Source: http://www.chidioparareports..com

Nigeria's ruling party, the People's Democratic Party(PDP) is set to win the upcoming Ekiti State re-run election on saturday, 25th April 2009.

Reports from chidi opara reports' network members in the state indicate a slim victory for the PDP candidate, Mr. Segun Oni against the main opposition candidate, Mr. Kayode Fayemi of the Action Congress party(AC).

The Court of Appeal recently nullified the election of Mr. Oni and ordered a re-run, following a case brought to the court by Mr. Fayemi. The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC)consequently scheduled a re-run election in ten local government areas of the state for April 25th, 2009. The Court of Appeal is the final arbiter in governorship election matters in Nigeria.

Our information has it that although the AC which have seasoned grassroots politicians like Bisi Akande and Bola Tinubu in its fold appear to be more popular than PDP at the grassroots, the PDP however, have more financial resources at its command, a more potent factor in electoral victory in Nigeria.

Our investigation also revealed that the ousted governor, sensing that the case may result in nullification of his election and consequently, a re-run, had hurriedly scheduled the local government election which the AC boycotted. This boycott afforded PDP the opportunity of sweeping all but one of the local government areas. These local government area chairmen are presently deploying financial resources to ensure victory for PDP.

We also discovered that the acting governor, a PDP member is deploying state financial resources to the advantage of his party. At the time of preparing this report, members of the State Executive Council, have been given unspecified amounts of money to go and ensure victory for the ruling party in their areas. We have however, not been able to confirm the actual amounts.

Although the atmosphere in the state is tense, security contacts in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, however, assured chidi opara reports that the re-run election will not pose serious security challenges.

The Electoral reform white paper recently released by the Federal Executive Council(FEC) of Nigeria are the recommendations of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), chidi opara reports have learnt authoritatively.

"When the Uwais committee was concluding their assignment, we discovered from what they were to submit that the panel had been hijacked by the opposition, so we decided to find a way out", a PDP national officer from the South-East whispered to us in Enugu.

The way out was the inauguration of the Aaondokaa committee immediately after the presentation of the Uwais committee report, to have a second look at the report and make final recommendations. These recommendations were instrumental to the white paper.

The Aaondokaa committee chidi opara reports' investigations revealed was at the instance of the PDP. We learnt that the Presidency when the Uwais committee appeared not ready for a compromise, approached Mr. Tony Anenih, a former chairman of the party's Board of Trustees(BOT), a man widely known as "Mr. fix it", who had a close relationship with the President's influential late elder brother, the late rtd. Major-general Shehu Yar'Adua, to "do something about the impending Uwais embarassment".
Anenih in turn approached the PDP national Chairman, Mr. Vincent Ogbulafor. A caucus meeting we learnt further was held at a guest house in the Wuse area 1 part of Abuja, in which the immediate past President, rtd. General Olusegun Obasanjo sent a female representative. The caucus meeting resolved to set up a secret committee of three to articulate the Party's position on the electoral reform. It was also resolved that the President should be advised to raise a committee to be headed by the chief law officer of the nation as a smokescreen. "It was the recommendations of this secret committee that the Attorney-general's committee worked with", our PDP insider further revealed.

We sighted a document with the names and signatures of Nnamdi Uba, Ebenezer Babatope and Gbemisola Saraki appended on it, with recommendations similar to those on the white paper. A strategically placed staffer at the PDP national secretariat confirmed the authenticity of the document to us.

chidi opara reports can now also reveal that a hefty financial war chest is being assembled by the Presidency from several sources for use in lobbying legislators in both the federal and state parliaments to incorporate the content of the white paper into the electoral law.

Source: http://www.chidioparareports..com

Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) has been slow to wade into the crisis rocking the Embassy in the United State which has led to the recall of the Ambassador, Brig-Gen. Oluwole Rotimi (Rtd).


We had been reticent because of the ethnic colouration given to the feud between Chief Ojo Maduekwe, the Foreign Affairs Minister and the now recalled Ambassador.


