THe National Assembly elections have been postponed.
Prof Jega has just announced on national tv that the national assembly elections have been postponed till Monday 4th April 2011.
INEC officials have been telling voters that the elections have been postponed, meanwhile voting continues in some areas.
More updates coming soon.
Source: INFORMATION NIGERIA
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Saturday, April 2, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Nigeria election: Jonathan rivals pull out of TV debate
Nigeria's three main opposition candidates have pulled out of election debates with President Goodluck Jonathan, accusing him of "arrogance".
The three - Nuhu Ribadu, Muhammadu Buhari and Ibrahim Shekarau - are suspicious that he will take part only in a live TV debate largely organised by state-run media.
A BBC correspondent says the boycott is embarrassing for Mr Jonathan.
He is favourite to win the 9 April poll in Africa's biggest oil exporter.
Mr Jonathan refused to take part in a debate last week, organised by NN24 TV, saying he would participate only in one scheduled for next Tuesday run by the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria.
His opponents say they are "suspicious" of his relationship with this body, which mostly comprises state-run broadcasters.
"He has arrogantly shunned the credible debate for which we made ourselves available," they said in a joint statement, insisting they had "bent backwards" to accommodate him.
The BBC's Caroline Duffield in Lagos says Mr Jonathan is a poor public speaker.
It is clear that his advisers want to shield him from the media as much as possible, she says.
Mr Jonathan is the candidate of the People's Democratic Party which has won every national poll since military rule ended in 1999.
But his candidacy was opposed by some party power-brokers, who say a northerner should have been the party candidate instead of Mr Jonathan, who is from the southern, oil-producing Niger Delta region.
The former vice-president inherited power last year when President Umaru Yar'Adua died.
Previous elections have been marred by widespread violence and allegations of fraud.
Some of the promised electoral reforms have been implemented ahead of next month's elections but not enough to satisfy the opposition.
Elections for the National Assembly are due on 2 April.
Source: BBC News
The three - Nuhu Ribadu, Muhammadu Buhari and Ibrahim Shekarau - are suspicious that he will take part only in a live TV debate largely organised by state-run media.
A BBC correspondent says the boycott is embarrassing for Mr Jonathan.
He is favourite to win the 9 April poll in Africa's biggest oil exporter.
Mr Jonathan refused to take part in a debate last week, organised by NN24 TV, saying he would participate only in one scheduled for next Tuesday run by the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria.
His opponents say they are "suspicious" of his relationship with this body, which mostly comprises state-run broadcasters.
"He has arrogantly shunned the credible debate for which we made ourselves available," they said in a joint statement, insisting they had "bent backwards" to accommodate him.
The BBC's Caroline Duffield in Lagos says Mr Jonathan is a poor public speaker.
It is clear that his advisers want to shield him from the media as much as possible, she says.
Mr Jonathan is the candidate of the People's Democratic Party which has won every national poll since military rule ended in 1999.
But his candidacy was opposed by some party power-brokers, who say a northerner should have been the party candidate instead of Mr Jonathan, who is from the southern, oil-producing Niger Delta region.
The former vice-president inherited power last year when President Umaru Yar'Adua died.
Previous elections have been marred by widespread violence and allegations of fraud.
Some of the promised electoral reforms have been implemented ahead of next month's elections but not enough to satisfy the opposition.
Elections for the National Assembly are due on 2 April.
Source: BBC News
Utomi – Jonathan Spends N100 Million Daily on Campaign
President Goodluck Jonathan expends N100 million naira of tax payers’ money every day to fund his presidential campaign, presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP) Prof. Pat Utomi charged in Abuja yesterday. Utomi, who spoke at a ‘Policy Dialogue with Presidential Candidates’ organised by Murtala Mohammed Foundation, said civil society organisations in the country have failed in their duty by keeping quiet over the president’s spending on his campaign, saying this can never happen in Brazil where a Constitutional Court has banned such spending.
On corruption, Utomi said the trend flourishes because people believe that nobody could prosecute them if they engage in corrupt practices, adding that if elected as the President of Nigeria he will fight corruption.
