Dangote vs Otedola: When two elephants fight they will keep on fighting as court nullifies Dangote’s election as NSE president

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on March 13, 2010 at 9:29pm

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Friday nullified the election of Aliko Dangote as the president and chairman of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). This was the ruling in a suit filed by some aggrieved shareholders of African Petroleum (AP).

“An order is hereby made nullifying, vacating and setting aside all steps taken by the 13th defendant (NSE) in purporting to elect the 11th defendant (Mr. Dangote) as the president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, including but not limited to the entire purported election held on the 6th day of August 2009, during the pendency of this suit and in disregard of the positive order of this court made on 4th of August 2009,” the justice, Akanbi Lambo, said while delivering the judgement.

Aggrieved shareholders

15 shareholders of AP had filed a legal action against Mr. Dangote, Nova Finance and Securities Limited and 12 others over an alleged massive manipulation of AP shares. In addition to their originating summons, the applicants urged the court to grant an order of interlocutory injunction.

Accordingly, the shareholders approached the court for an order restraining the NSE and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) from retaining Mr. Dangote as the 1st Vice president and member of the council of the NSE, pending the determination of the suit. They also sought an order restraining Mr. Dangote from remaining the 1st Vice President and member of the council of the NSE.

However, during the proceedings in the suit on 4 August, 2009, the court presided over by Mohammed Liman ordered all parties to maintain status quo pending the hearing of the suit.

Noting that Mr. Liman could not continue in the matter because an allegation of bias was levied against him by the defendants, the suit was transferred to Mr. Lambo, who is now presiding.

Election despite court order

At the next court hearing, the applicants filed a motion on notice praying for an order of court nullifying the election of Mr. Dangote as president of the council of the NSE, during the pendency of the suit by the aggrieved AP shareholders. The election was allegedly conducted on 6 August 2009, before the next court sitting.

The motion of the applicants was predicated on the fact that despite the order of the court asking all parties to maintain status quo, the defendant went on to elect Mr. Dangote as its President.

Ruling

While ruling on the motion filed by the applicants, the court held that there was indeed a positive order of this court made on 4 August 2009 commanding parties to maintain status quo. Mr. Lambo held that the 13th and 14th defendants deliberately defied the order of the court.

“The 13th and 14th (SEC) respondents, in spite of that order and in flagrant and reckless disregard of same, went ahead not only permitting the 11th respondent, Alhaji Aliko Dangote as a member of the council, but also putting him up to contest election as the National President of the council. That is certainly a deliberate and contemptuous disregard of the order of the court.” Justice Lambo said.

He added that “I see the deliberate act of officials and executives, who operate the NSE and SEC as a subtle strive and exploration by devious or dubious way to circumvent and render nugatory the true intention of the order of the court.”

In the ruling, Mr. Lambo urged the government to look for ways to punish any of it agents that default in carrying out court orders.

“The government should also look inward for a way to sanction domestically, any government functionaries found in disobedience of the court’s order,” he said. “This is the only way ‘the boys’ and those claiming to be close to power and who are laws unto themselves can be checkmated, so that genuine desire of the present administration to enthrone true and genuine democracy can be attained.”

After the ruling, the matter was adjourned to 16 March 2010, for continuation of the substantive suit filed by the shareholders.

Reactions

Sunny Nwosu, national coordinator of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), while reaction to the ruling, described the removal of Mr. Dangote as triumph for the rule of law.

Fola Sowemimo & Co, the law firm representing Mr. Dangote, in it’s reaction to the court ruling, said “Our client is obviously dissatisfied with this ruling. His position remains that he believes in the Nigerian judicial system and what it stands for, and he is confident that justice will be served and he will be vindicated. Tempting as it is to join issues and give the background to some of our concerns, the dignity of our profession requires that we follow a certain course of action. We will abide by that and as such a notice of appeal as well as application for stay of execution of the order has been filed this afternoon. We look forward to justice taking its course.”

I 'll take over when I recover fully - Yar'Adua .Refers to Jonathan as 'Vice-President' .Jonathan won't be surrogate president

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on February 25, 2010 at 5:28am

I 'll take over when I recover fully - Yar'Adua *Refers to Jonathan as 'Vice-President' *'Jonathan won't be surrogate president'

PRESIDENT Umaru Yar'Adua, on Wednesday, officially announced his arrival in Nigeria from Saudi Arabia, where he had gone for medical treatment. However, he stated that he would not take over the running of government from Acting President Goodluck Jonathan until after his recovery.

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In a statement signed by his spokesman, Mr Olusegun Adeniyi, the president said his Saudi Arabian doctors had discharged him and that he returned early Wednesday morning.

Yar'Adua also thanked members of the National Assembly, Nigerian groups and security agencies for their roles in maintaining law and order while he was away.

Full text of the statement reads: "After being discharged by the team of medical experts overseeing his treatment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, President Umaru Yar'Adua returned to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, early this morning.

"President Yar'Adua wishes to express his profound gratitude to all Nigerians for their prayers for his recovery, their exceptional generousity of spirit and their appreciation of the fact that all mortals are subject to the vagaries of ill health...

"President Yar'Adua is grateful to the vice-president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, for competently overseeing the affairs of state in his absence.

"The president also wishes to thank the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the entire membership of the National Assembly, the Governors' Forum, the Judiciary, the Armed Forces and other security agencies, former heads of state and other eminent Nigerians for their roles in maintaining order and stability during his absence.

"President Yar'Adua wishes to reassure all Nigerians that on account of their unceasing prayers and by the special grace of God, his health has greatly improved.

"However, while the president completes his recuperation, Vice-President Jonathan will continue to oversee the affairs of state."

Meanwhile, this week's Federal Executive Council (FEC) was cancelled by Acting President Jonathan after keeping ministers and cabinet members waiting for more than two hours.

Ministers, who as expected, came early, began waiting before 10.00 a.m., the commencement time of FEC meeting and stayed till 12.15 p.m. when the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mallam Yayale Ahmed, announced the cancellation.

The SGF, who was part of the FEC delegation to Saudi Arabia, walked into the Council Chambers and said, "the acting president has directed me to announce that this council meeting is postponed.

"Accordingly, we are to go back to our offices. A special meeting with the acting president with all ministers in attendance is being convened by 2.00 p.m. in the acting president's conference room. Attendance is mandatory. Thank you and God bless," he concluded.

The meeting was fully attended and the absent ministers were the six sent to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Cabinet members started arriving for the meeting early on Wednesday with some smiling while others wore long faces.

Ministers who are known to be pro-Yar'Adua were once again seen smiling and chatting away after more than two weeks of carrying long faces over apparent loss of influence as a result of the absence of the president.

The acting president was said not to have shown up in his office until afternoon, same with his personal aides, fuelling speculations that he might have decided not to attend the FEC because he was not sure in what capacity he was to attend.

Yar'Adua's aides became very visible from early in the morning and it was obvious they had taken over from the VP's men who were nowhere to be seen around the council chambers.

Yar'Adua's aide-de-camp (ADC), chief security officer (CSO), spokesman and other aides were running round to put everything in order for the much-expected appearance of the president to chair the FEC meeting but he did not show up.

The Commander-in-Chief's seat, which was the one meant for the president, remained unoccupied throughout the waiting period. Jonathan had been sitting in it since he was made the acting president, a development which was said to have angered Yar'Adua's loyalists.

Meanwhile, the plan by the kitchen cabinet of President Yar'Adua to turn Acting President Jonathan into a surrogate was said to have been the major reason Jonathan cancelled the FEC meeting, on Wednesday.

Jonathan, according to sources, insisted that he must hear directly from his boss and cannot take orders by proxy.

The development, which was described as a set-up by government sources, played out when two aides of the ailing president walked to the acting president's office and told him that the ailing president had asked him to go and lead the FEC meeting of Wednesday.

But Jonathan refused to carry out the said order. He was said to have attempted to reach his boss without success and then communicated to ministers that the FEC meeting had been put off.

He also gave the order that the ministers should meet with him in his office by 2.00 p.m, with the hope that he would have seen Yar'Adua by then.

At the 2.00 p.m meeting with the ministers, Jonathan informed them that with the return of President Yar'Adua, there was the need for him to see him, adding that there could not be two Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces in the country.

Sources said the plan by those who invited Jonathan to lead the FEC before hearing from Yar'Adua was to precipitate crisis at the FEC meeting, such that the scenario would be painted that Yar'Adua's men and Jonathan's men were fighting over the control of the presidential seat.

Some diplomatic sources, on Wednesday, said the plot was tantamount to orchestrating an undemocratic move as a result of the said scuffle which might have occurred.

"They wanted to precipitate a crisis to create the scenario that the two leaders were fighting over the president's seat. That could be very dangerous for the survival of Nigeria's democracy," the source said.

Another source said Jonathan, who had read a book on the gang of four, which ruled China by proxy while Chairman Mao was sick, would not want to be a victim of "the president said."

"When the two presidential aides came to the acting president to tell him that the ailing president said he should lead the FEC, they did not know that the man has read the Gang of Four written on the activities of the group of four who ruled China by proxy when Chairman Mao in China was sick. He did not want to do anything without hearing from his boss," the source said.

Sources also said what happened in Nigeria, early on Wednesday, was near military takeover, as the powers of the acting president and Commander-In-Chief were breached when some persons deployed soldiers without informing Jonathan.

There was said to be confusion as to who deployed the soldiers between the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief of Defence Staff, but sources said men of the 4th Battalion of Nigerian Army, as well as the Guards of the Brigade Garrison, were deployed and armed without informing the acting Commander-in-Chief.

"That is what happened, but it is never done. If there is a Commander-In-Chief, it is through that hierarchy that orders can be given. Over 25 vehicles were used to convey troops numbering over 300 men.

"At the airport, they sealed off the place and took over the whole international wing. All roads leading from the airport to the Presidential Villa were blocked with soldiers manning every 100 metres. They drove away journalists and protocol men from the presidential wing," a source said.

How Yar'Adua arrived

A source vividly described the scene at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, in the early hours of Wednesday.

"When the air ambulance conveying President Yar'Adua arrived, only the Ford ambulance was allowed to move close. He was conveyed on a stretcher in an ambulance to the Presidential Villa. It took 50 minutes for the officials manning the air ambulance to move him into the Ford ambulance because of the gadgets on him."

Yar'Adua brought in unconscious

It was gathered that the ailing president was brought in unconscious and he was yet to regain his consciousness on Wednes-day evening.

Sources close to the government informed the Nigerian Tribune that as of 2.00 p.m on Wednesday, the man was not aware of situations around him, adding that the decision by the kitchen cabinet to bring him to the country was aimed at stalling some decisions which they said were to be taken by Jonathan.

It was gathered that the decision to relocate the ailing president was aimed at ensuring that power reverted to the kitchen cabinet.

Jonathan not aware of Yar'Adua's coming

Besides the plot against his control by the kitchen cabinet, it was gathered that Acting President Jonathan was not officially told of the return of the ailing president.

He was said to have been informed by diplomatic and other sources.

It was gathered Jonathan got information from diplomatic sources and he spent most of Tuesday night talking to power blocks in Nigeria and others across the world.

He was telling them that the country was stable and that there was nothing untoward that would happen to the country.