For one, we considered highly undiplomatic and unfortunate the now regretted reference to the Biafran Army as "rag tag" by the Ambassador in a fit of anger while at the same time we could not see any dignity in the Minister’s insistence to gatecrash into the Obama inauguration with the hijack of the card meant for the Ambassador who was the duly invited.


We would ordinarily have ignored this matter but for the emerging underpinning acts of corruption at the embassy being covered up with charges of insubordination and tribal remarks.


Allegations have come out to the effect that the real issues in the crisis at the embassy had to do with the sales of about 3 properties belonging to the embassy in 2007 for about $20 million on which the State of Maryland refunded $1.5 sale tax after petition by the embassy. Rather than paying the money to the embassy the attorney who handled the sale, Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye pocketed the money.


Ambassador Oluwole Rotimi was said to have reopened this issue when he resumed and contacted the former Ambassador, Chief George Obiozor who spoke with the attorney. Mr. Ugwuonye now wrote to the embassy to say he was not going to refund the money because the Federal Government was owning him on another transaction.


His response piqued Rotimi who took the matter before the Foreign Affairs Minister in January 2009 with no action taken until February when the Ambassador was recalled on the pages of newspapers.


There have also been other sordid details of this scam. One is that one of the properties on Connecticut Avenue was a large building bought as residence for the Ambassador. When it was time to sell, the embassy broke it into two plots, sold one with the building and the other as a plot of land. Both were sold for $3.1m but only the $1.6m for the sale of the building reflected in the embassy records. But the entire record of $3.1m is in the public record and the realtor’s record.


Quite disturbing also is the fact that while the embassy decided to retain a lawyer for the transaction who was paid $700,000 in addition to a realtor whose duty it is to represent buyers and sellers.


We had thought that the Federal Government which overzealously recalled Rotimi without due process would also have taken interest in these corruption charges.


Alas, the Yar’Adua regime has treated this fraud like those of the ex-Governors who are now the guardian angels of the Villa.


We frown at this irresponsible attitude to corruption. We call for the immediate probe of these serious allegations and bringing all culprits to book.


To deal with the complaint against Ambassador Rotimi, who may have paid dearly for his closeness to the inglorious Otta General while ignoring serious issues of graft is a foreign blow to the Anti-Corruption Revolution (ANCOR) launched by President Yar’Adua last December and the Re-brand Nigeria unveiled on his behalf by his Vice, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan yesterday.


‘Yinka Odumakin

National Publicity Secretary

Afenifere Renewal Group


Source: http://www.chidioparareports..com

The total removal of subsidy on petroleum products, also known as deregulation of downstream sector of Petroleum industry, announced last week by the administration of Mr. Umaru Yar'Adua is about to ignite a showdown between civil society groups and the petroleum products marketing mafia.

The mafia is made up of influential individuals and organizations in the business of importation and distribution of petroleum products, they, in a bid to protect their business interest are known to have sabotaged complete repairs of local refineries.

The global Economic recession which caused continued downward slide of price of petroleum, which is the mainstay of Nigeria's economy, necesitated the inauguration of a Presidential Steering Committee on the global financial crisis. The committee recommended total removal of subsidy on petroleum products, which the Presidency accepted. This total removal of subsidy, according to federal government officials, is to fetch the Government over seven hundred billion naira this fiscal year.

Despite official reasons adduced by the Yar'Adua Administration, investigations by chidi opara reports also revealed that the deregulation and consequent removal of subsidy was also instigated by the major petroleum products marketers. "They want to be able to completely control the prices of petroleum products, you know that they financed the elections of almost everybody in power now", an independent petroleum products marketer based in Enugu informed chidi opara reports, on condition of annoynmity.

