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Ex Liberian president, Amos Sawyer Leads AU Election Observer Team To Nigeria, Ahead March/April Polls

Former Liberian President, Amos Sawyer
Former Liberian President, Amos Sawyer

Former Liberian president, Amos Sawyer has led about 70 African Union’s Election Observer team for the March 28 and April 11 general elections in Nigeria. His team is among the 10-member election monitoring team which also arrived in Nigeria today from the Commonwealth.

Former Malawian President and Chairman of the group, Dr. Bakili Muluzi, briefed newsmen in Abuja, said: “the group was constituted by the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Mr. Kamalesh Sharma following an invitation from the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Our team includes current and former politicians and members of parliament, serving members of national electoral commissions, as well as representatives of civil society, young people and the media.
“Our Commonwealth Observer Group arrived on 21st of March; our mandate is to observe and assess the pre-election period, activities on polling day and the post-election period.
“Throughout, we will consider all factors relating to the credibility of the electoral processes.
“We will assess whether the elections are conducted according to the standards for democratic elections to which Nigeria has committed itself, including the constitutional framework and the other international commitments.
“As we undertake this assessment and conduct our duties, we will be objective, independent and impartial.”
Muluzi said that the group would liaise with other observer missions in the country to “understand their experiences and exchange ideas and information.”
He added that the group would issue a statement shortly after the elections and a report would be submitted thereafter to the Commonwealth Secretary-General.
“The report will be sent to the government of Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission and leaders of other political parties and then to all Commonwealth Governments, before being released to the public.
“When we make our observations known, our intent is to offer constructive support to help strengthen and consolidate the democratic process in Nigeria.
“In so doing, the Commonwealth Observer Group will make recommendations to the authorities concerned on institutional, procedural and other matters as would assist the holding of such elections in the future,” he said.
Muluzi, however, said the group would “not take the risk” to deploy members to the North-Eastern part of the country due to security concerns.
He said the group had met with the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, to inform the commission of the preparations it had made for covering the elections.
According to him, the group will also meet with relevant stakeholders in the coming days.
Also, the AU Commission Chairperson, Dlamini Zuma said yesterday in Addis Ababa that its 70-AU African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) has arrived in Abuja
Zuma said the delegation is led by former Liberian interim president, Amos Sawyer.
Zuma said Sawyer is being assisted by Mr. Ibrahima Fall, former UN Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senegal.
She said members of the delegation were drawn from across Africa and would be in Nigeria for the period of the election, March 28 and April 11.
Zuma said the delegation was sent to Nigeria on the invitation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“The 70-man Short-Term Observers were drawn from various African countries and the Pan-African Parliament to complement the work of the LTOs on Election Day.“
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Obasanjo Raises Alarm: Presidency Set To Hand Over Government To Military

