often said that a prophet is not honoured in his community but Dakuku Peterside has proved to be an exception. The unprecedented crowd of men and women, young and old – including non-indigenes – in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government who in unison assured Peterside of their support indicates that his victory in the forthcoming governorship election is a foregone conclusion by the grace of God. It was particularly touching to see elderly women of age 70 and above while donating their savings to Peterside’s campaign fund and prayed that God who made their son to be the APC flag-bearer will ensure his emergence as the next Governor of Rivers State,” Ikanya said in a statement.

In the statement issued Monday morning in Port Harcourt, Ikanya wondered why the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is so afraid of election. “Postponing the elections from February to March and April will not in any way save PDP. It is just a matter of weeks; no matter the game plans of the Presidency and PDP leadership, nothing will change the plan of God,” the Rivers APC Chairman said. He restated that the governorship slot was allotted to Riverine Rivers based on equity and fairness as APC believes that power must rotate. “Anybody working against the candidature of Dakuku Peterside is an enemy of fairness in Rivers State,” Ikanya stated.

At Saturday’s campaign stop in Opobo, all the speakers, including Hon. Michael Donald Igolima the CTC Chairman of Opobo/Nkoro LGA, Mrs. John Africa spoke for Opobo Elderly Women, Chief Sullivan Akachukwu, who spoke for the non-indigenes; Dr Sofiri B. Peterside, who spoke for the youths; and Hon. Maclean B Uranta, a community leader and former Chairman of Opobo/Nkoro LGA, supported the candidature of Dakuku Peterside on behalf of their groups.

Dr. Sam Jaja, a member of the Board of Trustees of APC, who is also a son of the area, spoke on behalf of the Opobo Community. He thanked the State APC leadership for considering Opobo/Nkoro worthy to be given the office of the Governor of Rivers State. Jaja described the event as a tip of the celebration that would be witnessed during the swearing-in ceremony of Dakuku Peterside as the Governor of Rivers State come May, 29th, 2015.

In his speech, Director General of Rivers APC Campaign Organisation, Chief Victor Giadom, emphasised that no matter the date of the election as fixed by INEC, what matters is that Dr. Peterside will be sworn-in as Governor on May 29th, 2015, and General Muhammadu Buhari as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Thanking his people for their love and support, Dakuku Peterside said it would be unfair to ask him to campaign in his own place as his initiatives exhibited in various projects in the area attest that he is a good representative of his people in all the offices he has so far occupied on their behalf. The offices include as Chairman of the Local Government, when he was declared as the Best and Most Outstanding Chairman in Rivers State, as Commissioner of Works under the administration of Governor Chibuike Amaechi, and presently as a member of the Federal House of Representatives and Chairman of the Committee on Upstream.

Dr. Peterside publicly conveyed his people’s appreciation that out of the 23 local government areas it was Opobo/Nkoro that was chosen and “God decided that a son of this area be chosen to be the next Governor of Rivers State.” He reassured all Rivers people including the non-indigenes, of the commitment of his administration once elected to continue the legacies of Governor Amaechi, “including empowering all Rivers State people, of which the non-indigenes are an integral part, through my Four-Point Agenda titled ‘Road Map to Prosperity’ for the people of Rivers State.” The APC flag-bearer explained that the Four-Point Agenda 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.

Dr. Peterside thereafter presented his running mate, Hon. Honourable Asita O Asita, to the huge crowd. Hon. Asita in his remarks assured the people that the forthcoming Peterside administration would develop Opobo/Nkoro, including reclaiming the land for roads and other projects. He thanked the community for giving APC a person of Dakuku Peterside’s caliber and assured them that they would be adequately rewarded.

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.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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ELECTION POSTPONEMENT A PLOY TO DERAIL DEMOCRACY —RIVERS APC •Says plot to replace Jega will backfire against the enemies of democracy

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Rivers State Chapter, has described the last-minute postponement of the February 2015 polls as a criminal ploy to derail the country’s nascent democracy. The party in a statement by its State Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, described the news of the shift of the elections from February 14th and 28th to March 28th and April 11th as a rude shock and the reason given for the action by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as untenable.

Ikanya said in the statement issued Tuesday in Port Harcourt: “We are shocked beyond words that after repeated assurances by INEC of its readiness to conduct the elections, the commission succumbed to pressures from a fading and unpopular Presidency to shift the polls, giving the lame excuse that the army said that they would not provide security on the two days that the elections would be held! To us, this is a very stupid excuse as INEC is fully aware of the High court judgment in the case of the illegal use of the army to rig the Ekiti gubernatorial election in favour of a dying PDP, that the army will no longer be used for any election in Nigeria. How come that the same army that will no longer be used for election is being used as an excuse to postpone an election that was to take place in few days’ time?”