Civil society groups under the aegis of United Action For Democracy(UAD), had given the federal government a twenty-one-day ultimatum to rescind this decision or face a showdown with its affiliate groups namely; National Union Of Petroleum And Natural Gas Workers(NUPENG), Petroleum And Natural Gas Senior Staff Association Of Nigeria(PENGASSAN), Nigerian Labour Congress(NLC)and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria(TUC).

Dependable Presidency contacts informed chidi opara reports that the Presidency is in a dilemma over this situation. We learnt that the influence of these major marketers who have constituted themselves into a powerful cartel with a mafia like mode of operation, in the Presidency is pervasive. "You are looking at a cabal who almost single handedly financed, at the request of the former President, the election of Mr. President and are still helping him to stay in power", a middle level State Security Service(SSS) Operative whispered to one of our network members in Abuja.

The President's dilemma we learnt further, heightened since a group within the Federal Executive Council(FEC)started reminding him of the crippling effects of the 1994 showdown between the Administration of late Sani Abacha and civil society groups.

Source:  http://www.chidioparareports..com

Officials of the administration in Nigeria may have concluded plans to perpetuate another disgraceful judicial murder. The Nigeria Police, Saturday morning, effected the arrest of Mr. Steve Ogwu-Chinuwa, the investigative reporter who has for long been on a crusade for the prosecution of Mrs. Oyindamola Amuka, now at large, and other co-conspirators for the ritual killing of a yet to be identified 14-year old boy.

According to eye-witness account Mr. Steve Ogwu-Chinuwa was picked up very early on Saturday by a team of Police operatives.

He was immediately taken to the Ikorodu Divisional Police Station, awaiting processing before being eventually transferred to Panti, where notorious criminals are usually kept.

The journalist had allegedly acted on a tip on the suspicious regular visits to a shrine ran by a gang of Islamic cleric ritualists in Ikorodu.

His background checks on the “particular madam” had revealed that the woman, was no other than Oyindamola, the Owo Ondo State born wife of Mr. Pemu Sam-Amuka, Publisher of Nigeria’s Vanguard Newspaper.

Mr. Steve Ogwu-Chinuwa was said to have kept regular vigil and surveillance at subsequent visits of Mrs. Amuka and was shocked, allegedly to witness the woman taking part on the gory beheading of the unknown fourteen year old boy.

Steve who was a member of the Nigeria Police and had to resign to join journalism on account of his dislike for the way Police PR usually handover “processed” information to crime beat reporters, was the one who purportedly used his cell phone to call-in the Police while the crime was said to still be in progress.
 
And after he allegedly rebuffed Police attempt at sweeping the matter under the carpet after some police officials had allegedly collected a bribe of ₦4m, Steve had rejected (₦1m) One million naira bribe and continued to go after the story.

He had written several letters to Senior Police Official so that guilty corrupt Policemen could be disciplined while he strongly called for the prosecution of Oyindamola Amuka and her cohorts.

But Sam Amuka is a powerful Nigerian, he is the Grand Patron of Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria and when Steve hit town with the scoop, every editor refused him audience.

The Police did not press any charge against him, until the dastardly crime was exposed by pointblanknews.com in December, 2008.

After the publication of the story, Amuka with some associates, including some journalists at the Vanguard newspaper stable started blackmailing and threatening pointblanknews.com.

With the arrest of Steve, there is bound to be rippling effect on the eroding of trust and cooperation for the Police in the Nigerian civil society.

It is believed that the arrest of Steve could be a decoy by the government to finally open an avenue for arresting the several journalist foot soldiers of pointblanknews.com

Source: www.pointblanknews.com/os1456.html

Omoyele Sowore! Omoyele Sowore!! Omoyele Sowore!!!-How many times did I call your name? Three times! If you think that you will continue to publish yeye stories about our dear hard working President, you will soon receive a message from us. Infact, we will soon organize a five million-man-march to Washington DC, to force Obama to close your yeye news site and off course deport you to Nigeria. Look, one million court pronouncements will not save your passport from seizure if you venture into Nigeria.

