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Ron Paul Winner of CPAC Straw Poll 2011

October 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do you follow politics much? I have not been keeping up but I recently saw that Ron Paul has been chosen as the winner of the CPAC 2011 Straw Poll. This means that he is a leading republican candidate in the upcoming year. CPAC stands for Conservative Political Action Conference. This means that all of the conservative politicians meet in Washington to discuss their current policies and future actions to improve their standing in the political world. Well they have lots and lots of speakers and then they will discuss what is going on in the conservative political world.

Some of the speakers who attended the event included:

Rep. Michele Bachmann Gov. Haley Barbour Hon. John Bolton Andrew Breitbart Arthur Brooks Herman Cain Ann Coulter Gov. Mitch Daniels Hon. Newt Gingrich David Horowitz Wayne LaPierre Sen. Mike Lee Sen. Mitch McConnell Rep. Ron Paul Sen. Rand Paul Hon. Tim Pawlenty Gov. Rick Perry Hon. Mitt Romney Hon. Donald Rumsfeld Rep. Paul Ryan Hon. Rick Santorum Phyllis Schlafly Sen. John Thune Rep. Allen West

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There are some pretty big names here that are to be considered worthy of a CPAC poll winner however it was Ron Paul that won out. He also won last years poll for CPAC 2010. Ron has ran for president several times under the independent label but perhaps in 2012 he will be a leading Republican candidate. 2 years in a row of winning the Conservative Political Action Conference poll is pretty darn good if you want to run under the conservative’s party in 2012.

I am wondering what your thoughts are on this poll. Should Ron Paul have won this CPAC 2011 Poll? (Vote and win a Free iPad!)

Yes or No

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this article.

Filed Under: GOP 2012 Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Nigerian Election of 2011 a Big Hope for Nigerian Democracy

June 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Nigerian breathing of democratic air in 1999 and the subsequent political tsunami that followed and its metamorphosis to political eclipse led to the graphic opaque of Nigerian political situation. In 1999, the believe was that what happened took place because of the embryo nature of Nigerian democracy at that time, and people never looked at it as having much culpability to be shifted to Independent Natoinal Electoral Commission (INEC) and the entire system as a whole and there was a national tolerance of the 1999 elections that brought in Olusegun Obasanjo. But this act made the politicians and the electorates to believe that ballot paper means nothing to democracy and apathy started taking place in Nigerian election exercise after the 1999 election. Though the believe among the people then was that since there was lots of malpractices in the 1999 election, obviously the errors encountered in the 1999 election will be definitely corrected in the 2003 election and everybody was patiently waiting for the 2003 election to come for us as a nation to rewrite the future of our nation democracy through the instrumentality and power of ballot paper.

As the 2003 election came, the process was worse than what took place in the previous elections. The graphic political epilepsy and that followed the election of 2003 made it apparently clear to the Nigerian people that politics is all about do or die affair, political god-fatherism, thug recruitment and effectively making use of them, the connection in the government either at the state or federal levels, how much you have to share to the poor people, ability to kill people and intimidate your opponents, assassination, kidnapping, arson etc. As the people cried out, nobody seemed to listen to them, and the believe that politics is a dirty game was intensified by the conduct of 2003 election. The umpire of the 2003 election Prof. Maurice Mmadu Akolam Iwu and his collaborator Olusegun Obasanjo never felt any remorse for the offence of political banditry committed against the Nigerian people, rather Iwu and his cohort saw that as the best election in the world which America and Europe must parody if they must conduct free and fair election. This made Nigerian political atmosphere to be full of political bandits who smuggled themselves into power to continue and complete their political burglary all in the name of politics. The hope for Nigerian democracy was seriously diminishing and the people believe that the politicians decide who rules and that the majority of the populace standing under the sun to vote is a futile endeavor as the result of the election has been pre-determined before the actual voting, thus there is no point staying under the harsh weather to vote when indeed the vote does not count. The future of Nigerian democracy became more hopeless as the people do not believe in the process any longer. As the citizens were complaining of the political , the beneficiaries (the politicians) where so happy about the political illness that brought them in power and they were exploiting the opportunity.

Although we all believe that the Law of the land which is the constitution allows another election to take place in 2007, and everybody was prepared to change the status-quo by voting the right people during the 2007 election.

