I have no hand in OBJ, Jonathan’s fight – Atiku Abubakar

Former Vice President and chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has affirmed that he has no hands in the ongoing feud between president Goodluck Jonathan and ex president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
The presidential aspirant in the 2011 election denied reports making the rounds in the media that he is backing Obasanjo to fight the incumbent president.
Long time publicist of the former Vice President, Mallam Garba Shehu, disclosed that “there are no formal talks going on between former President Obasanjo and the Turaki (Atiku Abubakar).”
Shehu said: “We are aware that alignment and realignment are going-on on almost every front. This is to be expected. It is in the nature of politics. For some time now the Turaki has fully immersed himself in reconciliation with party members across the length and breadth of the country”.
On the report that the Turaki of Adamwa is plotting with others to vote out Jonathan from office in 2015, he said: “On the recurrent issue of the alleged face-off between former President Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan, the Turaki strongly insists that he knows nothing about it. He, too, he says, has read about it in the newspapers and left it at that.
“To the best of my knowledge, I am not aware of any political meeting between President Obasanjo and his former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Speculations to the effect that he has teamed up with his former boss to fight President Jonathan are therefore totally unfounded”.
“Turaki’s peace overture to his former boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo, although much misunderstood, should be taken in this context. Today, the Turaki feels much at ease with himself having taken the olive branch to about everyone with whom he had one form of falling out or the other.
“The former Vice President believes that vengeance is a negative emotion that ruins the quality of one’s happiness. Many people are amazed why he has no difficulty talking to perceived enemies. His conviction, however, is that forgiveness costs him nothing.
“In fact, many former public office holders that had once insulted him came back seeking his forgiveness and he did so without looking back. There was nothing unusual, therefore, if he had extended reverential hands of fellowship to politicians perceived as his adversaries”.
DailyPost

How we bribe community leaders to allow us vandalise pipelines – Suspect

Evelyn Usman & Ifeanyi Okolie
06 December 2012, Sweetcrude, Lagos - A petroleum products pipeline vandalisation suspect, Kabiru Akinsanya, has said that his gang usually bribed community leaders whenever they wanted to break any pipeline.
Akinsanya, who was discovered to have been in the illicit business for two years, disclosed that his gang usually filled over a hundred 50 litre cans during each operation.
He said: “We sell each gallon of 50 litres for N2,000 or N2,500, depending on the demand. So far, we have broken several pipelines around the area.
“We usually went at night. During each trip, we would fill at least 100 jerry cans with fuel.”
Asked how this was possible, he said: “We usually bribed the community leaders. At times, we give them money or fuel .
“We usually informed them before coming. Most times they would even tell us when the coast is clear. That is, when policemen would not be around. And anytime we were into business, they would send some of the villagers to keep watch so as to inform us when policemen would be coming.”
I learnt my skill from prison
Kabiru, who was released from Kirikiri prison in 2010, after serving a two-year jail term, said he learnt plumbing when he was there.
“ When I was released, I had nothing doing. One of my friends invited me to join them in the pipeline vandalisation business. Since I learnt plumbing in prison, I was useful to them because I used the skill to burst the pipelines and weld them after operation.
“We worked together as a group and the rule was that before any job was executed, we would contribute a certain amount of money and give to the leaders of the community. They (community leaders) would not alert the police rather, they would send some young men to keep watch.
“But along the line, I left the group and formed another group of four which I was heading. I left the first group because the business was lucrative and I did not want to be under anyone.
“Members of my gang are Tunde, Segun and Sunday . But they managed to escape on the day the Police stormed our hideout.”
Arrested at last
Before his arrest, he said his gang realised at least N200,000 per trip.
“But for sometime NNPC stopped pumping and we relaxed. NNPC only started pumping recently and we returned to business.
“But the Police succeeded in arresting us because someone who is not a member of my gang broke a pipeline and this caused leakage that attracted the Police. There is no way NNPC would have known that we tapped from their pipeline if there was no leakage,” he stated.
Policemen attached to the Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism, Force Headquarters Annex Lagos, arrested the ex-convict who has been on their wanted list, recovering 80 jerrycans filled with petroleum product that was siphoned from a broken pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in Takwa Bay area of Lagos state.
Vanguard gathered that activities of pipeline vandals had been on the rise in Takwa Bay and its environs, following which policemen from the Special Task Force reportedly patrolled the area at night. But Akinsanya’s gang as gathered, succeeded in beating the policemen, as some members of the community were said to keep watch whenever they were carrying out the heinous crime.
But the bubble burst, Monday, after some policemen on patrol along the creeks who noticed a burst pipeline, trailed members of the gang to their hide out around the vicinity, where Akinsanya was arrested but other members of his gang escaped.
Officer in-charge of the Special Task Force on Pipeline Vandalism , Mr Friday Ibadin, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, said the arrest was made following an intelligence report that vandals had returned to the area.
He said: “We got a tip-off that vandals had resumed activities in that area. Policemen, led by Lagos Sector Commander, DSP Onaghise Osayande, were sent to the area to ensure regular patrol. It was during one of the patrol sessions that they discovered a burst pipeline. In the course of investigation, they discovered the hideouts of some of the suspected vandals. Akinsanya was arrested and he confessed to the crime. “
ACP Ibadin called on Nigerians to help protect NNPC pipelines by informing security operatives of the activities of vandals. “I sincerely commend members of Takwa Bay community who assisted the police to fish out these vandals. It is no longer business as usual; the Arepo incident has caused untold hardship on Nigerians,” he said.
 SweetCrudeReports

