Shocker! Kolade blasts Jonathan: Your Leadership Is A Failure

It looks like it's only those eating from President Goodluck Jonathan that are praising him. A former head of SURE-P, Dr. Christopher Kolade, on Thursday condemned Jonathan for not showing the right leadership in the manner he had been handling his responsibilities as the nation's president.

He made reference to Jonathan's decision to honour a political rally in Kano shortly after a bombing that killed several Nigerians, saying the best he could have done was "to postpone the political event."

For choosing to continue with the programme, he said, the President did not demonstrate that he was sensitive to the pains of the people he is leading.

He said those who said the country "had never been this good" were lying, and that at over 80 years he could tell that the country had a robust history.
The respected statesman condemn all those singing Jonathan's praises, including TAN, saying, "Nigeria was, at every other time, better than now."

He spoke at the sixth Christopher Kolade Symposium organised by the Nigeria Leadership Initiative, an organisation he was a pioneer patron. He lamented the drift in leadership quality.

"If we get to a point when we do not care how the country is led, we have lost hope. The country is where it is today because some people sacrificed. Unfortunately, beyond stealing, our leaders are not ready to sacrifice anything," he said.


Kolade said he took up a responsibility to lead the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme to demonstrate his love for the country. Rejecting the appointment, he said, would have amounted to wishing the initiative failure.

He said he rejected allowance offer because he was financially stable. The second reason, according to him, was to enable him to quit when he noticed it was not going to succeed without the hassle of "waiting till end of the month to collect allowance."

He said most Nigerians are unhappy with the leadership style of the Jonathan government.

APC Primaries: Tambuwal wins Sokoto, Ambode wins Lagos

The first term governors on the platform of the APC all got their second term ticket, but Rochas Okorocha is still playing politics of indecision; he wants to be President or governor.

Eight APC governors would be completing their first terms in 2015. They are:
Governors Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Umar Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo) and Rochas Okorocha (Imo).

Sokoto
Speaker Aminu Tambuwal has been declared winner of the primary election held at the state township stadium after a landslide victory against his co-contestants..

Speaker Waziri Tambuwal got 3,466 of the 3503 valid votes cast. His opponents Senator Umaru Dahiru Tambuwal got 23, Yusha'u Kebbe got 13, while Professor Lawal Bashar, Barrister Aliyu Sayinna and Senator Jibril Gada had no vote.

Lagos

Akinwunmi Ambode has emerged winner of the APC gubernatorial primary in Lagos State. He is the top man among the aspirants and the only man who visited all the local governments in Lagos.
Tinubu is backing Akin Ambode, former accountant general in the state, Fashola preferred Supo Shasore, a former Attorney General and commissioner for Justice in the state.

With this result, Tinubu is still the strong man.

Imo
In the case of Imo State, the APC governorship primaries has been suspended. Although, no specific date has been fixed for the postponed primaries, the Imo State APC chairman, Hillary Eke, disclosed that a new date for the primaries might be fixed after a general meeting of the party held yesterday.

The deputy chairman of the party, Hon. Ugochukwu Nzekwe, told LEADERSHIP that the party was still working on the list of aspirants.

Zamfara
In Zamfara, Governor Abdulaziz Yari was returned as the sole candidate at the end of the APC primary election yesterday.

A total of 2,336 delegates from the 14 local government areas of the state, including 38 from the party executive, voted in favour of Governor Yari.

Declaring the governor as party's flag bearer, the supervisor of the election Chief John Nebo, announced that out of total of 2,336 votes, Yari garnered 2,298 and was declared winner.

Ogun
In Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun emerged the APC gubernatorial candidate. His deputy, Segun Adesegun, declared his intention to get the gubernatorial ticket of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

At the APC gubernatorial primary election held at MKO Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta, the state governor, who was the sole aspirant, polled a total of 3,554 out of 3,681 total votes while 16 votes were void.

Oyo
In Oyo State, the incumbent governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi defeated the son of the former governor of the state, Dr. Wasiu Adesina, to win the APC ticket for the 2015 governorship election.

