BIOGRAPHY OF THE NEW KING SALMAN BIN ABDULAZIZ OF SAUDI ARABIA The death on Friday of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah means Salman bin Abdulaziz has become the country's new ruler and the last to be born before the discovery of oil in the world's top crude exporter. As king, Salman, thought to be 79, will have to navigate regional turmoil caused by wars in Iraq and Syria, as well as a bitter rivalry with Shi'ite Muslim power Iran and a lingering threat from an al Qaeda wing in neighboring Yemen. His crown prince will be his youngest half brother Prince Muqrin, a former intelligence chief who was appointed as deputy crown prince in March. A reputed moderate with a deft understanding of the competing demands of conservative clerics, powerful tribes and an increasingly youthful population, Salman will also have the final say on social and economic reforms started under Abdullah. "It appeared to me he had a good handle on the delicate balancing act he had to do to move society forward while being respectful of its traditions and conservative ways," said Robert Jordan who was U.S. ambassador in Riyadh from 2001-03. A physically imposing figure, Salman controls one of the Arab world's largest media groups. He believes that democracy is ill-suited to the conservative kingdom and advocates caution on social and cultural reform, according to a 2007 U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks. For nearly 50 years Salman was governor of Riyadh Province, a role that involved working closely with both conservative traditionalists and liberal technocrats as he oversaw the development of the Saudi capital from a small desert town to a major metropolis. However, when two elder full-brothers, crown princes Sultan and Nayef died within a year of each other, Salman was appointed first Defense Minister and then heir apparent. The defense portfolio involved running the kingdom's top-spending ministry, which used massive arms purchases to bolster ties with allies such as the United States, Britain and France. He has been part of the inner circle of the al-Saud ruling family, which founded and still dominates the desert kingdom in alliance with conservative religious clerics, for decades. In a royal family that bases its right to rule on its guardianship of Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, Salman is reputed to be devout and relatively outward-looking. "He's intelligent, political, in touch with the conservative base but also quite modern-minded," said a former diplomat in Riyadh interviewed about the kingdom's succession process. RIYADH GOVERNOR As governor of Riyadh from 1962 until 2011, Salman had more to do with foreign governments than many senior royals. The role also meant he was responsible for arbitrating disputes between quarreling members of the ruling family, putting him at the center of the kingdom's most important power structure. The governor's office overlooks Riyadh's most appealing square where, if he worked on Fridays, he would have been able to watch as an executioner publicly beheaded malefactors. In a meeting with the U.S. ambassador in March 2007, described in a cable released by WikiLeaks, Salman said the social and cultural reforms instigated by King Abdullah had to move slowly for fear of a conservative backlash. He also argued against the introduction of democracy in the kingdom, citing regional and tribal divisions, and told the ambassador that a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was necessary for Middle East stability. Jordan said Prince Salman had initially refused to believe Saudis participated in the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, but his attitude changed in the face of increasingly solid evidence that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. "He doesn't blindly accept everything the United States says, but at the same time he understands the importance of the relationship, which goes beyond oil," Jordan said. ROYAL POWER With his strong, bearded features, Salman is the prince who is said to resemble his father, King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, more closely than do any of his brothers. Ibn Saud recaptured his family's old stronghold of Riyadh in 1902 with a small group of followers fired by an austere vision of Islam, setting off a three-decade campaign of conquest that carved out the modern borders of a kingdom founded in 1932. As one of the so-called "Sudairi seven" - the brothers born to Ibn Saud by his favorite wife Hassa bint Ahmed al-Sudairi - Salman has been at the center of royal power for decades. His full brothers in a family of more than 30 half-brothers include the late King Fahd and Crown Princes Sultan and Nayef, and former interior minister Prince Ahmed. Salman was born in 1936 in Riyadh, then a mud-brick oasis town deep in the interior of a new kingdom that had not yet discovered oil, depending instead on revenue from pilgrims to Mecca and Medina, date farming and camel herding. Yet one son, Prince Sultan bin Salman, became the first Arab astronaut, flying on the U.S. space shuttle Discovery in 1985. Prince Sultan is now the kingdom's tourism minister while another son, Prince Abdulaziz, is the deputy oil minister. In his five decades administering Riyadh and its surroundings, Salman oversaw the development of the capital from a large desert town into a metropolis of 4.6 million people. Prince Salman was taught in the "princes' school" set up in Ibn Saud's palace by the imam of the Grand Mosque of Mecca, signaling the importance that Ibn Saud attached to the centrality of pure Islamic belief in the kingdom he created.