WE (23)

The abominable assassination of the paramount ruler of Nsit in Ubium Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, His Royal Majesty (HRM), Edidem Robert Obot, might not be as a result of internal political wranglings in the area after all.

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 A seven-man gang, which claimed responsibility for the murder, said the death of the monarch was as a result of a failed kidnap attempt on him that fateful afternoon Sunday, January 31, 2011.
The traditional ruler was shot dead in his palace while two members of the gang arrested by the State Security Service (SSS), in connection with the murder, claimed they decided to kill the septuagenarian royal father when he resisted his kidnap.
“We killed him because he refused to follow us,” said Nsikak Emmanuel, a 32-year old ex-convict, who admitted trailing the royal father up to the point of disrupting one of the meetings he presided over, till the deceased paid the needed attention to him. “I went and told him that I was from the Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio; that we want to pay homage and endorse him as the Oku Ibom of Ibibio. He then gave me an appointment for that Sunday.”
After securing the appointment, Nsikak said he invited his gang members, who stormed the palace to kidnap the royal father, but he resisted their evil move, opting to die, instead. The suspect, paraded alongside his accomplice, Mathew, who he met in jail, said he had been involved in at least, one kidnapping, particularly, the one involving a woman from Etinan. He said he made N200,000 from the Etinan deal, but denied knowing where the victim was kept after she was kidnapped.
“I only showed them the woman and they kidnapped her. I don’t know where they kept her,” he said. He also denied taking part in the shooting which resulted in the monarch’s death, claiming he was waiting outside while the operation was going on inside the palace. “I felt bad when I heard that the man died. We didn’t want to kill but to kidnap him in order to make some money from him. It was Michael, Ukeme and two others who went inside. So, they will know who actually shot the man.”
But his accomplice, who claimed to have attended Akwa Ibom State College of Petroleum Technology, confessed that Nsikak was actually inside the palace when the monarch was shot dead. He said it was he who actually informed him of the deal, which made him rush down from Calabar, Cross River State, where he had been residing, transacting his palm oil business. “He (Nsikak) was the one who drove one of the cars that we used. It belonged to him. That was the first time I knew him.”
The State Director of State Security Service (SSS), Mr. Toma Minti, confronted him with the fact that two of them met in prison, where Nsikak spent about five years for attempted murder, while he (Matthew) was serving a two-year jail term for cultism. Matthew admitted that they became friends in prison saying; “I knew him in prison when I was sentenced to two years imprisonment for malicious damage. By then, I was a member of a mafia cult group. But now, I’m not doing that again.”
He said they were either sponsored by politicians or those who are opposed to the Ibom stool, which the deceased was to occupy after coronation before his murder. Minti alleged that, the gang was involved in more than 90 percent of all the kidnap cases in the state, including those of the husband of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Uyo, the Proprietor and Rector of Heritage College, Eket, among others.
“Since the paramount ruler was assassinated, we have not been sleeping. The seven-man gang had been terrorizing the state for a long time. Five of them are at large; but we are still trailing them.”
Minti lamented the lack of co-operation from members of the public in the fight against crime in the state, saying people only called him on phone to congratulate him, after Michael was arrested, whereas they knew him as a notorious criminal in their community, but failed to inform the security agencies.
“The reason most of the suspects have not been convicted is because sometimes, the victims refused to come out and identify them. Those who showed up earlier declined to appear in court later, after they received death threats from members of the gang. “People are no longer convicted because the judiciary appears handicapped. We have advised them to resort to accelerated hearing on such cases. We hope they would see reasons for that.”
The royal father was killed in his palace, after he returned from church – Living Faith Church, Uyo, where he was said to have presided over the burial preparations of one of the church’s pastors, David Idunoluwa, who was equally shot dead by suspected kidnappers.
The royal father’s assassination, first of its kind in the state, sparked off spiral reactions especially, as he had two days earlier, protested to the state police commissioner, over acts of disloyalty by some members of his traditional council, arising from the PDP senatorial primaries in Akwa Ibom North (Uyo) Senatorial district.
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At a church service on Sunday at the Fountain of Life Church, Ilupeju, Lagos, father of 10-month-old Enioluwa Odegbaike recounted how the family got him back from the kidnappers.

According to him, they had done everything asked by the kidnappers, yet the kidnappers refused to return the boy. He said that the kidnappers had contacted him severally on the phone promising to release the baby but would again call to postpone until he received a text message on February 26, around 6pm ordering him to get to Benin Republic before 7pm. On arriving at the designated point in Benin Republic, Mr Odegbaike said the kidnappers told him he got there too late and was subsequently diverted to another location. He was told to get to the new location via a commercial motorcycle by 2am in the morning.

He said that a woman also arrived at the same location on a motorcycle with Eniloluwa strapped behind her. She was guarded by around 10 men, none of who covered their faces. As Enilouwa was being handed over to Mr Odegbaike, one of kidnappers said to him, “I took care of your boy because you were nice to my staff.” Mr Odegbaike did not state categorically if a ransom was paid, but added that he did “everything they were asked to get Enioluwa back.”

History

On February 13, Enioluwa Odegbaike went missing from their Magodo home while in the custody of a nanny they hired two weeks before. The baby was believed to have been abducted by the nanny, whose name was given as Victoria. Meanwhile, police spokesperson, Samuel Jinadu, said information concerning the kidnap would soon be released to the public. “The public should not hesitate to give information to the police about criminals living within their immediate milieu so that the police will be able to work for them very well,” he said.

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12166303088?profile=original300 Workers, Shuts Down Branches

"We only sacked 200"
- spokesperson.
    Subomi Balogun

Financial institution First City Monument Bank (FCMB) just carried out a disengagement exercise.


Informants claimed that about three hundred staffers were affected in the development.

Most of the affected employees reportedly got their sack letter on resumption from official leave.

According to a source ‘ I believe the affected staffers were purposely sent on leave and on resumption told to report to the Human Resource department where they were give sack letters’

Aside this, insiders divulged that the management of the bank with Ladi, son of the founder and chairman of the bank Otunba Subomi Balogun as Managing Director have also shut down some of the bank’s branches across the country.
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jpeg&STREAMOID=Kwd73E46001hgIa4BIXJNy6SYeqqxXXqBcOgKOfTXxRSIMcvEUcxp$ZU8UhzjpyanW_PgxgftuECOcfJwS6Jtlp$r8Fy$6AAZ9zyPuHJ25T7a9GKDSxsGxtpmxP0VAUyHL6IDcZHtmM2t7xO$FHdJG95dFi6y2Uma3vSsvPpVyo-&width=300Oronto Douglas, the special assistant to the president on strategy, expresses optimism that his boss has done enough to win.

Why Jonathan deserves the votes of Nigerians

Because his story is one that most Nigerians can relate to. It is also one that best illustrates the positive attributes of this nation. He never had opportunity of shoes when he was going to school, just like millions of Nigerians. He had no school bag to put his school notes in. He had to trek kilometres to get to school. Yet he never despaired, in his words. He showed fortitude, like millions of ordinary Nigerians. There are problems besetting Nigerians, but they continue to strive to better their individual lots. So a man of that pedigree, who did not allow the circumstance of his youth to stop him from achieving his goals in life, represents the best aspiration of Nigerians. Of course, he also enjoys the support of God, without which most of his achievements would not have been possible..

