The Federal Government yesterday approved a whopping $3.5 billion equivalent of N525 billion for the construction of a new 700 KV SuperGrid aimed at shoring up power generation capacity to 7000 mega watts by April 2011.

The approval which was endorsed by President Goodluck Jonathan, after a meeting with the Presidential Action Committe on Power (PACP), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja is completed in four years.

Ima Niboro, special adviser on media and publicity said in a statement that “$3.5 billion power project is expected to fulfill Nigeria’s need to transmit increasing amounts of power across vast distances which the existing 330/132KV grid cannot meet”...

Niboro stated that “in granting approval for the SuperGrid President Jonathan directed that it should be funded as a federal asset with additional financing from private investors and international finance and development agencies”.

“The SuperGrid which will run along the same route as the existing 330/132KV grid will also address Nigeria’s future energy challenges including transition to more sustainable energy sources, reduction of power loss per transmitted megawatt and improving power voltage profiles across the country,” he stated further.

The presidential spokesman said “the huge advantage of the 700 KV supergrid over the existing 330/132 KV grid is that it will significantly reduce the huge amount of power currently lost in transmission”.

He said that “without the supergrid, the quantum of power lost in transmission will continue to increase as more power progressively becomes available for evacuation from new and rehabilitated generating stations. Periodic systemic failures will also become more frequent”.

Niboro said “Nigeria’s available generation capacity will rise to 6939 MW by April next year and 14019 MW by December 2013.In another development, President Jonathan will on Thursday, August 26, 2010 present a new roadmap for the reformation of Nigeria’s power sector to the country’s private sector”.

He said President Jonathan will on Thursday, August 26, 2010 present a new roadmap for the reformation of Nigeria’s power sector to the country’s private sector

Dassault Aviation of France will supply two units of new Falcon 7x Aircrafts, while the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation of United States (US) will supply the Gulfstream G550.

Known as one of the most expensive/advanced Business jets. The Gulf Stream is like the Mercedes G55 of the skies see picture

At a briefing, after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which was presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, minister of information and communications, professor Dora Akunyili, said that negotiations at the instance of the president led to definite purchase agreement (DPA) signed in May 2010 for the acquisition of the aircrafts..

“The sum of N21 billion has been provided in the 2010 appropriation act for the outright purchase of the two Falcon 7x aircraft and the one unit G550 to be delivered as agreed in the contract”, she disclosed.Akunyuili put the cost of the two Falcon jets at $102 million while the Gulfstream cost $53 million brining the total cost of the three planes to $154 million.

She said that the committee which was set up to carryout the negotiations of the purchase of the aircrafts through screwed negotiations a rebate of $2.9 million on the two Falcon jets and $5.47 million on Gulfstream jet.

The first of the two Falcon jets will be delivered by the end of the fourth quarter of 2010 while the second Falcon and the Gulfstream jest will be delivered by the end of the second quarter of 2011.

By Jane Sutton

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - A U.S. military tribunal on Wednesday sentenced Osama bin Laden's former cook to 14 years in prison, but he is expected to serve far less under a plea deal that remains secret.

The defendant, Sudanese captive Ibrahim al Qosi, pleaded guilty last month in the war crimes court at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base to charges of conspiring with al Qaeda and providing material support for terrorism.

Qosi, a 50-year-old with a white beard, has been held at Guantanamo for more than eight years.

Military officials said it could be several months before his full plea agreement is made public. But the al-Arabiya television network based in Dubai quoted unidentified sources as saying it caps his sentence at two years.

Qosi acknowledged that he knew al Qaeda was a terrorist group when he ran one of the kitchens in bin Laden's Star of Jihad compound in Afghanistan.

Qosi, who met bin Laden in Sudan and travelled with him to Afghanistan, also admitted helping the al Qaeda leader escape U.S. forces in the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan.

He said he had no involvement in or prior knowledge of terrorist attacks.

Qosi was the first Guantanamo captive convicted under the administration of President Barack Obama, whose efforts to shut down the detention camp have been blocked by Congress.

His sentencing hit a snag because, according to the judge, the U.S. military ignored orders to develop a plan specifying how prisoners would serve their sentences after conviction in the Guantanamo tribunals.

COMMUNAL CONFINEMENT
Qosi wanted to avoid serving his in solitary confinement. His plea deal required the convening authority overseeing the trial to recommend that Qosi serve his time in Camp Four, where detainees live communally under fewer restrictions than in the other camps.

