Presidency replies Tambuwal’s corruption accusations

Abuja - Presidency hit back at the Speaker House of Representatives Honorable Aminu Tambuwal for his accusations on President Goodluck Jonathan concerning
corruption in the country.

Reacting to the accusation level on the President on Monday by the Speaker,Reuben Abati, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said Jonathan said he cannot fight corruption on the basis of “mere speculation.”
“Tambuwal should focus more on the efforts of the administration in fighting corruption, and comment on what he knows. The administration is not going to
fight corruption on the basis of mere speculation, or the bad politics being played by some people,” said Abati.

He said it was unfortunate that a man that is occupying such a high office is “talking about body language.”
“I think it is unfortunate that a man that is occupying such a high office is talking about body language. He is certainly in a
position to know the truth and defend both his party and the government.”
Abati urged the Speaker to make effort to know that government is investigating various matters and working on them in accordance with due process.
“He should make the effort to know that government is investigating various
matters and working on them in
accordance with due process.”
He said President Jonathan will not
condone any act of proven corruption.
– CAJ News

Jonathan urges politicians to emulate Mandela's virtues

Abuja - President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday urged politicians to emulate the
Late Dr Nelson Mandela’s politics of humility, peace and reconciliation as against that of bitterness and character assassination.

Jonathan made this call at a Memorial Service in Honour of Mandela, former President of South Africa, held at the Aso
Rock Chapel, Abuja.
He said Mandela was filled with humility, spirit of forgiveness and the ability to unite people.

"This is in contrast with the utterances of Nigerian politicians who speak as if Nigeria is their bedroom from where they
make unguarded utterances and
intimidate others", he said.
He stressed that politicians had been threatening, boasting and attempting to play little gods by virtue of their
positions. "They are no more than tiny men."
According to him, with such attitude, itvwill be easier for the camel to passbthrough the eye of a needle than for a politician to achieve greatness.
The President decried the attitude of such politicians bent on over heating the polity.
He harped on the need for all politicians to always exhibit the virtues of leadership
that Mandela worked for and exhibited.
Jonathan said government declared three days mourning for Mandela because Nigeria played key role in South African
anti-apartheid liberation struggle and to remind everyone of their links with fellow Africans
He, therefore, called on all Nigerians to pray for the repose of the soul of Mandela.

Senate President David Mark enjoinedbAfricans to fight for economic independence and democracy.
He said Mandela lived and died for Africa.
He added that with Mandela’s popularity,vhe would have achieved a united Africa.
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, stressed the need to remember those who fought with Mandela.
He urged African leaders to continue to fight social and institutional injusticesbacross the continent as a way of paying tribute to Mandela.

The South African Ambassador to Nigeria, Chris Mamazulu, narrated the history of Mandela during and after the anti-vapartheid liberation struggle in South Africa.

He thanked the people and government of Nigeria for their support to his country during the apartheid era.
Mamazulu expressed delight over the ongoing economic partnership between South African businessmen and their Nigerian counterparts.

In his sermon, the preacher, Bishop David Ibiyomi, who spoke on "Attitude of Gratitude", said "100 percent of whatever happens to us is our attitude."
- NAN

APC accuses Jonathan of punishing its governors

Ilorin - The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Presidency of starving APC states of funds, according to Nation .
The Interim National Publicity Secretary of APC, Lai Mohammed, told journalists on Monday in Ilorin, that N2 billion was secretly given to the 16 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) states .
He said that that this was done to deny APC states necessary funds for development.
Mohammed said that the APC have
documents to prove their allegation, adding that the move is an indication of confusion and panic in the PDP.

2015 : INEC Promises Improved Voters Register

Yesterday, Professor Attahiru Jega,
Chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission,
defended the electoral register usedbat the recently concluded,
controversial Anambra State
governorship election. His
explanations follow public outcry by opposition politics who described the Register as lacking in integrity and demanded to cancel the election.

He spoke at the Fourth quarterly
meeting with registered political parties in Abuja.

While acknowledging that the Registerbstill has flaws, Prof.Jega said people of Anambra state refused to make use of the opportunity offered to them by INEC to make the register work.

First-hand

"As we are all aware, complaints were made about the Register of Voters in the aftermath of the Anambra Governorship
election, with at least one political party/ candidate alleging that the Register is lacking in integrity and calling for the cancellation of the election essentially on
account of this," INEC Chairman said.
"Let me use this opportunity to
categorically affirm that while our
Register of Voters is not perfect, it has requisite integrity and it compares favourably with any Register of Voters on
our continent.

"It is certainly not as bad as some are strenuously trying to make it appear.
Nonetheless, we have to keep on
improving upon it and we have planned to keep doing so through the continuous
voter registration processes. Our CVR programme provides opportunity for registering all those who have become 18 years old since the last registration
exercise; and it also provides an
opportunity for all those with missing essential biometric details on the electronic register to be recaptured.
"INEC offered these opportunities to the people in Anambra state last August, before the governorship election.
Regrettably, many did not utilize it.
"As we move towards 2015, all
stakeholders have a joint obligation to
ensure that the CVR is utilized maximally to update and improve upon our Register
of Voters."

