I can contest for President In 2015 - Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has told a Federal High Court that contrary to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, an incumbent president’s tenure in office can extend beyond four or eight years.
The president, who last Sunday said it was too early to discuss 2015 presidential election, disclosed this in response to a suit filed by a Port Harcourt-based lawyer and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member, Henry Amadi, who wants the court to declare that Mr Jonathan was no longer qualified to contest in 2015.

The plaintiff argued that allowing Mr Jonathan to contest in 2015 would amount to extending his tenure beyond the maximum period of two terms of four years envisaged by the 1999 Constitution.

A similar suit was filed by another member of the PDP, Cyriacus Njoku, who asked an Abuja High Court to stop Mr Jonathan from contesting the presidential election in 2015 on the grounds that he was already in his second term in office.

Judgment was yet to be entered in the said suit by the presiding Judge, Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi, long after he had earlier fixed November 13, 2012 date before adjourning the case sine dine (indefinitely) following his trip abroad.

In the present suit, the plaintiff joined Mr Jonathan and the Independent National electoral Commission (INEC) as co-defendants.

He specifically asked the court to stop Mr Jonathan from putting himself forward or participating as candidate for election to the office of the president at the end of his current term of office in 2015.

Mr Amadi also asked the court to direct INEC not to accept Mr Jonathan’s nomination as candidate of the PDP in 2015, saying by so doing, the president would hoist illegality in the polity since the oath of allegiance and office he would take if he won would violate the two oaths of allegiance and office stipulated by the 1999 Constitution.

But in the counter-affidavit filed on his behalf by Ade Okeaya-Inneh, President Jonathan asked the court to decline jurisdiction to entertain the case on the grounds that the plaintiff was an ordinary individual who was not qualified to request court to stop him from contesting 2015 presidential election.

“Under public law, an ordinary or a citizen or a taxpayer without more will generally not have locus standi as a plaintiff. This is because such litigations concern public rights and duties which belong to and are owed all members of the public including the plaintiff,” the president’s lawyer said.

The president contended that the plaintiff failed to disclose reasonable cause of action and that his claim before the court was hypothetical and academic. Mr Jonathan averred that he took the first oath of office on May 6, 2010 following the death of former president Umaru Musa Yar’adua.

“The question that arises for determination is whether, having regard to the facts of this case, he is in his first or second term. In other words, given that the constitution prescribes a maximum of two-term of four years each totalling a maximum of eight years as president, is he eligible to run for re-election in 2015?

“If yes, that would mean that, if he wins, he would be in office for a period of more than eight years.

“On the other hand, if the answer is no, that would mean that he, for no fault of his, would be constrained to serve for a period of less than eight years. “Given that between May 6, 2010 and May 28, 2011 he held office for the unexpired term of office of Yar’adua following the death of the later. Does the constitution contemplate that the period of about one year and three weeks would constitute his first term, a period of less than half of the constitutionally prescribed period of four years.’’

Mr Okeaya-Inneh further said: “in resolving this issue, the court is invited to make a determination whether the period of May 6, 2010 to May 28, 2011 wherein Jonathan occupied the office of the president can, in law, be regarded as one term of office and relevance of the oath of office Jonathan took on May 6, 2010 in computing the tenure of office of Jonathan in line with Sections 135 (1) and (2), 137 (1)(b), 140 (1) and (2) and 146(1) of the 1999 Constitution.”

He argued that it was better with the political situation of Nigeria for Jonathan to spend nine years in office than to spend less than eight years. “This approach is also consistent with the time honoured canon of interpretation to the effect that if confronted with two interpretations, one of which would abridge a person’s right and another which would maintain or enhance a person’s rights, the former constitution yields to the later.’’

Meanwhile, Justice Adamu Bello adjourned to 23 January 2013, for parties in the matter to adopt their processes and argument. He also granted the applications made by lawyers to Mr Jonathan and INEC to extend time within which to file their counter-affidavit and preliminary objections to the suit filed by lawyer to the plaintiff.

Arsenal Coach condemns Di Matteo's Sack as Benitez takes Over As Chelsea Coach

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger accused Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich of failing to show loyalty to Roberto di Matteo after the Italian was sacked just months after winning the Champions League.