At the congress midwifed by the Hon. Lumumpa Adeh-led five-man electoral committee, Ajimobi polled 4,662 votes to defeat his Adesina, who polled 22 votes. Ninety votes were declared invalid.

The result was declared at 7.40 pm.

Rivers
At the Alfred Diete Spiff Civic Centre, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the gubernatorial delegates of APC numbering 3,774 formally elected Hon. Dakuku Adol Peterside as their gubernatorial candidate for the 2015 polls.

The election was supervised by the six-man National Electoral Committee under the chairmanship of Prince Austin Eweka from Edo State.

From a total 4,574 delegates, 4,321 were accredited. There were 3914 valid votes. A total number of 3774 voted for Peterside. Total invalid votes (140).

Nasarawa
In Nasarawa State, Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura has emerged winner of the gubernatorial primary election of the APC in the state in a landslide victory.

Results as declared by the chairman of the electoral committee, Chief Ike Chunwo, show that Governor Al-Makura polled 1,630 votes to beat two other contestants, Dr. James Angbazo and Engr. Reuben Audu who polled 73 and 17 votes respectively.

Kwara
In Kwara State, 3,007 delegates of the APC unanimously elected the incumbent governor of the state, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed as the party's candidate for the 2015 governorship election in the state.

Ahmed, who was the sole aspirant of the party, emerged unopposed with 3,007 votes cast from delegates across the 16 local government areas of the state.

Borno
In Borno State, the APC governorship primaries was shifted to Monday. However, Governor Kashim Shettima is expected to emerge as the sole and consensus candidate.

Yobe
In Yobe, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam emerged winner after Yobe APC delegates endorsed him as the party's 2015 governorship candidate, according to the chairman of Electoral Committee, Babagana Tijjani.

Delta
The APC governorship primary which ended at about 6:45 pm in the Delta State capital, Asaba, produced Olorogun O'tega Emerhor.

He was overwhelmingly elected as the candidate of the party for February 2015 governorship election

Enugu
Chief Okey Ezea, lawyer and shipping magnate, was elected as candidate of the APCin Enugu State, following the last minute withdrawal of three aspirants to the race on the party's platform.

One of the aspirants Dr. Ifeanyi Asogwa had earlier pulled out of the governorship race to contest the Nsukka/Igbo-Eze South Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives.

The two other aspirants announced their withdrawal from the race shortly before commencement of voting leading to the emergence of Ezea through affirmative voting.

Jigawa
The APC in Jigawa State suspended its guber primary election to produce a consensus candidate.

Despite instructions given by the party's national secretariat for the conduct of the governorship primary elections nationwide, the Jigawa State chapter of the party appeared to have a different plan.

Taraba
Three APC governorship aspirants in Taraba boycotted the party's governorship primaries, alleging that the process lacked credibility.

In a joint press conference yesterday in Jalingo, the three aspirants alleged that the state executives of the party refused to carry them along in the process leading to the exercise.

The aspirants include Dr Suleiman Julde, Alhaji Tumba Ibrahim and Barr. Yusufu Akirikwen.

Senator Aisha Jumai Alhassan stands a better chance of emerging winner.

Adamawa
It appears that the contest is likely to be a two horse race between Senator Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla and Alhaji Mijinyawa Yayaji who is believed to be backed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Benue
The APC in Benue State postponed the conduct of the governorship primaries in the state.

Kano
Three aspirants have withdrawn for the Kano deputy governor, Dr. Abdullahi Kumar Ganduje. The deputy governor is expected to emerge victorious after the exercise

Niger
Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello has won the Niger State APC governorship primaries. He polled 3,829 votes to defeat Senator Musa Ibrahim who had 61 votes out of the total 3,932 votes cast in the election.

Akwa Ibom
Former Akwa Ibom State Secretary to Government, Umana Okon Umana has emerged winner of the APC governorship primaries.

