I Miss U all my Blog

Tribal leader Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar  is surrounded by bodyguards as he walks in his house

A Yemeni government official tells the Associated Press news agency that President Saleh has been moved to a hospital for treatment for wounds obtained in shelling attack on the presidential palace in capital Sanaa.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to comment to the press, did not say why Saleh was taken to the Defense Ministry hospital, AP reported.

I started this morning planning to write a general blog about Yemen, but events took a dramatic turn this afternoon – and are still developing. Let's start with the official version. The presidential palace in Yemen was hit by shells on Friday. Government sources said at first that President Saleh was unhurt and would be giving a news conference within an hour.

The news conference didn't happen and the new line seems to be that the president has been slightly injured and is now in hospital.

At present, there is no way of knowing if this is true. Being taken to hospital could explain why Saleh hasn't given the promised news conference. So would being killed. We can't be absolutely sure that Saleh is still alive until he is seen on television talking about what happened.

If he were dead, Yemeni officials wouldn't necessarily say so until the resulting power vacuum had been filled. Similarly, if his injuries were serious, officials might still be expected to describe them as slight.

The only thing we can be sure of is that he is not uninjured – otherwise he would have been on television by now, describing his escape. Saying that he is in hospital provides the regime with a sort of holding position which in due course will allow for him to either recover or get worse.

So, what does this mean for the Yemeni uprising?

In what might be the best scenario for Yemen's future, Saleh would be seriously injured but not dead. In fact, sufficiently injured for the doctors to decide that he needs urgent treatment abroad.

Flying him out of the country for medical reasons would provide a near-perfect exit from the crisis. The vice-president could take over and Yemen could begin to calm down. It's unlikely that anyone would want Saleh back if or when he recovered.

Probably the worst scenario would be a lightly-wounded president who returns to the fray within a day or two, with renewed ferocity, to wreak his revenge.

The least predictable scenario would be if Saleh has actually been killed. In theory, his vice-president should step into the breach while new elections are arranged, but there would also be a possibility of a power struggle behind the scenes if his death were concealed for long.

Whichever of these turns out to be correct, Yemen badly needs a solution soon. It's not just the violence – which hopefully will subside once Saleh goes – but the impending economic collapse. Whatever happens on the political front, the repercussions of that will be felt for years to come.

Shops and restaurants are closing, queues for petrol are lengthening, electricity supplies are erratic and people are hoarding basic supplies (including even water) according to a report in the New York Times.

Nobody is quite sure how much money the country and its government still have left. Tax collection has come more or less to a halt. Saleh, who needs to continue paying his supporters, is said to have been demanding multi-million dollar loans from Yemeni businessmen. Diplomats have also been enquiring about rumours that he has raided the coffers of the Central Bank

6) Pique - 1986's Mascot

Matt Damon has praised hospital staff for helping his dad battle cancer.

Kent was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital for the rare blood cancer multiple myeloma, and Damon, 40, returned home to speak at the hospital's One Hundred Celebration fundraiser earlier this week, People magazine reported.

'My family is so grateful for the care you've given us,' he said. 'It's deeply humbling to see how many people here are committing their lives to helping others.

'We've lost some close personal friends to cancer in recent years, but I never thought it would happen to my dad, the marathon runner. It sucked.'

His father is believed to be in remission and hoping to make a full recovery.

Matt Damon has praised hospital staff for helping his dad battle cancer.

Kent was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital for the rare blood cancer multiple myeloma, and Damon, 40, returned home to speak at the hospital's One Hundred Celebration fundraiser earlier this week, People magazine reported.

'My family is so grateful for the care you've given us,' he said. 'It's deeply humbling to see how many people here are committing their lives to helping others.

'We've lost some close personal friends to cancer in recent years, but I never thought it would happen to my dad, the marathon runner. It sucked.'

His father is believed to be in remission and hoping to make a full recovery.

Singer Rihanna has responded to the criticism she has received for her new controversial music video Man Down, insisting 'this is the real world'.