Obasanjo through the instrumentality of state machineries and mechanisms rigged the 2007 election in favor of People’s Democratic Party PDP and that election produced Yar’Adua as the president elect. This was the zenith and apotheosis of election rigging in Nigeria, and funny enough, Iwu who was the umpire of the 2007 election was proud of the political evil perpetuated by him and he admonished America to come to Nigeria and learn how to conduct election. He never saw anything wrong in the political crime he committed in collaboration with his cohorts, and he was busy attended workshops and defending Inependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it has done the best thing in the world and climbing down on anybody who dares to criticize (INEC) for doing a bad job as regards the conduct of 2007 election. One wonders why a professor like Iwu will be very happy for unleashing dastard and eccentric act towards his brothers and sisters (Nigerians), may be because he is a professor of pharmacology who understands the reaction of chemicals and does not understand human feelings. In confirmation of the eccentric election conducted by Iwu and his boss Obasanjo, Yar’Adua was bold enough to admit that election that brought him to power was a flaw and he will make sure that electoral Law in Nigeria is being reformed. He set up Uwaise Panel report that came up with recommendations on how to get it right as regards election in Nigeria, but unfortunately the intellectual encephalopathy who are found in (PDP) made all efforts to frustrate Yar’Adua in making sure he does not succeed in giving Nigeria good electoral Law. Rumor had it that the former Minister of Justice Aondo Aka master minded the move to make sure that Nigerian electoral Law was not reformed.

As Nigerians started complaining and pushing for the removal of Iwu before 2011 election if the 2011 election will be different from other elections we have had over time that instead of helping the growth and consolidation of Nigerian democracy, they complicated issues for us and made things more complex and quagmire for us. As Nigerians felt giddy, over the non removal of Iwu, and the 2011 election was approaching, Good Luck Ebele Jonathan removed Iwu and brought in Jega to take over the institution of INEC.

The April 20011 election which Jega was the Umpire has proven to Nigerians that there is still hope and we are getting somewhere. The people vote counted, the political manipulators lost out, the people who never won election but parade themselves as politicians lost election and they are disappearing from the scene. Obasanjo, Dimeji Bankole, Kwara state Saraki, Dora Akunyili, and lots of others lost because the peoples vote counted. Jega and his boss Jonathan have demonstrated to the world that Nigeria can get it right, that we never got it right before now just because of the physiological makeup of leaders Nigeria has paraded over time that never saw anything positive in doing what is right.

This is the most second free and fair election ever conducted in Nigeria, the June 12 1993 election and 2011 election.

Now that we have started the journey to democracy, and the anointing of political by the (god-fatherism) no longer work, the believe is that Nigeria will be a state to reckon with in few years to come as politics will not be business as usual, and it is going to be on the basis of what you put into the system is what you get. The politicians will be forced to deliver, as they know that if they do not deliver they will be voted out.

The dynamite that was buried in the Nigerian political foundation has been pulled out by Jega the (INEC) Chairman and Jonathan and the citizens complemented their efforts by doing what is right.

Today Nigeria has followed the good path other nations of the world have followed that took them where they are today. My joy is that, Iwu and Obasanjo are alive today to witness the dramatic turn around of election process and procedure in Nigeria which they had made us believe that it is impossible to attain. Will they rejoice with us or will they burry their faces in shame? God knows.

approach has restored what approach destroyed long ago, kudos to Jega, Jonathan, INEC and the entire Nigerians; thank God we are there at last.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Election Issues Tagged With: , , , ,

2011: The emergence of two party politics?

June 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

There is much talk going at the moment amongst the political class of coalitions, alliances and mergers. The general consensus seems to be that the election machine of the PDP will simply be unstoppable come 2011 and the only way that non-PDP politicians can have a say is by forming a coalition (or coalitions). The story bubbled earlier in the year as legislators debated whether to include a two-party amendment into the Electoral Reform Bill, on that occasion the idea was shot down, albeit after some political manoeuvring, but nonetheless it raised the profile of the grand coalition agenda. The idea was first floated by the ‘love-him-or-hate-him’ Godfather of Nigerian politics, General Babangida, in the ‘Third Regime’ and eventually lead to what was considered the freest and fairest elections ever held in Nigeria which was contested between the National Republican Convention and the Social Democratic Party ( Who won the election with candidate MKO Abiola).

As the elections have drawn nearer, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) are reported to be in talks over an alliance (but probably not a merger) with the All Nigerian People Party (ANPP) and their splinter party the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). In addition to all the politicians who are criss-crossing the carpet from one party to the other, Presidential aspirant Pat Utomi of the Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP), the day after announcing his candidacy indicated on his Facebook page that he would be ‘going round Nigeria to build a coalition with ALL progressives’. The question is now why the sudden clamour for unity?

There are two scenarios here that though inter-related are best looked at separately. The first of which was that raised in May in the legislature, where The National Assembly sort to pass an amendment limiting the parties allowed to run to two. The argument being that a two-party system is a stable political system that has succeeded in polities all over the world (and indeed in Nigeria albeit briefly) and will have a number of beneficial consequences include reduced cost of elections, greater accountability and higher participation. As such it was advisable to have it in law. This move although apparently supported by many was opposed by PDP legislators, but is also opposed by a number of academics who contend that besides the problems of rigidity and restricted choice this may imply, the emergence of two-party politics in the US or Japan or for that matter anywhere in the world has never been induced by the passing of law or amendment of constitutions. These changes have always happened by evolution, with two parties emerging as dominant over time but with the existence of other parties not expressly outlawed. This is of course the second scenario for Nigeria, that parties will splinter and merge, grow and wither and two parties will emerge; one of which in all likelihood has already emerged, The PDP.