There has been a visible hand of God in Jonathan’s life. I think 99.9 percent of Nigerians can identify with that. He is a president that every household can look up to and be filled with hope, that their child who is today selling akara or carrot can tomorrow be president of the country. Mr. Jonathan has also promised to make sure that the infrastructure that will make that possible is put in place in the next four years that he will be in power. His emergence has rewritten the story of who can lead Nigeria. He has shown that Nigeria is a nation for all, rather than for a section or a clique. I also think if you give Nigeria to people who will sell the destiny of the country, then we will be in bigger trouble. The president has consistently said all he has is in Nigeria. He schooled in Nigeria and his children are being schooled in Nigeria. This is not to disparage those who schooled abroad, but it is where your heart is that you will defend at all cost. So in terms of commitment, I can confidently say there are few Nigerians as devoted to this country as President Jonathan. I respect all the other presidential [candidates], but we are saying at this time in our history, this man that has been in office for the past nine months and has laid out plans to rescue the nation is best placed to execute the plan and that man is President Jonathan.

Friction within the PDP following the primaries

The PDP is seen by many as a party whose ticket is halfway to getting to office. But people should know that this is a new PDP, where the most popular and competent candidates are picked to run elections. However, in places where there are constitutional issues, the strategy that President Jonathan and the PDP are adopting is dialogue. I can tell you that with respect to Ogun State, there was a time the president did not sleep for two days. He held meetings with the Jubril Martins Kuye and Gbenga Daniel groups and, at a point, brought all of them together at the Villa. The president is a man of peace and always tells people, “I have no enemies to fight. I want all of us to work together.” You remember that after presidential primaries, which he won, he still went out of his way to drive to Adamu Ciroma’s house to have a discussion with a view to keeping the party together. His view was that a statesman of Ciroma’s stature cannot be ignored. He also wants to be president of all, not president of a section or region.

Criticism of president’s ‘rascal’ comment

In the statement, the president praised southwesterners for their sophistication and high level of education. If a statement regarding that is being taken out of context and used for political purpose, it is unfortunate. The President, as a true statesman would came out to say, ‘I take responsibility for this statement, I offer my sincere regrets in this regard, that what I meant is to celebrate the excellence, greatness and leadership of South-West people. It is unfortunate that one or two individuals are appropriating it and pushing it to mean insulting the most educated and sophisticated people. The president will never insult his elders and leaders. If you knew the president well, he always answers ‘sir’ to anyone who is older than him. He will never insult the elders, leaders and people of the South-West. Take note that the president is educated, he did his NYSC in the South-West, has friends from the South-West and is one person who never forgets. Some of those he did youth service with from the South-West are now working with him.

The scanty crowd at the presidential Kaduna rally

My observation is that the crowd in Kaduna had been sitting there from 7am. As at the time the President and the dignitaries arrived, people were very tired. Take note, they were zonal rallies and most of the people had to return to their homes. People came from Sokoto, Kebbi and Kano and I believe that in a place like that, it is like what happened in Port Harcourt, when the occasion ended, people wanted to go back to their buses and travel. So, if the day is getting dark, you will want to get back home. The zonal rally was organised by the zonal coordinator who is from Kastina. The president won 53 percent of the votes of the North-West delegates at the PDP rally. He may have lost in some states, but he won with 53 percent over all, meaning that he had overwhelming support of the people. Democracy is about majority. At the election proper, what the president needs is 25 percent and he got more than that in majority of these states. Ordinary people in the North-West love Jonathan. Why would they not love him? He relates with them.

Challenges of the northwest for PDP

Every other candidate has work to do in every zone. Buhari has work to do in the South-West. He has work to do in the South-East, South-West and in the North-Central, North-East and North-West. Is it everybody in the North-West that loves Buhari? Nuhu Ribadu has work to do in every single zone. So, the challenges are challenges that are not restricted to one person. Let me just say that we have a lot of people who will like to identify with the president, his history and all that.

Alleged poor performance of the PDP in the last 12 years

The president came to transform Nigeria. We believe the place to start is transforming the PDP and the president has started that work. The PDP as a party has been in office for close to 12 years. There are perceptions about the PDP that may not be salutary to Nigerians. However, the determination of President Jonathan is to transform all aspects of our lives. The opposition has been very careful not to attack President Jonathan as a person. So they have been attacking the PDP. Well, if I was working for the opposition, I would probably adopt that strategy because Jonathan is popular with the Nigerian people. So he is fully aware that the PDP will be attacked and at some point the opposition will also attack him. Look at the statement he made in Ibadan, for example, that was blown out of proportion. I am a beneficiary of Obafemi Awolowo’s free education. If I am advising the president, would I tell him to do anything against the South-West? The president did his NYSC in the Southwest and has a lot of friends in the zone. Would he now do anything against the people?

The alleged mismanagement of the economy by the federal government

The President has been in the office for nine months. He promised what we call the three Es. He looked at Electoral reform, Electricity and Energy security. He believed there cannot be good government if you do not have constitutional and robust process for selecting the leaders who will govern the country. In practical terms of electoral reforms, he decided, ‘let us practicalise what we are preaching.’ When the first bye-election came up in the Edo Central, he said it was one of the first test of free and fair elections. He told INEC and security agencies that what he wanted was one man, one vote; one woman, one vote; one youth, one vote. The president insisted on free and fair election and the ACN won. Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole flew from Benin to Abuja to congratulate and thank the president for standing on the rule of law and insisting on free and fair election. That is the benchmark for this election.

On energy security, it is important that we note that before now, people stay on the queue for hours, while some people sleep overnight in filling stations. People were sleeping three days, three nights in filling stations. Now, that is a thing of the past. Secondly, the same amount you pay for a litre of fuel you buy in Lagos is what you are going to pay if you buy in Maidugiri. There has also been improvement in power generation and this will continue to be improved upon over time.

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12166298090?profile=originalwhat if my girl was called aharit instead of arit



My girl has always been my closest friend but not one day has she ever told me her

real name . She said her name is arit and many times i go Aight ? and she says Right

. Not one day has she dared to put it all together and say AHARIT !

I wondered why she would never tell me her real name . I wondered not for long as I

asked her to marry me . to which she immediately agreed . She had been waiting for

this for ages .


Now we are about to get married it is just a few days or even weeks away .



And I asked her for the last time What is your name Arit

And she said AHARIT and I looked at her and understood . AHA RIGHT !


He sold his birthright for a meal of porridge He ignored the 'Aharit' . That which

comes After . Show me Temptations and I will ask for the AHARIT .

Now we shall soon be together for ever even after the AHARIT !

 

Happy Valentine

 

Ephesians 4:2


Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
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12166298085?profile=originalThe Pope says children should be given truly Christian names. But why have some saints and biblical figures inspired baby names, but not others?

Our playgrounds are blessed with a multitude of Daniels, Sarahs and Adams, but not quite so many Amminadabs, Zipporahs or Habakkuks.

The names of saints Andrew, Catherine and Frances might echo down the ages, but the phone book is not exactly bursting with Abbos, Etheidwithas and Leocritas.

But could these holy, if inexplicably unfashionable, titles be due a comeback?

In a speech, Pope Benedict XVI urged parents to name their offspring in the Christian tradition, and bequeath "an unmistakable sign that the Holy Spirit will allow the person to blossom in the bosom of the Church".

In doing so, the pontiff has reiterated the Catholic Church's canon law, which cautions against baptising children in a manner "foreign to Christian sensibility".

He has also surely tapped into a growing public backlash against celebrities burdening their progeny with such profane appellations as Brooklyn, Peaches and Princess Tiaamii.