Taking to her Twitter page yesterday the 23-year-old claimed she was a 'rockstar not a parent' and that she had 'the freedom to make art'.

The Parents Television Council slammed the Barbadian beauty's video for showing a 'cold, calculated execution of murder'.

The clip shows her taking revenge on an alleged rapist by gunning him down.

But Rhi Rhi, who is herself a victim of domestic violence, disagreed with the comments.

She wrote: 'I'm a 23 year old rockstar with NO KIDS! What's up with everybody wanting me to be a parent? I'm just a girl, I can only be your/our voice!

'Cuz we all know how difficult/embarrassing it is to communicate touchy subject matters to anyone especially our parents!

'The music industry isn't exactly Parents R Us! We have the freedom to make art, LET US! Its your job to make sure they don't turn out like US.'

Singer Rihanna has responded to the criticism she has received for her new controversial music video Man Down, insisting 'this is the real world'.

Taking to her Twitter page yesterday the 23-year-old claimed she was a 'rockstar not a parent' and that she had 'the freedom to make art'.

The Parents Television Council slammed the Barbadian beauty's video for showing a 'cold, calculated execution of murder'.

The clip shows her taking revenge on an alleged rapist by gunning him down.

But Rhi Rhi, who is herself a victim of domestic violence, disagreed with the comments.

She wrote: 'I'm a 23 year old rockstar with NO KIDS! What's up with everybody wanting me to be a parent? I'm just a girl, I can only be your/our voice!

'Cuz we all know how difficult/embarrassing it is to communicate touchy subject matters to anyone especially our parents!

'The music industry isn't exactly Parents R Us! We have the freedom to make art, LET US! Its your job to make sure they don't turn out like US.'

Disney star Selena Gomez has cut images of painted horses from her new video for Love You Like A Love Song after been criticised by animal right activists, including singer Pink.

The Raise Your Glass hitmaker blasted 18-year-old Selena after images of her posing with a horse painted pink on the beach in Malibu, California, were released.

Pink, 31, tweeted: 'If there are any animal activists around Malibu-at Leo Cabrillo State Beach, there are horses being painted for a stupid music video. Artists should be more aware and responsible for their actions.'

Representatives for Gomez responded to the outrage, insisting no horses were harmed during the filming.

But it looks like the Wizards of Waverly Place star took Pink's comments to heart as according to E! Online, the colour-enhanced horses will no longer be featured in the clip's final cut.

Disney star Selena Gomez has cut images of painted horses from her new video for Love You Like A Love Song after been criticised by animal right activists, including singer Pink.

The Raise Your Glass hitmaker blasted 18-year-old Selena after images of her posing with a horse painted pink on the beach in Malibu, California, were released.

Pink, 31, tweeted: 'If there are any animal activists around Malibu-at Leo Cabrillo State Beach, there are horses being painted for a stupid music video. Artists should be more aware and responsible for their actions.'

Representatives for Gomez responded to the outrage, insisting no horses were harmed during the filming.

But it looks like the Wizards of Waverly Place star took Pink's comments to heart as according to E! Online, the colour-enhanced horses will no longer be featured in the clip's final cut.

British singer Cheryl Cole reportedly has to go to the US embassy in London to apply for a visa to be paid for her work on the US version of X Factor.

Her producers Fremantle are said to be trying to avoid paying the 27-year-old, who was axed from the talent competition after recording just four shows, the £1.2 million she was due to receive and are saying she has to go to the US embassy in London to apply for a visa.

A source told The Hollywood Reporter: 'They don't want to pay her. It's a chess match.'

According to the insider, Geordie Cole wants to be paid for her work out of principle because she had moved to Los Angeles for the job.

The Promise This singer is allegedly going to apply for the visa so she can appear as a judge on the final edit of the talent competition.

The report also suggests that Cheryl's team believe that music mogul Simon Cowell was behind her dismissal as, 'he thinks he can move people around like chess pieces.'

British singer Cheryl Cole reportedly has to go to the US embassy in London to apply for a visa to be paid for her work on the US version of X Factor.