ObasanjoFormer Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has alarted the nation of the plan by the Presidency to handover to the Nigerian military if it loses the March 28 Presidential  election.
According to Obasanjo, this alleged plot would  undermine the integrity of Nigeria among the  comity of nations even as he expressed happiness that Nigeria has gone beyond the rumour of Interim National Government.
”I do hope we will get things more right. A lot of rumours are flying around, I think we have gone away from the rumour of Interim Government because that is not in our constitution.
“I hope we will soon go away from the rumour of handing over to the military because the military is not meant to run affairs of a nation in terms of running government.”
Ahead of Saturday’s presidential election, there have been speculations about a possible military intervention, and the formation of an Interim National Government in Nigeria.
Denials by President Goodluck Jonathan that his government is not planning to surrender power to an interim body, should the opposition win, have not totally doused those fears.
Obasanjo said that the international community, especially the African Union will not accommodate or recognise any government that emerges outside Nigeria’s constitution.
“The intentional community will not condone it, particularly African Union. We have said and it is part and parcel of the constituting act of the African Union. Any government that is not brought about on the basis of the constitution will not be accepted, will not be tolerated and will not be a member of the AU until that government is dismantled.”
Obasanjo said Nigeria has all it takes to dictate the pace for other countries in Africa, adding that Nigerians should blame themselves for where it is today.
”We are the largest country in Africa. We should be a model, setting examples. We shouldn’t be drawing Africa backward. I hope we will not. I hope at the end of this exercise, we would be where we should be, leading Africa and showing examples for the rest of Africa and indeed the rest of the world.
”We have the goodwill of many people. I watched, last night, President Obama talking about our constitution. I watched our brother from Ghana, the current Chairman of ECOWAS talk about our constitution. They are all interested, they all wish us well, should we wish ourselves anything less?”
Obasanjo said political parties should focus more on what unite the country and avoid hate campaigns, adding that anyone who is interested in the future of Nigeria should focus on issues of insecurity, economy, employment.
”How are we going to get them, what are we going to do, not trivial issues of certificate, no certificate, not trivial issues of when somebody are talking about someone is a Nigerian and not a Nigerian.
Wife of General Muhammadu Buhari, who had earlier embarked on a rally in company of all the wives of APC Governors in the country at Moshood Abiola Stadium in the town, thanked Obasanjo for being what she described as a true nationalist, saying that he acted beyond party level while solving issues affecting the country.
”Baba exercises his prowess as a father, as a former head of state of Nigeria twice. Very few Nigerians have the opportunity to rule the country twice. We are here today to show our appreciation the way you handle things as a statesman and also a nationalist.
”We thank you so much for acting beyond party in getting things right, thank you for that. May you live long to continue solving our problems.”

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Edo APC Women Condemn PDP For Misrepresenting Mrs. Buhari’s Statement

MRS Ayisha Buhari And Edo APC Women During Campaign In Edo State
MRS Ayisha Buhari And Edo APC Women During Campaign In Edo State

The women’s wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State has condemned the attempts by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to misrepresent the pronouncements of Hajiya A’isha Buhari at the recent APC South-South women’s rally in the state.
In a statement today in Benin, the Edo State capital, and signed by the State’s women leader, Dr. (Mrs.) Aisosa Amadasun the APC said the mischief and ill-will evident in recent publications misrepresent the utterances of Hajiya A’isha Buhari, which depict the usual desperation of the PDP to misinform Nigerians for cheap political gains.
The statement said that Hajiya Buhari at the rally addressed important national issues, especially those affecting women without prejudice against any part of the country.
“For clarification,” the statement noted, Hajiya Buhari had said that in each zone of the country, problems differ adding: “for me, in this zone, girl child trafficking should be considered one of our problems, though I know there is unemployment. The unemployment is the major factor that contributes to brain drain and also the girl-child trafficking. General Muhammadu Buhari is a leader, he was a leader, he led Nigeria some decades ago, and he is coming back now to sanitize the system.
“When my husband is elected, all these are going to be history. The insecurity, the girl-child trafficking, sufferings of widows in the South-East will come to an end.
“There must be a design – a cultural design that can accommodate the widow, and then a design that can make the girl-child comfortable wherever she is in the country. She doesn’t need to leave her country to go and prostitute elsewhere. It is not her portion. Her portion is to have a moral, a high standard moral society for her to live, get married, have children, train them and also mould them to become the future of our leaders.
“It is evident from her statement that Hajiya Buhari only spoke as a mother and patriot who is committed to the well-being of the Nigerian girl-child, widows and the female gender in general,” the statement by the Edo State APC Women Wing said.

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150 Feared Dead In Plane Crash In France

