Jonathan’s wife resigns as Bayelsa Permanent Secretary

Mrs. Patience Jonathan

Wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, has resigned her appointment as Permanent Secretary in the Bayelsa State Civil Service.

The 57-year-old Patience was said to have left the service voluntarily.

She was one of the appointed 17 permanent secretaries in the state civil service in July 2012.

The appointment had caused outrage in the state at the time with some Bayelsa residents accusing Governor Seriake Dickson of politicising the civil service in the state.

Though Ministry of Education sources said Patience disengaged from service voluntarily, there were speculations that she resigned because of alleged rift between her and   Dickson.

The alleged frosty relationship between the governor and the President’s wife was said to have been triggered by Patience unwillingness to support Dickson’s second term bid.

Instead, it was learnt that Jonathan’s wife had expressed her preference for the Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Matters, Mr. Waripamowei Dudafa.

It was learnt that Patience resigned her appointment to enable her to have the moral justification to push her candidate.

At the state’s Ministry of Education on Thursday, many of the civil servants refused to comment on the development.

But our correspondent learnt from reliable sources that the ministry had computed her terminal benefits already.

One civil servant, who agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity, said, “The whole thing is political. It appears Madam (the President’s wife) is not happy with the governor. With her resignation, the battle line has been drawn.

“I feel the President’s wife resigned to enable her to have the moral right to slug it out with Dickson ahead of the governorship poll in the state. Let no one deceive you, the whole thing is politics. After all, she is 57 and the retirement age is 60.”

When contacted, Chief Salo Adikumo, who resigned during the week as Commissioner for Education, said he was no longer the commissioner.

“I resigned recently as commissioner to enable me to pursue my political ambition. Please direct all your enquiries to the ministry, “ he said.

However, a ranking official of the ministry said it was true Patience had resigned voluntarily.

The official, who did not want her name in print because she was not authorised to speak on the matter, said she was not aware of the resignation having political undercurrents.

She said, “I can say Patience Jonathan has voluntarily retired. But whether there is political undertone in her resignation or not, I cannot say.

“I think the First Lady felt that her continued stay as Permanent Secretary will be depriving others. Now that she has resigned, it will afford others the opportunity to take over her position.

“Already, in accordance with the civil service rules, we have prepared all her entitlements. Whatever is due her will be given to her. She will also be receiving her pension.”

I have accepted offer to contest, says Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan

After many months of suspense, President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday opened up on his intention to seek re-election during the 2015 presidential election.

All organs of the Peoples Democratic Party had before now endorsed the President as the party’s sole candidate for the election.

Groups such as the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria had also been   campaigning for Jonathan by highlighting at rallies and through advertorials what they consider as his achievements.

Even though he had   kept mum on the matter, his body language clearly showed that he had made up his mind to seek re-election.

Jonathan, who has already raised a 37-member declaration committee, will   formally declare any day between November 7 and 15.

A reliable Presidency source, who pleaded anonymity told journalists in Abuja that Jonathan made his intention to contest known to the party leaders at a closed-door meeting in one of the guest houses inside the Presidential Villa.

The source said after thanking the party leadership for giving him the right of first refusal as far as the party’s presidential ticket was concerned, he told them that he had accepted the offer and was ready to run.

Jonathan was also quoted as telling the party leaders that he would come to the party headquarters to pick his nomination form before the October 30 deadline fixed by the party.

The source said, “President Jonathan today (Thursday) met with the leadership of the PDP and party leaders from the various zones of the country. He thanked them for giving him the right of first refusal as far as the party’s presidential ticket was concerned.

“The President told them that he had accepted their offer and he was interested in the presidential race.

“He told them that he will come and pick up his nomination form before the deadline stipulated by the party.”

The source added that following the declaration, the President announced the composition of a committee saddled with the responsibility of coming up with an elaborate declaration programme.

He said the committee chaired by a former Minister of Defence, Dr. Haliru Bello, was asked to work towards ensuring that the declaration held between November 7 and 15.

The committee, according to the source, has a former President of the Senate, Ken Nnamani, as the deputy chairman, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim,   as secretary.

Members of the committee include a governor from each of the six geopolitical zones of the country, four National Assembly members; four members of the Federal Executive Council; four PDP officials as well as eight party members and four others appointed on presidential discretion.

A breakdown of members according to zones showed that the South-South, the North-East and the North-Central have six representatives each while the South-East, the South-West and North-West have five representatives each. The Federal Capital Territory has one representative.

Apart from Bello, Nnamani and Anyim,   Prof. Rufa’i Alkali,   Julius Imagwe and   Baraka Sani are members of the committee.

State governors representing the various zones are Liyel Imoke of Cross River State;     Theodore Orji of Abia State,   Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State,   Babangida Aliyu of Niger State,   Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State, and Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State.

The National Assembly representatives are   Hosea Agboola, Ahmed Makarfi,     Bitrus Kaze   and Salmas Badru.

Representatives of the Federal Executive Council are the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke;   Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Abduljelili Adesiyan;   Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Zainab Maina; and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed.

