General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) of the All Progressives Congress was on Monday morning announced the winner of the March 28 Presidential elections in Kogi State.

The State Collation Officer, Prof. Adikwu Michael, who is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, made the announcement at the State headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Lokoja in the early hours of Monday.

Gen. Buhari polled 264,851 of the total votes cast – 439,287- to defeat President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, who had 149,987 votes.

The collation, which began on Sunday evening and ended around 4am on Monday morning, saw Buhari win in 15 of the 21 Local Government Areas of the state to poll 60.3 per cent of the total votes while Jonathan could only manage victory in six Local Governments and has 34.1 per cent of the votes cast.

APC won with high margins in most of the LGAs with Okene, Lokoja, Adavi, Kogi-Koton Karfe and Okehi accounting for the highest margins.

Okene gave APC 34, 293 votes as against the 3, 728 votes for the PDP, LOkoja accounted for 24, 658 votes against 5, 112 for PDP, Adavi had 22, 659 votes for Buhari and 7, 767 votes for Jonathan, Kogi-Koton Karfe voted 15, 358 in APC’s favour and 2, 735 for the PDP while Okehi had 17, 801 votes in favour of the retired General while they gave President Jonathan 5, 808 votes.

The PDP however won with slim margins in the five LGAs they had with the highest margin coming from Ibaji Local Government, where they had 13,885 votes to the APC’s 6, 076 votes.

The other Local Governments won by the APC include; Ogori-Magongo, Idah, which is the hometown of Senator Ahmadu Alli, a PDP chieftain, Mopa Moro, Dekina, the LGA of the state Governor, Idris Wada of the PDP, Olamaboro, Ofu, Ajaokuta, Yagba East, Ankpa and Ijumu Local Government Areas.

The other four LGAs where the PDP won are; Yagba West, Igalamela/ Odolu, Bassa and Omala.

Of the 1, 348, 956 voters registered in the state, 476, 839 were accredited to vote while 439, 287 votes were cast with 17, 959 of them rejected.

The event was witnessed by the agents of the two major political parties, the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi, the Director of the Department of State Security in the state, Mr Fubar, among others.
http://www.punchng.com/news/buhari-wins-kogi-captures-60-of-total-votes/
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/30/buhari-wins-ko…of-total-votes/ ‎

INEC Nigeria declares Bukola Saraki winner Kwara Central Senatorial District to return as Senator. Total votes 195,304 Total valid votes 187,585. APC votes 118,879. PDP 66,864.
http://lindaikeji..com/2015/03/senator-bukola-saraki-returns-to-senate.html
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/30/senator-bukola…urns-to-senate/ ‎

The Independent National Electoral Commission has said that despite the extension of the Saturday’s elections till Sunday in some parts of the country, the complete ‎results of the presidential poll will be declared on Monday.

INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, who gave this assurance on Sunday, however, said as of Sunday evening, results of the polls had only been completely collated in two states, one of which was Ekiti.

He maintained that the commission would declare the results of the presidential election within 48 hours after the conduct of the polls as it did in 2011.

He said this while addressing journalists in company with some of the INEC commissioners on the update on the conduct of the elections so far at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, venue of the National Collation Centre of the elections‎.

He said, “Some people assume that when I said 48 hours, it starts from the morning the elections commenced. It is 48 hours after elections have ended, like yesterday.

“You start counting 48 hours from yesterday (Saturday), when substantial majority of the polling units ended elections.”

He expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the Saturday’s polls, which he said held in a substantial number of polling units across the country, including the troubled North-East region, where he said Internally Displaced Persons were able to vote in three states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno.

“We are pleased that the elections went on smoothly in a substantial number of Polling Units across the country, including the North East where the commission was also able to conduct voting for Internally Displaced Persons in the three states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno,” he said.

He also debunked speculation that‎ the resort to manual accreditation in some polling units, where the card reader machines failed, could undermine the credibility of the election.

According to him, out of more that 150,000 card readers used for the conduct of the polls on Saturday, only 300 of them failed, representing only about 0.25 per cent of the total number of machines.

“It is also gratifying to not that the card readers worked well in the majority of polling units, even though there were areas where difficulties experienced necessitated additional guidelines to allow for manual accreditation of voters, as announced yesterday (Saturday),” he said.

He said the resort to manual accreditation occurred in some polling units in nine states which are Osun, Kebbi, Ekiti, Adamawa, Borno, Jigawa, Anambra, Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi.”
http://www.punchng.com/news/inec-declares-presidential-election-results-on-monday/
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/29/inec-declares-…ults-on-monday/ ‎

INEC has released results of the Presidential election in 10 local governments in Ogun State. As at 2:pm on Sunday March 29th in Abeokuta, APC won seven with wide margin while PDP won the remaining three local government areas.

The local government areas released so far include Obafemi-Owode, Abeokuta North, Odogboolu, Odeda, Imeko-Afon, Sagamu, Ijebu-Ode, Remo-North, Ewekoro, and Ijebu North-East. See details after the cut...