"Mutual trust"

The Chairman told the politicians the quarterly meeting with them through the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has been affording the Commission vital
ideas towards strengthening mutual trust ahead of the 2015 elections.
In his own remarks at the occasion, the IPAC chairman, Yunusa Tanko said political parties were alarmed over the magnitude of complaints from discrepancies in the Anambra state governorship election as regards the voters register and public enlightenment
in the recent poll.
Tanko observed that registered political parties in the country are ready to work and abide by the relevant laws in the conduct of their activities and expressed
hope that INEC would also stick to its electoral rules guiding its affairs.
Nevertheless, all political parties at the meeting applauded INEC over the permanent voters register and it's handling of the Anambra state
governorship election, except the All Progressive Congress (APC), which described the governorship election as a 'travesty of justice.'

All registered political parties attended the meeting with INEC but for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

LIVE UPDATES: Nelson Mandela Memorial

The memorial service for former
president Nelson Mandela is under way at the FNB Stadium in Soweto.
Nearly 100 heads of state and tens of thousands of people have packed into the stadium for the four-hour service to pay tribute to the late statesman.

For updates on the build-up to the
event, click here .

Sokoto Deputy Gov. declines to join APC

Sokoto - The Sokoto State Deputy Gov., Alhaji Mukhtari Shagari, has said that he remains a loyal member of the PDP in spite of the defection of Gov. Aliyu
Wamakko to APC.
Shagari said this in Sokoto on Monday while addressing the media.
Shagari said that he had been a loyal and supportive member of the PDP since 1998 and would remain so.
According to him, “I am not aware of anyvmove by Gov. Aliyu Wamakko and other
members of the PDP to defect to the APC until today.”
“I was never consulted by anybody and it was only today that I knew about the
move.”
“I have also been loyal to my governor and the party since we were elected in
2007 till date.”
He said that he owed the responsibility and respect to be contacted on this issue.
“In politics, there is always room for
dialogue, negotiations, mending fencesband discussions.”
“I joined PDP voluntarily and not becausevof anybody,” Shagari said.
The deputy governor said that he was abhighly principled person.
“If I give my words, I give my words. I don't have the habit of jumping from one party to the other.”
NAN recalls that the state executive
council, on Monday at its enlarged
meeting presided over by Wamakko, approved a “mass defection” of the people of the state, including all commissioners and special aides, to APC.
- NAN

FG, others pay tributes to Lar

Abuja - The Federal Government and some other Nigerians on Monday continued to pay tribute to late Chief Solomon Lar, a former National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Vice President Namadi Sambo, at the memorial lecture and tributes organised in honour of Lar in Abuja, said the country
had lost a great son and a champion of democracy.

“Lar was a lover of peace who
meritoriously served the nation at local, state and national levels. He was a man of the people whose legacy will stand the test of time,” Sambo said.

He stressed that the people of Plateau lost a bridge builder and an emancipator.
In his remarks, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the PDP National Chairman, said that words were not enough to describe Lar’s impact
on the country.
According to him, Lar lived his entire life for his people and the less privileged.
Tukur said that the late politician was abkind and loving person to his political associates and opponents.
He added that the first executive
governor of Plateau stood for justice and equality, adding that his entire life was dedicated to ensure that the PDP was a
respectable party.
He urged all members of the party not to destroy what the founding fathers of the party built over the years.
Also, Gov. Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State said “we have lost a Nigerian who was ready to lay down his life in the course of
the poor.”
Chief Tony Anenih, Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, observed that Lar committed his life and time to the peace and unity of
the country, adding that he was a loyal party member.
“It was under Lar’s leadership that then PDP produced Olusegun Obasanjo as president.”

“He also produced 21 state governors, 67 members of the Senate, 216 members of
the House of Representatives and 464 council chairmen,” Anenih said.
Also, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said that the greatest tribute one could pay to Lar was in actionand conduct.

He said that irrespective of political
differences, political office holders should be able to give employment to their people, saying that this was the only way to pay tribute to Lar.

Amb. Mary Lar, in her tribute to her late husband, said he was truly a man of the people that gave his life to ensure that no one was oppressed.

She said that her husband left the world a glorious and accomplished man.
She noted that the life and time of Lar would be a waste if peace did not return to the Plateau.

Prof. Isawa Eliagwu, one of the two
speakers who delivered the memorial lecture, said that people were mourning and at the same time celebrating a lifebwell spent.

He described the late politician, who passed away on October 9 in the U.S., as an irrepressible democrat who believed in a Nigeria where no man was oppressed.

The other speaker, Bishop Mathew
Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, said the life and time of Lar was focused on ensuring human rights.

“Very few African leaders are serious about ensuring human rights and in reality the dividends of democracy are intangible,” Kukah said.

He described Lar as a politician who ensured that his people felt the dividends of democracy through some of his kind gestures.