An RIB reader mailed this picture to me. I can't help but lmao. _
Tuesday 12 November 2013
Why Amaechi is being persecuted —Senator Magnus Abe
THE Senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District, Magnus Abe has attributed Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s persecution in the current political dispensation to his resilience and doggedness in defense of Rivers State.
Senator Abe said this while addressing the people of Andoni Local Government Area in Ngo where he also presented wrappers to women on behalf of his wife Bariyaah.
“As a person you voted to represent you at the upper chamber, it is important I come occasionally to tell you what is happening. I think it is time for Rivers people to know why their Governor on oath to defend the state and its people is being victimized, harassed, oppressed and persecuted”; the Senator hinted.
He cited the sudden disappearance of monies accruing from the disputed Suku oil wells, agreed by Rivers and Bayelsa States government to be kept in a special account until the determination of discrepancies in record noticed during the Odili administration, among others.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) explained that, had Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi been a bad leader or acted like persons calling him names today, he would have negotiated his pocket rather than defend Rivers State.
Senator Abe who described Governor Amaechi as a courageous leader urged Rivers people to beware of selfish and desperate politicians who have decided to pitch tent with those bent on drowning the state.
“Because of their selfish interest, some of our brothers have chosen to pitch tent with those we stood by yesterday, to fight our Governor and destabilize our state. Genuine Rivers people must resist them”.
He cautioned that the propaganda of opponents of Amaechi has been to paint the Governor as a disrespectful leader even when they know he is not, adding “as a people God has put together, we must unite and be resolute in our support for our Governor in order not scare successive leaders”. Abe told Andoni people.
On his part, Chairman, Andoni Local Government Council, Orom Nte said, he was happy with the unparallel representation of Senator Abe in the National Assembly, assuring that the people of Andoni will continue to support him and Governor Amaechi as they strive to bring dividends of democracy to the people at the grassroots.
Source: PM News
Tinubu warns election riggers in Anambra
National leader of All Progressives Congress, (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has warned that the party would react if the Anambra state governorship election was rigged by the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, as was the case with the bye-election for Delta Central Senatorial election.
Tinubu gave the warning Tuesday at the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium in Benin during the celebration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s five years in office and the flag off of APC in Edo.
The former Lagos state governor who solicited for Edo people’s support to ensure that one-man-one-vote prevailed during the election, added that APC was formed for the permanent development of the country.
He lambasted the federal government for churning out economic indices that portrayed rosy picture of the national economy at a time he said there was an army of unemployed graduates in the country.
Tinubu gives the victory sign in Benin
“He has shown great commitment and devotion in service to Edo state and the entire country,” Tinubu said, and praised Oshiomhole for improved internal revenue generation and radical development of the state.
Former head of state and national leader of APC, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, who solicited support of Edo people for the party, said APC was formed fundamentally for two things, the economy and security of the country.
“We are determined to stop terrorism and to reconstruct infrastructure. The APC is here to take over in 2015 and manage the economy efficiently.”
Interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, while expressing joy that since the beginning of time, Edo people were ready to be counted among the progressives, observing that the women and youths were the soldiers of democracy who have fought against election rigging.
He therefore charged the people of the state to continue in the same light till victory was achieved for the APC, just as former governor of the state, Chief John Odigie Oyegun warned that the battle ahead of theAPC was not an easy one.
The first executive governor of the state, Chief Oyegun, in his speech, urged supporters of APC to be ready for every possible eventuality, adding that the PDP will not surrender power, adding “the APC must seize power, we must capture power,” and advised that mobilization for 2015 must start now.
Oyegun who described Oshiomhole “as our redeemer,” said the governor’s greatest achievement was the liberation of the people of the state.
South-south leader of APC, Chief Tom Ikimi, in his speech, said Edo state was a shining examples of change in all aspects of life, including leadership.
