Yuguda, Shema, Geidam Shun Northern Govs' Meeting

The reported crack in the ranks of the Northern Governors’ Forum became obvious on Thursday as three state governors shunned the forum’s crucial meeting in Kaduna.
Governor Issa Yuguda of Bauchi; his Katsina State counterpart, Ibrahim Shema and Governor Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe State failed to attend the meeting and did not send any of the states’ officials to represent them.
In all, only five of the 19-member body were present at the meeting held at the Gen. Hassan Katsina House, Kaduna, while 11 of the governors sent either their deputies or their secretaries to the state governments.
Yuguda and Shema had played prominent roles in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum election penultimate Friday, where Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, defeated Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang by 19 to 16 votes.
It was reported that the failure of either Yuguda or Shema to step down for each other led to the choice of Jang as the northern governors’ consensus candidate.
However, the chairman of the Forum, and Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, defended the turnout, explaining that the fact that most of the governors sent their deputies showed that they were adequately represented. He said most of them gave reasons why they could not attend.
He said, “If I send my deputy to a place whether I like it or not whatever decision is taken there is part of my decision and I have been saying it loud and clear that if I die today before I am even buried, my deputy will be sworn in. “We have had an example in Kaduna State. So sending a deputy did not reduce the level or the importance of any decision taken there.”
The governors, according to Aliyu, kicked against the proposed banning of the Almajiri system of education in the region where children of school age roam the streets in quest of Islamic education.
Urging political leaders to focus on issues that would engender national development and the consolidation of the democratic gains, the governors condemned the killing of security operatives in Nasarawa State by the Ombaste group.
“The forum further expressed concern over the economic problems facing the nation, especially the North and resolved to have an economic plan that would form the basis for the economic development of the North.
Also, speaking on the controversial Nigeria Governors’ Forum election, Aliyu said, “I am speaking to you as the chairman of the NSGF (Northern State Governors Forum) and if you want my view, I will tell you we had an election.” Aliyu, who also dismissed the threat by Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda never to attend the meeting of the NSGF , said it was unfortunate that “we seem to be developing a culture where when you are preparing for an election , you must also prepare to contest in the court.”
But Yuguda also on Thursday accused NSGF of being responsible for the crisis which caused the factionalisation of the hitherto strong NGF.
One of the factions is led by Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, who reportedly won the May 24 election. Jonah Jang of Plateau State lays claim to the leadership of the second group.
Yuguda had on Sunday withdrawn his membership of the NSGF, citing what he called failure by his colleagues in the North to honour an agreement to support Jang during the controversial NGF poll.
However, Aliyu after reading the communique of the Forum on Thursday at the General Hassan Katsina House, Kaduna,told journalists that the brouhaha over the NGF election was not unexpected.
The governor, who said he was not prepared to open up on what led to the problem trailing the NGF poll, added that in every election, there must be crisis which the participants must resolve among themselves.
He said, “If I am to tell you what led to the problem in the NGF, we will stay here till tomorrow; so I have no intention of doing that. I will only tell you that in whatever process of election or whatever, there may be one person or two that will be aggrieved.
“We seem to be developing a culture where when you prepare for an election, you must also prepare to contest in court. As I am speaking to you as the chairman of NSGF, if you want my view, I will tell you we had an election; we have a problem and we will solve it.”
On Yuguda’s threat never to attend the meeting of the NSGF meetings, Aliyu said he (Yuguda) was free to do so since the forum was a voluntary group.
He said, “The situation is that when people feel aggrieved, you don’t go back retaliating on what they have said. He (Yuguda) did not write to this meeting and it is a voluntary organisation and we have resolved as a group to follow this informally. You (journalists) did not hear any one of us replying him the way you heard him.”
Meanwhile, Yuguda has said he has yet to understand why Aliyu did not stand up for the integrity of the Northern Governors’ Forum after he and the other Northern governors resolved to endorse Jang as their consensus candidate for the NGF election.
The governor however said despite the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party leading to the suspension of two state governors, no party was capable of dislodging it.
Yuguda spoke with State House corespondents shortly after meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said where there was integrity, if 19 governors presented a consensus candidate in a 35-member association as the Northern governors did, the game should have been over.
He added that the NGF had never been known to be conducting elections as its leaders were always chosen by consensus.
He said, “My words should be my bond. If I had sat down with 19 of my colleagues and we agreed on something, I should not see the chairman of that forum not coming to protect the integrity of the Northern State Governors Forum and by extension the NGF and that is why I say all the crisis and all the unfortunate comments made about the governors today, the fault should be traced to the NSGF because we are the culprits.
“That is why I say on his honour, let the chairman of the NSGF come out and tell Nigerians that either we in the forum did not come out with Jang as our consensus candidate or we, 19 governors, picked Jang as our consensus candidate.
“If that had been done, all these things will not happen and that is why I say if I will sit with my colleagues and we take a decision and you go and do a different thing, I am not part of that. Me as a person, I don’t want to attend their (Northern governors’) meeting but my deputy can attend on behalf of the people and government of Bauchi State. But as a person, I will not. That has always been my position.” 