Senate leadership cancels parley with Jonathan

The leadership of the Senate was to hold a parley on the state of affairs in the country with Jonathan, on Wednesday night, but the parley had to be called off, following the unexpected arrival of President Yar'Adua.

No official word came on the cancellation of the parley.

Fear of OBJ, impeachment

It was also gathered that the fear of impeachment by the National Assembly and the fear of former President Olusegun Obasanjo bouncing back to reckoning in a Jonathan presidency led the kitchen cabinet to take the only available option of forcing Yar'Adua home.

There is also the information that the Saudi authorities came under serious pressure from the international community on why it was hiding Yar'Adua from the Nigerian delegations.

Ship of state on course

Acting President Jonathan has assured Nigerians that the ship of the state was on course.

Speaking at the State House, Abuja, on the return of President Yar'Adua, he commended Nigerians for their prayers, both for the president and the nation.

He said the president's return was a pointer to the fact atht the prayers of Nigerians were being answered.

Jonathan called on Nigerians to continue to strive for the well-being of the nation, adding that "it is at a time like that that all patriots must rise to the occasion and place the interest of the country above every other considerations.

JOS crises Again as Herdsmen slaughter hundreds Sunday Morning

Posted by Jane Okinedo on March 7, 2010 at 6:51pm

Herdsmen raid Jos village, kills hundreds

Less than two months after hudreds of people lost their lives in two days of ethno-religious crises in Jos, Plateau State, another 500 have been reported killed in a night raid on Dogon Nahowa village, Jos South local government area, yesterday. Another source said over 200 were kiled. Both figures could not be confirmed last night. The villagers said their attackers were Fulani herdsmen who swooped on them while they slept.

Reports from the village said the attack, which lasted all of two hours, began at about midnight, and the victims were completely unprepared for the fury of the marauders. The intense gunfire and wild use of cutlasses and other metallic weapons left little chance for the victims who were hacked down and burnt as they attempted to escape the massacre.

A resident of the village, Peter Jang told Reuters news agency that, “The shooting was just meant to bring people from their houses and then when people came out they started cutting them with machetes.” As at press time, fear and suspicion has spread throughout the city of Jos, and anxious residents mostly kept to their homes, especially when reports spread that the mood in Mangu Local Government in central Plateau was tense. The attackers were said to have departed the scene of their mayhem unscathed; arriving and departing with such speed that neither the villagers nor the police could mobilise fast enough to stop their escape.

Sad and shocking

Addressing journalists yesterday, the state commissioner for information, Gregory Yenlong, expressed the government’s shock, especially as this last orgy of violence is coming so soon after the last crisis, at a time when the government was still battling the security challenges created by the last breakdown of law and order.

Describing this latest attack as “ethnic cleansing” directed at the Berom people, Mr. Yenlong called for the arrest of Saleh Bayare, a former journalist who is a Fulani from Bassa Local Government Area of the state, and who the commissioner said addressed a press conference in Kaduna last week, and have issued several threats to individuals and groups since the outbreak of the last January crisis.

Mr Yenlong said preliminary reports show that last night’s attack was well coordinated, and the planners were barbaric in the manner in which they orchestrated the killings, which left a disproportionate number of children and women as casualties.

In the village, the dead bodies of women and children littered most of the compounds and many of those rushed to hospitals have been inflicted with machete cuts. Robin Waudo, a Red Cross spokesman, said volunteers were assisting victims. According to him, “We know that early this morning (Sunday) there was some fighting in the south part of the city and it seems like these were reprisal attacks from what happened a few weeks ago. Right now, the fighting has calmed down and the military have been deployed to come and control the situation.”

A call for calm

Meanwhile, the Gbong Gwom Jos, Jacob Gyang Buba, described the attack as “heinous.” He said he had received anonymous calls the previous day threatening his person.

The traditional ruler who spoke in Berom during his visit to the village described the massacre as ‘‘inhuman’’ and called on the victims and others not to think of revenge. The police spokesman in Plateau State, Mohammed Lerama who confirmed the attack, said the police was still investigating.

Dogon Nahowa village is near Shen Tim Tim, a community of mostly Hausa speaking people, whose village was destroyed during the last January crisis. Both villages are a few kilometres from Du, the village of Governor Jonah Jang.

Litany of crises

In January, about 326 lives were lost in a similar crisis according data from the Nigerian police. Goodluck Jonathan, as vice president, had deployed troops to intervene in the violence that broke out in Jos North local government after some youth protested the renovation of a building damaged during an earlier crisis in 2009 in which 200 lives were lost.

The National Security Adviser, Abdul Sarki Mukhtar, had announced the troops’ deployment and the directive from Mr Jonathan that the Inspector General of Police and others involved in maintaining the peace move to Jos immediately to assess the situation and report back to him.

Mr. Jonathan later held a meeting with security chiefs who briefed him on the situation before he undertook a one-day working visit to the state capital on January 26 to ascertain the extent of damage from the sectarian crisis. He met with Mr Jang and some senior government officials, and received further briefings on the security situation from the GOC 3 Armoured Division, Saleh Maina, a Major-General, and head of other security agencies.

The panel raised by the Federal Government to probe the last crisis is headed by a former governor of the state, Solomon Lar, and has not completed its assignment when yesterday’s violent attack occurred

War in the Yaradua Family as Daughters fight for Vice Presidency for husbands ! Zainab vs Nafisatu

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on February 25, 2010 at 10:35pm

! Zainab vs Nafisatu . Bauchi vs kebbi One winner will emerge . Who ? Mummy Turai !

The return of Umaru Yar’Adua in a vegetative

state, with the reality of his not being able to ever function as president, has set two of his daughters, Zainab and Nafisatu, both married to sitting governors ,at war path over whose husband will be vice president to Acting President Goodluck Jonathan. The former is married to Kebbi State Governor, Saidu Usman Dakingari, while the later is fourth wife to Bauchi Governor, Isa Yuguda.

Sources close to the Yar’Adua family told pointblanknews.com Thursday night that since reality has dawned on their mother, Turai, is set to anoint either Yuguda or Dakingari as a VP candidate that would protect the interest of the family.

It was however learnt that Turai is more disposed to Yuguda considering his role during the drama. He was in Saudi Arabia, and was later in the US to, aside from be by his wife’s side that recently gave birth, he was also scouting for a hospital that could provide better service for his father-in-law. As for Dakingari, he is seen by turai as laid back, but our source said that his wife, Zainab, is the apple of Turai’s eye.

Both Yuguda and Dakingari are among those on the list of PDP hopefuls for the coveted office of vice president

Pointblanknews.com further gathered that in the last few days Turai has been speaking with her kids, and some top brass of the PDP concerning who works with Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan as VP She has told the PDP she would submit a name soon, but the disagreement between Zainab and Nafisatu is delaying the move..

According to our sources, the sisters have for a while now been campaigning for their husbands. Turai who is close to feisty Zainab, wants them to agree within themselves as per who she should anoint for the PDP, but the sisters are yet to agree.

Said our source” it has been fight to finish between them. They cannot agree on who they should present to the mother. Turai although is close to Zainab, cannot take sides so she wants them to sort it out. This arose when, Turai realized it is over for her husband, so to protect the family’s interest, she wants a son-in-law to step in”

China overtakes Germany as world top exporter

Posted by 9jabook.com on February 13, 2010 at 1:42pm

Germany's multi-year reign as the world's No 1 exporter is officially over, with the crown formally passing to rising China after new figures showed that German exports slid by nearly a fifth in 2009, the biggest decline in 60 years.

Tuesday's German government figures only confirmed an open secret: China's runaway growth and resilience amid the financial crisis put its exports ahead of Germany, which suffered a severe recession before returning to growth in last year's second quarter.

Last month, China's customs reported that total 2009 exports were more than $1.2 trillion, well ahead of the 803.2 billion euro ($1.1 trillion) that Germany reported Tuesday.

For Germany, the figure was a drop of 18.4 percent from 2008, although exports returned to year-on-year growth in December.

"The crisis has accelerated the shift in power in world trade toward the emerging countries," said Anton Boerner, the head of Germany's BGA exporters' association.

However, "the fact that we are passing on the title of world export champion to China doesn't cause us any worries," he added. "The growth of the Chinese economy will also secure our growth and jobs in Germany for long years."

Boerner noted that in December demand for German products from all parts of the world was up on the year.

Declining imports indicate that "large parts of the economy are still in neutral," Boerner said. "Everything must be done to encourage and stabilize the upturn in exports."

Germany took over the top spot in terms of exports in 2003, surpassing the US.

China's newfound status is mostly symbolic but highlights its growing presence as an industrial power, major buyer of oil, iron ore and other commodities and, increasingly, as an investor and key voice in managing the global economy.

Its ability to unseat longtime export leader Germany reflected the ability of agile, low-cost Chinese manufacturers to keep selling abroad even as other exporters have been hammered by a slump in global demand.

The change is the second time in three years Germany has been overtaken by China.

In 2007, China surpassed Germany to become the world's third-largest economy, just behind No. 2 Japan and the United States, which holds the top spot.

China's growth also benefits other companies and countries, particularly those in Germany, because of its voracious demand for raw materials, consumer goods and more.

Germany's leading luxury car makers, Mercedes-Benz, BMW AG and Audi AG, all have reported that their sales in China more than doubled on the year last month, helping them to improve their global performance.

Germany, and Europe, is also noted for quality and craftsmanship.

Nick Reilly, the new chief executive of General Motors Co's German-based European unit, Opel, said Tuesday he believes that "manufacturing must have and will have a bright future in Europe."

"Yes, wage rates are higher here than in other countries, but productivity, production excellence, logistics costs, quality and the work force's outstanding skill base largely offset that cost disadvantage," said Reilly, who was previously the US automaker's Shanghai-based executive vice president of international operations.

He pointed to "Opel's German engineering" as an asset to GM.

Carlos the Jackal sues over French TV drama Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, once described as 'most dangerous man alive', says biographical image could be violated

Posted by 9jabook.com on February 4, 2010 at 10:30pm

An undated photograph of Ilich Ramírez Sánchez - Carlos the Jackal - who is suing a TV company over a three-part drama. Photograph: AP

Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, once described as 'most dangerous man alive', says biographical image could be violated.

Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, better known as Carlos the Jackal, is not known for shunning the spotlight and with the appearance of Newer 77virgin minded terrorists like Osama B Laden and Our own Farouk Abdul mutallab .The Jackal a regular in Frederick Forsyth's Novels like (the Day of the Jackal).One wonders while legend around Osama & co. have not created a cult following novel writing.Dan Brown should maybe look into this .

Looks like he wants the top spot in the News back.

For years the world's most wanted terrorist, he once claimed, in front of the television cameras, to have killed more than 1,500 people in the pursuit of Palestinian liberation.

But the Venezuelan revolutionary, serving life imprisonment for the murder of two French intelligence officials and their informant in 1975, seems to have decided that not all publicity is good publicity.

With the help of his wife, a French lawyer whom he married in prison, Sanchez – once described as "the most dangerous man alive" – is suing a Parisian production company over a three-part television drama he claims could violate his "biographical image".

Isabelle Coutant-Peyre has demanded that the producers hand over the master copy of the footage for her to check for errors and potentially make changes before it is broadcast on the French Canal+ channel.

