Night time encounter with President Jonathan

It was the occasion of my uncle’s birthday party, which President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan honoured in person. I had the good fortune of being the one asked to serve him. His security detail scanned me with some device before they allowed me to approach him. While attending to him, I noticed the look in his eyes. At that point, something happened to me that made me become somewhat unconscious of my environment for some seconds.



Gosh, he’s got the sexiest eyes I have ever seen. And when you talk about a man being good-looking, sweet, and gentle, then you are referring to my one and only heartthrob, GEJ.

There’s really something about my President that keeps me thinking about him all the time. I just can’t put it in words but I know there’s this unexplainable feeling I have for him. I often wonder if anyone else feels same way about him.

Back at my uncle’s party I guess he noticed I was kind of lost, so he said, “young lady, hope all is well,” and I managed to reply “yes” and I immediately left for my bedroom.

Since then, every night when I go to sleep, I dream about him. All day long, I think about him. There’s nothing that thrills me more than his smile. Whenever he smiles, I feel something spark inside of me.

He’s got all a woman would ever desire in a man. Is it his height or his sexy eyes? Oh my! Everything about him is so appealing and to sum it up, he is the president of a great nation, Nigeria, the giant of Africa.

Of course, he is way older than me, but I just can’t explain why I have this special feeling for him. He is 56 years old and I’m 23, but like they say, ‘love is blind’ and I guess that blindness has caught up with me and I just can’t help it.
I think something I just can’t explain happened between me and Mr President during my first encounter with him and ever since then the feeling increased.

Later on, the night of my uncle’s birthday, I was in my room, unable to stop thinking of how I made a fool of myself and possibly embarrassed my uncle-if at all he had noticed what had transpired. In the middle of my thoughts, I got a call from an unknown number. I picked the call; someone with a rather stern voice, more or less, ordered me to hurry up and come towards the gate where Mr President’s convoy was parked. I did so.

On getting there, lo and behold, it was Mr President that had sent for me through one of his SSS agents. Mr President stepped aside from his guards and asked if I was okay, I replied that I was. Then he told me to feel free, that he isn’t a demi-god. I guess he thought I was scared or feeling inferior before him which wasn’t the case.

I summoned courage and replied it was nothing close to that. With a look of curiosity, he asked me to tell him what it was then. I told him that his eyes caught my attention and sort of mesmerised me. He smiled and signalled to one of his guards who gave me a card and told me the specific time I could call. I was restless until that time came and I dialled the number. While the phone was ringing, I had a call which woke me up from a very beautiful sleep. I then realised I had been dreaming all the while.

Well, I don’t mind dreaming so long it’s about Mr President. I just love it when I have such dreams. Sometimes I wish he was as young as I am, or that I was a bit older so that I could have him as mine for the rest of my life. But I guess I just keep dreaming and dreaming and dreaming…

*Calebs writes in from Abuja, Jummaicalebs72@yahoo.com

Former Black Panther Assata Shakur Added to FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List

Update: Watch our interview on Assata Shakur with her attorney Lennox Hines & scholar Angela Davis.

The FBI added Assata Shakur to its Most Wanted Terrorist List today. In addition, the state of New Jersey announced it was adding $1 million to the FBI’s $1 million reward for her capture. Shakur becomes the first woman ever to make the list and only the second domestic terrorist to be added to the list.

Assata Shakur, the former Joanne Chesimard, was a member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army. She was convicted in the May 2, 1973 killing of a New Jersey police officer during a shoot-out that left one of her fellow activists dead. She was shot twice by police during the incident. In 1979, she managed to escape from jail. Shakur fled to Cuba where she received political asylum. She once wrote, "I am a 20th century escaped slave. Because of government persecution, I was left with no other choice than to flee from the political repression, racism and violence that dominate the U.S. government’s policy towards people of color."

In 1998, Democracy Now! aired Shakur reading an open letter to Pope John Paul II during his trip to Cuba. She wrote the message after New Jersey state troopers sent the Pope a letter asking him to call for her extradition.

RUSH TRANSCRIPT
I hope this letter finds you in good health, in good disposition, and enveloped with the spirit of goodness. I must confess that it had never occurred to me before to write you, and I find myself overwhelmed and moved to have this opportunity.

Although circumstances have compelled me to reach out to you, I am glad to have this occasion to try and cross the boundaries that would otherwise tend to separate us.

I understand that the New Jersey State Police have written to you and asked you to intervene and to help facilitate my extradition back to the United States. I believe that their request is unprecedented in history. Since they have refused to make their letter to you public, although they have not hesitated to publicize their request, I am completely uninformed as to the accusations they are making against me. Why, I wonder, do I warrant such attention? What do I represent that is such a threat?

Please let me take a moment to tell you about myself. My name is Assata Shakur and I was born and raised in the United States. I am a descendant of Africans who were kidnapped and brought to the Americas as slaves. I spent my early childhood in the racist segregated South. I later moved to the northern part of the country, where I realized that Black people were equally victimized by racism and oppression.

I grew up and became a political activist, participating in student struggles, the anti-war movement, and, most of all, in the movement for the liberation of African Americans in the United States. I later joined the Black Panther Party, an organization that was targeted by the COINTELPRO program, a program that was set up by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to eliminate all political opposition to the U.S. government’s policies, to destroy the Black Liberation Movement in the United States, to discredit activists and to eliminate potential leaders.

