Clay Richie

President Goodlcuk Jonathan and the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, have finally resolved their differences after nearly a year of bitter relations, Premium Times is reporting. Both men met in Abuja on Thursday and reconciled differences that once drove both men to the extremes of their offices.

For the better part of this year, the price of crude oil, the commodity that provides Nigeria the bulk of her foreign exchange earnings, has been falling in alarming manner. Today, over 20 per cent of the revenue Nigeria used to earn in the good old days of steady oil prices on the international market only a few months back, has reportedly been lost. Expectedly and quite rightly, this has made many Nigerians jittery. But Nigeria is not the only victim of the jitters about falling oil prices. It is an economic epidemic, so to say, that has befallen all oil producing nations the world over. There is however a greater anxiety here because we operate a near mono-cultural economy. And when that main revenue earner is threatened, we have every cause for some concern.

The presidency has reportedly withdrawn the security aides attached to Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. The withdrawal of his security details may not be unconnected with his defection from the PDP which didn’t go down well with the party and the presidency.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), may have shut the door on the governor of Adamawa State, Bala James Ngilari from contesting the 2015 governorship election in the state, with the retention of the zoning formula earlier agreed for the governorship bye =-election before a Federal High Court cancelled the conduct of the polls.

On the basis of how he is running around the country and dispensing money in order to get his way, it is reasonably safe to say that the embattled governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, is being tormented by fear of the unknown, panic over those who may come after him after he leaves the office in May 29, 2015, and is paranoid that those he wronged may come after him.

On Tuesday, virtually all major newspapers reported rather lavishly that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, would be crossing over from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). Ordinarily, such decision should not have generated the attention it did but for the permutations toward the 2015 presidential election.

Dozens of people were yesterday by members of the Boko Haram in Mubi, Adamawa State after the the insurgents launched a major attack in Adamawa State, capturing the commercial town. The insurgents reportedly stormed Mubi with no less than 14 trucks, with some conveying women and children, believed to be families of some fighters.

The presidency has said that President Goodluck Jonathan has been given a combined sum of N98.165m by many Nigerians urging him to run for president in 2015 to enable him purchase the nomination form of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Reports from the north – eastern Nigeria  says that Boko Haram Islamic sect, have taken over a Nigerian town in Borno State Nigeria. Eyewitnesses tell BBC Hausa Service that the militants have taken over Uba town in Borno and are headed towards Mubi in Adamawa Nigeria.

Acting Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mr Suleiman Abba, on Tuesday said 30 policemen were still missing, more than two months after Boko Haram terrorists attacked their training facility in Gwoza in Borno state.

As we count down towards this ground-breaking 2015 general election, dice are been cast on People’s Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressive Congress (APC) and few significant politicians in Nigeria who are likely to throw their cart into the ring to enable them remain politically relevant in the country. Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is one of the few high-flying politicians in Nigeria who belongs to that class.

(CNN) — Hopes soared recently when the Nigerian government said it had reached a deal with the terrorist group Boko Haram to free more than 200 girls and young women still missing after a mass abduction in April. But with each passing day, it looks less and less likely that the girls will be freed.

Many people have been wondering why Muhammadu Buhari couldn’t afford to pay N27m for APC forms as a former Head of State, especially because all past Nigerian leaders collect about N300million per annum from the Federal Government as salary [pension and other entitlements.

Apparently, the group of selfish overnight leaders of scanty followers who are emerging under the platform of PDP in Kwara state are seriously struggling for recognition, having been empowered by the federal government at the detriment of Kwarans- all is understood but these group of people must be rebuked by Kwarans and their commentaries about their mission to liberate Kwarans must be strongly slammed and disdained as empty.

Ahmed Salkida, a Nigerian journalist known to have connections to the terrorist group Boko Haram, has today said that the Nigerian government is withholding information from the public regarding the cease-fire deal it claims to have reached with the terrorist sect.

I was really amused when I read in Cross River Watch On line what Senator Matthew Mbu said about Governor Liyel Imoke while addressing a cross section of Boki People last week. Senator Mbu has dismissed Governor Imoke as a “Dictator and Emperor” who wants to impose his will, whims and caprices concerning those to lead us in the State.

Former vice president and presidential aspirant of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of leading a government that rewards only his cronies and family, describing it as clientelism.

The Rivers state Government has warned the Presidents Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, to know his limits and be wary of the kind of threats he issues to an elected official. Reacting to a statement issued by the Presidency referring to Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi as a political rascal, the Rivers state Government said President Goodluck Jonathan has no right to threaten Amaechi.