Coutant-Peyre told a court in Nanterre last month that the drama, which has not yet been finished, would make her husband out to be the instigator of crimes for which he has not been found guilty.

"You'd have thought it was the prosecutor narrating ... it's a film against Ramírez Sánchez," she said.

Lawyers for Film en Stock, meanwhile, insisted that handing over the film would signify a violation of its creative rights.

"How could we tarnish the image of Carlos when he himself has claimed to be behind almost 2,000 deaths?" the company's lawyer, Richard Malka, asked.

Daniel Leconte, the firm's owner and the producer of the three-part drama, said he had never allowed any of his subjects access to his material before it was aired.

"For us, this would be catastrophic," he said. "It would mean that every time we make a film we are giving our subjects the right to direct their own lives."

He said the film be presented clearly as a fictional interpretation of a real man's life and could not be taken as an attempt at a factual biography.

"As far as the facts are concerned, we know almost everything about him already," he said. "Carlos' own life actions destroyed his name. He doesn't need me for that."

A verdict in the case is due tomorrow.

Ramírez Sánchez, who was given his nickname after a copy of Frederick Forsyth's novel The Day of the Jackal was found in his belongings and mistakenly believed to be his, was wanted in at least five European countries at the peak of his infamy.

Eventually captured by French police while recovering from surgery in Sudan in 1994, he has been in prison ever since, having been sentenced in absentia to life in jail.

The 60-year-old is awaiting a new trial before a special anti-terrorism tribunal for other attacks in the early 1980s.

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Chris Okotie’s Confession: My Life as a musician, weath, women

Posted by NollywoodMohits on February 12, 2010 at 11:09pm

Like a whirl wind he struck the music industry. And just as a new plug would bring life to a tired engine, he sparked life back into an industry that was almost comatose.

His genre of music was refreshingly different, so was the lyrics, simple and uncomplicated. His name is Chris Okotie and he came with a new swagger that was uncommon with the music industry of the 80s.

Apart from his music, he led the revolution that introduced solo career and almost extinguished band music, a feature that was common in that era. His debut album, I Need Someone, not only took the industry by storm, it also redefined the music industry.

Pastor Chris-Okotie

Thirty years after, Chris who has since become a fisherman for Christ opens up on his life as a secular musician. It ‘s explosive an

We hear that your ministry will be 23 years old this month….

In fact today. We started our church, the Household of God Ministry on February 1, 1987. So, we are actually 23 years old today. We have started a programme to mark the anniversary and it will run through the month.

How has the journey been?

The journey has been that of grace. I think that is the best way to put it. The journey has been that of mercy of the faithfulness of the Almighty God, the plenitude of His grace. I think that is just the way to put it. It has been grace, grace all the way.

In retrospect, how did you arrive at where you are today?

(Laughs) There are two systems of life on earth—the physical and the spiritual and most of the time when we are not aware we, live only in the physical system but when a man confronts the spiritual world, he recognises that it is actually the spiritual system that is more authentic than the physical one.

It is in the spiritual that we come recognise what God has done for us by way of salvation—sending Jesus to die for us. And when I heard the gospel, I recognised the need to adjust to the spiritual reality of man and that by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Which was what I did in 1983.

Were you running away from something then?

Not at all! If people think that I stopped playing music because I became a Christian, it is the wrong order. I stopped playing music before I became a Christian. That is what happened. I had already made up my mind that I have had enough of music and decided to go back to school and pursue my law degree and it was in the process that I got saved.

How did your music career start?

We have been musical in our family. My father really liked music and he used to sing a lot and I think I got that from him.

Just like sister Loraine. He wasn’t a professional singer but he was into music, singing at home and sometimes he would get his friends together and they would do their music thing; that’s how I used to call it then. They had their music thing going.

I think I got the music gift from him. I used to belong to the music band in those days at Edo College where we were doing thongs from James Brown and others of that time. My father didn’t like that because he felt that getting into music would take you away from your academic work and the seriousness needed for you to become a success. So, he was very opposed to that. But by 1979 when he died and coming from a polygamous family, I knew we had to fend for ourselves and the only thing I knew I could outside of going to school was music.

So, I went to the studio on my own, did a little work with some friends of mine which became my demo, which I brought to Lagos to show Mr. Odion Iruoje who was the most promising producers of the time. He was Decca at the time but later moved to Phonodisk. He heard my work at the time and told me that when the company was ready to take on new artistes he would get in touch with me.

And he did. So, by 1980, he came to meet me on campus and told me he had arranged with BLO, one of my favourite bands at the time, to do my backup for me. That’s how we came to Lagos and in 10 days we had done every thing and it was fantastic.

And where did you get your inspiration from?

It is difficult to say. Let me put it this way, I believe that everything I did in music was ordained by God and I tried to mess it up just like Adam tried to mess up God’s work originally. He accepted the course for my life but wanted to use music to bring me to the place of visibility for the work He had called me to do.

Because you see, you are ordained by God before you are born, like He told Jeremiah, ‘Before I formed you in your mother’s womb, I knew you, I ordained you a prophet to the nations.’

Pastor Chris

So, He gave me that ability because He recognised that I would need it to come yo a place of visibility where I would be known and on that platform begin the work of the gospel. And from there build to a place of political leadership. So, I found myself driven, not just by the circumstances, because I could sustain myself even if I didn’t do the music. But I felt compelled to do the music and the music came to me.

I remember the song, I Need Someone, I heard one afternoon when I was sleeping during my siesta period on campus. Somebody was singing it and I got up and I recorded it. I will not call myself the inspired artistes who seats down and starts to contemplate the circumstances or picks up inspiration from them. Mine is slightly different. It comes to me, almost already packaged even till tomorrow.

Even the songs I do in church now and things like that. That’s the way it has always been. Every time I try to do myself, I find that I just can’t. But most artistic people can always seat down and say, let me go and write a song…but I have never been able to do that.

It has to come and once it comes the melody, then I start to work on the lyrics to try to find out the message behind the lyrics.

I knew someone, something going to change my life completely forever and it took me a while to decide on it.

And I always knew it has something to do with God even though I was not a believer then. When He eventually spoke to me the night I got saved He mentioned to me that He had done it all, and I knew He did. There were human excesses involved but the substance and inspiration were definitely of Him.

You came into the music scene when there were music bands doing their thing. You didn’t have a band and you chose the medium of pop when every other persons were doing something different—soul and what have you. Why?

That is why I am saying that He wanted to make me visible, because if I belonged to a band, I would have been like may be OFEGE or BLO and all that but He wanted my name because that is what He wanted to use. He wanted to use Chris Okotie as a name, because that is what He wanted to use. Sometimes, people think it is one name, the way they call me.

He wanted to use that name to achieve His own purpose here in this country and so, He didn’t want me to belong to a band. He arranged it Himself and that’s why He used Mr. Odion Iruoje and He organised and orchestrated the whole process.

The kind of songs, they were very simple but very melodious songs. They didn’t really have too much of a meaning to me then. But, I believe that anything I would have done at that time would have been successful because that was how God ordained it to be…for a purpose beyond me. It wasn’t for me, but for Him. And so when He was ready He came to claim what belonged to Him.

Please confirm the story that you actually used your producer’s jacket.

(Laughs) Yes! You know; because I was student at the time and I didn’t really have a lot of clothes because my father died and we didn’t have a lot of money.

So, Mr. Iruoje actually gave me that coat which I ended up giving to Felix Lebarty because he also was holding on to it in one of his works. I had friends then, Jide Obi, Felix Lebarty and a few other people who were close to me and I always wanted them involved in anything I was doing. Mr. Iruoje and I became friends. I discovered him to very sincere, upright, principled and those qualities appealed to me.

How were those days?

Very simple days! When I look back now, what I can recollect is the simplicity of the Nigerian society. The fact that people just accepted you for who you are and there was almost that universal fidelity; some kind of trust people had.

The suspicion that we have today wasn’t there. The WAZOBIA divide we have today wasn’t there and so you the liberty to leave in any part of this country. People loved you for what you could do, not your tribe or religion or something. It was very wonderful.

The acceptance was universal and almost overnight. Completely unbelievable. I remember, Mr. Iruoje took me somewhere when I came to Lagos about a month after the release of I Need Someone, and we were close to the School of Nursing in the Island and somebody recognised me and in five minutes barely all the windows were openly and they were all playing my music. I had to leave that place because I was so embarrassed. I hadn’t seen anything like it since then.

It wasn’t just about the music. It was just a kindred thing. It was as I was related to a people and that is the way some people relate to me since then. They get so personal about things that affect me. Somebody once wrote: “You can’t ignore Chris Okotie, you either love him passionately or you hate him passionately.” And I think that’s the way it has been with people. You have to take a stand when it comes to Chris Okotie!

How much did you make from I Need Someone?

I can’t recollect, but it was a lot of money. I was very rich particularly with my first two records because I became the highest paid artiste in the country at that time in terms of royalty and everything. And it is all thanks to Mr. Iruoje because he organised all that for me, but I was young and reckless and I spent the money without thinking…went to all kinds of places in the world.

I could afford anything I wanted. I think that it was also part of God’s plan that I would earn money on my own and loose respect for it, because it is important that as a minister of the gospel you don’t respect money. And I do not mean that you don’t put any value to it; you control it, you don’t allow it to control you. And that is why you can be become generous, because I have had so much money in my life that it is very easy for me to give it out.

It is very easy for me to do so, because from an age, it wasn’t money given to me by my parents or anybody. I remember when I went for a performance at Owerri and I was told that what the organisers had charged was too much for the young people to pay.

So, I called my manager to bring my brief case and I gave out the money they had just paid me for the performance so that the people could come in for the show. It was easy for me to do then and that is what I still do till now. But I think God wanted to use that to teach me to be generous, because when you know that what you have is given to you not because of anything…there are a lot of people who could do these things that I do.

But I haven’t been that blessed. It just helps me to see that money is a means to an end and not an end in itself. I’m happy with or without money. Money doesn’t determine what I do, it doesn’t determine the state of my mind or heart or my joy. It is freedom, because that is greatest power on earth—the power of money and I have been liberated from it.

You lived on the fast lane because money came when you were extremely young. When you look back now, do you believe that if God didn’t intervene at the time He did, the worst may have happened?

There is no doubt that if it were not for the divine intervention, I could have killed myself. No doubt about it because there were situations that I put myself into but the deliverance of God came in. When you have that kind of money and you have no parental guidance, no control…outside of Mr. Iruoje there was really nobody else who had enough wisdom to talk to me about the lifestyle I was leading.

Another thing that saved me was that, I am an introvert of some sort. They used to call me the hermit. If I were to be an extrovert, I probably would have exposed myself to more danger. I was always indoors. People came to me. I didn’t go to them, so it reduced the risk involved. I lived in that hotel for over a year.

It was the best hotel in the country at the time and I had friends—men and women who came to me, but the Lord still used that to prepare me for what I do now, in the sense that there is really nothing that I haven’t seen; that I haven’t done more or less.

So, the contentment that I have seen it all and I have come to a place of contentment and I am satisfied, totally and completely satisfied with the life I have today. Because, I have recognised that none of those things can give you happiness and when I met Jesus I recognised what I was searching for all my life, peace and contentment.

