One of the two remaining DB10, made exclusively for a British fictional secret service agent, James Bond, has been auctioned for a whopping Rs 24 crore (£2,434,500) on Thursday in London. Cars of the British luxury brand Aston Martin are the default choice of Bond.
The money raised through the auction will benefit Medicines sans Frontiers (MSF), a global humanitarian aid organization that provides medical care and support to victims of armed conflict, epidemics and other disasters.
Production of the DB10 was strictly limited to ten examples and each car has been engineered and manufactured at Aston Martin’s Gaydon Headquarters in the UK. The buyer now owns the only Aston Martin DB10 to be made available for public sale. The car features a 4.7-litre V8 petrol engine mated to six-speed manual gearbox. It has an estimated top speed of around 305kmph. The car features carbon-fibre exterior and the interior has been handmade using luxury leathers, carbon-fibre and aluminum.
Eight out of the ten DB10s were used in the filming of Spectre. The auctioned unit is one of only two show cars which were left unmodified and used for display purposes. The car features a special plaque signed by James Bond, played by Daniel Craig. [myad]
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, today, personally distributed 100 Ro-Ro refuse bins to all Ward heads in the Gwagwalada Area Council of the Territory with a directive to the Council Chairman to ensure prompt collection and emptying of refuse bins at all times.
The minister who flagged-off the Household and Community Sanitation exercise in Gwagwalada, the headquarters of the Gwagwalada Area Council today, made it clear that he would stop at nothing to ensure that the capital city is cleaned up at all times.
Muhammad Bello assured that the cleanest Area Council would be given a befitting prize in order to encourage the sustainability of the laudable exercise, adding: “the FCT Administration has already put mechanism in place to reward the cleanest Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory with a befitting prize”.
He emphasized that the culture of a clean environment being spearheaded by household and community leaders must be brought back to the society and that the people must be involved in order to get it right.
He urged the people of Gwagwalada not to wait for someone to come and teach them how to clean their environment; adding that the behavior must be instilled and sustained.
The minister said that the issues of improved personal hygiene and removal of environmental nuisances in the Area Councils and Satellite Towns in the Federal Capital Territory is in the front burner of the current FCT Administration.
Speaking earlier, the Minister of Environment, Hajiya Amina Mohammed who was represented by a Director in the Ministry, Engr. Okunnu Kehinde said that sanitation is vital for human health as healthy people are more productive at work place. [myad]
Anita Sullivan, a 36-year old woman from Michigan has made a crashing entrance into the Guinness Book of World Records at the Harper University Hospital, by giving birth to her 14th child, all born from different fathers.
According to the internationally recognized authority on the cataloging and verification of world records, Anita Sullivan has just become the first woman in recorded history to conceive children with more than thirteen different men.
Acknowledging her feat, the woman said: “I’m extremely proud to have broken a World Record. My mother always told me that I was lazy and worthless, and that I would never accomplish anything in my life.
“Now, I’ve shown everyone that she was wrong, and that I can even be the best in the world when I put my mind to something. In fact, I’ve just accomplished something that no one had done before!”
Anita Sullivan says she’s been unlucky with relationships in the past, but she believes that this time she may have found the man of her life.
She said: “I’m good at having babies, but I’m really awful when it comes to picking the fathers of my children. This time, however, I think I’ve learned from my past mistakes. Ramón isn’t like all the jerks I’ve dated before. We’ve been together for almost a year and a half, and I really believe it could work between us.”
After their meeting with Ms. Sullivan, the representatives of Guinness opened a second investigation concerning the record for the number of child support pensions received by one person.
The Detroit native is already the beneficiary of pensions paid by 11 different men, and is implicated in two other custody cases, which should proceed before the family court over the next two months.
The investigation should be over by the month of March 2016, and Guinness will then be able to tell if Ms. Sullivan holds a second World Record or not. [myad]
Fourteen members of the Kogi State House of Assembly loyal to the embattled Speaker, Honourable Momoh Jimoh Lawal have issued an impeachment notice to the state deputy governor, Mr. Simon Achuba who was sworn-in barely two weeks ago. The 14 members who conducted the House plenary sitting in Abuja on Friday, accused the deputy governor of causing disharmony and security threat in the state. Achuba was given 14 days to respond to the notice in accordance with Section 188 of 1999 Constitution as amended. At the plenary presided over by Speaker Lawal, the House accused the deputy governor of causing chaos among the lawmakers in the state and setting the legislature against the executive arm of government, barely a week after being confirmed and sworn in. The notice, entitled: “Impeachable Offences Committed By His Excellency, the Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Hon Simeon Achuba,” was signed by all the members that were present at the plenary in Abuja. The embattled deputy governor was accused of “undue” interference in the affairs of the state House of Assembly thereby causing friction between the executive and the legislative arms of government in the state. They also alleged that the deputy governor was instigating members of the assembly to “forcefully and unlawfully” change the leadership of the House without recourse to the rules of the House. The notice accused the deputy governor of instigating five members of the House to sit despite the proclamation by the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly adjourning to a later date. They insisted that the deputy governor was performing legislative function by swearing in the “purported Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly in his office, “contrary to the extant provisions of the House Rules and in flagrant abuse of the tenets of democracy and separation of powers as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.” The deputy governor was accused of generally causing disaffection by inciting certain sections of the state against another, thereby causing disharmony and security threat in the state. [myad]
Arik Air has confirmed the death of a 39-year old pregnant woman on board its flight from Port Harcourt to Lagos.
