Imo Youths Advocate For Ohakim’s Re-Election In 2015

by amaechi kingsley
As the political Tempo heightens towards the 2015 General Elections, various support body(ies) and groups have continued to mobilize and re-affirm their solidarity behind candidates who they distinguish as one who merits creditability based on his outstanding, selfless and human friendly services rendered.
One of such group is the Imo youth for Ohakim 2015, who through a communiqué made available to Trumpeta Newspaper stated that Imo people recently have come in terms to realize that not every one is born to lead, adding that Dr Ikedi Ohakim is one whom God has given the wisdom for leadership to guide his people into the right path through governance.
The youth stated that during the four year of Dr Ikedi Ohakim as Governor of Imo state, the state was awarded as one of the cleanest states in the country which attracted so much positive gains to the state that propelled due process and the rule of law and order.
The communiqué further stated that former Governor Ikedi Ohakim maintained and encouraged a structure which indigenes and non-indigenes at Imo state higher Institutions against the present administration that has left the Universities and undergraduates begging.
The group reeled out few of the outstanding projects executed by Dr Ikedi Ohakim within his four years in office and advised other youths and Imolites to rally support for Dr Ikedi Ohakim emergence in 2015.

Rochas Camp In Disarray As Imo Governor Declares Intention For Presidency Again, Raises Buhari’s Hand At APC Convention

The indecision of Governor Rochas Okorocha to clearly state his position on which office to seek in 2015 is breeding untold anxiety and tension in his political family.
While office seekers especially serving governors have openly declared their intention and officially informed supporters on next line of action, Okorocha is still dilly-dallying by toying with the idea of running for the post of presidency and that the post of presidency and that of Governor at the same time under APC ticket.
Even as pundits and close watchers of political developments in the state are of the view that Okorocha wants to gamble with the presidency ticket to make a case for Vice-President, Government House source indicates that failure at the national level will automatically bring the governor home for a second missionary journey in 2015.
When signs appeared that Okorocha would pick APC ticket in Abuja after moving the entire state Exco and members of the APC facilitators/coordinators to the federal capital territory and other states to advance his presidential ambition, the governor returned on Monday to create another version of his 2015 aspiration by stating that he will not abandon the state for PDP “hawks” an indication that he may have lost out in the initial Vice Presidential ticket bargain. Though, Okorocha did not make categorical statement but his body language and innuendos built into his speech suggest that a second tenure is in the offing for the Ogboko Ideato South born politician.
Furthermore, the inability of any person from the governor’s camp especially his lieutenants to collect forms to run for the governorship under APC is another strong revelation that the party ticket strictly reserved for Okorocha if he fails at the national stage.
However at the recent swearing in of new commissioners and Transition Committee Chairmen of councils on Monday, Okorocha did not hesitate to inform his listeners of intention to consolidate his gains after first tenure in office, stating that he will use next election to retire PDP from Imo. Wide jubilation erupted in the camp of the governor when he signaled intention to remain in Imo for 2015 election.
Surprisingly, 48 hours after the Owerri speech where he rekindled interest in having another shot in Douglas House, the seat of power in Imo, Okorocha was one of the fire gladiators the national party chairman, Chief John Odiejie-oyegun requested to make a brief speech during the special mini convention held in Abuja.
Apart from the grand entry of House of Reps speaker, Aminu Tambuwal into APC, the other highlight was the 2-minute speech granted to presidential office seekers. With the exception of Abubakar Atiku, other aspirants spoke including Okorocha.
As Okorocha mounted the rostrum to address the convention, uneasy calm pervaded the Imo State arm of the pavilion when APC members from the state spoke in hushed tone wondering what could be amiss with the number one citizen of Imo.
Our reporter who monitored the Wednesday event in Abuja expressed worry over the pattern of the governor stating that amounts to gambling on the part of the governor to speak from both sides of his mouth on his 2015 election.
The renewed ambition of Okorocha to pick the presidential ticket of APC dominated discussion in the stand of the state at the convention.
Our correspondent at the home front noted that most of his followers expressed same feelings concerned the ambiguous nature of Okorocha to his next political destination.