But military rules forbid housing convicted criminals with other detainees.

The judge, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Nancy Paul, said an assistant defence secretary ordered two years ago that the Army and the military's Southern Command, which oversees the Guantanamo base, develop a detailed plan for housing prisoners after their conviction.

"This has not been done," the judge said tersely.

She said the absence of any written policy or plan was "especially troubling" because another trial was under way for a young Canadian captive and could produce another conviction.

She ruled that Qosi's plea agreement was still valid because it only called for a recommendation that he be housed in the communal camp, and did not guarantee he would be.

The judge directed that Qosi remain in Camp Four for 60 days while the military works out where he would serve the rest of his sentence.

Qosi is the fourth captive convicted in the tribunals created to try non-U.S. terrorism suspects after the al Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001. Two served short sentences and were sent home to Australia and Yemen.

The only other convict remaining at Guantanamo is Ali Hamza al Bahlul, a Yemeni who was an al Qaeda videographer. He is serving a life sentence for conspiring with al Qaeda and providing material support for terrorism.

"He is separated from the general population," said a Guantanamo spokesman, Navy Commander Brad Fagan. He declined to elaborate except to say, "He's by himself."


Once Qosi returns to Sudan, he will enter a program that is run by the Sudanese intelligence service and is designed to rehabilitate those with radical views, defence lawyers said. Nine other Sudanese captives have gone through the program upon repatriation from Guantanamo, they said.

After completing the program, Qosi will then return to live with his family but will be monitored to ensure he has no contact with radicals, they said.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Reuters

An exotic dancer has been charged in connection with the death of a client, authorities in Ohio said.

According to the Monroe, Ohio police department, Kristina Hensley, who is an exotic dancer for a company called Naughty Bodies, was hired to perform a private show August 7 at the home of Jae Cho.

Investigators said “something” happened in the home that caused Hensley to quickly leave.

Cho followed her out into the street and stood in front of her Ford Explorer while she attempted to drive away, police said.

A short time later, Hensley stopped at a gas station and discovered that Cho was under her vehicle, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hensley, who lives in Higginsport, Ohio, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident.

She was arraigned on Monday and is currently being held on $50,000 bail, police said.

Authorities added that the case is still under investigation.

Imagine if it hits NAIJA

Thousands of online banking customers have accounts emptied by 'most dangerous trojan virus ever created'

Out of action: The new trojan virus can empty bank accounts without their owners knowing about the theft as it showsthem fake statements

All the victims were customers with the same unnamed online bank, the company said.

Last night online banking customers were urged to make sure their anti-virus software was up to date - and to check for any missing sumsfrom their accounts.

The attack has been traced to a 'control and command' centre in Eastern Europe. However, the nationality of the cybercriminals isunknown.

The attacks were carried out when hundreds of thousands of home computers were infected with a type of harmful computer code called aTrojan.

Trojans hide in websites, emails or downloads. Once installed on a computer they can record every type of the keyboard, steal confidentialinformation or even open up a PC's security so that it can becontrolled remotely from another country.

The latest attack involved a Trojan called Zeus v3 which hides inside adverts on legitimate websites.

Once installed on a home computer, the programme waits until the user visits their online bank and then secretly records their accountdetails and passwords - using the information to transfer between £1,000and £5,000 to other bank accounts.

The attacks began on July 5 and are still progressing, according to Ed Rowley, product manager at M86.

'In the vast majority of cases, if people had kept their computer's operating systems and software such as Internet Explorer up to date theywould not have been attacked,' he said.

'More often than not Trojans exploit known vulnerabilities that can be simply patched and fixed by downloading updates.'

McAfee, the security software maker, said production of software code known as malware, which can harm computers and steal user passwords,reached a new high in the first six months of 2010.

It said total malware production continued to soar and 10 million new pieces of malicious code were catalogued.

It also warned users of Apple's Mac computers, considered relatively safe from virus attacks, that they may also be subjected to malwareattacks in the future.

'For a variety of reasons, malware has rarely been a problem for Mac users. But those days might end soon,' a spokesman said.

'Our latest threat report depicts that malware has been on a steady incline in the first half of 2010,' Mike Gallagher, chief technologyofficer of Global Threat Intelligence for McAfee, said in the reportthat was obtained by Reuters.

The internet security company has passed on details of the attacks to the UK Police Central E-Crime Unit in London.