The deceased, identified as Mrs. Ijeoma Nwokedi, was confirmed dead today on arrival by the medical personnel at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Domestic Terminal One, Lagos.
In a statement by its Communications Manager, Mr. Ola Adebanji, Arik Air said: “a female passenger on board Arik Air’s Port Harcourt-Lagos flight was confirmed dead by medical personnel on arrival this morning at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Domestic Terminal One, Lagos.
“The lady boarded the flight from Port Harcourt in company of her husband and cousin. The cause of death is yet to be ascertained”, the statement said.
It would be recalled that on February 17, another unidentified female passenger died in one of the toilets of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport. [myad]
A nephew of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Samuel Oki was today found dead in a creek in Otuoke community of Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The 35-year-old was reportedly kidnapped on Wednesday alongside the 72-year-old foster father of Jonathan, Chief Inengite Nitabai.
It was learnt that some fishermen from the former President’s community in Otuoke, discovered Oki’s decomposing body floating on Otuoke River while fishing, two days after the abduction.
Some indigenes of the community said though many were not aware of Oki’s whereabouts during the abduction of Nitabai, the discovery of his body in the creek has, however, heightened their fears of Nitabai’s safety.
Some community members claimed that the sound of gunshot heard during the abduction of the septuagenarian might have been targeted at the deceased.
A community source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “We are worried about the safety of our uncle, Chief Inengite Nitabai. The men that abducted them have killed Oki and we pray they don’t touch our uncle.”
The deceased, community sources said, was always seen in the company of Nitabai.
The villagers, who were reportedly seen discussing the sad incident, alleged that the young man (Oki) tried to resist the kidnappers.
According to them, divers and local fishermen had recovered the body and anchored it by the riverside to prevent the body from being washed away.
This is the second time Nitabai is being kidnapped. He was first kidnapped On February 28, 2014 and later freed by security forces on March 10, 2014. [myad]
Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Doyin Okupe has listed impunity, presumptive reasoning, restrictive consultative process as the ‘diseases’ killing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Reacting to the emergence of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as national chairman of the party, Dr. Okupe said that with the crisis rocking the PDP, the emergence of Sheriff might deplete the membership base of the opposition party. Writing on his Facebook page, the former Presidential spokesman said that with the emergence of Modu Sheriff as the national chairman of the PDP, the opposition party risked total disintegration. He described Modu Sheriff as his long-standing political associate, but that the former governor lacked the capability to hold the party together. Dr. Okupe said that it is unfortunate that the PDP is in the habit of making grave errors in its choice of leadership. He said with the emergence of Sheriff as the national chairman of the PDP, the opposition party risked total disintegration, adding however that he would not leave the party as he would want to see how it would all end. “Some of us have vowed not to leave the party (PDP). We still will not leave the party. We will continue to engage all who care to listen and seek help from everyone ready to revive this severely challenged sickened giant. “For a morose political party, thanks to the overwhelming and effective propaganda machinery of the party in power, this may yet be the mortal wound that may cause the eventual depletion of its long perplexed following. “But if it is the divine will of God that our present masters must kill the PDP, then by the grace of God, we shall yet tarry at the graveside to bid it farewell. “The capability of our party, the PDP, and its leadership to make grave errors in judgment is legendary. What is intriguing is that even when the party is out of power, that tendency seems not to reduce. “Alhaji Sheriff is a long-standing political associate of mine and a very astute politician of, perhaps, a sublime class. But for the post of the national chairman of the PDP, he is a wrong candidate and (he is) also coming in at a wrong time.” Dr. Okupe noted that the PDP leaders who supported the emergence of Sheriff hinged their argument on the fact that, being a wealthy politician, he (Sheriff) would be favourably disposed to fund the activities of the party but that other leaders within the party felt that Sheriff would compound the problems of the party and bring ‘a crushing weight of burden capable of fatally destroying the few strands of moral fibres in the party. [myad]
Leo Stan Ekeh, Icon of Hope is 60! And for his family, friends and associates; words cannot express their love, respect and admiration for Nigeria’s quintessential businessman.