Should the British public choose to follow his Holiness's advice, there are plenty of names of saints and from the Bible's Old and New Testaments from which to choose - but, for whatever reason, some have proved more enduring than others...

Here are 10 rarely-adopted names from this Judeo-Christian tradition.

1. The name of Jezebel, the Queen of Israel, later became shorthand for a fallen woman. "This is a case of a name attracting a degree of notoriety," says social psychologist Dr Martin Skinner of Warwick University. "No-one is going to give their child a name that has taken on negative associations - in this case, with a certain type of woman. To most people, this is better known than the fact that Jezebel was, in the Old Testament, like Eve, Ruth or Naomi."

_50790346_51246825.jpg?width=224 King Nebuchadnezzar II

2. Nebuchadnezzar was king of the Babylonian empire. His exploits, which are recounted in the books of Daniel and Jeremiah, were praised by Saddam Hussein, to whom he was a hero. Mr Skinner believes in this case there is also the phonetic difficulty that puts people off. "It sounds very harsh with all those zeds. It's not very easy to pronounce, either."

3. Dorcas was a faithful female disciple "full of good deeds" whose death prompted much weeping, according to the Book of Acts in the New Testament. She is also known as Tabitha, a name that is much more commonly heard.

4. Saint Philemon was the recipient of an epistle from Saint Paul in the New Testament. But whereas the name Solomon, from the wise king, is often heard, Philemon rarely is.

5. Gomer was the wife of the prophet Hosea. "To Anglo Saxon ears, there's a sort of masculinity about the sound of Gomer," says Mr Skinner. "Feminine names tend to be lighter - Nicola, Pamela and so on. Men's names tend to be sharper, like John, Jack or Sid."

6. The oldest person named in the Bible, Methuselah, is said to have lived until he was 969. "If we know one thing about him, it's that he was ancient - we use the phrase 'as old as Methulselah' and so on. When you have a baby boy, you aren't going to picture him as a Methuselah. It also sounds quite Dickensian to modern ears, as do a lot of Old Testament names which were popular in the Victorian period like Ebenezer and Ezekiel."

7. Achsah was the daughter of Caleb, who offered her in marriage to Othniel in the Old Testament.

8. According to a story dating back to the 14th Century, Saint Wilgefortis took a vow of virginity when she was promised in marriage by her father. Following her prayers for help, she grew a beard and moustache.

9. Zipporah, wife of Moses and daughter of Jethro, was mentioned in the Book of Exodus.

10. Radbod, or Radboud, was Bishop of Utrecht around 900 AD. "This is another Anglo Saxon-sounding name that you might expect to catch on," says Mr Skinner. "Maybe it just sounded too familiar. When you have a diversity of names, people sometimes pick sounds and concept they've never picked before. These days, this process has become a celebrity phenomenon."

 

 

what is in a name ? King of Kings, Lord of Lords,Counsellor,El Giboah (The Mighty One) Wonderful One !  




A tik u now understand how a name can kaiterize your whole life ambition and turn you into an ewu meringue.
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Movie name : shall we race

These days you see movies like "Shall We dance ? "
"Are we there yet ? " or simply "hitched "
Today I ask Shall we race so you can get hitched and know that you sure are there !

“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of my saviour Jesus, to testify the gospel of the free gift of God.”
THOUGHT: Have you ever seen a triathlon? I saw the finish of an Ironman competition on television, which involved 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and 26.2 miles of running. There was a young lady leading the pack, but suddenly within just a few feet of the finish line, she fell. Her legs were like noodles. She tried to get up and walk, but fell again. I wept as I watched her end the race in agony. She literally clawed her way to the finish line and sadly did not finish first. If these men and women put themselves through this grueling race for a corruptible crown, God forbid that we should be any less the strong, spiritual athletes to which God is calling us. We’re dealing with life and death, heaven and hell, and the glory of God!
ACTION POINT: How are you doing in the race? Are you faithful to run when the going gets tough? Will you join with Paul in saying Philippians 3:13-14? Ask for Him to make you strong and faithful to the end.m
OR ARE YOU NOT EVEN IN THE RACE !
It is happening SOMETHING IS HAPPENING .
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Questions Arising : IS HENRY OKAH JOMO GBOMO ? Who is Jomo Gbomo ? there are photos of Jomo Gbomo on the web but he seems to be a guru Internet User as he is the one that sends all these emails ? Why cant he be tracked ? Or is the CIA really helping The FG in this case ?
The former leader of Nigeria's armed group has said he was arrested because he refused to tell the group to retract a statement claiming responsibility for last week's deadly attacks in the capital, Abuja.

Henry Okah, currently being held in jail in South Africa, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that he received a phone call from a "close associate" of Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian president, telling him to urge the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) to withdraw its claim for the bombings, which killed at least 10 people and left 36 others injured on the 50th anniversay of Nigeria's independence.
Photo 1 Henry Okah confirmed Photo 2 Jomo Gbomo

"On Saturday morning, just a day after the attack, a very close associate of President Jonathan called me and explained to me that there had been a bombing in Nigeria and that President Jonathan wanted me to reach out to the group, Mend, and get them to retract the earlier statement they had issued claiming the attacks," Okah said.

"They wanted to blame the attacks on northerners who are trying to fight against him [Jonathan] to come back as president and if this was done, I was not going to have any problems with the South African government.

"I declined to do this and a few hours later I was arrested. It was based on their belief that I was going to do that that Jonathan issued a statement saying that Mend did not carry out the attack."

'Unpatriotic elements'

Jonathan, who hails from the country's south and has declared his intentions to stand in next year's presidential election, said investigations had revealed Mend, which is fighting for a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth, knew nothing about the attacks.

He said the bombings had been carried out by a small group based outside Nigeria, sponsored by "unpatriotic elements within the country".

Nigeria will be holding elections in January almost a year after Jonathan assumed the presidency after the incumbent president failed to complete his term due to illness and eventual death.

Jonathan's predecessor, Umaru Yaradua, came from the northern state of Katsina and Nigeria has an unwritten agreement for the presidency to alternate between the mainly Muslim north and the largely Christian south.

Al Jazeera did not get any immediate reaction from the Nigerian government about Okah's claims.

Meanwhile, the authorities have released nine people they arrested in connection with the bomb blasts on Monday, including an aide for Ibrahim Babangida, the country's former military leader.

Raymond Dokpesi, the director of Babandida's campaign to become the ruling party presidential candidate, was questioned by the country's intelligence services over the blasts, an aide said on Tuesday.

Dokpesi, who also owns one of Nigeria's leading television and radio stations, was summoned to the State Security Services (SSS) on Monday, Kassim Afegbua, a spokesman for Babangida, told the AFP news agency.

"He was released yesterday and is to report back today at about 3'oclock (1400 GMT)," Afegbua said.

"They said it is to do with complicity in the bomb incident of October 1."

Several media reports on Tuesday said text messages found on the mobile phone of one of the nine suspects arrested by the state secret police led to the summoning of Dokpesi.

Threats of fresh bomb explosions heightened yesterday, as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it would wreak more havoc should the Federal Government repatriate and put its leader, Henry Okah to trial over the October 1 bomb attack in Abuja.

Spokesman of MEND, Jomo Gbomo during an online interview with the Daily Sun maintained that the group was responsible for the bombings, which coincided with the parade ceremony during the nation’s 50th Independence anniversary.
If Okah is repatriated, he contended, he would not get fair trial because the MEND leader has always been blamed for what he is not involved in.