Umana emerged winner by scoring 2,444 out of 2453 valid votes cast, while Senator James Udoedehe had six votes. Umana who defected from the PDP to APC is said to have brought into the APC, his supporters and a robust political structure that cuts across every part of the state.

D'Banj is Looking 'Dope' in New Photos, Show Off His Exoctic car

D'banj stepped out for a meeting looking So Dope!
Living Large

See Gobe! Nigeria Music Producer, And Others Arrested With Drugs Worth Over N374m

What Some People Will Do For Money!!! Three South Africa-based Nigerians, among them a mother of seven, have been arrested by operatives of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, with drugs suspected to be methamphetamine, with an estimated street value at N374 million.

Also arrested was a 44-year-old Asaba-based music producer, whose alleged attempt to smuggle 4.95kg of substance suspected to be cocaine into the country was foiled. The suspects, who were arrested at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, allegedly concealed the substance in security lamps, silicon sealants and foodstuff.

The NDLEA airport Commander, Mr. Hamza Umar, said: "Those apprehended are Chukwuenyem, 48 years old, with 21.695kg of methamphetamine hidden inside his bag; Kelvin, 37, caught with 9.980kg of methamphetamine hidden inside solar security lamps; Deborah, 40, found with 5kg of methamphetamine hidden inside foodstuff and Michael, 44, with 4.95kg of cocaine hidden inside silicon sealants.

"Apart from Michael, who was coming from Sao Paulo, Brazil, with 4.95kg of cocaine, the other three suspects were trying to smuggle methamphetamine to South Africa where they reside."

Suspects' stories

During interrogation, Chukwuenyem, a father of three, said he was lured into drug trafficking on his birthday.

According to him, "I struggled to feed my family by selling foodstuff. At present, my capital is so small that the business is near moribund. A friend met me on my birthday and introduced me into drug trafficking.

"He promised to pay me 15,000 South African Rand. My children are out of school because of my inability to pay tuition fee. This is my first time of dealing in drugs and I regret everything. I pray to be out of this problem."

On his part, 37-year-old Kelvin, also blamed his indulgence on his poor living condition back in South Africa.

He said: "I reside in South Africa where I import and export phones and clothes. I have five children from three women. My business is grounded and I now live from hand to mouth.

"A friend in South Africa gave me the solar lamp where the drug was found. He used to assist me financially and he also promised to pay my children's school fees."

Deborah, the mother of seven, said she was given the drugs by a man she sought financial assistance from.

According to her, "I have seven children and I take care of them from the sales of foodstuff. I came to Nigeria to buy foodstuff such as melon, vegetables and other local spices.

"There is a man in South Africa that I went to request for financial assistance to enable me expand my business. He told me that somebody would give me some food items for him.

"When I got to the airport, NDLEA officers detected methamphetamine in the package given to me by the man. This was how I found myself in this situation."

Michael, who was on his way from Brazil also claimed he was given a bag in Brazil without the slightest inkling of its content.

He said: "I am a music producer. I travelled to Brazil to promote my music label and to partner other producers. I had a successful deal but on my way back, I accepted a bag from a friend I met in Sao Paulo to take to Nigeria.

"When I got here, NDLEA demanded to search and 29 out of the 34 sealants were found to contain cocaine. This is a major setback for my career and I feel very bad."

Source: Vanguard

Protesters explain why they took coffin to PDP secretariat yesterday

Some aggrieved PDP as pirants, who were disqualified from participating in last week­end River state assemblies pri maries yesterday stormed the PDP national secre­tariat in Abuja with a coffin in protest

An aspirant, Davis Saloka, said they were at the PDP secretariat to kick against the "open robbery per petrated against them by the party." He told newsmen that about 107 members of the party paid to obtain the nomination forms, but that only 32 whom he claimed were loyalists of Nyesom Wike, were given what he called "dubious clearance," while the rest of them were disqualified.


"We all bought forms to participate in the PDP primary election but what we saw was out of the ordinary. We attended the screening exercise but we did not know our fate until Friday night when we saw a list pasted, in dicating that only 32 persons were cleared to participate in the election.

