Why Agagu boys defected to APC in Ondo: The Obasanjo/Tinubu connections

Finally, the bubble burst on Tuesday, January 13 in Akure, the Ondo State capital, as some politicians known as the Agagu Boys defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC.

This development, though a big shock, but was dismissed by the State PDP, which said their defection was long overdue.

Reports had it that the late former governor Dr. Olusegun Agagu, before his demise had been fraternizing with the leadership of the APC.

The late Agagu at some point was alleged to have met with the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu several times on the possibility to collaborate.

The information leaked to the leadership of the PDP and Agagu was said to be sidelined on matters of the state, as Mimiko dictated the tune, even while in his former Party. Then, Agagu and his boys were tagged PDP Jagaban.

However, with the death of Agagu and the development which led to Mimiko defection to the PDP, the Agagu boys became threatened and uncomfortable with his leadership of the party.

Political future

After much dilly-dallying, Agagu’s younger brother who was his Chief of Staff for six years Femi Agagu led others to the former President Olusegun Obasanjo, his late brother’s god-father, to seek his advice on their political future under Mimiko’s leadership of the Party in the state.

Femi confirmed to Vanguard that former President Obasanjo knows and approves of their defection bid. Asked if their recent meeting with President Obasanjo in Abeokuta, Ogun State has anything to do with their defection, Femi said “It has every thing to do with our action.”

Vanguard reliably gathered that the former President Obasanjo facilitated the meeting  Agagu boys had with Tinubu in his Bourdillion, Lagos residence.

Basking in the euphoria of his endorsement by the former President and Tinubu, Femi Agagu swung into action and started the mobilization of those he helped while he was the Chief of Staff and who benefited from his brother’s six years reign.

He won the hearts of some  former Commissioners who are his friends and whom he influenced their appointment- Olaitan Ayeni (Works), Boye Adegbemisoye (Special Duties) and two former Speakers, Victor Olabimtan who is a Federal Commissioner, Federal Civil Service Commission and Taofiq Abdusalam.

Others are a State party chairman, working committee members, members of National Assembly, Speakers and members of Ondo State House of Assembly, commissioners and Special Advisers. A former Speaker, Hon Olabimtan was said to have jumped ship because of an alleged disagreement over his re-appointment as Commissioner in the Federal Civil Service Commission after serving his term.

But another source said he was annoyed because his appointment as the state Coordinator of President Goodluck Jonathan campaign was allegedly upturned by Governor Mimiko. This has however been denied by the governor’s aide who described him as been selfish and self centred. No fewer than 48 names were paraded as defectors to the opposition APC. Among the defectors were former Commissioners- Niran Sule (Special Duties), Mrs Bukola Tenabe (Women Affairs), Tola Wewe (Tourism), Tola Aworh (Information) and Akinyemi Akinnigbagbe (Agriculture), .

Also a serving member representing Owo/Ose Hon Eniolorunda Omosule and another former member, Hon Akinyujha Jones equally defected.

Some foot soldiers of the PDP governorship candidate in the 2012 election, Chief Olusola Oke were among the defectors.

Femi Agagu at a conference to announce their defection said “We have resolved to embrace change which the APC represents and drum support for the victory of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) and Professor Yemi Osinbajo, as well as all the candidates of the party.

“We took this decision after lengthy sessions of consultation with friends, political associates as well as supporters in all the 203 wards of the state. We have also received the confidence of distinguished elder statesmen, non political young and elderly citizens who are concerned about the future of our dear state and country.”

Swift reaction

Meanwhile, receiving the defectors, the party Vice Chairman in the South West, Chief Oluwole Akinyelure and the state Chairman, Hon. Isaac Kekemeke said they will be integrated into the party not as joiners but co-founders.

They urged the new members to work tirelessly for the party to win in the next year elections.

But in a swift reaction to the development, the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State, in a statement issued by the state’s Publicity Secretary, Hon. Banji Okunnomo said those who claimed to have defected from the PDP had since ceased to be members of the ruling party.

The party said: “The game plan of  the members of the opposition who only waited till now to make their membership of the party public was to act as spoilers within but failed to achieve their aims. The PDP in Ondo state today is free of disloyal elements who hitherto worked with the opposition from within.”

