IBB as GEJ’s ‘fada,’ and the long goodbye

The Nigerian section of social media is horrified by President Goodluck Jonathan’s comment that Dec. 28 was the New Year. This gem dropped while Uncle Lucky was speaking with journalists following his visit to former President Ibrahim Babangida in Minna on Sunday. To me, this is not a big deal because in a round world (not flat, as Thomas Friedman claims), Dec. 28 could have been January 1 somewhere though it was just Tuesday morning in India – which is how far I mapped the time zone. There is always outer space to consider!

The President also said IBB is his “fada.” My response? “No Sir, you are no son of IBB’s!” A man “fada-ed” by IBB would have known better than to claim him so publicly 45 days to a critical election in which he seeks a mandate for four more years. If he wins, President Jonathan will tie with General Yakubu Gowon as the longest serving head of state in Nigeria, longer than IBB!

Pastor Chris Okotie Shows Off His Phantom Rolls Royce Worth N80 Mllion

The name, Pastor Chris Okotie, is a household name in Nigeria being the Pastor of the Household of God Church International Ministries. The 56-year-old pastor has had a lot going for him as a pop music artiste in the 1980s and now as a preacher.
Okotie is a lover of good things and has often been criticised for flaunting his wealth.
To celebrate his 27 years as a pastor and 30 years as a born again Christian, Okotie acquired the 2014 edition of Rolls Royce Phantom in 2013. The car reportedly cost him N80m.

Photo News: How Father Films Daughters Playing With Burmese Python

A father from Detroit, Michigan has released a video of his baby daughter interacting with a 13-foot Burmese python, in a bid to dispel the snakes’ poor reputation.
Jamie Guarino, a professional snake handler, filmed his daughter Alyssa playing with the family’s pet python, Nay-Nay, at their home in Warren, a suburb of Detroit, when she was just 14-months-old. As the Daily Mail reports, he has made it a personal mission to educate people about snakes, attempting to dispel the perception that pythons and their ilk are dangerous.
“I was trying to show that snakes are not evil creatures, they can be a loving pet despite their bad reputation,” he said.

Chibok schoolgirls’ parents blast President Jonathan

Two-hundred and sixty-two days after their daughters were kidnapped from school, some of the distraught parents of the students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, on Thursday criticised President Goodluck Jonathan for not fulfilling his promise to rescue the girls from the custody of Boko Haram.
The abduction of the 219 girls from their hostel at night on April 14, 2014 has attracted global outrage and the President had promised several times that the girls would be rescued alive.
Nine of the abducted girls’ parents, during their meeting with the BringBackOurGirls group on Thursday in Abuja, carpeted the President for failing to bring back the schoolgirls.
The leader of the parents, Rev. Mark Enoch, accused the government of having a hand in the abduction of the girls, noting that the principal of the school in Chibok had, few hours before the abduction, locked the girls in their hostel and warned them not to leave.
Enoch explained that the relatives of the principal and the school matron were able to rescue their daughters

Step down for Buhari, Catholic priest tells Jonathan

Renowned Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to abandon his re-election bid so that the All Progressives Congress candidate, Maj.Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) can emerge the winner of the presidential election next month.
Mbaka, who heads the popular Catholic Adoration Centre in Enugu, said this in his New Year sermon titled “From Good luck to Bad luck,” while addressing thousands of parishioners on Thursday.
He urged all well-meaning Nigerians to vote for Buhari on February 14.
According to the cleric, Jonathan has disappointed Nigerians and cannot deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.
Mbaka subsequently knelt down in front of the altar, cried and asked God to give Nigeria a good leader and not Jonathan. He used the opportunity to beg Nigerians to vote wisely in the forthcoming elections.
He said, “I love President Goodluck Jonathan and I used to be his ardent fan, but I want good for my people and that’s why I want Nigerians to vote out Goodluck Jonathan and vote General Muhammad Buhari. I don’t care if Buhari is a Muslim and from the North; all I care about is that Buhari can save Nigeria.”

PDP woos Atiku, Kwakwanso, others

The Peoples Democratic Party has said that it is wooing former members of the party, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Kano State Governor, Alhaji Rabiu Kwakwanso, who defected to the All Progressives Congress to return to the party before the next general elections.

The PDP National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, who stated this on Friday at a press conference in Ile-Ife, said the party had begun moves to bring back the former members.

He said, “The PDP has begun moves to bring back some of our former chieftains who are now in the APC. The PDP reconciliation committee set up by the National Working Committee will meet with all former members for the purpose of bringing them back before the next general elections.”

Jega Cries Out:FG yet to approve N75bn INEC budget

Six weeks to this year’s general elections, the Federal Government has yet to appropriate the remaining N75bn out of the N120bn budgeted for the conduct of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
This, according to social commentators, lawyers, and other concerned stakeholders is already hampering the INEC’s preparations for the much awaited elections.
Ashiwaju.org gathered that INEC had estimated that it would need N120bn to prepare for the elections, but only N45bn was appropriated by the Budget Office of the Federation in 2014 budget, leaving a shortfall of N75bn.
The House of Representatives had recently raised concerns over the general elections, saying that adequate funding and security would determine the credibility of the polls.
The House Committee on Electoral Matters said it had resolved to summon the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, to brief the lawmakers on the preparedness of the commission to conduct the poll.

Our New Year Hopes, Dreams Shall not Fall with Falling Oil Prices - Obiano

The Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano has assured Ndi Anambra that their hopes and dreams for a prosperous year shall not fall with the falling price of oil in the international market.

Delivering his New Year Message to the people titled “Stretching to a New Height of Excellence,” Governor Obiano observed that “the future of any society lies in its capacity to look beyond the darkness and doubts of today and see a glimmer of hope in the shadows of tomorrow.”

According to him, though many experts have predicted a tough year for Nigeria in the face of plummeting oil prices, such forecasts would never dampen the aspirations of Ndi Anambra adding that “with our enormous human and material resources, we shall not surrender our ambitions to dwindling oil prices in the international markets. We shall draw on history and our past accomplishments to stretch the scope of our vision and expand the boundaries of our possibilities.”

Obiano’s Wife Showers First Baby of the Year in Anambra with Gifts

The wife of the governor of Anambra State Chief (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano has described the birth of the first baby girl in Anambra State in the New Year as a good omen for the people of the state.

Chief Mrs Obiano who showered the new born who was delivered at 12am on New Year’s Eve with assorted gifts also observed that women bear good tidings which according to her are an indication of a positive outlook for the state and the people in the New Year.  Mrs. Obiano made the observation when she visited the new born on January 1, 2015 at Basic Health Centre, Court Road Onitsha, Anambra State.

Jonathan To Inaugurate Campaign Team

President Goodluck Jonathan will inaugurate his campaign team on Monday in Abuja, ahead of the February 14 election.
A release by the Special Adviser on Political Matters to the President, Rufai Alkali, a professor, on Thursday said the inauguration will take place at the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] presidential campaign office at Legacy House, in the Maitama District of Abuja by 2p.m.
According to the release, the Chairman of the Board of trustees of the PDP, Tony Anenih, has been appointed the national campaign adviser, while a former National Chairman of the PDP, Ahmadu Ali, will serve as the Director-General of the campaign organisation.
A former minister, Tunde Adeniran, will serve as deputy director general of the campaign’s head office, while the duo of Special Duties Minister, Kabiru Turaki and ex-Anambra governor, Peter Obi, will serve as Deputy Directors-General for north and south respectively.