Britain's high street banks declined to comment on the attacks, but urged customers to protect themselves from virus attacks.

A spokesman for HSBC said: 'There are millions of viruses and other malicious software.

'We urge people to take basic measure to protect themselves from virus attacks.

'Any customer who is a victim of fraud will be reimbursed by HSBC.'

Last year £59.7 million was stolen in online banking fraud, while another £440 million was lost to credit card fraud.

A Financial Fraud Action UK spokeswoman said: ‘The idea that criminals are targeting people by using malicious software or Trojans isnothing new.

‘Bank systems are hard to attack so they’re having to go through the easier link in the chain, which is the customers.

‘They’re hoping customers aren’t taking security precautions. We’ve been seeing this for the last few years and we’re constantly urgingpeople to protect their computers to try to mitigate the risk ofbecoming a victim.”

Online banking customers can take measures to protect themselves by keeping their anti-virus software up to date and keeping their firewallsset to the highest level, she added.

Victims of online banking fraud usually get their money back.

Earlier this month, an internet security company Trusteer, warned that 100,000 British computers were infected with an earlier version ofZeus.

Photos by Ajuwon Tosin........

The Bus Driver Who Was Shot And Killed.

Gun Shot Victim.

Fatal gunshot wound of the bus driver.

Onlookers after the robbery.

Three people died instantly, and thirteen others sustained injuries from a road crash that took place at Car Wash, Oworosoki Expressway exit of the Third Mainland Bridge on Tuesday morning.

The accident involved a truck belonging to the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and two commercial vehicles popularly known as ‘Danfo' and ‘Molue.' According to eyewitnesses, the Molue (a fabricated 44-seater bus) lost control and ran into a moving Danfo bus. The Danfo Bus (15 seater bus) subsequently swerved into the LAWMA truck which was about to exit the express way.

"A LAWMA truck wanted to make a U-turn to collect dustbin under the bridge. He did not check his mirror well and as it was making the U-turn, a Molue bus don hit a bus wey dey come. That is how the bus run into the truck," said Tunde Ibrahim, a recharge card seller who witnessed the incident while coming to work at 9am yesterday.

The result of the collusion completely wrecked the Danfo bus and resulted in the instantaneous death of two passengers, while a LAWMA staff died while receiving first aid treatment. Most of the injured, who were coming from Lagos Island where they went to buy goods, were evacuated to St Daniel's Hospital, located about 100m away from the scene of the accident. A few were taken to Gbagada General Hospital. Adewale Ogunkoya, the Administrator of St Daniel's, confirmed that thirteen injured persons were brought into the hospital..

The state of the injured

"Yes we had them brought in about two and half hours ago," he said. "We were able to admit 8 out of the 13 but the remaining 5 were in very critical condition. They had fractures, some were bleeding from the nose and mouth, while others could not regain consciousness. We had to just administer first-aid to and transfer them to the Gbagada General Hospital with the help of the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS). All 8 have been stabilized. They are presently coming out of shock and most of them are now conscious."

"The victims sustained fractures on the leg and lacerations on the body and the head, but the hospital was able to stabilize the four men and women, supply them with drip and stitch the areas where they were badly cut. We felt bad, the moment we heard about it, and we alerted the whole hospital staff to get ready for the emergency because the patients may be brought because it happened very close to us, so we were ready. Some could not talk because they were in a state of shock He added the patients where attended to immediately without billing," he added.

A mother of one of the victims, Iyabo Animashaun, expressed gratitude to God for sparing the life of her daughter. "I just want to thank God that she did not have more than a gash on her head," she said. "It may look nasty but at least she is alive. The doctors just want her here for some time to make sure everything is okay before she is discharged."

At the Gbagada General Hospital, the situation of the victims who were referred there could not be ascertained as the hospital's administrative officers refused to left NEXT see some of the injured passengers. One of the administrative officers, who requested anonymity, confirmed that some accident victims were brought in but could not comment on their condition as he was not involved in their treatment. "Even if they are here, how do you expect us to know how they are doing? Are we their doctors?"

Happily injured

Florence Shotola, a 48-year-old trader who was in the Danfo bus, said she was coming from Adeniyi Adele in Lagos Island, and was on her way to Mile 12. "I have four children, I am very happy I did not die. I am better now thank God for the doctor," she said. Also one of the youngest victims in the hospital, 18-year-old Shifaru Abduasalam, who had bruises on her left eye and her left hand. The young mother, who is also a trader, told NEXT that she is very happy the accident did not cause the death of her child.

