Foreign (4)

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday, stated reasons every property he has, including all his accounts, are domiciled in the country, saying that it was borne out of his belief that where a man's treasures are there his heart also will be.
This came as he noted that he personally did not believe that one became a 'big man' by simply holding a public office.

Jonathan, in a comment on his Facebook page, entitled, "The core of who I am" said public office, to him, was not a means to adding value to the holder, adding that people with that type of mentality were only borrowing moral authority from the office they occupied.

He described the people who accused him of being humble to the point of servility as persons who did not understand that the whole purpose of public office was to serve.

According to the president, "public office, to me, is not a means to adding value to the holder of the office. Public office is the vehicle through which social harmony, happiness and inspirational communal existence is promoted and enhanced."

He said the late president, Alhaji Umaru Yar'Adua, while he was alive, used to say they were servant leaders, adding that "we have not come to demand service from Nigeria but to give service...

"This is the principal reason why I opened this page to communicate with Nigerians. I am acutely aware that I do not hold this position of president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the wishes of any power other than the freely given mandate of the Nigerian people and the grace of God.

"And that is why I communicate with you because next to the Almighty God, the Nigerian people are my power source and, just as an electrical appliance will not work when not connected to its power source, so also can I not work effectively if I am not connected with you, the good people of Nigeria.

"And while there are politicians who have substantial commitment to Nigeria and others who may have partial commitment to Nigeria, my commitment to Nigeria is total and there is evidence to back it up.

"It is believed that a man's greatest treasures are his children and immediate family and the proverb goes that where a man's treasures are there his heart also will be. All my children, every last one of them school in Nigeria and of course my wife and I are fully on the ground. Some might describe other treasures a man has as his real estate property. And again every property I have in life is in Nigeria. Some might consider money as another treasure and again all my accounts every last one of them is domiciled in Nigeria. In everything I do I make a conscious decision to put Nigeria first whether it is in my dressing or the food I eat, or even the music I listen to. I am totally sold out on Nigeria.

"What does this tell you? My commitment to Nigeria is not partial, neither is it substantial, but it is total. You can trust me to take good decisions on behalf of Nigeria because I am a stakeholder whose progress is tied to the progress of Nigeria.

"This is the core of who Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is. I have made myself an open book, completely transparent to Nigerians because I want to earn your trust. I do not want to demand trust, but I want to inspire it by the way I live my life and with your help and God's favour I shall continue to do this."

 

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34-Ivory-Coast_509439t.jpgThe outcome of Ivory Coast's first presidential election in a decade was plunged into doubt yesterday as the constitutional council declared incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo the winner a day after the election chief handed victory to the opposition.

The new results released by a Gbagbo loyalist on national television directly contradicted those announced on Thursday, which were considered credible by the US, the African Union and the United Nations.

Ivory Coast's presidential election was meant to restore stability in the West African nation after a 2002-03 civil war destroyed the economy of one of the most affluent countries on the continent. Instead the poll is now casting a growing shadow. If Gbagbo refuses to step down, many fear the world's top cocoa producer could spiral into violence again.

The results announced on state television by constitutional council head Paul Yao N'Dre cancelled the votes from seven of the country's 19 voting districts, all opposition strongholds where the ruling party claims the vote was marred by violence and intimidation.

"The irregularities are of such a nature that they invalidate the vote (in those districts)," said N'Dre, who is also a senior member of Gbagbo's party.

Erasing those districts wiped out a significant share of opposition leader Alassane Ouattara's margin, resulting in a victory for Gbagbo. His five-year mandate officially expired in 2005. For five years he has repeatedly cancelled the date for this election, claiming the country was too volatile to assure security and later that polls were technically flawed. A 2007 peace deal broke years of political stalemate, leading to the dismantling of a UN-patrolled buffer zone.

The US has urged the parties to accept the election commission's results showing Mr Ouattara had won. "Credible, accredited electoral observers have characterised the balloting as free and fair, and no party should be allowed to obstruct further the electoral process," US National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said in a statement.

The African Union said that Thursday's results were satisfactory and asked the country's leaders to put the interest of the Ivory Coast first.

