Names of these Old Self Acclaimed Godfathers from our sources are Hon Oyon Asuquo & Chief Okon Osung Have been known for causing troubles in the ranks of the PDP . On finding out that the Young Guns in the PDP echelon are seriously throwing their weight as the Primaries results have shown. They have now decided to retaliate with the help of unscrupulous INEC officials by going underground and calling for the scrapping of these results .They have targeted Mr Robinson Uwak whom our sources claim has been instrumental in the Akpabio PDP led machine.

What an Old Man Can Do A young Man can do it even better and for much Longer  

Attention: Akwa Ibom PDP Primaries: Acclaimed Winner of AKwa ibom's Oron LGA Robinson Uwak under Pressure from  unscrupulous INEC officials & PDP "Godfathers" to scuttle and cancel his ticket . INEC must do the Right Thing This Time . We the youths are watching Akwa Ibom is not for Old men only but the Young. "Foot Soldiers" are Human Beings .Mr President please intervene Gov. Akpabio take note .

Winners & Losers Rundown From the Nation:

FORMER Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Ghali Umar Na’abba at the weekend withdrew from the Kano Central Senatorial race.

His withdrawal paved way for the emergence of a Kano-based businessman, Alhaji Basheer Garba.

Na’abba gave no reason for his decision.

Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, head of the PDP National Assembly Electoral Panel, confirmed that Na’abba withdrew from the contest.

Senator Bello Hayatu Gwarzo floored the former Managing Director of Urban Development Bank Alhaji Rabiu Bichi to emerge the flagbearer for Kano North.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Education, Hon. Faruk Lawan retained the ticket for Shanono/Bagwai Federal Constituency election.

Meanwhile, in the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) House of Representatives primaries conducted in Kano yesterday, Hon. Haruna Fatahi from Kano Municipal Federal Constituency and Hon. Ibrahim Balla from Kumbotso Federal Constituency retained their seats.

Two other serving members of the lower chamber, Hon. Ibrahim Mu’azzam Bichi from Bichi Federal Constituency, and Hon. Abuduwa Mohammed from Gezawa Federal Constituency suffered defeat at the primaries, losing to Alhaji Lawal Shehu and Abdullahi Tsamiyar-kara.

House of Representatives spokesman Eseme Eyiboh at the weekend lost his bid to return to seek a fresh mandate.

Two persons were also feared killed during the exercise in the Eket and Ukanafun Federal Constituencies of Akwa Ibom.

A supporter of Eyiboh was said to have been beaten to death by armed security agents guarding the venue at Esit Eket.

The deceased, according to a source, hails from Etebi, in Esit Eket Local Government Area.

Eyiboh lost to one Bassey Abia.

Another lawmaker, Bassey Etim, also lost his bid to return to the House of Representatives to Ekere Afia.

Incumbent House member for Ikot Ekpene Federal Constituency, Pat Etete Inemeh, said he was forcefully asked to step down by Governor Godswill Akpabio.

Only one incumbent member, Prof. Ini Udoka, who was returned by consensus, got the party ticket.

Those who won include Emmanuel Ekon for Abak, Ekere Afia, Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, Savour Udoh, Ikot Abasi, Francis Uduyok, Eket, Bassey Dan Abia Junior, Etinan, Dan Akpan, Itu, Kenneth Archibong, Oron, Robinson Uwak and Ukanafun, Emmanuel Ukoette.

In the three Senate slots, Helen Esuene defeated incumbent Mrs. Eme Ufot Ekaette in Eket; Ita Enang beat incumbent Senator Effiong Bob to pick the ticket in Uyo, while Senator Aloysius Akpan Etok was returned by consensus in Ikot Ekpene.

Also Special Adviser to the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Political) Nuradeen Usman also won the Kogi Central Senatorial District ticket.

He defeated Senator Salihu Ohize, his predecessor, Senator Mohammed Salami Ohiare, former Deputy Governor Patrick Adaba and others.

He won the race with 237 votes, to beat his closest rival, United States-based , Alhaji Ahmed Ogembe who got 228 votes.

Senator Ohiare scored 120 votes.

The incumbent House of Representatives member of Adavi /Okehi Federal constituency, Alhaji A K Salihu had 94 votes.

Adaba got 15 votes while Ohize scored 32 votes in the contest.

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news-update/24250.html

The family of late Uche Okafor has rejected police report that the former Nigeria international defender committed suicide, insisting he was murdered.