The details are as follows;
Odeda Local government
Number of registered voters -63,935
Number of accredited voter -17,463

APC -11,102
PDP -4,456

Total valid votes -16,152
Voided votes -775
Total votes cast -16,927

Imeko Afon Local Government
Number of voters registered -35,311
Number of accredited voters -23,481

APC -7,657
PDP -12,153

Valid votes cast -20,466
Void votes -1,122

Sagamu Local Government
Number of registered voters -77,955
Number of accredited voters -37,772

APC -15,761
PDP -17,263

Ijebu Ode Local Government
Number of registered voters -55,127
Number of voters accredited -25,973

APC -14,043
PDP -8,972

Remo North Local Government
Number of registered voters -39,180
Number of accredited voters -16,960
APC -6,164
PDP -9,278

Ewekoro Local Government
Number of registered voters -62,425
Number of accredited voters -14,193

APC -9,626
PDP -3,227

Obafemi-Owode Local Government
Number of registered voters -74,871
Number of accredited voters -24,402
APC -15,207
PDP -5,786

Ijebu North-East
Number of registered voters 36058
Number of accredited voters 15214
APC- 7638
PDP -6163

Odogboolu local government
Number of registered voters 70658
Number of accredited voters 25752
APC -11623
PDP -11405

Abeokuta North local government
Number of registered voters -12 5485
Number of accredited voters -30556
APC 21213
PDP 5,742
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/29/inec-releases-…te-apc-leading/

Less than an hour that a bomb exploded at a polling unit in Enugu, a similar incident has occurred in Awka, Anambra State.
The Anambra explosion took place at Atom a polling unit at Umuokpara Primary School, Awka ward one.
Details later… http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/28/explosion-rock…a-polling-unit/ ‎
http://www.punchng.com/news/explosion-rocks-anambra-polling-unit/

Plateau State Governor, Jonathan Jang, has asked the people of the Northern region to be patient and wait till 2019 when President Goodluck Jonathan would have completed his second term in office.

Jang, who spoke at a town hall meeting in Pankshin and Mangu local government areas on Thursday, urged northerners to vote for Jonathan and all the Peoples Democratic Party candidates in today’s election.

He said the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari (retd.), was removed as head of state by his colleagues in the military because he lacked focus.

“If Buhari did not perform as head of state, he will not do anything as a civilian President and therefore lacks the credentials to represent the North,” he said.

The governor, who decried what he called skewed distribution of Permanent Voter Cards by the Independent National Electoral Commission in the state, said he was optimistic that with the PVCs so far distributed, Plateau would deliver 1.8 million votes to Jonathan.

Jang said, “We need a President that will consolidate on the achievements so far recorded in the power sector, we have the trains moving today and the corruption that had been alarming in the agricultural sector has been tackled. Farmers now get fertiliser without hitches. So, the North should be patient and allow President Jonathan to finish his second tenure in 2019.”

The Senator representing Plateau Central, Chief Joshua Dariye, urged all political stakeholders to vote for Jonathan.

“We should take the Saturday (today) election very seriously because we cannot afford to underrate the opposition,” he said.

The PDP governorship candidate in the state, Senator Gyang Pwajok, said the task of re-electing Jonathan and other PDP candidates was a collective responsibility that must be pursued vigorously.
http://www.punchng.com/news/presidency-jang-asks-north-to-wait-till-2019/
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/28/presidency-jan…wait-till-2019/ ‎

REC in Jigawa, Haliru Tambawel, says House of Reps Election will not hold in seven constituencies of the state on Saturday because of lack of ballot papers.

Details later… @http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/27/ballot-paper-s…-reps-election/ ‎
http://www.punchng.com/news/ballot-paper-scarcity-halts-jigawa-reps-election/

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Tuesday said it had accredited 107 domestic and international observers to monitor the general elections slated for March 28 and April 11, 2015.

Among the accredited observers are embassies of 11 foreign nations of the United States of America, Switzerland, Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Ghana and the Republic of Korea.

This is contained in a CD labelled ‘2015 General Elections Observers Information Pack’ which the commission included as part of the package it presented to accredited journalists to cover the polls.

The commission listed 14 international and regional organisations as part of the accredited observers. The remaining 82 observers are domestic groups.

Among the international organisations are International Foundation for Electoral Systems; UN Women; International Republican Institute; Africa Students Association of Ireland; National Democratic Institute for International Affairs; UNDP/DGD Project; Centre for Conflict Management, Kennesaw State University, Atlanta Georgia, USA; Commonwealth Observers Mission; and Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Kenya.

The rest of the international organisations are Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford; European Union Delegation to Nigeria; ECOWAS Mission; European Union and Election Observation Mission.

Among the 82 domestic observers are, New Partnership for Africa’s Development, Centre for Strategic Conflict Management; Global Agenda for Total Emancipation; Citizens Right and Leadership Awareness Initiative; Justice Development and Peace Commission (Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria); Fundamental Rights League International ; Police Service Commission; Centre for Grassroot Development and Crime Prevention; and Centre for Civic Education (aka Transition Monitoring Group)

They also include Centre for Policy Advocacy and Leadership Development; Election Monitor; Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution; Society for Equity, Justice and peace; Justice & Equity Organisation; Cleen Foundation; and West African Network of Election Observers.

