President Jonathan Is Afraid Buhari Will Jail Him, Says Former President Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday alleged that President Goodluck Jonathan had a grand plan to scuttle the coming elections for fear that if General Muhammadu Buhari(retd) of All Progressives Congress succeeds him, Buhari would send him to jail.

He said this at his Hilltop presidential residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State while talking with journalists. He said he broke his promise not to talk till after the elections because the elections were postponed, punchng.com reported.

Obasanjo said, "I believe the President's fear is particularly motivated by whom he sees as his likely successor, that is, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. I believe people would have been telling him that Buhari is a hard man; he will fight corruption and he (Jonathan) may end up in jail if not in the grave. I think people would have told him that sort of thing and he is not the only one afraid of Buhari."

According to punchng.com, Obasanjo noted that General Muhammadu Buhari "should have learnt his lessons and might not be contemplating sending people to jail to fight corruption."

"If he has not learnt his lessons, he would be probably the most unlearning human being. Now if he has learnt his lessons, he will know that you do not fight corruption by putting people in jail for 200 years. This was done by my predecessor in office, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar. He recovered over $750m from Abacha's estate without putting anybody in jail and without harming or hurting anybody.

"When I took over, we recovered over $1.25bn from the same Abacha without hurting anybody and without harming anybody. What is rather unfortunate is the fact that our lawyer who is still alive, who was chasing this money all over the world, said to us that there was still well over $1bn to be recovered from the Abacha estate."

In a related development, obasanjo alleged that President Jonathan wants to rule for another four years irrespective of the clamour for change all over the country. And should he fail to win, he would ready to hijack the whole judicial process.

Obasanjo said, "President Jonathan has a grand plan to ensure that he wins the election by hook or crook and if he loses, he scuttles it and brings chaos and confusion in the whole country.

"It looks to me that the President is trying to play (Laurent) Gbagbo. Gbagbo was the former President of Cote d'Ivoire and Gbagbo made sure he postponed the election in his country until he was sure he would win and then allowed the election to take place. He got an inconclusive election in the first ballot and I believe this is the sort of thing Nigeria may fall into if I am right in what I observed as the grand plan.

"Then in the run-off, Gbagbo lost with 8 per cent behind (Alassane) Quattara and then refused to hand over. All reasonable persuasion and pleading was rebuffed by him and he unleashed horror in that country until nemesis caught up with him. I believe that we may be seeing the repeat of Gbagbo or what I called Gbagbo saga here in Nigeria, I hope not."

"I refused to make any categorical statement on this issue because I wanted to come back home and learn what actually transpired and what was going on, and it turned out to be a forced decision on the INEC, because it was alleged that the security chiefs were unable to provide security and as a result, the Chairman of INEC had to postpone the elections, in accordance with the dictates of the so-called security chiefs.

"For me, that was a bad precedent for democracy in Nigeria. It meant it doesn't matter what preparation or lack of preparation any electoral body could make in Nigeria, the final decision on whether election will take place on the day scheduled for it lies in the domains of the security, it is a sad day for democracy in Nigeria."

"I want to believe that this was forced on them (security chiefs). I want to believe that whether it was forced on them or it was their initiative, it was bad, very bad. I hope we will never have a repeat performance of this in this country again.

"It was even made worse when the President in the media chat on the 11th of this month claimed not to have knowledge or not to have authorised it. I get worried, very worried that if the President of Nigeria is not in charge of security, maintenance of law and order and such a decision can be taken behind him, assuming that it is true, then the President must be reigning and not ruling."

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Breaking News: Gombe Declares 24-Hour Curfew

Gombe State government on Saturday declared a 24-hour curfew on the state capital and surrounding areas after a failed attempt by the deadly Boko Haram sect to capture Gombe metropolis, The PUNCH reports.

The military engaged the sect in a fierce battle that lasted over three hours before the capital could be secured.

Punchng.com reported that the imposition of the curfew was contained in a statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Abubakar Sule Bage.

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2015 Presidential Election Ballot Papers Found In London

Ballots meant for the Nigerian presidential election were found yesterday at the premises of a local printer in the Essex area of London.

Our sources said the sensitive election materials, which ought to have arrived in Nigeria earlier in the week, were unsecured at the premises of Panther Printing Services in London.

SaharaReporters was able to confirm that a Nigerian firm named Cemoz International Limited had been contracted to print some ballot papers for the 2015 presidential elections.