"We discovered that those nominated from Wike's camp were given clearance which gave them automatic ticket while the rest of us were screened out. The most annoying thing was that we were not told the reason we were disqualified, and it is more curious to note that all we saw was a list that was neither signed nor was on a PDP letter head, but just contained the names of Wike's boys as the only ones cleared to participate in the party pri mary.

"On Saturday, they just wrote the names of these peo ple and said they were the win ners of the PDP party primary where elections were not held. It is injustice, we won't ac­cept it," he said.

Source: Sunnewsonline.com

Meet General Buhari's Beautiful Wife and Lovely Family

General Muhammadu Buhari is a complete family man and his wife and children are living very happy. Buhari and his family have come a long way and they are growing bigger

Check out Taiye Taiwo and his Son in Matching Outfit

Here is a 'handsome' father with his cute son. See another photo of Taiwo with his son and daughter...

How APC Presidential Candidate will emerge Dec 10 in Lagos

Moves by some strong men in the APC to move the presidential primary out of Lagos has failed and come 10 December. Consequently, 8,000 delegates are expected to participate in the convention, scheduled to hold at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, Lagos.

The APC four other presidential aspirants –former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, and Leadership Newspaper publisher, Sam Nda-Isaiah – had jointly asked for a venue outside Lagos, said to be favoured by Buhari and a former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu.

Atiku and three others wrote the APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, on Nov 27, "advising" the party chairman to retain Abuja as the convention venue.

But the APC convention committee, led by ex-Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi, ignored the protest by the presidential aspirants and on Wednesday announced the choice of Lagos as replacement for Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

On the choice of Lagos, Fayemi explained that
his committee had been able to convince all the aspirants on the suitability of the new venue while noting their concerns about logistics.

But a source, who pleaded anonymity, said, "The aspirants are afraid that Lagos, being the home of a strong supporter of Buhari will give the person he is supporting an edge over others because the issue of accommodation and other logistics will be easier for them (Buhari's camp) to address."

Another source said the fears being expressed by aspirants about the venue were not unfounded. He said, "There is news making the rounds that a certain leader of the party has booked most of the decent hotels in Lagos.

"The leader in question is working assiduously in favour of a particular aspirant, as such, having delegates within his reach at the last minute could alter earlier projections."

According to the source, Benin was earlier considered because "the heartbeat of the nation" would serve the dual role of marketing the party as a truly national party as well as selling the party to the electorate in the South-South.

It was, however, gathered that the party leadership picked Lagos because Benin lacked the facilities and security capability to take care of the huge crowd expected at the convention.

On his part, Fayemi said, "For us, it is not who emerges at the end of the day. They are all competent. They all have agenda and they all will implement the manifesto of our party. It is how we get there.

"We have not taken any decision without the input of all the presidential aspirants, l can assure you of that. We did not arrive at Lagos accidentally; we arrived at Lagos with the full input of all our presidential aspirants.

"Those concerns were raised about the distance, for example for somebody coming from Yobe as delegate or Maiduguru, those are practical issues and we would have been surprised if the aspirants didn't raise such issues."

He added, "We originally wanted to hold our national convention in Abuja because naturally Abuja is the place to hold an event of this nature. This is where we have always held national party conventions.

"However we had identified a date to hold the party convention in Abuja and due to some exigencies we had to change that date. It also happened that the new date we chose now coincides with the date the PDP also chose for their national convention.

"Understandably the Eagle Square that we wanted to book had been booked for the day."
On the lleged fears of other presidential aspirants that Lagos could be used to crown unnamed aspirants, he said the allegation was not true.

"Everything we are doing is in the open and is transparent. In fact, all aspirants have representatives in the committee and they were part of all the discussions that transpired before we arrived at Lagos.

"So if anyone wants to suggest that this is going to be coronation to anyone, that is news to me. We won't use Lagos to coronate anyone. I have the greatest respect for every aspirant but I am not the type that can be manipulated or intimidated into working to a pre-conceived answer, not even by the chairman of the party or any leader of the party."