Germanwings Airbus A320 planeA Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crashed today in the foothills of the Alps in southeastern France.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls feared that those aboard the flight from Barcelona, Spain, to Dusseldorf, Germany – 142 passengers and six crew members – may be dead. A short time later, Germanwings executives said that there were at least 150 people aboard, 144 of whom were passengers.
French President Francois Hollande also said no survivors were expected. The plane crashed near Digne-les-Bains, in the Alpes de Haute Provence region, Valls said.
“The conditions of the accident are not yet clear but lead us to believe there will be no survivors,” Hollande said.
Spanish King Felipe VI said there was a “high number of Spaniards, Germans and Turks” on the doomed Germanwings flight.
Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s Prime Minister, tweeted that he will return to Madrid, put together a “crisis team” and sends a minister to France.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the German government had already set up a crisis center in response to the “terrible news” and was in close contact with the French authorities.
“In these difficult hours, our thoughts are with those who have to fear that their close ones are among the passengers and crew,” he said.
Hollande warned that it could take some hours for the emergency services to reach the remote crash site.
The crash happened in mountainous terrain near the Prads-Haute-Bleone community, French police Capt. Benoit Zeisser said.
Because of the terrain, it will be a difficult site for rescuers to access, Zeisser said. A police helicopter is in the area, he said.
The sports hall of a local school for students aged 11 to 14 has been freed up to take in bodies of the victims of the plane crash, Sandrine Julien from the town hall of Seyne-les-Alpes village said.
The school remains open, she said. Seyne-les-Alpes is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the crash site on a straight line.
Mountain guide Yvan Theaudin told BFMTV the crash was in the area of the Massif des Trois Eveches, where there are peaks of nearly 3,000 meters (1.9 miles). It’s very snowy in the area and the weather is worsening, he said, which could complicate search and rescue efforts.
Responders may have to use skis to reach the crash site on the ground, he said.
A distress call associated with plane was sent at 10:45 a.m. local time (5:45 a.m. ET), French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told CNN affiliate BFMTV.
Germanwings Flight 9525 had left Barcelona airport at 10:01 a.m., the airport website said.
Germanwings is a low-cost airline owned by the Lufthansa Group. Lufthansa has gradually been transferring many of its short-haul flights to Germanwings, with the exception of flights operated from its Frankfurt and Munich hubs.
Lufthansa said Tuesday on Twitter that “we do not yet know what has happened to flight 4U 9525.”
“If our fears are confirmed, this is a dark day for Lufthansa. We hope to find survivors,” Lufthansa said on Twitter.
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Governor Uduaghan Fingers International Community As Being Part Of Nigeria’s Oil Theft

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan

Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has said that the International Community cannot be exonerated from the criminality of crude oil theft in Nigeria.
Speaking today at the commissioning of thirty gun boats procured by the Defence Headquarters for the Joint Task Force (Operation Pulo Shield) in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State, Uduaghan observed that 80 per cent of Nigeria’s stolen crude are exported for use by refineries outside Nigeria.
“Over 80 per cent of the stolen crude is exported and refined outside Nigeria, the International Community needs to cooperate with Nigeria to wipe out crude oil theft.”
He stressed that the military cannot do the job alone, even as he assured that President Goodluck Jonathan is committed to wiping out crude oil theft, pipeline vandalization and other criminal acts bedeviling the nation’s economy,
The Governor, who was the special guest of honour at the event said that the International Community must join in the collective efforts to check the increasing menace of oil theft in the country.
“This crude oil theft requires the participation of all of us; some of the people who are involved in the crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism are our brothers, our friends and in some cases, our heroes. We must be involved in the engagement of the people involved in these activities for them to desist from the criminal acts.”
Governor Uduaghan said that the vandalization of pipelines was impacting negatively on gas supply to power plants which in turn has reduced available power supply in the country.
“President Jonathan has done a lot in the power sector; more power plants have been completed during his administration more than any other administration, but the challenge we have now is sabotage to our gas pipelines.”
Uduaghan commended the military for its fight against crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism reiterating that the gunboats would boost the operations of the JTF in the Niger Delta.
Also, he thanked the military for its commitment to checking insurgency in the North-Eastern part of the country, saying that President Jonathan is committed to making Nigeria safe, peaceful and devoid of criminal activities.
The Governor used the occasion to call for the re-election of the President Jonathan in the Saturday elections, saying that he means and will continue to work in the interest of Nigeria as an indivisible country.
In his address, Governor Seriake Dickson thanked President Jonathan for equipping the military which has made it to be more proactive in carrying out its functions.
Apart from the warships recently given to the Nigerian Navy, Dickson said that with the gun boats, the capacity of members of JTF to check the activities of criminals will be enhanced.”
Earlier, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh thanked President Jonathan for his support for the Nigerian Armed Forces, stating that the boats would be deployed for the economic interest of the country.
“We want peace to prevail, so trouble-makers should be warned, criminals should desist from their unpatriotic acts,” he said, adding that the fight against insurgency and criminal activities was yielding the desired results.
The Commander, JTF, Operation Pulo Shield, Major-General Emmanuel Atewe stated that the JTF through cooperation from the riverine communities was winning the war against crude oil thieves.