Fire engulfs Berlin Market in Lagos

Goods and property worth millions of Naira were destroyed by fire on Friday at the popular Berlin Market, near Mandilas on Williams Street, off Marina in central Lagos.

The incident occurred four days after five buildings were razed in the popular Balogun Market located also in central Lagos.

Cause of the fire could not immediately ascertain but the people who spoke said it could not be unconnected with the people who slept there.

They also alluded to the fact that many of the people who reside in the market and the traders used electricity generators because of inconsistent power supply.

The noted that it could have resulted from a spark from power surge when Eko Electricity Distribution Company restored light in the early hours of the morning.

An Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Lagos State Fire Service, who identified himself only as Jubril, said that the course of the fire could not be determined immediately.

Jubril, who said that he was hastening to quell another fire somewhere in Lagos, said they had curtailed the incidence with the assistance of other rescue agencies at the scene.

Fire fighters from adjourning banks, including the United Bank for Africa (UBA), First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Julius Berger and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were seen putting off the fire.

The Head of CBN’s Security Department, who identified herself as Mrs Yaya, said the bank brought its fire outfit to prevent it from spreading to the bank premises.

Yaya also said that the cause of the fire could not be determined immediately, adding that some of the traders sleep in their shops and used generators at night.

She said that the fire began early on Friday morning and was a threat to the CBN premises and other banks within the locality, compelling them to join in putting out the fire.

She lamented the way the market was constructed, admonishing the state government to urgently do something to reconstruct it into a modern market.

“Our trucks found it difficult to get to the scene of the fire due to the way the market is constructed.

“Some of the traders sleep within the market and use electricity generators popularly known as `I better pass neighbor’,’’ she added.

A trader, Rapheal Oyeke, said that he sells clothing materials and shoes, adding that he lost all his goods to the fire.

Another trader, Alozie, who apparently was shattered by the development, said he had just returned from the Christmas and New Year holidays on Thursday only to meet the ugly incident.

Also, another, who was irritated by questions from acorrespondent, gave his name as Ameachi, adding that he lost all the shoes, jewelries and clothes he sells.

Other traders, including women were seen wailing as a result of the incident.

Gov. Babatunde Fashola, who paid an on the spot visit to the traders at the Balogun Market on Wednesday had promised that the state government would assist the victims. (NAN)

Buhari Certificate Saga: Jonathan accuses INEC of cover-up

President Goodluck Jonathan’s Campaign Organisation, accused Professor Attahiru Jega’s Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of conniving with General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress, APC, to subvert Nigeria’s Constitution.

Jonathan’s Director of Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, at a press briefing, quoted copiously from the Constitution and the Electoral Act to support his claim that, whereas the law expressly states that a candidate must present and attach his or her personal documents to INEC’s form, Buhari never did this in 2011 and has just ignored that provision of the law again while submitting his form for next month’s election. On both scores, he said, INEC looked the other way.

According to Fani-Kayode, this is a flagrant abuse of the law and an encouragement on the part of INEC to shield Buhari and put him above the law.

However, in a swift reaction, the Buhari Campaign Organisation’s Director of Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said Jonathan should address the nation on the issue of Baga killings and not waste the time of Nigerians on a spurious certificate issue.

Shehu did not address the aspect of the subversion of the law in his statement.

‘INEC IS SHIELDING BUHARI FROM THE LAW’

Fani-Kayode’s statement, titled, ‘CERTIFICATE SAGA, WHY IS INEC INVOLVED IN A COVER-UP FOR BUHARI’, reads:

“It has been brought to our attention that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, either by error of omission or commission, may be engaged in acts that do not in every material particular support the advancement of democracy, the rule of law and the strict adherence to the letters and the spirit of electoral laws in Nigeria.

“His inability to present even the minimum requirement of just a leaving school certificate questions his moral and other credentials for pursuing the position of the President of Nigeria. The current emerging shocking disclosures bring to the fore how and what qualifications were used to recruit him into the military without a minimum school leaving certificate, where he rose to the rank of a general and even became the Head of State through a military coup that truncated a democratically elected government in 1983.

