Amechi visit to Lamido Unsettles Presidency

The Presidency and the PDP were yesterday unsettled following a secret meeting between Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido and All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council Director-General Rotimi Amaechi.

The meeting was held in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital,  between Saturday night and yesterday.
Lamido, who is PDP candidate President Goodluck Jonathan’s Northwest campaign coordinator, and the Rivers State governor were on the same side during the disputed Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) election.
It was learnt that Amaechi was in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, on the invitation of his colleague. He arrived at the Jigawa Government House at about 9pm on Saturday.
A source said the two governors held talks late into the night at the Presidential Lodge in the Government House, where Ameachi passed the night. They met again at about 10:05am yesterday for more talks, which ended at about 11:30am.
After the meeting, Lamido, who wore a blue dress and a blue cap to match, drove himself in a Peugeot 206 car. He declined reporters’ question as he returned to his official residence.
Ameachi, who drove himself in a black Toyota Landcruiser with few escorts to the Government House, also declined comment on his mission.
When reporters approached him for his comments, he said: “You can see me driving. I’m busy, I can’t talk now. Good bye.”
Lamido is believed to be lukewarm towards the PDP presidential campaign.
He even gave conditions to join the team, saying the President must rein in the ex-militants and Chief Edwin Clark who have been beating drums of war in the name of support for Dr. Jonathan.
The ex-militants remain unrepentant, vowing to go to war should the President lose the February 14 poll.
The fears of the Presidency and PDP border on likely protest votes in Jigawa State against Dr. Jonathan.
But the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Chief  Olisa Metuh, said the party had a feeling that Amaechi went to Dutse as part of consultations to return to the party.
He said all the governors and others who defected from PDP to APC were not feeling at home in the opposition party.
The Presidency and the PDP were “caught unawares” by Amaechi’s visit to Dutse.
It was learnt that the shock was more profound because Lamido did not hint Jonathan and Vice-President Namadi Sambo about what a Presidency source described as a “nocturnal visit” – about 12 days to the election.
A highly-placed source said: “ The Presidency and the PDP were jolted because the meeting between Lamido and Amaechi came barely few hours after the flawed rally in Kaduna State.
“In fact, at the Kaduna rally, Lamido, who is the zonal coordinator of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, was unusually silent and moody. We were all curious but we attributed his mood to campaign fatigue.
“Everyone is running helter-skelter to get in touch with Lamido on what actually transpired between him and Amaechi.
“But going by the fact that the nation is in election mood, we are suspecting that it might be about the presidential poll.”
A source in the party said: “We are suspecting that this are last-minute wooing of Lamido by the APC is for swinging of votes for the opposition during the presidential poll.

DOCUMENTARY: What President Jonathan and his Cronies are Keeping away from Nigerians

Sit Back and WATCH!

Obasanjo daughter, Iyabo resurfaces; blasts Fani-Kayode, PDP over Soludo’s article

For sometime now, former Senator Iyabo Obasanjo has not been heard in political arena of the nation since the imbroglio between her and her father, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in relation to later’s Open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan. Iyabo has now broken her silence, here, she chose to react to in Prof. Charles Soludo’s article on Nigerian economy and the heats it currently generating.

IYABO’S OPINION ON THE ISSUE IS AS SHOWN BELOW:
Professor Soludo’s article on the elections in Nigeria is the best writing I have read recently on the real situation politically and economically in Nigeria. The well-articulated response from Dr. Fayemi compared to the abuse infused response from Femi Fani-Kayode on the PDP side is a great example of the contrast of the status-quo compared to the alternative.
Whatever the case and I don’t expect miracles form APC but right now they have more thinking people than the PDP.
As a Yoruba person, Dr. Fayemi’s response is how we expect our educated elite to take up issues and not the mad ranting’s of Fani-Kayode. I agree with most of his premise but I do not think they (APC) can take up a massive public works program in a period of “famine” i.e. low oil prices. During the great depression when Roosevelt used public works to help provide jobs, it was the stock market that failed i.e. Government revenue was affected from tax income but income from exportation which was then mainly agricultural goods was not affected.
The government could use money from its coffers to create jobs and provide skills and training, which people could then use in the private sector. The best part of Dr. Fayemi’s response is that it is not elite focused. Nigerian governance as I saw it was not a democracy but an elitocracy. Govt of the elite by the elite for the elite and even if you grew up in near death poverty once you left those circumstances you forgot where you came from and concentrated on your immediate family and matters affecting the well-being of the elite.
Changing this perspective to make the elite understand that their wellbeing was in fact dependent on the wellbeing of the masses will be APC’s challenge. They are sourcing from the same pool of elite talent that every Nigerian government has to source from and it is this pool that essentially has to be different or we will find ourselves again at precipice as usual.
Iyabo Obasanjo DVM, Ph.D, a former Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wrote from the United States of America.

APC to boycott any BON-organised TV debates

The presidential campaign council of the All Progressives Congress [APC] has just issued the statement below indicating it would not participate in the series of debates being organised by the Broadcast Organisation of Nigeria [BON]. This was due to the biased of the organizations in the political affairs of the country.

Read full statement below:

“The All Progressives Congress (APC) will not be not be featuring in the ongoing electioneering public debates on national television and radio, being organised by the Broadcast Organisation of Nigeria (BON), because of the unhidden bias and campaign of calumny by some key organisers of the programme, against the corporate political interest of the party (APC) and its candidates.

