Buhari vows to ignore religious, tribal sentiments

President-elect, General Mu­hammadu Bu­hari, has vowed to treat all Nigerians equally irrespective of religious and tribal differences for the overall development of the country.
Buhari, who recorded sweeping victory last month on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), gave the assurance in his Dau­ra country home, while receiving Katsina State Governor-elect, Aminu Bello Masari; Deputy Governor-elect, Mannir Yakubu; National and the state House Assem­bly members elected on APC platform and other stakeholders in the state, who paid him a congrat­ulatory visit.
The former head of state charged the in­coming top government functionaries to oper­ate an open-door policy and adhere strictly to the manifesto of the party.
He explained that positive change could only be attained if lead­ers would exhibit trans­parency, accountability, justice and fairness in the discharge of their re­sponsibilities.
Buhari thanked the people of the state and the nation for their sup­port during the presiden­tial and other elections.
Masari, in his remarks, assured that his adminis­tration would do its best to ensure good gover­nance in the state.
His administration, he said, had a lot of pro­grammes and policies that would change the lot of the people of the state for the better.

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Abia: Don’t be scared of re-run, Otti tells PDP

 

Governorship candidate of All Progres­sives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, has urged mem­bers of the Peoples Dem­ocratic Party (PDP) to accept the cancella­tion of the governor­ship poll in the state by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and get ready for a re-run.
Speaking at his cam­paign office in Umuahia, Otti said he was also dis­satisfied with how INEC Returning Officer in the state, Professor Benja­min Ozumba was han­dling the issue.
He said: “If somebody claims that they were vot­ed for and had about 82 ,000 votes, they should not be afraid, because the same people that voted them will vote for them again if there is a re-run and they will have the same number of votes or even more.”
The governorship hopeful, however, in­sisted on the use of card readers for the conduct of the re-run poll as man­dated by INEC.
“I am very disappoint­ed that the returning of­ficer recanted his ground, because a professor of medicine should stand his ground, he should not be intimidated.
“I am also disappoint­ed that he swallowed his words 45 minutes after making a pronounce­ment.
“But I am more dis­appointed that a sitting governor will go and in­timidate the collation of­ficer in his state because of election results .
“It is very dishearten­ing that after mount­ing undue influence and pressure on electoral of­ficers, they came and re­versed themselves before international observers, media men and the world as a whole; they don’t have the right,” he said

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Rivers elections: Observers demand arrest, prosecution of REC

Independent observers, under the aegis of the Coalition of INEC Accredited Election Observer Groups, have demanded the arrest and prosecution of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Rivers State, Dame Gesila Khan, over the fraudulent general elections.
They also insisted the April 11 governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers state did not hold about ten local government areas.
The observers, led by Kalu Victor, Wednesday at a news conference in Port Harcourt, accused Khan, who hails from Bayelsa State as President Goodluck Jonathan, of truncating the efforts of the President to give Nigerians credible and peaceful elections.
They maintained that elections did not hold in Asari-Toru, Akuku-Toru, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Abua/Odual, Khana, Ahoada-East, Ahoada-West, Bonny and Etche LGAs of Rivers state.
The observers said: “There was encouraging voters’ turnout for the elections across that state. There was no election when our teams visited at various times, Asari-Toru, Akuku-Toru, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Abua/Odual, and Khana LGAs. We could not sight a polling unit where elections took place in the areas.
“Voters were peacefully accredited in Ahoada-West, Ahoada-East, Bonny and Etche LGAs, but voting could not hold, as armed thugs in their good number were freely patrolling the areas, intimidating voters and carting away ballot boxes.
“The election was marred by snatching and stuffing of ballot papers and ballot boxes respectively, and intimidation of voters by thugs, especially in Obio/Akpor and Omuma LGAs.”
The independent observers also stated that the behaviour and conduct of the REC of INEC in Rivers state during the elections defined her as being partisan, which they described as a violation of her oath of office and the constitution of Nigeria, regarding her position.
Khan, however, insisted that the March 28 and April 11 elections in Rivers state were free, fair, credible and peaceful.

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David Luiz plays like an eight-year-old - Hoddle

Apr 16, 2015 00:36:00

The Brazilian defender was the subject of a scathing attack by the ex-England coach after his performance in PSG's loss to Barcelona

Bet

= NIC 60$ Draw 38$ PSG 15.8$

Former England coach Glenn Hoddle has slammed David Luiz after his display in Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-1 Champions League defeat to Barcelona, likening the Brazilian to “an eight-year-old who hasn’t been coached.”
The centre-back came on as a first-half substitute for injured compatriot Thiago Silva with his side already trailing 1-0, but was twice nutmegged by Luis Suarez’s as the Uruguayan netted two to put Barca 3-0 up late in the game.
And Hoddle, working as a pundit for Sky Sports in the UK, claimed the €50 million signing from Chelsea should have done much better regardless of the fact he was not fully fit going into the game.
“Even if you’re not 100 per cent fit you can’t show that lack of intent,” said the 57-year-old.
“He is the last man on the pitch when Suarez picks up the ball and starts running at him. He realises he is the last man and the very last thing you should do when you’re the last man is jump in. You bide time for your team to get around you.
“Instead he does what an eight-year-old who hasn’t been coached does: he tries to win it by putting both of his feet together. But when he does that he can’t move anywhere. Suarez nutmegs him again.”
The 27-year-old was PSG’s hero in the previous round, heading the extra-time equaliser which saw them qualify for the quarter-finals at Chelsea’s expense.
But his form defensively has been questioned on many occasions, and Hoddle added that he has never been convinced by David Luiz.
“For me he is a liability at the back, and he always has been. You have to find a place for him in midfield or even at right-back,” he continued.
“He’s a footballer who likes to play in the playground when there is no shape to the game. He is a talent but that’s not what top football is about.