How can you continue to publish that our President is sick, just because he is slim. Don’t you know that slimliness, like cleanliness is next to Godliness. Didn’t our own Agbani conquer the world of beauty because she is slim? You even published that he is on sick leave, when he only took two weeks off duty to go and explore the natural beauty of Obudu cattle ranch, haba! He even handed over to his Vice, yet you did not publish such gracious gesture. If our dear President, elected in the freest and fairest election in Nigeria (The Supreme Court can’t be wrong), is actually sick, how come it is only your news site that publishes that?, why haven’t Thisday  Newspapers, Source Magazine and Daily Independent Newspapers published such news?, for your information, our dear President and his beautiful wife, her Exellency, plays squash for two hours non stop every day at the Aso Rock indoor games facility.

You even have the Temerity to publish photos of boy o boy playing with money and rifle inside Aso Rock, how does that concern you? Is Aso Rock your father’s compound? If your father did not have money and automatic rifle to give to you to play with when you were boy o boy’s age, whose fault is that? This is complete bad belle.

As if you have not committed enough atrocities, you went ahead recently to publish that my sister and her fellow patriotic news editors collected land in Abuja. What is wrong with that? After all, we have it on good authority that you recently bought the empire state building in New york, you see my point, how on earth did you get money to buy such property. We also have it on good authority that you visited Gani Fawehimi in London and collected millions of pounds sterling in cash from him, which you have now passed on to MEND to use in overthrowing our President.

Can you now see that we have enough evidence to lock you up in prison forever on charges of treason, treasonable felony, felony, sedition, intimidation of constituted authority, defamation, etc, etc.

Anyway, if you repent sha, your own land is waiting for you in Abuja, but if you don’t, then await our parcel, I have spoken!



From: Chidi Anthony Opara.

Link: http://www.saharareporters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=723:an-open-letter-to-the-publisher-saharareporters&catid=116:sr-readers-letters&Itemid=393

The renowned Nigerian novelist and playwright, rtd. Captain Elechi Amadi, who was last month kidnapped by gun men at his Aluu country home, near the University Of Portharcourt and was released within twenty-four hours, is set to celebrate his freedom from the hands of the kidnappers in a Special Thanksgiving on Saturday, 21st February, 2009.

The programme of events released by the family of the Internationally acclaimed writer and made available to chidi opara reports, indicates that the celebration will start with a church service at the St. Paul's Anglican Church Aluu by 10.00am. This will be followed by a reception at the literary Icon's compound, with the President-general of Ogbako Ikwerre World Wide, Samson O. Agbaru as chairman and the governor of Rivers State as Special guest of honour. Other personalities expected to be present are; the Deputy governor of Rivers State, Tele Ikuru, the King of Ogbaland, Chukwumela Nnam Obi, Professors Otonti Nduka and Nimi Briggs, amongst other personalities.

Elechi Amadi who stormed the literary scene in 1964 with the novel "The concubine", also have to his credit other literary works like "Isiburu", "The woman of Calabar", etc. He was a former Commissioner in the Rivers State Executive Council and also a former President-general of Ogbako Ikwerre World Wide, a socio-cultural umbrella body of the Ikwerre ethnic nationality. He is presently, the chairman of Rivers State Scholarship Board.

The Association Of Nigerian Authors(ANA), Rivers State chapter, chidi opara reports gathered have also lined up some activities for the celebration. We could not however, obtain details of ANA participation at the time of preparing this report, but a contact within Rivers State ANA informed us that the Authors' body is fully involved in the celebration. "You know that Elechi Amadi is our Patron, so we are always with him". our contact revealed with enthusiasm.

Source: http://www.chidioparareports..com

Courtesy: Public Information Project Management(PIPROM)

Link: http://www.publicinfoproject..com

A month long investigation by chidi opara reports have revealed that there will be profiteers in the current port congestion in Nigeria's Apapa port complex. The complex, which is Nigeria's premier port is currently experiencing serious congestion.