Seven Northern governors jostle to succeed President Jonathan in 2015

Ahead of the 2015 presidential election, there’s an in-house battle over who will emerge as a consensus candidate from the Northern part of the country as seven serving Governors are all struggling for the office of the Commander in Chief.
It was gathered that top politicians from the region had reportedly held several meetings in order to settle for a consensus candidate but no positive result was achieved at the end.
Investigation revealed that none of the seven Governors battling for the highly-exalted position is ready to step down for the other.
Those who have indicated interest in succeeding Goodluck Jonathan include: Governors Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State.
Amazingly, all the contending Governors are in their second term in office and are also members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to which President Goodluck Jonathan belongs.
DailyPost learnt that erstwhile Governors Ahmed Makarfi and Ibrahim Shekarau of Kaduna and Kano states have also indicated interest for the office of the president.
It was gathered that top northern politicians who had been planning to return power to the zone come 2015 had been worried over the battle from the within.
Close insiders observed that at some of the meetings, all the contenders remained adamant — a situation that has made it very difficult for the leaders to pick a consensus candidate.
According to the Convener of the Coalition of Northern Leaders, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, the plan to present a single candidate for 2015 had been frustrated by the Governors.
He said: “As far as I know, we have not got to the point of zeroing in on a candidate, a political party or even a strategy. From the look of things, it is not likely to happen soon.
“This is because the last time we tried to get a consensus candidate for the North, it was the Northern governors who scuttled the plan. About seven northern governors, who have ambition to become President, have been busy scuttling one another’s ambition. So, the North has not picked a candidate, and in my opinion, it will not happen soon.”
He added that the issue of a consensus candidate was one of the vital issues discussed recently at the two-day conference of Northern leaders, which took place last Wednesday and Thursday.
The conference, with the theme, ‘The North and strategies for sustainable development,’ was organised by the Ahmadu Bello University’s Arewa House Centre for Historical Documentation and Research.
Mohammed said, “Unless we come together in the North, we will continue to have problems. I met with the Senate caucus in the North and I asked them to reconsider the introduction of an electoral college in electing the president.”
The spokesman of the Northern Elder’s Forum, Dr. Paul Unongo, confirmed that there’s an ongoing inhouse battle over who will emerge as the sole candidate.
He said, “Lamido and Aliyu are eminently qualified to be President. But what they need to do now is to unite and rationalise to choose one person as the only northern candidate for the election. If not, if the South presents one candidate, the person would likely win.”
The image maker added that the zone will painstakingly elect a consensus candidate, based on his ability to bring the security challenges in the country under control.
Unongo said, “When it comes to people from the North, who can stand for election for President, some persons like Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and Abubakar Atiku are the names we can mention. But now, I don’t know how acceptable they will be to Nigerians. I don’t think Nigerians still want Army Generals.
“Another potential candidate is the Vice-President Namadi Sambo, who is the northerner in the highest office in the country. It would be a surprise to me if he does not stand for election in 2015. If he stands for election in 2015, some of us will support him.”
It would be recalled that on May 17, the 19 northern Governors met in Kaduna and planned to settle for a sole candidate from the region in 2015.
The Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Governor Aliyu, who spoke on behalf of the group, vowed not to allow the incident that brought Jonathan into power repeat its in 2015.
“We must be united more than ever to go into the 2015 elections as one entity with the aim of producing the president,” he said.
DailyPost