He is an inspirational motto, lesson as well as a reminder to all that leadership is not the rare gift reserved to a chosen few and charismatic unique individuals, but a potential that lies within all and that we are all called to awaken by finding our passion and living a purposeful life.
A firm believer in his goal, Leo Stan has pushed himself and those around him beyond what might be considered comfort zone and rational.
Born to Late Chief and Mrs. Ebenezer Ekeh on February 22, 1956, in Ubomiri, Mbaitoli LGA, Imo State; Leo Stan optimises the “can-do-attitude” which has enabled him excite and conquer all the industries he bestrides.
Armed with first class education from some of the world’s leading institutions, Leo Stan is living a life of many firsts.
He started as a very small entrepreneur but today, the Zinox group is the largest ICT group in sub-Saharan Africa.
The group is into ICT products manufacturing, distribution, upscale core technology solutions and support and more.
But let’s start from the first company: Task System.
It all started when he came back to Nigeria and had to create a bit of disruption in the system because the economy was an IBM-driven economy.
So Leo Stan, came with Apple Macintosh.
He launched Apple in the country about 24 years ago and computerised all the media and multi-media houses in the country, including the book publishing houses nationwide.
After this first disruptive move, he moved to offer solutions to the oil and gas sector of the economy and it was at this point that Steve Job enhanced the Graphics interface of Apple with User interface which limited it initially from being used in the corporate sector as an alternative to IBM, and that gave Leo Stan the impetus to expand into the rare corporate sector.
His first company, Task System delivered solution to the first 20 largest multinationals in the country in the 80s, 90s and till today.
That is in the oil, banking and manufacturing sector. It’s a highly integrated solution company.
And in order to segment the market, he launched the first ICT distribution company in West Africa – Technology Distributions, which today is the largest ICT distributor in sub-Saharan Africa and controls 70 per cent of the Nigerian ICT distribution market.
The icing on the cake was the launch of Zinox in 2001 to create digital identity for Nigeria.
It was the he first ever internationally certified branded computers OEM in West Africa, the first computer company in the world to incorporate the Naira sign on its keyboard and the first metropolitan Wimax solution in Nigeria.
But within Zinox, there are digital Internet hub called Zinox Telecom which is streaming online content using the group’s robust broadband infrastructure to about 226 tertiary schools and over 1,000 secondary institutions and other strategic corporate organisations in the country.
He also caused the biometric digital revolution in Nigeria with INEC voter’s registration in 2006 when foreign contractors could not deliver after months of promises.
Again he supervised the largest single ICT digital rollout in Africa with INEC in 2010 through his company Zinox Technologies that won the over N27b contract.
A true inspiration for many to follow and a devout Christian and family man; Leo Stan is married to Chioma and they have five beautiful children.
He is also a philanthropist of repute who gives out nearly half of his earnings yearly for the betterment of mankind and in line with his covenant with his God.
He encouraged Apple Computers, Hewlett Packard, Compaq, Microsoft, Lenovo etc. come into Nigeria to establish offices because of his crusade for Digital emancipation of Africans.
Leo Stan has served the Federal government in several strategic Presidential Committees including the most strategic seven-man Committee under President Obasanjo administration – “The Nigeria Thinkers”.
This was the strategy and tact committee headed by the President that visualized the Nigeria global road map and possible dominance in select sectors in Africa and the world
Leo Stan over a hundred awards including; Icon of Hope Award by President Olusegun Obasanjo on the 1st of October 2002 for his exemplary Digital vision and as a Model for modern Nigeria.
He was awarded Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for his incisive digital Entrepreneurship; and pioneer ICT Personality of the year by Nigeria Computer Society – the Umbrella body of all Computer Associations in Nigeria.
A fellow of the Nigeria Computer Society and distinguished Fellow of the Nigeria Law School, Leo Stan has over six Doctor of Science Degrees (Honoris causa) from FUTO, UNIJOS, FUAM, IMSU etc.
A most sought after personality in both local and international ICT events, Leo Stan is Microsoft Inc. Global Adviser and mentor to several start-ups in Nigeria.
Not resting on his achievements, Leo Stan has an ambition to build the first and largest 360 degrees ICT conglomerate in Africa and with his Group investment in Xputer, a 21st century Software company.