Also contained in the INEC’s guidline CD are, the soft copy of the Electoral Act, Summary of Polling Units and Voting Points nationwide, Directory of Polling Units Revised Draft, 2015 Info Kit.
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/25/11-embassies-9…tor-polls-inec/ ‎
http://www.punchng.com/news/11-embassies-96-others-to-monitor-polls-inec/

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday commiserated with the family of a former military governor of Benue State, Gen. Ishaya Bakut, on his death.



According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President also condoled the government and people of Bakut’s home state, Kaduna.



He said he joined them in mourning the late general who served the nation admirably in various capacities during his years in the Nigerian Army.



The statement added, “President Jonathan assures Gen. Bakut’s family and the people of Kaduna State that the nation will remain eternally grateful for the former military Governor’s courageous service as a Company and Battalion Commander during the Nigerian Civil War.



“The President believes that Gen. Bakut whose career highlights included service as Commander of the 41 Engineers Brigade, Kaduna, member of the Nigerian contingent in the United Nations Peace-Keeping Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and Principal Staff Officer to the Chief Of General Staff, will also be long remembered and honoured within and outside the country for his very commendable role as Field Commander of the West African Multinational Force in Liberia.



“President Jonathan prays that God Almighty will grant Gen Bakut’s soul peaceful rest and comfort his grieving family and close relations.”
http://www.punchng.com/news/jonathan-mourns-ex-benue-gov/
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/24/jonathan-mourn…r-just-in-case/

DOWNLOAD @ http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/22/el-clasico-bar…atch-highlight/ ‎

Nigerians, the president of Nigeria made several notable confessions to the BBC interviewer. ‘Confused, incoherent and corrupt’ are the words that have been used to describe his performance in the interview. The confessions he made are are as extracted below:

Scroll to bottom for video

1. Goodluck Jonathan admitted that Boko Haram insurgents are not so much being killed but are just being deactivated and are dissipating into neighboring countries from where at any time they may be re-called to relaunch their pogrom on Nigeria’s north. The president of Nigeria explained that these insurgents (numbers may be as many as 30,000) are relocating to neighboring countries as far as Central Africa and other points from where they were recruited. NewsRescue earlier reported on this finding; that Boko Haram terrorists were obviously not being killed and brought to justice but the terrorists were being deactivated and in essence evading justice while being able to re-group at a future date.

2. President Jonathan surprised the viewers by saying that he had no clue about the military operations and that in regards to the Chibok girls, whatever the military chiefs said is what it was. In essence the president admitted that a coup had transpired in the country and he was no longer in charge of the Nigerian government. It would be the second time he would make such admissions. The first instance was when he claimed he was unaware of the military decision to have the February 7th presidential elections postponed.

3. From the video the president failed to address the failure of his government and the other PDP administrations for a total of 17 years straight who had not according to him, bought equipment for the Nigerian army. The president admitted that he had totally failed to handle Boko Haram for the six years of his administration as he in his words, underestimated the seriousness of the problem. President Jonathan did not deny the questions indicating subversion of most of the yearly $5 billion budget to equip the army, simply telling the interviewer that he should be happy Nigeria is in this 6-week period, doing something at last.

4. The president admitted that Boko Haram was a foreign orchestrated plot and not a local “opposition” sponsored insurgency as he had insinuated and accused politicians of for the entire 5 years.

5. President Jonathan said he is hurt when Boko Haram terrorists die. Though this statement may be viewed in two ways: indeed as many of the terrorists are forced conscripts, empathy must be felt; the president’s unusual romance with the terrorists once again definitely draws attention.


6. In spite of all the above, the president confidently said he was going to win the upcoming elections. That is unusual as with the record as illustrated, baring resorting to rigging, it would be impossible for any leader to be confident of winning.

Watch the video Here @ http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/22/president-jona…ko-haram-video/ ‎

Stay with naijaroof.com for full highlight after match

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation on Saturday threatened to sue presidential spokesperson, Femi Fani-Kayode, for claiming that General Muhammadu Buhari is getting funding for his election campaign from terrorist groups, such as Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

The APC’s threat was contained in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, in Abuja.

It accused the Director of Media of the PDP’s presidential campaign of perpetuating the religious politics that his principal, President Goodluck Jonathan is well known for.He gave Fani-Kayode one week to retract his defamatory comments or face the law.

But Fani-Kayode, while reacting to the APC threat insisted that the party should answer the question posed to them on whether their presidential candidate, Buhari, can guarantee that not one dollar of Al-Qaeda, ISIS or ISIL (terrorist groups) money has been used to support his presidential campaign.

The APC statement partly read, “Never before in Nigeria’s history has the issue of religion been applied to such sinister purposes as we have seen during the years of President Jonathan’s government. When all fails, they whip out the religious card.”

Shehu expressed relief that Nigerians were no more being fooled by what he called “this PDP game.”

According to him, Buhari has transcended all the religious smears and, together with his running mate, Yemi Osinbajo, who is a respected pastor, has been able to show the Nigerian people that Nigeria’s growth and development is not about religion, but about a genuine desire to change the lot of the country’s citizens and move the entire nation forward.

The statement also said, “A majority of the world’s Muslims, including Buhari, do not approve of the Al-Qaeda, and being Muslim does not translate into being pro-ISIS. “Again and again, Buhari has shown commitment to ridding our country of these vermin who claim to be killing in the name of Allah, but who, in actual fact, are messengers of Satan.”