“We the people of Edo state are determined that we will not go back to what it was 10 years ago. PDP is dead in Edo, Kwara, Sokoto, Rivers and all over the country,” he said, adding that the sky was the limit for governor Adams Oshiomhole.
ASUP Chairman Shocked Over Iyayi’s Demise
The death of former National President of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Dr. Festus Iyayi on Tuesday afternoon, has been described as very shocking and disappointing.
The National Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, Chibuzo Asomugha, stated this while reacting to Iyayi’s death.
“What! How did it happen? I can’t believe this! This is quite shocking and disappointing. I’m lost for words, I can’t make further comments, please,” was the way he responded to the news of Iyayi’s passing.
Also reacting to the sudden death of Iyayi, Chairman of University of Lagos chapter of ASUU, Oghenekaro Ogbinaka, condemned the manner in which the former National President of the union lost his life.
“The convoy of the Kogi State governor in its usual manner, has cut short the life of one of our best. It is a very sad day for ASUU,” Ogbinaka said.
Calls to the phone lines of ASUU President, Nasir Fagge, were unanswered at the time of this report. He also did not respond to the text message sent to him.
Iyayi died Tuesday afternoon in an accident around Lokoja in Kogi State, northcentral Nigeria.
He was on his way from Benin, southern Nigeria, to Kano for the ASUU NEC meeting at Bayero University, Kano, when the accident occurred.
ASUU chapters have been meeting to end the university teachers’ strike that began on 1 July to compel the Federal Government to implement the agreement on funding of universities and improved salaries of the university teachers reached in 2009.
The meeting the late Iyayi was going to attend was part of efforts to resolve the grey areas to end the strike after the Federal Government conceded some grounds to the striking lecturers last week.
Kanye West's popularity plummets because of Kim K - study
From The National Enquirer
Kanye West's popularity on the downslide after getting horizontal with Kim K - industry analysis. In less than two years, the 19-time Grammy-award winner’s likability has nosedived by a whopping 66 percent, according to the influential Q scores, a closely watched measure of recognition and popularity that marketers use to evaluate celebrities’ appeal.
Before West began dating the 33-year-old Kardashian star in April 2012, his score was high — a 17 among women aged 18-49.What’s more, the 36-year-old father-of-one was rated even more lofty — a score of 19 — among men 18-34 dating as far back as February 2011.
But shockingly, West’s popularity has plummeted to a mere 3 among women 18-49, the latest results from September reveal. He’s hemorrhaged popularity among his core fan base of men too, but not as significantly as women: West’s most recent Q Score among the 18-34 male demographic was a lowly 13.
Former ASUU president Festus Iyayi killed in fatal crash today
It's being reported that the convoy of the Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Idris Wada, rammed into the vehicle conveying Professor Iyayi and some members of the union to Kano. The university don who is also a popular writer, died on the scene while two other occupants of the vehicle were injured.
Exclusive: Why Jonathan, Wife Are Fighting Me —Amaechi
The Governor of Rivers State, southern Nigeria, Rotimi Amaechi, has
disclosed that he incurred the wrath of President Goodluck Jonathan
because he was seen to be exposing a lot of corrupt activities going on
in government.
Amaechi also gave the impression that the President and his wife can never keep to their promises, recalling how they held several meetings with him begging him to deliver the state to Jonathan during the 2011 presidential election with the promise that they would never trouble him again, a promise they did not keep.
Governor Amaechi, who spoke exclusively with TheNEWS magazine, our sister publication, listed many instances where his actions infuriated President Jonathan and his wife, Patience, who he described as a de facto President.
First among the reasons for the battle to bring him down, according to Amaechi, is the desperate ambition of Dame Patience Jonathan to see herself and be addressed as the political ‘lord’ of Rivers State, her home state despite the fact that she is even not recognised by the constitution and is not occupying any elective office.
This seeming bottled-up anger culminated in the incident that occurred in Okrika, Patience’ hometown, in which she snatched the microphone from the governor and reprimanded him for saying he would buy off some buildings around a school and demolish it so as to create enough space for extracurricular activities for the school.