Today, he can claim to be there having taken leadership in ICT Solutions (Task Systems Ltd.), ICT Distribution (Technology Distributions), Digital Hardware manufacturing and Hybrid ICT solutions, Retail (Yudala by relationship), Enterprise Digital Internet Hub (Zinox Telecoms Ltd, Nigeria and Ashour Corporation, Dubai) just to mention a few.
As he marks his birthday, we pray God to continue to grant him good health, wisdom and many more years so that mankind will continue to draw from his wealth of experience, forthrightness and exceptional leadership. [myad]
Ahead of the Saturday March 19, FCT Area Council Elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has published and issued a list of thirty candidates jostling for the available six Chairmanship seats. According to a document signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Mrs. Augusta C. Ogakwu, thirteen Political Parties will field candidates to contest the Chairmanship seats in: Abaji; Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC); Bwari; Gwagwalada; Kuje; and Kwali Area Councils. The list of contestants and their parties are as follows:
ABAJI Contestant Party ·Abdulrahaman Ajiya – APC ·Yahaya Garba – PDP (AMAC) ·Yusuf Abdulkarim S. – A ·Vernimbe Gloria – AA ·Augustine Nnaemeka Ezechukwu – ACD ·Abdullahi Adamu – APC ·Joseph Mekwunye – APGA ·Francis Udoka Okpor – CPP ·Comfort B. Effiom – DPC ·Gold Aimuamwenrha – DPP ·Iber Stephen Shimakaha – MPPP ·Kura Bitrus Tanko – PDP ·Uzeh Taiye Sarah Odion – PPA ·Barry Avotu Johnson – SDP ·Nwosu Ozoemelom Kenneth – UPP Bwari ·Wada Abdul – AA ·Musa Dikko – APC ·Keneth Igbekele Olabamiji – CPP ·Andrew Samuel Gwani Igu – PDP Gwagwalada ·Abubakar Jibrin Giri – APC ·Danze Mustapha Adams – APGA ·Sarwuan Fater Ephraim – DPC · Abdullahi Yunusa Umar – PDP Kuje ·Abdullahi D. Galadima – APC ·Haruna Etsu Iliya – APGA ·Oyekan Abdulazeez – DPC ·Ishaku Tete Shaban – PDP Kwali ·Sani Amako Yewuli – A ·Hon. Joseph K. Shazin – APC ·Daniel Ibrahim – PDP Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will tomorrow, Saturday, 20th February conduct twenty two (22) of the Appeal Court-ordered re-run elections across eight (8) states of the federation. This will mark the climax of the eighty court-ordered elections which the Commission is to conduct from January to March 2016. With preparations at top gear to ensure hitch-free mini general elections, INEC will conduct Senatorial, Federal Constituency and State Constituency elections across eight states, namely: Benue, Kaduna, Plateau, Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, Taraba and Imo. A breakdown of these elections shows that the Commission will conduct four (4) Senatorial elections; Three (3) Federal Constituency elections; and Fifteen (15) State Constituency elections. The Senatorial elections will be conducted in Benue South Senatorial District; Imo North Senatorial District; Kogi Central Senatorial District and Kogi East Senatorial District. In a similar vein, the Federal Constituency elections will hold in Okene/Ogori Magongo Federal Constituency of Kogi State; Lafia/Obi Federal Constituency of Nasarawa State; and Kurmi/Sardauna Federal Constituency of Taraba state. The fifteen State Constituency elections will be conducted across Imo, Kaduna, Kogi, Plateau, Niger and Taraba states. They are: · Imo: Isiala Mbano, Oru East, and Owerri West; · Kaduna: Lere West; · Kogi: Ofu Sc, Ankpa 1, Idah, Dekina 1 and Dekina II (Okura); · Niger: Suleja; · Plateau: Langtang South, Pankshin South and Pankshin North; · Taraba: Ardo Kola and Mbamga. This is even as INEC in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) office is to present the Register of Voters to contestants and political parties fielding candidates for the Chairmanship and Councillorship elections tomorrow, Thursday, 18th February 2016. The Resident Electoral Commission (REC) for the FCT, Professor Jacob Jatau, who disclosed this yesterday to the Daily Bulletin said the presentation which would take place at 9.30 a.m. at the INEC FCT Conference Hall was in accordance with the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). [myad]
On the 16th of February 2016, the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) adopted Senator Ali Modu Sheriff (aka SAS), a two-time ANPP Governor of Borno state, a former ANPP senator, the former Chairman of the All Peoples Congress (APC) Board of Trustees and the indisputable founder of Boko Haram as its Acting National Chairman. Modu-Sheriff is also the erstwhile godfather and sponsor of Governor Shettima Ali, the present APC Governor of Borno state (until they fell out), he is a man that has a very deep and profound relationship and association with Idris Deby, the President of Chad and he is a man whose son is married to the daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari. Many have argued that his allegiance is more to the Republic of Chad than it is to Nigeria, that he is an agent of the Chadian intelligence agencies and that he is a Chadian citizen who often flaunts his Chadian passport. I cannot confirm the veracity of these assertions but one thing that I know is that most of Modu Sheriff’s funding and stupendous wealth emanates primarily from the Republic of Chad and that that country is as much a home to him as is Nigeria. Yet it is not his connection with Chad that give me cause for concern. Rather it is his role in the establishment of Boko Haram. The truth is that appointing him as our Acting National Chairman is like appointing Jack the Ripper as