The APC campaign gave advanced warning that when it takes the matter of Fani-Kayode’s claims to the court next week, it will ask that the PDP spokesperson’s international passport be impounded.

According to the APC, there are some campaigners who intend to escape from Nigeria after the handover of government from Jonathan to Buhari on May 29. That must be the reason why they can boldly make many of the reckless, irresponsible and defamatory statements that they have been mouthing off,” it said.

The APCCO further warned that it would not extend the seven-day deadline given to Fani-Kayode to retract his false allegations.

Fani-Kayode, in a statement however said it was a pity that supposed educated persons could not make a distinction between a question and an assertion.

He said, “It is a pity that these people are not well educated. They cannot even make a distinction between a question and an assertion. Rather than asking me to retract or withdraw the question, they should just answer it and stop misbehaving.

“If they are waiting for a retraction to our questions, they will wait forever. Hell will freeze over before we retract any question that we have put out. We will not retract any question, rather we will continue to put more uncomfortable questions to them until they provide answers by saying yes or no.

“We have made no assertion, we have simply asked a set of legitimate, responsible, sensitive and important questions, and we have every right to do so.”

He added, “Millions of Nigerians are interested in knowing whether the answers to the questions that we have raised are ‘yes’ or ‘no’. These are legitimate questions which need to be answered in a most honest and transparent manner.

“If the answers to the questions are ‘no’, Buhari should just say so, and we will take it up from there.”
http://www.punchng.com/news/apc-to-sue-fani-kayode-for-linking-buhari-to-terrorists/
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/22/apc-to-sue-fan…-to-terrorists/ ‎

http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/21/nigeriadecides…osinbajo-watch/ ‎

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday said the military hopes to recapture towns seized by Boko Haram within a month, in what would be a swift victory after six years of bloody conflict.

But experts warned against any premature declaration of victory, with the militants still proving capable of carrying out deadly hit-and-run strikes and indications of coalition lapses.

Jonathan, who is seeking re-election on March 28, said Boko Haram was “getting weaker and weaker every day”.

“I’m very hopeful that it will not take us more than a month to recover old territories that hitherto have been in their hands,” he told the BBC.

Nigeria has claimed major gains against the Islamists with the help of coalition partners Cameroon, Chad and Niger, achieving in just over one month what for years it had failed to on its own.

Two out of three of the worst-hit northeast states — Yobe and Adamawa — have been declared “cleared” while the third, Borno, is expected to be liberated “soon”, the military said this week.

Major towns such as Bama and Dikwa are among some 36 localities recaptured, with just three said to be still in rebel hands.

National security advisor Mike Omeri said on Wednesday that “the final onslaught” was under way.

More than 13,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict and the main opposition candidate, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, has campaigned hard on the government’s security record.

Mark Schroeder, vice-president for Africa analysis at security risk consultants Stratfor, said announcing victory before March 28 made political sense for Jonathan as part of the election campaign.

“The risk he runs, however, is that the insurgency is not really defeated, only disrupted temporarily and for political posturing,” he told AFP.

“It would be akin to the ‘Mission Accomplished’ declaration by (US) President (George W.) Bush in 2003 that was a premature symbol of victory in Iraq.

“Clearly, Iraq is still today struggling with an Islamist insurgency.”

Until this year, Nigerian troops had appeared unable — even unwilling — to tackle the better-armed militants, who have allied themselves with the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

Jonathan acknowledged to the BBC that a lack of resources was to blame.

Nnamdi Obasi, senior Nigeria researcher at the International Crisis Group, attributed the sense of urgency to the prospect of defeat by Buhari.

“That urgency facilitated the delivery and deployment of new military hardware, including assets more relevant to counter-insurgency operations,” he said.

Improvement had been seen in command and deployment structures, including the use of senior officers to lead combat operations, special forces and co-operation with local vigilantes.

The involvement of foreign military contractors, many of them South Africans, to provide technical expertise may also have made a difference, he said.

“Offensives by the military forces of neighbouring countries have helped to overstretch the insurgents and thus undermine their ability to withstand Nigerian military offensives,” he added.

A Boko Haram attack on the border town of Gamboru on Wednesday and Thursday killed 11 civilians and gave an indication of the difficulties in bringing a definitive end to the violence.

The incident highlighted possible co-ordination problems among the allies, as Chadian troops, who had recaptured the town, had withdrawn but were not replaced, according to residents.

The Nigeria Security Network of analysts on Thursday meanwhile warned that Boko Haram would revert to its guerrilla campaign of bombings and suicide attacks in the face of military pressure.

Fears remain about the safety of voters on polling day, after a spate of suicide attacks in the north in recent weeks and after Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau vowed to disrupt the election.

In the short-term shattered lives and infrastructure needed to be rebuilt, while longer term, Nigeria needs to tackle the root causes of the insurgency to prevent it flaring again, experts said.

The Borno Elders Forum on Wednesday warned that it was “too early to even start talking about any of the (1.5 million) displaced going back to any of these reclaimed territories”.