He also expressed his commitment to institutional arrangements in the political arena, saying the country requires two viable and strong political parties. He expressed his displeasure over the inability of reformed progressives to form an alliance in spite of his personal efforts in that direction.
The presidential candidate also described the establishment of new federal universities without repositioning the existing ones as unreasonable. He said much attention is focused on tertiary education with little importance attached to the need to address challenges facing primary education.
He said, “Teacher education is the starting point. How do we create intense teacher education? How do we bring prestige back to teacher education? It is going to be a life mission since the educational system has been completely neglected. We also need to rethink vocational education if we want to make progress.”
On security challenges facing the country, Utomi called for the decentralisation of police and the adoption of modern community policing tactics, saying all the crises could have been avoided if early warning signals were considered.
When asked to make a choice of his presidential candidate if he is not contesting, he said, “I told Nuhu Ribadu, if you emerge as a progressive candidate, I will support you. I will support Malam Ibrahim Shekarau. He will make a good President. He is an articulate man but he is not known outside Kano. General Muhammadu Buhari is a symbol of discipline and Nigeria needs discipline. If all these fail, we can survive with Jonathan.”
Professor Utomi also declared his readiness to accord women a prime platform that will guarantee their active participation in the Nigerian political process, adding that his government would ensure that 50% of cabinet members are women. Drawing inferences from the female-dominated schooling system in the South-east, Utomi said a time would come when women will preoccupy the positions of governance and authority in the country.
Meanwhile, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) yesterday said they were not looking elsewhere when President Goodluck Jonathan and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were spending tax payers’ money to the tune of N100 million daily as alleged by Prof. Pat Utomi and that they would soon take action to arrest it.
The Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE), the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) and the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) were unanimous in condemning the flagrant abuse and undermining of the rule of law and provision of the Electoral Act by political parties, especially the PDP and politicians alike, with TMG saying that the amount is even an understatement.
General Secretary of ACE Mr. Emma Ezeazu told our correspondent in Abuja that it is right that Prof. Utomi is actively playing the role expected of the opposition, saying however that the CSOs will look into the matter.
“If the president is spending that much on campaign, it will be more difficult for the opposition parties to contest with him. We will look into this matter and be sure of the fact. We will have to be sure so that we will just not be smearing our hands in the mud. If the president is spending that much it is horrible and does not augur well for the coming April polls, democracy and for the well being of Nigeria,” Ezeazu said.
TMG chairman and Chairperson-Elect of the newly formed West Africa Election Observers Network (WAEON), Comrade Mashood Erubami, said CSOs are looking elsewhere as the organization was actually preparing to address the nation on the matter and that the delay was due to the organisation’s pre-occupation with the party primaries.
“The amount quoted is an understatement when you count in the number of official cars, drivers, consumables, institutional and man-day support from civil servants and direct cash being expended daily.
Source: INFORMATION NIGERIA
On corruption, Utomi said the trend flourishes because people believe that nobody could prosecute them if they engage in corrupt practices, adding that if elected as the President of Nigeria he will fight corruption.
He also expressed his commitment to institutional arrangements in the political arena, saying the country requires two viable and strong political parties. He expressed his displeasure over the inability of reformed progressives to form an alliance in spite of his personal efforts in that direction.
The presidential candidate also described the establishment of new federal universities without repositioning the existing ones as unreasonable. He said much attention is focused on tertiary education with little importance attached to the need to address challenges facing primary education.
He said, “Teacher education is the starting point. How do we create intense teacher education? How do we bring prestige back to teacher education? It is going to be a life mission since the educational system has been completely neglected. We also need to rethink vocational education if we want to make progress.”
On security challenges facing the country, Utomi called for the decentralisation of police and the adoption of modern community policing tactics, saying all the crises could have been avoided if early warning signals were considered.
When asked to make a choice of his presidential candidate if he is not contesting, he said, “I told Nuhu Ribadu, if you emerge as a progressive candidate, I will support you. I will support Malam Ibrahim Shekarau. He will make a good President. He is an articulate man but he is not known outside Kano. General Muhammadu Buhari is a symbol of discipline and Nigeria needs discipline. If all these fail, we can survive with Jonathan.”