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE NEW KING SALMAN BIN ABDULAZIZ OF SAUDI ARABIA The death on Friday of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah means Salman bin Abdulaziz has become the country's new ruler and the last to be born before the discovery of oil in the world's top crude exporter. As king, Salman, thought to be 79, will have to navigate regional turmoil caused by wars in Iraq and Syria, as well as a bitter rivalry with Shi'ite Muslim power Iran and a lingering threat from an al Qaeda wing in neighboring Yemen. His crown prince will be his youngest half brother Prince Muqrin, a former intelligence chief who was appointed as deputy crown prince in March. A reputed moderate with a deft understanding of the competing demands of conservative clerics, powerful tribes and an increasingly youthful population, Salman will also have the final say on social and economic reforms started under Abdullah. "It appeared to me he had a good handle on the delicate balancing act he had to do to move society forward while being respectful of its traditions and conservative ways," said Robert Jordan who was U.S. ambassador in Riyadh from 2001-03. A physically imposing figure, Salman controls one of the Arab world's largest media groups. He believes that democracy is ill-suited to the conservative kingdom and advocates caution on social and cultural reform, according to a 2007 U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks. For nearly 50 years Salman was governor of Riyadh Province, a role that involved working closely with both conservative traditionalists and liberal technocrats as he oversaw the development of the Saudi capital from a small desert town to a major metropolis. However, when two elder full-brothers, crown princes Sultan and Nayef died within a year of each other, Salman was appointed first Defense Minister and then heir apparent. The defense portfolio involved running the kingdom's top-spending ministry, which used massive arms purchases to bolster ties with allies such as the United States, Britain and France. He has been part of the inner circle of the al-Saud ruling family, which founded and still dominates the desert kingdom in alliance with conservative religious clerics, for decades. In a royal family that bases its right to rule on its guardianship of Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, Salman is reputed to be devout and relatively outward-looking. "He's intelligent, political, in touch with the conservative base but also quite modern-minded," said a former diplomat in Riyadh interviewed about the kingdom's succession process. RIYADH GOVERNOR As governor of Riyadh from 1962 until 2011, Salman had more to do with foreign governments than many senior royals. The role also meant he was responsible for arbitrating disputes between quarreling members of the ruling family, putting him at the center of the kingdom's most important power structure. The governor's office overlooks Riyadh's most appealing square where, if he worked on Fridays, he would have been able to watch as an executioner publicly beheaded malefactors. In a meeting with the U.S. ambassador in March 2007, described in a cable released by WikiLeaks, Salman said the social and cultural reforms instigated by King Abdullah had to move slowly for fear of a conservative backlash. He also argued against the introduction of democracy in the kingdom, citing regional and tribal divisions, and told the ambassador that a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was necessary for Middle East stability. Jordan said Prince Salman had initially refused to believe Saudis participated in the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, but his attitude changed in the face of increasingly solid evidence that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. "He doesn't blindly accept everything the United States says, but at the same time he understands the importance of the relationship, which goes beyond oil," Jordan said. ROYAL POWER With his strong, bearded features, Salman is the prince who is said to resemble his father, King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, more closely than do any of his brothers. Ibn Saud recaptured his family's old stronghold of Riyadh in 1902 with a small group of followers fired by an austere vision of Islam, setting off a three-decade campaign of conquest that carved out the modern borders of a kingdom founded in 1932. As one of the so-called "Sudairi seven" - the brothers born to Ibn Saud by his favorite wife Hassa bint Ahmed al-Sudairi - Salman has been at the center of royal power for decades. His full brothers in a family of more than 30 half-brothers include the late King Fahd and Crown Princes Sultan and Nayef, and former interior minister Prince Ahmed. Salman was born in 1936 in Riyadh, then a mud-brick oasis town deep in the interior of a new kingdom that had not yet discovered oil, depending instead on revenue from pilgrims to Mecca and Medina, date farming and camel herding. Yet one son, Prince Sultan bin Salman, became the first Arab astronaut, flying on the U.S. space shuttle Discovery in 1985. Prince Sultan is now the kingdom's tourism minister while another son, Prince Abdulaziz, is the deputy oil minister. In his five decades administering Riyadh and its surroundings, Salman oversaw the development of the capital from a large desert town into a metropolis of 4.6 million people. Prince Salman was taught in the "princes' school" set up in Ibn Saud's palace by the imam of the Grand Mosque of Mecca, signaling the importance that Ibn Saud attached to the centrality of pure Islamic belief in the kingdom he created.

SAUDI ARABIA’s POWERFUL KING ABDALLA Bin ABDUL'AZIZ DIES AT 90. Saudi Arabia’s king, Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz has died, according to Saudi Arabia’s royal officials. His death comes weeks after he was admitted to the hospital for a lung infection. The 90-year-old king, who got on the throne in 2005, has already been succeeded by his 79-year-old half-brother, Salam. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz was the fifth of his brothers to take the throne and become king in 2005. US President Barack Obama has expressed his personal sympathies and those of the American people, on the death of King Abdullah. He said, “As a leader, he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions. One of those convictions was his steadfast and passionate belief in the importance of the US-Saudi relationship as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond.” Vice-President Joe Biden tweeted that he would lead a delegation to Riyadh to pay respects. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said Abdullah would be remembered for his “commitment to peace and for strengthening understanding between faiths”.

(1) Buhari is too old to be president..... (2) Buhari is poor to be President......... (3) Buhari didn't appoint women in his Govt...... (4) Buhari didn't purchased weapons as President..... (5) Buhari is semi-illitrate........ (6) Buhari don't have WAEC certificate...... (7) A call for to postpone election is made from Chatham House in London....... WHAT NEXT?????????? Na by force to rule us?

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.