The forum’s chairman, Usman Gaji Galtimari said many areas appear to have been mined, while there have still been repeated attacks in areas said to have been recaptured.
http://www.punchng.com/news/experts-warn-against-jonathans-boko-haram-victory-claims/
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/21/experts-warn-a…victory-claims/ ‎

Controversial Enugu-based Reverend father, Fr Mbaka is still insisting that the president and his wife want him dead. He's now accusing Enugu police of not taking the threat seriously and claiming that some men packed in a Hilux bus came to look for him recently at his Paris bu didn't find him. Below is a statement he released via his Media Officer, Ike Maximus Ugwuoke..

"It is with a deep sense of concern that we are constrained to make this statement on the continued threat to the life of Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka over his 2015 New Year message titled “From Good Luck to Bad Luck. The Enugu State Police Command has refuted claims by Fr. Mbaka that his life is in danger. It dismissed Fr. Mbaka’s outcry over threat to his life as baseless.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Ebere Amarizu , DSP, was quoted as saying, “We do not have any report by Fr. Mbaka over threat to his life. We have not received any complaint from him”.
On the backdrop of the above, one begins to wonder whether the alarm raised by Fr. Mbaka on an alleged plot to kill him was a mere rhetoric as the police had made it to appear merely because there has not been an official report to the police over it.
Absence of a formal report on threat to one’s life doesn’t negate the reality of such threat more so when the victim had made a public outcry on this issue.
To argue otherwise is akin to denying the fact of death in the face of a man’s corpse merely because there is no certificate certifying his death…
Yesterday (Wednesday) strange hoodlums in a black Hilux besieged his parish compound but they left disappointed when they could not see him.
"Wherever and whoever this threat is coming from, we state that there are strong and compelling circumstances pointing towards the fact that Fr. Mbaka’s latest attacks were stemming from his said 2015 New Year message, which was not favourable to the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration.”
http://lindaikeji..com/2015/03/tf-fr-mbaka-still-insisting-gej-is.html
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/20/tf-fr-mbaka-st…ases-statement/ ‎

A SUSPECTED leader of the Boko Haram insurgents on Wednesday night escaped a military raid on his hideout in the Ugwan Dosa area of Kaduna.

The Boko Haram leader, whose name was given as Mallam Muhammed Mai Borno, was said to be taken refuge in Kaduna after he was flushed out of Maiduguri in Borno State.

He was said to have escaped with his wife through an escape door, blocked with cartons but painted to look like a brick wall fence of the house.

The raid was said to have been a joint operation by soldiers, policemen and operatives of the Department of State Service.

Our correspondent learnt that the security operatives had mounted surveillance on the house, situated at No. 4 Fulani Road, Ugwan Dosa, Kaduna State, for several hours.

The building was said to have been leased out to the suspect, who was said to have moved into the premises with his wife late last year.

Already, the owner of the property had been arrested by security agencies for further interrogation.

Meanwhile, a resident of the area said the suspect had been discreet about his background and family members since he moved into the house last year.

“When we asked after his children, he said they were in school somewhere in the North-East and we discovered that he was always travelling and we never suspected any foul play until we started hearing gunshots in the night,” the source said.

Another resident of the area, Usman Ahmed, said security operatives arrived the area around 12 midnight and cordoned off, followed by sporadic gunshots.

He said, “I was woken up by the gunshots. Initially I thought it was a robbery attack and I called the leader of the vigilante group in the area who assured me that there was no cause for alarm.

“When the gunshots persisted I tried to call some of my neighbours that I can remember their phone numbers, it was then that one of them told me that he sighted security men from his window and that he believed the gunshots were from them. I became comfortable and told my family to go back to bed assuring them that all was well.”

The Public Relations Officer of the 1 Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army in Kaduna, Col. Abdul Usman, said he had not been briefed by the operation officer.

Usman promised to get back to our correspondent with the details of the operation but he did not call back as of the time of filing this report.
http://www.punchng.com/news/bharam-leader-escapes-military-raid-in-kaduna/
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/20/bharam-leader-…-raid-in-kadun/

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd), said on Thursday that he was contesting to revive the country from its ailing state.

Buhari, who spoke in Lagos at the APC leadership town hall meeting with Nigerian women, also said that he was aware that achieving such a goal would be impossible without addressing the concerns of women.
‘‘I am on a mission to restore Nigeria’s fading glory and reposition our great nation on the path to greatness. I am however aware that this will not be possible without addressing the needs and concerns of those who constitute half of the population of this country – women. No nation can prosper without a commitment to the empowerment of women and girls,’’ he said.

The APC presidential candidate added that as a father of beautiful and promising young women, he knew what it meant to desire the very best for his daughters.

‘‘I do not expect any of my daughters to live unfulfilled, with their talents wasted and ignored, suffering discrimination at every turn, and rendered second-class citizens all because they happen to be female, ’’ he said.

He explained that an APC government under his leadership would, among other things, implement the 2005 National Gender Policy to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality and ensure anti-discrimination legislations and policies to afford women equality and equity especially in employment, education, housing and entrepreneurship.

He promised that his government would also ensure merit-based affirmative actions to create a level-playing field for women and include gender as a component of federal character.
http://www.punchng.com/news/ill-restore-nigerias-fading-glory-buhari/
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/19/i-will-restore…g-glory-buhari/

Remember when First Lady Patience Jonathan, while campaigning, told the crowd that voting for APC means voting to go to prison as the APC presidential candidate was planning to jail political opponent if he wins the election and she can't be visiting her husband in prison? Well, Buhari's wife subtly clapped back at the First Lady during a women's rally in Edo State today.