The Rivers APC Chairman noted that Presidential Spokesman, Dr. Doyin Okupe, and the Presidency itself confidently predicted about the election postponement 26 hours before it was formally announced by INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega stating the same dates that the INEC Chairman announced to the world as the new dates for the elections. “This clearly indicates that INEC was either arm-twisted by the Presidency and PDP to shift the polls or is deliberately conniving with them to push an agenda detrimental to our democracy,” Ikanya said.

He however declared the poll shift is a temporary setback as “Nigerians have resolved to vote out the visionless President Goodluck Jonathan, whose leadership has caused a lot of harm to the unity and progress of our dear nation.” Continuing, Ikanya said: “We wish to reiterate that we will not tolerate any further attack on our democracy by a group of people already rejected by the Nigerian electorate but who want to cling to power by all cost. Let us emphasise that this shift is only a shift of the date on which Nigerians will vote out the clueless Jonathan Presidency which squandered a golden opportunity to write its name in gold but instead created enormous opportunities for its cronies to plunder and loot our common patrimony with impunity and bring our country’s economy to its knees.

“We join our Leader and Presidential Candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, to appeal to our numerous supporters to be calm and resolute in our campaign as our salvation is now nearer than before.”

Rivers APC also strongly condemned the alleged moves by the Presidency to replace Prof. Jega with a pliable Southerner who would be used to rig the 2015 elections. “We will like those behind these sinister moves not to waste their time, as it will not work. As much as we condemn Jega for allowing the hawks in the Presidency to pressurise him to postpone elections which foreign observers were already in the country to observe, we will not tolerate his sack for any reason whatsoever! Those behind this evil plot are stretching their luck too far and it will certainly backfire against these enemies of democracy,” the party said.

It commended the US, Canada and UK governments, as well as other international bodies for standing by Nigeria and condemning the poll shift and pleaded with them to continue to mount pressure on the Jonathan administration to conduct credible elections and unfailingly hand over power on May, 29th, 2015.

Long Live APC!

Long Live Rivers State!!

Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze,

SSA Media and Public Affairs to the State Chairman, APC Rivers State.

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.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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Former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, and former governor of old Anambra State, Senator Jim Nwobodo, on Sunday in Enugu foreclosed the possibility of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) or any other political party routing the ruling PDP in the forthcoming general election, insisting that Nigerians have already made up their minds to retain their support for the ruling party.

The two PDP leaders who addressed a Large crowd of party supporters during a campaign rally at the headquarters of Enugu South council of the state noted that their party was sure of victory in the March 28 presidential/National Assembly election as well as the April 11 gubernatorial/state assembly election.

According to them, the opposition parties were only engaging in a wild goose chase as Nigerians have become much wiser and cannot be deceived by the opposition’s deceptive words.

Specifically, Nwobodo said there is no opposition in Enugu State as far as the forthcoming election is concern and warned all members of the PDP that left the party to contest elections in other political parties that they were merely wasting their time.

Nwobodo however urged such people to return to the PDP fold as the umbrella of the party is big enough to accommodate their various interests.

The former governor also expressed confidence that the governorship candidate of the party, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, will continue with the good works of Governor Sullivan Chime, having distinguished himself creditably as a true member of the PDP and three-time member of the House of Representatives, who has held important portfolios including his current position as Chairman, House Committee on Marine Transport.

On his part, the former Senate President decried the antics of fifth columnists within the party, especially in Enugu East senatorial district and charged party members to be watchful and not to relent until victory is achieved.

Nnamani stated that Enugu South Local Government Area was a fortress for the PDP having produced the likes of himself and Senator Jim Nwobodo, adding that the good works of Governor Sullivan Chime have made it easy for the party to coast to victory in the forthcoming elections.

In his own speech, the governorship candidate of the party, Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi thanked all the stakeholders of the party, especially the delegates that voted for him during the governorship primary election for their overwhelming support and assured them of his resolve to continue with all the policies and programmes of Chime’s administration for the overall interest of Enugu State.

Ugwuanyi told the people to vote for all the candidates of the PDP including President Goodluck Jonathan, himself and Hon. Chime Oji, amongst others, adding that as members of one political family, he will do his best to provide more dividends of democracy to the people of Enugu State, ‘if voted into power’.

Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State in his speech urged the people to support and vote for President Goodluck Jonathan, Ugwuanyi and all other candidates of the PDP for them to continue to enjoy the services of the party.

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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 Goodluck Jonathan has counselled Nigerians to speak good about the country, stressing that the general election is a contest among brothers and sisters.

On his official Facebook page, which boast of almost two million followers, President Jonathan said: “I want to remind us all that we have no other country other than Nigeria and as we approach the elections, it is wise that we speak good and peaceable words over Nigeria because we will have to eat our words. So let us make them sweet rather than bitter.

“We must see the coming polls as a contest amongst brothers and sisters from the womb of one Nigeria.

He urged political gladiators to avoid the use of threats and desperations in their campaign, noting that whatever the outcome of the polls, victory should be for Nigeria and Nigerians.

In a related development, the Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on New Media, Reno Omokri, faulted claim by the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Major Gen Muha-mmadu Buhari (rtd), that Nigeria had been reduced to a failed state.

Omokri argued that although there were challenges confronting the country, Nigeria was not a failed state, stressing that it is unfortunate that a former Head of State and a presidential hopeful will speak ill of his country.

He said: “With due respect sir, Nigeria is not a failed state. Yes, we do have some challenges, but true leaders do not condemn their nation to the world.”

Omokri reminded Buhari that Nigeria was making giant strides that placed it among respected countries in the world.

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.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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After months of berating the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has declared his support for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

Obasanjo, who is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, made his opinion known during an interview with the Financial Times at the launch of his controversial autobiography titled, ‘My Watch’, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Obasanjo said Buhari, who ruled Nigeria between December 1983 and August 1985, was aware of the challenges of Nigeria today and was qualified to rule the country.

He said, “The circumstances he (Buhari) will be working under if he wins the elections are different from the one he worked under before, where he was both the executive and the legislature – he knows that. He is smart enough. He is educated enough. He’s experienced enough. Why shouldn’t I support him?”

Obasanjo said he was confident that Buhari would be able to effectively tackle corruption and insecurity.

The former President said Buhari would restore the morale of the military which, he said, was needed in the fight against terrorism.

He said President Goodluck Jonathan betrayed the armed forces by allowing corruption to undermine their operations.

He said, “It is a question of leadership – political and military. I think you need to ask Jonathan how he let the army go to this extent. Many things went wrong: recruitment went wrong; training went wrong; morale went down; motivation was not there; corruption was deeply ingrained; andwelfare was bad.”

Obasanjo added that he was saddened by the rate at which the nation’s resources were dwindling, adding that when he left office, Nigeria had $45bn in its reserve but the resources had been depleted by more than half despite the increase in oil prices.

Reacting to the postponement of the elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission for security reasons and a better distribution of Permanent Voter Cards, Obasanjo said he hoped the Federal Government was being truthful.

He urged Jonathan to put the interest of the nation ahead of his own ambition.

He said warned that manipulating the electoral process could lead to a coup d’etat, adding that the May 29 handover date remained sacrosanct.

“I sincerely hope that the President is not going for broke and saying ‘look dammit, it’s either I have it or nobody has it’. I hope that we will not have a coup. I hope we can avoid it,” he said.

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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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Lagos—The Afenifere Renewal Group, ARG, has considered as untenable the security reason given for postponement of the February polls by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

This came as Senator Gbenga Ashafa described the Federal Government as a monumental failure and advised that it be resisted by all Nigerians through the use of their thumb and Permanent Voters’ Card at the poll on March 28 to vote President Goodluck Jonathan out of office.

It will be recalled that chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had last Saturday announced the shift in the general elections, earlier slated for February 14 and 28 to March 28 and April 11, 2015.

Reacting to the poll shift, Publicity Secretary of ARG, Kunle Famoriyo siad: “Nigeria’s defence and security institutions have not convinced Nigerians that they have the capability to curb the Boko Haram insurgency and it remains to be seen that they now possess new tactics and intelligence on how to curb it.

“Therefore, it is difficult to see how a six-year menace will disappear in six weeks.

“Indeed, the events of the past few weeks lend credence to a pervasive public opinion that INEC was coerced into its adopted position.

“Nigerians were not particularly surprised at the postponement and many actually saw it coming.

“There is no doubt an executive coercion whose design and intent can only be to subjugate Nigeria’s premier democratic institution, and until the security chiefs are able to advance believable reasons and demonstrate renewed commitment to their constitutional duty, Nigerians will remain suspicious of a premeditated plan to subvert democratic process.”

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.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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