“We will come down very hard on the system because it will be another Ken Saro Wiwa kangaroo trial.
“Henry Okah has always been blamed for what he is not involved in. This is not the first-time, so, it is not coming as a surprise to us. If he was not arrested during the Bonga and Atlas Cove attacks, he would have been blamed as the mastermind,” he said.

More Bombings In store

Gbomo has averred that MEND had made its point with the bombings in Abuja and would employ the same method of attack on military targets. This, he explained, would happen when the group declares resumption of hostilities.
He, however, tendered apology to the families of innocent Nigerians that lost their lives to the Abuja explosions, saying, it was not their intent to kill them.
According to him, “Our apology stems from the avoidable loss of innocent lives as this was not our intent. We wanted to use the opportunity to blame the security agencies for not playing their roles considering the forewarning we gave them.

“We have made our point and we will use this method of attack on military targets after we declare a resumption of hostilities.”
Reacting to President Goodluck Jonathan’s statement that MEND was not responsible for the attacks but perpetrated by terrorists, Gbomo asserted: “It is an obvious political comment which any smart person can see through.”
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A Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has called for a debate, on the economy, among all the presidential aspirants on the economy.Photo Atiku ? this man looks like a Hitman sha



Abubakar, a former vice-President, made the call after submitting his nomination form at the PDP national secretariat on Tuesday in Abuja.



The Adamawa State- born politician said the economy should be the main issue in the 2011 election campaigns.



“The issue of economic recovery for Nigeria cannot be a matter of wishful thinking nor of rhetoric. It is a subject for rigorous analyses and provision of well-thought, viable, practicable and sustainable strategy,” he said.



Abubakar said that all aspirants must be able to tell Nigerians how they intended to confront the challenges of the economy and reposition it for the benefit of all at the shortest possible time.



He said, “Of all the aspirants that have declared interest in the presidential election, I consider myself the most qualified to address the daunting economic challenges facing the country.



“I am the only one who has successfully managed a business and you need extensive knowledge of the private sector to combine its potential with the authority of the public sector to address this challenge.”



The former vice-president said his approach to resolving the economic crisis in the country was contained in a 47-page Policy Document he presented on August 15, 2010 while announcing his intention to contest the 2011 presidential poll.



He said, “We are faced with a job crisis of monumental proportions. Unless we evolve strategies to dealing with the teeming population of young people churned out almost on a daily basis, we may risk the destruction of the next generation.



“If we fail to channel the energies of this huge population, they could be a potent force for instability and social unrest.”



Abubakar, however, stunned journalists when he said that he was not aware that the President had declared his intention to vie for the PDP ticket.



“I didn’t see it (declaration). Honestly, I didn’t watch it,” he said.



Twenty seven out of the 28 PDP governors were among thousands of people that attended Jonathan’s presidential declaration at the Eagle Square on Saturday in Abuja. The event was shown live by some public and private television stations nationwide.



On the reported move by some politicians to produce a consensus presidential candidate among the Northern aspirants, Abubakar said, “There is a process for the emergence of a consensus candidate in the North. It shows that North is even more united if “they” agree to bring out a consensus candidate.”



He also said he was not aware of the support that Jonathan was getting from the northern states.



Reacting to the challenge, the Presidential Adviser to Jonathan on National Assembly Matters, Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji, said the President was ready for such a debate.



“We are ready for it (debate) anytime. The President has talked about all the aspects of the economy when he declared. If they want more, we are ready for them,” he said.



Another aspirant, who is also the Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, also expressed readiness for the debate.



“We are ready for the debate. That is what we have been calling for. Without such an issue-based debate, we will not be able to get the best candidate. Saraki is ready for it,” one of the governor’s aides, Mr. Billy Adedamola, said.
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IBB "bribes" Journalists

Five months ago, a friend of mine, who edits a national daily, sent me a text message agreeing substantially with my column, ‘The Punch and the rest of us’, except the generalised conclusion that “all (journalists) have sinned and fallen short of the glory of the profession”. There are still some journalists, he submits, who toe the narrow path of integrity. Of course I knew where he was coming from, but I also knew the context in which I had made that statement.

I revisit that statement in light of the stories spewing out of the political beat, specifically on the race for the 2011 presidential elections and how it affects the integrity of news.

As part of the effort to sell his candidature for the presidency, former military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) invited as many as 40 journalists to his Minna home on August 14 for an interview. I have heard questions asked about why he should invite journalists to his home instead of a public place if he didn’t have an ulterior motive, and why he should offer monetary gifts to the journalists in the name of paying for their transportation.

One news medium, which has championed this opposition in the open, is the online agency, Sahara Reporters. According to SR each of the journalists received N10 million for heeding Babangida’s call on his presidential ambition. That is N400 million just for one night’s interview from an aspirant yet to win his party’s nomination if it were true. But it was not. When some of the journalists complained about the fictional sum, SR changed the story on August 19, saying it was just “a paltry N250, 000 each”. Rather than admit its initial error SR simply said, “our accountants have told us that going by the number of 40 journalists in attendance, we are still around the same ballpark of N10 million”. So much for credible reporting!

Three days later, SR followed up with ‘IBB and his Rogue Journalists’, accusing the journalists of roguery and professional misconduct; roguery, because they collected money from two sources—their employers who presumably authorised and funded the trip and their news source, IBB; misconduct because it is unethical for them to demand/receive gratification from news sources for their services.

And on August 23 in ‘IBB Nocturnal Press Parley: Punch fires Editorial board Chairman’, SR stayed on top of the story by reporting that Adebolu Arowolo, editorial board chairman of the Punch, had lost his job for going on that trip without his management’s approval..

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shuo na by force abeg make i go get my camera joo !

2011: Gbemi Saraki must contest or we walk naked•Female group threatens

AS the issue of who takes over from Dr. Bukola Saraki as the next governor of Kwara State gathers momentum, a female group, comprising students from various higher institutions of learning in the state, has vowed to walk the streets of Ilorin naked if Senator Gbemisola Saraki failed to contest for governorship in 2011.Photo Ekiti women in recent Naked protest

The group also said that it would go on exile if the senator refused to contest.

The group, under the aegis of distinct Ladies of Gbemisola Saraki Forum (DLGSF), while speaking with newsmen in Ilorin, on Sunday evening, stated that the senator should come out and declare her intention to contest for the position.

According to the Coordinator of the group, Miss Bola Babs, whether the senator is from the family of Saraki or not is immaterial to her political ambition, “after all Dr Olusola Saraki, who is the father of both, has the final say over the matter of who becomes the governor of Kwara.”

Her words: “For sometime now, we have been drumming it to the ears of Senator Gbemisola Saraki to go out and represent the women folk come 2011 but she has not answered us. We want her consent to become the next governor of this state yet she has refused to answer us.
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‘How we were kidnapped’
•Onovo deploys special detectives to rescue abducted journalists


Four journalists that were ambushed and kidnapped last Sunday have narrated how they ran
into armed gunmen along Ikot-Ekpene-Aba road.

This comes as the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mr. Ogbonna Onovo yesterday ordered the deployment of special detectives from Imo and Akwa Ibom State to handle the case.

