Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State was at the presidential villa, recently to congratulate President Goodluck Jonathan on his victory at the just-concluded presidential polls. He took time to review recent political happenings in the country and shared his thought on the Tuesday’s governorship polls and his vision for Imo in this interview with State House Correspondents in Abuja.

What was the magic behind the unanimous support for President Jonathan by Igbo during last Saturday’s presidential election?
Thank you very much, but before I answer your question, let me take this opportunity to commiserate with families of those who lost their lives following reactions that trailed the presidential election.
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/%E2%80%98buhari-can-still-be-president-in-2015%E2%80%99-%E2%80%A2-current-political-trend-favours-me-to-win-tuesday%E2%80%99s-election/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4db301d4e559433f%2C0

“Let me tell you the truth by the spirit of God, neither (President Olusegun Obasanjo), OBJ, Atiku (Abubakar), IBB and this tall one, (Muhammadu) Buhari are part of the new. They are part of the old that is decaying. That old one is passing away. The new is emerging and these ones are not part of that new.”   Pastor Tunde Bakare

Pastor Tunde Bakare, the Serving Overseer of The Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos and the Vice Presidential Candidate to Retired General Muhamadu Buhari, on the platform of the CPC in 2011 Elections, in the PUNCH of October 2, 2006.

“..Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatory. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”
1 Samuel 15:22-23
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/pastor-tunde-bakare%E2%80%99s-disobedience-to-god/

TODAY is Good Friday, which marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross more than 2,000 years ago. On Sunday, Christians will celebrate Easter, the festival of the resurrection of Jesus Christ after a cruel death.

Easter and its message cannot change. Easter is about the sacrifice, the selflessness of Jesus Christ, and a call to all who profess the faith to follow these virtues in their dealings with others.

God chose to redeem the world through the death of His son. He died a humiliating death that atoned for the sins of the world. Without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, there would have been no Christian faith, yet Easter is marked with more sobriety than Christmas, fiesta of the birth of Christ.

Great lessons abound for all at Easter and they are useful to our country that is boiling over elections. Christ’s personal examples in all aspects of life are lost to those who want things for themselves. Selfishness makes people unreasonable. It destroys them.

Christ’s humility, with all the powers available to him, should challenge those who abuse their little powers.
There are great leadership lessons from Easter. In the blind bid for power, our leaders, even those who claim to be Christians, ignore the tenets of Christianity.http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/who-will-die-for-nigerians/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4db155339a6db2f4%2C0

Th e f i s s u r e s i n t h e C o n g re s s f o r Progressive Change deepened yesterday when the Court of Appeal in Abuja reversed the judgment of a Federal High Court and ruled that Lawal Jafar Isa, and not Mohammed Abacha, was the party’s governorship candidate for Kano State.The court also declared that Aminu Bello Masari, the former House of Representatives speaker, was the party’s governorship candidate in Katsina State, and not Yakubu Garba Lado whose name was submitted to the Independent National E l e c t o r a l C o m m i s s i o n (INEC).
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/court-rejects-mohammed-abacha-as-kano-governorship-candidate/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4db05f9c76a417ee%2C0

AHEAD of the April 26 governorship polls, the Lagos State Chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has alerted on rumours being peddled by those it called “political opportunists” against the state government for the purpose of diverting the votes of Lagosians for selfish purposes.

The party stated that the intent of the spurious allegations was to create discord between Lagos voters and Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN).

A statement signed on Tuesday by the State ACN Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, indicated that desperate political profiteers have been going all over Lagos, spreading reckless and unsubstantiated rumours so as to confuse Lagosians and cart away their votes for the purpose of wrecking the state. The party urged Lagosians to beware of such people and parties, insisting that they never wish Lagos anything good but were after their pockets.

“In recent times, we have been inundated with enquiries over rumours that some selfish politicians, who have nothing better to promise Lagosians are going round to spread wild and reckless rumours that are aimed at pitting the good people of Lagos against the performing ACN government in Lagos.http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/acn-alleges-plot-to-discredit-fashola/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4db0216f48b9a644%2C0

Mr. Akinsola Jimoh, elder brother of business mogul and self-acclaimed billionaire, Jimoh Ibrahim, yesterday declared for the ruling Labour Party in Ondo State.