Source: Naij.com

Source: Punch Nigeria

Do Not Level OPC with Boko Haram – Gani Adams

The Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, on Thursday declared that it is not a terrorist group and should not be likened to Boko Haram and their activities.

The group made this known while reacting to statement credited to some northern leaders calling for the ban of OPC and some other groups.

“It has come to (our attention) that some prominent people from the Northern part of the country who are not happy with the determination of the Federal Government to put a stop to the wanton killings in the North have decided to cast aspersions on the OPC by equating it with the Boko Haram sect. We have decided to remain neutral and maintain our peace since the orgy of killings started. But we have taken note of statements credited to some prominent Northern leaders, especially since the crack down on the Boko Haram sect,” the National Coordinator of OPC, Gani Adam, said.

While justifying his group’s existence, Mr. Adams explained that OPC is not a faceless group like Boko Haram, adding that the addresses of leaders and members are known all over the country. He added that the organisation is known worldwide for working positively towards a genuine cause.

Mr. Adams also pointed out his disappointment in the former Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Abubakar Tsav, who he fingered as the arrowhead of the call for the ban on OPC. According to OPC leader, Mr. Tsav, while condemning the Federal Government’s all-out attack on Boko Haram, wondered why the president failed to ban other groups including the OPC because the groups are involved in acts of terrorism.

“We state here as a matter of fact that the OPC is a visible organisation, with known addresses all over the country. Its leaders are also known and accessible to all Nigerians, including security agencies. We draw our strength from our membership of more than seven million. It is also on record that we don’t engage in clandestine activities, since our activities are known to all and recorded for history by the vibrant and courageous Nigerian media and therefore is in no way a security threat to the country,” Mr. Adams countered.

Mr. Adams also remembered that in 2002 and 2005, some leaders of the OPC including himself and Fredrick Fasehun were arrested for unlawful association and organisation; but were acquitted of the charges by separate courts.

“The first was time was at the Federal High Court, Lagos, where Justice Dan Abutu struck out the matter and discharged and acquitted us of all the charges. The second case was at the State High Court, Abeokuta, Ogun State, where Justice Charles Oluremi Jacobs (OFR) also struck out the case, discharged and acquitted us. The government still took us before Justice Sybil Nwaka of the Lagos High Court. The honourable justice also struck out the case, discharged and acquitted us. But surprisingly, we were taken before Justice Anwuli Chikere of the Federal High Court, Abuja. On 19th of December, 2006, the honourable judge ruled in our favour, while discharging and acquitting us. ‘You will agree with us that these four rulings are enough proof that the OPC is not an unlawful organization or a threat to national security,” he said.