Also, Senate President David Mark has called on the kidnappers, who have demanded a ransom of N250 million, to release the journalists without any condition.
Photo: Wahab Oba One of the journalists & IGP Onovo

Those abducted are Chairman Lagos State Council Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Wahab Oba, Secretary of Zone G Adolphus Okonkwo, Acting Secretary Lagos State Council Sylvester Okereke, Lagos-based journalist Sola Oyeyipo and the driver of the vehicle.

In phone conversations with NUJ National Secretary Leman Shuaibu, Oba and Okonkwo said they were taken unawares.

Wahab had travelled to Ibadan, Oyo State, last week Tuesday for the Press Council week of that chapter. From there, he proceeded to his hometown of Ilorin in Kwara State to see his aged mother.

He left for Abuja last Wednesday for another official assignment. Okonkwo and Okereke flew into Abuja for that same event. They all left the capital city together on Thursday for Akwa Ibom State to attend the NUJ National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

On Friday, they attended the opening ceremony, the closed-door meeting on Saturday and left Uyo by 8am the following day. It was on their way back that they were attacked in a Serene Space bus around 10am.

The journalists told Shuaibu that there was a convoy of three vehicles transporting all of them. The first one was attacked by the gunmen who were operating in a Volvo car. They shot into the air while two of them jumped into the bus and forced the driver at gunpoint to follow their vehicle, they said.

Immediately, the two other cars swerved towards another direction. They stopped at some point and fled into the bush. They emerged 30 minutes later and re-boarded their vehicles.

The kidnappers contacted the NUJ National President Garba Mohammed three hours later. They also spoke to the Vice-Chairman of Lagos NUJ Deji Elumoye and demanded for N250 million ransom.

By 1pm yesterday, the kidnappers had not backed down. They spoke to Shuaibu and maintained that they were still waiting for the money. Oba and Okonkwo, were however, allowed to speak to Shuaibu.

The journalists said they were in good condition but were anxious to regain their freedom. Shortly after that, the phone was snatched from them. The kidnappers then asked Shuaibu to ensure that the ransom is paid to avoid any ugly incident.

Hundreds of journalists trooped to Oba's residence in Arepo, Ogun State, yesterday. A prayer session was held for the release of their colleagues.

Meanwhile, the SSS and police are already tracking the kidnappers. Also, Onovo has directed special detectives from Imo and Akwa Ibom States to ensure their release.

The directive was contained in a statement signed by Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Force Headquarters Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu. It said Onovo had directed both Imo and Akwa-Ibom Police Commands to assist in securing the release of the journalists.

According to the statement, the police is deeply concerned about the incident. The force urged members of the NUJ “to be calm over the abduction of their colleagues. We are actually working to rescue your people now in bondage but let me tell you that their kidnappers will be arrested, I can assure you that your colleagues would return to you safely like nothing ever happened to you.”

In another statement in Abuja issued by Shuaibu, the NUJ official urged journalists to remain calm as the union is on top of the matter. Oba’s wife, Barakat, expressed concern over the deteriorating state of health of his 80-year old mother. “What on earth do I know would happen to mama?”she asked.

Another NUJ official, Elumoye, appealed to journalists not to write any story that could jeopardise “our moves of securing the captured safely from the hands of the kidnappers.”

“For now, we are yet to know there location but we have spoken with them on the telephone this morning,” he explained.

The state wing of the National Association of Women Journalists also organised a prayer session at the NUJ Secretariat, Ikeja.

On his part, Senate President David Mark yesterday condemned the spate of kidnappings and abduction and tasked security operatives to “rise up to the challenge and save the citizens of his avoidable hostility in the hands of criminals.”

“No responsible government would allow this to continue,” said the Mark. He added that “we must all rise to the occasion and curb the menace.”

In a press statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary Mr. Paul Mumeh, the Senate President told the kidnappers to release forthwith the abducted journalists unconditionally, saying, “Enough of this embarrassment, we cannot continue to allow this to happen; criminality of any form is condemnable, it cannot be our way of life.”

Mark called on communities, especially traditional rulers, to join the fight against kidnapping. He sympathised with the families of the victims and the NUJ.
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THIS seems to be the month of spies. Almost daily, the air waves are taken over by their stories. A couple has just been convicted in America for being Cuban spies; a Russian spy ring smashed; it is like the spy diet is inexhaustible.

Like a kid attracted to toys, I find the world of spies quite fascinating. Except that it can be quite deadly, leading to horrendous loss of lives, spying is basically a game; almost like the hide -and -seek children play.

There is the case of the Iranian ‘nuclear’ scientist, Sharam Amiri who went on pilgrimage to Mecca and disappeared. The Iranians accused the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the kidnap.

Now 14 months later, Amiri resurfaces making claims that the CIA with Saudi Arabian connivance had kidnapped and tortured him before his release in the US.

He received a hero’s welcome in Tehran. On the other hand, the Americans claim that Amiri had willingly sought political asylum, had a nice stay in America before changing his mind and asking that he be allowed to return home.

Who is lying? That is almost impossible to say; the Americans are notorious for kidnapping innocent people across the world and dumping them elsewhere.

They call it extra- ordinary rendition. But why go to such lengths with a “regular” Iranian scientist who does not appear to be involved in his country’s nuclear programme? Perhaps it over-valued Amiri.

The American story of Amiri seeking asylum is not implausible. Back in 1985, Vitaly Yurchenko, a brilliant Soviet spy defected to America. He exposed some Soviet spies like Ronald W Pelton and Edward Lee Howard, a CIA official who had given the Soviets a list of American spies in Moscow..

The spies had been rounded up and mainly executed. When the Americans went for Howard, he escaped and resurfaced in Moscow. Inexplicably, Yurchenko three months later decided to return to Moscow.

He grinned as he waved America goodbye. If he genuinely defected and exposed Soviet spies, why would he happily return to Moscow where he would certainly be executed? We may never know; nothing in the spy world is certain.

There are also the ongoing attempts at the United Nations to sanction North Korea for sinking a South Korean warship, the Cheonan in which 40 sailors died.

The former protested its innocence claiming that the crime was committed by the CIA which wants the world to punish it. North Korea is a supremely confident country known for owning up to its actions, so if it denies attacking the ship, it is likely to be so.

On the other hand, the Americans are known to play such dirty tricks. For instance when it needed an excuse to invade Vietnam, the US attacked its own ship, blamed it on the Vietnamese and on that pretext, declared war on Vietnam.

The world has just been treated to an opera by the Russians and the Americans. It began with America rounding up 10 Russian spies and rushing them to court. They included a couple, Mikhail Kutzik who lived under the name, Michael Zotolli, and Natalia Pereverzeva, better known as Patricia Mills.

One of the spies, Juan Lazaro readily admitted his crime while two others, Peruvian-born journalist, Vicky Pelaez and travel agent, Mr Semenko joined the others in court. An 11th suspect, Christopher Metsos who was arrested in Cyprus was granted bail there and promptly disappeared.

The American public brazed itself for a case that had all the trappings of an Hollywood movie. But while the trial was being staged in the courts, American Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Williams Burns was locked in negotiations with the Russian Ambassador in Washington, Sergei Kislyak which were to render the court process a farce.

The next stage was the airport in Vienna where the Americans had brought the 10 Russian spies in exchange for four Russians convicted for being American and British spies.

Igor Sutyagin, a Russian arms control expert was detained in October 1995 and convicted in 2004 for passing classified information to America through a front British company. Sergei Skripal a colonel in the Russian military intelligence was recruited by British intelligence in 1995 and arrested nine years later.