Jonathan begs senators: focus on issues, not my impeachment

President Goodluck Jonathan has pleaded with Nigerian senators to leave him alone and concentrate on other issues of national Importance.  Jonathan declared that the senators should know that there are other issues that ought to catch the lawmakers' attention instead of threatening to sack him.

Jonathan took this position in a statement issued by Doyin Okupe, his aide on public affairs. Funny enough, the statement was silent on whether Jonathan considers that he has, or has not, committed the many and weighty impeachable offence that have been penciled down against him.

Below is the full text of the statement:
RE-PURPOTED GATHERING OF IMPEACHEABLE OFFENCES BY SOME SENATORS

The Senate in the last four years has conducted its legislative functions and responded to issues that are of great national importance with commendable political sagacity.

In this same period, the senate has functioned as a stabilizing force within the polity employing much political maturity that is required to guide and protect our nascent democracy.

However, confrontation and strong disagreements are not uncommon phenomenon in Executive-Legislative relationship world-wide.

The recent purported attempt by some Senators to prepare impeachable offences against the President, as reported in some section of the Media, is seen by us in this light.

We strongly trust and believe in the leadership of the present Senate and the unwavering patriotism and commitment that have been shown by the distinguished members and we trust that ultimately it is this tendency towards true Nationalism that will prevail in the Senate.

It is our view that there are at present, serious fundamental issues of National importance such as winning the war against terrorism and stabilizing the economy in the face of dwindling oil revenue which requires the full attention, commitment and swift action of distinguished members of the Senate.
We are of the opinion that all matters political can and will be resolved politically in the overall interest of our democracy and the wellbeing of our people.

 Dr. Doyin Okupe
Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs

See Pic of the Plane that crash-land in Ilorin coming from Abuja

The Overland ATR 72 Aircraft crash-landed in Ilorin from Abuja over the weekend, with over 50 Nigerians on board. Luckily they all came out of the plane unhurt. We cancel end-of-the-year disaster!

Gunmen storm Damaturu this morning, attack Yobe state university

Gunmen, suspected to be members of Boko Haram, stormed Damaturu in the early hours of today and began shooting and bombing the city. The attack, which was ongoing as at 7.30am today, has seen residents of the town scampering for safety.

According to reports, the mobile Police base which is in the outskirts of the town has been burnt down and many state institutions have also been raided by the rampaging gunmen who are now reportedly advancing to the main town of Damaturu.

They have also attacked some schools, including the Yobe State University located in Damaturu. The students have taken to the bushes for safety. There are also reports the militants are advancing to the government house with the aim of taking it over. More details later

Senators plotting to impeach President Jonathan meet today

The 63 senators who had signed up to remove President Goodluck Jonathan will meet on Monday to put all the necessary finishing touches to their strategy for making his impeachment a reality.

One of the coordinators of the impeachment plan, who made this known to Punch in Abuja on Sunday, said the agenda of the meeting would centre on how to handle the case on the floor of the Senate.
The senator said, "All of us will meet [on Monday] evening to discuss when we are going to move the motion on the floor of the Senate. We have an appreciable number already and I believe that more people will join when they see the seriousness with which we are going about it. 
"Some of our colleagues were saying that we don't have the will to move it (impeachment motion) on the floor. We will soon execute our plans because it is in the best interest of all Nigerians."

Already, the senator representing Yobe South Senatorial District in the upper chamber, Alkali Jajere, and his colleague from Niger North, Ibrahim Musa, have explained their involvement in the planned impeachment moves.

The two senators, in separate interviews on Sunday, said they signed up for the impeachment because of their conviction that Jonathan had engaged in a series of constitutional breaches.

Jajere alleged that the poor handling of the insurgency in the North-East by the Jonathan administration despite huge sums of money being voted for the military, was deliberate.