the leader of the Conservative party in Victorian England. Kudos must go to the elders in the PDP Board of Trustees, a number of State Party Chairmen and a number of key individuals in the PDP Ministers Forum for taking a courageous and noble stand by rejecting and resisting the imposition of this abominable monstrosity. What Ali Modu Sheriff stands for and represents is utterly repugnant to every fiber of my being. Yet I have no objection to his being a member of the PDP simply because politics is a game of numbers. It is a game in which everyone, no matter how big or small, counts. If you want your party to grow and make progress you must accept the good, the bad and the ugly. To this end when he left the APC and joined the PDP sometime back, I was one of those that gladly welcomed him into our ranks and defended him in the public realm. This was at a time when others criticized the party for accepting him. There is however a world of difference between accepting him as one of the many leaders of the PDP and appointing him as the Acting National Chairman. Others may seek to justify such a course of action but I cannot, in good conscience, do so. To me it is a matter of principle. If we accept this then on what moral grounds did we condemn or oppose the APC or the APC-led Federal Government during the course of the last Presidential election? If we are comfortable with the likes of Ali Modu Sheriff leading us then on what basis did we criticize and oppose President Muhammadu Buhari for appearing to support Boko Haram when he said ”an attack on Boko Haram is an attack on the north”? If we insist on Ali Modu Sheriff being our National Chairman then we may as well go and apologize to the APC for all our past criticisms and condemnations and join them. On what basis can we accept as our National Chairman a man who established, encouraged, supported and nurtured an organisation that later metamorphosised into Boko Haram? This is a terrorist organisation whose ultimate objective is to turn Nigeria into an Islamic fundamentalist state by the use of terror and the force of arms? On what basis can we accept a man to lead us whose Commissioner of Religious Affairs when he was Governor of Borno state, one Alhaji Buji Foi, was the de facto operational commander of Boko Haram. The man was later murdered by those closest to him after investigations into who and how Boko Haram was founded commenced. On what basis can we accept as our National Chairman a man who helped to create an organisation that wishes to establish sharia as the norm in our country, repeal all our criminal and civil laws, ban all our civil liberties and human rights, proscribe the teaching of western education in our schools, turn our women into 6th century sex slaves and abrogate the secularity of our state. On what basis can we accept as our leader a man who supported a group that wishes to suspend our constitution, wipe out the Christian faith and the practice of moderate Islam in our country and create an evil ISIL-type empire in our nation? I really do wonder whether those that made this decision have lost all sense of rationality? I wonder whether they have lost their ability to see reason properly and to exercise their discretion in a logical, responsible and lucid manner? I wonder whether they have lost their fear of God? I wonder whether they have forgotten the evil that was visited on our people, and is still being visited on them, over the last seven years by Boko Haram? I wonder whether they know at whose instance it was that Mohammed Yusuf, the erstwhile leader of Boko Haram, was killed by our security forces whilst in police custody in 2009 just so that he wouldn’t live to tell the whole world who gave him the funds to set up his murderous cult? I wonder whether they have forgotten the terrible havoc that Boko Haram unleashed on our citizens? I wonder whether they have forgotten the tears, wailing and suffering of the bereaved. I wonder whether they have forgotten the slaughter of the innocents. I wonder whether they have forgotten those that were beheaded, those that were chopped to pieces and thrown down wells like dog meat and those that were burnt alive? I wonder whether they have forgotten the savage and bestial rape, murder and abduction of the Chibok girls and all the other little girls that suffered a similar fate in recent times? I wonder whether they have forgotten that our nation is still at war with the bloodthirsty barbarians that committed these atrocities? Since when did we, as a political party, lose our memories and jettison our moral compass in this way? Since when did we become so callous, shameless and insensitive? Since when did greed and the lust for power and money determine and motivate our every course of action? Since when did we throw away caution, decency and principle? Since when did we become so barbarous and uncivilized? Since when did so few make a decision that will affect the lives and fortunes of so many in a profoundly negative way? Have we forgotten about the priests and servants of the Living God that were crucified by Boko Haram at their own church alters? Have we forgotten those that had their homes, schools, churches, mosques and properties pillaged, robbed and burnt to the ground by this group of godless Phillistines? Have we forgotten that the international community, through the International Terror Index, has rightly described Boko Haram as the ”most deadly terrorist organization in the world”? Have we forgotten those gallant young