James Ibori, former Delta State governor, who is on a wanted list in Britain over allegations of corruption, yesterday in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, lost his appeal against his extradition.

The Gulf Arab Emirates’ cassation court ruled against Mr. Ibori’s appeal. The former governor, who has also been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was arrested in the Emirates in May. The arrest was at the behest of the London Metropolitan Police, and a Dubai court later approved a British extradition request.

Convicted associates

A British court had in August 2007 frozen his assets, worth over $35 Million, based on the suspicion that they were the proceeds of corruption. Some of Mr. Ibori’s associates in Britain have been convicted.

Among these are his sister, Christine Ibie-Ibori, and his ally, Udoamaka Okoronkwo (nee Onuigbo). Both are currently serving jail terms in a United Kingdom prison. Mr. Ibori’s wife, Theresa Nkoyo, and his UK-based lawyer, Bhadresh Gohil, were also convicted recently.

A statement by Femi Babafemi, the spokesperson of the EFCC, yesterday said, “The ruling today of the appellate court in Dubai only goes to confirm our earlier position issued after the first ruling in October that justice is universal and applicable anywhere in the world.

“We have been cooperating with authorities in other jurisdictions on this matter and we will continue to do this until the cause of justice is fully served, irrespective of the ignorance and misrepresentation being peddled by mischief makers.”

The anti-graft agency had in April tried to arrest Mr. Ibori before his trip to Dubai, to question him over allegations that he looted N44 billion from Delta State coffers. However, a large number of his supporters prevented police from arresting him in his hometown, Oghara. Few days after, he fled the country for Dubai. How he fled the country without being apprehended is still unknown.

Mr. Ibori governed Delta State from 1999 to 2007. He was a big power broker in the Peoples Democratic Party after he left power, dismissing all accusations against him as political.

It is not clear yet how soon he will be flown to Britain to face further prosecution.

THE UK has agreed to tighten its cap on migration from outside the UK, but committed not to limit intra-company transfer of qualified employees...

From 2011 onwards the number of skilled and highly skilled workers from outside the European Economic Area allowed to move to the UK will be capped at 21,700 – that is 22.5% fewer than the equivalent figure in 2009.

However, in a victory to multinational companies who had been lobbying hard against limits on their ability to transfer staff between global offices, there will be no limit on intra-company transfer of staff earning £40,000/y or more.

The limit is the highest of a range of options recommended to the government by independent migration advisors. Advisors had recommended curbing immigration at 43,700. That is 6300 less than the 50,000 skilled immigrants from outside the EU who arrived in the UK in 2009. However, the 50,000 arrivals also included 22,000 who were transferred between company offices, hence these 22,000 were subtracted from the maximum.

Tuition fees to triple in the UK

Following David Cameron’s pledge to dramatically reduce immigration the number of foreign student visas will be cut to 120,000.

Home Secretary, Theresa May, unveiled plans yesterday to limit that number of skilled non-European workers allowed to enter Britain to 21,700. Staff with transfer jobs under the same employer in England will be excluded. This allows for a total of between 35,000 and 40,000 skilled workers to enter Britain.

Foreign students make up 60 per cent of migrants to Britain. Therefore, May stated that in the future only those applying for degree courses will be issued a visa...
No place for people enroling into fake schools to run away and hussle


May explained to Parliament that a quarter of those issued visas to study below degree level were unaccounted for. She believes students at these lower levels of education have been abandoning school in favor of living and working. May stated that this must be stopped.
At last measures being taken to stop the fake applications

It is estimated that 40 per cent of the 300,000 current student visas are for education below the degree level. May announced that under this new scheme visas would only be issued for universities, further education colleges and a few specially selected institutions.

Also student fees will rise which will make paying difficult.
Universities in England will be able to charge tuition fees of up to £9,000 per year from 2012, as the government transfers much of the cost of courses from the state to students.

Fees will rise to £6,000, with an upper tier of £9,000 That is N2,139,890

Fees should be payed up front for full tuition which is not refundable to prevent husslers leaving after first term to work.

A four-time presidential aspirant, Sarah Jubril, has again declared her intention to run for presidency in 2011, on the platform of the ruling People’s Democratic Party.

She unfolded her plans at a news conference on Thursday, in Abuja, joining three other presidential hopefuls that have already declared interest to contest for the PDP ticket in the next dispensation.

Mrs Jubril joined the likes of former head of state, Ibrahim Babangida; former vice president, Abubarkar Atiku; and the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, who is slated to officially announce his ambition after the Ramadan fast.

Mrs Jubril said she made up her mind to join the race based on the premise for quality economic development and improved citizenry. According to her, most of the crises facing the country resulted from absence of good character in most people occupying public offices in the country and she pledged to address the quality of citizens through an improved system in the family, the communities, professions, economy, politics, governance, infrastructure, and diplomacy.

She also pledged to provide “rescuer-leadership”, to refocus and raise the country from “delayed development to steady wealth and rapid development.”

“Hence, I remain with an unquenchable spirit that I can and with all of us, can re-teach and re-nurture Nigeria back to sanity, orderliness, serenity, peace, and systematic discipline in all sectors..

“The president that Nigeria needs very urgently is the one who can roll up his or her sleeves to teach good character or ethics in the pursuit of excellence in every area of our quest, goals, and vision,” she said.

However, Mrs Jubril stated that the battle of liberation from stagnation, frustrations and mediocrity to celebration of excellence, must be won if Nigeria and Africa must achieve rapid development.