He said, "Are we going to wait and continue to tolerate a leader who, cannot stop the daily physical and psychological torture of people in the North-East. The insurgency in the zone is threatening the corporate existence of Nigeria and the earlier we act, the better.''

Also, Musa alleged that Jonathan government's "insincerity" in tackling the economic crisis facing the country was enough grounds to initiate an impeachment move against him.

He said, "The President has been breaching the constitution over the years and we have tolerated it enough. This government has not been implementing the budget and that is why we are having problems with our economy

Fashola has been ruled out as APC vice presidential candidate

The Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has been ruled out as a running mate to whoever emerges as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress at the convention in December.

A highly placed source in the party, who spoke with Punch on the matter, said that Fashola's religion, even though he is considered a performer, had ruled him out of the race for the vice presidential slot.
He said, "You know that the South-West is a base for the APC and it also contributed immensely to its formation. We would have preferred Fashola because of his pedigree in the state. Moreover, of all the APC governors from the zone, he is the only one doing his second term. 
"But this issue of religion is the problem. Apart from this, other APC governors from the zone are also Muslims. You may need to recall that the enemies of our party tried in vain before to label the party a Muslim party. 
"Even though they have failed, we may also need to be guided by the words of advice from former President Olusegun Obasanjo against any party fielding same religion ticket. This is what is hampering us concerning Fashola, whose performance and competence cannot be queried."

He said since it was almost certain that the party would field a Muslim as its presidential candidate, it would therefore be out of place to field another Muslim [Babatunde Fashola] as the running mate.

Apart from General Muhammadu Buhari, the party also has three other known presidential aspirants. They are a former VP Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwakwanso; and a newspaper publisher, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah.

Out of them, only Nda-Isaiah is a Christian.

The source said that though Fashola remained the best candidate for the position, he however regretted that the issue of religion would deny the party and the country the chance of fielding the governor.

"South-West are not religious but we are dealing with a larger society now. So, we must be careful."

EKSU Student “Jaydreamz” Wins Airtel One Mic Stand Competition(See Photos)

Yesterday was another historic day in the life of Alalade Ololade Usman a.k.a Jaydreamz who emerge winner of Airtel One Mic stand held at Ilorin.He won the star prize of a Kia Picanto and an endorsement deal,he will also appear on a musical video featuring Airtel all star next year.

The judges for the event were Remilekun Abdulkalid Safaru a.k.a Reminisce, legendary producer ID Cabasa and Efemena Mukoro better known as Blackmagic and the competition started with each artiste performing to a free beat from the DJ,the second stage was an accapela from all the contestant then they finally performed to to their own track.

After all these,the judges were left to perform their duty by reviewing each artiste,it was a tight result as all contestant were praised but Jaydreams finally went home with the star prize.

The contestants representing each school are Zoko and Jaydreamz representing EKSU,Zora(Female) and Baba Shamang representing University of Ibadan. Tundex Mania and Hils representing Unilorin.

So SAD: Zee world Aka Tentebo Soldier is Dead

The artiste was said to have been ill for sometimes now, but this afternoon, he gave up the ghost.
Confirmed reports coming from his home explains that he died about half past 12 this afternoon.

It is so sad, for the past few years, celebrities have been dying of one illness or the other. We are yet to know the type of illness that claimed Zee World's life, but the heart-aching photo above surfaced online few minutes after his death news broke.

SEE How Cossy Expose her Body in the Name of Fashion

Rather than change, Cossy is getting worse with her reckless flaunting. Her late night outfit has been causing a lot of "ripples" online. It's so bad that her massive oranges and panties were on full display.

Photos: Pope Francis joins Muslim clerics to pray at Mosque in Turkey

Pope Francis, who is currently on a state visit to Turkey, joined Muslim faithfuls in Istanbul to pray at the Grand Mufti of Istanbul, Istanbul Blue Mosque yesterday. The Pope stood with his head bowed and hands clasped in front of him in 2-minutes of silent prayer inside the 17th-century Sultan Ahmet mosque, aiming to show respect for Islam and encourage stronger ties between the two faiths.