A spokesman for the Independent National Electoral Commission, Kayode Idowu, confirmed to SaharaReporters that Cemoz International Limited was one of the firms awarded the contract to print ballot papers.

It appears that, upon getting the contract, Cemoz went shopping for printers in London to print the ballot papers and then contracted these other printers to serially number the ballot papers.

Although the ballot papers for the presidential elections for several southwest states were seen lying around the premises of the printing company in Essex, a staff at the company, speaking to a correspondent of SaharaReporters, said the firm only had the contract to print some of the ballot papers for Jigawa State.

Thinking that our correspondent worked for Cemoz, the representative of the Essex-based company asked if we could give them more jobs, adding that their company had mastered how to print ballot papers.

SaharaReporters later obtained a bill of lading showing that Cemoz planned to ship the ballot papers to Nigeria a few hours before February 14th, the day initially sect aside for the presidential election. INEC subsequently postponed the election for six weeks.

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New Leaked Documents Reveal Nigerian Army Board Of Inquiry Tried Capt. Koli For Exposing Ekiti Rigging

New documents exclusively leaked to SaharaReporters authoritatively confirm that Brigadier General A.A. Momoh, the Commander of the 32nd Artillery Brigade, convened a Board of Inquiry (BOI) to investigate Captain Sagir Koli, the conscientious whistle-blower who exposed the 2014 plan by which the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rigged the Ekiti gubernatorial contest.

Koli discretely audio-taped a meeting between army officers and politicians on June 20 in Akure in the implementation of the plan, which returned Ayodele Fayose.

General Momoh was the senior army officer who allegedly acted on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff in the rigging plan. At least two of the politicians involved claimed on the tape to have been acting on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The new documents show that Brig. General Momoh convened the panel, in his words, "to investigate the circumstance that led Capt. SI Koli (N/12074) to abscond from his place of duty on 1 Aug 14 and still remain absent while deployed for security duty during the 2014 Osun State Gubernatorial Election."

The BOI had six members, led by Col. D. Akama as chairman. General Momoh said it would sit at a date and time "to be determined by the president," but it was not clear whether that meant President Jonathan, or what president he was referring to.

The panel called nine witnesses, including three from the 32nd Artillery Brigade, Captain Koli's regiment. Copies of the findings and opinions were not part of the leaked documents, but were to be completed and submitted on August 14, 2014.

It has since emerged that Brig. General Momoh, at about the time that he convened the BOI, also authorized the illegal abduction and torture of Capt. Koli's 15-year old younger brother, Adamu Koli.

In retaliation against his brother, the teenage Adamu was illegally detained, tortured, starved, and chained to a bed in the military hospital at Adekunle Fajuyi's Cantonment in Ado-Ekiti.

Capt. Koli told SaharaReporters in an exclusive Live interview on SaharaTV last Saturday that Brig. General Momoh's objective of abducting and torturing the teenage Adamu was to lure him out of hiding. The captain has been in hiding since he first leaked the recordings.

SaharaReporters first released secret audio recordings, a sworn affidavit, and transcripts of the detailed plan to rig the election. Other key participants in the plan, and at the election-eve meeting in Akure, were: Senator Iyiola Omisore; the Minister for Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan; Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, who was at the time the Minister of State for Defence; and a man identified as Honourable Abdulkareem, who claimed to be a member of the National Assembly.

Capt. Koli, as one of the subordinates to Brig. General Momoh, accompanied the General to the meeting, during which the politicians bullied and ordered him around. They bribed him with a huge stash of cash and prospects of promotion if he made the election manipulation successful. Among others, he was to clamp down and arrest members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as grant privileges to members of the PDP involved in the rigging plan.

Capt. Koli's audio recording revealed that Obanikoro was directed to attend the meeting on special assignment by President Jonathan, who wanted to make sure that the Ekiti race ended in a PDP victory. It also revealed, and other statements by Capt. Koli confirmed, that the Ekiti race was to be the blueprint for electoral manipulation in the Osun State gubernatorial contest that was to follow in 2014, and later for the 2015 general elections. It was in the course of that Osun State plan that General Momoh set up the BOI.

SaharaReporters has repeatedly contacted the presidency, as well as spokespersons for the army for reaction to our story, but they have yet to respond to our inquiries.

SaharaReporters has authoritatively learned that in order to stymie further discussions and stories relating to the exposed Ekiti rigging saga, President Jonathan has secretly funnelled bribes to several editors, as well as radio and television station chiefs.