"Any other approach risks plunging Côte d'Ivoire into a crisis with incalculable consequences for the country, as well as for the region and the continent as a whole," the AU said in a statement.

The country was isolated by the ruling elite immediately after Mr Ouattara's win was announced, with a decree read on state TV saying that the nation's air, sea and maritime borders had been closed....

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12 foreign sailors kidnapped by pirates

Nigeria: 12 foreign sailors kidnapped by pirates By JON GAMBRELL | Published: 7:44 AM LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Pirates kidnapped 12 foreign sailors off the coast of Nigeria’s restive and oil-rich southern delta during an attack that left one crew member injured, a naval spokesman said Saturday. Commodore David Nabaida told The Associated Press that pirates boarded the German-flagged cargo ship BBC Palonia Friday night off the coast of the Niger Delta near the Bonny River fairway. A struggle broke out during the attack and pirates shot one crew member in the leg during the fight, Nabaida said.. Nabaida said the Nigerian navy escorted the ship to safe waters and transported the wounded Ukrainian sailor to a local hospital. The sailor was in stable condition Saturday afternoon, he said. “All efforts are being made to … rescue the kidnapped crew,” the commodore said. Nabaida said the navy had suspects in mind for the attack, but declined to offer further details. He said the crew consisted of sailors from Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine. The attack comes after 12 pirates in speed boats attacked a bulk carrier in the same area June 27. The International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy worldwide, reported that the pirates shot at crew members with locally made firearms while trying to board the ship. Crew members repelled the attack using a slingshot, the bureau said. One sailor suffered a minor injuries during the assault. Such attacks have been common in the Niger Delta, a region of swamps, mangrove fields and creeks almost the size of South Carolina. Militants have kidnapped oil workers, bombed crude pipelines and fought with government troops since an insurrection began there in 2006. While a government-sponsored amnesty deal has slowed violence in recent months, analysts worry the program has begun to fray as weapons remain plentiful in the impoverished region. Friday’s attack is just the latest as acts of piracy increase in the Gulf of Guinea, especially along Nigeria’s 530 miles of coastline. Africa’s most populous country remains a target-rich environment full of oil barges and oil company ships off of the delta, one of the U.S.’ top sources of crude oil. Cargo ships off the coast of the megacity of Lagos also fall under pirate attacks as they wait to unload their goods at the city’s busy and mismanaged ports. The maritime bureau reported 28 attacks off Nigeria during 2009. The bureau also believes at least another 30 pirate attacks went unreported, either due to companies worrying about having higher insurance premiums or concerns about advertising their security weaknesses.
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By Kingsley Omonobi

* As petitions flood Aso Rock, contract inflation, money laundering, misappropriation of funds cited

Indications emerged in Abuja yesterday that Acting President Goodluck Jonathan has barred all ministers of the just dissolved executive council of the federation from travelling out of the country in the next one month.
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The restriction is to ensure that the ex-ministers would be available to provide answers to possible questions concerning their ministries as the nation awaits appointment of new ministers. Consequently, the ex-ministers have been told to make their movements within the country known to appropriate authorities and no ex-minister must travel outside the country within the period..

Presidency sources said the decision to bar the ministers from travelling out of the country was not unconnected with petitions that had started flooding the Presidential villa over the sins committed by many of the ministers while in office, particularly as it concerned contract inflation, money laundering, misappropriation of funds and other unimaginable deeds.

As a result, the source said that the federal government panel inaugurated by Acting President Jonathan last month, has been given the go-ahead to move into the ministries now that there are no stumbling blocks to examine the petitions so far received, adding that from all indications, some of the ministers may be made to face anti-corruption charges if found wanting.

It was gathered that some ministers, particularly those said to have been directly in charge of Power, Agriculture, Aviation and Water and Petroleum Resources, are said to be on the front list because of the volume of petitions regarding their conduct while at the helm of affairs of the ministries.

It was further gathered that security agencies, especially those saddled with security at the various exit outlets of the nation, have been intimated of the federal government directive and urged them to ‘politely turn back’ any of such minister that may claim ignorance and wanted to travel.
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