Commenting on zoning, she said the controversial arrangement in PDP was for “political convenience,” adding that there were over 450 ethnic groups in the country which the zoning formula intended to give sense of belonging.

For better for worse

She berated the performance of state governors, saying that majority of them had not in any way addressed the yearnings and aspirations of the electorate and that their interference with the allocations of the local governments was a failure of governance at the grassroots.

According to her, this has made it difficult for the councils to care for their people.

She, however, promised not to pull out of PDP, if she failed at the primaries, saying she would remain steadfast in the party, irrespective of the outcome of the presidential primaries.

This, however, marks the fifth time Mrs. Jubril is joining the race for the highest public service office in Nigeria.

She was an aspirant in the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1993, which was presumably won by the late Moshood Abiola. She was also an aspirant in 1998 on the platform of PDP, losing to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

In 2003, Mrs. Jibril took her ambition to the Progressive Action Congress (PAC) and later returned to PDP, to jostle for the party’s ticket in 2007. She scored four votes at the convention which was won by late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

Mustapha Onoyvieta, the army colonel that was an Aide de Camp, (ADC) to late President Yar'Adua has been ordered back from his command training to face a probe for the role he played in events during the illness of the late president.

Sources close to the Presidency say Goodluck Jonathan has finally bowed to pressure and a probe has been instituted into the activities of Mr. Onoyvieta and other aides of the late president.

At least four of these aides are reported to be under investigation.

Apart from Mr.Onoyvieta, the late president's Chief Security Officer (CSO), Yusuf Tilde; the former commander of the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF), Aminu Adamu; the former administrative officer at the Presidency, Muhammeed Dodo, are all apparently being queried.Photo Adc to Late Yaradua Onoyiveta

The probe is going to centre on disregard for superior authority, deliberate hoarding of information and misinformation pertaining to the health status of the late president, and misappropriation of funds.

Now this begs the question What about Turai Yaradua What role did she play in this charade and will she be prosecuted ?

There is a massive hunt for James Ibori, the former governor of Delta State, in connection with recently launched investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on his role in the illegal disposal of about 500 million units of Delta State-owned bank shares..

Sources in Abuja, over the weekend, said that Mr. Ibori, who is wanted for questioning over some of his actions while he was governor of the oil rich state from 1999 to 2007, has ‘disappeared’ and has not been seen in the past two weeks since NEXT exclusively reported that a new round of investigations into his activities had been launched.

Looking for him

Efforts to obtain an official position from either Mr. Ibori or the EFCC were unsuccessful at press time. But a source in the commission, who asked not to be named, told NEXT that “EFCC operatives were out looking for him to interrogate him. I think he got wind of it and has disappeared.”

Indeed, according to other sources, Mr. Ibori has cut off communication with all but few associates and relatives. “It is believed that he may be communicating with the Delta State governor, who is related to him,” the source said.

Indeed, Mr. Ibori, who was hitherto very visible in government circles, has suddenly become very scarce. It was not uncommon to find Mr. Ibori in the company of Vincent Ogbulafor, chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the presidential villa, in the era of the Yar’Adua presidency. However, he has not been seen in the State House in recent times.

Fresh charges

Asides the 107 count-charges brought against Mr. Ibori by the EFCC in 2007, the commission is preparing fresh charges against the former governor following a petition signed by some leading citizens of his state.

The latest petition, signed by 10 leading citizens of Delta State headed by a former minister of information, Edwin Clark, includes a demand for a probe of the former governor over the alleged illegal disposal of 528 million shares belonging to Delta State, in Oceanic Bank.

The EFCC responded by launching investigations.

The investigations led to the unravelling of some facts, which have now led to the latest move to interrogate the former governor..

Mr. Ibori allegedly sold off Delta State assets to fund private investments while he was still in office.

“The search has to do with the N44 billion loan which he took from Intercontinental Bank. He used Delta State shares in Oceanic Bank as security for the loan. He later asked the bank to sell off the shares, over 500 million units, to repay the loan,” our source said, adding however that Mr.

Ibori’s disappearance has now stalled the EFCC’s investigations.

Ray C. Stedman in his book Understanding Man has analyzed the meaning of the names of the descendants in the line of Seth to Noah and gives the following explanation:.

"a way of escape [for man] is indicated again in a most fascinating way in this chapter by the meaning of the names listed. There is some difference among authorities as to the meaning of these names, depending upon the root from which they are judged to be taken. But one authority gives a most interesting sequence of meanings. The list begins with Seth, which means 'Appointed.' Enosh, his son, means 'Mortal;' and his son, Kenan, means 'Sorrow.' His son Mahalalel, means 'The Blessed God.' He named his boy Jared which means 'Came Down,' and his boy, Enoch, means 'Teaching.' Methuselah, as we saw, means 'His death shall bring;' Lamech means 'Strength,' and Noah, 'Comfort.' Now put that all together: :

God has Appointed that Mortal man shall Sorrow;
but The Blessed God, Came Down,
Teaching, that His Death Shall Bring,
Strength and Comfort.

"Is this book (Genesis) from God? God has given you and me a life to watch just as Methuselah's generation watched his. It is your own life. God has written "Methuselah" on each one of us. "His death shall bring it," or "When he dies, it will come." How far is it till the end of the world for you? When you die. That is the end of the world. That is the end of man's day. Is it fifty years from now, ten, tomorrow? Who knows? But at any moment, when he dies, it will come."