Governor’s absent at Jonathan burial, Northern govs opt for Sambo wedding

The late Meni, younger brother of President Goodluck Jonathan was on Saturday laid to rest in the absence of northern governors who preferred to attend the wedding ceremonies of Vice-President Namadi Sambo’s daughters in Kaduna.
Also, no South-West governor attended the funeral of Meni which was held at the St. Stephen’s Anglican Church, Otuoke in Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.
Jonathan, who was in a pensive mood, said his brother, 47, who passed on in Abuja on November 20, suffered cardiac arrest.
Jonathan, accompanied by his wife, Patience, his mother, Eunice, his children, wives and children of the late Meni, said there were no signs of death when the late Meni accompanied him to Abuja after his private visit to his hometown.
He said, “What worries me is that he died suddenly. He came to my house. Nobody carried him. We discussed but he was a bit frail. I asked him to follow us so that he could do medical check-up. He drove down to Yenagoa to board the chopper to Abuja. He got to Abuja that Saturday and he was admitted in the hospital.
“The following Monday, his breathing changed. I decided to make an arrangement to let him get treatment outside. Unfortunately, he had a cardiac arrest at the State House clinic.
“We were making arrangements to move him to the National Hospital. It is a very sad thing. He has been covering the home front for us. He was a very humble person. He was a reliable and trustworthy person that you can ask to handle things for you.”
The President said he was surprised at the crowd and personalities who turned up for the burial.
He said, “In some traditions, I’m not supposed to be in the church. There is a tradition that you don’t bury your younger ones. Luckily for this community, we don’t have too many of these cultural and traditional things.
“I know that people will surely die but I believe that people should live to an age. It is quite sad that Nigerians are pulled to the community to bury my younger brother. He was very young. God knows best.  It is not how long you stay on earth but the little impact you make that matters.”
Our correspondent observed that while government contractors, business moguls, actors, Peoples Democratic Party top shots and members of Jonathan’s cabinet flooded the state for the burial, northern and south-western governors stayed away.
The northern governors were said to have attended the wedding ceremonies of Sambo’s daughters which coincided with the funeral service.
It was not clear why South-western governors were not at the programme, but the condolence message of the Governor of Ogun State, Mr, Ibukunle Amosun, was published in the programme.
YNaija.com

I will send rich people to jail – Oshiomhole

inShare

by Hauwa Gambo
Trust former comrade, Adams Oshiomhole to talk tough – only worry for the people concerned this time is, he also acts tough.
Yesterday, the Edo governor signed the Edo Property Tax Bill into law, complete with a warning to the state’s rich that they will be sent to jail if they do not comply.
He also tackled concerns that the law would worsen the poverty in the state – making it clear this is focused on wealth redistribution.
“The rich will prefer that taxation be abolished because they have enough money even to build private homes, private roads, and buy private jets and so on,” he said “But I am not apologetic that this government is determined to tax the rich and the very rich so that we can provide for the poorest of the poor. Every enlightened rich man will appreciate that it is in his own interest that government provides for the poor.
“So when people say that this law is targeted at some persons, I say yes. The law is targeted at those who are taxable, those who have property and that includes myself. I need to pay tax so that when I am not in government, government will have the resources to provide those things that they need to provide for Edo to make progress. I am very appreciative for the support which I have continued to enjoy from the people of Edo and I promise I will never abuse that trust.
“The outcome of the last election has humbled me and I am committed to give my all. No body is above the law. I have the duty to remind those who feel they are above the law, they are not. If the governor is not above the law no one is. Government must protect the weak, we must be just. This government will not victimize any body even under provocation, but no one will be too big to be dealt with if he violates the law.”
YNaija.com