Officials of the party in the committee are the Deputy National Chairman,   Uche Secondus; Benue State chapter Chairman, Chief Emmanuel Agbo;   National Woman Leader, Kema Chikwe;   and the North-West Zonal Chairman,   Ibrahim Kazaure.

Party member representatives include Stella Omu, Walid Jibirn, Ibrahim Bunu,   Jolly Nyame, Aniete Okon, Peter Obi,   Remi Adikwu-Bakare,   A. B. Mamman and   Abdullahi Maibasira.

Those appointed at the President’s discretion are   Halima Alfa,   Nimota Akanbi ,   Micah Jiba   and Sam Ikon .

Shortly after that meeting, Jonathan also entered into a crucial meeting where a committee saddled with the responsibility of raising fund for the PDP presidential campaign was formed.

The committee has a former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, as the chairman.

Party chiefs who attended the meeting included the PDP National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu; the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Tony Anenih, and the President of the Senate, David Mark.

The All Progressives Congress has however described Jonathan’s decision   to seek re-election as an anti-climax.

Its National Publicity Secretary,   Alhaji Lai Mohammed,   said it would have been news if the President had declared that he was not running.

Mohammed said, “This is an anti-climax. Of course, if the TAN have been going all around spending billions on television advertorials and campaign, all the governors have adopted him, the National Working Committee, said he is the only one. As far as we are concerned, it is an anti-climax. It would have been news only if he said he wasn’t running.”

Presidential bid: Falana knocks Buhari for taking N27.5m loan

Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.)

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, has criticised the All Progressives Congress presidential aspirant, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for obtaining a loan of N27.5m to procure his party’s expression of interest and nomination form for the 2015 presidential election.

He made this remark on Thursday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, while speaking at the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Paramount FM Chapel Press Week.

He noted that the action of the former head of state was indefensible, stressing that it amounted to monetisation of politics.

He said, “It is indefensible for Gen. Buhari to have obtained a loan facility of N27.5m just to obtain a form of intent to contest in the presidential election in 2015 under the All Progressives Congress.

“Is he going to obtain another loan during his campaign, because in Nigeria, it costs billions of naira to run a presidential campaign?”

Falana, who was the guest lecturer at the event, spoke on the topic: ‘Current Security Challenges: Implication for 2015 Elections’.

On the coverage of the 2015 election, the legal luminary advised journalists not to give undue advantage to any candidate, but should give all of them equal coverage, devoid of ethnic or religious colouration.

He also advised journalists to be wary of phony politicians who would want to play to the gallery, but should focus on issues.

He said, “Journalists must show more than a passing interest on how those aspirants want to manage the economy. The government must address mass illiteracy, corruption and poverty.”

Falana noted that the nation was facing security challenges such as kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorism, human trafficking because of the unemployment rate.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria called on the government to wake up and fight the security challenges confronting the nation the same way the Ebola scourge was tackled.

“Government gave Ebola Virus Disease attention because it is no respecter of anybody. But government is not conscious of the security of the people because they have security guards protecting them,” he said.

The event, which also featured award presentation to deserving members of staff, was graced by the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Prince Segun Adesegun, the state NUJ chairman, Mr. Wole Sokunbi, and the secretary, Mr. Soji Amosu, among others.

World War II ships found undersea near Carolina  

Two sunken ships from World War II — a German U-boat and an American merchant vessel — have been found deep in the ocean off the coast of North Carolina, officials said Tuesday.

The ships clashed in the Battle of the Atlantic in 1942 and were lost for more than seven decades in an area known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

Researchers led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries discovered the vessels about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from shore.

The discovery of the German U-boat 576 and the freighter Bluefields offers “a rare window into a historic military battle and the underwater battlefield landscape of WWII,” NOAA said.

The ships were found 240 yards apart.

A German U-Boat in dry dock in Britain

They battled on July 15, 1942 when a convoy of merchant ships being escorted from Norfolk, Virginia to Florida was attacked by the German submarine.

“The U-576 sank the Nicaraguan-flagged freighter Bluefields and severely damaged two other ships,” NOAA said.
“In response, US Navy Kingfisher aircraft, which provided the convoy’s air cover, bombed U-576 while the merchant ship Unicoi attacked it with its deck gun.”
Both ships were lost within minutes and sank to the seabed, but only one, the German boat, suffered casualties, 45 in all.

The wreck site is considered a war grave for the German crew and is protected under international law.
“The Federal Republic of Germany is not interested in a recovery of the remnants of the U-576 and will not participate in any such project,” the German Foreign Office said in a statement.
“They are under special protection and should, if possible, remain at their site and location to allow the dead to rest in peace.”

The shipwreck was found in August by archaeologists aboard an NOAA research vessel

Malaysia’s defence minister hopeful MH370 will be found  

Hishammuddin Hussein: optimistic that MH370 will be found

Malaysia’s Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Wednesday his country was determined to find missing Flight MH370, as he was briefed by Australian officials leading the complex search deep in the Indian Ocean.

