Muawuya Zakariah Adam Gombe

Sunday, 26 December 2010 00:00 Nuruddeen M. Abdallah Alhaji Atiku Abubakar The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s) delegates have assured the former Vice President and presidential aspirant, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of their support in the forthcoming party primaries. The delegates gave Atiku this assurance during his two-day campaign trip to the region to meet statutory delegates of the party. The presidential aspirant met with the delegates from Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States at the Protea Hotel, Lagos less than 24 hours after the same delegates, numbering about 585 purportedly endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan as their preferred presidential candidate. Reacting to the purported endorsement of Jonathan by the delegates, a delegate from Ogun State sent the meeting reeling with laughter when he asked rhetorically, “have you seen where all 585 Yoruba delegates will all vote for one person? Even at the height of Papa Awolowo’s popularit

Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation The Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation ,in a press release, said it has come to its notice that a document being purportedly authored by the campaign organization is circulated to media houses, online media and foreign embassies by the Atiku Abubakar campaign organisation, “With the intention to blackmail the person of President Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the Goodluck Sambo Campaign organisation.” The release, signed by Mike Omeri, Director Planning, Research & Strategy of the organisation, continued: “This document is the latest desperate act to place obstacles on the path of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in order to stop him from contesting the PDP primaries.” But the Atiku Campaign Office, in an e-mail sent to Weekly Trust, stated that the oft-repeated assurances by President Goodluck Jonathan that he will deliver on a credible, free-and-fair polls in 2011 may yet be a hoax, if the document they say obtained wit

[President Goodluck Jonathan] With political parties’ primaries in the offing, it is evident that President Goodluck Jonathan and his political spin doctors are not ready to leave anything to chance as he prepares to clinch the slot of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming elections despite the controversy trailing the party’s power rotation agreement. The latest political strategy adopted by the Jonathan camp is the PDP governors’ endorsement of the president to serve a four-year single term which expires in 2015. It could be recalled that having failed to push through legislations that would have ensured that his ministers, advisers and the army of aides become delegates to the PDP presidential primaries of 2011, President Jonathan had turned to the National Assembly with a view to break the near stranglehold the governors have on the ruling party. To his chagrin, that attempt also failed, including the one on the order of the primaries. It was as a fall-out of

Ibrahim Dankwambo wants to govern Gombe The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Ibrahim Dankwambo, resigned yesterday to pursue his political dream of becoming the next Governor of Gombe State, in the forthcoming 2011 elections. Mr Dankwambo’s resignation brought to an end months of speculations about his political future. In his letter of disengagement, titled “Withdrawal of Service as Accountant General of the Federation”, Mr Dankwambo said the decision was in response to the call of his people to participate in the unfolding political process. In the letter, which was addressed to Mr Jonathan, the former AGF stated “I wish to inform you that I have withdrawn from the service and voluntarily relinquished my appointment as the Accountant General of the Federation with effect from Monday 20th December, 2010. This has become necessary in order to answer the call of my people at home to participate in the on-going political activities in the country.” Copies of Mr

dampened the hope of campaigners for new states as it said the current National Assembly would not be able to create states. Giving the position of the House, the Speaker, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, explained that the legislature had limited time to go through the rigours of creating states before the expiration of its tenure in 2011. The current legislature has less than six months to the end of its tenure on June 22 next year. Bankole gave the position of the House as a delegation of elders from Edo, Akwa Ibom, Delta and Ondo states visited the National Assembly to express opposition to the demand for the creation of Toru-Ebe State. Those opposing the creation of the state are Bini, Ibibio, Itsekiri and Ilaje ethnic nationalities. The Majority Leader of the House, Mr. Tunde Akogun, who received a petition from the delegation on behalf of Bankole, said that due to time factor, the present set of lawmakers would simply pass over all demands for new states to the next legislature.

ABUJA—TWO chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and two-time gubernatorial aspirants in Adamawa and Taraba states respectively, Mr. Bala Takaya and Senator Abdullahi Kirim, yesterday, asked an Abuja High Court sitting in Maitama to issue an order stopping former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from contesting the impending presidential primary of the party. Interestingly, three associates of the former vice president; Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, Hon. Dubem Onyia and Alhaji Lawal Kaita have also filed a suit at an Abuja High Court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from accepting President Jonathan as a candidate of PDP for the 2011 presidential elections. The plaintiffs are also asking the court to restrain PDP and its National Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, from presenting Jonathan as the party’s candidate for the election. Meanwhile, January 4, 2011 has been fixed for hearing of the case while the suit filed by the PDP chieftains t

A Lagos High Court, Tuesday, freed Major Hamzat Al-Mustapha, former CSO to late head of state, General Sani Abacha, but still faces a murder charge alongside CSP Rabo Lawal, a former Head of the Aso Rock Anti-Riot Police, over the killing of the late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. However, Lt. Col Jubrin Bala Yakubu (rtd), former Zamfara State military administrator and ex-Lagos Police boss, James Danbaba, were freed of the charge. All of them stood trial over alleged attempted murder of publisher of The Guardian Newspapers, Mr Alex Ibru in 1999. Trial Judge, Justice Mufutau Olokooba, in his ruling on a no-case submission by the defence team, held that the evidence on all the counts preferred against the accused persons were worthless, adding that there was no evidence of conspiracy as alleged on the first count. “I hold that no prima facie case has been established against the accused persons. I hereby acquit and discharge them,” the court held. However, in his reaction to the