Governor Amaechi attributed the crisis to three things: “the first was the attempt by the wife of the President to control the Rivers State government. I remember when female senators came to me after she met with them.
“She said to them: ‘I am the highest ranking officer from Rivers State and I wonder why the Governor of Rivers State does not accord me that respect’.
“I said in law, I don’t see the office of the wife of the President being superior to that of the governor…The resistance is what you are seeing.”
During Jonathan’s campaigns for 2011, he said the President and his wife pleaded with him since he (Amaechi) wanted to be assured that if Jonathan emerged, there would not be a multiplicity of presidents where “you have the wife manipulating power, everybody doing one thing or the other.
“I wanted to make sure that I and the Rivers people are fully protected. I wasn’t convinced.
“Now, within the period, the President had called me and the wife and we sat together and made peace. There again, they promised that nobody would hurt me, nobody would do this or that. That’s why this is a bit difficult because there is nothing new that they can tell me that they did not tell me in 2011 and they did not keep to their promise”.
He said the meeting was just between him, the President and Mrs. Jonathan and he secured their promise to protect him, but “we had hardly won the 2011 elections when the wife descended on me and the Rivers State Government.
“Basically, the only way you can survive is if you then wake up in the morning to say: ‘Good morning, ma. My name is Rotimi Amaechi, governor of Rivers State. Do I greet this person or that person’?
“If she says no, then I don’t greet you. But if you need to run the office of the governor the way it is supposed to be run, then you would certainly have a disagreement with the wife of the President
“It is about power and control. She appears to be somebody who loves power.”
The governor also said part of the problem was that the President took about 41 oil wells from Rivers and handed them to Abia and Bayelsa, the President’s state.
He also said the President was not comfortable with the fact that he (Amaechi) speaks his mind whenever he had the opportunity.
For example, he said he had complained many times about the rising poverty and corruption among public office holders in the country to no avail even as the country’s economy is in bad shape.
Another incident that pitched Amaechi against the President was that the former accused the World Bank, during an event abroad, of aiding Nigeria’s lamentable corruption.
He also lamented the increasing activities of oil thieves, adding that attempts by his government to subdue the thieves have also been scuttled by the President because of the problem between them, thus making the country suffer the consequence.
“My colleague, the governor of Benue State, told me that teachers are on strike in his state because of salary. And you would see more in the next few months. The country is broke.
“The amount of money being stolen is enough to run this economy. They set aside 455,000 barrels per day for local refining. We don’t refine in Nigeria. Crude is refined overseas, brought back to Nigeria and then we pay subsidy on it,” he said.
The governor made a lot of other revelations as published in the current edition of the magazine.
Amaechi also gave the impression that the President and his wife can never keep to their promises, recalling how they held several meetings with him begging him to deliver the state to Jonathan during the 2011 presidential election with the promise that they would never trouble him again, a promise they did not keep.
Governor Amaechi, who spoke exclusively with TheNEWS magazine, our sister publication, listed many instances where his actions infuriated President Jonathan and his wife, Patience, who he described as a de facto President.
First among the reasons for the battle to bring him down, according to Amaechi, is the desperate ambition of Dame Patience Jonathan to see herself and be addressed as the political ‘lord’ of Rivers State, her home state despite the fact that she is even not recognised by the constitution and is not occupying any elective office.
This seeming bottled-up anger culminated in the incident that occurred in Okrika, Patience’ hometown, in which she snatched the microphone from the governor and reprimanded him for saying he would buy off some buildings around a school and demolish it so as to create enough space for extracurricular activities for the school.
Governor Amaechi attributed the crisis to three things: “the first was the attempt by the wife of the President to control the Rivers State government. I remember when female senators came to me after she met with them.
“She said to them: ‘I am the highest ranking officer from Rivers State and I wonder why the Governor of Rivers State does not accord me that respect’.