Commenting on the recent diatribe of his brother Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim against Governor Mimiko at the Akure airport, Mr Akinsola Jimoh tendered an unreserved apology to the governor on behalf of the family, noting that it is not the culture of the family to behave in such manner as they were brought up in a disciplined and moral way and taught to respect elders

A former member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and senatorial candidate of National Transformation Party, NTP, for Ondo South Senatorial District, the elder Jimoh said he is moving to the LP with his supporters..

Speaking at a briefing in Akure yesterday, Mr Akinsola Jimoh, said he decided to dump the PDP earlier on in his political career because it was a political wilderness characterized by breakdown of trust.
He added that his experience in the NTP showed that the place to be is among the forces now moving Ondo State forward, which is the LP.http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/brother-faults-jimoh-ibrahim%E2%80%99s-action%E2%80%A6joins-lp/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4db0207a18caeabd%2C0

ABUJA—THE Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, presidential candidate, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, is to challenge results of the presidential elections in the tribunal on the basis of alleged suppression of his votes and inflation of those of the declared winner, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.Declaring his decision to challenge the results and reclaim what he claimed yesterday as his mandate, Buhari equally appealed to aggrieved supporters not to join the ranks of those he described as miscreants engaged in rioting and burning of worship places. He said that the burning down of places of worship was itself worse than rigging even as he called on aggrieved supporters not to burn their voters’ cards.

The resort to the court is based on what the Buhari campaign claimed, yesterday, as the preposterous return in some States where the vote cast was more than the registered number of voters. The Buhari campaign equally claimed that its votes were systematically suppressed by the computer programme of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/buhari-goes-to-court/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4db011b58cba9a79%2C0

… Calls for interim government

LAGOS — FRESH Democratic Party presidential candidate in last Saturday’s elections, Rev. Chris Okotie, yesterday rejected the result of the presidential election announced during the week by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, alleging that the process was manipulated in a subtle, scientific manner to create an ambience of credibility.
Rev. Okotie, who was said by INEC to have polled a total of 34,331 votes nationwide as against President Goodluck Jonathan’s over 22 million votes, also called for the cancellation of the entire process and the institution of an interim national government to pilot the affairs of the nation until a more credible election is held to elect more committed individuals to lead the nation to the promised land.http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/okotie-rejects-presidential-poll-result/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4db0011a9001a111%2C0

London -Fifty-two Nigerians will be deported, today, by the UK government, a Nigerian official at the High Commission in London has said.

Mr Mohammed Isa, the Head of the Immigration Section in the Nigerian High Commission in the UK, speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, said that the would-be deportees would arrive at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in a chartered flight.

He said that they included those who had either completed their prison terms, failed-asylum seekers or those who overstayed their authorised permit.

Mohammed further also said that those to be deported would be accompanied by British law enforcement agents and two Nigerian officials.http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/uk-govt-deports-52-nigerians-today/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4daf0063b36292ea%2C0

Gospel singer, Atorise’s claim that he did not have a child out of wedlock is a lie. Two weeks ago, E24-7 reported that the gospel singer put a young lady, Bola Ogunleye, a National Diploma student of Lagos Polytechnic in a family way and delivered of a baby girl about two months ago. The baby christened, Jomiloju at Bola’s parents’ home in Ikotun, Lagos and attended by the gospel singer has been moved by her mum to a big sister’s residence in Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos.

Since the news broke in the media, Atorise has been hopping from one media house to another to deny the story and the existence of a new baby in his life claiming he was only married to his wife, Kudi.

His denials in the interview have upset the mother of the love child, who called him and asked why he made such false claims. She said he denied granting any journalist an interview. “I asked him and he swore to me that he didn’t grant any interview to journalist or magazine and nobody call him for any kind of interview, he also added that it was part of the scandals the press usually put him in. I then asked him if he could sue the medium involved and he said how many of them he would sue.”

The flustered lady later with E24-7 Magazine’s editor: “I trust your magazine, so I want you to interview him and ask maybe it’s true that he denied the baby.”