Okafor’s body was discovered last Thursday afternoon by his wife in their house in Little Elm, a town about 30 miles northwest of Dallas, detective Oscar Hinojosa said.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office later said that the former World Cup star hanged himself in an upstairs hallway.

However, family spokesman, Ugochukwu Nwaokoro, said Okafor could not have taken his life.

“There is no iota of truth in any stories that Uche died by hanging. This is because the Uche we all knew cannot kill himself,” maintained Nwaokoro...

“We shall get to the root of the matter. Very soon autopsy report will reveal the truth of how Uche really died to the whole world.

“Police investigations are ongoing. For now, we are still in deep shock over this strange death and we are not going to make any further comments until the autopsy report is made available to us very soon.”

The 43-year-old former central defender is survived by a wife, Ifeyinwa, and a 15-year-old daughter, Tochukwu.

Thirteen people were killed in Wereng village, Riyom local government area near Jos, by men wearing military uniforms in the early hours of Tuesday, according to officers of the Plateau State Police Command.

PHOTO:Cross section of Igbo community in plateau at a news conference on Jos crisis in Jos on Tuesday photo: NAN  Burnt Trailers in Metropolis

The police also confirmed that attacks were also reported in Fagawang where two persons were killed, and Nyarwai, both in the Barkin Ladi local government area, where three persons were killed.

According to a police statement issued yesterday, 11 houses were burnt during the attack in Nyarwai, and three in Fagawang villages, while a church was burnt down in Ding village. A police source who preferred to remain anonymous confirmed that the attackers used weapons including guns, machetes, daggers, bows and arrows to attack their victims who were reportedly taken unawares.

Cold blood murder

According to the police source, the dead, who were slaughtered and left lying in their own blood, had several knife cuts on their bodies. The corpses still lay out in the open in the villages Tuesday morning as government officials were awaited. An official statement by Obinna Simon for the state police commissioner, Abdurrahman Akano, said no arrests had been made, but urged “all those concerned to refuse burial until we perform the autopsy.”

He said that the autopsies would help authorities ascertain the source and types of the weapons used. This, he said, would aid investigations and help ascertain whether the attackers were real military officers.

A city shuts down

Meanwhile, business activities were non-existent in the city as banks and other businesses remained closed throughout Tuesday. With freezing temperatures around 16°C, the streets have remained empty, with only a few vehicles venturing along specific routes. The city’s business nerve centre, popularly known as Terminus, has become a ghost of itself. Ahmadu Bello Way, Rwang Pam, Church, and Langtang Streets, and Old Bukuru Road, routes that experience heavy traffic daily, are deserted.

Powerless Special Task Force?

The Ndigbo, the umbrella body of the Igbo community in Jos, said that it has lost confidence in the Special Task Force headed by Hassan Umaru, a brigadier-general.

A statement by the group’s president-general, Richard Wayas, and its secretary, Serbinus Anyanwu, said that the Ndigbo condemned the cycle of crises, killings, and the Christmas Eve bombings and called on the federal and state governments to initiate urgent measures to end the violence.

“At the last count, we have well over 40 corpses of our people deposited both at the Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jankwano, and Jos University Teaching Hospital mortuaries, with several hospitalised,” the statement read.

“It is also regrettable that a luxury bus (EKWOS) carrying mostly Igbo passengers was attacked and burnt down by the same Hausa-Fulani youth along Bauchi Road, Jos.”

Simon Mwadkon, chairman of Riyom local government, described the incident as “very unfortunate,” saying that injured persons had been taken to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH). He said that the attackers invaded the villages between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Tuesday, setting houses ablaze and killing the fleeing owners of the houses. Among the victims, he said, were children and nursing mothers.

The chairman alleged that security personnel were stationed “just 200 metres to where the attacks were carried out but they did nothing to stop it. In fact, a traditional ruler and the councillor, representing the area, Mr. Victor Davou, rushed to the STF soldiers just by but they bluntly refused to go to the scene after claiming that they were not given such an order,” Mr. Mwadkon said.

Mr. Mwadkon, however, promised that the council would do everything possible to assist victims of the raid, and called on the state and federal government to rise to the challenge and “do something drastic about the incessant crises on the Plateau.”