Industry insiders who spoke to us on conditions of annonymity posited that the congestion was caused by the reluctance of some importers, at the prompting of some freight forwarding practitioners, usually referred to as "big agents", to go through the normal process in the importation and clearing of their cargoes. "They circumvent due process, with hope that their connections will see them through, but in some rare situations like now, when it fail to see them through, they abandon the cargoes at the port and go home to strategise on the way out," a middle rank Customs officer told us at Customs headquarters in Abuja.

chidi opara reports also gathered that these "big agents" who are usually patronised by unscrupulous importers, because of their ability to remove cargoes without the necesary documentations and due process, were leaders of Association Of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents(ANLCA), who have now moved over to and are holding leadership positions in the newly constituted Council For The Regulation Of Freight Forwarding Practice In Nigeria. "These positions are their compensations for financing PDP", a Customs agent told chidi opara reports in Lagos.

Independent investigation revealed that the leadership of the freight forwarders body are also major financiers of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

"Right now, there is serious pressure on all of us, especially Customs, to release those cargoes, without proper examination and assesment of duties payable," a contact who is an assistant manager in the marketing department of the Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA) informrd chidi opara reports.

We gathered also that the acting Comptroller-general of Customs, Dr. Bernard Nwadialor is resisting the pressure. The acting Comptoller-general have already inaugurated a taskforce for the clearing of the congestion. The taskforce have been mandated to ensure due process in the removal of the cargoes.

This mandate, according to our contacts, may be ignored, as the "big agents". their collaborating principals and some top government officials have mapped out secret strategies to remove the cargoes with little or nothing paid as customs duties.

We are not yet privy to the secret strategies, what we can report now is that these potential profiteers have the political connections to remove any government official, no matter how highly placed, who stand on their way. The Ministers of Transportation and Finance, whom port decongestion fall within the purview of their duties are aware of this.

Source: http://www.chidioparareports..com

On October 19, U.S.-based Nigerian blogger and journalist Jonathan Elendu of Elendu Reports was arrested by the Nigerian State Security Services (SSS) upon his arrival at Abuja airport. It was some days before the SSS announced that Elendu had been charged, first with money laundering and then sedition.

Yet another report claimed he was charged with sponsoring a guerilla news agency. The charges relate to his supposed involvement with the online news site Sahara Reporters which, together with Elendu's blog, is highly critical of both Nigerian President Yar'Adua and the government in general; both sites particularly criticize the government's response to conflicts between foreign oil companies drilling in the Niger Delta and local ethnic minorities.

Sahara Reporters recently drew official scrutiny after publishing photos of Yar'Adua's son holding a machine gun and playing with bundles of Nigerian money. Independent journalist Chidi Opara reported on his blog that the charges against Elendu were a ruse and that he was actually detained because he had discovered information that could be used against top politicians. In any case, we won't know the truth until Elendu himself is able to speak.


Jonathan Elendu

However, Sahara Reporters has strongly denied any connection with Elendu. According to a report in the Daily Independent in Lagos, "Elendu was being kept in inhuman conditions and tortured to either disclose the sources of the several embarrassing news reports on prominent political leaders in Nigeria." The Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) heard from Elendu's lawyer that the online journalist "was also being reportedly pressured into framing up some others."

Late on Thursday, October 29, reports began to appear that Elendu had been released and was receiving medical treatment. While this is excellent news for him and his family, the actions of the SSS and the Nigerian government are not what one would expect from a so-called democracy.
Governments Pressuring Bloggers

Jonathan Elendu is the first Nigerian blogger-journalist to be targeted by the government, but I doubt that he will be the last. He is, however, not the first African to be subjected to government pressure for his blogging -- Egypt and Morocco have both taken oppressive steps towards bloggers and activists using social media like Facebook and Twitter. Egyptian blogger and activist Kareem Amer is now in his second year of imprisonment for criticizing Islam and the government on his blog.