The identity of the three persons who died in the accident could not be determined as at press time. The wrecked vehicles resulted in several hours of traffic congestion along the mainland section of the Third Mainland Bridge before officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority arrived to clear the vehicles.

The Senate has approved a supplementary budget of N87.7 billion for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Lawmakers said this will aid the commission in organising a credible election in 2011.

The budget approved for the commission is however N2 billion less than what it requested.

The leadership of the commission had asked for N89.59 billion for the conduct of the election which is five months away. However, following a meeting with the commission's team and the House of Representatives and Senate, the parties agreed to cut down the request.

Ayogu Eze, the Senate spokesman, said, "At the end of our meetings, we looked at the budget thoroughly and saw that there were areas in which we needed to give attention like transportation and logistics. We moved money around and put money in crucial areas and made a saving of N2 billion," he said.

Mr Jega had explained that among other things that were previously left out, the commission needed a van for each of the 120, 000 registration points across the nation.

In his submission to the National Assembly, President Goodluck Jonathan had noted that, "the additional funds is to cover the cost of procuring electronic equipment and other ancillary expenses related to ... a fresh voter registration exercise as well as the procurement of additional ballot boxes." He added that, "we propose to fund this request by raising federal government bonds."

Reservations

The approval did not come without misgivings however as senators questioned the credibility of some allocations proposed in the budget. The budget has an allocation of N54.9 billion for ICT-voter registration system and solution, N4 billion for vehicles, and a separate N5.4 billion for the review of the voter register.

There is also an allocation of N10.8 billion for operations - personnel cost requirements and cost for registration of voters nationwide, and N222 million for hotel accommodation for political appointees which are believed to be the state INEC commissioners.

"We have expressed our reservations. In spite of the reservations, we don't want to give INEC or anybody an excuse for not conducting a credible election next year," the Senate President, David Mark said. "We have gone the extra mile to do this so that INEC can deliver credible election in 2011 that will meet international standards."

The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, in his remarks, advised that the commission apply the funds in a way that will benefit the Nigerian economy and generate employment, saying they should consider patronising indigenous companies for some of the material they might need for the elections.

The approved budget has been harmonised by both the Senate and the House of Representatives, which is expected to reconvene today and pass the budget too. After both arms of the National Assembly have passed the budget, it will be handed over to the president to sign into law. The electoral commission, which has now become an independent institution, can then draw the funds directly from the federation account.

Mr Ekweremadu's appeal to the commission to patronize indigenous companies may not be feasible, as Mr Jega had, at a briefing with senior journalists, ruled out this option, saying based on the shortness of time between the registration of voters and the actual elections in January, the commission cannot afford any delay or disappointment. He said his predecessor, Maurice Iwu, was disappointed at the last minute by local contractors and that the commission had lost a lot of time and could not afford such now..

A trader, Ifeanyi Chukwuka, 29, has been charged with rape at the Ejigbo Magistrate’s Court, Lagos, Nigeria.

He was alleged to have taken a six-year old girl into his apartment at 21, Alfa Egan Street, off Isuti Road, Egan, a suburb of Lagos and had carnal knowledge of her.

He was unlucky as the mother of the victim saw her little girl going into his house and crying when she came out.

A close observation of the girl by the mother revealed that some fluid suspected to be sperm was coming out of her private part. She confronted the accused with her findings and reported the incident to policemen at the Igando police station.

The accused was arrested and charged before the Ejigbo Magistrate’s Court with rape. An offence punishable under Section 218 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 17, Vol.2, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge but the prosecutor told the court that the complainant, the mother of the victim, was no longer interested in the matter and had tendered a letter to withdraw the matter from court.

The magistrate, Mrs. M.B. Folami, struck out the case citing the withdrawal letter by the complainant.

—Cyriacus izuekwe

A signal that the 2011 general elections could be deadly emerged last weekend, as a House of Representatives aspirant on the platform of the Action Congress (AC) was killed by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.

Oghogho Omoregbe, who wanted to contest the Oriomhwon/Uhunwonde Federal Constituency in Edo State, was killed shortly after he declared his intention to contest in next year's general elections.

The 36 year old civil engineer and farmer was allegedly trailed to his rented apartment at Aitoe Idubor Avenue, off 2nd Ugbor Road, in Benin, at about 10pm. He was pursued to the back of the house where he was shot in the presence of his mother-in-law, by the gunmen who were said to have fled the place immediately.