Mr. Adams said that it became necessary for the congress to refute Mr. Tsav’s claims so that its silence may not be viewed as guilt. He added that the group’s activities in the Southwest in the last ten years speaks of its peaceful nature.

According to the OPC leader, the group is in the forefront of the propagation and promotion of the Yoruba culture and values beyond the shores of Nigeria, adding that its involvement in traditional festivals such as the Osun Oshogbo festival in Osun State; the Oke Ibadan festival in Oyo State and the Olokun Festival in Badagry, Lagos State, has helped put these festivals on the global cultural map.

Mr. Adams also added that the group has continued to promote cordial relations with other ethnic groups and has been part of the Federal Government’s peace initiatives.

“It will also be recalled that Otunba Gani Adams was a participant at the National Peace Forum, organized by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Inter-party Relations, in 2004. The OPC leader was later appointed as a state Peace Envoy. In the same vein, the OPC also participated at the African First Ladies Peace Mission meeting, organized in Abuja by the office of the First Lady in 2012,” he said.

Emphasising that the OPC is Yoruba organization, formed with the basic aim of promoting the cultural values and protect the interest of the Yoruba people, Mr. Adams said, “Nobody can fault our activities. Rather, unlike the acts of violence raging in other parts of the country, the south west has been very peaceful, with no single act of terrorism recorded on our soil.”

 

Source: Premium Times

I’m Not Leaving PDP – Amaechi

Rivers State governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, yesterday, insisted that he has no intentions of leaving Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP.
Meanwhile, Justice Emmanuel Ogbuji of a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday, held that his court has jurisdiction to hear the suit by Governor Amaechi, challenging his suspension from PDP.
Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State It will be recalled that Governor Amaechi was suspended by his party over alleged refusal to reverse the suspension of the elected officials of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
Meantime, insisting that he was still in PDP, contrary to rumours by the embattled Publicity Secretary of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Rivers State chapter, Jerry Needam, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. David Iyofor, in a statement, dismissed as outright lies and figment of the imagination, Needam’s claims that Amaechi had approached ACN leadership to join the party.
He said: “Governor Amaechi has no intention of leaving PDP. Everyone knows that he is already fighting his purported suspension in court. He believes that it is a PDP issue and in due course, the matter would be resolved. He has never met with anyone to discuss his leaving the PDP to join ACN or All Progressive Congress, APC or any other political party.
“Jerry Needam is a joker and no one should take him seriously. He’s just doing the bidding of his paymasters, a faction of PDP in Rivers State, that is doing everything it can, no matter how absurd and bizarre, so they can accuse Governor Amaechi of anti-party activities.
It is instructive to note that just a couple of days back, this same Needam was suspended from ACN for hobnobbing and working with the Felix Obuah faction of PDP in Rivers State against the interests of ACN. That leaves the question: who does Needam speaks for? Certainly, not for ACN. He can only be speaking for himself and his paymasters, who are well known to Rivers people. No one is deceived by his antics and comical statements.”