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10 APC Executive Members Defect To PDP In Adamawa

Nuhu Ribadu
Nuhu Ribadu

Ten executive committee members of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State have defected to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The group said they defected in order to render support to the PDP governorship candidate, Nuhu Ribadu. The defection was announced today at Adamawa PDP Secretariat by Padio Phineas, the publicity secretary of the APC.
More details later.
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Jonathan, Tukur And A Government Of A Jezebels By Femi Fani Kayode

PDP Campaign Director, Femi Fani KayodeI must commend President Goodluck Jonathan for removing Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as National Chairman of the PDP and finally dumping him. It really is good riddance to bad rubbish because that man was a disaster to his party. PDP itself is bad enough but to have a self-conceited and vainglorious ancient dinosaur who is completely fixed in his ways, who believes that anyone and everyone below the age of 60 is still a ”young” man or woman  and who sees the world from the prism and mindset of a 1960’s Viet Nam war veteran that is still suffering from post-war traumatic syndrome was a disaster waiting to happen. This was a man that drove goodwill away from his party in the same way that shelltox drives away mosquitoes from a bedroom. As long as Tukur was in charge the continued demise of the PDP was guaranteed. He was not only a scourge to the ruling party but he was also a beautiful, eager and willing undertaker to it’s long lost glory and a tremendous source of comfort and joy to those of us in the opposition APC. We shall miss him sorely and I must confess that he did a great job for us whilst he lasted. May he enjoy his forced and long-overdue retirement from public office and partisan politics and may he live long enough to see the PDP defeated and an APC President sworn in 2015.
I also commend the President for removing and reshuffling a large number of his key commanders in the military a couple of weeks ago and then retiring no less than three of his four Service Chiefs just the other day (16th January 2014) and appointing new ones. This was the right and proper thing to do after the precious lives of no less than 7000 innocent Nigerian citizens were cut short by Boko Haram in the war against terror in the last three years. It was also the expedient and responsible thing to do given the fact that no less than 200 of our gallant soldiers were killed in one battle alone against Boko Haram (and later buried in mass graves) just a few months ago simply because they ran out of bullets and after a whole army barracks was burnt down to the ground and the family members of military personnel were slaughtered, again by Boko Haram, just a few weeks ago. Something had to give and heads had to role simply because we were not making any headway in the war against terror and instead we were suffering heavy casualties and embarrassing losses.
Yet despite the fact that both moves were commendable they will change nothing because they are both too little and too late. The PDP will continue to sink because it is a political party that has lost it’s bearing and it’s soul and it has mortgaged it’s conscience. It has also lost the source and strength of it’s inspiration and moral authority in the distinguished person of President Olusegun Obasanjo who really was the glue that bound the party together and kept it going against all odds. Though Obasanjo remains in the PDP he has also wisely opted out of participating in it’s affairs. This is a manifestation of his disgust with the President and the former National Chairman and he has now become the official ”navigator” of the newly emerging power in the field of Nigerian politics which is known as the APC. Frankly speaking the PDP has become a party that is beyond redemption and the removal of Tukur cannot change that. I say this because no sensible person will go back to a stinking carcass simply because the head of the dead animal has been cut off and thrown away. A carcass remains a carcass whether you cut off it’s head, legs or any other part of it’s body or not. Whichever way, it remains as dead as a dodo and it only awaits a formal burial. The truth is that the vultures are already feeding fat on the rotting and decaying cadavar of the PDP and whether anyone likes to hear it or not the truth is that that party can never be whole again. As I said 8 months ago it is a party that has been rejected by God and whose leaders are suffering God’s judgement for their unjust, gluttonous, wicked, foul and evil ways.
In the same way I have to say that no matter how commendable and honourable in intention the recent changes in our military High Command may be they will achieve nothing either and, in practical terms, they will serve absolutely no purpose. This is because the morale of the army is very low due to the massive losses that they have recorded in the war against Boko Haram and because they have a Commander in Chief who does not care about their welfare, does not ”give a damn” about their fortunes and does not have the guts to lead and inspire them with strength and courage. Worst still he has refused to arm and equip them properly or give them a free hand to fight and prosecute the war against terror with the ruthless precision and decisive resolve that is required. They say that if an army of sheep is led by a lion it will win every battle. In the same vein they also say that if an army of lions is led by a sheep it cannot win any battle. The latter is the case in Nigeria. In our military we have an army of lions who are well-trained, professional, strong, courageous, ready to go and capable of doing anything that is required of them as long as they are properly-led, well-armed, well-equipped, well-motivated, well-supplied, adequately encouraged, thoroughly inspired and well-supported.
However that same army of noble and courageous lions is led by a sheep who, by his own words, has told the world that he is not a lion, he is not a warrior, he is not a fighter and that he is not a king. If anyone has any doubts about that permit me to refer you to my essay titled ”A President Without Balls” and the two updated versions of the same essay titled ”The Gutless Eunuch and Spirit of the Jagaban” and ”The Gutless Eunuch and the Lion King” respectively. They can all be found on my website-www.femifanikayode.org or you can just google them. To have such a man as Commander-in-Chief actually encourages and tempts the enemy to attack us because weakness and a reluctance to lock horns and engage and to be strong, forceful and decisive when provoked or attacked always attracts aggression. As long as such a weak and uninspiring man remains the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces please be ready for more casualties and more losses regardless of how lion-like, courageous or professional our soldiers may be.