Her producers Fremantle are said to be trying to avoid paying the 27-year-old, who was axed from the talent competition after recording just four shows, the £1.2 million she was due to receive and are saying she has to go to the US embassy in London to apply for a visa.

A source told The Hollywood Reporter: 'They don't want to pay her. It's a chess match.'

According to the insider, Geordie Cole wants to be paid for her work out of principle because she had moved to Los Angeles for the job.

The Promise This singer is allegedly going to apply for the visa so she can appear as a judge on the final edit of the talent competition.

The report also suggests that Cheryl's team believe that music mogul Simon Cowell was behind her dismissal as, 'he thinks he can move people around like chess pieces.'

160th Anniversary of the First World's Fair and Google doodle today is special to remember it.

The main attractions at World's Fairs are the national pavilions, created by participating countries. At Expo 2000 Hannover, where countries created their own architecture, the average pavilion investment was around €13 million. Given these costs, governments are sometimes skeptical about participation as benefits are often assumed not to outweigh the costs. Tangible effects are difficult to measure; however, an independent study for the Dutch pavilion at Expo 2000 estimated the pavilion (which cost around €35 million) generated around €350 million of potential revenues for the Dutch economy. It also identified several key success factors for world exposition pavilions in general

David Villa Cool Pose

SINCE Professor Dora Akunyili, the former Minister of Information and Communications lost her senatorial bid to the former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chris Ngige, there have been a litany of reactions.

Many came from Nigerians who genuinely showed concern over the Professor’s political future while some opinions on the matter were either warped or mischievous. A few of the reactions were even libellous yet the former DG of NAFDAC refused to join issues with anybody.

I have, however, decided without seeking her approval to respond to the reportage in a section of the media that Professor Akunyili was humiliated at the Presidential Villa. The story was that she had gone to Aso Rock to congratulate Dr. Good luck Jonathan on his victory at the presidential polls only to be turned back at the Villa. As far as her critics were concerned, it was an embarrassment that would cause incalculable damage to her hard earned reputation and her political career.

If such treatment was ever meted to her, then it is most unfortunate for several reasons. Prof. Akunyili was the undisputed author of Jonathan’s acting presidency. I remember with nostalgia the thought – provoking memo she wrote to the Federal Executive Council on February 3, 2010 urging her then colleagues to back the clamour for Jonathan to be Acting President in the absence of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who was away to Saudi Arabia for Medical treatment.

‘‘The Federal Executive Council is called upon to now act in the best interest of our President and our dear nation, by passing a resolution requesting Mr. President to sign a letter for the Vice President to act on his behalf until he is well enough to take over,’’ Akunyili wrote.

In a cabinet of over 46 tested Nigerians, only Akunyili could look straight into the eyes of the dreaded cabal to drop the bomb shell without blinking. Few days after her power-packed memo, the National Assembly evolved the Doctrine of Necessity that not only made Jonathan Acting President but gave legitimacy to his elevation. This development was as it were to fast-track Jonathan’s election on April 16, 2011.

Many Nigerians would agree with me that the remote cause of the Doctrine of Necessity was Akunyili’s uncommon courage at a period when sycophancy had been dignified as a national way of life.

What was the role of the overzealous security operatives in the meteoric rise of Jonathan? Who must have given them the instruction? Where were those VIPs they ushered in to celebrate in the Villa when the then Vice President was nearly sent to political Siberia? Prof. Akunyili must have gone to Aso Rock to felicitate with the President as a member of the family and one of the very few Nigerians who stood by him in one of his most trying moments. What did she do wrong to deserve what the papers reported?

It is true that Akunyili contested for the Senate on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, but the party was in alliance with Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. In any case, political parties are vehicles for ascending to offices. Once elections are over, what pre-occupies statesmen is how to move the nation forward.

It is against this background that opposition politicians or Jonathan’s opponents in the presidential election congratulated the President. So if Akunyili was turned back, she was not humiliated, rather those security men have done a disservice to good conscience and loyalty! They have returned evil for good and they should bury their heads in shame. Akunyili in this context is like the proverbial house wife who spends her time and money to till the soil to cultivate yam tubers. She harvested the yam tubers. She prepared food with the yam but was prevented from eating the food.  What a country!