Observers say it is curious that neither the presidency nor any of the security authorities has taken up the Ekiti rigging situation with the outrage it deserves.

Meanwhile, one of the main culprits, former ambassador to Ghana Obanikoro, has been bragging about filing defamation lawsuits against a number of reporters and newspaper concerns, ostensibly to intimidate them. He is also quietly bribing members of the Nigerian Senate to approve his re-nomination by President Jonathan as Minister of state for Defense.

SaharaReporters, which broke the story, has certainly not been served.

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What Christians Should Not Be ENGAGED IN on VALENTINE DAY, By Rev. Fr. Peter Nnanga

What exactly are we celebrating on Valentine Day? We celebrate God's gift of love and friendship on Valentine Day. The Bible say "God is love" 1 John 4:8

A true christian should not be engaged in the following acts in the name Valentine Day celebration.

1. Drinking to the point of getting drunk and then misbehave.

When you drink and get drunk you lose total control of your senses. You will begin to talk nonsense and act in a stupid and foolish way. As an adult, you will be acting like a child, saying things that do not befit your age and level of maturity; causing trouble and disgracing yourself and family.

2. Unmarried people sleeping around in the name of celebrating Valentine.

Married men and women cheating on their spouses in the name of Valentine. For those who have never done it, Valentine becomes the day or night they are going to do it for the first time. For some, Valentine will be the time to lose their virginity. For others, the aftermath of Valentine Day celebration will be 'unwanted pregnancy.' For some others, the result of the immoral act committed on Valentine Day or Night will be to spend lots of money treating contacted STD.

3. Night Clubbing:

There are some youths, and even some adult, who will spend the entire NIGHT of February 14 in the club (Night Club), where all kinds of immorality take place; beginning with very indecent mode of dressing; immoral dancing styles, that is, dancing styles that set weak bodies on fire and turns light brain upside down, making them to act and behave like he-goat and dogs.

4. Two or more men Fighting over one girl/lady; or two or more girl/ladies fighting over a guy.

Sometimes the devil use this kind of fight to end those involved in it in the police cell or even death.

5. Wasteful spending of money.

Some irresponsible men and women will waste their money in what they termed 'enjoyment' in order to impress their 'Val" (like booking of expensive hotel for valentine ); and trust some girls/ladies, they will use men to make real money for themselves by saying that they have to 'use what they have to get what they want'.

BE WISE. The Devil is on Rampage.

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Rev Fr. Peter Nnanga, a Roman Catholic Priest with the National Missionary Society of St Paul, wrote in via pjnnanga@yahoo.co.uk.

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Valentine Day Depends Largely On The Choices You Make; So, Make The Right Choice, By Fr Peter Nnanga

For some people, Valentine Day comes with some great expectations and could be a day to take a major concerning one's way of life.

For some women, Valentine day is the day they expect to hear from their 'Guy' that long expected and desired request: "Will you marry me?" or "Will you be my wife" and for the guys to get the response from the lady "Yes, I will" .

And some ladies who have stayed really long enough in a relationship, they are simply ready to quit and call it over if they do not hear it.

For some men, it is a day to give their woman/lady of their heart the engagement ring, as a mark of their seriousness and readiness to settle down with her. Such men look forward to
the Valentine Day in order to make it really a significant moment.

For couples to be, it is a day to fix their wedding; So that every Valentine Day reminds them of their union.

For couples with long standing misunderstanding, Valentine Day could be a real moment for reconciliation and settlement.

Whatever you put into Valentine Day, and whatever you get out Valentine Day depend largely on the choices you make. So, make the right choice.

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Rev Fr. Peter Nnanga, a Roman Catholic Priest with the National Missionary Society of St Paul, wrote in via pjnnanga@yahoo.co.uk.

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International Friendly March: Super Eagles To Trade Tackles With Bolivia On March 26, 2015

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will, on the 26th of March, 2015, trade tackles with the Bolivian National team in international friendly match.

The president of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, confirmed this yesterday on behalf of the NFF.

The Nigeria Senior National team was last year scheduled to take on the Brazilian National team, however "the Brazilian Football Federation opted out at the last hour."

Pinnick said, "We have had to work at a pace to seal agreement for this match, after the Brazilian Football Federation opted out at the last hour.

"However, we believe that the Bolivia team will give the Super Eagles a good match, as we continue to work on a second match for the Eagles for either 29th March."

He concluded by saying, "The NFF is committed to ensuring that the Super Eagles are occupied on every FIFA window, with quality games."