According to Vanguard, Mrs Buhari addressed this, saying people shouldn't be afraid, that they were only interested in change. She also addressed the notion that her husband is a religious fanatic.

Each zone of the country has its peculiar problem. For me in this zone, girl-child trafficking should be considered one of our problems, though I know there is unemployment. Unemployment is the major factor that contributes to brain drain and also the girl-child trafficking. General Muhammadu Buhari is a leader who led Nigeria some decades ago and he is coming back now to sanitise the system.. For those that are campaigning, saying that he is coming to jail Nigerians, I don’t know what their fear is. But they shouldn’t be afraid, because we are all yearning for change.
The insecurity in the country, the very poor healthcare system, lack of education and other basic necessities that people are lacking I believe Nigerians need somebody like General Muhammadu Buhari now. Already, they have painted him black, using religion. I’m happy today that Nigerians realize that they use religion as a cover to loot Nigeria. Any politician who talks to you about religion is a liar, he only wants to loot the treasury and the little resources you ought to enjoy. So say no politics merging it with religion to deceive the people. I’m here today to let Edo women know that when my husband is elected into office as President, all these will be history. The insecurity, the girl-child trafficking, suffering of the widows in the South East will come to an end. There must be a cultural design that can accommodate the widow. A design that would make the girl-child comfortable wherever she is in this country. She doesn’t have to leave her country to go and prostitute elsewhere, it’s not her portion. Her portion is to have a highly standard and moral society for her to live in. Get married, have children, train them and also mould them to become the future leaders. We are here today to also let you know that the collection of your PVCs is important and don’t ever sell it. It’s like selling your future. If you sell it for N5,000, you won’t see N5,000 again until after four years which will be bad. Get your PVC, vote for APC, vote for freedom, vote for a new Nigeria with good security, good education, good healthcare, good roads and all the basic necessities.”
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/19/dont-be-afraid…l-buharis-wife/
http://lindaikeji..com/2015/03/buharis-wife-claps-back-at-mama-peace.html

Ahead of the general elections, the wife of the President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, has charged the people of Rivers State not to vote for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Mohammedu Buhari(retd.), to avoid being sent to jail.

Mrs. Jonathan said Buhari would not hesitate to put his perceived enemies in prison if he wins the forthcoming presidential poll, holding on March 28.

Speaking during the Peoples Democratic Party’s women rally in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, the President’s wife argued that Buhari was a dictator in the past and would never change.

She pointed out that the former Head of State did not possess the quality needed to fight corruption, maintaining that Buhari did nothing for the people of the state when he was the head of state.

The President’s wife appealed to women not to sell their Permanent Voter Cards for any amount of money, adding that it was within their capability to vote out the APC in the state.

“Whenever he (Buhari) comes to you again, ask him what he did for Rivers State when he was (the) Head of State. It is within your power to vote out this ‘expired drug’ called APC,” she said.

Mrs. Jonathan listed the achievements of the Federal Government in Rivers, promising that the PDP would install Chief Nyesom Wike as the next governor of the state.

She said, “PDP will install Nyesom Wike as governor because President (Goodluck) Jonathan is a lion and he gave birth to a lion.”

The President’s wife, who spoke on the attack on APC rally in Okrika Local Government Area, explained that she was not ready to join issues with APC members, saying, “They are rascals and I will not respond to them.

“Don’t let me open my mouth to talk about these rascals. The Rivers monorail will not be completed until hundred (years). It will remain like that until my great grandchildren are born.

“We did not vote for these people. We in Rivers State voted Celestine Omehia, but these people came and took our mandate away and today they are abusing us. They don’t have respect for elders.

“They are busy abusing me and my husband. I will not answer them. In Rivers State, we respect elders but these rascals have no respect for their elders. We must vote them out in April.”
http://www.punchng.com/news/buhari-will-jail-you-patience-jonathan-tells-women/
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/18/buhari-will-ja…an-tells-women/ ‎

The All Progressives Congress has said the President’s decision to summon INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega to a meeting that was not attended by other political parties in Abuja on Tuesday is part of ongoing moves to compromise the integrity of the electoral commission, which is expected to be fair and neutral.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it is wrong for the President, who himself is a candidate in the forthcoming elections, to be summoning the electoral umpire at will, especially when such meetings are populated by his appointees.

”Without the representatives of other political parties attending such meetings, irrespective of whether or not it is aimed at briefing security chiefs on the preparations for the polls, the ruling PDP and its presidential candidate are seeking to gain undue advantage over others ahead of the elections.

”It is like the referee in a football match meeting with key officials of one of the teams ahead of the match. This is against the
spirit of transparency and fairness and must stop forthwith.

”Had the representatives of other political parties, apart from the PDP (the President is the leader of the PDP), attended the meeting, the widespread speculations that Jega’s life and job were threatened if he fails to drop the use of the card reader, as well as circulating reports that he will be removed before Saturday, would not have happened,” it said.

APC said whatever briefings must be given by the INEC chairman on the elections must have in attendance the representatives of all the political parties that will participate in the elections.