Source: Naij.com

Source: Vanguard

Nigeria Can’t Survive Another Civil War – Mark

The President of the Senate, David Mark, on Thursday said those beating the drums of war ahead of the 2015 elections, should realise that no nation survives two civil wars.
Mark said this in Abuja while addressing his colleagues during a special plenary session to mark the end of the Second Legislative Session of the 7th Senate.
He said, “Those beating the drums of war should realise that no nation can survive two civil wars in one lifetime.
“These trends must stop, and we must all remember that the nation is greater than the sum total of its parts.”
Mark said this just as he lashed out at elected public officeholders whom he accused of abandoning governance in pursuit of their personal ambitions ahead of the elections.
According to him, the vaulting personal ambitions among politicians was over-heating the polity and distracting officeholders from the onerous task of governance.
Mark said, “Elections are two clear years away, yet the collision of vaulting personal ambitions is over-heating the polity and distracting the onerous task of governance.
“Overheating the polity is unnecessary, diversionary, divisive, destructive, unhelpful and unpatriotic.”
The Senate President used the occasion to recall critical interventions by the Senate in terms of national crisis during the year under review.
He listed Senate’s support for the war against terrorism by providing the legislative support for the declaration of a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
Mark explained that the Nigerian Armed Forces were not at war with the communities in which the terrorists had entrenched themselves, nor were they at war with Islam.
The war he said was with Boko Haram and its affiliates, especially the terrorists’ network preaching the ideology that violence against Nigerians and foreigners was justified.
Mark equally stressed the need for the military to quickly dispense with the operations of the emergency rule and defeat the insurgents with minimal damage.
He said, “The military campaign against violent extremism, both at home and abroad must be quick, surgical and precise with as little collateral damage as possible. We know that the foe is faceless, unyielding, unreasonable and more often than not blinded by zealotry.
“This notwithstanding, we expect our fighting men and women to respect and abide by the rules of engagement.”
He maintained that the nation could not afford to be in a permanent state of war, adding that Nigerians were eagerly awaiting a quick, but decisive victory.
Speaking on the executive and legislature’s relationship, Mark said the Senate resisted any attempt to cast the legislature as a rubber stamp, but recognised the complementary and collaborative role it plays with the executive branch as long as it was in the best interest of Nigerians.

 

Source: Naij.com

Source: Punch Nigeria

PHOTO: Davido In The Arms Of Stripper In US

The Nigerian music star was recently having a blast in an Atlanta strip club and he decided to share a photo on Instagram.
Davido was all smiles as he posed for the photo below with an unknown lady sitting on his legs.

Source: Naij.com

Mr. & Mrs. Baddo: Olamide Shows Off His Girlfriend

The fast rising singer/rapper, Olamide uploaded the photo on Instagram.
Do you think they make a good couple?

Source: Naij.com

Saka Will Port Back To Etisalat After 90 Days – CEO Etisalat Nigeria

The Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria Mr.Steve Evans,  has described the celebrated porting of the comedian Hafiz Oyetoro popularly known as Saka as a mistake, noting that he will return back to Etisalat fold after 90 days.
Speaking in Lagos yesterday at a media Roundtable on Mobile Number Portability (MNP), Evans noted that “We all make mistakes in life” and the decision by Saka to port from Etisalat to a rival network MTN Nigeria was one of such mistakes on the part of the comedian.
In what could be regarded as one of the official statement by any high ranking staff of Etisalat since Saka ported over a month ago,  Evans said he is hoping Saka would realise his mistakes and port back at the end of the 90 days grace period given by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for subscribers to port back to any other than his original network.
The CEO noted that Etisalat was well prepared for the MNP and has built and expanded its network to accommodate over 30 million subscribers which is double its present capacity.
He noted that his company has recorded very impressive results since the MNP kicked off on April22. Though he refused to provide the details but said he was satisfied with the report he was getting from his men on the field.
Furthermore,  Evans maintained that his company has improved tremendously in its Key Performance -indicator (KPI) ratings.

 

Source: Leadership

'Marriage Does Not Validate Me, I Chose To Be With Peter Okoye, Ring Or No Ring'- Lola Omotayo

Peter Okoye's baby mama, Lola Omotayo responded to online comments regarding a recent interview.

On her twitter page, she assures everyone that she is okay not being married to the one half of P-Square group, Peter Okoye and she does not need a ring to validate her relationship.
Read below;
 

Source: Naij.com

Nollywood Actor, Jide Kosoko's Daughter, Bidemi Disgraced In Ibadan

In case you didn't know, one of the Nollywood actor, Prince Jide Kosoko's daughter, Bidemi Kosoko is presently a youth corp member at Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.
However, many of her fellow corp members are currently complaining about her snobbish attitude and what some of them have termed has arrogance.