Akunyili is not to be pitied but to be commended for her selfless service to fatherland. In all the offices she had held, she proved to Nigerians that she is a change agent. But one unique salient trait of change agents is that they hardly remain in office for a long time or better put, occupy offices in perpetuity. Unfortunately, the average Nigerian measures the success of a public office holder on the number of years he or she holds on to power. It shouldn’t be so.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest change agent ever in world history spent 33 years on earth. Out of these, he used just three years for his public ministry to ingrain Christianity on the sands of time. Akunyili, one of the change agents of our time spent eight years in NAFDAC to safeguard public health, a feat that was insurmountable in two decades. Before her exploits in NAFDAC, she had shown sincerity of purpose as Secretary of Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF, in charge of South East zone by returning 12,000 pounds to public coffers being unspent government funds given to her for medical treatment abroad.

Her deed at NAFDAC attracted her to the late Yar’Adua who appointed her Minister of Information and Communications. In less than two years, she repositioned the ministry. Under her, files were treated expeditiously, the national portal was revived and all parastatals / agencies in the ministry ran functional websites. These were meant to reduce red-tapism as well as enhance transparency of government business. She also waged war against the exploitation of Nigerians by the telecoms companies so much so that today Nigerians enjoy reduction in telecommunication tariffs and improved service delivery.

When it was obvious that the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, fell short of best practice in the selling of the 2.3 GHZ spectrum licenses, Prof. Akunyili ensured that it was cancelled and a fresh process commenced. And above all, she repositioned the image of Nigeria and its citizens through the National Re-branding Campaign. Today, our country has a brand name: Nigeria, Good People, Great Nation. Nigerians and the international community rewarded Prof. Akunyili for her service to humanity with over 500 awards

After achieving much within a very short time, she willingly resigned from where she described as a ‘‘comfort zone’’ to a dicey zone. Few hours after her resignation, she threw her ring into the senatorial ring to serve the people of Anambra Central in another capacity.  She stood for APGA primary and won. Prof. Akunyili traversed all the nooks and crannies of her zone to solicit for the peoples vote. She anchored her campaign on issues and never terrorised the populace with thugs as others do. She was civil and polite to her opponents.

The election has produced a victor and vanquished. Prof. Akunyili has put everything in the hands of God so why can’t people who pooh-pooh change agents for their selfish ends allow her to rest?

The former minister has since her loss devoted much of her time to her family as she makes a retroactive assessment of the past with a view to projecting into the future! So why weep for her?

FRANCIS AGBO , a journalist, was a media aide to the former minster.
Source

SINCE Professor Dora Akunyili, the former Minister of Information and Communications lost her senatorial bid to the former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chris Ngige, there have been a litany of reactions.

Many came from Nigerians who genuinely showed concern over the Professor’s political future while some opinions on the matter were either warped or mischievous. A few of the reactions were even libellous yet the former DG of NAFDAC refused to join issues with anybody.

I have, however, decided without seeking her approval to respond to the reportage in a section of the media that Professor Akunyili was humiliated at the Presidential Villa. The story was that she had gone to Aso Rock to congratulate Dr. Good luck Jonathan on his victory at the presidential polls only to be turned back at the Villa. As far as her critics were concerned, it was an embarrassment that would cause incalculable damage to her hard earned reputation and her political career.

If such treatment was ever meted to her, then it is most unfortunate for several reasons. Prof. Akunyili was the undisputed author of Jonathan’s acting presidency. I remember with nostalgia the thought – provoking memo she wrote to the Federal Executive Council on February 3, 2010 urging her then colleagues to back the clamour for Jonathan to be Acting President in the absence of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who was away to Saudi Arabia for Medical treatment.

‘‘The Federal Executive Council is called upon to now act in the best interest of our President and our dear nation, by passing a resolution requesting Mr. President to sign a letter for the Vice President to act on his behalf until he is well enough to take over,’’ Akunyili wrote.