“Academic qualification is a threshold issue that cannot be waived for any citizen, no matter how highly placed and irrespective of whichever region such individual comes from except as provided by the Constitution. Thus the question must be asked: Is Buhari or any other citizen qualified to contest election into the Office of the President without meeting the minimum constitutional requirement?

A perusal of the Nigerian Constitution at Section 131 unequivocally states: ‘A person shall be qualified for election to the Office of President if: (a) He is a citizen of Nigeria by birth (b) He has attained the age of forty years(c) He is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and (d) He has been educated up to at least School certificate level or its equivalent. It is to be noted that section 131 (d) is a specific directional order for all candidates to show proof of education up to a minimum standard not below school certificate or its equivalent’.

“But from what INEC has published, Buhari has not submitted any personal particular of minimum school leaving certificate for the 2015 election and shockingly, from INEC documents displayed in all constituencies, he also did not submit anything in 2011 and never referred the umpire then to the Secretary of the Military Board as well as previous elections he contested as evidenced in all available INEC records until this current discovery.

“If the Constitution did not require proof, it would not specify a minimum. To strengthen this claim, the extant Electoral Act directs that such proof must be sworn to by each candidate at a Court under section 31 (2) to (5), viz (2), ‘The list of information submitted by each candidate shall be accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the candidate at the Federal High Court, High Court of a state or the FCT, indicating that he has fulfilled all the constitutional requirements for election into that office (3) The Commission shall within 7 days of the receipt of the personal particular of the candidate,(emphasis here is personal particular and not INEC form given to fill nor court document like affidavit) and publish same in the constituency where the candidate intends to contest (4) A person may apply to the Commission for a copy of nomination form affidavit and any other document submitted by a candidate at an election and the Commission shall, upon payment of a prescribed fee, issue the person with a certified copy of the documents within 14 days (5) Any person who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given in the affidavit or any document submitted by that candidate is false may file a suit at the federal high court, High Court of a state or FCT against such person seeking a declaration that the information contained in the affidavit is false (6) If the court determines that any of the information contained in the affidavit of any document submitted by that candidate is false, the court shall issue an order disqualifying the candidate from contesting the election.’

“First, in the INEC Form CF 001 for 2015 filled by General Buhari at Section C of the form, the instruction on the form clearly states, ‘Attach evidence of all educational qualifications’ – THIS WAS NOT DONE.

“Yet an affidavit was sworn otherwise. Curiously, he did not refer INEC to this Board in 2011 in his records available for anyone who cares to see how Buhari has, in breach of the Constitution of 1999, contested elections without meeting the mandatory constitutional requirement and has been treated preferentially.

“THE QUESTION TO ASK INEC: IS BUHARI ABOVE THE LAW OF THE LAND OR SHOULD WE SUSPEND OR AMEND THE LAW TO ACCOMMODATE HIM.

“It is common knowledge that Military Board like any others do not keep or retain original copies of personal particulars of individuals such as birth certificates, passports, and academic credentials of any personnel, especially retired personnel after over three decades. It must be stated that INEC erred in law by publishing the name of a candidate without receiving the personal particulars of the candidate within 7 days of receiving his nomination forms as indicated in Section 31(3).

“This is indeed a tragedy illustrating what Nigeria has become, that an individual is so powerful that the law has to be ignored to accommodate him. Certainly, INEC printed nomination forms or High Court affidavits are in no way or by any stretch of definitions, the same as personal particulars such as school leaving certificate.

The Nigerian Constitution has now been finally rubbished and no longer respected.

“The whole essence of the provision of the law, as quoted above, for citizens to apply for certified copies of such personal particulars is now defeated. How could citizens obtain from INEC a certified true copy as required by law when INEC has been referred to the Secretary of Military Board? That the candidate, General Buhari, from records available, has perpetuated this disdain for due democratic process, in a serial form since the beginning of this democratic dispensation, shows that our democracy is in trouble because it is now the rule of men and not the rule of law. This shameful development when added to the weight of his record of civil rights abuses, while in office, show he is an incorrigible anti-democratic character.

“That INEC, saddled with a statutory duty to promote good knowledge and practices of democracy (Section 1(2) of the extant Electoral Act) published as a candidate in all its offices the affidavit of a candidate whose personal particulars it did not receive within the prescribed time frame by law is most unfortunate to say the least.