The Beginning Of Trouble In Imo PDP Again

After Saturday, November 1, 2014, we shall all know the route the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Imo state is heading towards winning the elections in the state in the House of Assembly, Federal House, Senate and Gubernatorial Seats in 2015 elections.
Saturday is the long awaited day those going to vote in the primaries will emerge. It is the day delegates that will elect Aspirants that will emerge as candidates will be selected. That is, if it holds.
But as usual with PDP, even before the Delegate Congress is conducted the list of Delegates had emerged. Aspirants and their PDP Ward chairmen, LGA chairmen and other cohorts have produced lists of those they think will vote for them in the primaries not based on party hierarchy or democratic principles in the Wards. And these lists must be forced down the throat of other PDP members, to swallow hook line and sinker.
In producing these “Delegates” whose elections were held in private Hotel rooms in Owerri, fire has been ignited again in Imo PDP as the elections approach. Imo PDP also looks blind, deaf and dump to ominous problems each time what needed was wisdom.
From the developments emerging from various Wards in the State, PDP is approach the 2007 and 2011 Armageddon again that stretched the party to its elasticity. I am fore seeing a situation where the party will shoot itself on the foot again, and in the end begins to ask what happened, even as it is so clear that the Leopard can never change its colour.
You do not repeat same action and expect to have different results. Political selfishness has set in again in Imo PDP, whose result will be an inferno that will consume all.
If the Big Shots and those running Imo PDP can have a reflection as per what the party and its members have passed through these three years, the story emanating from the issue of Delegate election would have been different. But Imo PDP takes its members for granted, only regarding those they see as the Leaders of the party, forgetting that democracy is all about number. In Democracy while the minority have their say, the majority have their way.
Tomorrow’s “election” of Delegates, which would be conducted on the open field is nothing but a formality, a sham, because those who will emerge had already penciled down months ago.
Unfortunately for Imo PDP, in pursuance of selfish interests by each Aspirant who controls a given part of Imo state, the party is being decimated beyond redemption, because there may not be that time to heal wounds, as the election prober approaches.
Presently, as each Godfather writes his or her own list for onward movement to Abuja for final approval, disgruntled members, the real owners of the party, the masses, the electorate who stand on the sun an rain during election days, who do not have God fathers, but contributes immensely to the party’s success in their communities are watching with keen interest.
For instance, how proper can it be that a strong PDP member, who funds the party in his Ward, lives up to expectation within the PDP responsibility, merits to be a Delegate, is left out because one Big man does not like his face? What encouragement does such people have to continue to spend their personal funds on the party? What enthusiasm can such people have to continue to work for the party, only to be humiliated and left out when it comes the time for him or her to enjoy a little benefit from the party?
Why does PDP behave like a Crocodile who eats its Babies when it is hungry, only to begin to frantically look for them after it had eaten full on them?
Let me say it that morning tells the day. The way Imo PDP is going shows that the party has not learnt any lessons from its past mistakes. The party deludes itself all the time that ad-hoc approaches to issues are the only way to solve problems. The party tried it in 2007 and failed. It tried it again in 2011 and did not fare better, yet it lumbers on its misfortunes as if it can go away with a wave of the hand.
Now let us go to the basics. Does Imo PDP realize that since Chief Achike Udenwa ruled Imo State for eight years from 1999 to 2007 the party has never won any other Governorship election in Imo state?
Because of how things are in Imo, many PDP members do not realize this serious matter. They wallow is fools paradise believing that all is well.
It is very unfortunate that despite the tough terrain under which PDP trails in Imo, the party is yet to have a self-discovery.
In 2007, Chief Ikedi Ohakim won the Governorship seat of Imo state. Was he a PDP person when he won that seat? No. Though he was a PDP man and frustrated out. He joined the Peoples Progressive Alliance PPA under which platform he won the Governorship in 2007.
Therefore, when you go to the archives of Imo state, the record there is that Ikedi Ohakim was of PPA.
We are aware how Ikedi Ohakim became the Governor of Imo state, therefore, I need not bother you about that. But I won’t fail to mention that the man behaved like a gentle man and returned to PDP with his mandate and thereby gave Imo PDP members the opportunity to restitute themselves and enjoy the leverage of a political party in power in Imo state.
In 2011, the demon entered PDP family again and the party threw away the bath water with the Baby, by working against one of their own and again, the 2007 debacle repeated itself as PDP lost the Douglas House Owerri.
Like in 2007, another PDP “Son” frustrate out by the “Father” joined another train and arrived Douglas House to the detriment of PDP.
Because of political subterfuge, conspiracy, jealousy and greed, Owelle Rochas Okorocha under the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance APGA was able to shove PDP aside and till date occupies Douglas House. So, technically speaking, the PDP has not won the Imo Governorship election since 2007. True of False?