How David Mark Is Delaying Jonathan’s Impeachment

An All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator has told Vanguard that the leadership of the Senate is behind the delay in the commencement of impeachment proceedings against President Goodluck Jonathan, as the Senate President, David Mark and his principle officers had always pleaded for calm and even go as far as thwarting previous moves to sack him.
He said that, "Since President Goodluck Jonathan wants to destroy the country because of personal ambition, impeachment is the only option left to show him the way out so that efforts of our fore fathers would not go in vain."

The Senator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, noted that agitation to commence the impeachment proceedings on the President had been in the senate but was triggered by the recent police invasion and the poor state of the nation's economy and the insecurity in North East.

He claimed that the President had committed grievous impeachable offences which if ignored would lead to the destruction of the country, pointing out that among the offences included none implementation of budget since 2011, crumbling of the economy, the increasing security challenges and the use of security operatives to harass and intimidate perceived opponents of government.

The APC Senator said the move was not a party affair but a collective effort that cuts through political lines to save Nigeria from imminent collapse, adding that as at the time he was appending his signature on the impeachment list, seven Senators of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, signed in his presence.

There were reports that about 63 Senators had signed for the impeachment of Jonathan, even as two PDP men in the Senate said from now they will consider all issues unlike before where the interest of their party was first considered. It is no longer going to be a tea party.

Leading PDP aspirant in Akwa Ibom, Umana, decamps to APC with 28,000 members

A lot of alignment and realignment is still going on in the polity, thus changing the political calculations of 2015 by the day we observed.

The former Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government (SSG), Obong Umana Okon Umana, caused a stir in Akwa Ibom State on Friday as he led over 28,000 leaders and supporters of PDP to decamp to APC.

Obong Umana, who was a frontline governorship aspirant in PDP, was received by the leader and National Working Committee of APC at a rally held at the ancestral ground of the Ibibios, the Asan Ibibio.

National leader of APC, Bola Tinubu, National Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, Governors of Rivers and Kano states and all the Presidential aspirants of the APC except Mohammudu Buhari were present to receive the PDP massive decampees.
At a colourful ceremony, Obong Umana and his supporters were presented with bundle of brooms to effect change in Akwa Ibom State and they were charged, "You must use the broom fearless and effectively to sweep those that destroy the Nigeria. nation".

While welcoming the decampees, the National Chairman of the APC said the position of the party was to create a new Nigeria and accordingly asked members of the party to get their voter cards as it was the channel for change in the country.

APC, he said, had a zero tolerance for corruption, pointing out that one of the problems of ruling party was corruption which had destroyed everything in Nigeria under the watch of the PDP administration.

"We have worked out in paper the number of jobs we are going to provide for our youth when we come to power. APC knows those who are abusing security in the country. We will take care of the need of our security, making sure they are satisfied, making sure they are committed to the security of the country", he said.

Lagos PDP Big Boys Decamp To APC

The battle for political leadership come 2015 will be tough, no doubt. On Saturday, a former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Rafiu Jafojo, and other top chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

According to NAN, others who defected included former Lagos State Chairman, Elders Council of PDP, Dr. Oluyomi Finnih, and former state secretary of the party, Tunde Daramola.

Welcoming the new members, the state chairman of APC, Chief Henry Ajomale,said they had made a good decision. He promised that the party would be fair to them.

Dr. Finnih, who spoke on behalf of the new members, said the defectors had come for the unity of the party and not to divide it.
"We took the bold decision because we see the party as a prosperous party. We defected based on the lack of internal democracy in the PDP and our aim is winning the presidential election by APC," he said.

The state Governor, Babatunde Fashola, said that the party was glad to accommodate the new members.

Fashola urged them to ensure that the party's interest was placed above individual interest, saying that there would be a level-playing ground.

APC leaders say they are sure of victory now, even more than before.

BREAKING NEWS: OAU Students Protest Over President Jonathan’s Visit [PHOTOS]

Students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, are currently staging a peaceful protest on their campus.