military officers that were killed at the war front whilst fighting this evil plague, all in their quest to keep us safe, to secure our borders and to protect our property and people? Does all that count for nothing? Is this the way to pay them back for their great sacrifice and their noble courage? Are we prepared to throw away all decency and morality just to seek favor with a handful of misguided mortals and in a futile attempt to win political power? Simply put has the leadership of the PDP gone completely mad or are they working for elements outside the PDP? Are they suggesting that you need a godless Haramite to run the affairs of the party before we can ever win power at the center again? Where is the patience and fortitude that is required from true leaders? Where is their faith in God? Where is their sincerity of purpose? Does the leadership of the PDP really believe that it has kept faith with the founding fathers of the party, those that trusted them with power and those that bestowed them with leadership? There were so many other people that they could have chosen to lead our party from the north-east. There were people like Mohammed Wakil, Nuhu Ribadu, Bala Mohammed, Wilberforce Juta, Aliyu Modibbo, Ahmed Gulak and so many others that could have been appointed. These are all committed people with impeccable records of public service, high moral standing and good character. Instead of doing so the leadership of the party chose to impose the most controversial, intellectually-challenged, morally-depraved and despicable character that they possibly could to lead us and when asked why they did so we were told that it was because ”he has plenty of money to spend on the party” and no less than ”5 private jets” to lend out to those who needed a free plane ride. Evidently we have sold our birthright and heritage, not just for a mess of pottage like Esau, but rather for a free ride on a private jet. This is what a party that was once led by successive groups of seasoned and formidable intellectuals and great men of power, vision, courage and good character has been reduced to. This is what the party that was founded and once led by giants like President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief Tony Anenih, General Ibrahim Babangida, General Aliyu Gusau, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, General T.Y. Danjuma, Vice President Abubakar Atiku, President Umaru Yarâadua, President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Bode George, Col. Ahmadu Alli, Chief E.K. Clark, Professor Jerry Gana, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, Chief Ken Nnamani and so many others has degenerated to? What a pity! What a monumental tragedy! This is a party that once boasted of having in its ranks many promising and dynamic bright young stars that were collectively capable of shaking the very foundation of the civilized world and creating new frontiers and greater hope for the future of our people and our beleaguered nation. How are the mighty fallen. What on earth has happened to us? As the Book of Galatians in the Holy Bible asks, ”who has bewitched us”? Over the the course of the last 17 years, in terms of the quality of party leadership, the PDP has gradually descended into the unceremonious cesspit of mediocrity. Worst still, with the recent appointment of Ali Modu Sheriff as our Acting National Chairman, we have chosen to spit in the wind, sleep with the dogs, dance on the graves of our fallen heroes, piss on the blood and bones of the slaughtered innocents and wallow in the filthy pool of compromise, deceit, doublespeak and shame. As a consequence of this calamitous decision we have, literally overnight, become a shell, nay a shadow, of what we used to be. Unfolding events will prove my assertion true. I have no doubt that time will eventually prove me right and vindicate me. The bitter truth is that this arrangement is an affront against the Living God and it cannot stand. Yet if it does stand the party will pay a heavy price for it because it will inevitably lead to the end of the PDP as we know it. Imposing Ali Modu-Sheriff is an insult to all those that have fought for, led, served, defended, supported and risked everything for the party, at every level, over the last 17 years. Only the deeply malevolent can be comfortable with such an arrangement. It is evil. It is godless. It is indefensible. It is shameful and as long as it stands the PDP does not have the moral standing or authority to criticize or condemn others. Those that made this decision behind closed doors and without proper or wide consultations have murdered sleep. They have not only betrayed the confidence that the rest of us bestowed upon them but they have also prepared the coffin for our great party and dug its grave. It is a tragedy of monumental proportions and I have little doubt that God will judge them for what they have done. Ali Modu-Sheriffs long-term plan to high jack the leadership of the party for as long as possible, remain as National Chairman indefinitely and emerge as the Party’s presidential candidate in 2019 will fail because it does not have the blessing of God. Time will prove me right. [myad]
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One of the two remaining DB10, made exclusively for a British fictional secret service agent, James Bond, has been auctioned for a whopping Rs 24 crore (£2,434,500) on Thursday in London. Cars of the British luxury brand Aston Martin are the default choice of Bond.