As I wrote in a previous post, Nigeria has a vibrant and well established blogosphere, often highly critical of the government. However, it is noteworthy that most Nigerian bloggers write and comment anonymously; Elendu is one of the few, including myself, who write under their real names.

Given the history of media censorship in Nigeria, the government's reaction is not surprising. I felt that such a response was just a matter of time and I wonder how other Nigerian bloggers will respond to the news that one of their own was kidnapped by the same government they had all criticized so vocally. The first blogging report of his arrest came from Nigerian Curiosity. In addition to providing an excellent analysis of the situation, Nigerian Curiosity has been instrumental in disseminating information -- partly because Solomon Sydelle has access to a relative of Elendu. Sydelle wrote:

There is enough fear in Nigerians when it comes to politics and standing up for what is right. We have suffered from Persistent Psychological Paralysis for long enough that a democratic president, in this case Yar'Adua, should not be party to further destroying national participation in what rightly belongs to the citizenry -- the freedom to express their concerns and ideas. After all, the Nigerian Constitution guarantees, as "Fundamental Rights" the freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of thought and conscience, and freedom from discrimination.

Although there has been a lively discussion on Nigerian Curiosity and a few other blogs, by and large the blogosphere has been unusually silent about Elendu. After a week, Nigerian Curiosity and fellow blogger Mootbox created a Facebook group Free Nigerian Blogger, Jonathan Elendu. However, a Facebook group is only as good as its members. After 5 days, the group still only has 59 supporters. Although supporters left messages on various Nigeria-related Facebook groups and pages, there had been relatively little response.


Criticism of Elendu's Reporting

The comments left on the Nigerian Forum, Nairaland (ranked in the top 10 Nigerian sites by Alexa) may explain the silence: Many see Elendu's writing as being sensationalist and unreliable, and do not consider his detention a worthy cause. To quote just a few comments:

"I prefer to call it imaginative journalism, because the standards of that publication are so low!"

"Their stuffs sometimes reflect publicity stunts, they also churn out unsubstantiated facts, which is sometimes caused by Jonathan Elendu's hallucination, what one of my role model Edgar Hoover calls mental halitosis."

"I think these guys are just 'sensational gangster-style' journalists. I thought I was over critical of the quality of Elendu's reportings until I read the views of other people. I can't substantiate this fact, but I believe Elendu is making money from the sensationalism, If you read his story about the Sokoto State government before and after his visit to the state (God knows what transpired during the visit, I hear journalists too collect brown envelopes) you will wonder where his objectivity lies."

"He also seems to be partisan in his views of the Nigerian politics. I suspect he might be on some politician's payroll going by his write ups"

Whether the above accusations are true or not, the fact remains that a blogger-journalist was taken into custody by the State Security Services as he arrived at the airport, denied counsel, interrogated, possibly tortured, and finally released after 11 days. Even after his release, officials have refused to return Elendu's passport, meaning that he cannot return to his home in Michigan.
Nigeria Turns Against the Media

His arrest is part of a culture of media censorship that has reigned for the past 30 years. Just last September, television station Channels TV was shut down by Presidential order after it mistakenly reported that he might resign due to ill health. This reaction was far too drastic; even if the station reported the details of the story wrong, surely a simple reprimand would have been a more appropriate response. In 2004 alone, there were 21 attacks against journalists in Nigeria. A commenter on Black Looks said:

Looking at the reasons behind the harassment and detention of journalists it is clear that their 'crimes' were reporting the truth such as election rigging, strikes, political disputes between the president and other members of government, or as in the case of Gbenga Faturoti of the Daily Independent, beaten almost unconscious for failing to turn off his mobile phone whilst in the Osun State Assembly. Altogether 21 journalists were victims of either the police or SSS in 2004 -- arrested, beaten, threatened, detained. Most were tortured. All were released without charge after a period of 24 hours to 1 week. In addition two radio stations in Anambra State were vandalized and staff beaten up and the offices of Insider Weekly and Global Star were also vandalized and staff arrested.