Averting another crisis

The Bauchi State Police Command said it has taken steps to prevent a spillover of the Jos crisis into the state. The command’s public relations officer, Mohammed Barau, an assistant superintendent of police, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi yesterday that security was being beefed up in all parts of the state, especially in towns close to the state’s border with Plateau.

“The police have taken proactive measures to prevent a spillover of the Jos crisis into the state. We are ready to take action to forestall any breach of law and order,” he said.

He added that there was now a better understanding between muslims and christians in the state.

The nation’s inspector-general of police, Hafiz Ringim, urged residents of Jos to resolve their issues without resorting to violence. Mr. Ringim made the plea in a statement issued in Abuja by the force’s public relations officer, Olusola Amore.

“The crisis in Jos should not be seen as a police/security problem but a community/political problem which all peace-loving people should strive to resolve without resorting to rancour,” he said.

“Nigerians should learn to live together in peace in spite of differences in tribe, language and religion,” he added.

The inspector general assured the people of the state and its environs of 24-hour patrols to forestall the breakdown of law and order in Jos. He said the police and other security agencies have been doing their best to contain the crisis and that 15,000 police officers and other security personnel had been deployed to Jos to restore peace since the crisis began.

With less than 48hours to the presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday received anunusual endorsement when a gay group, the National Gay Forum, declaredtheir support for his bid to rule the country. Addressing journalistsyesterday at the Agura Hotel in Abuja, the spokespersons for the group,Victor Labelle and Freedom Awuke, urged Nigerians to provide supportfor Mr Atiku, whom they said .was “committed to turning the fortunes ofthe country around for the better.”

“In view of themeaningful contributions of Atiku to national development, it hasbecome imperative for PDP delegates to cast their votes for him attomorrow’s party primary election as well as in the April elections,”Mr Labelle said.

He said that his group was “exercising its fundamental human right of freedom of association.”

“Not too long ago,in the United States, gays made their voices heard,” he said. “It wasthe same in Germany, France and other parts of the world. We affirm ourposition and have decided to identify with our own dear former vicepresident of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as our own presidentialcandidate. We derive our consent from our constitutional right andobligation and urge well-meaning Nigerians, delegates and our fellowgays to throw their support behind Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Let us joinhands and make good things happen.”

He stated that thegay movement had decided to take an interest in political developmentsin the country and would henceforth make significant contributions tothe political development of the country.

“In an attempt tomake meaningful political, social and cultural transformation, we havechosen to air our political views so as not to be left in a moribundcondition,” he said.

Unwanted endorsement

Garba Shehu,spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, howeverexpressed his surprise and dismay at the endorsement.

“Honestly, we don’t want to get involved in this kind of story...”he said. “However, we believe that lesbianism and sodomy are unlawfulacts in this country, so we are surprised that law and order have sobroken down in this country that gays will organise freely, address thepress and the police did not arrest them. Law and order has broken downcompletely and the next thing we will be hearing now is that of armedrobbers and the kidnappers that will organise — then bombers will alsoorganise their press conference tomorrow. So one, we detest this kindof journalism; two, we say this is an illegal society organising freelyin this country. Then that tells us the kind of government that wehave.”

Rumours Are at it again ! This is the cover of news of the people magazine published in Lagos Nigeria this week. One of the major stories talked about the story of pregnancy rumour trailing star actress, Genevieve Nnaji. ..

In recent times, there have been speculations that she was dating D'banj. Personally, i have heard this pregnancy tail about two months ago from a cvlose source in the Mohits camp, but did not give it much thought, but for it to surface again, and this time on tabloids, hmnnn, only time will tell, after 9months na!

Mr. Soyinka made this known at a press conference held at the party secretariat, Abeokuta, yesterday. The aspirant who is contesting for the ticket of the party for the third attempt, said he has resolved to remain committed to the party’s ideology in spite of his earlier loss, just as he gave credit to the leaders of the party. He rolled out his manifesto at the declaration, which covers health, education, agriculture, housing, poverty eradication, pension, industrialisation, women and youth development, childcare support and welfare of elderly, sports development, and safeguarding of treasured past.

The aspirant said he has the qualities it takes to rule the state successful, adding that the state at this point need a person of his status.

“That is why, with all humility and high sense of service, I, Oluwakayode Adedeji Soyinka, offer myself to our noble state as the man with all these attributes,” he said.

“And, therefore, with the grace of God and the support of our people, present myself for the job of the governor of Ogun State in 2011. I am a man of very high standards, simple lifestyle, single-minded, and highly focused. I have the ability to look at problems, analyse and find the most practical solutions to them, and seek new horizon for our people,” he added.