Ali Modu Sheriff: Who Has Bewitched The PDP? Femi Fani Kayode
Modu-Sheriff is also the erstwhile godfather and sponsor of Governor Shettima Ali, the present APC Governor of Borno state (until they fell out), he is a man that has a very deep and profound relationship and association with Idris Deby, the President of Chad and he is a man whose son is married to the daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Many have argued that his allegiance is more to the Republic of Chad than it is to Nigeria, that he is an agent of the Chadian intelligence agencies and that he is a Chadian citizen who often flaunts his Chadian passport. I cannot confirm the veracity of these assertions but one thing that I know is that most of Modu Sheriff’s funding and stupendous wealth emanates primarily from the Republic of Chad and that that country is as much a home to him as is Nigeria.
Yet it is not his connection with Chad that give me cause for concern. Rather it is his role in the establishment of Boko Haram. The truth is that appointing him as our Acting National Chairman is like appointing Jack the Ripper as the leader of the Conservative party in Victorian England.
Kudos must go to the elders in the PDP Board of Trustees, a number of State Party Chairmen and a number of key individuals in the PDP Ministers Forum for taking a courageous and noble stand by rejecting and resisting the imposition of this abominable monstrosity.
What Ali Modu Sheriff stands for and represents is utterly repugnant to every fiber of my being. Yet I have no objection to his being a member of the PDP simply because politics is a game of numbers. It is a game in which everyone, no matter how big or small, counts. If you want your party to grow and make progress you must accept the good, the bad and the ugly.
To this end when he left the APC and joined the PDP sometime back, I was one of those that gladly welcomed him into our ranks and defended him in the public realm. This was at a time when others criticized the party for accepting him.
There is however a world of difference between accepting him as one of the many leaders of the PDP and appointing him as the Acting National Chairman. Others may seek to justify such a course of action but I cannot, in good conscience, do so. To me it is a matter of principle. If we accept this then on what moral grounds did we condemn or oppose the APC or the APC-led Federal Government during the course of the last Presidential election?
If we are comfortable with the likes of Ali Modu Sheriff leading us then on what basis did we criticize and oppose President Muhammadu Buhari for appearing to support Boko Haram when he said ”an attack on Boko Haram is an attack on the north”? If we insist on Ali Modu Sheriff being our National Chairman then we may as well go and apologize to the APC for all our past criticisms and condemnations and join them.
On what basis can we accept as our National Chairman a man who established, encouraged, supported and nurtured an organisation that later metamorphosised into Boko Haram? This is a terrorist organisation whose ultimate objective is to turn Nigeria into an Islamic fundamentalist state by the use of terror and the force of arms?
On what basis can we accept a man to lead us whose Commissioner of Religious Affairs when he was Governor of Borno state, one Alhaji Buji Foi, was the de facto operational commander of Boko Haram. The man was later murdered by those closest to him after investigations into who and how Boko Haram was founded commenced.
On what basis can we accept as our National Chairman a man who helped to create an organisation that wishes to establish sharia as the norm in our country, repeal all our criminal and civil laws, ban all our civil liberties and human rights, proscribe the teaching of western education in our schools, turn our women into 6th century sex slaves and abrogate the secularity of our state.
On what basis can we accept as our leader a man who supported a group that wishes to suspend our constitution, wipe out the Christian faith and the practice of moderate Islam in our country and create an evil ISIL-type empire in our nation?
I really do wonder whether those that made this decision have lost all sense of rationality? I wonder whether they have lost their ability to see reason properly and to exercise their discretion in a logical, responsible and lucid manner?
I wonder whether they have lost their fear of God? I wonder whether they have forgotten the evil that was visited on our people, and is still being visited on them, over the last seven years by Boko Haram? I wonder whether they know at whose instance it was that Mohammed Yusuf, the erstwhile leader of Boko Haram, was killed by our security forces whilst in police custody in 2009 just so that he wouldn’t live to tell the whole world who gave him the funds to set up his murderous cult?
I wonder whether they have forgotten the terrible havoc that Boko Haram unleashed on our citizens? I wonder whether they have forgotten the tears, wailing and suffering of the bereaved. I wonder whether they have forgotten the slaughter of the innocents. I wonder whether they have forgotten those that were beheaded, those that were chopped to pieces and thrown down wells like dog meat and those that were burnt alive?
I wonder whether they have forgotten the savage and bestial rape, murder and abduction of the Chibok girls and all the other little girls that suffered a similar fate in recent times? I wonder whether they have forgotten that our nation is still at war with the bloodthirsty barbarians that committed these atrocities?
Since when did we, as a political party, lose our memories and jettison our moral compass in this way? Since when did we become so callous, shameless and insensitive? Since when did greed and the lust for power and money determine and motivate our every course of action? Since when did we throw away caution, decency and principle? Since when did we become so barbarous and uncivilized?