Abramovich displayed his ruthless side once again on Wednesday as he axed di Matteo following a poor recent run that saw the Blues surrender their position on top of the Premier League and left them in severe danger of failing to reach the Champions League knockout stages.

But the decision surprised and saddened Wenger, who claimed di Matteo deserved more time to get things back on track after leading Chelsea to their first ever Champions League triumph, as well as winning the FA Cup, during his spell as caretaker boss last season.

“I find it surprising and very sad personally. I believe it is important on our side to show loyalty,” Wenger said after his side’s 2-0 Champions League win over Montpellier on Wednesday.

“Di Matteo came in in a difficult situation and won the Champions League and FA Cup.

“He did well and there wasn’t even any time this season. It is a complete surprise and very sad news.”

Wenger was also surprised Rafael Benitez agreed to replace di Matteo on a short-term contract.

Benitez was appointed as Chelsea’s interim manager just hours after Abramovich sacked di Matteo following Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat at Juventus.

But the former Liverpool, Inter Milan and Valencia coach is in charge only until the end of the season and Wenger believes a manager with his CV should have been looking for a permanent deal.

“It is a surprise as well. Benitez is a guy with a good record and a manager of stature,” Wenger said.

“It is a surprise he is appointed for such a short time and I’m surprised he accepted it.”

Chelsea Sack Coach Roberto Di Matteo

Chelsea have parted company with manager Roberto Di Matteo following the club's UEFA Champions League defeat by Juventus.

Di Matteo was named caretaker boss following the exit of Andre Villas-Boas last season and after leading Chelsea to Champions League and FA Cup glory in May, the 42-year-old Italian signed a two-year contract in June.

Chelsea started the 2012/13 Barclays Premier League campaign well, winning seven of their opening eight matches but the club's form has dipped over recent weeks.

They have won one of their last eight matches in all competitions while on Saturday, they suffered a 2-1 League defeat at high-flying West Bromwich Albion.

And Tuesday night's 3-0 defeat by Juventus leaves the club's qualification for the Champions League knockout stages hanging by a thread.

A statement on Chelsea's official website read: "The team's recent performances and results have not been good enough and the owner and the Board felt that a change was necessary now to keep the club moving in the right direction as we head into a vitally important part of the season.

"The club faces a difficult task ahead in qualifying for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League as well as maintaining a strong challenge for the top of the Premier League while competing in three other cup competitions. Our aim is to remain as competitive as possible and challenge strongly on all fronts.

"The owner and the Board would like to thank Roberto for all he has done for the club since taking over in March. Roberto helped guide us to an historic Champions League victory and a seventh FA Cup. We will never forget the huge contribution he has made to this club's history and he will always be welcome at Stamford Bridge.
"The club will be making an announcement shortly regarding a new first team manager."

Di Matteo had made changes to his starting line-up for the Juventus contest, with striker Fernando Torres named on the bench, Eden Hazard pushed into a more advanced role and Cesar Azpilicueta selected on the right side of midfield.

Petr Cech had already deflected Stephan Lichtsteiner's shot onto the post before Fabio Quagliarella put the Italian side ahead when he diverted Andrea Pirlo's strike into the corner.

Arturo Vidal made it two on 61 minutes when his strike was deflected in by Ramires while Sebastian Giovinco guided the ball past the

onrushing Cech to complete the victory in injury time.
"There is big disappointment, it is a difficult evening for us, the team and the club, and there was a lot of reflection," said Di Matteo after the match.

"I am responsible for the result and the performance and it is a negative evening for us. I selected a team that I was convinced was the right team to win or at least take a draw so the blame belongs to me."
Chelsea now need to win their final Group E game against FC Nordsjaelland and hope Shakhtar Donetsk beat Juventus in order to qualify from the group.

The Blues face defending Barclays Premier League champions Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Breaking: Jonathan's Younger Brother Dies in Aso Villa Clinic

The Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan is currently bereaved. Reason being that his younger brother, Meni Jonathan has being confirmed dead at the Aso Rock clinic Abuja, the Federal Capital today, Tuesday.