“I said in law, I don’t see the office of the wife of the President being superior to that of the governor…The resistance is what you are seeing.”
During Jonathan’s campaigns for 2011, he said the President and his wife pleaded with him since he (Amaechi) wanted to be assured that if Jonathan emerged, there would not be a multiplicity of presidents where “you have the wife manipulating power, everybody doing one thing or the other.
“I wanted to make sure that I and the Rivers people are fully protected. I wasn’t convinced.
“Now, within the period, the President had called me and the wife and we sat together and made peace. There again, they promised that nobody would hurt me, nobody would do this or that. That’s why this is a bit difficult because there is nothing new that they can tell me that they did not tell me in 2011 and they did not keep to their promise”.
He said the meeting was just between him, the President and Mrs. Jonathan and he secured their promise to protect him, but “we had hardly won the 2011 elections when the wife descended on me and the Rivers State Government.
“Basically, the only way you can survive is if you then wake up in the morning to say: ‘Good morning, ma. My name is Rotimi Amaechi, governor of Rivers State. Do I greet this person or that person’?
“If she says no, then I don’t greet you. But if you need to run the office of the governor the way it is supposed to be run, then you would certainly have a disagreement with the wife of the President
“It is about power and control. She appears to be somebody who loves power.”
The governor also said part of the problem was that the President took about 41 oil wells from Rivers and handed them to Abia and Bayelsa, the President’s state.
He also said the President was not comfortable with the fact that he (Amaechi) speaks his mind whenever he had the opportunity.
For example, he said he had complained many times about the rising poverty and corruption among public office holders in the country to no avail even as the country’s economy is in bad shape.
Another incident that pitched Amaechi against the President was that the former accused the World Bank, during an event abroad, of aiding Nigeria’s lamentable corruption.
He also lamented the increasing activities of oil thieves, adding that attempts by his government to subdue the thieves have also been scuttled by the President because of the problem between them, thus making the country suffer the consequence.
“My colleague, the governor of Benue State, told me that teachers are on strike in his state because of salary. And you would see more in the next few months. The country is broke.
“The amount of money being stolen is enough to run this economy. They set aside 455,000 barrels per day for local refining. We don’t refine in Nigeria. Crude is refined overseas, brought back to Nigeria and then we pay subsidy on it,” he said.
The governor made a lot of other revelations as published in the current edition of the magazine.
Lagos Restricts Danfo Drivers To 8 Hrs Of Work
Lagos State Government says it would begin enforcement of a section of
the road traffic law which restricts commuter bus drivers from driving
for more than eight hours at a stretch daily.
Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa disclosed this at the weekend at a news conference heralding the National Council on Transportation conference which kicked off today and would end on Friday at the Lagos City Hall, Lagos, southwest Nigeria.
According to Opeifa, section 44 of the Road Traffic Law bars commuter bus drivers from driving for eight hours at a stretch, saying that government would begin enforcement of the new law in January 2014.
He said many commuter bus drivers did not know that such a provision exists in the traffic law, saying that the next phase is to register all commuter bus drivers, conductors and owners of such vehicles so that through the registration, the drivers could be monitored effectively to ensure compliance with the 8 hours work rule and other aspects of the traffic law.
Opeifa
warned that by January next year, government would not have mercy on
any bus driver who failed to register, as his vehicle would be impounded
for breaching the traffic law.
“With the development, no driver would be allowed to drive beyond 8 hours at a stretch, while owners of the commercial vehicles would be made to get insurance that will cover their passengers. Commercial drivers and their conductors would also begin to appear in registered uniform and badges for proper identification by the public.
“To be regulated also is the number of passengers who stand in the buses particularly, the Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, while no commercial vehicle would be allowed to ply routes not registered for by the government.
“Smoking and eating while driving within the state would attract N20, 000-N30,000 in accordance with the provision of the law for first and second offenders respectively,” Opeifa stated.