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Oba of Benin is alive, Benin Traditional council Says - PUNCH

The Oba of Benin, Oba Erediauwa, has debunked speculations which went viral on Friday morning, that he has passed on.

The rumour of the demise of the Oba was further fuelled by his inability to personally receive President Goodluck Jonathan, during his February 4 presidential rally in Benin, the Edo State capital.

According to punchng.com, "the Benin Traditional Council, told our correspondent on Friday evening that it was a mere speculation, which had been on for over six months and lacked truth."

The Secretary to the council, Mr. Frank Irabor, explained that it was the responsibility of the council to issue a formal statement, if such a development did occur.

He said, "They have been peddling that rumour for more than a year now, because the Oba has not been coming out.

"If there is anything like that, there is usually a statement from the palace or from the Benin Traditional Council."

"The fact that he has not been coming out, even when the President came last week, does not mean that there is anything like that."

"I don't bother about rumours. I believe in getting information from the authentic source. For more than six months, they have been carrying the rumour," he added.

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“If One Of My Men Is Killed During Elections, I Shall Kill Twenty Civilians, Police AIG Mbu Warns

The newly posted Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2, Joseph Mbu, on Thursday instructed his men to kill every twenty civilian in next month's elections should one police officer be killed.

The controversial police boss made the declaration at a meeting with police of the Ogun State Command at its Eleweran Headquarters, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Mbu said, "If one of my men is killed, I shall kill twenty of them but don't shoot first," Mr. Mbu said. "If they shoot you, shoot back in self-defence. Anybody who fires you, fire him back in self-defence."

He further instructed his men to be battle ready for next month's elections, admonishing them they have the power to arrest anybody irrespective of the social status during the polls.

In Mbu words, "You have the power to stop the governor," he said. "We are in a critical period. We are not para-military. We must be bold and brave. Keep an eagle eye on everybody. We are authorised by the constitution to arrest before, during and after election. Our role is to ensure free, fair and violence free election."

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Abia 2015: Putting Governor Theodore Ahamefula Orji On Notice, By Chinedu Ekeke

You know the popular line about lies repeated too often beginning to sound like truth? That's the affliction currently plaguing the sitting Abia state governor, Theodore Ahamefula Orji and his deluge of courtiers.

Late last year, I saw first hand why the governor mistakes himself for modern day Jesus, thumping his chest all over the place, struggling to force the world to accept willy-nilly that he has delivered good governance. It was when myself and about 60 other Online media practitioners were invited to Abia state to assess the governor's performance in office. I watched as aide after aide lavished him with adulation. "You are the father of modern day Abia state, the global governor!" a former Commissioner for Information – now seeking to get elected as a state lawmaker -intoned.

Another reminded him of his 'ultramodern' touch to governance. Yet another raved about the governor's 'legacy' projects and how he has bested his predecessor, a man who imposed him on the good people of Abia while he, Theodore Orji, cooled off, chain in hands, behind the iron gates of Kirikiri maximum prison. There and then, right in the governor's banquet hall, I concluded that the man will never realize how badly he ran the state until he leaves office. From day one, he had erected a rigged feedback mechanism, drinking from the pool of lies he is daily served by those around him and wondering why the rest of the world doesn't cower before him in worship, for giving them 'ultramodern' governance.

Recently, I've been reading loads of nonsense published by the many hack writers hired by the governor's men concerning the coming governorship elections in the state, the processes that led to the emergence of their party's candidate and how they will trounce Dr Alex Otti, the APGA candidate. Apart from a lack of admirable grasp of the English Language – a common denominator in all of their washy articles – one striking quality of these people is their utter disregard for facts and truth.

Without bothering to name the writers, many of whom veil their true identities with pseudonyms, I will be summarizing just two of the falsehoods they've been pushing into the media space lately. And, with a sense of justice to Abia, the state they ran aground unchallenged in the last eight years, I will comment on each of their falsehoods and allow the reader to arrive at his conclusion.

First, they spin the narrative that Governor Theodore Orji had no hands in the emergence of Okezie Ikpeazu, the PDP governorship candidate in Abia, a lackey of the first son of the governor who nicknamed himself Ikuku (Ordinarily, in Igbo morphology, Ikuku means 'Breeze', but it could also mean Whirlwind, or Dust Devil, depending on its strength and intent). They boldly push this into public space, their faces straight, without batting an eyelid, consciously assuming every PDP member in the state may have suddenly fallen dead between when they rigged the party congress and today.