In a cabinet of over 46 tested Nigerians, only Akunyili could look straight into the eyes of the dreaded cabal to drop the bomb shell without blinking. Few days after her power-packed memo, the National Assembly evolved the Doctrine of Necessity that not only made Jonathan Acting President but gave legitimacy to his elevation. This development was as it were to fast-track Jonathan’s election on April 16, 2011.

Many Nigerians would agree with me that the remote cause of the Doctrine of Necessity was Akunyili’s uncommon courage at a period when sycophancy had been dignified as a national way of life.

What was the role of the overzealous security operatives in the meteoric rise of Jonathan? Who must have given them the instruction? Where were those VIPs they ushered in to celebrate in the Villa when the then Vice President was nearly sent to political Siberia? Prof. Akunyili must have gone to Aso Rock to felicitate with the President as a member of the family and one of the very few Nigerians who stood by him in one of his most trying moments. What did she do wrong to deserve what the papers reported?

It is true that Akunyili contested for the Senate on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, but the party was in alliance with Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. In any case, political parties are vehicles for ascending to offices. Once elections are over, what pre-occupies statesmen is how to move the nation forward.

It is against this background that opposition politicians or Jonathan’s opponents in the presidential election congratulated the President. So if Akunyili was turned back, she was not humiliated, rather those security men have done a disservice to good conscience and loyalty! They have returned evil for good and they should bury their heads in shame. Akunyili in this context is like the proverbial house wife who spends her time and money to till the soil to cultivate yam tubers. She harvested the yam tubers. She prepared food with the yam but was prevented from eating the food.  What a country!

Akunyili is not to be pitied but to be commended for her selfless service to fatherland. In all the offices she had held, she proved to Nigerians that she is a change agent. But one unique salient trait of change agents is that they hardly remain in office for a long time or better put, occupy offices in perpetuity. Unfortunately, the average Nigerian measures the success of a public office holder on the number of years he or she holds on to power. It shouldn’t be so.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest change agent ever in world history spent 33 years on earth. Out of these, he used just three years for his public ministry to ingrain Christianity on the sands of time. Akunyili, one of the change agents of our time spent eight years in NAFDAC to safeguard public health, a feat that was insurmountable in two decades. Before her exploits in NAFDAC, she had shown sincerity of purpose as Secretary of Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF, in charge of South East zone by returning 12,000 pounds to public coffers being unspent government funds given to her for medical treatment abroad.

Her deed at NAFDAC attracted her to the late Yar’Adua who appointed her Minister of Information and Communications. In less than two years, she repositioned the ministry. Under her, files were treated expeditiously, the national portal was revived and all parastatals / agencies in the ministry ran functional websites. These were meant to reduce red-tapism as well as enhance transparency of government business. She also waged war against the exploitation of Nigerians by the telecoms companies so much so that today Nigerians enjoy reduction in telecommunication tariffs and improved service delivery.

When it was obvious that the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, fell short of best practice in the selling of the 2.3 GHZ spectrum licenses, Prof. Akunyili ensured that it was cancelled and a fresh process commenced. And above all, she repositioned the image of Nigeria and its citizens through the National Re-branding Campaign. Today, our country has a brand name: Nigeria, Good People, Great Nation. Nigerians and the international community rewarded Prof. Akunyili for her service to humanity with over 500 awards

After achieving much within a very short time, she willingly resigned from where she described as a ‘‘comfort zone’’ to a dicey zone. Few hours after her resignation, she threw her ring into the senatorial ring to serve the people of Anambra Central in another capacity.  She stood for APGA primary and won. Prof. Akunyili traversed all the nooks and crannies of her zone to solicit for the peoples vote. She anchored her campaign on issues and never terrorised the populace with thugs as others do. She was civil and polite to her opponents.

The election has produced a victor and vanquished. Prof. Akunyili has put everything in the hands of God so why can’t people who pooh-pooh change agents for their selfish ends allow her to rest?

The former minister has since her loss devoted much of her time to her family as she makes a retroactive assessment of the past with a view to projecting into the future! So why weep for her?