FRESH revelations from the political turf have confirmed that more troubles await the presidential aspiration of President Goodluck Jonathan as the National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) draws close. Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune have confirmed that some pro-zoning advocates have concluded arrangements to make advanced reservations in all hotels within the Abuja City Centre ahead of the PDP National Convention. Sources close to a meeting of some of the groups working on the consensus arrangement for the northern presidential aspirant confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune that the groups, apparently working in favour of the consensus candidate of the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, have already given the assignment to a South-South politician to take over the hotels in Abuja ahead of the PDP National Convention. The source said that the groups, at an interactive session, concluded that arrangements be put in plac

Wednesday, 22 December 2010 Atiku Abubakar Former vice-president and presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, had an interaction with journalists where he spoke about the polity, the ensuing elections, his plans for Nigerians, as well as corruption allegation against him. Sulaimon Olanrewaju presents excerpts. We will like to know in specific terms how many jobs you plan to create within the first six months, if you are elected president. My policy document was prepared by my own study group before the issue of consensus candidate came up. When we got through the consensus issue, we set up another committee which comprised the four campaign organisations to review my policy document. By the time the final document is released, we will be in a position to give specific figures on the number of jobs we will be able to create. These are some of the guidelines given to the harmonisation committee; to collapse the policies of the four cam

Cote d’Ivoire’s embattled Mr. Laurent Gbagbo Cote d’Ivoire’s embattled Mr. Laurent Gbagbo yesterday received a letter from Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Goodluck Jonathan, assuring him and his family of political asylum in Nigeria if he hands over power to the internationally-recognised election winner, Alassane Diaby Ouattara, according to the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). ECOWAS is to hold a meeting on Friday to fashion out modalities on how to resolve the political imbroglio in Ivory Coast resulting from the presidential election in which the electoral commission declared Ouattara the winner, but Gbagbo is clinging on to the post. Ivory Coast has been operating with two presidents and two governments since the Nov. 28 runoff election. Alassane Ouattara was declared the winner by the country’s electoral commission and was recognized by the U.N., U.S., France, the African

Jummai Gambo and her daughter Children born by Liberian women to Nigerian ECOMOG peacekeepers, who served in that country, are slowly coming of age and may soon start to ask questions about their identities and future. Now, their mothers, as well as former ECOMOG soldiers in both Liberia and Nigeria, told Weekly Trust a number of moving stories. In the year 2000 Cornelius Davis left Liberia and travelled to Nigeria with the intention of abducting a child. His sister Lydia Glabor had earlier given birth to a son for a Nigerian soldier who had been in Liberia as part of the ECOMOG contingent. The soldier never told her that he had a wife in Nigeria. When Lydia arrived his house sometime in 1991, he told his wife that Lydia is a poor orphan he met on the streets of Liberia. Now, he wanted to help her, or so it seemed, and sought the cooperation of his wife. He then told Lydia that the lady in his house is his sister. The young girl became pregnant and this fact could not

Chief Bisi Akande By the process of affirmation, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday retained Chief Bisi Akande as the national chairman of the party at its national convention in Benin City, Edo State. Senator Lawal Shuaibu was also made the National Secretary following the exit of Dr. Usman Bugaje who is aspiring for the presidency on the platform of the party. Senator Shuaibu joined the ACN in August this year after the AC sealed a deal to work together with the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) group led by former Sokoto State governor Attahiru Bafarawa. He was governorship candidate of the DPP in Zamafara State in 2007. The convention which took place at the Ogbemudia Stadium also produced Boss Mustapha as Deputy National Chairman, Mr. Kenneth Kobani as National Treasurer while retaining Alhaji Lai Mohammed as National Publicity Secretary. Other officers that emerged are Barrister Muiz Banire, National Legal Ad

Major Hamza Al-Mustapha Ten years of incarceration ended yesterday for former Lagos State Police Commissioner James Danbaba and former Zamfara State military administrator Colonel Jibrin Bala Yakubu when Justice Muftau Olokoba of the Lagos High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) discharged and acquitted them of complicity in the attempted murder of The Guardian’s publisher Chief Alex Ibru in 1996. General Sani Abacha’s former Chief Security Officer Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and former O/C Mopol at the State House Chief Superintendent of Police [CSP] Rabo Lawal were also discharged and acquitted, but they will not go home yet because they are still standing trial for the 1996 murder of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola. The four men have been standing trial for the two Abacha-era offenders since 1999. Former Army Chief General Ishaya Bamaiyi was acquitted of the same charges last year. Justice Olokoba, while ruling on the no case submission fi

Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo formerly resigned from office as the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) on Monday evening, The Director of Funds in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) Alhaji Babayo Shehu takes over in acting capacity pending the appointment of a substantive AGF. Daily Trust gathered that Dankwambo, who has obtained a form to run for governor of Gombe State next year, cleared his table on Monday evening and wrote an internal memo to all the directors in the office to submit comprehensive reports of their activities to enable him prepare handing over notes. In the memo titled; “Withdrawal from service as Accountant General of the Federation” and addressed to all directors in the office, Dankwambo said: “I wish to inform you that I have withdrawn from the service and voluntarily relinquished my appointment as the Accountant-General of the Federation with effect from Monday 20th December, 2010. This has become necessary i

Election petition tribunals and courts in the country will have to order for a fresh election into any elective office where the candidate who is declared winner was not qualified to contest the election or the election is marred by irregularities and non-compliance with the provisions of the law. This is according to the newly passed Electoral Act 2010 amendment bill. Both Senate and House of Representatives have yesterday approved the report of the conference committee which harmonized areas of differences in the bills passed by the two chambers. Amendment to section 140 subsection 2 of the extant law that was passed by the MPs reads: “Where an election tribunal or court nullifies an election on the ground that the person who obtained the highest votes at the election was not qualified to contest the election, or that the election was marred by substantial irregularities or non-compliance with the provisions of this Act, the election tribunal or court shall not decl