However there is hope. If Goodluck Jonathan wants his fortunes and the fortunes of his party to change and if he wants peace to return to our shores he simply has to do twelve things. Firstly he has to resign as President forthwith and  undertake to stay out of Nigerian politics for the next ten years and confine himself to fishing in Otueke. Secondly, if he cannot step down, he must give a public undertaking to the Nigerian people that he will not run for re-election in 2015 and tell them that if he changes his mind and decides to do so at the last minute they should stone him. Thirdly he must go and prostrate flat on the floor with his face touching the ground before seven of the most respected and distinguished men in this country and tell them that he is very sorry for the mess he has created and he must refuse to get up until they swear by the Holy Bible or Holy Koran that they have truly forgiven him for destroying our country. Those men are President Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Babangida, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, General TY Danjuma, General Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Atku Abubakar and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Fourthly he must write an open letter of apology to the 36 Governors of the Federation, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House and the Chief Justice of the Federation for his manipulative ways and the gross incompetence and ineptitude that he has displayed whilst running the affairs of this country over the last three years.
Fifthly he must write a letter of condolence and pay a token fee of compensation as restitution to the families of every single one of the 7000 innocent Nigerians that have been killed by Boko Haram in the last three years. Sixthly he must take off the kid gloves, stop interfering and give the military the green light to use all necessary means to prosecute the war against Boko Haram and he must win that war. Seventhly he must dismantle the death squads and the group of deadly snippers that he has allegedly commissioned to create havoc and he must tear up the list of one thousand opposition figures that he has been accused of drawing up for elimination by Obasanjo and others. Eighthly he must remove one Esho Jinadu who is better known as Mr. Buruju Kashamu (a rather strange name that does not have it’s origins in yorubaland but instead sounds like a low quality brand of Indian tea) as the leader of the PDP in the south-west and honour the demand of the American Courts and the ruling of the Nigerian Federal High Court and Court of Appeal by extraditing him to the United States of America to answer serious charges of drug smuggling in that country forthwith. Ninthly he must direct his Ijaw supremacist kinsmen to desist from threatening the lives of other Nigerians that oppose his government and who keep threatening brimstone and fire and the dismemberment of Nigeria if he is not allowed to come back in 2015.
Tenthly he must undertake to stop serving kai kai at the Presidential Villa and he must dispense with the services of one Mama Brandy, a well-known Ijaw ”prayer warrior” and spiritualist. Eleventh, he must pull down every satanic alter that may have been erected in the Presidency and consecrate and re-dedicate the whole place to the Living God. And twelfthly he must give a public undertaking that the other four Presidents that run this country with him and that act as his ”Co-Presidents” will also step down with him forthwith or, if he insists on staying till 2015, give an undertaking that he will fire them with immediate effect and bar them from playing any role whatsover in the running of the affairs of our country from now on. Those four co-Presidents are, in order of seniority, 1. Dame Patience Jonathan (the First Lady)  2. Allison Dizeani Madueke (the Hon. Minister of Petroleum Resources) 3. Stella Oduah (the not so Hon. Minister of Aviation) and 4. Ngozie Okonjo-Iweala (the Hon. Minister of Finance and the Co-ordinating Minister). President Goodluck Jonathan, even though he is the public face of the small cabal of co-Presidents that presently rules Nigeria and even though he is the one that was given a lawful mandate from the Nigerian people in 2011 to lead our country, comes a distant fifth in the pecking order. He is co-President number 5 and woe betide him if he crosses the line and tries to challenge the position or usurp the duties of any of his four seniors. That is the sordid and degenerate level that our country has been reduced to by this little man from Otueke.
Yet it is not too late. If our President can find the courage to take these twelve steps peace will return to Nigeria immediately and our people will once again have hope. The problem that we have in our country today is not an ageing former Party National Chairman called Bamanga Tukur who had lost touch with reality, who never knew how to play the game and who did not know when to call it quits. And neither was it a set of tired and exhausted army commanders and Service Chiefs who did their best but who received no real and tangible support or encouragement from their Commander-in-Chief in the field of battle. The problem that we have is the President himself- a President who prides himself on his own weakness and incompetence and whose love of false prophets and strange women knows no bounds and has no end. A President who is as confused and as clueless as the comic character called Chancey Gardner in the celebrated 1970’s Peter Seller’s Hollywood blockbuster titled ”Being There”.
A President who does not understand the meaning of the word ”class” or ”honesty” and who breaks his own word consistently. A President who has abdicated his responsibilities, destroyed his own political party, divided his own country, alienated his own friends, humiliated his own mentor, abandoned his own people, brought ridicule to his own faith, cowers before his own officials, betrays his own governors, scorns the international community and breaks his solemn oath to protect and defend the Nigerian people. A President who does not even have the nerve or the guts to call to order any of the numerous Jezebels that control him. He is the problem we have in our country today and until he resigns, is impeached or is voted out of power nothing will change and Nigeria will continue to go from bad to worse. That is what you get when you vote for a man who never wore shoes to school. May God deliver our country.
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President Obama To Nigerians: Keep Nigeria One After The Elections