FRANCIS AGBO , a journalist, was a media aide to the former minster.
Source

A 75-year-old herbalist, Ramon Adejare, on Thursday, told an Abeokuta Customary Court Grade II that his wife, Ramota, had turned him into a punching bag in his home. 

Adejare told the court that they had been married for four years, with a three-year-old child.  

The appellant, who sought the dissolution of the marriage on grounds of frequent fighting, provocation and threats to life, said the situation in their matrimonial home had become worrisome.

He alleged that Ramota used to beat him at the slightest provocation and that she always fought with everyone in their neighbourhood. The situation, he said, had forced them to change accommodation in many occasions.  
He further said that he had dragged his wife to the police station on several occasions as a result of her unbecoming attitude.  

“Ramota will not stop at beating me at home; she fights everyone in our neighbourhood and because of her behaviour, we had been ejected from four different apartments,” he said. 

“I have never seen someone who is as stubborn as Ramota in my life; I think she wants to kill me and I must act fast to stop her from accomplishing her mission.”

Adejare, who pleaded with the court to save his life, therefore, sought for the dissolution of the four-year-old union.

Reacting, Ramota, 38, denied Ramon’s claims that she fights regularly with everyone in their neighbourhood, but admitted beating her husband during domestic scuffles.“It is true that I beat him; when two persons fight, it is natural that one will be more powerful than the other; this is the case my lord,’’ she told the court.

She said that they were living in peace until her husband decided to marry another wife, a development which she said led to their disagreement and frequent fighting.

In his judgment, the President of the court, Ishola Fajebe, said that it was evident that the union had hit the rocks.Ishola, who expressed disappointment with the inability of the court to reconcile the estranged couple, dissolved the marriage accordingly and granted the custody of the child to Ramota. 

He ordered Adejare to be paying N3, 000 monthly to the courts' registry beginning from July 5, for the upkeep of the child.The judge also warned them to maintain peace, and said that anyone who acted contrary to the judgment would be prosecuted.
Source

A 75-year-old herbalist, Ramon Adejare, on Thursday, told an Abeokuta Customary Court Grade II that his wife, Ramota, had turned him into a punching bag in his home. 

Adejare told the court that they had been married for four years, with a three-year-old child.  

The appellant, who sought the dissolution of the marriage on grounds of frequent fighting, provocation and threats to life, said the situation in their matrimonial home had become worrisome.

He alleged that Ramota used to beat him at the slightest provocation and that she always fought with everyone in their neighbourhood. The situation, he said, had forced them to change accommodation in many occasions.  
He further said that he had dragged his wife to the police station on several occasions as a result of her unbecoming attitude.  

“Ramota will not stop at beating me at home; she fights everyone in our neighbourhood and because of her behaviour, we had been ejected from four different apartments,” he said. 

“I have never seen someone who is as stubborn as Ramota in my life; I think she wants to kill me and I must act fast to stop her from accomplishing her mission.”

Adejare, who pleaded with the court to save his life, therefore, sought for the dissolution of the four-year-old union.

Reacting, Ramota, 38, denied Ramon’s claims that she fights regularly with everyone in their neighbourhood, but admitted beating her husband during domestic scuffles.“It is true that I beat him; when two persons fight, it is natural that one will be more powerful than the other; this is the case my lord,’’ she told the court.

She said that they were living in peace until her husband decided to marry another wife, a development which she said led to their disagreement and frequent fighting.

In his judgment, the President of the court, Ishola Fajebe, said that it was evident that the union had hit the rocks.Ishola, who expressed disappointment with the inability of the court to reconcile the estranged couple, dissolved the marriage accordingly and granted the custody of the child to Ramota. 

He ordered Adejare to be paying N3, 000 monthly to the courts' registry beginning from July 5, for the upkeep of the child.The judge also warned them to maintain peace, and said that anyone who acted contrary to the judgment would be prosecuted.
Source

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday returned Eseme Eyiboh, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to represent Eket/Ibeno/Esit/Onna federal constituency of Akwa Ibom State in the House of Representatives.