Alexander Zaporozhsky a former deputy chief at the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) began spying for the Americans in 1994 and was jailed in 2003. Gennady Vasilenko’s case has not been made open, nevertheless all four were pardoned by President Dmitry Medvedev and swapped with the Americans.

Except for the hype, this is a routine spy game. One of the most famous spy exchanges involved Francis Gary Powers, pilot of the US U-2 spy plane shot down near Sverdlovsk, central Soviet Union on May 1, 1960.

He was exchanged on February 10, 1962 with Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, director of a Soviet spy ring in United States who had been arrested in 1957.One of the largest exchanges involved 29 American, Soviet and polish spies on June 11, 1985.

Some of the high profile CIA agents in history are King Ibn Talal Hussein of Jordan who was known as Agent Norman. He spied for the CIA for 20 years before his exposure in 1977.

The other was Bashir Gemayel who was elected Lebanese president in 1982 but was killed in a bomb explosion on September 14, 1982, nine days before he was to assume office. I liked CIA agent Philip Agee whose books such as Inside The Company: CIA Diary fired my interest in spies while my favourite spy is the KGB’s Kim Philby who led the famous “Cambridge Spies” which included Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean. Philby, perhaps the most successful spy in history penetrated at the highest levels, British intelligence and the CIA. He was so convincing that after he was fingered, the British government went before parliament to vouch for his innocence!

Whatever the drama being enacted today over spy rings and swaps, the fact is that spying is a profession being practiced every second; even friendly countries spy on themselves.

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Weekend Trivia:KAITA(Noun/Verb): A man who single handedly hinder the hope of his country for reason best known to him. "Kaita" can be use in place of words like Jeopardy, Hinder, Sabotage, Disrupt, Antagonist, fool etc.
Example

Noun: IBB is a kaita, so is Ota boy. Verb: Don't kaita what we have been building for 11 yrs in one day." I like that girl, please don't be a Kaita" Or In a Foolish Person's Thought: We are winning 1 - 0, let me kaita this game, so that I can get a red card and my opponent can win.



BODO, Nigeria — Big oil spills are no longer news in this vast, tropical land. The Niger Delta, where the wealth underground is out of all proportion with the poverty on the surface, has endured the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez spill every year for 50 years by some estimates. The oil pours out nearly every week, and some swamps are long since lifeless.


Perhaps no place on earth has been as battered by oil, experts say, leaving residents here astonished at the nonstop attention paid to the gusher half a world away in the Gulf of Mexico. It was only a few weeks ago, they say, that a burst pipe belonging to Royal Dutch Shell in the mangroves was finally shut after flowing for two months: now nothing living moves in a black-and-brown world once teeming with shrimp and crab.

Not far away, there is still black crude on Gio Creek from an April spill, and just across the state line in Akwa Ibom the fishermen curse their oil-blackened nets, doubly useless in a barren sea buffeted by a spill from an offshore Exxon Mobil pipe in May that lasted for weeks.

The oil spews from rusted and aging pipes, unchecked by what analysts say is ineffectual or collusive regulation, and abetted by deficient maintenance and sabotage. In the face of this black tide is an infrequent protest — soldiers guarding an Exxon Mobil site beat women who were demonstrating last month, according to witnesses — but mostly resentful resignation.

Small children swim in the polluted estuary here, fishermen take their skiffs out ever farther — “There’s nothing we can catch here,” said Pius Doron, perched anxiously over his boat — and market women trudge through oily streams. “There is Shell oil on my body,” said Hannah Baage, emerging from Gio Creek with a machete to cut the cassava stalks balanced on her head.

That the Gulf of Mexico disaster has transfixed a country and president they so admire is a matter of wonder for people here, living among the palm-fringed estuaries in conditions as abject as any in Nigeria, according to the United Nations. Though their region contributes nearly 80 percent of the government’s revenue, they have hardly benefited from it; life expectancy is the lowest in Nigeria.

“President Obama is worried about that one,” Claytus Kanyie, a local official, said of the gulf spill, standing among dead mangroves in the soft oily muck outside Bodo. “Nobody is worried about this one. The aquatic life of our people is dying off. There used be shrimp. There are no longer any shrimp.”

In the distance, smoke rose from what Mr. Kanyie and environmental activists said was an illegal refining business run by local oil thieves and protected, they said, by Nigerian security forces. The swamp was deserted and quiet, without even bird song; before the spills, Mr. Kanyie said, women from Bodo earned a living gathering mollusks and shellfish among the mangroves.

With new estimates that as many as 2.5 million gallons of oil could be spilling into the Gulf of Mexico each day, the Niger Delta has suddenly become a cautionary tale for the United States.

As many as 546 million gallons of oil spilled into the Niger Delta over the last five decades, or nearly 11 million gallons a year, a team of experts for the Nigerian government and international and local environmental groups concluded in a 2006 report. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 dumped an estimated 10.8 million gallons of oil into the waters off Alaska.

So the people here cast a jaundiced, if sympathetic, eye at the spill in the gulf. “We’re sorry for them, but it’s what’s been happening to us for 50 years,” said Emman Mbong, an official in Eket.

The spills here are all the more devastating because this ecologically sensitive wetlands region, the source of 10 percent of American oil imports, has most of Africa’s mangroves and, like the Louisiana coast, has fed the interior for generations with its abundance of fish, shellfish, wildlife and crops.

Local environmentalists have been denouncing the spoliation for years, with little effect. “It’s a dead environment,” said Patrick Naagbanton of the Center for Environment, Human Rights and Development in Port Harcourt, the leading city of the oil region.

Though much here has been destroyed, much remains, with large expanses of vibrant green. Environmentalists say that with intensive restoration, the Niger Delta could again be what it once was.

Nigeria produced more than two million barrels of oil a day last year, and in over 50 years thousands of miles of pipes have been laid through the swamps. Shell, the major player, has operations on thousands of square miles of territory, according to Amnesty International. Aging columns of oil-well valves, known as Christmas trees, pop up improbably in clearings among the palm trees. Oil sometimes shoots out of them, even if the wells are defunct.

“The oil was just shooting up in the air, and it goes up in the sky,” said Amstel M. Gbarakpor, youth president in Kegbara Dere, recalling the spill in April at Gio Creek. “It took them three weeks to secure this well.”

How much of the spillage is due to oil thieves or to sabotage linked to the militant movement active in the Niger Delta, and how much stems from poorly maintained and aging pipes, is a matter of fierce dispute among communities, environmentalists and the oil companies.

Caroline Wittgen, a spokeswoman for Shell in Lagos, said, “We don’t discuss individual spills,” but argued that the “vast majority” were caused by sabotage or theft, with only 2 percent due to equipment failure or human error.

“We do not believe that we behave irresponsibly, but we do operate in a unique environment where security and lawlessness are major problems,” Ms. Wittgen said.

Oil companies also contend that they clean up much of what is lost. A spokesman for Exxon Mobil in Lagos, Nigel A. Cookey-Gam, said that the company’s recent offshore spill leaked only about 8,400 gallons and that “this was effectively cleaned up.”

But many experts and local officials say the companies attribute too much to sabotage, to lessen their culpability. Richard Steiner, a consultant on oil spills, concluded in a 2008 report that historically “the pipeline failure rate in Nigeria is many times that found elsewhere in the world,” and he noted that even Shell acknowledged “almost every year” a spill due to a corroded pipeline.

On the beach at Ibeno, the few fishermen were glum. Far out to sea oil had spilled for weeks from the Exxon Mobil pipe. “We can’t see where to fish; oil is in the sea,” Patrick Okoni said.