What are you referring to as ‘those things’?

The worldly acquisitions that we have; whether it is money or property. They make you comfortable, no doubt but they don’t give you joy and happiness because there is a void in the heart of everybody that God had placed there and until that void is filled with the love of God you will keep searching and craving.

Inordinate ambition is not man’s desire to just accumulate wealth, it is because he had no other choice. He is so empty within himself, so he thinks that as continues the journey of self aggrandizement and acquisition that he would find the balance of peace and joy; but he never does. The journey is futility, until he comes in contact with God through Christ Jesus.

Was there anything you did that you regret today?

Oh! Nearly everything I did I regretted. (Laugh) Recklessness. Basically, things that were done under the influence of alcohol which what a lot of young people do today under the influence of drugs. I was very fortunate that I didn’t get into drugs.

Can you list some of those things?

I’m too ashamed of them. They are not a testimony. Let me put it this way, the way of the transgressor is hard. (Laugh) There is a way that seemest right unto man, the end thereof is destruction. That is what I can tell you, because when you are young, your appreciation of life is so superficial. But for the love of God, there is no way I would have made it.

Did you do drugs?

Not at all! I knew I didn’t have the head. Even to smoke a cigarette was so difficult because anytime I smoked one I became dizzy, so there was no way I could have taken anything more than cigarette because I didn’t have the constitution for it. But, I drank! Out of burden, I drank beer or whatever. That is all I did.

Women?

Oh! Naturally, because I was a recording artiste and I was popular you meet a lot of girls and even boys who want to be friends with you and the reckless abandon and the characteristic of that age particularly when you have the additional comfort of money.

For some people, it is like that is the kind of life I want to live but if you look what goes on even in Hollywood and you see the level decadence and the depravity that is there; many times they lead to death—premature death. So, I thank God for His salvation.

Why did you abandon the music if it was a divine vehicle to something greater?

I haven’t. It is just a hiatus! You cannot abandon that stuff like that. It is part of you for the rest of your life. It is just that it is not necessary now. My music is still there. It is just that what I do now is just within the local assembly for now. It is an artistic gift that you have that is eternal.

You don’t believe that gospel music is a better tool of evangelism?

Yes! But when you are servant of God there is timing to everything that you do. The time hasn’t come. When that time comes we will do gospel music.

Will you say you made the right choice in marrying Stephanie?

Absolutely. I have always said that marriage is a personal decision. There’s perfect marriage; both of you have to take the time and work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

But I love the woman unconditionally. Marriage is not about what the woman feels for me; it is what I feel for her. It’s easy for people to love me because of the kind of a man that I am. When I talk love, I say I love her because that is the most important thing.

I think it is one of the best decisions that I have made in my entire life and I thank God for it.

A Naija Arsenal Fan day to remember as Eagles superise Mocambique while Arsenal Bolt Bolton Down

Posted by 9jabook.com on January 20, 2010 at 9:25pm

The Super Eagles have been praised by football fans across the country for their five star performance against Mozambique yesterday. Our boys trashed the Mambas 3-0 to book a place behind Egypt in the quarter-final. The Pharoahs top the group with nine points. For former Eagles coach Christian Chukwu, the Eagles won yesterday because they reverted to wing play and fast paced attacking football. "The team is now gradually improving, and are finally playing together as a unit, the attackers did well, and they were faster than before and with in-form Osaze and Obasi coming from the wings," he said. The ex-Eagles coach however said "there is room for improvement". Though he refused to comment on the technical crew of the Eagles, Chukwu said all the calls for the technical crew to be sacked is a distraction that should be left till after the Nations Cup. Arsenal 4 Bolton 2

Arsenal's return to the top of the Premier League was overshadowed last night by a William Gallas tackle on Mark Davies that was described by Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle as “akin to an assault”. Coyle said that he had seen lesser challenges punished with a red card and was further angered when Gallas played on while Davies was on the floor. From the same passage of play, Cesc Fabregas scored an equalising goal that proved to be the turning point in the match. As Arsenal celebrated, Davies required around five minutes of treatment before being taken off on a stretcher amid fears that he has broken his ankle. The Eagles match in summary In yesterday's game, Chinedu Obasi hit the first shot on target for the Super Eagles in the 9th minute but Rafael Kapango did well to parry the ball to safety. In 21st minute, Obasi was again well positioned to place the Super Eagles ahead after Danny Shittu nodded a free kick across the face of the Mambas' goal, but he failed to nod the ball past Kapango from two yards out. Ten minutes later, the Hoffenheim striker broke free for the Super Eagles but Kapango was quick off his line to curtail the danger. The Super Eagles finally shot into the lead in the 45th minute through a thunderous shot from Osaze Odemwingie that left Kapango sprawling on the turf. Second half Barely two minutes after the break, the Lokomotiv Moscow of Russia forward was on hand to fire the Super Eagles further ahead. A counter attack initiated by Sani Kaita deep in the Nigerian half finds Aiyegbeni Yakubu, who beats the Mozambican offside trap before feeding a precise pass to the unmarked Odemwingie, who calmly slotted the ball home. In the 68th minute, Obafemi Martins took the place of Yakubu in the attack for his first piece of action in Angola 2010. Eighteen minutes later, the Wolfsburg of Germany striker made it three-nil for Nigeria after the Mozambican goalkeeper parried a Mikel shot his way.It could have been worse for the Mambas in the 90th minute had Obinna Nsofor, who came in for Odemwingie, not shot straight at Kapango after being put through on goal by Martins. The Super Eagles will now remain in Lubango ahead of a quarter final clash next Monday against the winners of Group D which will be decided later today as Cameroon takes on Tunisia and Gabon tackles Zambia. Eagles back on track For Garba Lawal the Super Eagles have woken from their slumber. "This is the best performance from the boys in a long while and I hope they can take it on from there," he said. Lawal said the threat to disband the team was not responsible for the Eagles performance against the Mambas. "I would not say the threat made them play the way they played, it was the determination and the choices of players made by the coach. You can see what Martins brought into the game, the wonderful job Sani Kieta did in the midfield and the heroic saves by Enyeama," he said. With the quarter finals ticket now secured, Lawal warned that the Eagles should not allow today's victory get into their heads. Fortunate Former Green Eagles player, Okey Isima, described the trouncing of Mozambique as a last minute effort by embattled coach, Amodu to save his job. "The(Super Eagles) played very well today for the first time since the beginning of this tournament. They entered this match with a game plan. Anytime Amodu is on the line to get fired, he does something that will stop him from being sacked. "He must have gotten some coaching from somewhere; maybe he read some text books last night or maybe it's due to all the pressure from the press but then they should remember that tomorrow is another day so that they don't get carried away by the victory," he said. Man of the match The ex-international also believes that Super Eagles forward, Osaze Odemwingie is the driving force of the team, and he called on the other players to also use their initiative in ensuring that they score goals: "Osaze is God sent; he made the thing happen even though every other person played well. Scoring is very important in any game; we were very lucky that the Mozambicans missed all their chances or else the game would have been a different story. We cannot always wait for Osaze to bell the cat; for me he is the man of the match". Though Isima feels that the team can do with some improvement, he says that if the Super Eagles can beat likely opponents, Tunisia or Gabon if they play the way they did against Mozambique: "If we can just keep up the way we played today, it will be better for us if we meet Tunisia or any other team." Nigeria's quarter-final opponent will emerge today after the last round of group matches between Camreoun and Tunisia, and the second game between Gabon and Zambia.

Yar’Adua’s pilot stranded as cabal seizes crew’s passports

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on February 21, 2010 at 1:17pm

From AMOS DUNIA, Abuja

Sunday, February 21, 2010
Following the National Assembly resolution empowering Dr Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President, the cabal sympathetic to ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua has intensified moves to ensure the status quo is maintained.
.

Sunday Sun gathered that as part of the plot to convince Nigerians that Yar’Adua was recovering and would soon return to the country to assume duties, the presidential fleet crew comprising the captain, co-pilots, flight engineer and attendants have been prevented from returning home even as they are said to be missing their families and dependants.

It was gathered that the passports of the crew members has been confiscated to ensure they do not leave Saudi Arabia while being confined to their hotels.

A dependable source informed Sunday Sun that even the movement of the crew members was being monitored in connivance with the Saudi Arabia authorities.

Back home in Nigeria, the powerful group is said to be working towards reversing the resolution of the federal legislature and paint the new leadership of the country as incompetent.

It is also said to be behind the worsening electricity crisis in the country and plans to sabotage fuel distribution across the nation, in an attempt to portray Jonathan as incapable of ruling Nigeria.

Sources said the group made up of some serving ministers, a handful of senators, House of Representatives members and some powerful businessmen from the northern part of the country was working to frustrate the government.

It was gathered that the same group has plotted to ensure that the power supply in the country gets worse. Electricity supply to major towns and cities in the country has plummeted in the past two weeks.

They are equally said to be targeting the petroleum sector to create artificial scarcity of petroleum products, all in an effort to discredit the Jonathan leadership.

It was learnt at the weekend that some members of the group in the House of Representatives were responsible for the death of the Bill for the alteration of Section 144 of the Constitution, which would have legitimized the action of the National Assembly in addressing the power vacuum created by the absence of Yar’Adua.

The group, which met in a Minister’s house on Wednesday night, resolved to ensure the death of any bill to alter the Constitution to favour the resolution of the National Assembly authorizing Vice President Jonathan as Acting President.

The group was reportedly formed to counter the growing influence of the National Interest Group (NIG) led by Bala Mohammed, which ensured that the National Assembly passed the resolution empowering Jonathan.

But, the pro-Yar’Adua group is said to be hampered by revelations that Yar’Adua is still believed to be in coma.

It is, however, said to be working towards selling a dummy to Nigerians that the ailing leader was recuperating fast. Although details of the plan are still sketchy, it was learnt that an official in the President’s office and others in the office of the first lady were coordinating the new dummy.

ECOWAS leaders elect Jonathan as Chairman

Posted by 9jabook.com webmadam on February 17, 2010 at 7:54pm

ECOWAS leaders elect Jonathan as Chairman

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan was on Tuesday elected as the Chairman of ECOWAS.

Mr. Jonathan in his acceptance speech, expressed gratitude for the action, saying that Nigeria's re-election re-affirmed ECOWAS faith and confidence in the country, in spite of the circumstances facing it.

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``Let me therefore, reassure you that Nigerians remain strong and unwavering in their belief in the west african institution, peace, unity and progress.

``I wish to assure of Nigeria's continued commitment to work with the body for the advancement of our common dreams to sustain the regional belief, democracy and development.

``These are the challenges we face and we must confront them as we strive to meet our hopes and aspirations of our people,'' he said.

Mr. Jonathan said in each of these challenges, the region had made some tremendous progress, adding that more needed to be accomplished.

``We must not relent in making our sub-region an oasis of peace and tranquility. Under Nigeria's leadership, we must continue to work for peace and tranquility,''
he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that under the ECOWAS chairmanship, countries are allowed to seek for a second term.

Nigeria would be the fifth among such countries that held the chairmanship position for two terms.