Recounting her ordeal to journalists at the late Mr Omoregbe's wife's family house, at No 60, Awo Street, Stella Amadasun, the mother-in-law, said the late Oghogho, who just married his wife, Osato, last November, was still alive until they got to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, where he was rushed to after they could not receive medical attention at the Central Hospital owing to the one-month-old strike of health workers in the state.

"He just came back from the campaign on Saturday; he came home for the first time and then left again, instructing his wife to prepare food for him," said Mrs Amadasun..

"He came with a boy and then they prayed together before he left again and told his wife that he would be back. This was around 9pm. Later that night, we heard the sound of a car and my daughter told me that it was her husband.

"Shortly after he opened the gate and was going back into his car to drive inside the compound, we heard him shout, Jesus, thief, then he ran into the other corner of the compound but he fell down when there was no escape route, then I ran to them and was begging that they should spare him, at least because of their one-month-old first child. Then I heard gunshots and they ran through the other side.

"I quickly ran to him and started shouting for help. He called for his parents before he passed out, then police was called. They were about five of them but we did not see their faces because it was dark."

Peter Ogboi, the state police spokesperson, said the state commissioner of police, Kachi Udeoji, has ordered that the homicide section of the police take over the case from Ugbor Police Station where the case was reported.

"As I talk to you, the commissioner of police has already directed that the case be taken over by the headquarters and the homicide department is already working and very soon, we will unravel the culprits. What we have done so far is to confirm the death."

On whether the killing was politically motivated, Ogboi said, "We cannot say that yet until the special session by the commissioner gives its report."

The late Oghogho Omorogbe, in a chat with journalists last Wednesday where he declared his intention to contest, attributed the rising rate of crime, including armed robbery and kidnapping, to the inability of elected political office holders to give right leadership to the people, accusing them of living in affluence amidst poverty.

THE NATION:

Lucky he did not nail his Mother-Inlaw someone would have raised

eyebrows !

Three family members at a wedding in Turkey have been accidentally shot dead by the groom firing an AK-47 rifle in celebration.

The groom, Tevfik Altin, lost control of his rifle, spraying the guestswith bullets and killing his father and two aunts and injuring sixothers, according to CNN Turk.

It reported that Altin had been arrested after the incident in the villageof Akcagoze in southeastern Turkey. Guns are often fired into the airin celebration in some parts of Turkey.

One family member, who did not give his name, told CNN: "It happened very quickly. We all triedto take cover and there was blood all over. We are all very sad rightnow."

The injured guests included three children aged 10, 12 and 16, according to CNN Turk.

The Sehitkamil State hospital where some of the injured were brought confirmed it has one patient still in the hospital.

Kaduna and Lagos — Former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has called on former military Heads of State, General Muhammadu Buhari and General Ibrahim Babangida, and a former Vice-President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who are currently eyeing the nation's presidency next year to quit the stage for the younger generation.

Ribadu also asked the Nigerian youth to ask young Nigerians to wrest political power from them and charged them never again to allow corrupt leaders at the helm of affairs in the land.

He asked young Nigerians to rise against corrupt leaders currently in the corridors of power, just as he challenged them to take their destiny in their hands by ensuring that they elect leaders that are not corrupt in the forthcoming elections.

Ribadu, in a paper entitled, "Faith, Political Engagement And The

Nigerian Youth," at the Kaduna community town hall meeting with Nigerian youths, organized by Christian Awareness Initiative of Nigeria (CHAIN), added that the older generations led Nigeria at a very young age and wondered why they want to prevent the younger generation from taking their turn.

He said instead of the old horse that had dominated the nation's political turf to attempt to remain there, the time for young Nigerians to take their rightful place in the leadership of the country had come...

He urged the youths to register when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) commences the registration of voters for the 2011 elections.

"Let us register to vote en mass, let us vote en mass and let us defend our votes by all means. We must demand for competent people and not corrupt people for good governance," he advised.

"Dear compatriots, as I said at the 76th birthday anniversary of Professor Wole Soyinka recently in Lagos, 50 years of our federalism and less of our democracy pose the challenge of what can be an endless rite of passage, if a new vision is not allowed to take over our political space.