Very sorry to say it, PDP may lose again next year. It seems the party is satisfied using other platforms to win the Governorship seat than the PDP itself.
But the unfortunate thing now is that while it was the PDP machinery that produced Ohakim under PPA following some agreements then, it was the same PDP that produced Okorocha under APGA but by anti party by its members and conspiracy and therefore no stated agreement with Okorocha.
This is the reason since Okorocha assumed office he has embarked on destroying the PDP. He started by poaching some PDP Lawmakers, including the present Speaker Rt Hon Benji Uwajumogu.
It is only a fool who will delude himself that Imo PDP fortune’s has not decline since 2011 following the firm grip Okorocha has on the state, operating without let and control. He has been able to demystify the PDP if not occasional whimpers from the party.
Under this scenario, Imo PDP needs not be told that its house deserves to put in order, except the party, as usual, wants its candidates in the coming elections to operate on their own devoid of party support.
What do I mean? In 2011, the PDP literally abandoned their candidates to use what they have to get what the want. That was why the party lost the Governorship election including some Senatorial and Federal House Seats, not to talk of House of Assembly slots. And that was the first time the PDP was hit so hard in electoral defeats in the state.
In 2007, despite losing the Governorship seat to PPA, the PDP garnered every other position from the State Assembly to the Senate. Therefore, in 2015, how prepared is the PDP to reclaim its lost grounds? Can the party make hay when its house is on fire?
The Delegate list will tear the party apart if not handled with wisdom. Can the PDP be able to manage the troubles that will be generated from the Delegate Congress Crises, coupled with the fact that the tenure of the Executives in the state, LGAs and Wards will expire this month?
If the party is able to manage the situations as they unfold, then there is the hope that the party will post a good result in the elections. But should the party continue its usual way of seeing its perceived leaders as bigger than the party itself, Imo PDP will live to continue to fumble in the Governorship elections.
The matter is even dicey now because there is a formidable opposition. Whoever sees Okorocha as a pushover among the folks, is doing that at a very high risk.
Even if the PDP is able to push Okorocha out in 2014 it will be a concerted effort, as he is not only the incumbent, but bent on proving a point.
In other words, Imo PDP cannot face Okorocha with a limping leg because the battle will be only for able bodied people. With a crack on the wall, Imo PDP will have only itself to blame.
Let me state it here that the grassroots of the party had waited patiently all these years to see how PDP will fair in 2015 election. They are waiting to see if Imo PDP can do things in the prober way by giving respect to the Mighty and encourage the low. Despite Okorocha’s enticing carrots at the grassroots, Imo PDP members are still patiently waiting giving their Leaders the last chance in 2015. Anything to the contrary may spell doom for the party.
Many things have been working in favour of the party, especially Okorocha’s antagonistic style to governance, which led him to number his enemies and count his friends.
Had Okorocha been a liberal Leader who has a open heart like Achike Udenwa and Ikedi Ohakim to accommodate political opponents, Imo PDP by now would have been picking the pieces.
This Delegate election is a litmus test that will make or mar the party. Sure, there are those who have been funding the party, and therefore seen as the “owners” of Imo PDP. But politics without the masses is failure.
The earlier these leaders realize that even though all are not created same, and therefore can never have the same perspective on issues, the better for these Leaders and PDP. In a democracy all people can never think alike. That is the reason for choice which Democracy professes. There must be internal democracy within Imo PDP. There must be political space for all to thrive to the success and development of the party Trampling on others will cause resistance and trouble. Any implosion within the PDP will enhance the chances of Okorocha and whoever is the APGA candidate.
The earlier Imo PDP realizes that it has not won Imo Governorship since after Achike Udenwa the better for her. There may not be enough time to reconcile aggrieved people, and there is no need waking a sleeping Dog when it already sleeping. If the thunder strikes a third time in Imo PDP in 2015, the party will have itself to blame as the repair will be costly.
Okorocha is the sole candidate of the APC and there will not be post-primary squabbles in the party. In APGA, it is either Chief Emma Iheanacho or Okey Eze. Just two camps.
In Imo PDP, there are about twenty six camps or more of various Governorship Aspirants. They party may as usual say whoever does not want to fall in line should go to hell. It has done it twice now, and twice it paid dearly for it. If PDP is satisfied with “surrogate” candidates from other parties we shall see this time.
But if I were Imo PDP Leaders, they must try and read the pulse of the Imo masses accurately. A party that lost Governorship seat twice in a state is in trouble. It has escaped twice after its usual follies. This time around it may be a costly mistake that may take time to be corrected. Let Imo PDP not take her teeming supporters for granted in 2015. It is very dangerous.

