Mark’s absence stalls formal defection of Saraki, others

The absence of Senate President David Mark  from Thursday’s Senate plenary, stalled the defection of  11 aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party senators to the All Progressives Congress.

The aggrieved senators had written to Mark informing him about their decision to leave the PDP for the APC.

But during Wednesday’s plenary, neither the Senate President nor the 11 senators made reference to the letter, which  ought to have been read  on the floor of the Senate.

But during plenary on Thursday, the  Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over session, did not  read the  letter.

He said Mark had told him that he had scheduled a meeting with the aggrieved senators whenever he returned from his official trip to Jigawa State.

PDP Is Now A Sinking Ship, We Can't Go Back ––G5 Governor

The defunct New PDP has formally ruled out a return of its members and leaders to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing it as a sinking ship whose new chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, has been saddled with playing the unenviable role of an undertaker.

“For the avoidance of doubt, let me state unequivocally on the authority of the departed Governors and other stakeholders of the defunct nPDP that none of us, including the G5 Governors, members of the National Assembly or any stakeholder of the defunct nPDP, has any intention of rejoining PDP no matter the level of manoeuvring, coercion or enticement. 

"We are not interested as we have left with the soul of PDP and Mu'azu can have the carcass of the party to revive if he has the ability. We are, however, convinced that he is doomed to fail but would only end up playing the unenviable role of an undertaker as PDP is a sinking ship destined to completely go under sooner than later based on the prayers of the good people of Nigeria and approved by God.”

OMG! Jonathan Jumps 31 Generals To Make His Wife's Relation Chief of Army Staff

With the way President Goodluck Jonathan is going with his "secret" ambition for 2015, it appears divine and all other forms of intervention will be required to save Nigeria from crisis in the months and years ahead.

A lot of meaning have been read into the appointment of Maj-Gen. Kenneth Minimah as chief of army staff by President Jonathan ahead of 31 top generals who are his seniors in the Nigerian Army and are fit for the job. Sources say Maj-Gen Minimah was appointed because of his connection with Patience Jonathan.

“The appointment of Minimah is an ill-wind that blows into the face of the military. We have been crying out that the agenda of Jonathan is to name his kinsman the chief of army staff right from his days in Lagos Command but they said we were alarmists; now the hen has come home to roost. There are so many officers who are superior to Minimah; now what becomes of them?" these are the words of a top Army officer who knows all that is going on.

Tukur’s successor: Jonathan, North Eastern governors consider consensus candidate

President Goodluck Jonathan and Peoples Democratic Party’s governors from the North East may have adopted the option of a consensus candidate for the post of the chairmanship of the party.

The party’s former chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, officially resigned his position at the 63rd National Executive Committee meeting of the party in Abuja on Thursday.

President Jonathan, Saturday PUNCH learnt, considered having a consensus candidate when his preferred candidate,  a former governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Adamu Muázu, was rejected  by governors from the North East, the zone expected  to produce the next chairman of the party.

The President held a closed door meeting with the three governors and a deputy governor from the North East zone on Friday.  The meeting which lasted over an hour took place inside the President’s Office.

EXPOSED: Jonathan To Give Bamanga Tukur Minister of Defence

There are some negative trends in the Goodluck Jonathan administration that made the country's security and other related issue worse in the past. It is common knowledge that the security situation in Nigeria, especially in the North, got out of hand after President Jonathan appointed former PDP chairman, Bello Haliru, who is not known to be grounded in security issues, as a Minister of Defence to "compensate" him.

And the stage seems set for the same terrible mistake by Jonathan to be repeated again...

PDP's Plot To Drag Tinubu Into Rivers Police Brutality Is Idiotic

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Lagos State chapter, has lambasted the Rivers State chapter of the PDP for blaming the instigated warfare it (the PDP) is levying on Rivers State presently on the National Leader of the APC, Senator Bola Tinubu. The party said the funny position of the Rivers PDP is informed by a consuming mania for the leading role Tinubu is playing to forge a common front to uproot the PDP from further despoiling the country and wrecking a well endowed country through deliberate corruption, impunity and gargantuan misrule by the PDP.