ABUJA (Reuters) – Not many presidents could survive three multi-billion dollar government oil corruption scandals and a wave of cold-blooded killings and kidnappings of civilians by Islamist militants still holding hundreds of schoolgirls after six months.

If I’m voted into power within the next four years, the issue of power will become a thing of the past. Four years is enough for anyone in power to make significant improvement and if I can’t improve on power within this period, it then means I cannot do anything even if I am there for the next four years.” That was President Goodluck Jonathan in February 2011.

Americans have a saying: “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” That saying is absolutely true. Research teams at both Harvard University and MIT confirm humans automatically make snap judgments about others within three seconds of meeting them. We judge not only their level of danger and friendliness, we also try to determine their level of education, affluence, influence and value to us as connections – all in 2.8 seconds. These conclusions that we reach in under three seconds serve as the foundation on which we base our opinions of others. These are first impressions and try as you will, it’s hard to get someone to change his mind about a first impression.

It is no longer news that Kwara State is one of the states in Nigeria where contest in the forthcoming general election will be so keen owing to the strength of gladiators who have expressed interest to cie for one seat or the other.

President Goodluck Jonathan has warned Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi to stop what he called “political rascality and blackmail.” The warning is coming barely 24 hours after the governor organised a grand rally in Port Harcourt which had over 40,000 of the city’s residents in attendance.

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo, has warned the two main political parties in the country presidential and vice presidential candidates from the same religion. Obasanjo in a statement in Abeokuta on Sunday said, “It will be insensitive to the point of absurdity for any leader or any political party to be toying with Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian ticket at this juncture.”

By Citizen Reporter Indications emerged on Sunday in Abuja that the ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan, to seek re-election in the 2015 general election may after all be stalled by his wife, Patience. Already, some elders and governors in the Peoples Democratic Party have warned that if the dictatorial tendencies of the First Lady continues, the President would end up disappointed.

Ever since the attentive world rose to its feet to applaud Governor Willie Obiano’s virtuoso performance in 100 days in office, the dogs of war seem to have been let loose and they are baying for his innocent blood. Obiano and his beautiful wife have become the punching bag of miscreants on social media whose mercantile instincts mark out as cannon fodder in the hands of aggrieved and out-of-favour politicians. Every day, they concoct lies and tasteless falsehoods to nibble away at his soaring popularity among the long suffering people of Anambra State who are beginning to finally see that indeed, Anambra can be better.

The Northern Youth Forum on Saturday donated a sum of N2m to President Goodluck Jonathan to purchase his Presidential nomination form from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) The Coordinator of the forum, Engr Bello Bichi, who announced the donation at a rally in support of President Jonathan in Kano State, said the donation was their way of showing the President their support for his re-election bid.

Believe it or not, the “One Nigeria” project is still a mirage and may never be actualised if key political and influential offices are left in the hands of Dr. Junaid Mohammed and his ilk! Dr. Junaid, the Convener of the Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, and delegate representing Kano state at the just concluded National Conference spoke out about his hatred for people from Nigeria’s South East, a region populated by Igbos.

Mindful of the divisions that could arise from the conduct of primaries, key leaders of All Progressives Congress might have decided to choose the party’s presidential candidate for next year’s election through a consensus arrangement. This plan, it is learnt, strongly favours the emergence of former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, as the APC candidate.

Troops of the Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), comprised of the Nigerian army and that of some neighboring countries on Friday killed scores of Boko Haram members in Abadam, Borno State, in a fierce battle that ensued with the insurgents.

Ahead of the Policy Retreat Review at the Obasanjo Presidential Library which gets underway on Monday, there are indications that former Vice President and presidential aspirant of All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku may be mulling the idea of accepting to earn a token salary of one Naira (N1) per annum.

Former Head of State, General Muhammdu Buhari has said that he has demonstrated to Nigerians that he is not a fundamentalist and therefore has nothing more to do to change their perception. He spoke in respect of the perception as been made to believe in some quarters that he is an extremist who will Islamize the country if he becomes the president.

I have been listening to comments and reading analyses on the 2015 presidential election with rapt attention. There is nothing unanimous in the predictions and projections, but I am sensing a trend in the analyses: that if the All Progressives Congress (APC) fields Maj. General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) against President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), then it will be a piece of cake for the former head of state. A Buhari supporter, in a recent newspaper interview, said Buhari’s votes in the North plus Bola Tinubu’s votes in the south-west equal automatic victory for APC.