According to impeccable sources, whenever some of the other corp members who have seen her movies approach her just to say 'Hi', Bidemi has away of looking down on them.


"I don't know if Bidemi' doesn't understand that as a celebrity you should be polite to people, since she began her service close to a year now, many people at the Community Development Service(CDS) have been avoiding her due to her arrogant attitude.

The one everyone witnessed recently was this woman who is a Batch A corp member. She doesn't know her attitude, so she went to her and she was like 'Sister,please it's like I have seen your face before,'but to this woman's disappointment, Bidemi just looked at the woman from head to toe and walked away," the source said.

We were also told that because of her celebrity status, Bidemi also expects to get preferential treatments at her Community Development Service(CDS). According to what another source told us, Bidemi who was posted to Ibadan North Local Government recently came late for her clearance but was trying to jump queue, but not giving a dime about her status or her father's, her Local Government Inspector(LGI) Mrs. Ologundudu, a no-nonsense woman told her point blank to go and join the queue. This really caused her so many shame and embarrassment. 

Source: Nigeriafilms.com

Banker Offers $1M To Anyone Able To Solve This Mathematical Equation

A Texas banker is upping the ante to $1 million for whoever solves a tricky problem that’s been dogging mathematicians since the 1980s.
The Texas based American Mathematical Society (AMS) on Tuesday said $1 million will be awarded for the publication of a solution to the Beal Conjecture number theory problem.
Dallas banker D. Andrew Beal first offered the Beal Prize in 1997 for $5,000. Over the years, the amount has grown.


AMS spokesman Michael Breen says a solution is more difficult than the one for a related problem – Fermat’s Last Theorem – which didn’t have a published solution for hundreds of years.
Mr Beal is a self-taught mathematician and founder of the Beal Prize. He says he wants to inspire young people to pursue math and science.
An AMS-appointed committee will award this prize for either a proof of, or a counterexample to, the Beal Conjecture, published in a refereed and respected mathematics publication.
The prize money is being held in trust by the AMS until it is awarded.
Income from the prize fund is used to support the annual Erdős Memorial Lecture and other activities of the Society.
According to the AMS website, the $1million prize will be awarded to anyone who can solve and fulfill the following:
 Quote
If Ax + By = Cz , where A, B, C, x, y and z are positive integers and x, y and z are all greater than 2, then A, B and C must have a common prime factor.
The administration of the Beal Prize is overseen by a Beal Prize Committee (BPC) to be appointed by the President of the AMS.
The formal charge of the BPC and the ‘Procedures for Determination of an Award of the Beal Prize’ are subject to the review and approval by the Council of the AMS.
The Beal Prize Fund is held as a restricted asset of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), with US$1,000,000 to be awarded if, in the judgment of the BPC, the conjecture is proved or a counterexample is presented.
A proposed solution of the Beal Prize Problem may not be submitted directly to the AMS, or to the Beal Prize Committee, or to Mr Beal. Unpublished manuscripts will not be considered.
The BPC will consider a proposed solution if it is a complete mathematical solution of the Beal Prize Problem. Before consideration, a proposed solution (the ‘Work’) must be published in a refereed mathematics publication which is respected and, in the opinion of the BPC, maintains the highest editorial standards (or published in another form as the BPC decides may qualify).
In the case of a counterexample, the proposed solution will be subject to independent verification. Upon publication, the author(s) of the Work should notify the AMS and the BPC.
The Work must be widely accepted by the mathematics community following a two-year waiting period after publication.
In the case of a counterexample, that recognition and acceptance by the community may happen much sooner.
Following the waiting period, the BPC will decide whether the Work merits detailed evaluation.
If the Work is to receive detailed evaluation, the BPC and the AMS will identify at least two experts who can verify the correctness of the Work and who are not members of the BPC to assist in the evaluation.
Upon completion of the evaluation, if the BPC can make a clear decision, it may award the prize and determine attribution of credit for a solution.

 

Source: Online Nigeria