Igbo Group Urges Buhari To Fulfill Promise To South East

A pro-democracy group, the Igbo Conversational Group (ICG), has urged the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, to fulfill promises he made to the Igbo people during his campaign.

The call is contained in a statement issued on Friday by the President of the group, Chief Ikedi Ohakim.

The statement quoted Ohakim as demanding for the completion of ongoing developmental projects and establishment of new ones in the South East zone.

According to him, there is need to ensure the immediate take-off of the Aba Integrated Power Project to boost economic activities in the region.

He appealed to the incoming administration to review the 85 per cent of property belonging to Igbo but classified as abandoned property in Rivers 45 years ago.

He said “the Igbo wants the incoming administration to look into this matter as top priority.’’

The president of the group also urged Buhari to ensure the revitalisation of the proposed sea port in Osemoto in Imo.

He said “Osemoto and Oseakwa in Anambra have the deepest natural harbour in the country which will offer naval and marine transport platforms if developed.

“They will serve as strategic hub for oil and gas industry and inland dry docking to promote trade and create employment.

“Above all, it will open the igbo land to the sea.’’

Ohakim also called for the completion of the Otuocha-Mmiata-Kogi 150-kilometer road, as well as rehabilitation of all federal roads in the South East.

According to him, the road, when completed, will knock off three hours from every journey from the south east to Abuja.

He restated the need for the President-Elect to address issues of additional states in the South East, adding that “happily, it is one of the issues the President-Elect promised to look into during his interaction with Ndi Igbo in Onitsha.’’

He commended President Goodluck Jonathan for his patriotism in deepening democracy in the country, saying Nigerians would remember him for steadfastly upholding democratic ethics and allowing political space for every player.

“President Jonathan came to power when the nation was in a big quagmire.

“And it is to his credit that the country had a smooth transition following the sudden demise of his predecessor, late President Umaru Yar’ Adua.

“We salute him for his courage in conceding defeat and ask him to remain available for the country to tap from his experience.’’ (NAN)

Hehehe!!! Buhari’s Victory Changes Maheeda’s Way of Dressing

General Muhammadu Buhari hasn’t even been sworn in, but the wind of change has started blowing and Maheeda, the woman who enjoys going nude on social media has caught the fever… The goddess of X and Queen of online nudity shared a photo of herself wearing actual clothes… like all her body covered with clothes and not an ounce of nudity… and she wrote:

What do you have to say about this?

APC Members And Traditional Ruler Killed As Gunmen Invade Rivers

 

        

A traditional ruler and no fewer than seven members of the All Progressives Congress have been killed in Rivers State as some gunmen invade a section of the state on Friday.

Details Later

Source: PunchNg

The Phone Call That Save Nigeria – BBC

The editor of the BBC, Mansur Liman, explains how he broke the story of the historic phone call from Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan to admit election defeat – and how it almost didn’t happen.

I was at the election results centre in the capital, Abuja, and at around 17:00 (16:00GMT) the votes from all but three states had been declared.

Muhammadu Buhari, the candidate for the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), had the lead over incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.

During a break in the results, it became obvious to me that the lead was unassailable and I began wondering about what was going on in the APC camp. Were they celebrating or still anxiously waiting?

Going by previous Nigerian elections, when rigging and results fiddling has allegedly taken place, nothing could be taken for granted.

It turns out that so many calls were coming through that there was no time to answer them all – and Gen Buhari did not even know where his phone was.

I thought that there would still be some more bumps on the road, given the passion in the campaign and the fact that a governing People’s Democratic Party official had already tried to halt the count.

I have a lot of contacts within Gen Buhari’s circle and I know him personally so I decided to try and call someone who I knew would be with him to find out the mood.

After he missed my call, and I missed his response, I eventually got through.
‘Unimaginable’

I asked him what was going on, given that there was no way President Jonathan could win and I was surprised by the response.

He told me that Gen Buhari had just received a phone call from his rival, in which the president conceded and congratulated him.

I did not doubt that this was true as I trusted my source, but given what has happened before in Nigeria, this kind of concession was up to that point unimaginable.

I was pretty sure that I was the first journalist to get the story so as soon as I got off the phone I alerted the BBC’s election desk and tweeted the details.

There were, of course, people who were very concerned about what could happen if the result was contested.

And I have since discovered that members of the National Peace Committee, which is headed by former President Abdulsalami Abubakar, visited President Jonathan as the results were being announced.

I understand they were the ones who persuaded the president to do something to avoid any trouble, and shortly after the visit he made the call.
‘Pick up the phone’

But even making the call was not straight forward. I heard later that the president could not actually get through to Gen Buhari.

He rang all the numbers he had for people in his camp, but no-one answered.

It turns out that so many calls were coming through that there was no time to answer them all – and Gen Buhari did not even know where his phone was.

President Jonathan resorted to sending a messenger round to his rival’s house to tell him that the president wanted to speak to him. And that he should pick up the phone the next time he tried to call.

By making that call the president saved Nigeria a great deal of pain. If the PDP had insisted that they had won the election, and the APC had said the same, the country would have been in chaos.

Lives would have been lost and property would have been destroyed. That call showed that in Nigeria, people can put the country first.

I have heard from PDP supporters that the president took the decision to make the call without consulting anyone. They told me that if he had talked to some of his advisers, they would have objected.

Source: BBC

Aisha Buhari May Not Be Nigeria’s Next First Lady (See Reason)

Aisha Buhari might not be Nigeria’s next First Lady, at least not in the modern sense of the word.

The term “First Lady” is an unofficial title for a President’s wife but in Nigeria, it has received near-official status due to the fact that funding and staff have been allocated to First Ladies since independence.

However, the Nigerian Constitution does not in any way provide for the “office” of the First Lady.

This was the reason given by President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari when he said during an interview with Daily Trust in December 2014 that there would be no such office during his regime.

“The [office of] First Lady is not in the constitution, so there’s no official role for them,” Buhari said.

Mrs Buhari also expressed support for her husband’s position while speaking during the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Women Campaign Council in January.

“When my husband is elected as the president of this country, he will rule the country within the rule of law based on the constitution of the country,” she said.

“If the office of the first lady is constitutionally recognized, he will not tamper with it but if it is not, that’s okay. For me I will perform my duties and role as the wife of the President of Nigeria traditionally,” she added.

Muhammadu Buhari emerged winner of Nigeria’s Presidential elections on Tuesday, March 31.

He will be sworn in on Friday, May 29, 2015.

- See more at: http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2015/04/03/aisha-buhari-may-not-be-nigerias-next-first-lady-see-reason/#sthash.f2HeiwDz.dpuf