Eyibo, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Information, had challenged the victory of Bassey Dan-Abia at the party primaries conducted on January 28.

In his ruling, Justice Abdul Kafarati held that the process that brought in Dan-Abia grossly violated Section 4(c) of the Electoral Act and the PDP Constitution. He said that the defendants agreed in their statements of defence to have conducted the primaries in Uyo instead of Eket.

He held that the defendants also failed to counter the averment of the plaintiff which copiously proved that the majority of the delegates adopted him as their representative.

Kafarati explained that evidence was before the court to show the majority of the delegates’ endorsement letter to the national office of the party.

“In view of the following, the suit is upheld and all the motions brought against it by the defendants are hereby struck out,” he said. “The primaries which selected Bassey Dan-Abia as the representative of the PDP to contest the April general election is hereby cancelled; and Eseme Eyiboh is therefore returned in his place.”

Earlier, Dan-Abia’s Notice of Preliminary Objection application against the mode of commencement and the motion on transfer of the main suit filed by Dan-Abia were struck out for lack of merit.

The applicant (Eyiboh) had approached the court seeking the annulment of the election of Dan-Abia as the party’s candidate for the election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), PDP and Dan-Abia were the respondents in the matter.

Wole Olanipekun, counsel to Eyiboh, urged the court to rule in favour of his client as the party machinery agreed in its defence that it conducted the rerun in Uyo. He said the Electoral Act made it mandatory to conduct party primaries to select candidates for National Assembly seats in constituency headquarters.
News

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday returned Eseme Eyiboh, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to represent Eket/Ibeno/Esit/Onna federal constituency of Akwa Ibom State in the House of Representatives.

Eyibo, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Information, had challenged the victory of Bassey Dan-Abia at the party primaries conducted on January 28.

In his ruling, Justice Abdul Kafarati held that the process that brought in Dan-Abia grossly violated Section 4(c) of the Electoral Act and the PDP Constitution. He said that the defendants agreed in their statements of defence to have conducted the primaries in Uyo instead of Eket.

He held that the defendants also failed to counter the averment of the plaintiff which copiously proved that the majority of the delegates adopted him as their representative.

Kafarati explained that evidence was before the court to show the majority of the delegates’ endorsement letter to the national office of the party.

“In view of the following, the suit is upheld and all the motions brought against it by the defendants are hereby struck out,” he said. “The primaries which selected Bassey Dan-Abia as the representative of the PDP to contest the April general election is hereby cancelled; and Eseme Eyiboh is therefore returned in his place.”

Earlier, Dan-Abia’s Notice of Preliminary Objection application against the mode of commencement and the motion on transfer of the main suit filed by Dan-Abia were struck out for lack of merit.

The applicant (Eyiboh) had approached the court seeking the annulment of the election of Dan-Abia as the party’s candidate for the election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), PDP and Dan-Abia were the respondents in the matter.

Wole Olanipekun, counsel to Eyiboh, urged the court to rule in favour of his client as the party machinery agreed in its defence that it conducted the rerun in Uyo. He said the Electoral Act made it mandatory to conduct party primaries to select candidates for National Assembly seats in constituency headquarters.
News

The House of Representatives, on Thursday, absolved its former Speaker, Patricia Etteh, of involvement in an alleged N628 million renovation contract scam.

This was sequel to a motion moved by Ita  Enag (PDP, Akwa Ibom), the Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, which was unanimously adopted when put to vote by Speaker Dimeji Bankole.

“Let it be put on record that no record or proceedings of this House at any time indicted Honourable Patricia  Etteh,’’ he said.

Etteh was forced to resign on October 30, 2007, over an  alleged scam in the renovation contract of  her official residence and that of her deputy, Babangida Nguroje.

Etteh, as part of her valedictory speech, had challenged the management of the House to produce any document that indicted her in the alleged contract scam. “I want to challenge this House and the Clerk, who was the legal adviser of this National Assembly then, to come up with any record that indicted me in the scandal,’’ she said.