Since when did so few make a decision that will affect the lives and fortunes of so many in a profoundly negative way? Have we forgotten about the priests and servants of the Living God that were crucified by Boko Haram at their own church alters? Have we forgotten those that had their homes, schools, churches, mosques and properties pillaged, robbed and burnt to the ground by this group of godless Phillistines? Have we forgotten that the international community, through the International Terror Index, has rightly described Boko Haram as the ”most deadly terrorist organization in the world”?
Have we forgotten those gallant young military officers that were killed at the war front whilst fighting this evil plague, all in their quest to keep us safe, to secure our borders and to protect our property and people? Does all that count for nothing? Is this the way to pay them back for their great sacrifice and their noble courage? Are we prepared to throw away all decency and morality just to seek favor with a handful of misguided mortals and in a futile attempt to win political power?
Simply put has the leadership of the PDP gone completely mad or are they working for elements outside the PDP? Are they suggesting that you need a godless Haramite to run the affairs of the party before we can ever win power at the center again? Where is the patience and fortitude that is required from true leaders? Where is their faith in God? Where is their sincerity of purpose? Does the leadership of the PDP really believe that it has kept faith with the founding fathers of the party, those that trusted them with power and those that bestowed them with leadership?
There were so many other people that they could have chosen to lead our party from the north-east. There were people like Mohammed Wakil, Nuhu Ribadu, Bala Mohammed, Wilberforce Juta, Aliyu Modibbo, Ahmed Gulak and so many others that could have been appointed. These are all committed people with impeccable records of public service, high moral standing and good character.
Instead of doing so the leadership of the party chose to impose the most controversial, intellectually-challenged, morally-depraved and despicable character that they possibly could to lead us and when asked why they did so we were told that it was because ”he has plenty of money to spend on the party” and no less than ”5 private jets” to lend out to those who needed a free plane ride. Evidently we have sold our birthright and heritage, not just for a mess of pottage like Esau, but rather for a free ride on a private jet.
This is what a party that was once led by successive groups of seasoned and formidable intellectuals and great men of power, vision, courage and good character has been reduced to. This is what the party that was founded and once led by giants like President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief Tony Anenih, General Ibrahim Babangida, General Aliyu Gusau, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, General T.Y. Danjuma, Vice President Abubakar Atiku, President Umaru Yarâadua, President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Bode George, Col. Ahmadu Alli, Chief E.K. Clark, Professor Jerry Gana, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, Chief Ken Nnamani and so many others has degenerated to? What a pity! What a monumental tragedy!
This is a party that once boasted of having in its ranks many promising and dynamic bright young stars that were collectively capable of shaking the very foundation of the civilized world and creating new frontiers and greater hope for the future of our people and our beleaguered nation. How are the mighty fallen.
What on earth has happened to us? As the Book of Galatians in the Holy Bible asks, ”who has bewitched us”? Over the the course of the last 17 years, in terms of the quality of party leadership, the PDP has gradually descended into the unceremonious cesspit of mediocrity. Worst still, with the recent appointment of Ali Modu Sheriff as our Acting National Chairman, we have chosen to spit in the wind, sleep with the dogs, dance on the graves of our fallen heroes, piss on the blood and bones of the slaughtered innocents and wallow in the filthy pool of compromise, deceit, doublespeak and shame.
As a consequence of this calamitous decision we have, literally overnight, become a shell, nay a shadow, of what we used to be. Unfolding events will prove my assertion true. I have no doubt that time will eventually prove me right and vindicate me.
The bitter truth is that this arrangement is an affront against the Living God and it cannot stand. Yet if it does stand the party will pay a heavy price for it because it will inevitably lead to the end of the PDP as we know it.
Imposing Ali Modu-Sheriff is an insult to all those that have fought for, led, served, defended, supported and risked everything for the party, at every level, over the last 17 years. Only the deeply malevolent can be comfortable with such an arrangement.
It is evil. It is godless. It is indefensible. It is shameful and as long as it stands the PDP does not have the moral standing or authority to criticize or condemn others. Those that made this decision behind closed doors and without proper or wide consultations have murdered sleep.
They have not only betrayed the confidence that the rest of us bestowed upon them but they have also prepared the coffin for our great party and dug its grave. It is a tragedy of monumental proportions and I have little doubt that God will judge them for what they have done.
Ali Modu-Sheriffs long-term plan to high jack the leadership of the party for as long as possible, remain as National Chairman indefinitely and emerge as the Party’s presidential candidate in 2019 will fail because it does not have the blessing of God. Time will prove me right. [myad]