Sincere politician

Mr. Soyinka, who said Ogun State is one with a proud tradition and an unbeatable record of achievements, said: “I believe that Ogun State has a lot to gain from my wealth of national and international experience and clout.” The publisher of Africa Today magazine and politician said it was high time his party, the Action Congress of Nigeria {ACN}, flush out the ruling Peoples Democratic Party {PDP} from power.

“Kayode Soyinka is tailor-made for Ogun State governorship. This indeed is the unity candidate our great party needs to flush out the discredited PDP government from the state and bring the ACN back to recover our hold on and lost glory of our noble state,” Mr. Soyinka said

Chairman of the party, Tajudeen Bello, described Mr. Soyinka as a sincere politician, noting that despite his two earlier attempts which did not yield positive results, he did not take offence and was still committed to the party.

“Soyinka is a politician of and with honour,” he said. “He contested twice for the party governorship ticket, but didn’t get it, yet he is not disturbed nor take offence with anybody, but remains committed to the party. This is an indication that he is a genuine loyal member of the party, and deserves and qualifies to lead the party for the race,” Mr. Bello said.

Author's comment.

I am sure they (pastors)  wish they had thought of it first .

Christ Embassy Claim they Were trying to Raise funds not Crowd Control .

However we look at it .

What is IS . What will Be,WILL BE.Rumour even indicates that Pastor Chris was not aware of this development as many other issues that have plagued the reputation of the church . What is 25million to Christ Embassy compared to their efforts to portray the Church as custodians of the poor and Role models to the Pentecostal Congregation in Nigeria . No one Likes Bad Publicity.We can Condemn,Applaud & Judge All We Like but the Motives of the Heart are in God's Hand Alone.

Prominent pastors in the country and readers of P.M.NEWS have slammed Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and his Christ Embassy Church for imposing a N1,000 toll fee on worshippers who attended New Year’s Eve service at the Christ Embassy Headquarters in Lagos, South-West Nigeria.

P.M.NEWS had reported in its 5 January 2011 edition how Christ Embassy pastors sold tickets valued at N1,000 each to worshippers who wanted to attend the crossover service in their church.
Indigent worshippers who could not afford the money were denied access and sent back by security men at the gate. The church explained that it collected gate fees from worshippers to control the huge crowd that always besieges Christ Embassy on New Year’s Eve service.

This development has outraged many Nigerians, including prominent pastors, at home and abroad.
The pastors who spoke with P.M.NEWS yesterday and readers, who reacted on , described the imposition of toll fee by Christ Embassy as a sacrilege.
The Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria, Dr. Ola Makinde, described Oyakhilome’s action as anathema and abuse of Christianity.

“It is a sacrilege and commercialisation of religion. It is an abuse of Christianity,” he lamented.
Founder, Soul Winning Chapel, Rev. Moses Illoh, said that such an act “is sacrilegious,” adding that the gospel of Christ is supposed to be free and not to be paid for.
“There is no excuse for this. The church of God is for everybody, both for the poor and the rich. The church where they collect money before you can go in to worship is not a church.”
According to Primate Elijah Ayodele of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, such pastors who collect money from worshippers should be stoned to death or be crucified.

“Is this possible? Such church should be destroyed and such pastors should be stoned to death. Pay N1,000 to enter a church? Is the church in heaven? It is never done.
“If it is possible, let the government intervene. These pastors are for Satan and such pastors should be crucified. It is embarrassing,” he lamented.

lso reacting to the incident, General Evangelist of Christ Apostolic Church Worldwide, Prophet Samuel Kayode Abiara, said collection of money as gate fee for church service is unbiblical.
“Collecting money as gate fee before a church service is unbiblical because there is nowhere in the Bible where it was recorded that Jesus collected money from the multitude who listened to His sermon and benefited from His miracles.

“Salvation is free. You receive it free and you give it free,” he said.
Abiara added that he cannot judge Pastor Oyakhilome because he doesn’t understand the circumstances under which money was collected.

“It’s not impossible that they must have used the event to raise money,” he said.
To Rev. Oladapo Daramola, Media and Public Relations Officer, Methodist Church Nigeria, it is not right to collect money from worshippers before allowing them inside the church.
“This is not right because despite the number of people that came to worship at the feet of Jesus Christ, there was no barrier for them to come closer. Anything that will bar people from receiving the good news should not be allowed. It is not Christ-like,” he stated.