US President, Barack Obama
US President, Barack Obama

President of the United States of America, Barack Obama has asked Nigerians to keep the country united before and after the March/April general elections.

Obama said: “I’m told that there is a saying in your country: “to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done.”  Today, I urge all Nigerians—from all religions, all ethnic groups, and all regions—to come together and keep Nigeria one.
The US President who gave the advise in his video message to Nigerians ahead of this Saturday’s Presidential election further asked Nigerians to reject “those who call for  violence.
 “I call on all Nigerians to peacefully express your views and to reject the voices of those who call for violence.  And when elections are free and fair, it is the responsibility of all citizens to help keep the peace, no matter who wins.
Obama said that successful elections and democratic progress will help Nigeria meet the urgent challenges it faced today which include  Boko Haram—a brutal terrorist group that kills innocent men, women and children—must be stopped.
“Hundreds of kidnapped children deserve to be returned to their families.  Nigerians who have been forced to flee deserve to return to their homes.  Boko Haram wants to destroy Nigeria and all that you have worked to build.
“By casting your ballot, you can help secure your nation’s progress. Nigeria is a great nation and you can be proud of the progress you’ve made.  Together, you won your independence, emerged from military rule, and strengthened democratic institutions.
“You’ve strived to overcome division and to turn Nigeria’s diversity into a source of strength.  You’ve worked hard to improve the lives of your families and to build the largest economy in Africa.
“Now you have a historic opportunity to help write the next chapter of Nigeria’s progress—by voting in the upcoming elections.  For elections to be credible, they must be free, fair and peaceful.
“All Nigerians must be able to cast their votes without intimidation or fear.
The US President called on all leaders and candidates to make it clear to their supporters that violence has no place in democratic elections—and that they will not incite, support or engage in any kind of violence—before, during, or after the votes are counted.
“I call on all Nigerians to peacefully express your views and to reject the voices of those who call for violence.  And when elections are free and fair, it is the responsibility of all citizens to help keep the peace, no matter who wins.
 He gave assurance that Nigeria’s quest to advance the frontiers of security, prosperity, and human rights of all Nigerians, would continue to have the support and “a friend and partner in the United States of America.”
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Don’t Vote For Jonathan After His Wife Had Insulted You, Mrs. Buhari Urges Northerners