The students say they are angry that all activities at their school have been suspended due to President Jonathan's visit.

Police parade 25 year old Nigerian musician turned armed-robber

Lagos state Police command yesterday paraded a 25 year old musician named John Sunday pictured left, who says he took to armed robbery in order to gather N100,000 to promote his reggae album. "I am a musician from Ikofepepe in Akwa Ibom State. We were three in the gang, but one is on the run. I needed money to launch my album ,Tureke Reggae; that is why I went into robbery. I was targeting N100,000" John said when he was interrogated. John  Onyekachi Oshomi (pictured right) who claimed to be a bus conductor said he joined the gang because he needed to take care of his family. The two were was arrested on November 21st. "I was a commercial bus conductor. We were operating on the Agege Total-Oshodi route. I just got married, but my wife is still in the village. I was looking for money to feed her whenever she comes to Lagos; that was why I went into armed robbery. " Sunday confessed. According to The Nation, the Lagos state police commissioner said he got a tip off on November 21 at 10pm that some armed robbers were planning to rob in Lagos. He said he immediately directed the Officer-in-Charge, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police (SP), to go after them. "With two decoy teams, they stormed their hideout and arrested Onyekachi Oshomi and John Sunday with a revolver pistol. During interrogation, they confessed to the crime including snatching of several cars within the metropolis. Efforts have been stepped up to arrest those that are still at large," Aderanti said.
Both men will soon be charged to court.

Baba Obasanjo, You Are Lying Against Us ––Senate Reacts

The Senate has reacted to the the allegation by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo that the National Assembly was using constituency projects to siphon public funds, claiming that it was false.

Describing the allegation as spurious, Senator Abaribe, in a statement, said the former President's comment was distant from the truth and nowhere near reality, adding that if it were so, the former President would not have tolerated such for the period he was the president of the country.

"President Obasanjo, for the avoidance of doubt, was the initiator of the constituency project in the year 2000," the statement added.

SEE GOBE: 63 Senators Have Signed To Impeach Jonathan

May Senators dey vex! The level of impunity in the land under Goodluck Jonathan has reached an all time high and the heads of the security agencies are trampling on the laws, disrespecting lawmakers.

A source in Abuja told us that the illegalities wont be allowed to continue, there will be some serious consequences and it has started. Already 63 senators have now signed up to the plan to impeach President Jonathan in the upper legislative chamber as of Thursday.

One of the arrowheads of the move to remove Jonathan in the Senate showed a Punch correspondent the list containing the signatures of the 63 senators who have signed the impeachment notice.

In fact, eight PDP senators are among the Senators that signed to impeach Jonathan.There are 109 members in the Senate. A top APC senator from North-West zone told Punch that the lawmakers' major grouse was the President's handling of the economy and political affairs of the country.

The senator cited poor implementation of the national budget since 2011, alleged high level of corruption and "gross disregard" of the legislature at both the federal and state levels as topping the list of lawmakers' anger against Jonathan.

Asked if he realised the process of impeachment could be tedious and cumbersome, the senator said:
"We know and we are prepared to show the President that we have responsibility to the people and the nation in general. We are prepared to lay the impeachment notice anytime from next week. Meetings are already being held."

Senator Ibrahim Musa (APC Niger North) confirmed that there were moves by some members of the Senate to initiate impeachment proceedings against the President.

PUNCH learnt that the impeachment move against the President had really gained momentum with the APC senators mobilising themselves to carry out the exercise anytime from next week.

Photos: Heavy gridlock & security presence at OAU campus ahead of GEJ's visit

Before president Jonathan comes to Lagos, he will first go to OAU to hold a meeting with the council of Obas of the South West. There's heavy gridlock and security presence this morning at the campus gate. Students writing their exams are being forced to trek or wait for just one student union coaster bus. According to the students, public transport has been barred from conveying them for now. The venue of the event is currently heavily guarded and has been barricaded.