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The Stoke City striker has made good recovery from cruciate ligament injury which had kept him out of the game since August 2014

Bet

= STO 33$ Draw 31.5$ SOT 22.4$

Peter Odemwingie is glad to be back in training after more than six months off due to knee ligament injury.
The Nigerian veteran collapsed in a game for Stoke City last August but is now set to return to the first team after his long lay off.
"I'm joining the team (in training) again and it's a big step in my rehab," Odemwingie told Sky Sports News HQ.
"It's just a bit over six months and I'm really pleased because it's a bit earlier than some players. I hope to be mentally right but it looks OK.
"I'm not scared and hopefully I can get one or two games before the end of the season."
In contrast, his compatriot Victor Moses could now be out for the rest of the season after pulling up injured with a hamstring during Saturday’s 1-1 draw against West Ham.
Potters manager Mark Hughes told the club’s official website that they could be without the Nigerian winger for the remainder of the season.
"It may well be that Victor's season is over unfortunately because of the type of injury he has got. He might get back but at the moment we're probably thinking that he won't make it,” said Hughes.
"It's a shame because Victor has done really well since he's been with us.
"He was our shining light in the early part of the season and then unfortunately he got a couple of quite serious injuries that held him back and in the end he hasn't been able to finish the season with us.
"He'll look back on his time with us and think he's made an impression and done well and we'd agree with that because he's been a really important figure for us this season.

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Soul singer Percy Sledge dies aged 73

Percy Sledge died at home in Baton Rouge

US soul singer Percy Sledge, famed for his song When a Man Loves a Woman, has died aged 73.

Steve Green from talent agency Artists International Management Inc confirmed to the BBC that he had died at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday.
"He was one of my first acts, he was a terrific person and you don't find that in this business very often," said Green. "He was truly a standout."
When a Man Loves a Woman reached the top 10 twice in the UK.
 

Sledge appeared on BBC Two's Later With Jools Holland in 1994

It topped the US Billboard chart for two weeks in 1966, when it got to number four in the UK chart. It reached number two when it was re-released in the UK in 1987. Later this week it will be the 49th anniversary of the song's release.
Sledge was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 and is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
He started his working life as a hospital nurse in the early 1960s before he became a singer.
His other hits included Warm and Tender Love, It Tears Me Up and Take Time to Know Her.
Sledge is survived by his wife and children.
His biggest hit When A Man Loves a Woman found new life in 1991 when Michael Bolton's cover of the song topped the Billboard chart.
Sledge's version was the first US number one to have been recorded at Alabama's historic Muscle Shoals studio, where Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones would record.
It was also the first gold record for Atlantic Records.

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How Buhari’s victory will affect governorship, Assembly polls