Other countries include Mali under President Alpha
Konare; Ghana, led by President John Kuffour; Niger, led by President Tandja and Burkina Faso, under President Blaise Compaore.

Meanwhile, James Victor Gbeho, Special Adviser to Ghanaian President Attah Mills, was also elected as the President of the ECOWAS Commission.

Edo Showdown as Oshiomole Accuses Anenih,Abbe & Ogiadomhe of aiding 'n abetting gunrunners for elections

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on January 18, 2010 at 6:59am

Crisis looms in Edo, Oshiomhole warns * Decries withdrawal of soldiers from security teams * Asks govt to call Abbe, Anenih, Ogiadomhe to order From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu (Benin GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole warned yesterday that law and order may break down in Edo State after it emerged that the ministry of defence has withdrawn members of the armed forces attached to the state's joint security outfit, Operation Thunderstrom. advertisement The move has been interpreted in government quarters to mean that they were being withdrawn ahead of the forth-coming re-run election in Etsako Central Local Council into the state house of assembly. Oshiomhole alleged that the withdrawal of the soldiers from the team was to allow influx of arms and suspected thugs into the area for the Saturday January 23, 2010 election. The governor who was furious when he spoke to journalists yesterday alleged that the decision was masterminded by the Principal Secretary to the Vice President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe and Chief Tony Anenih in connivance with Defence Minister, General Godwin Abbe (rtd). All efforts to confirm the order from the 4th Mechanised Brigade, Nigerian Army, Benin City yesterday failed as no official was ready to talk on the issue when The Guardian visited. "I have just been informed by the army that General Godwin Abbe, the Minister of Defence, has ordered that the army should be withdrawn from the Joint Task Force contrary to the directive of President Umaru Yar'Adua who approved the soldiers in the wake of the kidnapping, robbery and other violent crimes in the state then. "We are aware that it has been difficult for the PDP to move in arms to Etsako Central due to the presence of the soldiers after they boasted to bring in militants to come and unleash mayhem during the election. Curiously, today, the army has informed me of their withdrawal. It is very clear that General Abbe in collaboration with Chief Tony Anenih and Oghiadomhe, have decided to reverse the order of President Yar'Adua. " I have decided to raise this alarm and I call on the Vice President to call Abbe and Anenih to order. I want to affirm that any attempt to cause crisis in Edo State will be resisted by the people. I am very worried that with the withdrawal of the soldiers there will be influx of arms into Etsako Central and that will endanger the lives of our people there during the election. "I have alerted the Vice-President before about the activities of Oghiadohme who has been boasting that they will use Federal might to rig the election. There is grave danger and I appeal to the Vice President to call these people to order now. I have confidence that the Vice President has no hand in this conspiracy by the Minister of Defence and his godfather to use their control over security agencies to undermine the peace and stability of Edo State." But a PDP chief who did not want to be mentioned dismissed Oshiomhole's allegations, saying Oghiadomhe "is a gentleman who believes in the rule of law and will not be party to thuggery and election rigging."

Golden Globes Upsets Galore as Avatar, Hangover, Glee Score

Posted by NollywoodMohits on January 17, 2010 at 10:34pm

The Hollywood Foreign Press was happy to open Pandora's box.

Avatar, James Cameron's years-in-the-making vision of the possibility of performance-capture technology, was named Best Motion Picture, Drama, at the 67th Annual Golden Globes, triumphing over the seemingly unstoppable Hurt Locker."We have the best job in the world, we really do," the filmmaker said in accepting Sunday's top prize. "I just want you to give it up for yourself. What we do is, we make entertainment for a global audience, and that's what the Golden Globes mean. Give it up for yourselves," he encouraged his fellow Hollywood players.Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock, winners for Best Actor and Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama, were prepared to do just that."Please don't let Ricky Gervais be right. Do I need to thank whoever bought this for me?" began Bullock, long America's sweetheart but never a critics' darling before starring in The Blind Side, referencing one of the host's opening jokes. "Thank you, Hollywood Foreign Press, after all these years."Bridges, too, joked about his sudden ascendance to the upper echelons since playing a washed-up country singer in Crazy Heart."You're really throwing my underappreciated status here," he mock-complained, before thanking his late dad, Lloyd Bridges, and mom for encouraging their kids to go into show business.And while the critical favorite, Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow (aka the third Mrs. James Cameron), could still get the Oscar in the divorce, Cameron got the Globe."I'm absolutely not well-prepared," the filmmaker said after claiming his award from next-door neighbor Mel Gibson. "Frankly, I thought Kathryn was going to get this. She richly deserves it."The on-again king of the world also thanked his performance-capture troop and visual production facility. "We're family, guys, whether you like it or not," he said.Meanwhile, in another surprise, The Hangover was named Best Musical/Comedy, beating a field that included Nine, which came in with a whopping five nominations but was completely shut out.Robert Downey Jr., winner for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, gave a shout-out to the mysterious team of journalists who comprise the Globe-giving Hollywood Foreign Press Association."Art in the blood is liable to take the strangest forms, said the Sherlock Holmes star, quoting Arthur Conan Doyle. "That is why I would like to thank also, or not thank, the HFP, because they are a strange bunch, and now I'm one of them."But we're mainly glad he won because of this: "Thank who? [Producer] Joel Silver, the guy who's only restarted my career 12 times since I began 25 years ago? I mean, I really don't want to thank my wife, because I could be busing tables at the Daily Grill right now if not for her. Jeez, what a gig that'd be."Meryl Streep didn't have to share with Bullock tonight, standing solo on the podium to accept Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy, for channeling Julia Child in Julie & Julia.And Streep, no matter how many times she gets to go up there, always thinks of something apropos to say."I come to Golden Globes weekend and I am really honestly conflicted how to have my happy movie self in the face of everything that I'm aware of in the real world," she said after humorously informing everyone that she wants to change her name to T-Bone, as in Best Original Song winner Burnett, winner for Crazy Heart's theme song "The Weary Kind.""And I want to say," Streep continued, "that's when I hear my mother's voice, saying, 'Give some cash to Partners in Health, put the dress on, put on a smile, and be damn grateful that you have the dollars to help and the next day, and the next day...' "Mo'Nique, a comedian who's left audiences floored by her portrayal of an abusive mom in Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, heads into the Oscar homestretch with a Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, which tends to be the category most hospitable to breakout performances overall."First, let me say, thank you, God, for this amazing ride that you're allowing me to go on," she said, ultimately concluding with the pointed message, "I celebrate this award with all the Preciouses and the Marys, with all the people who've ever been touched...It's now time to tell, and it's OK."Also continuing his goosestep waltz toward Oscar was Austrian Christoph Waltz, who's been the subject of Oscar buzz since Cannes and tonight was a Best Supporting Actor winner for playing Nazi nut Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds.Quentin Tarantino, who lost Best Screenplay to Up in the Air scribes Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, finally had a reason to smile.Matthew Morrison, Kevin McHale, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Ian Brennan, Chris Colfer, Jenna Ushkowitz, Jane Lynch, Dante Di Loreto, Dianna Agron,Ryan Murphy, Lea Michele Steve Granitz/Getty ImagesOn the tube side, the Hollywood Foreign Press didn't waver from their stance that Mad Men is the best TV show ever, awarding the series its second straight Golden Globe for Best TV Series, Drama.But instead of sticking with 30 Rock, too, the HFP was instead charmed by Fox's new musical show, Glee, which was named Best TV Series, Comedy."'This show is about a lot of things," gleeful cocreator Ryan Murphy said. "It's about the importance of arts education, and this is for anybody and everybody who got a wedgie in high school."Very appreciative of Mo'Nique's message was screen veteran and acceptance-speech newcomer Drew Barrymore, who snagged the Globe for Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie for Grey Gardens."I've been meeting with the Hollywood Foreign Press for, like, 97 years and I've been in this room since I was 7 years old," the charmingly befuddled and self-deprecating thesp said in appreciation. "I could be Jeff Spicoli's girlfriend with the lisp and the paralysis, so thank you for taking a chance on me...I have grown up here and I would like to say that this is for all the people nice enough to love me and wish the best for me along the way."Other first-time winners despite their incredibly familiar faces include Chloë Sevigny, a Best Supporting Actress winner for Big Love, and Kevin Bacon, Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie for Taking Chance.Michael C. Hall Steve Granitz/Getty ImagesAnother subtle yet poignant Moment was Michael C. Hall's win for Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama, which comes amid the news that he was simultaneously shooting Dexter's fourth season and receiving cancer treatment."It's really a hell of a thing to go to work at a place where everyone gives a damn," a smooth-faced Hall, wearing a black head wrap over his bald pate, said upon accepting his first Globe in four nominations. "This is a dream job, and I am so grateful."It was an emotional moment for the whole Dexter clan, including a teary John Lithgow, earlier a winner for Best Supporting Actor in any TV genre whatsoever (there's only one supporting win per sex at the Globes). He said he had a great time "creeping out America for six months" as the gruesome Trinity Killer.Showtime reached its own personal best with three statues tonight, including United States of Tara star Toni Collette's win for Best Actress in a TV Comedy. Though, of course, HBO was the top network with four wins, as tends to be the case.Julianna Margulies, star of CBS hit The Good Wife, beat out Emmy winner Glenn Close and defending champ Anna Paquin for Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama.Ricky Gervais Paul Drinkwater/NBC Universal, Inc via Getty ImagesFirst-time Globe host Ricky Gervais came out firing, with even his introduction being an exercise in comedic timing as the camera swung between him and a stone-faced Steve Carell, who pretended (we assume) to seethe as Gervais reminded everyone that he created The Office. (And urged everyone to pick up the two-season series on DVD. "Quality, not quantity, that's what counts," he boasted.)"All right, I better get on with it before they replace me with Jay Leno," Gervais quipped.Whether it was Gervais' golden touch or not, the Globes' entire writing staff seemed to have kicked it up a notch this year.Paul McCartney got two gems in ("Hello, I'm Paul McCartney, or as I'm now known, 'that guy from Rock Band,' " and "Animation is not just for children. It's also for adults who take drugs") before presenting the Best Animated Feature Film award to Up, which despite the late buzz surrounding Fantastic Mr. Fox still looks to be the front-runner for Oscar gold in the animated category, if it's not an overall Best Picture nominee."By any measure, a substantial move up," Tom Hanks described Meryl Streep's chance to bed Stanley Tucci in Julie & Julia as opposed to Alec Baldwin in It's Complicated.In comparing himself and Cecil B. DeMille Award recipient Martin Scorsese to an old married couple," Robert De Niro explained, "We built a life together. We have great memories. We just don't sleep together anymore.""I've collaborated with a lot of people," Scorsese said during his signaturely rapid-fire acceptance. "Many of them are here tonight, and I want to thank them all—but not individually. That would make this show longer than the Globes and the Oscars put together."(Originally published Jan. 17, 2009, at 8:08 p.m. PT)

Jonathan:WHY AONDOAKAA was DEMOTED and Why he was not sacked !

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on February 14, 2010 at 8:46pm

Why Jonathan Goodluck demoted Aondoakaa (SAN)

Last Tuesday, members of the two chambers of the National Assembly passed a special resolution pursuant to section 145 of the 1999 constitution, empowering Dr Jonathan Goodluck to act as the President and Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Mrs Dora Akunyili and Chief Michael Kaase Andoakaa (SAN)

The decision of the National Assembly was hinged on the absence of the country’s ailing President, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua from his duty post for well over two months.