“We don’t have an international media to cover us, so nobody cares about it,” said Mr. Mbong, in nearby Eket. “Whatever cry we cry is not heard outside of here.”
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thumbnail.php?file=PRESIDENT_GOODLUCK_AND_MUBARAK_714449394.jpg&size=article_mediumNigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday made a stop in Saudi Arabia to thank the King Abdullah led government for the first class medical attention it rendered the late Nigerian President Musa Yar’Adua while he was hospitalized at the Kind Faisal Specialist Hospital in the Islamic nation.

A report in Thisday, a Nigerian newspaper said the President and some members of his entourage including Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia (SAN) left France on Tuesday morning at the conclusion of the 25th Africa-France Summit in Nice for Nigeria and made a stop in Riyadh before returning to Abuja on Tuesday night.

We could not reach presidential spokesman, Mr. Ima Niboro for further details on the stopover before going to press..

The President is expected to preside over the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday..

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Soon we will love to CALL THE POLICE in NAIJA !

About two years after it stripped former anti-corruption czar, Nuhu Ribadu, of his police rank and dismissed him from service, the Police Service Commission, PSC, the agency with authority for employment, discipline, and posting of senior officers reversed itself yesterday.

In a letter dated 24 May 2010 and addressed to the Inspector General of Police, the PSC said Mr. Ribadu has been reabsorbed into the police in his full ranks of Assistant Inspector General, AIG, with effect from December 2008, adding however that he would immediately proceed on retirement from the police.

*Rank Stripping

In a July 2008 move, the PSC stripped 140 officers including Mr. Ribadu of their ranks claiming they earned undue promotion under the Obasanjo administration. Mr. Ribadu headed to court to challenge the move prompting the police authorities to fire him for insubordination in December of that year.

The police claimed he breached official process by going to court without official clearance as stipulated by the Police Act.
In a preliminary ruling on the case last year, Justice Adamu Bello slammed the police and said the provisions of the Police Act that require the aggrieved officer to take permission from the police authority before seeking legal redress were inconsistent with the provisions of the constitution.

Mr. Bello held that, by coming to court without the express permission from the police authority, Mr. Ribadu only exercised his discretionary right, as the provision does not make it mandatory for him to get the approval of his employers before seeking redress in a court of law.

*Police Act undermines individual liberty

"It would have been fool-hardy for. Mr. Ribadu to seek and await the approval from the authority as such approval may never come," Mr. Bello said. "To say that Mr. Ribadu must seek the approval of the police authority before instituting the action in court is inconsistent with the provisions of the constitution. Regulations 347 of the Police Act is inconsistent with the provisions of the constitution and is therefore void on the strength of this inconsistency."

The PSC letter reabsorbing Mr. Ribadu letter, signed by the permanent secretary of the agency, did not give reasons for the volte face but NEXT sources in the police reasoned that it was a result of an awareness in police circles that the December 2008 punitive measures lacked merit, amounted to a persecution, and was anyway going to fail in the current legal battle.

*Conspiracy Against Ribadu

Sources at the Force headquarters told NEXT in Abuja that the news came with shock and anxiety for many in the velvet rank of the police who were thought to have orchestrated Mr. Ribadu's exit in what was generally thought to be a malicious power play.
PSC Chairman, Parry Osayande, announced the demotion of Mr. Ribadu while the current Inspector General of Police, Ogbona Onovo, headed a disciplinary committee set up to try Mr. Ribadu. He never appeared before the committee because he had challenged the police in court.

This was later used against him in the PSC's definition of insubordination. With the restoration of Ribadu as an AIG, the former anti-corruption Czar is now entitled to pension and would receive all his entitlements and outstanding allowances due him as the period he was out of office.

*Asset Declaration Case

Early this month, the federal government discontinued the trial of Mr. Ribadu at the Code of Conduct Tribunal where he was facing charges for not declaring his assets while he was the chairman of the
anti-corruption agency.

Following Mr. Ribadu's controversial removal from office, and subsequent dramatic dismissal from the Nigeria Police Force, the former attorney general, Michael Aondoakaa, filed charges against Mr. Ribadu, accusing him of failing to declare his assets while he was the EFCC chairman. Mr. Ribadu, who has always denied the allegations, told journalists that his asset declaration forms were, "submitted on assumption of office in March 2003, and my exit from office in December 2008.

"I assert that there is no substance to this case; that my assets were declared. How could I have been confirmed for my position in 2003 if I did not submit an asset declaration form to the Senate, as all officers needing Senate confirmation are obligated to do?" he asked. He said the charges were trumped up basically to smear his name and persecute him because he had crossed some influential people while in office.

*Cleared from Watch-List

Last week the Nigeria's office of the International Police (INTERPOL), formally notified security and immigration agencies that Mr Ribadu has been removed from its security watch list, following the withdrawal of the charges against him by the Nigerian government. "I refer to the watch-listing of the above named person watch-listed for some specific acts. The charges against him have been withdrawn. The watch-listing has accordingly been cancelled," Mr. Nwodibo Ekechukwu, the Interpol anchor man, said in the notice.

*Doctorate Degree

Meanwhile, the Babcock University in Ogun State has chosen Mr Ribadu as a recipient of its honorary doctorate degree in law [Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa]. The formal ceremony for the award is scheduled for the University's convocation ceremony to be held in Ilishan, Ogun on June 6, 2010. In a letter sent to Mr. Ribadu by the President and Vice Chancellor of the University, Kayode Makinde, the university said the award was in recognition of Mr Ribadu's "loyal breeding", "lofty aim" and "resolute courage" as well as what it called his, "fierce stance against corruption in the face of sponsored disgrace and certain death that has resulted into positive changes and global acclaim hitherto considered impossible"

Mr. Ribadu, was removed from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which he headed from 2003 to 2007, under controversial circumstances, escaped from the country and was declared wanted by the Nigeria police on November 20, 2009, after being accused of not declaring his assets as the chairman of the ant-graft agency.

*Returning Soon

Presidency sources said at the weekend that Mr. Ribadu is expected to resume "in a matter of weeks" in Abuja. As part of his remit, Mr. Ribadu will be the presidential anchorman supervising the broad anti-corruption platform of the country which includes his former agency, the EFCC; the ICPC; the Code of Conduct Bureau and other related agencies. Mr. Ribadu is, at the moment, winding up a plum fellowship at the Centre for Global Development (CGD), a think tank in Washington D.C. dedicated to international issues of development.
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April 28, 2010. We here at 9jabook.com are 100% supporters of President Obama. At first we thought about SUPPRESSING this new report . . . but we figure that it would be better to know about what Republicans are trying to do to the prez.. Photo Alleged Obama Lover

According to a new report, Republican operatives are looking to pay as much as $1 million to anyone willing to discuss the president's relationship with a 35 year old woman named Vera Baker..

And according to one weekly tabloid, Vera's limo driver is SNITCHING!!! Here's what Vera's limo driver is saying:
"I took [President Obama] to various locations while he was looking for campaign funds. Vera accompanied him to each meeting.