Under the COINTELPRO program, many political activists were harassed, imprisoned, murdered or otherwise neutralized. As a result of being targeted by COINTELPRO, I, like many other young people, was faced with the threat of prison, underground, exile or death. The FBI, with the help of local police agencies, systematically fed false accusations and fake news articles to the press accusing me and other activists of crimes we did not commit. Although in my case the charges were eventually dropped or I was eventually acquitted, the national and local police agencies created a situation where, based on their false accusations against me, any police officer could shoot me on sight. It was not until the Freedom of Information Act was passed in the mid-'70s that we began to see the scope of the United States government's persecution of political activists.

At this point, I think that it is important to make one thing very clear. I have advocated and I still advocate revolutionary changes in the structure and in the principles that govern the United States. I advocate self-determination for my people and for all oppressed inside the United States. I advocate an end to capitalist exploitation, the abolition of racist policies, the eradication of sexism, and the elimination of political repression. If that is a crime, then I am totally guilty.

To make a long story short, I was captured in New Jersey in 1973, after being shot with both arms held in the air, and then shot again from the back. I was left on the ground to die and when I did not, I was taken to a local hospital where I was threatened, beaten and tortured. In 1977 I was convicted in a trial that can only be described as a legal lynching.

In 1979 I was able to escape with the aid of some of my fellow comrades. I saw this as a necessary step, not only because I was innocent of the charges against me, but because I knew that in the racist legal system in the United States I would receive no justice. I was also afraid that I would be murdered in prison. I later arrived in Cuba where I am currently living in exile as a political refugee.

The New Jersey State Police and other law enforcement officials say they want to see me brought to "justice." But I would like to know what they mean by "justice." Is torture justice? I was kept in solitary confinement for more than two years, mostly in men’s prisons. Is that justice? My lawyers were threatened with imprisonment and imprisoned. Is that justice? I was tried by an all-white jury, without even the pretext of impartiality, and then sentenced to life in prison plus 33 years. Is that justice?

Let me emphasize that justice for me is not the issue I am addressing here; it is justice for my people that is at stake. When my people receive justice, I am sure that I will receive it, too. I know that Your Holiness will reach your own conclusions, but I feel compelled to present the circumstances surrounding the application of so-called "justice" in New Jersey. I am not the first or the last person to be victimized by the New Jersey system of "justice." The New Jersey State Police are infamous for their racism and brutality. Many legal actions have been filed against them and just recently, in a class action legal proceeding, the New Jersey State Police were found guilty of having an, quote, "officially sanctioned, de facto policy of targeting minorities for investigation and arrest," unquote.

Although New Jersey’s population is more than 78 percent white, more than 75 percent of the prison population is made up of Blacks and Latinos. Eighty percent of women in New Jersey prisons are women of color. There are 15 people on death row in the state and seven of them are Black. A 1987 study found that New Jersey prosecutors sought the death penalty in 50 percent of cases involving a Black defendant and a white victim, but only 28 percent of cases involving a Black defendant and a Black victim.

Unfortunately, the situation in New Jersey is not unique, but reflects the racism that permeates the entire country. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. There are more than 1.7 million people in U.S. prisons. This number does not include the more than 500,000 people in city and county jails, nor does it include the alarming number of children in juvenile institutions. The vast majority of those behind bars are people of color and virtually all of those behind bars are poor. The result of this reality is devastating. One third of Black men between the ages of 20 and 29 are either in prison or under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system.

Prisons are big business in the United States, and the building, running, and supplying of prisons has become the fastest growing industry in the country. Factories are being moved into the prisons and prisoners are being forced to work for slave wages. This super-exploitation of human beings has meant the institutionalization of a new form of slavery. Those who cannot find work on the streets are forced to work in prison.

Not only are the prisons used as instruments of economic exploitation, they also serve as instruments of political repression. There are more than 100 political prisoners in the United States. They are African Americans, Puerto Ricans, Chicanos, Native Americans, Asians, and progressive white people who oppose the policies of the United States government. Many of those targeted by theCOINTELPRO program have been in prison since the early 1970s.
Although the situation in the prisons is an indication of human rights violations inside the United States, there are other, more deadly indicators.

There are currently 3,365 people now on death row, and more than 50 percent of those awaiting death are people of color. Black people make up only 13 percent of the population, but we make up 41.01 percent of persons who have received the death penalty. The number of state assassinations has increased drastically. In 1997 alone, 71 people were executed.

A special rapporteur appointed by the United Nations organization found serious human rights violations in the United States, especially those related to the death penalty. According to his findings, people who were mentally ill were sentenced to death, people with severe mental and learning disabilities, as well as minors under 18. Serious racial bias was found on the part of judges and prosecutors. Specifically mentioned in the report was the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the only political prisoner on death row, who was sentenced to death because of his political beliefs and because of his work as a journalist, exposing police brutality in the city of Philadelphia.

I believe that some people spell God with one "O" while others spell it with two. What we call God is unimportant, as long as we do God’s work. There are those who want to see God’s wrath fall on the oppressed and not on the oppressors. I believe that the time has ended when slavery, colonialism, and oppression can be carried out in the name of religion. It was in the dungeons of prison that I felt the presence of God up close, and it has been my belief in God, and in the goodness of human beings that has helped me to survive. I am not ashamed of having been in prison, and I am certainly not ashamed of having been a political prisoner. I believe that Jesus was a political prisoner who was executed because he fought against the evils of the Roman Empire, because he fought against the greed of the money changers in the temple, because he fought against the sins and injustices of his time. As a true child of God, Jesus spoke up for the poor, for the meek, for the sick, and the oppressed. The early Christians were thrown into lions’ dens. I will try and follow the example of so many who have stood up in the face of overwhelming oppression.