“Garba Shehu, Director Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) said in a press statement on Thursday in Abuja that the Nigeria Election Debate Group (NEDG) powered debate was fraught with fundamental errors from the outset, by wearing the toga of government control, especially being composed mainly of agencies and allies of the incumbent People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) administration.

“A salutary inspection of the composition of NEGD brings into focus the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), National Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and the Africa Independent Television (AIT, owned by a PDP chieftain). And going by the avalanche of inflammatory statements, misinformation and blatant lies being propagated by some of these media against our Party and candidates contrary to the Koffi Annan brokered Abuja Peace Accord, and the failure of these aggressors to desist and apologise, have left the APC Campaign with no option than to steer clear of any premeditated smear campaign that could be inimical to our prospective electoral success,” Shehu said.

The APCPCO spokesman further explained that the boycott by the APC should not be seen as disrespect to Nigerian voters, or an alibi for the party to dodge public scrutiny; but it must be viewed as an honourable right not to consent to any activity that could distract, demean, denigrate or derail the fast-moving train of the party.

“The APC is a party of progressive intellectuals, genuine technocrats, successful businessmen and women, and most of all eminent and courteous people of honour who would never condescend to the level of sadistic gutter propaganda, all in the name of political exigency and crass opportunism,” Shehu said.

He noted that that many Government-controlled media have clipped the wings of APC promotional advertisements on one excuse on the other adding that, until a court upturned their decision recently, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shutdown some telecom portals for soliciting legitimate campaign funds from members of the public for APC.

“Aside, elements close to sitting President Goodluck Jonathan have commissioned series of derogatory and death threat advertorials against the person, family and associates of the opposition leader, General Muhammadu Buhari, to which the APC had sent letters of complaint to the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of State Security, Advertisers Practitioners of Nigeria (APCON), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the erring media that published or aired such offensive adverts or documentaries.

 “None of our letters of protest has been attended to by the authorities. So whatever the incumbent President wants to do with the instrument of state to harass members of the opposition into humiliating submission would not work. The APC/Buhari campaign is now a people’s movement. The more they try to rubbish it, the more popular we are with the populace.

“We are not shadow-chasers or moonwalkers. The APC is concerned mainly with the lack of unity and security in Nigeria; plus the growing decimation of lives, property and territory of our great country due to preventable insurgency; the slumbering economy; decaying educational system; absence of jobs; poor public health; and the cancerous institutionalisation of corruption in our national life. You can’t fool the people all the time. Nigerians will vote out their oppressors come February 14.”

Hmm! Funmi Iyanda London Apartment Burgled

Media Personality Funmi Iyanda, says she flew back into London last night, got home only to find her doors open and flat burgled:
“Yes l arrived london last night to find my flat burgled. Whole sliding door to patio and garden forced open. I’m fine. Police been great. Material loss can be replaced or forgotten. That’s all. Need to focus on writing my talk and sundry work. Smile Funmi. Life is,” she said.

BBA 2014 winner, Idris Sultan purchases new home

Big Brother Africa season 9 winner, Idris Sultan from Tanzania who beat Nigeria’s Tayo Faniran to win the prize money of $300,000 showed off the new home he just purchased. Big congrats to him. He also posted a long message for his fans on instagram.

 

Congrats!

My Stand! Are you for Goodluck or Buhari?

I have watch very closely the events playing out with respect to the elections coming up this february. With due respect to the actors involve, I will like to make my stand know and vote base on what each individual personality represent especially with their antecedence in the years back and their impact in the lifes of the people they claimed to be leading. Anyway GOD BLESSES OUR PRESIDENT!
As a CHRISTIAN I would have voted Goodluck instead of Buhari if only I was looking for one who
will represent Christian organization (i mean religion) but I represent ETERNAL LIFE. I would have
voted Goodluck if I wanted someone who will use Lokojo-Abuja road project awarded for the past 10years for campaign.I would have voted Goodluck if I wanted a leader who will change the Yaradua's decision of dredging of River Niger in Lokoja. I would have voted Goodluck if I wanted a
leader who make excuses rather than using the power at his disposal to nail those challenges in the bud before they raise their ugly heads. I would have voted Goodluck if I wanted a
leader who will criticize the activities of Terrorists in Nigeria but never made any effort to put an end to terrorism.I would have voted Goodluck if I wanted a leader who will accuse opposition as terrorist but scared to expose ordeal with them.I would have voted Goodluck if I wanted just a Ruler who is confuse of what step to take at a time when leadership actions are to be marshal. I would have voted Goodluck if I wanted a leader who will make life so difficult for the people rather than giving them a relieve and formulating the right policies to improve their standard of living. 
I would have voted Goodluck if I wished to have a President who will initiate cashless policy but still carry huge cash to buy arms from South Africa. I would have voted Goodluck if I wanted a leader who will not frown at corruption and corrupt people.I would have voted Goodluck if I wanted a leader who believes in god-fathers’. BUT I have chosen Gen Buhari because I want a leader who wants to serve but not to rule eventhough I am not saying Buhari will take us to the Promise land but he can start the process for the CHANGE that we needed at this very point in time. I want a leader who will treat the people with equity, fairness and justice. A leader who can bring sanity back to Nigeria. 
A leader who's integrity counts before any other thing on earth.A leader who has served my country with no single corrupt charges.A leader who made Nigerians proud by making 1Naira equivalent to 2
USD. I have finally concluded that I need good governance and a government who can put food
on the table of the people of Nigeria. I urge you all Nigerians to collect your Permanent Voter Card and vote Buhari in this coming election.
This is My Stand! May God Bless The Federal Republic of Nigeria.