"About 10:30 pm, I drove them to the hotel and they went in together. She didn't ask me to wait or to be taken back to her friend's home - or to her home"

Well .. . . we ain't gonna believe NOTHING about the prez unless we have more solid evidence.
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President Barack Obama “is in excellent health” and likely to remain able to carry out his duties for the rest of his term, his doctor said on Sunday after completing Obama’s first routine medical checkup since he assumed office.

jpeg&STREAMOID=H6SOplCF8TZ6CQ_8oy3ZIC6SYeqqxXXqBcOgKOfTXxRc2Db1fau1SMRJ$3MJgCxpwLkdkNm4NaK1iliY4aRX7GEabxkeoo57KN3LcI4Be79xyJSXHeyn6i9C8rc3E0xoX_kuXYWCUJRqviwH8FNPwULIcdFM9zupuYHBJc2ySZk-

But Obama, 48, continues to struggle to stop his 30-year smoking habit and needs to modify his diet, said Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, a Navy captain who led the medical team that performed Obama’s physical.

The examination also found that Obama’s cholesterol count has risen to borderline high levels since his last publicly released medical records, though his pulse rate and blood pressure remain normal.

Obama exercises at least six mornings a week and plays basketball and golf. But the president has chronic tendinitis in his left knee area, occasionally takes a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug for that condition and needs a modified exercise regimen, including a lower leg muscle strengthening program, Kuhlman’s report said.

Obama’s cholesterol increase comes at a time when his wife, Michelle, has started a program to fight childhood obesity.

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said the increase was attributed to the president’s diet. While Obama often eats healthful meals prepared by the family’s chef, Sam Kass, he also takes advantage of around-the-clock food available to him during long workdays at the White House, Gibbs said.

“I think it’s a few more burgers and a few more desserts over the past year,” he said.

Cholesterol measurements can vary among laboratories.

Presumably, Obama’s cholesterol has been tested at other times. But the findings and the laboratories that performed the tests are not publicly known.

So it is possible that Obama’s cholesterol has fluctuated over recent years and represents such a variation.

Doctors see a rise in cholesterol like Obama’s occasionally, said Dr. Martin L. Kahn, a professor of cardiology at New York University who is not connected with Obama’s case. “Usually that is a lever for the doctor to recommend more aggressive dietary changes and cigarette cessation to warn a patient, ‘Look what you are doing to yourself’,”’ Kahn said in an interview.

“Nutritionists tell us that a very little extra food each day adds up to a measurable amount at the end of a year,” Kahn said.

As for Obama’s smoking, Gibbs said the president had tried to quit, but had “admitted lapses.” It is not known how frequently Obama smokes, or what the figure is for his total “pack years,” a standard measure of a smoker’s risk for diseases like lung cancer.

Gibbs referred reporters to the president’s own words from last June, when he was asked about his smoking addiction while signing a law aimed at keeping children from starting to smoke. The president noted that 90 per cent of smokers began on or before their 18th birthday.

“I know - I was one of those teenagers,” Obama said. “I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it’s been with you for a long time.” He added: “I would say that I am 95 per cent cured, but there are times where I mess up.” Michelle Obama admonished him to quit smoking when he started his campaign in 2007, saying, “He couldn’t be a smoking president.” Obama chews nicotine gum to cut down on his smoking.

“Have I fallen off the wagon sometimes? Yes,” Obama said last June at a White House news conference. “Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No.” Kahn said he might recommend an exercise stress test “as a baseline” for the future but would not do further procedures “unless he had a calamitous stress test.” Obama showed no evidence of heart disease from an electrocardiogram and a test known as an electron beam CT scan that looks for calcified areas in coronary arteries that may be evidence of coronary artery disease.

“The CT heart scan findings are somewhat reassuring” because if it were positive, “it would be a worry,” Kahn said.

Other standard blood tests showed no evidence of diabetes, heart and metabolic disease. They included triglycerides, 46; high density lipoprotein, 62; and low density lipoprotein (so-called bad cholesterol), 138. These can be compared to 44, 68 and 96 in 2007.

The president’s pulse rate of 56 and blood pressure of 105/62 are normal.

Kuhlman, who is physician to the president, chief White House physician and director of the White House medical unit, said that Obama agreed to release the results of his checkup, which took place at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

While there, Obama visited 12 military service members receiving treatment and rehabilitation for injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan. The White House declined a request to interview Kuhlman.

Another CT scan known as a virtual colonoscopy or CT-colongraphy showed no evidence of colon cancer. Gibbs said that no sedation was required during the test, so it was not necessary to invoke the 25th Amendment, which would have temporarily transferred power to Vice President Joe Biden. A previously undisclosed medical examination of Obama in July 2008 by a congressional doctor was not conducted for any specific issues, Gibbs said. It came one month before Obama formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination.

A standard group of tests, including those for thyroid function, were normal. A PSA test for prostate cancer was normal: 0.70 compared with 0.6 in 2007.

Kuhlman recommended that Obama get his next routine checkup when he turns 50 in 2011.

One oddity of the report: Obama weighed 179.9 pounds with his shoes and workout attire on, which is not the usual way to measure a patient’s weight.

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Are You Feeding Your Soul? Are you happy with what you see when you look in the mirror? And I’m not talking about your physical body when I ask this question — I’m talking about your spiritual body. Has your soul been getting the nourishment it needs to grow in health and strength, or have you deprived it from the Word it so desperately needs? If what you see in the mirror doesn’t even begin to reflect what you know you can be, it’s time to make a change, time to dive into God’s Word and receive all the love and forgiveness He has been waiting to give you . . . a time to release your life into God’s hands. The Word tells us, But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT). You may not like what you see now, but just wait. Rely on God’s faithfulness and perfect timing and begin to make changes when God shows you it is necessary. And soon, you’ll be able to look back and say, “Look where God moved me from. Look what He saved me from. I stand blessed where I am all because of the transforming grace of God.” An Evangelistic Tool The following is an evangelistic tool. Feel free to use this tool to lead someone to the Savior. It can also be used in your church. Tony lead the members of our church through this process, and then commissioned them to offer the good news to those they come in contact with in the course of their day. This is one of our outreach programs for this year. OPENING QUESTION: Has anyone ever shown you from the Bible how you can be sure you are on your way to heaven? Would you allow me to show you? I. First the Bad News a. The Problem: Every person is a sinner before a Holy God and unable to save themselves (Romans 3:10, 23). b. The Penalty: Every person is under the sentence of death and will be forever separated from God because of their sin (Romans 5:12; 6:23). I. Now the Good News a. The Provision: Through the substitutionary sacrificial death of Christ, God has addressed the sin problem for us (Romans 5:8, 17-21). b. The Pardon: God offers a free pardon and eternal life to all who place faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation (Romans 10:9-10; 4:4-5). CLOSING QUESTION: Would you like to trust the Lord Jesus Christ right now as your personal Savior? PRAYER: Lord Jesus thank You for dying on the cross for my sins and rising from the dead to save me. By transferring my total trust to You alone as my Savior, I now receive the forgiveness for my sins and the free gift of eternal life that You offered me.
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Kenya go hear wen ! when the green white green enter the green grass showtime .... The Super Eagles of Nigeria on Saturday afternoon defeated the Harambe stars of Kenya 3-2 to qualify for the South Africa 2010 World Cup. photo courtesy of NEXT Obafemi martins scored two goals Thanks to our brothers in Mozambique for taking tunisia down ! to all the haters who wished nigeria would not go to the first ever world cup hosted in Africa from us at 9jabook !BABA GOD IS A NIGERIAN !HE WILL NEVER FALL OUR HAND ! oya eh Soccer master give us timaya ! Kenya don come hear wein ! Ghana go hear wein by Pa J courtesy 9jamovies.com
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