I am not writing to ask you to intercede on my behalf. I ask nothing for myself. I only ask you to examine the social reality of the United States and to speak out against the human rights violations that are taking place.

On this day, the birthday of Martin Luther King, I am reminded of all those who gave their lives for freedom. Most of the people who live on this planet are still not free. I ask only that you continue to work and pray to end oppression and political repression. It is my heartfelt belief that all the people on this earth deserve justice: social justice, political justice, and economic justice. I believe it is the only way we will ever achieve peace and prosperity on this earth. I hope that you enjoy your visit to Cuba. This is not a country that is rich in material wealth, but it is a country that is rich in human wealth, spiritual wealth and moral wealth.

Respectfully yours,
Assata Shakur
Havana, Cuba

DemocracyNow

Jonathan is last PDP president –Primate Ayodele

By OLAJIIRE ISHOLA (dapo_ishola01@yahoo.com)

Primate Elijah Babatunde Ayodele, founder and spiritual head of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church located at Oke-Afa, Isolo Lagos, is one man of God whose predictions have always been dogged by controversies. But convinced about the inspiration for the annual predictions, Primate Ayodele simply brushes off the disbelief of those who doubt his pronouncements as many of the predictions came to pass.
With the country sitting on the threshold of 2014, Sunday Sun sought audience with him on what to expect in the coming year. Looking into the future, he declared that the PDP would never regain the presidency after the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan. He also implored Nigerians to pray against the break up of the country. Please read on…
Many of the predictions you made in January 2013 had come to pass. One of them was the outbreak of cholera in some parts of this country. Now 2014 is close by. What should Nigeria, Nigerians and the entire world hope for?

Before now, I have said it that Obasanjo and Jonathan will fight and that one had come to pass. Now 2015, but let us take it from 2014, Jonathan will want to make some amendments by negotiating with different interest groups. Part of the negotiation will be the removal of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. There is going to be gang up against Jonathan. People will want to remove him. Part of the negotiation Jonathan will want to enter into will be the post of the vice president, secretary to the government of the federation. The founding fathers of the PDP will want to come together to save the party. Jonathan will concede some to have his way for his second term ambition. If Jonathan has his way, the second term will be a great setback for this country. Jonathan needs to pray because of his health and that of his wife.
On the five governors that defected to All Progressives Congress (APC), two or three of them will still go back to PDP. Some other PDP governors are still planning to move to the APC. Go and mark my words, APC too will still experience crisis. What will cause APC crisis is power tussle and self interest. I want Nigerians to know that God said I should inform them that Jonathan is the last PDP president that will rule this country. I have said it on several occasions that we need to pray so that this country will not disintegrate into fragments. I don’t know how soon it will be, but I foresee this country breaking up. The national dialogue or conference being planned by the Jonathan government will not produce any meaningful result. Go and mark my words this national conference outcome will be dumped by this government and any government that comes after Jonathan. This conference you see them setting up will only serve as a foundation for a bigger national conference that is coming in future.
We need to pray very well. All what we are seeing presently will lead to a strong probe coming to aviation sector. Some people will mount pressure on President Jonathan to remove Princess Stella Oduah, Diezani Allison-Madueke and Arunma Otteh. This will be part of negotiation Jonathan will enter into. There will be no improvement in the stock market.
Before now I had predicted that All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) would retain Anambra State. The governor-elect of Anambra State needs to pray very well, because there will be court action against his election that may threaten his smooth running of the state. This coming year, I foresee a lot of crisis coming up in Rivers, Delta, Nasarawa, Gombe, Yobe, Kano, Sokoto, Borno and Plateau states. There is going to be ethnic crisis in Delta State. We need to pray against ocean surge in Lagos State. In 2015, an unknown man will emerge as the governor of Lagos State.
Fashola and Tinubu should pray against quarrel between the two of them. I foresee quarrel coming up between them to the extent that it will cause some members of APC breaking away to join PDP in Lagos. Let us pray for Osun, Oyo and Lagos states, so that we will not witness death among royal fathers. Olofa of Offa town in Kwara State needs to pray very well so that he can return to his stool. Those that ganged up against him will be exposed. Boko Haram is in its last lap, but we need to pray so that God will weaken them more. Nobody will be able to capture Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram sect; Government will only end up killing him. Nigeria needs to pray against more deadly attacks from Boko Haram.
ASUU needs prayer so that government will not infiltrate them that may lead to the union breaking up into fragments. The last is not yet heard about strike, as Nigeria Labour Congress and doctors will still go on strike. NUT will table some demands before the Federal Government, which will lead to NUT wanting to go on strike. Let us pray against boat mishap in Lagos State. Many things will still be exposed as regards the oil subsidy saga in Nigeria. Jonathan government will not be able to manage corruption crisis in Nigeria, because corruption will get to its highest peak during Jonathan’s administration. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will not achieve anything, because the corruption is bigger than what EFCC can tame. Let us pray very well for God to avert death among the Nollywood actors and actresses, both Yoruba and English genres. Let us pray against problem among Fuji musicians. We need to pray for guidance for both print and electronic journalists. God is planning to bless Nigeria with natural resources that we’ve not seen before in this country. We are going to witness reforms in the Governors’ Forum. Let us pray against problems in our airports, especially Abuja and Lagos airports. A big probe is coming to FAAN and NCAA. Let us pray against the menace of pirates on our sea coastlines. African countries will still want to have common currency. Nigeria will change its currency in future. Our economy will not improve. Let us pray against rise in the attack on our petroleum pipelines. GTB, First Bank, WEMA and Sterling banks will retrench this coming year. New banks coming up.
New telecommunication company still coming. Mainstream, Keystone banks will have their names and managements changed in the nearest future. Nigerian electricity will not be stable until 2015/2016. We need to pray for Queen Elizabeth of England so that she will not lose someone close to her. She should, as a matter of fact, pray for her husband. Let us pray so that we don’t lose an African president come next year. Let us pray so that an African president will not face an ICC case that may force him to want to resign. A minister will be jailed in France as a result of corruption. Let us pray against cholera and measles outbreak. We need to also pray against rise in hypertension cases and eye problem. Aviation fuel price will rise this coming year. New airlines are coming into the local sector of the aviation industry. We need to protect our airports against external attack. There will be heavy importation of arms and ammunition through seaports in the coming year. We need to pray to avert death in the Nigerian Army. Many parastatal boards will be changed next year. Let us pray again against plane crash. America and United Kingdom need prayer against external attack. Israel needs prayer against attack. Syria crisis will soon be resolved, but before the resolution, Syria will experience more violence. Let us pray against coup d’état in any of the African countries. We need to pray against crisis in Kenya, South Sudan and Mauritius. Also Guinea Bissau will not be left out. The crisis in Egypt will continue, but it will soon be resolved, as the military will announce new date for election. There is going to be a lot of revelations in NNPC to the extent that it may lead to the removal of the Group Managing Director of the company. Let us pray against crisis in the Central Bank of Nigeria.
We need to pray because God revealed to me that not all the senators that begin the year will see the end of the year. Not all the members of the House of Representatives that start the year will see the end. There is going to be serious gang up against the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Let us pray against increment in the prices of foodstuffs. Let us pray against the death of a national leader in 2014. Our royal fathers need our collective prayers. I foresee beautiful road networks coming in Nigeria. We also need to pray against railway accident.

