President Jonathan Honors Athlete, Blessing Okagbare With N3million

President Goodluck Jonathan today, Wednesday honored Africa's fastest woman, Blessing Okagbare for her wonderful performance at the just concluded 2013 Athletic Championship in Moscow. Okagbare holds the African record in 100m, won the silver medal in the long jump and also placed third in the Women’s 200m race in the Athletics Championship.

The President gave N3m to the athlete and N3.5m to the coach. Blessing Okagbare,  and she is also an Olympic and world medallist in the long jump as well as world medallist in 200m.

In his remark, President Jonathan called on young Nigeria ladies to emulate the athlete, while he also charged the ministry of sports to do all it can to ensure that the country wins more medals in future sporting events, promising that said sports and sports ambassadors will from now on no longer be treated with levity.

President Jonathan Sets up 11-Member Committee to Probe Funding of Police Colleges

President Goodluck Jonathan Tuesday set up a committee to probe all monies received by the police, either through donations or appropriation for renovation and upgrade of its training institutions from 2009 to 2012.

The setting up of the committee came on the heels of the president’s visit last Friday to the Police College, Ikeja, which is in a state of decay because of prolonged neglect by successive administration.

It also coincided with a meeting in Abuja between the Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd), and Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, over the state of police training institutions.

The establishment of the committee and the president’s visit to the 73-year-old institution are the fallout of the footage of a documentary aired by Channels Television last week to draw attention to the decay in the college.

In Case You Missed it: Watch Christiane Amanpour's Interview With Goodluck Jonathan on CNN (Video)

             

President Jonathan Pays Close to N1billion in ‘Severance’ to Yar'Adua Family

The payment was made to the late president's wife, Mrs. Turai Yar'adua, as well as the his aged mother, his married daughters, and sons.

No words really, God bless Nigeria... hmmm

Source: SaharaReporters  

President Goodluck Jonathan's New Year Message to Nigerians

Part of his new year's plan is to give priority attention to flood and erosion control,  rehabilitation and expansion of existing federal roads, improved power supply, Creating more employment opportunities

GEJ also spoke on the issues of employment and security. Nigeria has suffered numerous incidents of kinappings, armed robbers, and attacks by Boko Haram in 2012. 

The President closed by urging Nigerians to become more involved in supporting the improvement of the country.

Full Text of the President Jonathan's New Year's message

Fellow Nigerians,

1. I greet and rejoice with you all as we celebrate the advent of a new year.

2. I join you all in giving thanks to God Almighty for bringing us and our beloved nation safely through the past year to the beginning of 2013 which, by His Grace, will be a much better year for us and our country.

3. In keeping with tradition, it is usual for individuals, institutions and organizations to make resolutions and set agenda as a new year begins, to guide their actions in the coming months.

Adams Oshiomhole Wins Edo Governorship Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Adams Oshiomhole, as the winner of the July 14^th governorship elections in Edo State.  

The incumbent governor polled a landslide victory in all the state’s 17 local government area (see table below), with 477,478 votes-73.72 per cent of 647,698 total votes cast-to defeat his closest rival, Charles Airhiarvbere of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

With this election, Mr. Oshiomhole, the former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has earned a second term in office following his election in the 2007 general election.

Press Release: President Jonathan Sacks NNPC GMD, Others, Names New Boss

President Jonathan has tonight fired the entire Executive Management Team of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) led by the Group Managing Director, Mr. Austen Oniwon.

He immediately named Mr. Andrew Yakubu as the new Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Read Press Release after cut.....

President Jonathan Sacks Defence Minister and National Security Adviser

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday sacked the Defence Minister, Dr. Haliru Bello and the National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi as a move to revamp his administration’s response to the growing threat of violence from the extreme Islamist sect, Boko Haram.

Azazi has immediately been replaced by Sambo Dasuki, a retired colonel of the Nigerian Army.

President Jonathan’s Delegation to Brazil is World’s Largest, at 116!

Contrary to Mr. Jona's pledge in January to travel at less weight and expense, its been gathered that our president took with him 116 men and women for the United Nation Earth Summit which have been told is the largest.


The team according to sources is made up of:

•   25 personal aides

•   18 aides of Patience Jonathan

•   2 members of the National Assembly

•   5 Ministers

•   2 Governors, and

•   63 officials from the Ministries of Environment, Foreign Affairs, National Planning and  

     Petroleum Resources.


The junket will continue for Mr. Jonathan next week Thursday when he will be in Brussels for the World Customs Conference, scheduled for June 28-30.  He will be taking with him about 57 people, including 26 aides, 3 Ministers, 8 members of the National Assembly, and 20 other government officials.  