It also decried clandestine meetings between some key members of the presidency and INEC officials with a view to rigging the elections, warning the presidency to steer clear of the electoral officials if indeed they are desirous of a free, fair, credible and peaceful elections.

Meanwhile, the party has said the Presidency and the PDP cannot and must not be allowed to profit from their sponsorship of ethnic militias, including MASSOB and OPC, to create chaos and violence before, during and after the elections.

It said the plot by the duo is to make the country so unsafe before the polls that members of the National Youth Service Corps, who are supposed to serve as electoral officials, will simply say they can no longer participate in the elections because they fear for their lives.

”This will simply truncate the elections and trigger a constitutional crisis, the exact scenario being plotted by the Jonathan
Administration and the PDP to allow them to either perpetuate themselves in office or install an interim government,” APC said.

It said another booby trap on the path of holding the elections as rescheduled are the pending court cases against the use of the card reader by INEC.

”Nigerians should note that nothing is yet guaranteed as far as the holding of the rescheduled elections is concerned. The Jonathan Administration and the PDP are still shopping for a court judgement to declare the use of the card reader unconstitutional, just because they are now painfully aware that Nigerians have rejected them and their party.

”We are therefore calling on all our compatriots to be more vigilant in the next few days to the elections. We are also alerting local and foreign observers, and the international community, to the ongoing shenanigans by the Jonathan Administration and the PDP to scuttle the polls,” APC said.
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/18/jegas-summons-…omise-inec-apc/
http://www.punchng.com/news/jegas-summons-plot-to-compromise-inec-apc/

Download now @ http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/17/ulc-as-monaco-…full-highlight/ ‎

What is your prediction?
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There was a minor fire incident at Independent National Electoral Commission’s Electoral Institute in Abuja on Saturday night.

However, the fire was contained swiftly and no harm whatsoever was done to electoral materials.

The Chief Press Secretary to the chairman of the commission, Mr. Kayode Idowu, confirmed the incident.

He also said the fire didn’t affect any electoral material.

http://www.punchng.com/news/fire-at-abuja-inec-office/

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wo bomb explosions rocked the Yerwa Government secondary school which hosts the Internally Displaced Persons from Bama in Maiduguri, Borno state this evening. Many feared dead.
Details later.... @http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/14/bomb-blast-roc…p-in-maiduguri/ ‎

Former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, was on Saturday matriculated as a post graduate student at the National Open University, Osogbo Campus.
Oyinlola, who retired from the military as a Brigadier General enrolled at the university for Post Graduate Diploma in Theology.

The Centre Director of NOUN, Osogbo campus, Dr. Yemisi Pitan, advised the former governor and other matriculating students to focus on their studies and be good ambassadors of the institution.
Pitan asked the students to take their studies seriously, saying the centre would not tolerate laziness and any anti-social behaviour.
Oyinlola lamented inadequate funding of the education sector in the country and he advised the Federal Government to invest more in the sector for the development of the nation.
He said he decided to study Theology in order to know God more and added that he could become a preacher of the gospel.
Oyinlola said, ” The Federal Government should invest more in the education sector. It is a critical sector which must be given attention for any nation to develop.
“Nigeria will be greater if we invest more in the education sector and Nigerian universities will rank among the best in the world with the proper funding of the sector.”
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/14/oyinlola-enrol…pen-university/ ‎

This 'leaked letter' surfaced online this afternoon. It's allegedly a letter from the presidency giving orders to the EFCC to probe the financial operations of some APC leaders including Bola Tinubu, Gov Rotimi Amaechi and others. The alleged letter was allegedly signed by President Jonathan's Chief of Staff, Jones Oladeinde. But PDP chairman took Adamu Muazu says the letter is fake and blamed the APC for it. See full document after the cut...

http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/13/muazu-says-let…others-is-fake/ ‎

The beauty of participatory democracy is election. The right to have a say in who directs the affairs of the country is a licence granted to all adults in a democracy. It is what separates citizens from residents. It is the pride of the electorate, on the basis of which they raise their shoulders and say to operators of powers and authorities: We put you there!

Forget that elections are rarely perfect. Results can be rigged. Figures can be manipulated and ballot boxes can be snatched. Nigerians are familiar with all the maladies of elections, yet, like all people who desire a say in their affairs, we still like to vote. It is the most essential power granted the citizens: The power to be part of the decision to choose the rulers. The choice of the word, “rulers”, here is deliberate.

Elections do not only define the power of the citizens in a democracy, it also offers hope and opportunity to reward and revenge. The electorates look forward to elections to reward benevolent elective office holders or take their pound of flesh on weak, clueless and corrupt and non-performers.

In a democracy, the authority of the government derives solely from the consent of the governed, and the most important method of granting such an authority is through elections. Elections must be periodic and schedules held sacrosanct. Anything short of that brings confusion, tension and anger. The electorates hate dictators and life presidents; they detest anybody standing in the way of elections.

When they are denied the opportunity to participate in deciding who to ascend to the throne or who to stay for more years, they become apprehensive and lose their feeling of freedom. Oftentimes, such a denial leads to mass protests, social discontent and violence.

No self-respecting leaders deny the people the chance of going to the poll at the appropriate time. Nigeria is not a banana republic. Denying the people the right to vote at the appropriate time could be a fatal error.