In 2005, a friend and well known political activist had his weekly newspaper column suspended. He was sure that the regime had pressured the newspaper to drop him due to his repeated criticisms of then President Olusegun Obasanjo.

I asked one prominent online individual who wishes to remain anonymous what he felt about the Elendu matter. His response speaks to both the fear and intimidation under which all Nigerians live as well as the suspicions about Elendu and the perceived bias of his reporting:

I can't really take a stand on the matter for two reasons:

(1) I live in Nigeria and I don't want them to arrest me.

(2) I live in a country where people can be arrested for telling the truth. That makes it hard to leap to the defense of someone who was arrested for telling lies. He shouldn't be detained without trial, but there are thousands of truly innocent people languishing in jail
and awaiting trial. Why support him and not them?

For Nigerian bloggers and online readers, the arrest of Elendu justifies their remaining anonymous -- how else can they safely return home? For those who are "out," the risk of returning is a heavy one. As for the Nigerian government, it will have to wake up to the fact that online media sites and citizen journalists -- many of whom live abroad -- cannot be intimidated and controlled in the same way as traditional media. As more Nigerians gain access to the Internet, more people will be in a position to challenge the repressive mindset of the military-influenced civilian leadership of the the last two presidents.

Sokari Ekine is an activist with a background in human rights in Africa. She presently works with The Global Women's Strike and Kabissa: Space for Change in Africa. Sokari blogs at Black Looks, Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine and Niger Delta Solidarity Campaign, and is the African correspondent for MediaShift.


by Sokari Ekine.

Source: http://www.saharareporters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=305:nigeria-joins-list-of-countries-harassing-bloggers&catid=69:design&Itemid=192

Courtesy: Public Information Project Management(PIPROM)

Link: http://www.publicinfoproject..com

The political rapprochement between the immediate past Nigerian President, rtd. General Olusegun Obasanjo and his erstwhile Deputy, Mr. Abubakar Atiku is ruffling an existing political alliance between the President's political camp and a rainbow political coalition established by the trio of James Ibori, immediate past governor of Delta State, Bola Tinubu, immediate past governor of Lagos State and Bukola Saraki, incumbent governor of Kwara State.

chidi opara reports' checks revealed that the reaction of the President, Mr. Umaru Yar'Adua to the Obasanjo-Atiku rapprochement, according to a well placed Presidency insider, was to put a call across, which he rarely does, to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, reminding him of the need to help strengthen the present Administration, which according to the President, the immediate past President was instrumental to lts installation. "The discussion was a long one and I think the President was eventually assured of assistance", our Presidency insider volunteered.

"The call was expected, when it came, our leader made the best of it. I hope those small boys running arround the President have now realised who is a better politician", a well placed Obasanjo insider informed chidi opara reports in Lagos.

We also discovered that the Yar'Adua political camp is under strict instruction not to react negetively to this development, but to find ways of using it to the benefit of the Administration.

This scenerio is however, different from what obtains in the Ibori-Tinubu-Saraki political coalition. Although attempts by our network members to infiltrate this group, having lost our contact, have not been successful so far, information however has it that that there is apprehension within the group. "Their fear is that the emerging Obasanjo-Atiku group will deprive them of the influence they have been exacting on Mr. President", a contact who claimed to be following the activities of the group informed us.

It will be noted that the Obasanjo-Atiku rapprochement was strengthened on Saturday, 24TH january, 2009 in Katsina, when the duo appeared together at the wedding ceremony of the President's daughter.

Source: http://www.chidioparareports..com

Courtesy: Public Information Project Management(PIPROM)

Link:http://www.publicinfoproject..com

Prominent Nigerian Politicians who have been at political loggerheads for over two years now, Dr. Chris Ngige, whose governorship tenure was terminated midway by the Anambra State Governorship and House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, on the ground that he was not duely elected, and Mr. Peter Obi, the incumbent Governor of the State, who filed and benefited from the petition that removed Dr. Ngige, reconciled their differences at the 2009 annual Ahiajoku Lecture in Owerri, capital city of Imo State, on the 23rd of January, 2009. Dr. Ngige also contested the April 2007 Governorship election on the platform of the Action Congress Party(AC).