According to him, this development is to sustain security and safety already established in the state by the state traffic law, adding that accreditation of the owners of the commuter buses was to ensure that all operators were captured in government’s data base to curtail atrocities and crimes committed with the use of unregistered commercial vehicles.
“With these moves, we want to curtail kidnapping, robberies and other forms of crimes perpetrated by the continuous usage of unregistered vehicles for commercial purposes. We are out to tackle the issue of ‘one chance’ headlong.
“Also, the situation where the drivers and their conductors dress shabbily would be checked with the introduction uniform and badges for them. We are also re-introducing routine system for them. They will only ply only route boldly written on their buses,” he said.
On the 13th National Council on Transportation meeting being hosted by Lagos, Opeifa said the programme was organised to ensure adequate improvement in the transportation system, identify opportunities within the sector and promote various modes of transportation.
The commissioner disclosed that the theme of this year’s conference is: Transformation of Transport Infrastructure: Catalyst for Socio-Economic Growth.
The conference by the council, which comprises all commissioners of transportation in Nigeria, would be chaired by the Minister of Transport, while Governor Babatunde Fashola would be the chief host of the event.
He said the event would be in two sessions-the technical and the National Council meeting, saying that the technical session would be headed by the Federal Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation.
Opeifa said the state government had made adequate preparations to ensure that this year’s meeting was unique as many private organizations were partnering with the government in this regard.
Source: PM News
Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa disclosed this at the weekend at a news conference heralding the National Council on Transportation conference which kicked off today and would end on Friday at the Lagos City Hall, Lagos, southwest Nigeria.
According to Opeifa, section 44 of the Road Traffic Law bars commuter bus drivers from driving for eight hours at a stretch, saying that government would begin enforcement of the new law in January 2014.
He said many commuter bus drivers did not know that such a provision exists in the traffic law, saying that the next phase is to register all commuter bus drivers, conductors and owners of such vehicles so that through the registration, the drivers could be monitored effectively to ensure compliance with the 8 hours work rule and other aspects of the traffic law.
“With the development, no driver would be allowed to drive beyond 8 hours at a stretch, while owners of the commercial vehicles would be made to get insurance that will cover their passengers. Commercial drivers and their conductors would also begin to appear in registered uniform and badges for proper identification by the public.
“To be regulated also is the number of passengers who stand in the buses particularly, the Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, while no commercial vehicle would be allowed to ply routes not registered for by the government.
“Smoking and eating while driving within the state would attract N20, 000-N30,000 in accordance with the provision of the law for first and second offenders respectively,” Opeifa stated.
According to him, this development is to sustain security and safety already established in the state by the state traffic law, adding that accreditation of the owners of the commuter buses was to ensure that all operators were captured in government’s data base to curtail atrocities and crimes committed with the use of unregistered commercial vehicles.
“With these moves, we want to curtail kidnapping, robberies and other forms of crimes perpetrated by the continuous usage of unregistered vehicles for commercial purposes. We are out to tackle the issue of ‘one chance’ headlong.
“Also, the situation where the drivers and their conductors dress shabbily would be checked with the introduction uniform and badges for them. We are also re-introducing routine system for them. They will only ply only route boldly written on their buses,” he said.
On the 13th National Council on Transportation meeting being hosted by Lagos, Opeifa said the programme was organised to ensure adequate improvement in the transportation system, identify opportunities within the sector and promote various modes of transportation.
The commissioner disclosed that the theme of this year’s conference is: Transformation of Transport Infrastructure: Catalyst for Socio-Economic Growth.
The conference by the council, which comprises all commissioners of transportation in Nigeria, would be chaired by the Minister of Transport, while Governor Babatunde Fashola would be the chief host of the event.
He said the event would be in two sessions-the technical and the National Council meeting, saying that the technical session would be headed by the Federal Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation.
Opeifa said the state government had made adequate preparations to ensure that this year’s meeting was unique as many private organizations were partnering with the government in this regard.