TheSun

US Spy Drone Crashes Into Ibadan Building, Captured [Photo]

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A mysterious spacecraft, which residents of Awotan in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State called a “drone”, was reported to have crashed into a building at Omiremi Quarters in the community, leaving a crater on the roof of the building, just as aviation sources confirmed the object as a United States’ drone on an espionage mission in Nigeria.

Considering the registration number, TX 5803, inscribed on a black battery under the craft, a source said the space craft must have taken off from  NASA base in Texas in the US, stating that the battery attached to the spacecraft powered it and enabled it to move around so that it could do the bidding of those who sent it.

Though many aviation sources told Sunday Tribune that the object could be a device used in espionage, another source, however, believed that the craft was a “nondescript aviation device”.

It will be recalled that the United States of America has, in recent times, come under attack by other countries for spying on their activities which may have confirmed the discovery of the spacecraft in Ibadan.

The craft, which was said to have dropped down from the orbit, flew into a toilet in the house of Ashipa of Awotan, Chief Tajudeen  Adetoro, a few minutes after his grandson, Afeez  Adewale and daughter-in-law, Adikat, left the toilet where they had gone to answer the call of nature.

According to Chief Adetoro, the mysterious aircraft forced itself into the toilet through the roof making deafening sound, saying it could have killed Afeez and his mother, if it had met them in the toilet.

The spacecraft, with a product number QR X30, has four stands and a rounded compartment housing its engine. It has a dry cell battery, USB drive, a censor and cables, while each of its stands has a two-way roving fan mounted on them.

The residents of the sleepy community told Sunday Tribune that the object was not a toy due to the fearful noise it made and the way it flew about, adding that it could be an explosive.

“When it flew out, we rushed after it and it was found hanging on the antennae of our neighbour…making a terrible noise and emitting heavy smoke,” Chief Adetoro narrated.

He said they ran for safety on hearing the loud bang made on the roof of their house only to discover that the object had entered the toilet hitting its wall in an attempt to exit.

Information obtained about the object from the internet revealed that it shares similarities with a device called Walkera QR X350 GPS which is sold for roughly $500.

Though the product description on it is not intelligible, Sunday Tribune learnt that it could be a remote-controlled transmitter that gives no signal when in the air, but which is used for gathering information.

How flying object crashed into building in Ibadan Mother, son escaped death

It is almost unbeliavebale, but it is real. A drone-like object fell from the sky on the roof of a house in Ibadan last Sunday shattering the roof of the house. MARUF BELLO writes that luck saved a mother and her son from being killed by the object.

FOR Afeez Adewale, a 16-year-old boy, sheer luck saved him and Adikat, his mother, from being sent to their early graves a few minutes after they left the toilet in their house, last Sunday, at Omiremi Quarters, Awotan, Ibadan.

Afeez had gone to the toilet to answer the call of nature not long after his mother had come out of the same toilet only to hear a loud bang on the roof of their house, specifically the toilet.

The object was said to have forcefully fallen on the roof of the toilet breaking through and shattering its asbestos.

According to the Asipa of Awotan and landlord of the house, Chief Tajudeen Adetoro, it wasn’t long after Afeez and his mother left the rest room when they suddenly heard a frightening sound on the roof of the toilet.

Chief Adetoro, who is Afeez’s grandfather, said it was God that saved the mother and son, saying the source of the drone-like object was unknown.