Also, Rev. Akintoye Braimoh, Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Christian Religious Matters, frowned at Oyakhilome’s act, saying it was very wrong.
“A place of worship is a place for all, even for a Muslim. PFN has already rejected Oyakhilome and he is not recognised by the body; he is on his own,” she added.
Dr. Sam Ogedengbe, Special Assistant to the Governor on Christian Religious Matters also stated that it was not right for any pastor to act that way.

“Why should you collect money before one can be allowed to enter a church? Is the place really a church? It is wrong to do that,” he said.
Some readers who reacted on our website, condemned Oyakhilome’s act, saying that it unscriptural.
Mike said: “Church has become big business in Nigeria. Now, they have introduced gate fee to church, very soon, they will introduce gate fee to heaven before someone dies. May God have mercy on them.”
According to Kayode, “the church should have thought of a bigger venue for this service. The National Stadium for instance would have accommodated a lot of people. The church should know that a special service like this will attract a lot of people, sinners and the saved, the rich and the poor, the genuine and the fake, but give an opportunity for all to meet with Christ. It was a rash strategy to control the crowd.”

Gloria said: “This news should have been best tagged ‘Pastor Oyakhilome deprives the poor of the gospel’. He’s unbelievable. Jesus Christ welcomed the crowd even when the apostles wanted to stop them. He went as far as feeding them with five loaves of bread and two fishes. We should learn from the bible, this is not crowd control, but daylight robbery.”

According to Jedidiah, “when the church becomes over crowded and the senior pastors don’t have a seat for themselves on such occasions, it becomes a good problem and for this reason, the church should pray to God to provide a bigger church for them. Such services are not for the so-called ‘true members’ to be comfortable but for the unsaved to be shown love, thereby winning them over to the winning church.”

Olo said: “it still beats my imagination to hear that such a thing actually happened in Christ Embassy, and at the headquarters for that matter. What’s money turning man of God into?”
Temmy reacted this way: “slowpoke, idiots and silly people will always continue to follow a silly pastor. When Jesus referred to his people (including me) as sheep, He did not mean  sheep like most Nigerians who are following those money worshipping and 419 pastors of nowadays.”
Thousands of readers, who reacted in various websites and blogs, including social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, also expressed shock and disappointment..

— Simon Ateba

Against headphones

Thugs stripped a female commissioner in Zamfara State, (name withheld) naked during the just-concluded House of Assembly by-election in Anka, which took place at the weekend.

An eyewitness told the Nigerian Tribune that the commissioner, who is a card-carrying member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was seen by some thugs distributing wrappers and detergents to some women on the day of the election.

According to the source, “the situation didn’t go down well with these youths whose loyalty is with the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).”

When the thugs accosted her and asked her why she was campaigning for PDP while campaign had closed, she was said to be adamant.

Source confided in the Nigerian Tribune that this enraged the youth who pounced on her, tore her cloths and stripped her naked.

The pandemonium that followed this attracted by-passers who rushed to the scene of the incident and rescued the embattled commissioner from the hoodlums.

When contacted, the commissioner confirmed the incident but was quick to add that any politician worth his salt would not be bothered by such experience.

She maintained that she did not regret her action and would do the same if the opportunity came again.

It will be recalled that the by-election for the House of Assembly took place at Anka following the demise of a member of the House of Assembly, Saidu Bagega, in October, 2010....

ZURICH (Reuters) - Argentina's Lionel Messi won the World Player of the Year for the second time in a row on Monday and Jose Mourinho walked off with the coach's award, leaving Spain's World Cup winners disappointed.

Messi surprisingly held off Barcelona team mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi, second and third respectively, to win the newly-created FIFA Ballon D'Or, a fusion of the previously separate annual awards handed out by FIFA and France Football magazine.

Mourinho, now with Real Madrid, won the inaugural Coach of the Year award after leading Inter Milan to a Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup treble.

The honour went to the self-styled Special One, who described himself afterwards as "proudly Portuguese", at the expense of Spain's World Cup-winning coach Vicente del Bosque, second, and Barcelona's Pep Guardiola, third...

"The most important trophies for me are the collective ones, not the individual ones but this is a historic trophy for me and Portuguese football," Mourinho told reporters after edging Del Bosque with 35.92 percent of the votes against 33.08.