According to medical sources, Mr. Meni who was in his late 40s was flown in from Bayelsa, Jonathan’s country home last week for medical treatment at the Villa.
The cause of sudden illness and his demise is yet to be unravelled.

The deceased is Jonathan’s half brother and until his sudden departure acted as the head of Otueke, council chiefs in Bayelsa State.
Meanwhile, Jonathan is to embark on an official trip to Islamabad, Pakistan tonight, to attend the summit of Heads of States and Government of the Group of Eight Developing Nations (D-8).

In a statement released by his media aide, Dr. Reuben Abati, Jonathan would be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olugbenga Ashiru, Minister of Trade and Investment Olusegun Aganga and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
The president is expected to return to the country on Friday.

At the moment, it is uncertain whether he will still make the trip as earlier scheduled or not.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed as we monitor event at the Aso Villa.

PHOTO: See Star Actress Omotola as you have never seen her before as she launches her reality show

The actress new reality show entitled Omotola: The Real Me  is making it's debuts on Africa Magic Entertainment (DSTV 151) on December 6th, 2012.
The producers of Omotola's reality show, IFactory Live, released two stunning new photos of the star actress and also revealed the date her reality show will debut.
We serve you the photos hot! Congrats Omo sexy!

Happy birthday, Mr. President

Jonathan at his wife's birthday party recently

Today is the birthday of Nigeria's President, Goodluck Jonathan.

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR, (born 20 November 1957) is the 14th Head of State and current Nigerian President. Prior to his role as President, he served as Governor of Bayelsa State and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Jonathan, an Ijaw, was born in what is now Bayelsa State to a family of canoe makers. He holds a B.Sc degree in Zoology in which he attained Second Class Honours. He holds an M.Sc degree in Hydrobiology and Fisheries biology, and a Ph.D degree in Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt. He worked as an education inspector, lecturer, and environmental-protection officer. He joined politics in 1998.

Greenwich News wishes the President of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, a happy Birthday. May God continue to bestow him with wisdom, strength and the moral courage to lead this country on the path to greatness for which it is destined.

An Athlete's "Not impressed" pose on getting second place at the summer Olympics gets Presidential Attention

Let's do it

At the 2012 Olympics, 16 year old American Athlete, Maroney was captured in a scrunched-up scowl image showing her disappointment after learning she’d earned the silver medal in the individual vault final at the 2012 Olympics. The image soon went viral, spreading rapidly across the Internet and spurring a meme known as “McKayla Maroney is not impressed.”

Maroney After Winning Silver

The 2012 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team stopped by the White House on Thursday for a meet and greet with President Obama. But before the team (also known as the Fierce Five) left, Obama pulled aside McKayla Maroney, who placed second on vault this summer, to discuss “the face.”

The American President admitted doing a similar face at least once a day. There and then, side by side the two posed with their lips twisted setting off another set of viral memes.

Surely now, both the President and Maroney are not impressed!

University Of Abuja Is Shut Down as Students Protest

The University of Abuja has been shut down by management following a monday morning protest by students.

Reports emanating from the Gwagwalada site of the University indicated that trouble started when some students of the Faculty of Engineering protested the inability of the school authority to bring out a timetable for their exams, even when students of other faculties have already started theirs.

A University source disclosed that there was a problem with Engineering courses as regards to accreditation, as those who graduated from the faculty were yet to get their results.
“The authorities felt there is no point writing exams for courses that have no accreditation until the issue is resolved, but the students feel shortchanged by the management. That is why they started protesting today,” the source said.

Scientists Discover Gene That Could Predict Exactly What time We'll Die

Gene that predicts what time of day we'll die: Discovery could help determine when stroke or heart patients should take medication

Scientists have discovered a gene variation that affects the human body clock so profoundly that it even predicts the time of day when an individual is most likely to die.
Researchers hope the findings could eventually be used to determine when heart or stroke patients should take medication to make it most effective, or when hospital patients should be monitored most closely.
The US team discovered the gene variation by accident when they were investigating the development of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

They looked at the sleeping patterns of 1,200 healthy 65-year-olds who were also given annual neurological and psychiatric assessments.