“We challenge Rivers PDP to advance further proof of its lamed and idiotic allegation that our National Leader is inciting it to carry out wholesome brigandage in Rivers State just to satiate its base political interests and the selfish interests of its leaders. We want them to advance good proof that any other group besides Rivers PDP is prosecuting the wanton violence in Rivers today."

Tukur’s successor to be announced on Monday

Barely 24 hours after President Goodluck Jonathan confirmed the report on the  resignation of Dr. Bamanga Tukur as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, the search for his successor has begun.

Among those who have shown interest in the post  are the former National Publicity Secretary of the party, Prof. Rufai Alkali  from Gombe State); a former Acting National  Secretary of the PDP, Dr. Musa Babayo (Bauchi); and an ex- Minister of Commerce,  Amb. Idris Waziri (Taraba).

The PUNCH also gathered that a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Ibrahim Bunu (Borno) and  the Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, who is believed to be the choice of  Patience Jonathan,  are  also  in the race.

I can’t stop Reps from defecting – Tambuwal

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhanji  Aminu Tambuwal, has said he cannot stop members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the House from defecting to other political parties.

Tambuwal spoke in Abuja through the deputy spokesperson of the House, Mr. Victor Ogene, at the 11th Annual Trust Dialogue with the theme, “Incumbency and impunity in politics: Safeguarding our democracy beyond 2015.”

The Chairman, Media Trust, Mallam Kabiru Yusuf, said the discourse was not to heat up the polity, but to add to its quality.

A former President of the Civil Liberties Organisation, Ms. Ayo Obe; a former Chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group, Festus Okoye and a senior fellow at the Centre for Democracy, Dr. Jibrin Ibrahim, who at the event, expressed fears about impunity in the country ahead of the 2015 general elections.

The forces that Caused Tukur His Job

Politicians are known to be boastful. The former National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, is not an exception. Even when it was clear that the drummers who were playing music for him had since dropped their drums and were no longer ready to sing his praises, Tukur soldiered on. He believed that the tide could still change and he would retain his much-treasured exalted position.

Thus, when he had even dropped his resignation letter, Tukur said he was still in power. He told the unsuspecting journalists at the State House that he had not dropped his resignation letter.

Perhaps, he had thought that the tide could still change and those who wanted his downfall would have a change of heart. How wrong he was.

While he was not sleeping, his enemies were also planning. Just as he set up a panel of eminent persons from his home state to reach out to  Governors Jonah Jang of Plateau State, and Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, his enemies were also plotting how to thwart that move.

9ice Speaks On Why He Is Leaving Music For Politics

In this chat with HipHopWorld Magazine, the singer says he is leaving music for politics because he believes he has achieved all there is to be achieved in music and he is ready to move on.

I’m leaving music, I need to go into something more challenging. Music is no longer competitive for me, I’ve done all that needs to be done in music”, he said

And i remember him saying he was going for a Grammy. Well, Good luck to him.

Tukur panics, seeks deputy national leaders’ support

The National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, on Sunday met with the deputy national officers of the party and begged them to help him retain his position.

At the meeting, Tukur urged them to support him during the January 16 National Executive Council meeting of the PDP.

One of the deputy national leaders, who attended the meeting, said that Tukur expressed his anger over the attitude of many of the members of the NWC toward his leadership.

He said that the national chairman was embittered that the national officers had pitched tent with his political enemies.

Senate Tells PDP: Senators Wont Lose Seat for Moving To APC

The Senate authority on Friday shocked the PDP and its agent, Senator Ita Enang from Akwa Ibom who had in the past few days canvassing on behalf of the party that any PDP Senator who decamps to the APC will lose his seat, automatically.

The Senate has distanced itself from that position. Reacting to the comment by Senator Enang, the Chairman of Senate Committee on Information, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe said it was purely his (Enang) position and not that of the Senate as there was no plan by the Red Chamber to declare seats of PDP Senators that defect to APC vacant.

The Senate spokesman also distanced Senate President David Mark from Enang’s statement...

I won’t quit before June, Sanusi dares Jonathan

The controversy surrounding the planned exit of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, deepened on Thursday with the governor insisting that he would not quit the post until his term expired on June 2, 2014.