Nigerian accent is the 5th sexiest in the world

In the unending pursuit of love, or its less eternal surrogate, the right accent can be as attractive as bright eyes, a beaming smile and a parabolic backside.
For world travelers, a far-flung tongue promises the unknown, confirms the known and dispels the thought-we-knew.
Does our highly scientific survey exclude your favorite accent? Vote on our Facebook poll.
But no accent is sexy when it’s strong enough to crush a beer can. Which means not all accents are created equal.
It’s estimated that there are nearly 7,000 languages on earth. That’s nearly 7,000 different ways to traipse clumsily through the English language — or to sex it up like a Justin Timberlake song wrapped in chocolate cleavage.
Which begs our list of the world’s sexiest brogues. Some of you may have a legitimate case for inclusion in the top twelve. Others — we’re looking at you, Vietgermans — do not.
Our also-rans included Putonghua (especially when Taiwanese women speak it in gentle tones), Australian (as appealing as warm Foster’s to some, tantalizingly exotic to others) and Japanese (the language of repressed salarymen is also strangely designed for pillow talk).
Because when it comes to accents, there are no absolutes. Except that Bronx English is absolutely horrible.
12. Argentine
The bad news: she finds your bad breath and dirty elbows repulsive. The good news: it sounded totally hot when she told you.
Famous tongues: Fernando Lamas, Gabriela Sabatini
A historical refuge for Spaniards, Italians and Germans, the hyper-libidinous South Ameripean melting pot of Argentina has cultivated a proud, pouty tone. With its own pronunciation of Spanish letters (“ll” sounds like “shh”) and its own words (“you” is “vos”), this is a dialect that’s hard to get. (Or at least plays that way.)
Sounds like: A tightly tuned guitar of G-strings strummed by a lamb shank
11. Thai
He not only floats like a butterfly, he speaks like one, too.
Famous tongues: Tony Jaa, Tata Young
With five tones comprising their native speech, the traffickers of this often fragile accent turn any language into a song of seduction. Thai is largely monosyllabic, so multi-beat foreign words get extra emphases right up until the last letter, which is often left off, leaving the listener wanting more. (Or at least asking “Huh?” lustfully.)
Sounds like: R-rated karaoke
10. Trinidadian
If their accents don’t seduce you, their mon bosoms will.
Famous tongues: Nikki Minaj, Billy Ocean
For fetishists of oddball sexuality, the Caribbean island of Trinidad offers an undulating, melodic gumbo of pan-African, French, Spanish, Creole and Hindi dialects that, when adapted for English, is sex on a pogo stick.
Sounds like: A rubber life raft bobbing on a sea of steel drums
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9. Brazilian Portuguese
She screams, she scores!
Famous tongues: Alice Braga, Anderson Silva
Perhaps owing to its freedom from French influence, the Brazilian Portuguese accent has a more colorful, puerile flair than its coarser European counterpart. The resulting yowl of drawn-out vowels reveals a flirty freedom of spirit that sounds like a permanent vacation.
Sounds like: The near, then far, then near again hum of a low-wattage vacuum cleaner that runs on dance sweat
8. U.S. Southern
Y’all, we love it when y’all call us y’all. Especially when y’all are wearing orange chaps.
Famous tongues: Matthew McConaughy, Britney Spears
There’s nothing sexy about being in a hurry, and you could clock the growth rate of grass with the honeyed drawl — less Tea Party, more “True Blood” — of a Southern beau or belle.
Sounds like: Molasses taking a smoking break
Also on CNN: 15 unusual places to spend a night
7. Oxford British
“Down to your last pair of socks then, what?”
Famous tongues: Hugh Laurie, Sienna Miller
Authoritative. Upright. Erudite. Scholarly. Few accents promise the upward nobility of the Queen’s English. It’s a take on the language that sets hearts devoted to James Bond and Hermione Granger aflutter. And, should the speaker fail to slake your most wanton desires, eh, at least you’ll learn something.