Photos: Rihanna stuns for Elle magazine

Rihanna is the cover girl for the the November/December issue of Elle magazine and some pics taken for the mag were released today on Elle's blog. Rihanna was surprisingly demure and wore minimal make-up for the issue, where she revealed a lot of things about herself that we probably didn't know. See more photos and some of the stuff she said after the cut...

ELLE: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

RIHANNA: That’s still a secret.

What do people misunderstand about you?

I’m shy.

What’s the sexiest thing a man has ever said to you?

Any man that tells me what to do is sexy!

What’s your mantra?

“Fuck bitches, get money!

Your worst fear?

Childbirth!

Do you ever sound like your mother?

My mother doesn’t say much, but that one “ummmm” is a full paragraph of things I was grateful she didn’t say. I catch myself doing that a lot recently.

If you weren’t a singer, what would you be?

A wife.

The last time you were starstruck?

When I met Aaron Paul at the Spike awards.

The best hangover cure?

Ice, Chinese food! And an upside-down trash can and towels, preferably next to the toilet.

If you had to listen to three albums on repeat, what would they be?

KoL’s Only By the Night, Buju Banton’s ’Til Shiloh, and Michael Bolton’s Greatest Hits (1985–1995). And the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack.

Source: Elle magazine

Boko Haram attacks: Atiku holds press conference, says situation is grave

Former VP Atiku Abubakar who is from Adamawa state, one of the worst hit by Boko Haram, held a press conference today November 3rd at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja where he addressed the attacks of the sect members on Mubi and other towns in northern Nigeria. Atiku described the current situation as grave and appealed to the international community to come to Nigeria's aid. Full text of his speech after the cut...

Gentlemen of the Press:

It is with deep regret that I came to learn that Mubi, which is one the largest towns in Adamawa State of northeast Nigeria, has been taken by the terrorist group commonly known as Boko Haram.  As you may know, in recent weeks and months, Mubi has been a town to which displaced persons from further north have fled for safety after their communities fell to Boko Haram.  As I speak, the inhabitants of Mubi, together with those who went there for safety, find themselves at the mercy of this terrorist group.