The lawmakers had used the transcript of the BBC interview granted on January 12, 2010 by President Yar’Adua in Saudi Arabia where he is still receiving treatment to activate the provision of section 145 of the 1999 constitution which the judiciary refused to activate.

The content of the interview satisfied the conditions precedent to activate section 145 of the 1999 constitution. The provision (section 145) allows the Vice President to perform the functions of the president in his own right as acting president.

Although a few powerful individuals, including some serving ministers knew that Yar’Adua’s health condition was very serious and that he could no longer discharge the functions of his office, the agreement by the cabal was that they would not allow Vice President Jonathan Goodluck to smell the number one position.

Indeed, the cabal practically seized the presidential powers for more than two months and exercised it, anyhow, under the guise that President Yar’Adua, in whom the 1999 constitution vested the entire executive powers of the Federation, was invoking its section 5(1) to discharge his functions through his ministers and the vice president.

The point-man of the cabal was the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Michael Kaase Andoakaa (SAN).

He told several stories to defend the position of the cabal publicly and courageously too for 78 days before the castle of deceit built by them collapsed on his head on February 10, this year.

That was the day when Jonathan, on assuming full presidential powers, through the resolution of the National Assembly, removed him from office.

Aondoakaa (SAN) who was redeployed to the Ministry of Special Duties confessed upon his removal that he told a lot of lies that there was no vacuum in governance. He said he had to defy all threats and insults being rained on him simply because “no Attorney-General of the Federation worth his salt would go on the pages of newspapers to admit that there was a vacuum” even when it is evident.

Although, the controversial role of Aondoakaa (SAN) during the 78 days of absence of President Yar’Adua was fingered by critics as the reason why he was removed from office, Saturday Vanguard gathered that his sack had no link with it.

According to an impeccable source close to the Presidency, Aondoakaa’s selector was already considering swapping him before he fell ill and was flown abroad.

The source said that Aondoakaa (SAN) was the most controversial minister on President Yar’Adua’s cabinet whose continued stay in office was giving the gentle man a lot of worries.

“He was removed simply because the relationship of Nigeria with some foreign countries was under threat, just because he is still there.

“If Jonathan wanted to pay him back, he would have sacked him outright without swapping him,” the source said, adding, “Jonathan removed him based on advice to eschew his Presidency from unnecessary controversies which he is not alien to.”

Indeed, between 2007 and the time he was sacked, there had been dozens of calls on Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa (SAN) to honorably resign his office as the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

Some of the requests came from individuals resident within and outside the country, corporate organizations, civil societies and prominent politicians including members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

They advised him to resign his appointment after it was evident that President Yar’Adua who hired him was reluctant to invoke his powers under section 147 of the 1999 constitution to change his duties of office in the event he is unwilling to sack him from his cabinet.

But each time the call for his resignation or sack came, he had either ignored it or declared in no unmistakable words that he would never resign his office.

It was so bad that many people, particularly lawyers, were unwilling to discuss him in relation to the performance of duties of his office for many reasons.

They said he was an irritant.

But Aondoakaa had always replied his critics that he was not begging anybody to like him.

He said the criticism he was getting was the price of the office he was holding.

He listed some of his predecessors in office and said that several negative things were said about them.

He said he would not allow such bickering to affect the performance of his duties.

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But his accusers agreed with him that Nigerians had indeed suffered in the past owing to the infamous roles played by some of the Attorneys-General that served the Nigerian state in the past.

But they added that of all the Attorneys-General of the Federation that had served , Aondoakaa (SAN) was the worst and must vacate his seat for more reasons than one.

THE MANY SINS OF AONDOAKAA

Firstly, it was their case that he was not experienced to hold the exalted office.

Those who bandied that argument said the ex-chief law officer of the Federation was practicing in the rural Gboko and did not really have a successful practice until he got the appointment.

They said he was never appointed out of exceptional performance in the practice of law but on political ground to perform what they called some “political functions” in order to stabilize the government of President Yar’Adua.

They said he ought to be removed because the demands of the Office of the Attorney_General required an experienced hand.

Again, it was the claim of his accusers that Aondoakaa (SAN) was in the habit of standing on the way of government agencies fighting corruption in the country.

They said if he was not suggesting to government how to collapse all the anti_graft agencies in the country like the EFCC, ICPC and the Code of Conduct Bureau into one in order to weaken the nation’s fight against graft, he would be writing letters to foreign governments not to prosecute some Nigerians accused of corruption.

They cited the two letters he wrote to the Government of the United Kingdom to stop the trial of former Governor of Delta state, Chief James Ibori and another he wrote to French Government to stop the trial of Dan Etete as few of the instances.

Besides, it is also the case of Aondoakaa’s critics that he had severally compromised his office and desecrated the hallowed chambers he occupied in many ways.

They alleged that Aondoakaa (SAN) had written letters as the Attorney-General of the Federation to constituted authorities not to obey court judgments of the court as if he was an appellate court over the courts from which such orders issued.

Examples abound and Aondoakaa (SAN) always had a reason to justify his position, including the excuse that he got a petition from one of the parties in such cases.

But his critics had always said that it was not available to the Honourable Attorney-General to dabble into the arena even if a petition was written to him as he claimed.

According to a former Chief Judge of Lagos State, Chief Omotunde Ilori, what the Attorney-General of the Federation did was what he called “pollution of the water of justice.”

Hear him: “The attorney-general is not an appellate court over the court. It has no appellate jurisdiction over any court. The attorney general cannot exercise any appellate authority on any court. Once the court has given an order, the attorney general cannot grant stay of execution. “Only the court can grant stay of execution. Only the court which gives an order can stay execution on that order. No other authority whatsoever can stay execution of that order.

“If the court says go and do XYZ, and there is need to stay it, you take an application before the court and say for this reason and this reason, the order cannot be obeyed now. It is only for the court to say the order is stayed.

“This unfortunate action by some people not vested with judicial powers interfering with the exercise of that powers only pollutes the judicial powers of that authority.

“Anybody not vested with judiciary powers but interfering with the exercise of that power is a pollutant.

“The waters of justice must run without any pollution so that anybody who wants a suspension of an order ought to go back to that court for stay of execution. Nobody else can stay it.

“Anybody who wants a suspension of an order of the court will go back before that court for a stay or suspension of that order.

“I agree that the rule of law must be complied with as he allegedly claimed but the meaning of rule of law is that the law shall reign supreme. “The rule of law does not say that anybody who is not a judge shall interfere with the exercise of judicial powers.

“If somebody is an object of the ruling of a court and he does not want that ruling to be executed, all he needs do is to file an application for stay of proceedings in the deputy sheriff’s office.

“Once that application is there, nobody can enforce that ruling. “Anybody who has nothing to do with the judiciary cannot stay the order of the court,” the retired chief judge added.

Aondoakaa’s critics also alleged that the Attorney-General of the Federation had so much desecrated his office so much that if you go to his chambers during his days, you would see all manners of accused persons facing trial in court wanting to meet with him for audience.

They said it was unfortunate that a person to whom the 1999 constitution, the basic law of the land, donates power of prosecution to is the one who allegedly debases that office by allegedly offering free legal advice on how to escape prosecution to accused persons in his chambers.

Aondoakaa’s critics though argued that there was nothing wrong in any Nigerian seeking audience with the Federation Attorney-General but that when all manners of accused persons that ought to be prosecuted by his office were loitering around his chambers, they said one could not but conclude that the chief law officer was debasing the sacredness of the office and should be removed with immediate effect.

Another reason why his critics pushed for his removal was because they alleged that he was out-sourcing the constitutional duties of his office to the executive.

For instance, they quoted the Attorney-General of the Federation to have said that after the Okiro-led panel must have concluded its assignment on the probe of the $180million Halliburton bribery, he said he would not prosecute the indicted except he was given the permission by President Umaru Yar’Adua to so do.

Indeed, Saturday Vanguard can confirm that Chief Aondoakaa (SAN) made the disclosure shortly after he inaugurated the five-member inter-agency probe panel headed by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mike Okiro, with a mandate to look into the Halliburton bribery scandal.

He tacitly said that his difficulty was the 1999 constitution.

But when he was reminded by newsmen that by virtue of section 174 of the 1999 constitution, he had the constitutional rights to initiate criminal proceedings against any person before any law court in Nigeria in respect of any offence like the instant one created by or under any Act of the National Assembly without any recourse to anybody, Aondoakaa (SAN) said he admitted but that his discretion to exercise his prosecutorial powers is, unfortunately, subject to the approval of Mr President.

He fingered section 130 (1) (2) of the 1999 constitution as one that limited his discretion to exercise his unlimited prosecutorial power.

The said section 130 of the 1999 constitution states:

(1) There shall be for the Federation a President.

(2) The president shall be the Head of State, the Chief Executive of the Federation and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation.

Although a thorough reading of the cited constitutional provision did not circumscribe, in any clear term, the discretion of the chief law officer of the Federation to prosecute any person in any law court as claimed by Aondoakaa (SAN), he however laboured in vain to explain that the addition of “Chief Executive” to the appellation of Mr President which was absent in the 1979 constitution implied that all ministers serving in his (Mr President’s) cabinet must take instruction from him on anything in their ministries including prosecution of criminals.

Human rights activist, Prof Chidi Odinkalu and a former Chief Judge of Lagos State , Justice Omotunde Ilori separately disagreed with Aondoakaa on this issue.

The duo said they were not interested in discussing Aondoakaa as a person but his office.

According to Justice Ilori, he said the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 has three principal concepts. “The first is the separation of powers. That is you have the executive, the judiciary and the legislature.

“Secondly, you have division of powers. That is the division of powers between the federal, states and local governments”.

UK Student Visa goes tough as Mutallab fallout creates more issues.

Posted by 9jabook.com on February 8, 2010 at 7:30pm

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The British government has come up with tougher rules to stop people abusing the student visa system to remain illegally in the United Kingdom.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said 30 per cent of migrants who came into the UK were on student visas and a number were adults taking short courses, not degrees.

Following the confirmation that Farouk AbdulMutallab, the Nigerian accused of attempted bombing of a United States airliner on Christmas Day,was a student in London between 2005 and 2008, the British government had been under severe pressure from opposition parties to tighten visa requirements, especially for students.

With the public's confidence in Nigeria's education system constantly on the decline, thousands of Nigerians annually seek to study in the United Kingdom.

The new rule, however, will not have much effect on Nigerians with the requisite qualification who genuinely intend to study in the UK.

But it could affect those wishing to use the students' visa window to bring their dependants to work in the UK during and after their studies.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, under the new rules, effective immediately, successful applicants from outside the EU will have to speak English to a level only just below GCSE near-GCSE (equivalent of Senior Secondary School Certificate) standard, rather than beginner level as at present .

Also, students taking courses below degree level will be allowed to work for only 10 hours a week, instead of 20 as at present.

Those on courses, which last under six months, will not be allowed to bring dependants into the country, while the dependants of students on courses below degree level will not be allowed to work.