Differences: Those with the AA or AG genotype died just before 11am on average, but those with the GG genotype tended to die at just before 6pm
They found a single molecule near a gene called ‘Period 1’ that had as its base either adenine (A) or guanine (G).
Type A is more common by a ratio of six to four, so because people have two sets of chromosomes, an individual has a 36 per cent chance of having two As, a 16 per cent chance of having two Gs, and a 48 per cent chance of an A and a G.

The findings, published in the Annals of Neurology, showed that those with a AA genotype tend naturally to wake up about an hour earlier than those with GG, and the AGs wake up almost exactly in the middle.
They also showed that those with the AA or AG genotype died just before 11am on average, but those with the GG genotype tended to die at just before 6pm.

The study’s lead author Andrew Lim, from the Department of Neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, said: ‘The internal “biological clock” regulates many aspects of human biology and behaviour. It also influences the timing of acute medical events like stroke and heart attack.’
Clifford Saper, chief of neurology at BIDMC, said: ‘So there is really a gene that predicts the time of day that you’ll die. Not the date, fortunately, but the time of day.’

There is no on-going negotiation with Boko Haram - President Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, dismissed insinuations of  a secret dialogue between the administration and the Boko Haram just as he declared former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s invasion of Odi in Bayelsa State in 1999 as a failure that did not help to curb militancy in the Niger Delta region.

Speaking on nationwide television media chat, the president also gave a robust defence of the administration’s fight against corruption as he set a 2014 date on the decision whether he would contest the next presidential election or not.

In the two-hour broadcast session on television and radio network, President Jonathan also pledged to align himself with Nigerians if the citizens choose to retain the two-term tenure system for executive office holders.
The Media Chat programme anchored by the Nigeria Television Authority, NTA’s, Kudu Abubakar had the Chairman of the Editorial Board of Vanguard, Mr. Ikeddy Isiguzo, Editor of The Guardian Mr. Martins Oloja and Gbemi Olujobi, Editor Saturday Mirror, as panelists.

The President denied insinuations of the declining dominance of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the country following consecutive election losses in Edo and Ondo states.

He also rebuffed reports of the cancellation of the contract between the administration and Manitoba Hydro Limited for the management of the transmission lines of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN.

Questions were also drawn from Nigerians through text messages and twitter. In one of such questions where the sender said the president would go down in history as the best president if he fixes the Benin-Ore Road and solves the power problem, Dr Jonathan responded that he would be the best president.

Asked to respond to claims of backroom dialogue with Boko Haram following the group’s offer for dialogue, President Jonathan said:

“Presently, government is not dialoguing with any group. There is no dialogue between the Boko Haram and government. Though there was a news item talking about dialogue, but the Boko Haram group is yet to come out. So there is nobody to dialogue with.”

Against the claims by former President Obasanjo that more force as was used in Odi would have helped to dislodge the Boko Haram insurgents, President Jonathan said:

“I can give you the narrative of what led to the Odi crisis. The peak of the militancy was when 12 police officers were killed, that was cold blooded murder and that made the Federal government to now invade Odi. After that invasion, myself and the governor entered Odi, ordinarily, the governor and his deputy are not supposed to move under such situation, but we entered and saw some dead people. Most of the people that died in Odi were mostly old men, women and children, none of the militants was killed.

Odi invasioin was a failure

 “If bombarding Odi was to solve the problem, then it was never solved and of course if the attack on Odi  had solved the problem of militancy in the Niger Delta, then the Yar’ Adua government would not have come up with the Amnesty programme. So, that should tell you that the attack on Odi never solved the militancy problem and we had more challenges after that attack on Odi.”

Responding to a question on whether he would be contesting the 2015 presidential elections, Dr. Jonathan replied:

“I plead with journalists; it is too early to ask a sitting president whether or not he will contest elections and this is one of the reasons we agitated for this single tenure issue. Because if a president tells you today that he is contesting election, it will generate a lot of issues. If I say I am not contesting election, my cabinet members will easily resign and go because all of them are qualified to contest that position.

“There is a four-year tenure which is quite short if you look at the African scenario. Most other African countries have six years and some seven years. Four years is very short time for a president to make an impact. Immediately you start talking about elections, you get diverted, give us time. Before you ask Mr. President whether he will contest or not, give me time. I don’t want to distract members of my cabinet.