In nine days, Nigerians will return to their polling units to elect governors and  lawmakers. Expectedly, the April 11 governorship and Houses of Assembly elections will have more local appeal than last Saturday’s  presidential and National Assembly elections.
Political parties have put the outcome of the March 28 behind them even as the winners bask in the euphoria of their victories and the bruised, lick their wounds. That notwithstanding, the parties and their candidates are back on the campaign fields, marketing their manifestoes ahead of the polls.
One thing seems certain. It is the fact that the victory of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at last Saturday’s election will shape the elections on April 11 and effectively determine where the political pendulum swings.
Historically, in Nigeria, where the central remains very strong than the federating units, once a president emerges, any election conducted afterwards is a fait accompli. The voters are often gripped by the fear of being in the opposition.
The Buhari/Osinbajo ticket fetched the opposition APC 15,424,921 votes from 21 states, cutting across the Southwest, Northwest, Northcentral and Northeast to dislodge incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan and his duputy, Namadi Sambo, whose Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 12, 853,162 votes from 15 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The PDP won all the 11 states in the Southsouth and the Southeast, three in the Northcentral and one in the Southwest.
Bandwagon effect
Going by elections’ historical trends, a shift is expected in the voting pattern of states that were won by the ruling party on April 11 as the factors that accounted for the PDP victory will no longer be there.
For instance, the five states in the Southeast – Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo and Enugu – gave block votes to the PDP and the six Southsouth states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Edo, Delta, Cross River and Rivers gave it to the ruling party, believing that President Jonathan would win the election and that the ruling party will form the next government.
With the overall results in favour of the APC, the states may be in the opposition beginning from May, should they retain that voting pattern at the April 11 polls. Looking at the map of Nigeria, Ekiti is the only state in the Southwest geo-political zone that may be in the opposition in the next political dispensation.
In 1983, the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) re-ordered the election timetable. The Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) as the Independent National Electoral Commision (INEC) was then known, began with the Presidential election and it was a moon’s slide victory for the ruling (NPN). The National Assembly, governorship and House of Assembly elections that followed were mere walkover for the ruling party.
The main opposition party – the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) lost its grip on the states that were under its control since 1979. The states were: the old Oyo and the old Bendel
The Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) lost the old Anambra to the ruling party which also dislodged the Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP) from the old Borno and the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) from Kaduna.
But the moon’s slide victory of the NPN was short-circuited as the military struck on the eve of 1983 to abort the Second Republic. The military intervention was to prevent anarchy as the NPN victory sparked protests in some parts of the country, especially in the West, where the people believed the polls were skewed in favour of the ruling party.
Twenty years after, the election timetable was again reordered and once the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the presidential and majority seats in the National Assembly elections, the governorship and House of Assembly elections were straight wins for the PDP. The ruling party defeated the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in its Southwest stronghold. All the six states in the zone, except Lagos, fell to the PDP. The All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) suffered similar fate in the North.
History beckons
Since Independence, the Southwest has been indifferent to the government at the central. The people in the zone have always pitched tent with the progressives, and ironically, the progressives never had the opportunity of winning the presidency until last Saturday. The primary concern of the Southwest has been to elect leaders who will develop the region.  The desire to belong to the party at the federal largely accounted for the victory of the PDP in Ekiti State. Now that the progressives have won the presidency, analysts believe the people will detest being the lone voice in the wilderness. They hope the outcome of the April 11 polls will be a departure from what they were on June 21, 2014 and March 28.
In the Southsouth and the Southeast, where almost all the PDP governors will be completing their two-term tenure next month, the desire to guarantee soft-landing will shape the voting pattern. Besides, the fact that some of the governors are on their way out of power, the voters may decide to take their fate into their own hands to chose who they want as the governors and representatives in the Houses of Assembly.
It is an indisputable fact that both the Southsouth and the Southeast have always showed their hatred for being in the opposition. They have, since 1960, forged alliances with the North, a region that has always maintained a hold on the central. The defeat of President Jonathan, their preferred candidate, and the need to avoid unnecessary friction with the Federal Government will shape the voting pattern in the zones on April 11.
Federal might
Despite the deployment of federal might in the states, especially those under the PDP control, the results of last Saturday’s elections clearly showed that the wish of Nigerians for change was not subverted.  So, it is unlikely that a ruling party that has lost steam and its bearing will wield still enormous influence on the people.
Militarisation of election
If the complaints of Governors Adams Oshiomhole (Edo) and Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), are anything to go by, the security operatives deployed in those two Southsouth states compromised their oath of office by being partial to one of the parties. The military is yet to learn from the mistakes of Brig-Gen Aliyu Momoh, who allegedly took orders from PDP chieftains to compromise the integrity of the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State. The soldiers and senior police officers who were on election duty allegedly colluded with the ruling party to ensure that the political climate was inclement for the opposition to participate.
In Edo State for instance, a senior military personnel was allegedly detained for refusing to do the biddings of a PDP chieftain. Governor Oshomhole expressed frustrations after his attempts to get across to the police commissioner for intervention failed. He claimed that a promoter of a private television station stormed the state with full military protection and allowed to move about during the elections.
The reasonable thing for any officer deployed in those states is to maintain neutrality and create a level playing ground for all parties on April 11. Any officer on duty will henceforth be cautious in their conduct and they will not hesitate to rein in any overzealous subordinate.
Resident Electoral Commissioners.
Despite the unbiased position of Prof Attahiru Jega, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), some high-ranking officials of the body are yet to shed the toga of partisanship. They still compromise their positions. But with change of baton, such officers will be more careful and carry out their duties without partiality.
In Akwa Ibom, the INEC officials took orders from Governor Godswill Akpabio on how to conduct the elections. After accreditation of voters, the expectation was that voting would commence, but there was nothing like that. Rather, the INEC officials relocated from the polling stations and thumb printed the ballot at an undisclosed location believed to have been provided by the state government. They filled the result sheets only to return to the units to read the results.
After meeting with the President yesterday, Akpabio told State House reporters that the PDP will maintain its lead and retain the states under its control after the April 11 polls.
But APC leaders accused him of relying on rigging. They said Akpabio was banking on manipulation and wondered how a governor, who failed to win a senatorial district will deliver a whole state.
As it was in Akwa Ibom, so also was it in Rivers State where the residents are insisting that voting never took place in the state. The governorship candidate of the APC, Dr. Peterside Dakuku and Senator Magnus Abe echoed the peoples complaints in their protest at the INEC office, where the police gave protection for the collation of results of elections that never took place. Governor Rotimi Amaechi was told he had no right to demand for the result sheets. The INEC officer said it was wrong of any voter to ask for such document, especially when he was not a party agent and when balloting had not even started.
The question to ask is: Will the electoral officers and the police chiefs be so brazen on April 11, when Nigerians return to choose governors and assemblymen?

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