Additionally, visas for courses below degree level will also be granted only if the institutions they attend are on a new register, the Highly Trusted Sponsors List.

The Home Office would not confirm reports the changes may cut visas issued this year by tens of thousands.

A spokesman told BBC that a review of student visas had been ordered in November. In 2008/9, about 240,000 student visas were issued by the UK.

News of the new measures comes a week after student visa applications from Nepal, northern India and Bangladesh were suspended amid a big rise in cases.

Last year the UK introduced a system requiring students wishing to enter the country to secure 40 points under its criteria.

However, the government has faced criticism that this has allowed suspected terrorists and other would-be immigrants into the UK, only for them to stay on despite their visas being temporary.

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, the home secretary denied the system had been lax before.

"We closed down 200 bogus colleges," he said. "By 2011, we will have the most sophisticated system in the world to check people not just coming into the country but to check they have left as well."

He said the UK remains open to those foreign students who want to come to the UK for legitimate study.

Alan Johnson: "If you are coming here for a course that is under six months you can not bring your dependents"

"We are the second most popular location for people going into higher education," he said.

"We have to be careful that we are not damaging a major part of the UK economy, between £5bn and £8bn."

Blackout looms as Shell prepares to shut gas plants on Saturday

Posted by 9jabook.com on February 18, 2010 at 7:30pm

Blackout looms as Shell prepares to shut gas plants on Saturday

Obinna Ezeobi, Abuja

Nigeria may be plunged into total darkness as from Saturday, as Shell Petroleum Development Company gives a notice of its plan to shut down three critical gas plants that supply dry gas to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

The company made this known in a letter dated February 10, 2010 and addressed to the Minister of Power, Dr. Lanre Babalola and his petroleum counterpart, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman.

SPDC notified the Federal Government that it might be compelled to shut down the Oben, Sapele and Utorogu gas plants on Saturday unless the stock of condensate, a by-product of gas blocking its pipelines, was evacuated.

This came just as the total power generation dipped to 2,400 megawatts on Tuesday, compounding the woes in the nation's electricity sector.

Shell is the biggest supplier of gas to the Nigerian Gas Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, which in turn transmits the gas to PHCN and other gas customers....

The thermal power plants, which run on gas, contribute 70 per cent of the nation's electricity; hence shutting the three gas plants would result in near total darkness in the country.

Because the Trans-Forcados gas network, which is the bedrock for Oben, Sapele, and Ughelli Utorogu gas plants has been repeatedly compromised by militants, a decision was taken to divert the condensate to Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company, which would use some and sell the rest to Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company.

But with the refineries having not worked for a while owing to the vandalisation of the Channomi creek pipeline which supplies them with crude oil, the condensate was not used up, hence the need to find a new buyer who would move to the Warri refinery and lift the condensate.

SPDC explained in the letter that there were 437,000 barrels of condensate at the Warri refinery, which must be evacuated before it could continue producing and supplying dry gas, adding that it might be forced to shut down the plants as it would have nowhere else to evacuate the by-products to.

Oben and Sapele gas plants produce 3,000 barrels of condensate daily which must be evacuated daily and regularly for gas production to continue.

Our correspondent learnt that the matter had been brought to the attention of Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, who was said to have been brainstorming with officials of the power and oil sectors on how to avert the impending blackout.

On why power supply had deteriorated in the past weeks, the Special Adviser (Media) to the Minister of Power, Mr. Yakubu Lawal, told our correspondent that gas supply to thermal plants had dipped considerably, with five thermal plants heavily affected.

He said Egbin had the capacity to generate 1,000MW, but could only do 600MW currently due to gas constraints.

Other thermal plants, which were negatively affected included AES located within the Egbin precinct, Omotosho, Olorunsogo and Geregu.

He explained that Chevron Escravos 1 was supposed to supply 185million standard cubic feet of gas per day but was not making gas available at the moment just like the Chevron Escravos 2, which was expected to supply 300 million scfd.

Lawal said, "500 million scfd was supposed to come from Sapele but nothing at all is coming. Ughelli is also expected to supply 90 million scfd but is only bringing 30 million scfd.

He, however, explained that Ughelli was meant to be a dedicated line to Sapele power plant, which was undergoing some rehabilitation and could only utilise 30 million scfd.

He said that the 90 million scfd obtained from Oben was now under threat if the condensate produced by the plant was not evacuated

"Utorogu is expected to bring 360 million scfd, but we only get 300 million scfd," he added.

When the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr. Mohammed Barkindo, undertook a facility tour of the gas and power stations run by the SPDC last year, he had said that the Utorogu gas plant would increase production to 350 million scfd ahead of December 2009.

He said NNPC had initiated discussions with SPDC on the expansion programme of the plant, so as to ramp it up to 510 million scfd this year.

He said, "I have got firm reassurance on the recovery of the Trans-Forcados pipeline, which is the heart of the domestic supply system, accounting for nearly 900 million scfd of gas.

"The Trans-Forcados network is the bedrock for Oben, Sapele, Ughelli Utorogu and once that network is compromised, then we have significant challenges."

Natural gas condensate is a low-density mixture of hydrocarbon liquids that are present as gaseous components in the raw natural gas produced from many natural gas fields. It condenses out of the raw gas if the temperature is reduced to below the hydrocarbon dew point temperature of the raw gas. The natural gas condensate is also referred to as simply condensate, or gas condensate, or sometimes natural gasoline because it contains hydrocarbons within the gasoline boiling range. Raw natural gas may come from any one of three types of gas wells:[1][2] Crude oil wells – Raw natural gas that comes from crude oil wells is called associated gas. This gas can exist separate from the crude oil in the underground formation, or dissolved in the crude oil. Dry gas wells – These wells typically produce only raw natural gas that does not contain any hydrocarbon liquids. Such gas is called non-associated gas. Condensate wells – These wells produce raw natural gas along with natural gas liquid. Such gas is also non-associated gas and often referred to as wet gas.

African Cup of nations:Nigeria vs Benin 1-0 as Yakubu gives Super Eagles hope

Posted by Choochoo Sports Book on January 16, 2010 at 7:53am

Yakubu gives Super Eagles hopeSCORING SUMMARYNigeria BeninAyegbeni Yakubu (pen 42)MATCH INFORMATIONStadium: Estadio do BenguelaAttendance: 8,000Match Time: 16:00 UKOfficial(s):Henrique Martins de Carvaldo (Referee)TEAMSNigeria Benin1 Vincent Enyeama 16 Rachad Chitou6 Dan Shittu 5 Damien Chrysostome2 Joseph Yobo 3 Khaled Adenon21 Uwa Echiejile 23 Emmanuel Imorou19 Yusuf Mohammed 18 Seidath Tchomogo20 Dickson Etuhu 7 Romuald Boco16 Kalu Uche 17 Stephane Sessegnon10 John Mikel Obi 4 Djiman Koukou8 Ayegbeni Yakubu 10 Nouihoum Kobenan11 Peter Osaze Odemwingie 11 Muri Ogunbiyi7 Chinedu Obasi Ogbuke 8 Razak OmotoyossiSubstitutes12 Austin Amamchukwu Ejide Yoann Djidonou 123 Dele Aiyenugbu Valerie Amoussou17 Chidi Odiah Felicien Singbo 123 Taye Ismaila Taiwo Rede Johnson5 Obinna Nwaneri Mouftaou Adou22 Onyekachi Apam Jocelin Ahoueya 1914 Seyi George Olofinjana Pascal Angan13 Ayiila Yussuf Junior Salomon15 Sani Kaita Gerard Adanhoume4 Nwankwo Kanu Mickael Pote 149 Obafemi Martins Mohamed Aoudou18 Victor Nsofor Obinna Arnaud Seka 20SubstitutionsOnyekachi Apam for Joseph Yobo (55)Felicien Singbo for Emmanuel Imorou (66)Victor Nsofor Obinna for Ayegbeni Yakubu (59)Yoann Djidonou for Rachad Chitou (73)Sani Kaita for Kalu Uche (74)Arnaud Seka for Nouihoum Kobenan (83)Yellow CardsUwa Echiejile (86)Stephane Sessegnon (25)Romuald Boco (42)Razak Omotoyossi (90)Nigeria reignited their African Nations Cup hopes with a narrow victory over Benin in an entertaining game in Benguela.Ayegbeni Yakubu's spot-kick four minutes before the break was enough to separate the sides.Nigeria are now level on points at the top of Group C with Egypt, who face Mozambique later. Benin are rock-bottom.The match got off to a bright start and Nigeria slowly started to take control but it was to be Benin who had the first decent chance as Seidath Tchomogo saw his 25-yard effort fly narrowly wide of the left upright.Nigeria knew they had to win to boost their chances of progressing but wasted a glorious opportunity in the 15th minute.Yakubu was sent through on goal but, with only the goalkeeper to beat, he sent a rasping shot wide in a real let-off for Benin.The Nigerians were almost made to instantly pay for their profligacy when Benin won a free-kick on the edge of the area but Stephane Sessegnon could not get his attempt to dip enough and it flew over the crossbar.Sessegnon went closer in the 39th minute when he sent a fabulous drive crashing off the bar.However, Nigeria were to take the lead four minutes from the break. Benin goalkeeper Rachad Chitou did well to beat out Djiman Koukou's attempt but in the goalmouth scramble it fell to Chinedu Obasi Ogbuke who crossed in towards Peter Odemwingie.Romuald Boco was adjudged to have handled Odemwingie's header and Yakubu sent the resulting penalty straight down the middle to give Nigeria the lead.Benin came out after the break desperate for the equaliser and almost got it ten minutes after the restart when the ever-dangerous Sessegnon set up Nouihoum Kobena only for the Squirrels to once again be denied by the woodwork.Nigeria thought they had doubled their lead shortly after the hour mark as a superb ball by Obasi Ogbuke released Victor Obinna just moments after the Malaga striker had come off the bench.However, Chitou was quick off his line and did well to keep his side very much in the game.The Super Eagles should have sealed the result 15 minutes from time but Obasi Ogbuke headed wide from close range. However, Nigeria clung on to take all three points.

AIR DISASTER :90 feared dead as Ethiopian Airlines jet plunges into sea off Lebanon

Posted by 9jabook.com on January 25, 2010 at 11:52pm

Investigators were tonight carrying out DNA tests on severely burned bodies recovered from the sea after an Ethiopian Airlines flight carrying 90 people caught fire during a lightning storm and crashed into the Mediterranean minutes after taking off from Beirut.