The signs since the poll shift by the Independent National Electoral Commission from February 14 and 28 to March 28 and April 11 have become ominous. Suddenly, the people’s minds have gone back to the June 12, 1993 abracadabra by the ex-dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, and the attendant political crisis foisted on the nation.

In low tones, the people now talk of a pending interim government; in their hearts, they have started imagining another election annulment; in their prayers, they tell God to rain fire on whoever wants to take the country back to post-June 12, 1993 era; and in their dreams, they now see President Goodluck Jonathan refusing to allow the elections on the rescheduled dates.

Behind the President’s emergence from obscurity to fame and power has always being election. He became a deputy governor, a governor, a vice-president and President all through the authority of the people transmitted through elections. He should be the least to be afraid of elections.

Or is President Jonathan afraid of elections? I don’t think so. He shouldn’t. Not when elections have always been his magic wand. Nobody runs away from what turns one from a fisherman’s son to a jet-flying Number One citizen of Africa’s most populous country. To many people, it is bad enough that the choices before Nigerians are Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari. I need not state the reasons for such a contention here but to state that the people should be allowed to make their choice. March 28, here we come.

http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/13/who-is-afraid-of-elections/

Oh no! Nigerians, why? Why? Former African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto'o claimed today March 12ththat he tried to buy an expensive watch in a west London Jewellers but was refused by the sales rep because some Nigerians had come into the store the other day with fake credit cards.
Eto’o, who is worth over $100million, said he'd gone into the store with his brother to buy a £10,000 watch, but said the shop assistant looked at them suspiciously and reluctantly allowed them to view the watches. Continue, it gets more interesting!



“I went to go buy a watch at a jewellers, not too far from my house. The watch I wanted to see was expensive. I asked the saleswoman - who was also black - ‘Could you show me that watch please?’ First, I saw her turn to her co-workers like, ‘Uh, what should I do?’ Eventually, she let me see the watch. I looked at it and said, ‘OK, I’ll buy it.’ I took out my credit card and when she went to go run it through the machine, she came back and said it was declined.”

Eto'o, who is the 7th-richest footballer currently playing, said he asked her:

“Was it declined or did you not want it to be accepted?”

He told CNN:

“My brother asked, ‘What’s going on?’ And she said, ‘Nothing, nothing.’ But he said, ‘No, because when I came in, I saw how all of you were looking at us ... My brother can afford this and the way you’re treating him shows that you think just because he’s black, he can’t afford this watch.'

“The woman then slipped up and said, ‘No, it’s just that we had some Nigerians in the store the other day who came in with fake credit cards. I don’t know if you can imagine the weight of what she said. If one of my own makes a mistake, they judge us all. I don’t think she’s a racist person, but she stereotyped all black people as ‘those people’.”
http://naijaroof.com/2015/03/12/uk-jewellers-r…e-credit-cards/

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has berated the dwindling clan of African scientists in Europe, America and Asia continents, lamenting that their efforts on global horizon is fast regressing.

Obasanjo stated this on Friday in a paper titled, “The African Scientist in a Fast-Changing World” which he presented at the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences in honour of late Prof. Ali Mazrui in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mazrui died on October 12, 2014.

The former President noted that African scientists in the mould of Mazrui were rare on the continent.

He said, “Sadly today, the place of eminence of the African scientists on the global horizon is fast regressing. In a fast-changing world, we are getting far left behind. Our contribution to the science, technology and engineering scholarly literature is the least of all regions of the world.
http://naijaroof.com/2015/02/27/obasanjo-bemoa…can-scientists/ ‎

“Our universities are at the bottom of global league tables of world-class universities with the region having the least number of Nobel Prize winners in science.
http://naijaroof.com/2015/02/27/obasanjo-bemoa…can-scientists/ ‎
“Even, a good number of our local problems are being solved by scientists from outside our region. Yet, we have some of the best intellectually-endowed scientists in the world. The laboratories in Asia, Europe and North America, where breakthroughs are achieved to drive our fast-changing world, are populated in part by brain-drained African scientists.”

Obasanjo, while recognising efforts of United Kingdom in recent time in science and technology, said the feat would take the world by storm.

He said, “During the last two weeks, the fast-paced world of science and technology reported the British government voting to allow a new technique involving babies created from three people.

“If passed by the House of Lords, the UK will become the first country in the world to offer this medical procedure, which can be used to treat mitochondrial diseases.

“Other exciting things in the world of science in the last two weeks include use of biodegradable nanoparticles to kill brain cancer cells in animals and lengthen their survival and the selection of 100 astronaut candidates for the Mars One project which will land four people on Mars.

“New drugs to counter diabetes and hypertension ravaging Africa and the rest of the world are in different stages of development.”

Obasanjo, who described late Mazrui as a friend, said with his death, “Africa has lost one of its scholarly giants and believers in a truly great continent.”

He noted that his books and his hundreds of scholarly articles explored topics relating to African politics, international political culture, political Islam and globalisation.

SEE MORE @ http://naijaroof.com/2015/02/27/obasanjo-bemoa…can-scientists/ ‎
http://naijaroof.com/2015/02/27/obasanjo-bemoa…can-scientists/ ‎