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PDP THUGS VIOLENTLY BEATEN IN BENUE. There was a serious drama today 22 Jan 15 at Makurdi, Benue State after President Goodluck Jonathan's Predential Jet touched ground. The PDP supporters who were driving into the airport that is located at Fiddi village in convoy when one of the thugs of Gov Gabriel Suswan known as SPACO sighted Chief Samuel Loraer Ortom, the APC governorship candidate in the state. An eye witness known as CHINOS said, trouble started when the thug dropped down and removed the APC poster, this resulted to serious chaos, were some of the villager that were standing opposite the junction that leads into the airport asked him to replace it, but, the thug refused doing so, this resulted into assault, where the thug slapped one of the villager who asked him to replace the poster with same hand he used to remove it. On seeing that, the villager beat-up SPACO with bamboo and various harf objects till he picked to his heels. He managed to escape into the airport and returned with some of his colleagues numbering about six. As soon as they dropped from the vehicle that convey them, they started beating the villagers in all direction, but, the villagers instead of running away stood and beat-up all the thugs mercilessly and bloody. Some soldiers who were deployed to cover security at the junction didn't only stand and watch, but joined the villager in beating the thugs blue-black, stating that, the thugs has no right to remove any poster for no reason; be it of any party or candidate. Some of the thugs managed to run far before getting commercial motor cycles (Okada) that helped to escape with them, leaving their vehicle at the spot. It was after the President drove in convoy to campaign ground before a different driver came and take the vehicle away.
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Fayose to face sanctions over controversial Punch advertisement by placing death wish and making example with Late General Murtala Mohammed, General Sani Abacha and President Umaru Yar'adua. Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose may be in trouble over the controversial advert he placed in major national newspapers regarding the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari. On Wednesday, January 21, the National Human Rights Commission, said it had reviewed the advertorial, and it found that the material amounted to “hate speech.” The commission says it may not immediately arrest and prosecute Fayose because of the immunity he currently enjoys as a sitting governor, but added that Fayose would be recommend for appropriate sanctions after he leaves office. The intention to take action against the governor was communicated at a stakeholders’ roundtable organised by the NHRC for civil society groups, mainstream and social media partners in Abuja, on Wednesday, January 21. Chairman of the NHRC, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, while addressing journalists at the forum, condemned the death wish publication, saying it offended public decency and violated all known norms of decorum. Odinkalu said the governor should have exhibited caution and statesmanship in sending out the message, adding that he went too far in his message, without regard for the children of the former Northern leaders he showed to have died in office. Furthermore, he noted that the governor’s advert also violated Section 95 of the Electoral Act and should be made to pay for such open infraction. According to Section 95(1) and (2) of the Electoral Act: “A political campaign or slogan shall not be tainted with abusive language directly or indirectly likely to incite religious, ethnic, tribal or sectional feelings.” It also says: “Abusive, intemperate, slanderous or base language or insinuations or innuendos designed or likely to provoke violent reaction or emotions shall not be employed or used in political campaigns.
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American International Studies based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Invites General Buhari To Speak On Nigeria’s Future. The Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) may be travelling to the Washington DC in the United States of America towards the end of January to honour an invitation by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). A letter of invitation, signed by the Director, African Programme of CSIS, Jennifer Cooke, requested Buhari “to give a major public address on Nigeria’s future as it stands on the edge of a pivotal national elections.” Ms. Cooke gave Buhari the liberty to choose a convenient date for the proposed lecture. “We propose to hold this event on a day of your choosing on either the week of January 5th or the week of January 26th, 2015 but will of course do our best to accommodate your schedule should you have other preferences.” Ms. Cooke who said the event is expected to attract a large number of United State policy makers, academics, business leaders and members of the diaspora, also told Mr Buhari that he would be expected to take part in a private off-the-record briefing with a small group of senior US government officials and U.S Congress. “The event would be on-the-record and given the importance of Nigeria’s elections would be certain to attract a large audience of U.S. policy makers, academics, business leaders, and members of the diaspora. In addition, we invite you to take part in a private, off-the-record briefing with a small group of senior officials from the U.S. government and U.S. Congress. This will be an excellent opportunity to develop contacts and articulate your key messages to an influential audience of foreign policy decision-makers.” “The CSIS Africa Program has long been engaged in research and analysis on the African continent, and Nigeria specifically. For the past year, we have hosted a conference series analyzing various dimensions of Nigeria’s forthcoming elections and their implications for peace, security, and prosperity in Africa’s most important country. These conferences have provided a platform for Nigerian statesmen to interact directly with Washington policy makers and we wanted to extend this opportunity to you. We hope that your schedule permits your participation and look forward to receiving a positive reply.
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