In keeping with his vow, which analysts see as a direct confrontation with President Goodluck Jonathan, Sanusi has said he will not proceed on his terminal leave in March as initially being speculated.

The President had reportedly asked the CBN governor to resign immediately because of the alleged deliberate leakage of the letter that Sanusi wrote to him in which the governor accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation of not remitting $49.8bn crude oil revenue to the Federation Account.

PDP Must Stop Taking Its Violent Attacks To Judiciary ––APC

The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has totally condemn the present resort to physical violence against the judiciary and officials of court in Rivers State by members of the PDP.

Again, it would be recalled that just recently, six individuals reportedly linked to Hon. Evans Bipi and Senator George Sekibo were arrested on their way to Ogu/Bolo with seven AK-47 assault weapons by
men of the JTF. This has confirmed our worst fears that the PDP have resorted to the use of terrorism as official party policy. We have every reason to strongly believe that the arrested well-armed men are part of the ruthless snipers PDP are alleged to have trained for use against political opponents.

Jonathan Should Know That He's Just A Tenant In Aso Rock ––APC Blasts Presidency

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has described as a cruel irony the accusation of inconsistency and double standards levelled against its leaders by the presidency, saying an incompetent and flip flopping administration has no moral authority to point an accusing finger at anyone, least of all the patriotic and respectable APC leadership.

According to the APC: "The presidency is behaving like a punch-drunk boxer who, clearly dazed by a barrage of right-on-target punches from the opponent, ran to the ropes and started punching the air, when he should be thinking of a comeback strategy."

APC begins membership registration this month

The All Progressives Congress has set up  committees to handle the registration of its members in each state of the federation.

Members of the committee will be drawn from the national secretariat, defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, the Congress for Progressive Change and the All Nigeria Peoples Party in each state as well as governors where APC has one.

The ACN, the CPC and ANPP merged to form the APC.

It was learnt in Abuja, on Sunday, that barring any last minute change, the APC National Secretariat would name two members, the chairmen of the defunct ACN, ANPP and CPC as well as the state governor (where APC has a governor), would also be part of the committee.

President Goodluck Jonathan open to reconciliation with Obasanjo

The Presidency on Sunday said President Goodluck Jonathan was favourably  disposed to mending fences with former President Olusegun.

The Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Mr. Ahmed Gulak,  made this known on Sunday just as  The PUNCH  gathered that the  feud between   Jonathan and Obasanjo was   adding to the worries of the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The sour relationship between the duo became public knowledge in December 2013 when Obasanjo wrote a letter titled “Before it is too late” to Jonathan.

Jonathan Begs Governors Aliyu & Lamido: Show Your True Self

The PDP is still in serious crisis and President Goodluck Jonathan is afraid that if they hold a meeting now, any thing discussed can be leaked to the fast-growing opposition party, APC, by the remaining two out of the seven governors who were in the New PDP - Governors Babangida Aliyu and Sule Lamido.

He also believe that they are still bent on conspiring with other PDP governors to remove the party chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who is very loyal to him. Consequently, the Presidency has called for the suspension of the much anticipated PDP NEC meeting to give Jonathan more time to "settle".

Jonathan is however begging Governors Aliyu and Lamido to tell him where they stand first.

"If Jonathan Don't Get What He Wants There Will Be War"

“If the President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria insists he wants something and you say you will not allow him to have it, what do you think will happen?” The above was the question asked by a former state governor in Nigeria’s South-west. He answered the question himself: “War”

EXPOSED: Jonathan Puts N1.8b in Budget for Project Obasanjo Paid & Completed In 2006

 President Goodluck Jonathan is asking the National Assembly to appropriate about N1.8bn this year (2014) to help connect his home state of Bayelsa, to the national electricity grid, but this request suggests that some 'Ogas at the Top' only want to pocket the money, secretly.

Exposing the BIG fraud, an officials of the Ministry of Power said they were “stunned and amused at the claim from the presidency which is obviously an afterthought. It is not true that the Bayelsa transmission line needs an upgrade. If it’s an upgrade, why didn’t they say so in the budget? Why was it presented as a totally new project?” the official queried.

These revelations are shocking as the project was fully paid for by Obasanjo. Continue...