Hishammuddin, who is in the Western Australian port of Fremantle to inspect one of the search ships, the GO Phoenix, said the passengers and crew on board the Malaysia Airlines jet “remain in our thoughts and also in our prayers”.
“We must continue to hope because sometimes hope is all we have,” Hishammuddin told reporters.
“We will find MH370.”

The passenger aircraft was carrying 239 people, about two-thirds of them from China, when it disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8. No sign of the Boeing 777 has ever been found despite a massive air and sea search.

The jet is believed to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean after inexplicably veering off course.
Hishammuddin was acting transport minister when the plane went missing and led Malaysia’s search for the jet before Liow Tiong Lai replaced him in the transport portfolio in June.

During his visit he toured the GOPhoenix, a Malaysian-contracted vessel which is conducting the underwater search using sophisticated sonar systems.
The renewed underwater probe began in early October and more than 1,200 square kilometres (463 square miles) have so far been scoured without success, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said.
GO Phoenix is expected to leave for the Indian Ocean search site on Thursday after its resupply in Fremantle.

The Australian-contracted Fugro Discovery departed the port last week and is set to arrive in the search zone Wednesday, said the ATSB, which is leading the search.
The Chinese survey ship Zhu Kezhen, which has since left the search zone, and the Australian-contracted Fugro Equator have been mapping the seabed since May before the underwater hunt.
The Fugro Equator is expected to finish its seabed mapping duties on Friday before it is outfitted with a sonar system so it can join the underwater search.

Hishammuddin met officials from the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, the Australian agency coordinating information about the search. He said Malaysia was dedicated in its support for the MH370 search.
“All that could have been done to find the plane at this point has been done,” he said.
“This is it, the next phase. The search goes on.”

Australian convicted in child sex sting with virtual girl  

The 10-year old Filipina called Sweetie

An Australian man caught in a global sting to trap child sex predators using a virtual 10-year-old Filipina called Sweetie has been jailed, in what is thought to be the first conviction from the operation, reports said Wednesday.

Dutch rights groups Terre des Hommes said in November last year it had used a computer-generated Filipina girl — dubbed “Sweetie” — in Internet chat rooms to ensnare paedophiles.
Over a 10-week period more than 20,000 predators from 71 countries approached the virtual 10-year-old asking for webcam sex performances and that more than 1,000 paedophiles had been identified as a result.

The group has said that several offenders have since been arrested after the information was passed onto police, including in Australia, Poland and the United States.
Australian man Scott Robert Hansen is the first person to be convicted in the online sting which snared 46 Australians, news.com.au reported Wednesday.
Court officials said that 38-year-old Hansen had been sentenced on three charges, including using a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a person aged under 16, and possessing child exploitation material on Tuesday.

He was also charged with failing to comply with a sex offenders order.
“He was given a two-year sentence, suspended after 260 days he has already served in custody,” a court spokeswoman told AFP.
Terre des Hommes has said they did not approach anyone on the Internet but instead waited for people to approach Sweetie and ask for sex acts.

The rights group also stopped the conversation as soon as someone offered Sweetie money for sex acts.
Australian Federal Police are understood to have searched Hansen’s home following a web chat with “Sweetie” in which he was naked and masturbated, a spokesman for Terre des Hommes told news.com.au.

When the sting was revealed in 2013, Terres de Hommes said its researchers found the experience shocking.
“To put yourself in the shoes of a 10-year-old Filipina girl and seeing what some men want from you has been a shocking experience for them,” said its head of campaigns Hans Guyt.
“Some demands and acts were really obscene.”

The group said it wanted to raise the alarm about a largely unknown but quickly spreading new form of child exploitation that has tens of thousands of victims in the Philippines alone, known as webcam child sex tourism.

2015: APC denies adopting presidential candidate  

Chief John Oyegun, National Chairman of the APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nasarawa state on Wednesday denied insinuations that its leadership had adopted a presidential candidate ahead of the 2015 general elections.

Mr Philip Shekwo, Chairman of the party in the state, told NAN in Lafia that APC had not adopted any candidate.
 According to him, aspirants are still emerging while consultations are ongoing. He urged party supporters and other Nigerians to disregard such information in the interest of peace.
“Candidates are still canvassing for support and I assure you that the party has not taken any such decision. At the appropriate time, we shall take a decision on the party’s candidacy if need be.
“I urge members of the public, especially our party supporters, to disregard rumours going round that APC anointed a presidential candidate ahead of 2015.
“Such information is not only false but unfounded,” Shekwo said.

He also urged all aspirants seeking for an elective position on the party’s platform to have decorum and decency in their electioneering.

He said that decorum and decency during campaign would bring peace and unity among party members.
Shekwo appealed to party supporters to be law abiding and respect constituted authority in the interest of national development.

The chairman said that the party would continue to initiate more people-oriented policies to fight poverty, unemployment and youths restiveness.

He called on the people of the state to support the party in its efforts to improve their welfare.
Shekwo also appealed to eligible voters to come out en-mass and collect their permanent voter cards.
He said that voters should protect their votes during the 2015 general elections.
The chairman also canvassed support for Governor Tanko Al-Makura’s administration beyond 2015, to enjoy more dividends of democracy.