Asked what could make him to deny the baby’s paternity, Bola, said: “Maybe he’s afraid of his wife but what about me? I don’t even know what to do. He hasn’t gotten me a good accommodation since the baby came, I always squat with people, anytime I ask him for support he’ll tell me he doesn’t have money that he has a lot of things that has tied his money down. That is why I believe the N100 million house he said he’s building.
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/entertainment/face-of-a-liarmother-of-atorise%E2%80%99s-love-child-cries-out/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4daec23bd5b4b3bf%2C0

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega had a heavy security protection at the INEC National Collation Centre, yesterday. Security around the centre was also reinforced.

The tight security around the INEC boss came in the wake of reported orgy of violence in some northern states. In a manner that cast doubts in the minds as to the possibility of continuing the announcement of the results, securitymen from the airforce, brigade of guards and SSS stormed the venue.

The airforce team led by an Air Commodore and the Brigade Comander, Brigadier-General Atewe came around 2:00pm ostensible to observe the security arrangement in place.
Later, men of the SSS suspected to have come from the presidential villa and led by a director showed up and went into one of the rooms at the collation centre, before they took their leave. It was gathered that the SSS men were around to assure the INEC boss of his safety against the background of reports of tension in Abuja.
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/security-beefed-up-around-jega/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4dadda225eea4e5c%2C0

Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday refused to sign the results of the 2011 Presidential election.

Many of the candidates’ agents had left before the final collation of the results and announcement, but agents of CPC and ACN who were around declined to sign the results.
When they were called upon to come forward for signing, they declined. They, however, obtained a copy each.

Only the PDP agents, Philip Aduda, a senator-elect and Uche Secondus, national organizing secretary of the PDP were on hand to append their signatures and received a copy of the results from the INEC chairman.
General India Garba and Hadi Sirika, agents of the CPC who were available at the collation centre said they disagreed with the results and would not sign. The INEC Chairman said they were free to disagree but still gave them a copy of the result.
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/cpc-acn-others-refuse-to-sign-result/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4dadcf071e1eeeee%2C0

It was an alliance that attracted the attention of all in the political circle. Both those in government and the opposition showed keen interest. Could the failed alliance between trhe Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) have saved the day for General Muhammadu Buhari?
Many legs quaked in utter shock when the results trickled in, just a few minutes after the voting exercise. The long-nursed hope of many a Nigerian, who had thought that the dead-end had come for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crumbled pitiably. Yes, to most Nigerians the PDP had remained the major stumbling block to sane governance.
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/could-acncpc-pact-have-saved-buhari/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4dadba49282ba3a6%2C0

ABUJA – A coalition of election observers in Nigeria under the auspices of Project 2011 Swift Count, Tuesday, urged the Congress for Progressive Change’ Presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) and other candidates in the presidential poll to accept the results as declared by INEC in good faith.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was declared winner of the poll with over 22 million of the total votes cast, but Gen. Buhari has since discredited the exercise, insisting his party was rigged out in several states.

The Project 2011 Swift Count through its 1st Vice-President, Mr. Dafe Akpedeye, at a press briefing, in Abuja, described the conduct of the exercise as transparent, credible and confidence-inducing.
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/observers-ask-buhari-others-to-accept-results/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4dadb92226078640%2C0

Not your falt, u gain from your fur fathers like Abiola, Sunny Ade, Barister ...

Below is a table of the latest
available results from states around Nigeria from Saturday’s
presidential elections.

The figures show the number of votes won by the main
candidates in each state. There are 36 states plus Abuja, the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Results are still awaited from some regions and for some
candidates. The Independent National Electoral Commission has
yet to collate national figures.