General Muhammadu Buhari's Wife, Ayishatu Buhari
General Muhammadu Buhari’s Wife, Ayishatu Buhari

The wife of the All Progressives Congress (apc) Presidential Candidate, Aisha Buhari, has asked women and men in the Northern part of the country not to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan whose wife, Dame Patience had earlier insulted them in the open.

Dame Patience Jonathan had allegedly described the region as an enclave of beggars and unwanted children which Hajiya Aisha condemned and asked people of goodwill to condemn it too.
Aisha insisted that for Dame Patience Jonathan to describe the Northerners as a bunch of Almajiri that give birth to children indiscriminately, she had shown that Jonathan regime has a hidden agenda.
She added that the people of the North should, therefore, reject the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate even as she promised Kano women that her husband and the APC will be faithful to their electoral promises, and also will initiate programmes that will make women self-reliant.
“With General Buhari in power, the spate of kidnapping and reckless assassination of innocent people will be history in Nigeria. With General Buhari in power, the nation’s depressing economy will be rebounded in line with the expectation of the citizens and world best practices.”
Hajiya Aisha said she was in Kano to canvass the support of women knowing their role as important pillars in winning election the world over, saying it would be a disaster for any politician to ignore the vital role of women.
She stressed the need for women to exhibit courage and fighting spirit, just as she urged them to make themselves available as foot soldiers during the election.
Hajiya Aisha  Buhari called for more freedom for women in the North so that they would be able to engage themselves in productive enterprises like their counterparts in the Southern part of the country.
She commended the Kano State Government under the leadership of Rabiu Kwankwaso for its giant developmental strides, particularly in improving access to education.
She said that governor Kwankwaso’s administration took children out of streets to schools.
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We Support Jonathan Because He Gave Us Contract, OPC Leader, Gani Adams Says

Gani Adams
Gani Adams

National Coordinator of a Yoruba group, Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Gani Adams has said that the Congress is supporting President Goodluck Jonathan because he approved a contract for its members to protect pipelines across the South-West.

Adams said the contract would provide at least 5,000 jobs for his boys and 10,000 jobs for other youths in the South-West.
Reacting to the allegation by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that Jonathan bribed ethnic militias with N9bn to scuttle the elections, Adams, who led thousands of youths to protest against the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega, in Lagos last Monday, said supporting Jonathan is in the interest of the Yoruba nation.
He said the APC should be commending Jonathan for approving contracts for the OPC because only the Niger-Delta militants were benefitting from the oil money before now. Adding: “the allegation is that the Federal Government gave us a contract: Pipeline security. What is the security of pipeline to the OPC? We have been running this organisation without getting a dime from any government but most of the security agencies saddled with the responsibility of protecting the pipelines have failed; people were dying every day.
“Nigeria was losing more than N3bn everyday to the activities of the vandals and the agitation of that contract started from Dr. Fredrick Fasehun one and a half years ago and you know the bureaucracy of Nigerian ministries. It was a long process and it was just granted and it will empower nothing less than 5,000 youths from my side.
“Altogether, that is about 15,000 jobs for Yoruba land. Will you deny Yoruba youths the opportunity of getting 15,000 jobs because of politics?”
Adams said the APC was only being hypocritical because most of its leaders had oil licences. He said the major reason they were against Jonathan was because their licences were due to expire in September and they feared he would not renew the contracts.
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