SPANISH EMPTY-HANDED

Iniesta and Xavi had been favourites after helping Spain win last year's World Cup while Messi had failed to score a goal or produce his best form at the tournament in South Afica.

Mourinho puts himself among Portuguese greats

Prof Ndibe said he was satisfied with the outcome on a personal level because despite the little hiccup, he still has time to get on with his programme in Nigeria and return to the US as originally scheduled. But he said he was seriously worried about the fact that he could not get an answer to the query about whether there are plans for the State Security Service to arrest or detain other opposition voices based on this list they admitted is in their possession. He urges the government of Goodluck Jonathan to make a statement in this regard and give a firm undertaking that the era of repression of political opponents is gone. He thanks Nigerians, the national and international civil society groups and the international community that kept the pressure on the government over the weekend. He said their love, care and concern has made his resolve to continue on the path of truth firmer, as he believes the Nigeria of our dream shall ultimately be attained with each of us doing our bit. He said he appreciates the courtesies showed him by the SSS officers who dealt with him and further appreciates that they have a job to do in defence and protection of national security. He said he hopes such courtesies that were extended to him are standard and across the board and not just based on status.Signed:Kennedy Emetulu Tosin Awotesu Emeka Enechi (For and on behalf of Respect Nigerians Coalition)

Rihanna makes history in UK chart
Rihanna has set a new record as the first female solo artist in UK chart history to achieve number one singles in five consecutive years.
The Official Charts Company announced her record after What's My Name? rose from number two to the top spot.
The last solo artist to achieve the feat was Elvis Presley, who had number ones in each year from 1957 to 1963.
Rihanna's album Loud also holds on to its number one slot, giving her the second UK chart double of her career.

Loud has now sold nearly 900,000 copies since its release in November last year.

As well as her number one, Rihanna, who is 22 and from Barbados, also appears on two other songs in the top 10 - Only Girl (In The World) and Who's That Chick.

Only Girl (In The World) was a number one last year and followed other number ones for Run This Town (2009), Take A Bow (2008) and Umbrella (2007).

Other albums which have re-entered the top 10 are Plan B's The Defamation of Strickland Banks, Rumer's Seasons Of My Soul and Cee Lo Green's The Lady Killer which climbs to its highest chart position yet at number four.

In the singles chart, the BBC's Sound Of 2011 winner, Jessie J, climbs to number five from last week's 18 with Do It Like A Dude.

Question: WHY DID HE JOIN A RACE HE KNEW HE COULD NEVER WIN ?

Former National Security Adviser to the President, Aliyu Gusau has withdrawn from the presidential election on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in a bid to support the consensus candidate presented by the north. Mr. Gusau in a letter addressed to the party’s national chairman and members of the National Working Committee on Sunday stated that he is withdrawing his candidacy for the 2011 election “in line with his commitment to the consensus arrangement” which he acknowledged to be ‘‘fully part of’’. The retired general was amongst the candidates from the north that are vying for the PDP’s nomination ahead of the general polls in April. In September, he signed an agreement with 3 other PDP ..aspirants,Abubakar Atiku, Ibrahim Babangida and Bukola Saraki to present a single presidential candidate from the region, ahead of a screening by the Adamu Ciroma led committee that selected the consensus candidate.

Mr Gusau further affirms his decision on his withdrawal by claiming his support for the controversial issue of zoning that has since been rocking the party since the death of former President Umaru Yar’Adua . According to the letter, Mr Gusau stated that his decision is also based on “his conviction and compliance with the PDP amended constitution 2009 article 7(2)(c) which dictates that “the party shall adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of the party and public elective offices......” Wishing the party success at the forthcoming elections, Mr Gusau pledged his utmost support for the consensus candidate-Atiku Abubakar.

Former military president, Ibrahim Babaginda had in December 2010 also written the party’s leadership to withdraw from the race, stating his support for the consensus candidate as well. However the sole female aspirant for the nomination who is also from the North has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting the nomination of Mr Abubakar as the PDP’s presidential aspirant for the April 2011 general election.

Mrs Jubril claimed that Mr Abubakar is not the consensus candidate of the North and that she, being an aspirant, was not consulted nor called to any meeting where the alleged adoption of Abubakar was decided upon. Mr. Gusau resigned his appointment as the special adviser to the president in September shortly after his appointment.