STATES                      Goodluck Jonathan        Muhammad Buhari    Ribadu

1.ANAMBRA                       1,145,169                          4,223

2. BENUE                             694,776                     109, 680                 223, 007

3. ENUGU                            882,144                     3753                          1,755

4. PLATEAU STATE           1,029,809                   356, 551                      10, 181

5. BAYELSA                        504,811                         691                            370

6. AKWA IBOM                 1,165,629                        148                              54

7. JIGAWA                         419, 252                         663, 994

8. BAUCHI                          258,000                        1, 300,000

9. SOKOTO                       309, 057                        540, 769                  20,144

10. GOMBE                            290,347                        459, 898                3,420

11. FCT                                 253,444                         131,576

12. KOGI                             399,816                          132,201                   6,516

13. ONDO                            387, 376                        11,890                     74,253

14. ABIA                             1,175,954                          3,608                       4,156

15. OGUN                            309,177                       17,000           199,000

16.OSUN                           188,409                               6,997                 299, 711

17. OYO                         484, 758                              92, 396               252, 240

18. KWARA                     268,243                                83,603                  52, 432

19. KANO                        440, 666                             1,624, 354            42, 353

20. EDO                          542, 173                               17,795

21 . LAGOS                    1, 281, 688                            189, 983             427, 000

22. RIVERS                    1, 817, 762                              13,182             16, 332

23. EBONYI  STATE       480,592                                    1,025
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/nigeria-2011-presidential-result-live-updates/

Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, who lost the National Assembly election penultimate Saturday, failed to exercise her franchise yesterday as she was absent during the presidential poll.

Obasanjo-Bello, representing Ogun Central Senatorial District, was not sighted during the accreditation of voters and voting process at her Ward 11, Polling Unit 15, African Church Grammar School , Ita-Iyalode, Abeokuta, where she voted during the parliamentary elections.

It was unclear why the senator, who lost to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) senatorial candidate, Gbenga Obadara, was absent at her ward.

Monitoring conducted at various polling centres in Abeokuta showed that many prospective voters stayed in-doors while there was heavy presence of soldiers and policemen at strategic locations.

But fielding questions shortly after casting his vote at Ward 11, Unit 14, Ita-Iyalode, Abeokuta , Obasanjo said based on his experience, a presidential election could only attract large turnout when people close to candidates contesting elections are excited.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who arrived the polling centre at 12.35 p.m. in company of his wife, Bola, however expressed optimism that Saturday’s presidential election would end “ethnic politics” in the country.

Obasanjo said notwithstanding the apparent low turnout, the election was generally peaceful and orderly, urging Nigerians to continue to embrace peace during and after the polls.

He said, “I believe to all of us in Nigeria today is a day of victory. Because once we have an election to elect a new President, and we go about it in a peaceful way and at the end of it, a candidate emerges, elected, it is victory for all Nigerians. And, of course, the party that its candidate wins, it is double victory for such a party.
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/iyabo-obasanjo-shuns-presidential-poll/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4dab2c503dbd17a1%2C0

Innocent Ujah Idibia has never been in a better shape. The best-selling singer-songwriter who has gone through more fame-shame-fame transition than any act in his generation can now take a bow and step forward to be decorated as a bona fide maestro and icon of pop music.
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/entertainment/%E2%80%98i%E2%80%99ve-stopped-making-babies%E2%80%99-%E2%80%93-2face-idibia/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4da893a900c55b1e%2C0

Nigeria ex-governor extradited to UK over allegations of stealing $292 million in state funds

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s antigraft body says a powerful politician has been extradited to London on allegations of funneling stolen state funds to British banks.

A spokesman for Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said Friday that James Ibori, former governor of Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta state, was taken from Dubai Thursday.

Femi Babafemi said it was “a warning signal to others” after Ibori escaped arrest in Nigeria by fleeing to Dubai.
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/headlines/nigeria-ex-governor-extradited-to-uk-from-dubai/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4da8764587a899ac%2C0

Apart from a perplexing dip in rating, indigenous hip hop act, Lord of Ajasa whose real name is Olusegun Osaniyi, is now confronted with another major problem that threatens to leave his career in the doldrums. The Akure, Ondo State native has reportedly been banned from entering the United Kingdom for the next 10 years! E-Punch sources say the artiste was banned when the British High Commission discovered that he presented fake travel documents when he first applied for a visa some time back but was denied.

A source close to the singer told E-Punch that a London-based music promoter had invited him over for a series of shows. They agreed terms and the unnamed promoter sent some documents which the singer was to present at the embassy. Sadly, he did not know the papers were fake. “When they denied him visa, he did not bother to appeal. He just took it philosophically that the trip was not meant to be. However, when he went back recently to apply for another visa, the embassy officials now brought out his file that he presented fake documents the first time. He was really very furious because he was innocent. It was the person in London that should be banned, not Ajasa.”
http://indepthafrica.com/nigeria/entertainment/lord-of-ajasa-banned-from-uk-for-10-years/?sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4da8288b0e52940c%2C0