“We were in panic; we were almost dead when we heard the sound suddenly and all of us scampered for safety. It was after a few minutes that we thought that hiding in the house was not the solution but to find a way to get the object out of our house due to the horrible and disturbing noise it was making that my son and I fearfully moved to the scene to know what it was.

“When we got there, we stood a little away looking at it from a short distance. It was then we saw it clearly and it was seriously struggling making a frightening noise in its bid to find an escape route. As it was struggling, it was hitting every angle of the toilet walls forcefully shrieking and trying to exit the toilet.

“It was during the struggle that it escaped through the same point it gained entry. When it flew out, we rushed after it and it was found hanging on the antenna of our neighbour. It hung there making a terrible noise and emitting heavy smoke. I think in the process of struggle to get it out, it lost one of its components, a stand. I asked my son to climb the facial board to remove it.

“When he brought it down, it was heavy and there were so many red illuminating lights all over it blinking every second,” the chief narrated.

He said when the material had been removed from where it was stuck so that they could examine it thoroughly, the object repeatedly tried to fly away.

“It  was then I asked my son to remove some of its compartments to render it inactive. We removed the battery, its censor, among others. At that time, everybody in the neighbourhood had gathered to see the wonderful object,” he added.

Chief Adetoro said they initially thought it was a mere toy but after a close look, it was discovered that “the material could be a bomb, more so that ever since we captured and incapacitated it nobody had come looking for it because we initially felt that it was one of the toys parents bought for their children for Christmas and New Year.

“Also, when we considered the manner with which it got in and exited, we felt that the object was being monitored and controlled from somewhere. After careful consideration and examination of the compartments of the object we thought it could be an explosive.

“When nobody from this community came to claim it, we concluded that the object was more than what we thought it to be; it must have travelled a long distance,” Afeez’s father said.

The Chief Imam of Awotan Central Mosque, Sheik Abdulai Adesina, and a woman who are both neighbours of Chief Adetoro confirmed the incident, saying “the sound of the object was highly terrifying and fearful.”

When the object was examined, it is made up of components such as a dry cell battery, a censor housed by a white case, a USB  (memory card) drive and a panel that is well cased as well as lots of cables.

According to Chief Adetoro, the community had informed security agents about the incident and called for investigation on it, noting that if left unravelled, it would be difficult to douse tension and erase fear among the residents of the community who now believed that they were being targeted for attacks.

The object, Sunday Tribune investigation revealed, has since been handed over to security operatives.

Tribune

Amaechi Goes Ballistic On Jonathan, First Lady… Denies Impregnating Soyinka’s Daughter

Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi has opened a can of worms on the frosty relationship between him, President Goodluck Jonathan and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.