Our conclusion: BUHARI, FROM THE ABOVE, IS NOT QUALIFIED TO CONTEST THE 2015 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION”.

ADDRESS THE NATION ON BAGA – BUHARI

In a statement, yesterday, by the Director, Media and Publicity of APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mallam Garba Shehu, rather than PDP wasting its energy on alleged certificate saga of Buhari, Jonathan should address the nation on the massacre in Baga town which “the Amnesty International has described as the single most deadly incident since the unfortunate insurgency started in the country”.

Shehu, who noted that the PDP had dwelt so much on the issue of academic certificate of its candidate, Buhari, stressed that  there were more pressing issues for the government controlled by the party to address.

He said, “This government should not go on being insensitive. They have to account to Nigerians.The issue of certificate of General Buhari is a non-issue as everyone knows that Buhari is a product of Daura Primary School, Katsina Provisional Secondary School (now Government College, Katsina) and the Nigerian Military Training College. This is in addition to several other courses he attended at home and abroad.”

According to the statement, while the PDP government has failed in its duty and responsibilities to the citizens and the nation, it has intensified effort to pull wool over the eyes of Nigerians.

He continued, ” A leading member of the party, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, a few days ago, informed Nigerians that in politics, you must tell lies. Nigerians should take their cue from there.

“Unfortunately, PDP has become a political party that is so fixated with keeping an incompetent government in power and is lustfully engaged in pursuing a non-issue about an individual’s academic qualifications.”

I don’t mind being a second wife — Nkiru Silvanus

Nkiru Sylvanus

The dream of every woman is to find a man to spend her entire life with.  Even the Holy religious books have enjoined men and women, to seek each other out and cohabit as man and wife. But as beautiful and simple as this may sound, marriage has long gone from being a simple item on a menu, it has become a task, as finding a true life partner has become as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. It is particularly more difficult for the womenfolks as they have to be proposed to.

As liberated as our society is now, it is hard to find a woman that would go out of her way to propose to a man. The norm is the other way round. So, for a woman, waiting to get a marriage proposal may me as certain as waiting for the proverbial hen to play a golden egg. It doesn’t have to do with beauty, wealth or status, or else all the Nollywood divas would have been long married before they hit their 30s. Why are these ladies still single in spite of their relative affluence and beauty? Meet some of Nollywood singles in their 30s, 40s still single and why:

Talented Nollywood actress, Nkiru Sylvanus is still single though not getting younger. The former aide to the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has declared that she wouldn’t mind being a second wife if the need arises. While speaking on a TV programme, she said: “ If the situation and the person is good, I’ll go for it. I’ve said it before that if ladies don’t stop this nonsense they call ‘one-man-one-wife’, many of them will get to 40 and still remain single. There are more women than men. Go to churches, the number of single ladies in most cases is three times the number of single guys”.

2014/15 UEFA Champions League access list

The 2014/15 UEFA Champions League gets under way on 1 July 2014 and comes to a conclusion when the final takes place at Berlin's Olympiastadion on Saturday 6 June 2015.

A country's representation in the UEFA Champions League is determined by its UEFA coefficient ranking, which is calculated over a five-year basis.

2014/15 UEFA Champions League draw schedule Date Location Draw details 23/06/14 Nyon First and second qualifying round 18/07/14 Nyon Third qualifying round 08/08/14 Nyon Play-off round 28/08/14 Monaco Group stage 15/12/14 Nyon Round of 32 and round of 16 20/03/15 Nyon Quarter-finals 24/04/15 Nyon Semi-finals and final

2014/15 UEFA Champions League match calendar Stage Dates First qualifying round, first leg 01-02/07/14 First qualifying round, second leg 08-09/07/14 Second qualifying round, first leg 15-16/07/14 Second qualifying round, second leg 22-23/07/14 Third qualifying round, first leg 29-30/07/14 Third qualifying round, second leg 05-06/08/14 Play-off round, first leg 19-20/08/14 Play-off round, second leg 26-27/08/14 Group stage, matchday one 16-17/09/14 Group stage, matchday two 30/09-01/10/14 Group stage, matchday three 21-22/10/14 Group stage, matchday four 04-05/11/14 Group stage, matchday five 25-26/11/14 Group stage, matchday six 09-10/12/14 Round of 16, first leg 17-18/02/15 or 24-25/02/15 Round of 16, second leg 10-11/03/15 or 17-18/03/15 Quarter-finals, first leg 14-15/04/15 Quarter-finals, second leg 21-22/04/15 Semi-finals, first leg 05-06/05/15 Semi-finals, second leg 12-13/05/15 Final (Olympiastadion, Berlin) 06/06/15