“To know if I would contest again, I will ask you to wait till 2014. Give me some time for me and my cabinet to do our work. I do not want to distract my team in our quest.”

Asked if his party, the PDP was losing its dominance in the polity following two straight losses in gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo States, he said:

“It is even dangerous for this country if PDP, for example, should control all the states. Then there is no democracy and that is one of the challenges that we have conducting PDP primaries, because in some states, you look at the primaries as the election before the election. Immediately you secure the PDP ticket, you are already the governor, it is not in the best interest of this country.

“The PDP worked very hard, the PDP got second position in Ondo election and in some of them, the difference was quite narrow. Except for Imo State, in Ondo and Edo states that you mentioned, we contested against incumbent governors.

“If you look at the whole scenario around Ondo State, Mimiko, himself was a PDP man. When Mimiko contested the election the first time, his running mate was the state chairman of the PDP. It was more like a PDP family but divided into two, so that I don’t see that as a major challenge to PDP. It is all for PDP to go back in that state and put its house in order. I believe that in the next election, the PDP family will come together and PDP will rule Ondo State. We will win naturally immediately we put our house in order because we are all PDP members.”

On corruption

On the issue of graft, President Jonathan said his administration’s major imprints in the battle against corruption had been positive, noting that the battle was started by attacking electoral corruption which he noted was the mother of all corruption.

“We decided to sanitise the electoral system, dealing with corruption associated with the electoral process. In most cases, people manipulate themselves into office; state governors, local government chairmen and others manipulate themselves into offices without being voted for, thereby posing as problems for the country.

“We are aware that dealing with corruption associated with the electoral process will ensure that corruption is dealt with totally.

“We have done very well on various fronts in terms of fighting corruption. We have sanitized the fertilizer subsidy process; we have tried in sanitizing the electoral process; we have now started the audit of the oil sector, pointing to the fact that we are in the process of sanitizing the sector.

“If you ask the average Nigerian, they will say it is all because of corruption, and that because of corruption that is why there is a pot hole somewhere and that accidents are caused by corruption. We just believe that everything is caused by corruption. The retreat we conducted and are applying to do certain things including correctional orders, you will be surprised that most people who voted, gave corruption less than 20 per cent.

“But in terms of perfection, we believe that corruption is the cause of all our problems. Corruption is there and we will continue to fight corruption, no doubt about that. But this government has tried to investigate the corruption associated with the elections, we have sanitised it, the corruption associated with procurement of fertilizer is enormous, we have sanitised and we are now dealing with petroleum products, we will go ahead and sanitise it. We will surely sanitise this country.”

The Manitoba contract

Asked if the contract with Manitoba has been cancelled, the president said: ”Manitoba’s contract has not been revoked. There were some issues raised because of misunderstanding. In 2006 when privatization started, Manitoba and others also bidded and as that time the BPE that handled the whole transaction noticed that there were some confusion and they placed procurement of Manitoba as a consultant to manage our transmission and set the process the proces of the privatization.

“Former heads of state are probably shareholders in some companies I don’t think they own any company of their own but no matter what, these companies bidded and they will be assessed technically so you will not know if it is owned by a former head of state or not.”

“The companies that qualify technically will now go into the financial round.
Investment in refineries

President Jonathan also said that the present fuel crisis across the country would be resolved only if private investors were attracted to build refineries in the country.

He said the administration was working towards adopting the Canadian model. According to him Canada has 16 refineries owned by private individuals, but managed under a deregulated system.

He maintained that for the private sector to be encouraged to invest in building refineries, the issue of subsidy must be resolved.

“For those people who have been given licenses to build refineries do so, the government must be seen to resolve the issue of subsidy, as people will be concerned about what gets to them after investing huge resources in that venture,” he stated.

He appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience and bear with the government, saying that the government has commenced the process of sanitizing the oil industry and that when the process is completed, the issue of fuel scarcity will be addressed.

He said, “There are a lot of issues associated with the current fuel situation in Nigeria. There is also the human factor. In Benin Republic, for example, there is no fuel queue, but all their fuel is from Nigeria. When we are through with sanitizing the oil sector, the system will improve and fuel queues will go away.”