Amaechi, who is Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, told journalists at an interactive session in Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital weekend, that while the First Lady wanted to rule the state by proxy, her husband, President Jonathan, wanted to cripple the state economically to the advantage of his home state, Bayelsa. But he refused to allow both of them have their way, hence, the once rosy relationship turned sour.
Mrs. Jonathan, like Amaechi is from Rivers State. Bayelsa was also part of the old Rivers State.
The frosty relationship between the governor on one hand and the president and his wife on the other hand is at the root of the present political crisis in the oil rich state with the State House of Assembly under lock and key following the polarization of the Assembly along the line of pro and anti-Amaechi lawmakers.
The state Assembly, comprising of 31 members is unevenly divided with six lawmakers purportedly encouraged by the presidency attempting to hijack the legislative arm of government from the majority, who are considered pro-Amaechi and are 25 in number.
He said: “The wife of the President wanted to macro-manage governance in Rivers State and I said no, you cannot. I was elected. If I fail, they will not say the wife of the President failed; they will say Governor Amaechi failed. I am accountable to God, men and women of Rivers State.
“The wife of the President was not elected the Governor of Rivers State. I was elected. I am not in any way the wife of the President. I am the Governor of Rivers State, married to Judith Amaechi.
“I am telling you why they want to crucify me. This fight is about change. It is about good governance. It is about accountability. They do not like Rivers State. They hate us. We are losing. Tell me one thing that Rivers State has gained from being part of the South South under Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidency”.
The governor, who was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party but defected along with four other governors to the All Progressives Congress (APC) recently, also laid the blame for the resurgence of militancy and kidnapping in the state at the doorstep of the First Lady.
“By the time the wife of President Jonathan brought out the militants, we had almost got to zero point of no kidnapping in Port Harcourt. Where we were witnessing kidnapping were villages near Bayelsa and Abia States. We were thinking of how to go there with military surge, to chase the criminals back to their bases”, he said.
Amaechi added that his principled stand has earned him reproach from the president’s wife, who, according to him, is bent on removing him from office using federal power.
“She also held a Security Council meeting with them in Otuoke (President Jonathan’s hometown in Ogbia LGA of Bayelsa State), declaring that they would use federal ‘mighty’ (instead of might). But we have God Almighty.
“Is there any governor that has passed through what I passed through that is still alive? I am still talking as the Governor of Rivers State because there is God. They can use their federal ‘mighty,’ but I depend on the Almighty God.”
He also accused President Jonathan of not helping the situationby trying to under-develop Rivers at the expense Bayelsa State.
He cited the Zonal Air Force originally earmarked for Rivers by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua but which was relocated to Bayelsa and the transfer of Soku oil wells to Bayelsa as some of the perceived ill-treatment the state got from Mr. Jonathan despite voting massively for him in the 2011 presidential elections.
“The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (on Bonny Island in Rivers State) is even the worst. The members of the board and management of the NLNG came to me and pleaded with me to speak with the NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) to allow them to do Train Seven in Bonny, that will employ 10,000 Rivers people”, he said.
“I approached the NNPC and I went to the Petroleum Ministry. I do not want to call names, because most of them are my friends. They told me no. I thought it was a joke. That time, there was no quarrel between me and President Jonathan, because we had just finished elections (2011) and we were still chummy-chummy.
“I met with President Jonathan to kindly speak with officials of the NNPC and the Petroleum Ministry to allow NLNG to build Train Seven. President Jonathan said he wanted them to finish Brass LNG in his Bayelsa State, before they could build Bonny NLNG’s Train Seven. Mr. President said no and that he directed the officials of the NNPC and the Petroleum Ministry to say what they said.
“Mr. President said right from when he was the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, he had been trying to get the Brass LNG and wants to get it now that he is the President. You cannot force investors. So, we must wait for Bayelsa State before Rivers State can grow.
“The implication is that Rivers State will not grow until Goodluck Jonathan finishes his Presidency. Is that a good government? Is that a good party? Should I remain there? If I was lying, they would have replied me. What is Southsouth President? There is only one thing in politics, which is interest. You cannot play politics of Nigeria with religion or ethnicity”.
He added: “They took Soku oil wells from us and they took 41 oil wells from Etche to Abia State. Should I remain in that kind of party that is denying Rivers State its resources?
“When I said they could not account for N2.3 trillion for oil subsidy, they said what is your source? I was in a meeting with President Jonathan. Nigerians never knew that governors went on strike for three months. We refused to collect our monthly allocations, because we told President Jonathan that under Yar’Adua late Umaru under Gen. Obasanjo (former President Olusegun), the total oil subsidy was N300 billion.
“The first year of President Goodluck Jonathan, in 2011, oil subsidy became N2.3 trillion. Did we buy more machines, more human beings in Nigeria, we had 24 hours power supply, things have changed in Nigeria, that we now consume N2.3 trillion from N300 billion?”
He also denied the allegation that he was working against the administration of a fellow South-southerner.
His words: “Who is a South South President? For me, a Southsouth President is the man who feels for me and cares.
“For them to be doing the East-West Road (from Oron in Akwa Ibom State, through Ogoniland in Rivers State to Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo and Ogun States, terminating in Lagos State), I had to fight the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs (Elder Godsday Orubebe).
“They said they would borrow money. They borrowed money and are now doing the East-West Road. The Southsouth President should have borrowed the money since 2011 that he came in and completed the East-West Road.
“Unfortunately, Yar’Adua is not alive to speak for himself. I was part of the people who sat down with Yar’Adua to start the designing of coastal rail from Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo and Ogun States, up to Lagos State. Have you heard of it again?”
He recalled a meeting he had with the late President Yar’Adua who, he said, asked what the Federal Government could do for Rivers State to stem militancy.
Amaechi said he suggested the provision of a skills’ acquisition centre and the then President proceeded to award contracts for the project to ‘prominent Rivers people’ only for President Jonathan, on replacing Yar’Adua, to sack the contractors.
The contracts, he added, were then re-awarded to other people.
“For four years, the Federal Government’s skills’ acquisition centre is yet to be completed. It is not about the contractor not working. They are not funding the contractor, because the project is in Rivers State,” he said.
Amaechi also looked at the party he left and declared that PDP is fast drowning ahead of the 2015 elections.
According to him, more PDP governors will defect to the APC and that the PDP could only win in 2015 by rigging.
He described the APC as the change agent Nigeria needs at this point in its history.
He said that by March 2014 the APC would have become the majority party in the Senate.
Amaechi said, “We are gradually forming government. We have taken over the House of Representatives. Before March (2014), we will take over the Senate. Just watch out.
“The pressure will mount so much that they (Senators) will move from the PDP into APC. For now, it is narrowing down closely everyday and we are counting. Watch out before March, if we will not have the number we are looking for”.
He also used the opportunity to debunk reports that he impregnated Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka’s daughter and that his wife, Judith, had run away from Government House, Port Harcourt, saying the rumour was spread by his political detractors.
“I read a story that I impregnated Prof. Wole Soyinka’s (Nobel laureate’s) daughter. That she is living in my house and my wife has run away. The story was bad. I had to call back my wife, so that they would know that she had not divorced me. She was not planning to do Christmas in Nigeria.
“She (Judith Amaechi) is back to see her husband, spend time with the husband, do some of her functions as wife of the governor, so that they will know that I am still married. Not just that I am still married, I am a Catholic.
“My marriage is as solid as a Catholic marriage. There is absolutely no room for divorce. What you have is room for annulment. There is only one ground for annulment of marriage in Catholic Church that is the marriage never took place. That means the woman either deceived him to marry her or the man deceived her into marrying him. Any other thing is called for better, for worse”, he asserted.

InformationNigeria

Pedro: The Return of a Political Godson

Olufemi Pedro,


Gboyega Akinsanmi writes on the recent defection of the former deputy  governor of Lagos State, Olufemi Pedro, from PDP to APC and what it portends for the 2015 governorship race in Lagos State

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) suffered a major setback in Lagos State last week. One of its chieftains and the state’s erstwhile Deputy Governor, Otunba
Olufemi Pedro formally announced his defection at a time when the party chapter is still in critical need of a strong leadership ahead of the 2015 general election. Pedro’s defection, apparently, depicts the South West PDP as a party currently undergoing political travails.