It is troubling, this onslaught on the truth, because it offers a window into how they have governed the state so far – without a jot of regard for decency. May I challenge the Ochendo revisionists to tell us when PDP congresses held in Abia? Can they show us, with any evidence they can muster, when Abia PDP held congresses and how the 'delegates' to the attendant party primaries emerged? Let them show us a video clip, or even still images, of any ward in Abia where PDP held congresses. There are hundreds, or even thousands, of PDP members in Abia; can the revisionists get us anyone who will tell us where he voted and whom he voted on the day of the party congresses?

For those who may not know; the emergence of candidates for general elections BEGINS with the conduct of party congresses. Party congress is an exercise that involves party members at the ward levels (the real grassroots) converging to elect from among them those who will proceed to choose the party's flag-bearers at the primaries. It is for this reason that those who seek to contest at the general elections in any party first start by consulting widely with members at the grassroots. In so doing, they broaden their chances by convincing party members at the ward level on their suitability and qualification for the office they seek to occupy. That way, whoever amongst these party members who is able to make it to the primaries then votes for the candidate they consider better than others.
But in Ochendo's Abia state, no congresses held.

The Tony Ceaser Okeke national congress team sent from Abuja to conduct the primaries were huddled up in Royal Damgrete Hotel, Umuahia, by the governor, his son and their hatchet men. Even registers containing names of party members in the 184 wards were missing, contrary to the party guidelines. It was so brazen that PDP elders in the state – people like Senator Uche Chukwumerije, former Minister Emeka Wogu, former Deputy Governor Acho Nwakanma and so many others – had to write a petition to the party headquarters, published in national newspapers, complaining of how Governor Orji hijacked the congress team sent from Abuja. PDP members in Abia waited from morning till 6 pm when, convinced that the congresses were no longer going to hold, they dispersed. But from this absurdity, Theodore Orji and his son produced a list of strange names which they claimed were delegates from the congresses. It was these strange names – procured on illegality – who were railroaded on the day of primaries to vote for the governor's puppet, Okezie Ikpeazu. Let anyone of the state government's hack writers controvert this. It then forces one to wonder how folks boldly write and publish to readers how Ochendo was never the one who imposed Ikpeazu, how the party democratically chose him for his sterling qualities, how Abians have accepted him. This last line of mendacity, that Abians have accepted the puppet from Theodore Orji, leads me to the next point.

In all the essays they write, the same people insist that Okezie Ikpeazu will be the next governor of Abia state. My response? How is that even possible?! Except if humans won't be the ones to vote in that election. Abians have rejected Theodore Orji and whatever proceeds from him. I got a sense of this when, on December 27 last year, a day after I travelled for Christmas, I went to Aba to have a personal feel of how bad things had gotten in the commercial city. I went to Ohanku Road, Obohia Road, Ngwa Road, Ariaria, Milverton. In the heat of the dry season, these major places had a semblance of a swampy rice farm, the type you see in mid-rainy season. At Ngwa Road, the sight was sickening, the marriage between refuse and humans was scary.

I conducted a random vox pop, and saw that at least 75% of the people I spoke with were sad with the complete neglect of the commercial city. They told me in clear terms of their decision to punish the governor by ensuring that whoever he supports in this election loses. The only exception to that, many of my respondents said, was President Goodluck Jonathan who has enormous following in the city and the other parts of the state. Recent opinion polls by NOI Polls affirmed this. By a wide margin of 27 points, Alex Otti of APGA leads his closest rival in the governorship contest. That gap is likely to widen within the next two months when the elections will hold proper.

Are they still beating their chest about winning in Abia state? That boast will be put to test on April 11. Who are the Abians that will vote the scion of this failed governor, anyway? The people in Aba who pelted them with pebbles and sachets of pure water? The people of Arochukwu who hurled stones at their campaign trail? The people of Uturu who ordered them out of their community? Or the people of Itunbauzo who stopped them from addressing the residents of the community? We wait! From every credible information I have gathered, Abians have rejected PDP in the state.

From the grapevine, we hear the governor and his son have vowed to 'win' without the people's votes. One wonders how they intend to achieve that miracle. Rigging? Well, the people I interacted with in Abia when I travelled for Christmas will not let anybody steal their votes. They vowed to resist whoever dares to challenge their collective will.

Whatever Governor Orji and his son are banking on, they deserve our pity. Any man who makes light of the people's power should be pitied.
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Chinedu writes from Lagos. Follow him on twitter as @Nedunaija

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