Soldiers lay siege to Tinubu’s home

A former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, says soldiers have placed him under surveillance for the past three days.

Tinubu,   in a statement on Tuesday by his Media Office, claimed that the soldiers numbering 30 were first noticed in a truck close to his Ikoyi, Lagos residence around 11pm on Sunday.

A soldier, Capt. Sagir Kooli, who exposed the alleged rigging of the June 2014 Ekiti State governorship election,   had in a video which went viral last week said   that Tinubu’s telephone was bugged by the Department of State Services.

The former governor said in the statement that the soldiers were initially stationed about 500 metres from the gate of his house   before they moved closer.

Tinubu   explained   that on Monday night , the soldiers returned   in two vans and stayed throughout the night.

He claimed that some of them alighted from the vans and walked back and forth in front of the house.

The APC leader,who   alleged that   the vans   were stationed on both sides of the house on Tuesday morning,   vowed not to be intimidated by the government.

Presidency, PDP reject card reader for election

There were indications that the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party were already commencing tactics aimed at frustrating the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission to make use of card readers for the 2015 elections.

Investigations by our correspondent in Abuja on Monday and Tuesday, indicated that the ruling party and the Presidency were already looking at the possibility of mobilising Nigerians to demand that the use of card readers for the election be stopped.

This is coming as a former National Chairman of the ruling party, who is now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said there were signs that the PDP was not interested in holding the elections.

Rather, Ogbeh said, the party was still hell-bent on foisting interim government on Nigeria.

A source in the Presidency, who spoke on condition of anonymity with our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday, said that both the Presidency and some members of the National Working Committee of the party had been asked to continue to either condemn the use of the card readers for the elections or also that the commission be told to allow Nigerians to use the Temporary Voter Card instead of the Permanent Voter Card for the election.

He said, “We are not comfortable with the card readers. For example, we have not seen any and we don’t know how it works.

I won’t go on terminal leave – Jega

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has said he does not have any plan to embark on terminal leave.

This was contrary to unsubstantiated report that Jega would proceed on a forced terminal leave on March 1.

But Jega’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kayode Idowu, denied this saying his boss was busy preparing for the conduct of the elections.

He said, “Jega is busy preparing for the elections and you are asking about terminal leave. Does anyone planning to conduct elections go on terminal leave? There is nothing like that.”

Idowu had in an interview on a TV programme monitored in Lagos, on Tuesday, said Jega’s appointment was not guided by civil service rules and would serve until the end of his tenure on June 30.

He said the postponement of the elections would make INEC better prepared for the elections scheduled for March 28 and April 11.

Read What Nigerians are saying on social media

Nigerians have taken to their social media pages to react to the new poll timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

INEC announced late on Saturday that the general elections would now hold on March 28 and April 11 as against the initially scheduled February 14 and 28.

Below are a few posts from Facebook and Twitter:

I won’t go on terminal leave – Jega

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has said he does not have any plan to embark on terminal leave.

This was contrary to unsubstantiated report that Jega would proceed on a forced terminal leave on March 1.

But Jega’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kayode Idowu, denied this saying his boss was busy preparing for the conduct of the elections.

He said, “Jega is busy preparing for the elections and you are asking about terminal leave. Does anyone planning to conduct elections go on terminal leave? There is nothing like that.”

Idowu had in an interview on a TV programme monitored in Lagos, on Tuesday, said Jega’s appointment was not guided by civil service rules and would serve until the end of his tenure on June 30.

He said the postponement of the elections would make INEC better prepared for the elections scheduled for March 28 and April 11.

Obasanjo endorses Buhari, warns against coup

After months of berating the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has declared his support for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

Obasanjo, who is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, made his opinion known during an interview with the Financial Times at the launch of his controversial autobiography titled, ‘My Watch’, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Obasanjo said Buhari, who ruled Nigeria between December 1983 and August 1985, was aware of the challenges of Nigeria today and was qualified to rule the country.

He said, “The circumstances he (Buhari) will be working under if he wins the elections are different from the one he worked under before, where he was both the executive and the legislature – he knows that. He is smart enough. He is educated enough. He’s experienced enough. Why shouldn’t I support him?”

Doyin Okupe Disgraced In Aso Rock

Senior Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, did not bargain for what he got on Sunday when he was disgraced at an event which held within his own territory at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
He attempted to disparage the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, when he was booed by the guests at the event.
Okupe, known for his scurrilous attacks on APC stalwarts, resorted to saying that Buhari did not go school and as such Nigerians should not vote for him.
But his attempts fell flat as the guests at the event on national television disagreed and booed him in defence of Buhari.

INEC And The PDP: Playing With Fire By Michael Egbejumi-David

Minister of Police Affairs Jelili Adesiyan has tacitly admitted that there was an encounter between several top officials of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a senior military officer who was badgered to intimidate members of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in order to ensure victory for the PDP in the Ekiti State governorship election.
SaharaReporters had exclusively released the audiotape of a heated session where PDP members, including (now) Governor Ayo Fayose, Mr. Adesiyan, former Minister of State for Defense, Musiliu Obanikoro, and Senator Iyiola Omisore ordered Brigadier General A.A. Momoh to order troops under his control to arrest and detain APC members in a plot to guarantee victory for Mr. Fayose.
After our disclosure, both Governor Fayose and Mr. Obanikoro denied the authenticity of the tape, with Mr. Obanikoro threatening to sue SaharaReporters.

PROF JEGA OUT! PROF MIMIKO IN!

President Jonathan and his team have lost fate in the current INEC chairman Prof Attahiru Jega. They now see him as a close ally of the APC presidential candidate Gen Buhari. Mr president 'll ask Prof Jega whose tenure in office 'll end in june to embark on a three months terminal leave with effect from March 1, 2015 in compliance with the civil service procedure.

Governor Obiano Visits Accident Victims in Onitsha General Hospital

The Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano has continued to show the human side of governance as he set aside the serious issues of the state to pay a surprise visit to victims of a fatal accident that claimed one life and left four others wounded in Onitsha.

The governor who arrived Ward 3 of Onitsha General Hospital on Monday afternoon to offer words of encouragement to the recuperating casualties of the accident showed dissatisfaction with vehicle owners whose lack of attention to the need to maintain their vehicles have often led to avoidable accidents on the highways.