Pedro, an estranged political son of the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave an uncommon reason for a decision, which he said, became indispensable to rescue Nigeria from the brinks. His decision to defect to the APC was contained in a four-paragraph statement in which he linked his defection to the need to team up with the progressives in order “to lead Nigeria out of the woods.”

Resigned from the Tinubu administration controversially in April 2007, Pedro explained his return to the fold of the APC on two different grounds. He, first, cited the fact that Nigeria “is dire need of purposeful leadership committed to leading us out of the woods; and one for which all men of good conscience must join hands.” Pedro’s concerns, apparently, are evident in the country’s socio-economic and political challenges.

He, therefore, said the task of nation-building no doubt “comes with challenges and always at great personal cost; yet it must be fulfilled by genuine patriots.” Also, Pedro expressed confidence in the present leadership of the APC, even though he abruptly abandoned the political platform during its formative years then as the Action Congress (AC) in 2007 and later as the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in 2011.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media & Strategy, Mr. Lanre Anjolaiya, the former deputy governor acknowledged that after series of discussion with the national leadership of the APC, it was clear that they mutually share the desire “to see Nigeria become great again. I am convinced, beyond any shadow of doubt that the APC offers that veritable platform to put Nigeria back along the path of glory and prosperity.”

He, therefore, said he had formally left the PDP with his teeming supporters and party stalwarts across the Southwest geo-political zone “to partner the progressives towards attaining the goal of rebuilding Nigeria. I am irrevocably committed to help actualise the task of building democratic and institutional standards.”

He explained the essence of enthroning a government, which he said, “is not only responsive and accountable to the people, but one that signpost what an APC-led Federal Government promises as from 2015. The landmark achievements and performances of the progressive governors and legislators in the APC-controlled States bear eloquent testimony to the tenacity of purpose of the party’s leadership.”

At the instance of what culminated in his controversial resignation, Pedro’s return portends likelihood of what to expect in the future of South-West. A 2007 gubernatorial candidate in Ondo State, Mr. Bankole Oluwajana expressed grave concern of those who defected to support the PDP and its governors in the geo-political zones. He said Pedro's defection the APC “should not be a surprise and is a sign of what to expect in the future.”

Oluwajana, who contested the governorship race on the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD), rhetorically asked what would the people expects from Pedro in the present circumstance. In 2007, what would you expect? He explained frustration of those who defected to the PDP in 2007. He said some of them decided “to support the South-West PDP with the aim of strengthening the presence of the Yorubas at the centre.

“We also erroneously felt encouraged when the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, an Ijaw man, a minority ethnic group. We expected that this would further support our objective. It has not turned out to be so. People that are de facto leaders, even within the PDP, in western states, are out of touch with the president.

“Or is it President that is out of touch with them? Even the blind can see and the deaf can hear that the Yorubas are not well represented in President Jonathan's Government. As Politicians, we represent people who want to see that they are being effectively represented. As a leader, you are of no use where you have lost your voice and influence. All these must have informed the decision of Pedro,” Oluwajana explained.

Asked whether he had concluded plan to defect to APC, Oluwajana retorted that all options “are still opened,” which he said, was the crux of politics in any political clime. But he added that the most important thing “is to be in touch with your supporters and listen to them.” But he believes there is still a chance for President Jonathan “to listen to the people that voted him to power and make appropriate changes.”

However, Oluwajana expressed the fear that judging from President Jonathan’s disposition towards the country’s current political situation and the people surrounding him, such required changes “are most unlikely.” By implication, he added that a good number of South-West PDP chieftains would defect to the APC in the future with a view to bringing the region back to the front of national politics with the conduct of 2015 elections.

This suggests Pedro has nothing to lose with his defection. Even with little time he spent with the party, Pedro was never accepted into the rank of the party. He truly helped rebuild the party; spent quality time and resources for it; and contested its governorship primaries in 2011. Yet his effort was hardly rewarded.

But Pedro is, indeed, one of Nigeria’s luckiest politicians. He never sought any political office; neither did he ever contest as a running mate before he ascended to power in December 2002. The fall of his predecessor, Mrs. Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele led to his historic rise to Office of the Deputy Governor of the state. He, however, had a prosperous banking career as the Managing Director of First Atlantic Bank, which fused into FinBank Plc. 

He was introduced to Tinubu by former Commissioner for Tourism and Intergovernmental Relations, Sen. Tokunbo Afikuyomi. Pedro, actually, earned confidence and trust of his political godfather until his ambition tore them apart. He then offered to resign from the Tinubu government, but his resignation letter was declined.

Consequently, the state’s House of Assembly set up a 7-man probe panel, which eventually found him guilty of gross misconduct. The panel came up with recommendations, upon which his impeachment was premised. The panel, thus, said upon the careful perusal and analysis of the submissions before the panel with respect “to the notice of allegations of gross misconduct, this panel is fully convinced that Pedro is fully aware of the allegations against him and chose not to refute or lead evidence to refute the allegations.

“In view of Pedro’s refusal to deny any of the allegations either in writing or by any means whatsoever despite adequate and reasonable opportunity afforded him by the panel, the panel cannot but agree with the submission of the House of Assembly that the deputy governor has no defence to these allegations.”

The implication of his impeachment was grave. It robbed him of all his benefits as the state deputy governor. Though he fought it helplessly in the court of competent jurisdiction, he has not been able to get it back. But now that he has returned to the warm embrace of his political godfather, Pedro’s impeachment might be converted to retirement, at least mend the dents it has brought on his political career.