Sounds like: A crisply ironed shirt playing a harp
Where does French land? Who has the sexiest accent? Click on to find out.
6. Irish
Just lay off the leprechaun jokes and you’ll be fine.
Famous tongues: Colin Farrell, Andrea Corr
Valued slightly more in men than in women, the Irish brogue is a lilting, lyrical articulation that’s charming, if not exotic. Fluid and uplifting, it can swing from vulnerable to threatening over the course of a sentence, restoring your faith in the world again … right before it stabs you with a broken bottle top.
Sounds like: A marauding pixie
5. Nigerian
Some Nigerians are actually worth giving your bank account information to.
Famous tongues: King Sunny Adé, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde
Dignified, with just a hint of willful naiveté, the deep, rich “oh’s” and “eh’s” of Naija bend the English language without breaking it, arousing tremors in places other languages can’t reach. Kinda makes the occasional phone scam worth the swindle.
Sounds like: The THX intro with teeth
4. Czech
Smoky eyes? Czech. Intrguing history? Czech. Meat-flavored accent? Czech.
Famous tongues: Petra Nemcova, Jaromír Jágr
Like Russian, without the nettlesome history of brutal, iron-fisted despotism, Czech is a smoky, full-bodied vocal style that goes well with most meats. Murky and mysterious, the Bohemian tone is equal parts carnal desire and carnival roustabout.
Sounds like: Count Dracula, secret agent
3. Spanish
“¿Número tres? ¿Qué clase de idiota eres?” Ah, no one rejects us so hotly.
Famous tongues: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz
Sensual and beckoning, but with the passion to unleash hell kept just barely restrained, Castilian is like a dialectic Hoover Dam. But then there’s the lisp. Tender, vulnerable and cute as a baby’s hangnail — no one owns the “th” sound formed by tongue and teeth like those who speak the language of Cervantes.
Sounds Like: An outboard motor on Lake Paella
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2. French
Even when they pout it sounds good.
Famous tongues: Sophie Marceau, Jean Reno
The demotion of this perennial prizewinner of global brogues to second place may illustrate the declining sexuality of Old World petulance. Still, the come-hither condescension and fiery disinterest of the French tongue remains paradoxically Intimate.
Sounds like: A 30-year-old teenager
1. Italian
Even when bathing in a fountain, a romance language is a romance language.
Famous tongues: Monica Bellucci, Alessandro Del Piero
Raw, unfiltered and as grabby to ears as its president is to rears, the Italian accent is a vowelgasm that reflects the spectrum of Italic experience: the fire of its bellicose beginnings … the romance of the Renaissance … the dysfunction of anything resembling a government since Caesar. Insatiable, predatory and possessive, this is sex as a second language.
Sounds like: A Ferrari saxophone
First published August 2011, updated November 2012
 DailyPost

I Don’t Live Off Church Members’ Tithes, Offerings Or Contributions – Bishop Oyedepo

Founder of the Winners Chapel International aka Living Faith and Chancellor of Covenant University, Ota-Ogun state, Bishop David Oyedepo has spoken up on allegations that he survives on church members’ tithes and offering thereby living an affluent and flamboyant lifestyle.

The faith preacher reportedly reacted to the allegations at the Church’s ongoing annual spiritual retreat tagged ‘Shiloh.’ He said,”The last time Church paid my salary was December 1987, nobody heared it, not even the Ministers in the church until 1997 and church members didn’t hear this until 2007.
“In January of 1988 my wife asked me of money for feeding and I told her I had give my salary to God, and that was the last time she ever had to ask for feeding till date”
speaking further, the Bishop reiterated that the prestigious Covenant University Ota, was built without a donation from Church members either in form of tithes, offerings or contributions. In his words, “Covenant university was built within 7 months without any collection of any one naira tithes and offerings or donation of any kind from anywhere”
InformationNigeria.org