Nigeria ‘ll break if Jonathan is not allowed to contest —EZEIFE

Former governor of  Anambra State Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, has declared that Nigeria may break up if President Goodluck Jonathan was disallowed from running for a second term in office.

Ezeife, who stated this in an interview published by Vanguard , noted that:  “At this juncture in Nigerian history, President Jonathan’s interest in a second term  and Nigerians’ interest in the continued existence of the country have become coterminous.”
He also insisted that those opposed to President Jonathan’s convening of a national conference were also opposed to Nigeria’s continued existence as a united country.

He said: “If you  say because you oppose President Jonathan’s bid for a second term in office, you are also opposed to a National Dialogue, you are saying no to one Nigeria.
“ The truth of the matter is that opposing President Jonathan’s second term is like opposing the continued existence of Nigeria as one united country.

“What do you think would happen if as a result of the handiwork of the opposition, President Jonathan is disallowed from running for a second term in office? Can you control what would happen?
“ Whether you are from the North, South or West, you can’t stop President Jonathan from going for a second term and winning.

“Everybody can make noise but if those who are making noise should think deeply, they would realize that the continued existence of Nigeria as one country is anchored on Jonathan’s continuation in office come 2015.”
On what would happen if President Jonathan contested the election and lost, he said: “We would be faced with the same problem.  The Niger Delta boys would blow up all the oil pipelines and then a part of the country could say they are no longer interested in Nigeria; they could say Nigeria legally expired when the nation marked its centenary and that they are now on their own.

“This is not what I want, but I am afraid it could happen if we foolishly think of only our short term interest, instead of thinking of long term implications.
“However, if  Jonathan contests and loses in a free and fair election  where Nigerians truly vote against him, it would be less bloody than if he is not allowed  to contest at all.”

Lagos Voters will drop in 2015- INEC

Dr Adekunle Ogunmola, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC, Lagos State, on Wednesday, said the number of registered voters in Lagos would drop.
He said this is as a result of double registration by some of the electorates.

``The figure for Lagos is going to drop because double registration will be removed and when we display, people will now be able to see whether their names are still there or not,’’ he said.

He also called on the politicians and parties to mobilise the voters, arguing that it would not solely be the responsibility of INEC to remove apathy as witnessed in Anambra election.

``The contestants and the parties are the ones looking for votes, so they should also be involved in mobilising people for election,’’ he said.

He added that the commission would not stagger the 2015 general elections to avoid the problems encountered in Anambra.

``We are not staggering elections in 2015; having problems in Anambra does not mean that we will not be able to handle the 36 states of the federation plus the FCT.

``In fact, it is going to be a lot easier for us. But, I want to say that I see the problem associated with Anambra election as a blessing in disguise because we were thinking that it was going to be error-proof.

``And that would have made us to be a little bit complacent, thinking that everything is okay.

``We see this as an eye opener and it has compelled us to crosscheck our crossed T's and dotted I's again.

``Beyond that, we need to also point out that there is the problem of the people, who constitute electorate, being nonchalant about checking their names during display.’’

Ogunmola however said ``most of the funds we demand for election are spent on training and educating our officers on how to enlighten the people’’.

``That is why I do not blame people that are complaining about the amount INEC estimated for 2015 election because they have little knowledge about its operations.’’ he said.

Falana lambasts Fashola for deporting beggars

Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN has described as illegal the deportation of 'beggars' by the Lagos state governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, stressing that the action is against the spirit of federalism.

Mr. Femi Falana who spoke with journalists in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti state, said that no state in the country has legal justification for deporting Nigerians as it violates the fundamental rights of citizens of the country.

Falana submitted that the deportation of some alleged beggars by the Lagos State Government was "contrary to the provisions of the Constitution which stated that Nigerians could choose to live in any part of the country."

He went further to note that, "virtually all the states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are guilty of this offense, It will be wrong to restrict the condemnation of illegal deportation to Lagos State because many other states are into this barbaric act. The deportation of some beggars by the Lagos State Government to Anambra State was illegal, it is against the constitution”.

He urged governments across the tiers to see to the needs of Nigerians rather than deport them.

Fashola and the governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi are at war of words over the deportation of beggars from Lagos state to Anambra state.