Jonathan begs opposition, Nigerians "Only by a united action can we defeat terrorism"

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday reiterated his call on Nigerians to unite against insurgency, saying that bickering among selves only served as morale booster to terrorists/insurgents.

Jonathan made the call while accepting his nomination as the PDP candidate for the presidential election in 2015 at the party’s National Convention in Abuja.

He stressed that bickering among Nigerians sends a wrong signal to insurgents that the country was divided in the war against terror and could also demoralise the armed forces.

“For this reason, we must remain united. I believe that together as a people and with God on our side, we can defeat terrorism and emerge even stronger and more united as a country.

“Experience in many countries shows that there may be the tendency for the escalation of violence in an election year like this.

“We must all be vigilant, every one of us. Only by a united action can we defeat terrorism and unnecessary violence”, he said.

The President stated that the security of lives and property of Nigerians remained a priority of the Federal Government, assuring that election would hold in all states of the federation.

While saluting the armed forces and security services for their loyalty and commitment to the nation, Jonathan said he would continue to ensure they had the best in equipment and training.

Jonathan reminded his fellow party members that the opposition would employ every means including intimidation and false accusation in their desperation for power.

He urged them not to descend to that level but to remain focussed on the mission at hand to secure the country’s future.

“Let me emphasise again that nobody’s political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian.

“We must eschew violence even in the face of the most outrageous act of desperation.

“We must make sure our supporters have their voter card or get them motivated and eager to make their mark for our children, for a stronger economy and for the security of the country’s future.”

The President noted that in the course of the campaign ahead of the 2015 general elections, some office seekers would say it was time for change.

“But while they are changing from one name to another and from one party to another, we have already brought change to this country.

“Has change not come to our railway system? Has change not come to our airports? Has change not come to our road networks?

“Has change not come to our agricultural sector? Has change not come to our electoral process? Has change not come to ‘almajiri’ education?

“Is change not coming to the power sector? What we need today is to consolidate on our gains in order to secure our future.”

While acknowledging the economic challenges facing the country due to sliding oil prices, Jonathan reaffirmed the determination of his administration to address them.

He said the country faced similar challenges back in 2008 and 2009 arising from unstable oil prices, but it confronted and overcame them.

The President assured Nigerians that his administration had a capable economic team which had already mapped out strategies to manage the current oil price volatility and its threat to the nation.

Jonathan, who highlighted his various economic policies and programmes and their benefits to Nigerians, said his administration was working to revitalise the insurance industry.

According to him, the country’s insurance sector had not achieved its full potential when compared to other emerging economies.

“Today, only three million of our citizens are insurance policy holders, and overall insurance penetration is less than 0.5 per cent of our GDP.

“We want to transform this sector just as we have done for our banking sector and our pension system.

“Our goal is to grow the total insurance premium in our country from the present N300 billion to N1trillion in the next few years.

“We are also aiming to increase the number of direct jobs created in this sector from the present 30,000 to over 100,000 in the next few years”, he said.

To all those runs girls who follow guys to uncompleted buildings at night (Terrifying Photos Of Girl Beheaded By Ritualist In Osun State)

According to reports from an unswerving blogger, panic was the order of the day in the diminutive yet peaceful Adeke town in Osun state when a dead body was found in an uncompleted building.

As stated by the blogger from Bowen University, Iwo Town in Osun state who sent us these pictures. The corpse of a girl was found beheaded in an uncompleted building.

The aged man who found this body told the press today that he works in the building, so on his way to work that morning, he discovered the corpse and raised an alarm immediately.

The body was taken to Adeke Police station.

To all those runs girls who follow guys to uncompleted buildings at night, they are lot of desperate–to-get-wealth men out there… Be careful ooh!