"From industry, through civil society, to the world of research and development, towards the important crucible of leadership, politics and management of development, I call on fellow young Nigerians today to bury the preoccupation with anger, cynicism and inertia and move in the direction of taking control of the destiny of our nation."

Nigeria:

Kunle Akogun

10 August 2010

Abuja — The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may at its meeting today stick to the late Umaru Musa Yar'Adua/Goodluck Jonathan ticket till 2015.

The meeting is one of the crunch parleys fixed for this week by the PDP leadership. The National Caucus meeting holds tomorrow.

THISDAY learnt that the PDP leadership may have finally resolved to review its controversial zoning formula in such a way that would favour the South-south geo-political zone where President Goodluck Jonathan comes from.

Checks by the newspaper yesterday revealed that the party leadership has seen the need to reinforce the zoning arrangement in clearer terms and re-formalise the power rotation policy.

The Presidency last night, however, distanced itself from a purported plot by some pro-zoning canvassers to pressurize President Goodluck Jonathan to rig the 2011 election.

A newspaper had quoted the publicity secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) as alleging that the president is "under pressure to give assurance to those canvassing zoning that he must rig the elections in favour of the PDP so as to protect the interest of the clique and ensure that (General Muhammadu) Buhari does not win the presidential vote"..

On the PDP crunch meetings, a source close to the BoT of the party said the party leaders are canvassing a review of the zoning formula so that the incumbent from the South-south could take the slot and govern the country between 2011 and 2015.

The source said with Jonathan as the incumbent president, the position of the party's constitution and established convention in PDP allow him to take another shot at the office if he has not exhausted the two terms allowable under the country's constitution.

According to the source, the argument is also that President Jonathan is best suited to resolve the North/South dichotomy question as he can only contest for the presidency for one more term.

The source said: "The Constitution allows a person to be sworn in twice into executive positions, either as president or governor and since Jonathan was sworn-in first on May 6, 2010, that would count as his first term. He can only be sworn into office only one more time and he would have completed his constitutionally allowed two terms of office. That should then ensure that power reverts to the North in 2015."

This position, the source said, is "informed by constitutional order, which prescribes that the Vice- President would take over when the President dies in office".

It was gathered that leaders of the party have agreed in separate discussions on the need to marry the constitutional reality with the positions of the party and the current Nigerian reality.

"The reality on ground is that the PDP can best win the presidency in 2011 by presenting the incumbent, who has something to show the people in terms of commitment to national growth and resolving the power problem", the source said, adding: "Since the zoning arrangement was altered by divine intervention, we have to abide by that and review the formula in favour of the South-south. It then means that the South-south would retain the slot till 2015, when it (power) would revert to the North".

Another member of the party's inner caucus insisted that the PDP has to now reinforce the zoning formula to take care of eventualities such that occurred when President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua died in office.

"What we need to do now is to clearly state the succession order in the PDP constitution and that when an incumbent dies, the zoning arrangement would be reversed in favour of the Vice President or deputy governor as the case may be," the source said.

It was gathered that the view had become widespread within the party's top hierarchy by the weekend.

A source said that President Jonathan is best suited to resolve the North/South dichotomy question as he can only contest for the presidency for one more term.

He also said that the need to ensure that the people of Niger Delta where Jonathan comes from have a sense of belonging in the governance of Nigeria so as to maintain the stability of the country is also one of the other factors working in Jonathan's favour.

Meanwhile, in a press statement last night, Presidential Spokesman Ima Niboro said the claim that the President was planning to rig the 2011 poll is "outrightly false and even illogical", describing it as "an attempt to pre-judge the forthcoming elections before the fact and we would have ignored it but for the high premium the President places on conducting free, fair and credible elections in 2011".

He explained that the President is under no pressure whatsoever over the 2011 election", adding that he has made it clear that there will be credible elections next year, and has so far taken decisive steps to actualise this vision.

Niboro's statement read in part: "The President has appointed a leadership for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, which has been hailed locally and internationally. He has given unequivocal support to the agency in its search for the most viable strategy to achieve excellent delivery of the next elections, and has told INEC leadership publicly that no one has "tied their hands", and therefore "there is no excuse for failure.

"We find it strange for anyone to be talking about rigging at this time of our political evolution, for those days are gone... they are dead and buried! The President urges all Nigerians to join hands with INEC to ensure that in the next elections, our votes count. Nigerians must speak with one voice and defend their votes.

"It is a new day. Let us forge ahead with new hope, a new vision and a new way of doing things".