From June 25 to 29, Mrs. Jonathan will be in Maryland, United States, accompanied by 36 people: 18 aides, 4 wives of Governors, and 14 friends and associates.


Okay... I know it is important to take along delegates on trips, but what I don't get is the number. Abeg I need explanation of each person's duty.

Outrage Over President Goodluck Jonathan’s Trip to Brazil

The news that President Goodluck Jonathan jetted out of the country amidst violence in Kaduna and Yobe states provoked public outrage on Tuesday.

Jonathan on Monday travelled to Brazil to take part in a United Nations’ Earth Summit, leaving behind killings in Kaduna and Yobe. Opposition parties and other eminent citizens have described the trip as disappointing.

The House of Representatives said the President could have delegated the trip to Vice-President Namadi Sambo or any of his senior aides since the trip was “not special or of economic interest.”

The spokesman for the House, Zakari Mohammed said “A trip like that could have been delegated by Mr. President so that he can stay at home to take charge of security.

“We know that security agencies are supposed to do their job, but we cannot afford to compromise security. If our security is compromised, it is a failure of governance.” Mohammed added that investors would not come to Nigeria if the country was not safe. 

The Action Congress of Nigeria, also aired their disappointment in a statement by his National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who faulted Jonathan’s journey amidst what it described as a “national tragedy.”

Bianca Ojukwu, Taofeek Arapaja, Ojo Maduekwe & 90 Other Newly Appointed Ambassadors Get Postings

President Goodluck Jonathan in a group photograph with the Ambassadors-Designate

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday presented letters of credence to 93 ambassadors whom he gave a marching order to protect Nigerians in their countries of posting as well as to attract more investment to Nigeria.

Among those that got their letters were Bianca, widow of Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu; former Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe; former Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Fidelia Akuabata Njeze; former Oyo State deputy governor, Alhaji Taofeek Arapaja; former State House Chief of Protocol, Alhaji Abdullahi Tijani and Presidential Liaison Officer, Mohammed Abubakar Waziri.

Jonathan, while handing over the letters of credence to the ambassadors, urged them to forge a common front and de-emphasise ethnic associations for the greater feeling of oneness.

Dana Plane Crash: Black Boxes to Leave Nigeria for US Today

Minister of Aviation, Mrs Stella Oduah, on Wednesday said the black boxes retrieved from the ill-fated Dana Air flight that killed over 153 persons in Lagos on Sunday would on Thursday (today) be sent to the United States.

Oduah said sending the black boxes to the US was to ensure that a thorough investigation was carried out to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the crash.

She said, “At the site of the incident, there were officials of the AIB who gathered information; they cut the parts from the aircraft, looking for clues. Every and any information that they take will be taken back to the laboratory where it will be analysed to get the exact reason for the accident.

“But in addition to that, because we do not have a laboratory for that, things like the black boxes, for instance, we need to take them outside the country for proper analysis and then they come back.

“I want to also say that amongst the team that worked with the Aviation Investigations Bureau were are international experts. So you are not likely to have collusion or reports that will have integrity issue. So, I want to assure that the report you will get will be a very authentic report.”

Read Prof. Wole Soyinka's Statement on the renaming of Unilag

“This is one gift horse which, contrary to traditional saying, must be inspected thoroughly in the mouth”, he said in a statement entitled “Goodluck Jonathan’s gift horse.”

“Primary from all of us must be a plea to the MKO Abiola family not to misconstrue the protests against the naming of the University of Lagos after their heroic patriarch. Issues must be separated and understood in their appropriate contexts. The family will acknowledge that, among the loudest opposing voices to Jonathan’s gift horse, are those who have clamoured tirelessly that MKO Abiola, the Nigerian nation’s president-elect, be honoured nationally, and in a befitting manner.

“Next is my confession to considerable shock that President Goodluck Jonathan did not even think it fit to consult or inform the administrators of the university, including Council and Senate, of his intention to re-name their university for any reason, however laudable. This arbitrariness, this act of disrespect, was a barely tolerated aberration of military governance. It is totally deplorable in what is supposed to be a civilian order.

Honour my Father by Fighting Poverty, Hafsat Abiola tells Jonathan

Daughter of the late winner of 1993 presidential election, Hafsat Abiola-Costello, has hailed the decision of the federal government to re-name the University of Lagos (UNILAG) after her father but urged the federal government to work more on fighting poverty, as that will be her late father’s utmost desire.

Mrs Abiola-Costello and other prominent citizens in Abeokuta, the hometown of the late politician, described President Jonathan’s announcement as a long overdue but welcome development

In an interview with journalists in the Ogun state capital, she urged the federal government to give more priority to reduce the prevailing poverty level in the country, than naming schools and roads.