But Chairman of Lagos APC, Otunba Oladele Ajomole deferred a little from what speculations of his defection might. He argued that his decision was premised on a strong belief that APC "represents the future of Nigeria." Aside, he said the former deputy governor could not "have remained outside for eternity. He belongs here. He only went on a political recess."

ThisDay

The Dirty Fight is Here Again

 Olusegun Obasanjo

Shola Oyeyipo writes that as 2015 general elec tion inches closer, there are growing  anxieties  over  the successful conduct of the elections following the  increasing trading of brickbacks and insults  by the political gladiators there by  overheating the system

As the 2015 general election moves nearer, the political gladiators in the country have already started overheating the political landscape through unguraded utterances, throwing of brickbacks and trading of insults .It seems   these p oliticians would spare nothing  to in outdoing each other as everything is fair is now the rulr of the ganme.

The recent topical incident was the  letter  written by former president Olusegun Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan; the letter by the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Sanusi Lamido to the president and the tactical labeling of the president as a  leader accommodating corruption by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal .
These were seen in some quarters as  a well orchestrated plot to create disaffection between the  president and the people ahead of the  2015 election.   
While the letters written by Obasanjo and  Lamido were made public, THISDAY findings  authoritatively indicated  that there are many other letters to be written before the next elections. Interestingly, as fundamental as the issues being raised are, they could be easily dismissed as politically motivated.

But the mases would still benefit as they will have insights into the corrupt activities of the leaders. In his  reaction to some of the allegations contained in Obasanjo’s letter,  a stalwart of the Peoples PDP in the South-west, Prince Buruji Kashamu,  considered  as libelous  obasano’s reference to him as a fraudlent person. Buruji's lawyers, Mr. Ajibola Oluyele and Mrs. Ifeoma Esom said no notice would be given the president before the legal proceeding would commence.

In the letter, Obasanjo had alleged that Buruji was a drug dealer, wondering why the presidency would have preferred to pitch tent with such character.

On his part, Buruji said Obasanjo was his political associate: "He was my  political ally and that time he depended on him to fight the former Ogun State governor Otunba Gbenga Daniel to standstill in the state and that he never referred to him as a drug dealer back then.

"How can he turn around to say that I'm a drug dealer? Then he didn't call me as a drug dealer - when I spend N3bn of my money to takeover the PDP structure from Gbenga Daniel. I ate in his house more than 30 times, I entered his office, his room and he presented me to several leaders of the party and told them to thank me. And didn't say I was drug dealer back then",

"During his regime, all the people that sorrounded him were drug dealers. When the time comes their names will be mentioned. I didn't know anything about what they were talking about", an obviously vexed Buruji said.

In fact, there and then, during a press conference held at his Best Western Hotel, Buruji was ready to spill the bean, except for his lawyers who calmed his frayed nerves. 

According to Oluyede, the reason for the legal battle that is to start against Obasanjo is to "expose him that he has no basis for making such statement so we are going to commence libel proceedings against former president Obasanjo," there is also the need to make sure that "Nigerians are not deceived by the allegations raised by Obasanjo agaisnt President Jonathan and his client."

He said that the content of the widely circulated letter was not meant to achieve anything positive but designed as an attack on the person of the president and my client.

"It is a vendetta" which emanated from the roles of Kashamu in the defeat of Obasanjo and Oyinlola in Ogun State, Osun State and the South-west and that it is as a result that, Obasanjo and Oyinlola have become irrelivant to the current vision and progress in the PDP.

"Its a product of bad belly. Its not a product of patriotism. It is a product of animosity against the president and Kashamu and it is an attempt to flair up the people against the president. Most of the things he raised are more applicable to him. You will recall that most of the people murdered during his regime are yet unresolved; the Bola Ige's murder is one of such. The case is there.

"Those who claimed to be the New PDP are actually the old PDP which disobeyed court orders, brandish persons of questionable characters

"This entire thing is charade, an attack with the hope that the relationship between him and the PDP leadership could be severed", he maintained.

Earlier, the Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido had alleged that his sons arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was an attack on him.

The duo of Aminu and Mustapha  Lamido, who are two sons of Governor Lamido were picked up by the EFCC over an alleged money laundering in Kano recently and were whisked to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja.

Lamido said the action was a product of vendetta. He specifically noted that President Jonathan personally owns Pilot Newspaper. He said the president is using the EFCC to witch-hunt opponents of the federal government.

“Some politicians believe that they can use intimidation and threat to have their way. In the last 30 years, I have suffered all kinds of intimidation and harassment you can think of and so there is nothing new. All these harassments cannot break Sule Lamido. I am a human being and I can make mistakes, but honestly speaking, in the last six years, I have tried my best for Jigawa State and even President Goodluck Jonathan testified to that severally when he visited Jigawa.

He said all that are being done to blackmail was unconnected with his membership of the aggrieved G7 governors under and his purported interest to contest the presidential election in 2015.

While all these subsist, more revelations are still expected. There are yet to be verified information coming in from various quarters. Some of such is connected to the ownership of a property on the right hand side - on the way to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja. The highbrow property observable from about 2000 metres from road is said to be owned by a top member of the executive. It is conspicuous with the cyclical road that leads to the building atop a mountain.

With such information, Nigerians will continue to enjoy fascinating - intriguing dimensions of accusation from the contending forces as they unfold.

ThisDay