She also asked the House to pass a resolution exonerating her of the allegation levelled against her, adding that she did not steal any money and that what was referred to as scandal was false.

The former Speaker also said there was no decision she took without the consent of members of the House.

The House of Representatives, on Thursday, absolved its former Speaker, Patricia Etteh, of involvement in an alleged N628 million renovation contract scam.

This was sequel to a motion moved by Ita  Enag (PDP, Akwa Ibom), the Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, which was unanimously adopted when put to vote by Speaker Dimeji Bankole.

“Let it be put on record that no record or proceedings of this House at any time indicted Honourable Patricia  Etteh,’’ he said.

Etteh was forced to resign on October 30, 2007, over an  alleged scam in the renovation contract of  her official residence and that of her deputy, Babangida Nguroje.

Etteh, as part of her valedictory speech, had challenged the management of the House to produce any document that indicted her in the alleged contract scam. “I want to challenge this House and the Clerk, who was the legal adviser of this National Assembly then, to come up with any record that indicted me in the scandal,’’ she said.

She also asked the House to pass a resolution exonerating her of the allegation levelled against her, adding that she did not steal any money and that what was referred to as scandal was false.

The former Speaker also said there was no decision she took without the consent of members of the House.

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has ordered immediate payment of arrears of salaries currently owed civil servants in the state.

This came on a day the state’s Accountant-General, Mr. Pauly Ajoko, and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Sir George Eche, at the House of Assembly, linked non-payment of salaries to civil servants in the state to alleged insolvency of the government.

Chief Okorocha, who gave the order yesterday when he paid an unscheduled visit to the State Secretariat Complex, Port Harcourt Road, Owerri, also condemned lateness to work by some staff at the secretariat.

“My administration will not condone lateness to work and laziness. Flimsy excuses like traffic congestion would no longer be tolerated,” Okorocha said.

Urging civil servants to sit up in the spirit of the rescue mission, Okorocha also ordered the Head of Service, Mr. Evans Uzokwe, to lock up the gate against late comers by 7.45am daily.

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has ordered immediate payment of arrears of salaries currently owed civil servants in the state.

This came on a day the state’s Accountant-General, Mr. Pauly Ajoko, and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Sir George Eche, at the House of Assembly, linked non-payment of salaries to civil servants in the state to alleged insolvency of the government.

Chief Okorocha, who gave the order yesterday when he paid an unscheduled visit to the State Secretariat Complex, Port Harcourt Road, Owerri, also condemned lateness to work by some staff at the secretariat.

“My administration will not condone lateness to work and laziness. Flimsy excuses like traffic congestion would no longer be tolerated,” Okorocha said.

Urging civil servants to sit up in the spirit of the rescue mission, Okorocha also ordered the Head of Service, Mr. Evans Uzokwe, to lock up the gate against late comers by 7.45am daily.

If you haven't already visited my Castle Blog please do so... I don't have a TON of pics there, but I do have quite a few... Guess it's time again to do some castle hopping in France.. Here are some of the precious Vaux-le-Vicomte (which has an interesting story behind it about the owner)!

The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte is a baroque French château located in Maincy, near Melun, 55 km southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne département of France. It was built from 1658 to 1661 for Nicolas Fouquet, Marquis de Belle Île, Viscount of Melun and Vaux, the superintendent of finances of Louis XIV.

The château was in many ways the most influential work built in Europe in the mid-17th century and the most elaborate and grand house built in France after the Château de Maisons. At Vaux-le-Vicomte, the architect Louis Le Vau, the landscape architect André le Nôtre, and the painter-decorator Charles Le Brun worked together on a large-scale project for the first time. Their collaboration marked the beginning of a new order: the magnificent manner that is associated with the "Louis XIV style" involving a system of collective work, which could be applied to the structure, its interiors and works of art and the creation of an entire landscape. The garden's use of a baroque axis that extends to infinity is an example of this style. -- Wikipedia

A lovely view.... on a gorgeous day!

^{One of my fav photo 'poses' is the "jump shot" - so here I am- jumping!}

^{My other fav thing to do is 'tree pose!"}