Mr. Obi, who came into the venue at about 12.45pm, according to a chidi opara reports' network member, who was at the lecture, after greeting the cream of personalities present, which included rtd. Major-general Ike Nwachukwu, Professors Pat Utomi, ABC Nwosu, Dora Akunyili and some prominent traditional rulers, went straight to greet Dr. Ngige, who in turn reciprocated the gesture, culminating in both hugging themselves and pledging to forget their political differences for the sake of Anambra State in particular and Nigeria in general, to the applause of the forum.

Anambra State is one of the politically strategic states in Nigeria. Its strategic position derived from the fact that it is the home state of most prominent Nigerian Politicians of Igbo extraction. Observers believe that unresoved political differences in a politically strategic State like Anambra would potend grave consequences on the nascent Nigerian democracy. It is also believed that the recociliation of the two prominent political figures will eventually make way for the reconciliation of the various contending political forces in the State in particular and the Nation in general.

The annual Ahiajoku Lecture, chidi opara reports gathered was instituted in 1979 by the Administration of the late Dr. Sam Mbakwe, then, the Governor of Imo State, "to provide a forum for men and women in all human endervours to gather and showcase the contibutions of Igbos to world civilization".

Source: http://chidioparareports..com

Courtesy: Public Information Project Management(PIPROM)

LINK: http://www.publicinfoproject..com

The immediate past Nigerian Vice-president and Presidential candidate of the Action Congress Party(AC) in the April 2007 Presidential election, Mr. Abubakar Atiku is likely to contest the 2011 Presidential election on the platform of the ruling Peoples' Democratic Party(PDP), with the Governor of Osun State, rtd. Brigadier-general olagunsoye Oyinlola as running mate, chidi opara reports learnt authoritatively.

Abubakar Atiku, a foundation member of PDP, left the Party as a result of serious political misunderstanding between him and the then President, rtd. General Olusegun Obasanjo.

Mr. Atiku's political group, according to one of our contacts within the Obasanjo political group, initiated several secret meetings last year, all aimed at preparing grounds for a reconciliatory meeting between Atiku and Obasanjo, because according to this contact, "they realised that they will need Obasanjo with his national and International clouts in 2011".

chidi opara reports learnt further that the Obasanjo group met and eventually agreed to their principal meeting and reconciling with the former Vice-president on the conditions that Atiku will return to PDP and will use his political experience and wealth to help the group, "retieve the Party from the tight grip of Umaru Yar'Adua". The former Vice-president is reported to be a very wealthy person. Atiku is also to pick the two term Governor of Osun State, an avowed Obasanjo loyalist, as his Vice-presidential candidate come 2011. The immediate past Vice-president, chidi opara reports learnt further, "pleaded for time to sort things out with his Party and larger political network.

It will be noted that Atiku, in company of Oyinlola and others, recently paid Obasanjo a visit at his hilltop Mansion in Abeokuta, capital of Ogun State. The meeting, our investigations revealed is the first in the series of such meetings with the aim of building a new political understanding between the former Vice-president and his erstwhile boss.

Source: http://www.chidioparareports..com

The inauguration of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States Of America(USA), and the first African-American to occupy the position has come and gone.

It is clear now that the rhetorics of political campaign is over, so it is time for the new President to sit down to find solutions to most of the problems created by his predecessor.

Africans, after the euphoria of having one of their own for the first time as president of USA, should also sit back to find solutions to their own many problems.

People like Ojukwu (snr.), the Odutolas, et al, also took advantage of the situation to enrich themselves in the 1960s at the expense of the Nation. The most important thing is to create a system that will make such brigandage impossible.

what else do they do?, other than to waste public funds, that would have been used to provide basic necesities for the impoverished masses of Nigeria.