I am Nigerian.  I believe in the integrity of Nigeria as a whole, and every part of this country matters to me.  But I was born and bred in the northeast.  So, please, excuse me if I should say a few words about the part of the country where I am from, about what the people from the northeast of Nigeria have had to suffer for far, far too long.

Things should never have got to this stage.  Thousands of Nigerians have had to flee their homes.  Their houses and farms have been destroyed.  They do not know where to go or how to restart their lives.  That is the degree to which we have come in this country. I say this with reluctance and with shame.  The situation in which we find ourselves today is grave.  Much of Borno, and the north of Adamawa and Yobe states is already at the mercy of the terrorists.  It started a few months ago with Bama, which is nearly 400 kilometres from Yola, capital of Adamawa State.

The next major town to be taken by terrorists was Gwoza, where a terrorist caliphate flag has long been hoisted.  Smaller towns near Gwoza such as Pulka and Limankra are equally not free.  Next was Madagali.  The town is still being occupied.  Then fell Gulak.  Next was Michika, then Bazza.  Next was the twin town of Uba which is half Adamawa and half Bornu.  Its neighboring town of Lassa was also overrun.  Uba was the latest town captured before the terrorists trampled on Mubi.  People from these troubled areas are now pouring into Yola for safety.

As somebody who hails from Adamawa State, you can appreciate why I feel such emotion at the fate of my people.    For whatever reason, our defence forces are unable to cope and unable to defend. My sympathies go out to the soldiers who find themselves in a situation not of their making.  This is a crisis of leadership.

We were told that the budget for security was going to be enlarged so that the security agencies and military would be in a better position to tackle the insurgency.  How is it possible that a great nation like Nigeria should find itself in a situation where a handful of terrorists is able to invade a town as large as Mubi with a population of about 300,000? How were the insurgents able to so easily take a town of this size, and the people find themselves defenseless and undefended?  How is it that the people have been made to suffer as they have?

I have previously spoken about the deteriorating security situation in this country on a number of occasions. On those occasions I deliberately restrained myself from speaking in a manner that might be construed as distracting the government and the security forces as they grappled with the dire security situation.  But the scale of injustice the people of Nigeria are suffering has reached a stage where I am obliged to amplify my concerns.

Many of our citizens, unable to come to terms with why a so-called “Africa’s best army” has been unable to confront this horrendous situation, are increasingly assuming that this whole thing is about electoral politics.  They suspect that the seeming inability of the government to end the crisis is a ploy to weaken some parts of the country ahead of the 2015 elections. Can we, in all honesty, blame them for having those suspicions?

I call upon the international community to help us.  I am making a special appeal to countries with sufficient knowhow and experience in tackling terrorism to increase their assistance to us.

The relief agencies that are already working here should please double their efforts. And all people of goodwill should help in any way they can and to do more than they have been doing to alleviate the pain and suffering that we Nigerians face through this insurgency.  At a time when we are constantly bombarded with horror stories of ugly events elsewhere in the world – here in West Africa, we are faced with the Ebola epidemic and other trouble spots – I draw your attention to a humanitarian crisis which is also a matter of international security.

This Boko Haram insurgency has been with us now for several years but has, in these last few days, taken a step further towards being a disaster of unimaginable proportions. Hundreds of thousands of people are at risk.  Nigeria needs the world’s support. The world must not abandon Nigerians in our time of need.

Thank you

.

Agbani Darego stuns on the runway for Lanre Da Silva

Agbani looked regal as she modeled a classic Lanre Da Silva dress at the Lagos Fashion and Design Week last night!

Boko Haram Attacks Adamawa Today | Scores of Christians Feared Dead

02.11.2014 at 5:03 pm By BellaNaija.com Leave a Comment

Boko Haram militants today invaded the predominantly Christian region of Sabon Gari, which is located on the border of Adamawa State and Borno.

Scores are feared dead after the terrorists slaughtered Christians who were on their way to church, according to Sahara Reporters.

This attack comes barely three days after the insurgents attacked Mubi in Adamawa.