Professor Utomi also declared his readiness to accord women a prime platform that will guarantee their active participation in the Nigerian political process, adding that his government would ensure that 50% of cabinet members are women. Drawing inferences from the female-dominated schooling system in the South-east, Utomi said a time would come when women will preoccupy the positions of governance and authority in the country.
Meanwhile, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) yesterday said they were not looking elsewhere when President Goodluck Jonathan and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were spending tax payers’ money to the tune of N100 million daily as alleged by Prof. Pat Utomi and that they would soon take action to arrest it.
The Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE), the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) and the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) were unanimous in condemning the flagrant abuse and undermining of the rule of law and provision of the Electoral Act by political parties, especially the PDP and politicians alike, with TMG saying that the amount is even an understatement.
General Secretary of ACE Mr. Emma Ezeazu told our correspondent in Abuja that it is right that Prof. Utomi is actively playing the role expected of the opposition, saying however that the CSOs will look into the matter.
“If the president is spending that much on campaign, it will be more difficult for the opposition parties to contest with him. We will look into this matter and be sure of the fact. We will have to be sure so that we will just not be smearing our hands in the mud. If the president is spending that much it is horrible and does not augur well for the coming April polls, democracy and for the well being of Nigeria,” Ezeazu said.
TMG chairman and Chairperson-Elect of the newly formed West Africa Election Observers Network (WAEON), Comrade Mashood Erubami, said CSOs are looking elsewhere as the organization was actually preparing to address the nation on the matter and that the delay was due to the organisation’s pre-occupation with the party primaries.
“The amount quoted is an understatement when you count in the number of official cars, drivers, consumables, institutional and man-day support from civil servants and direct cash being expended daily.
Source: INFORMATION NIGERIA
Miss Ireland Under Fire For Dating A Nigerian
Stunning Miss Ireland Emma Waldron told yesterday in a forthright interview how she will never let ‘ignorant’ racists affect her love for Nigerian boyfriend Manners Oshafi.
Emma, 21, has been the victim of a vicious internet campaign because of her relationship with a black man and was forced to report an online poster targeting her with hateful and abusive racist comments.
The beauty (21), who came fourth in Miss World, found herself at the centre of a racism row when an online tormentor branded her “disgusting” for being in a relationship with a black man.
Emma explained her shock at the attack, and encouraged Irish people to become more open minded, describing her relationship with her boyfriend as “beautiful”.
Speaking exclusively to the Herald, she said: “I don’t wish to talk in too much length about the issue as there are feelings involved and I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by making an issue out of this.
“There is only one race, the human race. What matters in friendship and love is the heart and soul of the person you have a relationship with, not their colour, nationality, creed or background.
“I love my boyfriend with every cell in my body and nothing anyone says will change that.
“It upsets me that people have negative things to say about a love and friendship that is so beautiful.
“I love my boyfriend and nothing like this will ever affect us because we have love and that’s all we need. We don’t need others approval.”
Source: ukzambians.co.uk
Emma, 21, has been the victim of a vicious internet campaign because of her relationship with a black man and was forced to report an online poster targeting her with hateful and abusive racist comments.
The beauty (21), who came fourth in Miss World, found herself at the centre of a racism row when an online tormentor branded her “disgusting” for being in a relationship with a black man.
Emma explained her shock at the attack, and encouraged Irish people to become more open minded, describing her relationship with her boyfriend as “beautiful”.
Speaking exclusively to the Herald, she said: “I don’t wish to talk in too much length about the issue as there are feelings involved and I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by making an issue out of this.
“There is only one race, the human race. What matters in friendship and love is the heart and soul of the person you have a relationship with, not their colour, nationality, creed or background.
“I love my boyfriend with every cell in my body and nothing anyone says will change that.
“It upsets me that people have negative things to say about a love and friendship that is so beautiful.
“I love my boyfriend and nothing like this will ever affect us because we have love and that’s all we need. We don’t need others approval.”
Source: ukzambians.co.uk
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