Source: PM News
David Did Not Kill Goliath, The Bible Is Not Infallible! - Femi Aribisala
Written by Femi Aribisala
One of the myths of Christianity is the infallibility of the bible.
Quoting Paul, some Christians insist every word in the bible is “God-breathed.” (2 Timothy 3:16).
When you identify contradictions in the bible, they either refuse to acknowledge them or try to rationalise them away with highfalutin apologetics.
However, these apologetics have not made the contradictions disappear. All they do is establish that these bible-fanatics are not committed to the truth.
Christians generally believe little David killed mighty Goliath, according to the “infallible” account of 1 Samuel 17:50-51. This feat is drummed into us from childhood.
However, the same “infallible” bible also credits the killing of Goliath to Elhanan, one of David’s mighty men.
2 Samuel says:
There was another battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jair from Bethlehem killed Goliath from Gath.” (2 Samuel 21:19This record of Elhanan (as opposed to David) killing Goliath can be found in many bible translations but other bible translations of the same 2 Samuel 21:19 say Elhanan killed “the brother of Goliath.” These translations include the King James Version (KJV); New King James Version (NKJV); The Living Bible (TLB); and New Living Translation (NLT).
Of the latter, the New King James Version is remarkably unreliable.
As a matter of policy, King James sometimes adds its own words to bible verses, effectively doctoring their meaning.
Although the translation says Elhanan slew “the brother of Goliath;” the words “the brother of” are written in italics, indicating that they do not appear in the original Hebrew text but were added at the discretion of NKJV translators.
However, my purpose here is not just to demonstrate the fallibility of the bible. Bible-worshipping Christians will always reject that fact no matter what.
My purpose is to determine if David killed Goliath.
The question then arises as to which version are we going to believe? Should we believe the classical position that David killed Goliath, or should we believe the equally biblical position that Elhanan killed Goliath?
For a number of reasons, the account stating that David killed Goliath is the less believable.
It is in the tradition of kings and rulers to take credit for other people’s achievements under their kingdom. David was no exception to this.
- Saul and David
One of the problems with the account has to do with the inability of bible-writers to determine precisely when David first met Saul.
We are told that when Saul transgressed against the Lord, God sent an evil spirit to trouble him. (1 Samuel 16:14). Someone then recommended to Saul that he should hire David to play the harp, offering the dubious thesis that soothing music is a demon-repellent.
But then the man recommending David said something strange: he extolled David, a young teenager who was not even old enough to be in the army, as a man of war:
I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war.” (1 Samuel 16:18This description is a giveaway. It is obviously written after the fact. There is no basis for describing David, a youth keeping sheep, as “a mighty man of valour” and “a man of war.”
By all accounts, David was not even a man yet. On this recommendation, Saul sent word to Jesse, David’s father, that his son should be seconded to him.
However, David entered Saul’s service not as a harp-playing musician, but as his armour-bearer, even though we are told later that Saul’s armour was too heavy for David. (1 Samuel 17:38-39).
Nevertheless, whenever Saul came under attack by the evil spirit, David would play a harp and the evil spirit would depart. Saul quickly took a liking to David, and he sent to his father a second time that David’s secondment to him should become permanent. (1 Samuel 16:22).
However, when we get to the incident where David is alleged to have killed Goliath, we discover to our surprise that this same David, who was supposed to be Saul’s armour-bearer/musician, had never met Saul before.
In that contradictory account, David was just a young boy tending sheep. His father sent him to deliver lunch to his two brothers at the war-front.
On arriving there, he found Goliath terrorizing everybody and offered to fight against him.
He was then brought to Saul who, on meeting him for the very first time, said to him:
“You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” (1 Samuel 17:33).
However, in the earlier version, David was specifically introduced to Saul as “a man of war.”
Contrary to the earlier account where Saul sent emissaries to David’s father twice, he now did not know who David’s father was.
Conclusion - The bible is a book written and compiled by men; and men are not infallible.
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