As darkness fell no survivors had been found in the stormy waters off Lebanon, despite search and rescue efforts by the country's military, UN naval peacekeepers and units from nearby Cyprus who were tonight joined by British and French helicopter teams. The plane's 83 passengers included 56 Lebanese – two with dual British nationality – 22 Ethiopians and individuals from Canada, Syria, Iraq and Russia, as well as the American-born wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon. By tonight at least 34 bodies had been recovered. Lebanon's National News Agency tonight confirmed that 57-year-old Afif Karshat was one of two Lebanese with dual British nationality among the casualties. Lebanon's president, Michel Suleiman, said terrorism was not suspected in the crash of the Boeing 737-800, which was headed for the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. "Sabotage is ruled out as of now," he said. Lebanon's defence minister, Elias Murr, blamed bad weather for the crash. An official investigation has been launched, but the plane's black box has yet to be recovered. Several eyewitnesses reported hearing an explosion and seeing a ball of flame in the sky just after 2.30am today, during a fierce winter thunderstorm. "There was huge thunder and it was raining like crazy. The lightning was coming down from the clouds. The electricity had gone out, but I couldn't sleep. Then I heard an explosion," said Hassan Ramadan, a 39-year-old engineering contractor from Khalde, just a few miles from where the plane went down. "I thought it was a building collapsing. I opened the window and saw a huge flame going down in different pieces. I can't believe what happened. You usually only see that on TV," he said. The prime minister, Saad Hariri, who toured the crash site by helicopter, declared a day of mourning in honour of the dead. "This is a tragedy for Lebanon, and we are working to find the missing passengers," he told reporters. Divers from the country's tiny navy were on the scene within a couple of hours of the crash and continued to be winched in and out of the churning grey seas throughout the day as the bodies and personal belongings of passengers washed up on beaches just south of the capital. Mothers and relatives of those killed wept and screamed as ambulances brought the burned bodies for identification at the governmental hospital in Beirut. At the airport families of those missing sat in shock, waiting for news, some weeping silently, others collapsing as they tried to walk outside. Specialist trauma psychologists were sent to the airport to try and comfort distraught families. "We've never suffered a catastrophe like this air crash before in Lebanon," said Dr Mirna Ghannage, from the Centre for Mental Health. Riad Ismael's 36-year-old nephew Yasser was among those missing. Like so many in this nation of expatriates, Yasser had left Lebanon soon after graduating, having been unable to find a job. After five years working in a Lebanese restaurant in London he moved to Sudan to pursue his speciality – computer engineering – before starting his own business in Angola. The young father had taken time off to fly home to Lebanon via Ethiopia to visit his wife and two children, aged five and two. "When we find answers to who is responsible for this crash we have to ask another question: why does the young generation of Lebanese have to live in exile?" said Riad Ismael, the mayor of a village near the south Lebanon town of Nabatiyeh. "Yasser is like all young guys in Lebanon. , His motives were to build a better future and provide for his family. He was far away from his family and always wanted to return home. He came home to give them money and then died. It is a tragedy." Many of the Ethiopians killed in the crash were also economic migrants, but in the reverse direction – young women who left homes and families to travel to Lebanon to work as domestic helpers in the homes of wealthy Lebanese. Many are treated as little more than slaves, human rights activists claim. In many cases servants go unpaid, are confined indoors and made to work long hours seven days a week. Some are beaten and even sometimes raped. "Why do you Lebanese never treat us good?" screamed one Ethiopian woman as security forces prevented her from entering the governmental hospital in Beirut today to identify a body. "We are human beings like you. God created us. Why don't I have the right to come in and see my sister?" Outside the hospital a group of Ethiopian women stood quietly in a corner, waiting for news of friends on the flight – young women like the friend they knew as Warkey, who arrived in Lebanon to work for a family in Nabatiyeh, "She had worked for two years and her family had not paid her salary once," said one of Warkey's friends, who asked not to be named. "She even had to buy her own clothes. So she ran away and I took her in. But she said she missed her parents so much and had to go home. She was only 20. "We went to the embassy and they did not help. Because she had run away and did not have any papers, she ended up being arrested and put in prison," she said, her dark brown eyes welling up with tears. "They let her out of prison on Saturday and drove her to the airport, so she could take that flight."

Bloomberg News: Nigeria’s Yar’Adua Says Health Better, as Groups Ready Protest

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on January 11, 2010 at 8:26pm

By Antony Sguazzin Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Nigeria’s President Umaru Yar’Adua, who has been receiving treatment for a heart ailment in Saudi Arabia since November, said he is “getting better,” the British Broadcasting Corp. reported. “I am undergoing treatment and I’m getting better,” Yar’Adua said in an interview with the BBC. “I hope very soon there will be tremendous progress, which will allow me to get back home.” Yar’Adua, 58, gave the interview as Nigerian opposition figures and rights activists planned a protest march in the capital, Abuja, today over the power vacuum they say has been created by the president’s absence from the country. Nigeria, which vies with Angola to be Africa’s top oil producer, has been under civilian rule since 1999, the longest period since it became independent of the U.K. in 1960. Yar’Adua flew to a Saudi Arabian hospital on Nov. 23 for treatment of a heart condition. He hasn’t been seen in public since then, prompting media speculation on his medical condition and calls for a transfer of power to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. Save Nigeria, which includes opposition parties, pro- democracy groups and human-rights campaigners, is organizing the march, Bamidele Aturu, a supporter of the group, said on Jan. 8 by phone from his law office in Lagos, the commercial hub. Critics of the government say Yar’Adua’s delayed return to Nigeria is affecting the implementation of the budget, efforts to entrench peace in the oil-producing Niger River delta and attempts to reform the electoral system before general elections next year. A group of politicians, former military officers and rights activists signed a document calling for the president to resign because his ill health has made it difficult for him to lead the country, Lagos-based ThisDay reported on Dec. 2. The signatories include Ken Nnamani, a former president of the Senate, and Aminu Masari, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, it said. Government officials have dismissed the demands, insisting that the administration is carrying on smoothly. To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Okolo in Abuja pokolo@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: January 12, 2010 01:50 EST

"Americans" Reject President: Majority Would Vote Against Obama NOW ! comments are just mean as they can be

Posted by jackie webLondonGirl on January 14, 2010 at 5:09am

Majority Would Vote Against Obama NOw some of the comments are just right out racist but it is good to know Yar'adua even though he has been out of office for 50days can still say At least no be me people hate like this ! A year into his tenure, a majority of Americans would already vote against Pres. Obama if the '12 elections were held today, according to a new survey. The Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll shows 50% say they would probably or definitely vote for someone else. Fully 37% say they would definitely cast a ballot against Obama. Meanwhile, just 39% would vote to re-elect the pres. to a 2nd term, and only 23% say they definitely would do so. Obama's first year in office has been marked by an unemployment rate that surged to 10%, an increased commitment of troops to Afghanistan and a health care battle that has taken a serious political toll on the WH. Obama's approval rating is down to 47%, the poll showed, a 14-point drop since the April survey. 45% disapprove, up 17 points from April. Only 41% say they trust Obama more than Congressional GOPers, while 33% pick the GOP over the WH. That 8-point gap is down from a 21-point edge Obama sported as recently as Sept. Just 34% say the country is moving in the right direction, down 13 points since April, and 55% say it is off on the wrong track, up 13 points over the same period. But as GOPers focus on taxes and spending, that message seems to be causing Obama the most harm. Among those who believe Obama's policies have moved the country in the wrong direction, 45% cite spending and government regulation as a top cause for their opposition. Meanwhile, those who think Obama's policies are moving the country down the right track largely cite long-term benefits of his initiatives. In the meantime, health care legislation is by no means popular, but a majority of Americans don't oppose the legislation yet. 44% said they support the legislation under consideration, down 5 points from the last poll in Sept., while 46% oppose it. The poll, conducted by Financial Dynamics, surveyed 1,200 adults between Jan. 3-7 for a margin of error of +/- 2.8%. For more on the Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll, see Ron Brownstein's take on a distrustful America and the withering green shoots after a year under the Obama admin. 172 Comments Pass healthcare and cap and tax and it will be a landslide against Ocommybammie. whitewashed | January 14, 2010 10:02 AM Grrr.... I think humans will treat Master fairly at the next election. He's got a tough job and most humans know that. I think race is playing into this discussion too. Here's what I think: http://www.goodboybo.com/2010/01/race.html Bo Bo | January 14, 2010 10:04 AM It takes some folk longer to wise up than others. geng;his kohn | January 14, 2010 10:04 AM Never, never put an empty suit in the WH. Paul1931 | January 14, 2010 10:04 AM Obama is a clown. Ronnie | January 14, 2010 10:04 AM wake up people we can not let the goverment have this much power over us we are the producers not ant goverment! timmy mclaughlin | January 14, 2010 10:04 AM Many fools who voted for this bum now realize that he is a liar and a statist and a real danger to the Republic. John | January 14, 2010 10:05 AM LIAR, bait and switch never again show your birth cert you lying scum us | January 14, 2010 10:07 AM This is what happens when you let an inexperienced amateur take the job. 1. Remember if you have managed more than two people in your life you have more experience than Obama did when he became president 2. Want to know how Obama thinks? Just ask any left wing sophomore at your local university. He has about the same insight and experience as they have. Elleno | January 14, 2010 10:07 AM Chains we can believe in... perhaps it took this presidential debacle to wake people up. Just because someone "sounds" good and gets lifted up by the main stream media doesn't mean they're qualified for the job or good for our nation. We can now ony hope that he doesn't mess things up too badly while he remains if office. Lynne | January 14, 2010 10:08 AM This guy is a joke, spend spend and spend more, what wait we can tax you to pay back money that someone else lost. BS. Marco | January 14, 2010 10:08 AM THE greatest mistake the American people ever made. God help us get through this. Return to the Lord, people, get your discernment back, and begin rebuilding the foundations. Paul B. | January 14, 2010 10:09 AM he wants to hurt America he wants to hurt America he wants to hurt America he wants to hurt America Obama, Holder, Koh, Bauer, these are the ones we must fight against as you all have no idea that everyday they try to weaken us seriously | January 14, 2010 10:10 AM OBAMA WAS A BIG MISTAKE !!!! HE IS A FRAUD CREATED BY THE MEDIA, WITH NO EXPERIENCE OR QUALIFICATIONS TO BE PRESIDENT. jamie | January 14, 2010 10:10 AM You fuckin' idiots! We tried to tell you! Stan | January 14, 2010 10:11 AM Palin 2012: Energize America Dan | January 14, 2010 10:11 AM Every day of Obama is one day closer to Sarah. you bet'cha! Ed | January 14, 2010 10:12 AM So much for obamatardomania. Kiss off POSident Obolshevik. Greg in Austin | January 14, 2010 10:12 AM As a former Democrat in 2008 I am happy and proud to say I was not fooled by him one bit he is a liar liar liar he is ruining our great Country anna | January 14, 2010 10:12 AM He is in way over his head! Greg | January 14, 2010 10:12 AM I love how people who have no clue as to what he is doing say things like, "I still think race plays into this." Now if those people are looking for race based thoughts, turn to people like Harry Reid and Bill Clinton, but those people are either unaware of what was said or have rationalized it away. astralweeks | January 14, 2010 10:13 AM It is refreshing to see the American citizens 'finally' realize what a nightmare of a President and congressional leadership that is in place. These people are turning what was once an idea of a private sector nation and economy to one where everyone is on the government Dole, the govt. regulates every aspect of our lives, and they have sold out to internationalists. The first step is to oust the congress in 2010, and put anyone or anything in the White House in 2012 that actually cares about the founding principles of this country. Obama is clearly NOT that person! read original article to see more hate filled comments http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/01/majority_would.php

Sunday Sermon:Are You Feeding Your Soul also try out our evangelistic tool.

Posted by frank adeche Mr Netchurch on January 10, 2010 at 12:13am

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.

Herdsmen raid Jos village, kills hundreds

ECOWAS leaders elect Jonathan as Chairman

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