Fellow Nigerians, finally our Oga at the very top emerged from his shrine where the devotees have been falling over themselves pleading with the big masquerade to come out and dance again in the market place. Not that this second coming was a secret by any chance. The body language made the unwritten words and unspoken intentions highly palpable. I had wondered what the perambulation, gerrymandering and merry-go-rounding were all about when both the hands and the voices were that of only one man, Esau. The melodrama was so shambolic that I wondered why we love to plagiarise and regurgitate what others had tried with monumental repercussions. TAN last Saturday was nothing but a cheap rehash of the Abacha for President Fiasco. Why would anyone wish to take pride in travelling down that dark alley again?

“N27 million is a big sum, thankfully I have personal relationship with the manager of my bank in Kaduna and early this morning, I put an early call and I told him that very soon the forms are coming, so, whether I am on red, or green or even black please honor it, otherwise I may lose the nomination.”——- Retired General Muhammad Buhari. -16th. October 2014.

With the recent declaration of President Jonathan to run for a second term, the political atmosphere of Nigeria is now fully charged. While the major opposition party continues the foot dragging on who to present against the president come 2015, it is important to say that the 2015 race maybe the fiercest political battle in the history of Nigeria.

Mr. President We have never met despite the fact that we were all born and we lived for more than half a century in this great vast country Nigeria. It’s here we all grew up and were educated and I presume except by divine prudence it’s here that we will all be buried.

Acclaimed representative of the Boko Haram Terrorist group who announced the ceasefire on behalf of the group, Mallam Danladi Ahmadu,  have Friday assured that that the kidnapped Chibok school girls would be released on Monday.

The duty of a media aide is to protect his employer’s image in the public; it’s an office that keeps you on the lime light especially if your employer is a public figure. As a media aide, you are expected to be smart, eloquent, tactful and diplomatic

Nigeria is in such a deplorably inflamed state of insecurity and mutual mistrust between different segments of the society that doesn’t require another dirty second round of GOODLUCK vs BUHARI. In fact that will cause another severe 'political anaphylaxis' that can lead to shock and ultimate death of the nation we all aspire to live in... peace with.

This is one question I’ve been asking myself since the last article I wrote in support of Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential ambitions. Prior to writing the article we’ve had a Special Adviser to the President on Media, Doyin Okupe, saying Buhari is a serial loser.

“N27 million is a big sum, thankfully I have personal relationship with the manager of my bank in Kaduna and early this morning, I put an early call and I told him that very soon the forms are coming, so, whether I am on red, or green or even black please honor it, otherwise I may lose the nomination.” Retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari. – 16 TH  October 2014.

The First Lady has waved a final bye to her controversial appointment as a “Super” Permanent Secretary in the Bayelsa State Civil Service. Mrs Patience Jonathan was said to have resigned following the collapse of her relationship with Governor Seriake Dickson.

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, recently dismissed insinuations he would be a running mate to the All Progressives Congress presidential aspirant, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.). Since the recrudescence of Buhari’s campaign, Fashola’s rejection is proof that some folk in the APC still have their feet on the grounds of reality after all.

At the last count, no fewer than 13 governors whose second term in office expires next year are believed to be eyeing the Senate. For some of these governors, it is not that they are interested in making laws for the good governance of the country, it is just that they must have official titles in Abuja to continue their wheeling-dealing. And to achieve their objectives, some of the current senators must give way for them.

Very recently, precisely on 21 October, 2014, Mr Femi Aribisala, a self-styled apostle of hate against members of the opposition party, most notably, the All Progressives Congress wrote what could be best described as a fictitious and maligning piece on Rtd. General Mohammadu Buhari (GMB). In the said article which he captioned: “Muhammadu Buhari: Running for president with an anti-corruption bank loan”, Aribisala attempted unsuccessfully to paint Buhari as a man whose anti-corruption claim is questionable.

A coalition of northern youth groups on Thursday said it is planning widespread protests across the north-west to pressurise President Goodluck Jonathan against retaining his current vice, Namadi Sambo as running mate in the 2015 race.

Indication that President Goodluck Jonathan may declare his intention to contest the 2015 presidential election resonated yesterday with his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), stating that  all aspirants to elective offices in 2015 from the party, including President Goodluck Jonathan, must purchase their forms of intent latest by October 30.

We have verified the allegations of a full blockade of Kano State Governor Kwankwaso from all public venues in Abuja by the Jonathan-led PDP government. The Kano State governor who intends to make his declaration to run for the Presidency of Nigeria under the APC opposition party this Thursday (Tomorrow), after making several attempts to secure these public avenues, to no avail over the past days finally resorted to making this infraction known to the public in a Press release by his office.

Kano state Governor, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso has accused the federal government of deliberately blocking him from using public places to declare his presidential aspiration in Abuja, describing the act as irritating and undemocratic.