There is a degree of inevitability about as French sociologist Maurice Duverger outlined in what became known as his principle. Duverger’s law asserts that a plurality election system, like the one that exists in Nigeria, tends to encourage a two party system, as opposed to a system of proportional representation which tends to favour a multiparty system. The argument being that in a country like Nigeria, where each legislative seat (and the Presidency) is divided by a simple majority of votes casted by constituents, the party with the most seats is the majority (or gains the Presidency) and the second party is in minority (or is in opposition). In each individual seat there is no role for the party that comes third, and any party that consistently comes third across the seats will have no role at all on a national level. People will stop voting for them as they will begin to see it as a wasted vote and/or the party itself will seek to ally itself with one of the more successful parties. This model has been applied to analysis of the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom and is widely accepted, however it is only a theory and it is the practice of politics that concerns Nigerians.

This would be a good time for the opposition parties to unite. The PDP is suffering a dip in support; people are dissatisfied after 12 years of the party in Government. The pressure for free and fair elections is overwhelming, this combined with the cheap publicity via modern technology means that the elections will be more open than in previous idea. The concept of a non-partisan coalition chimes with the electorate and the theme of change that the parties are planning to run on and cooperation might give them the financial muscle to challenge the PDP’s hegemony. In practice, amalgamation looks unlikely. Though the parties are currently in talks with the view to some sort of understanding, there are a number of issues in the way so much so that Alhaji Bafarawa (formerly of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), now of the ACN) has come out to dispel talk of an alliance as just that, talk.

“As a democrat and I believe ACN is a democratic party. Whoever that is taking our ticket must be our member. I am assuring you there is no way ACN will adopt a presidential candidature without recourse to democracy. There is no way merger will work”

The CPC is a splinter of the ANPP and such is unlikely to enter any coalition with them, leaving the ACN to choose a suitor. The major problem hindering any agreement is that there is no real acknowledgement of who is the ‘second’ party and who is the ‘third’, in other words who will be senior and who will be junior partner. The CPC is a new party that although has considerable support particularly in the North, has no tangible political assets to bring to the table. The ANPP despite its state Governors and significant stake in the legislator has taken some political blows as a result of the defections that have plagued the party this year. The ACN would seem to be perched in the driving seat with the popular acclaim for Governor Fashola of Lagos and its recent court successes in the South-West, however they don’t appear to be able to put forward a heavy hitting presidential candidate and such seem to be very much playing second fiddle to the other parties. The latest gossip is that the coalition will be between the CPC and the ACN, with former head of state, General Buhari, being lined up as the presidential candidate with a running mate from the ACN, possibly former governer of Lagos State, Mr Tinubu.

If a deal is struck, there will be a number of losers including ACN aspirant, Mallam Ribadu, who seems to have been overlooked as well as Pat Utomi’s SDMP and a whole host of smaller parties who will have little or nothing to bring to the table. However, in this writer’s opinion a deal is not likely to be struck, Nigerian politicians are not well known for their cooperation or their selflessness. For progress to be made one or more parties will have to give up their claim to the presidency and accept a diminished role. The parties will have to choose a platform on which to run and that is proving a sticking point at the moment as all sides would want to preserve their political capital by running on their own party ticket. Then there is the question of what will happen in the likely situation that the PDP retains power, the PDP currently has 26 of the 36 gubernatorial seats while the other parties combined have only 10. What are the realistic prospects of any coalition continuing beyond the elections and forming a credible opposition? One can only speculate and on some level that is the problem in Nigeria, there is no power in opposition and so every election is winner takes all. Duverger’s theory doesn’t hold up for Nigeria because there is no second place, no shadow cabinet, in effect no opposition. Opposition that should be shadowing government activity, scrutinizing government agenda and formulating alternative policies simply doesn’t exist. It should act as check on the party in power and should fight to get the upper hand on its opponent by reflecting the will of the people. So this brings us back to the first scenario and perhaps instead of the National Assembly trying to legislate on a two party system, they should legislate on reform to the Assembly that will allow for or even require credible opposition and maybe this will bring about the evolution of a two-party system if it is indeed inevitable.

Enyinnaya Emmanuel Chukwueke

Green Label Project, Changing Nigeria Together

Filed Under: Election Issues Tagged With: , , ,

Democracy Watch, 2011 – Issue 15

June 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Article by Katerina84

With Internet access ever on the rise Verkhovna Rada seeks to initiate dialogue with the people, whilst at the same time spreading accusations of foreign involvement in Ukrainian affairs. At the same time President Yanukovych comes close to an apology as public favour dwindles further.

Does Verkhovna Rada really want to hear the voice of the people?

The Parliament Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information has approved the draft regulation №8007 regarding the public discussion of draft laws online, on the website of Verkhovna Rada. The project is aimed at encouraging citizens to express their opinions on different draft laws for deputies to take into consideration. It is suggested that every citizen willing to participate will have to register. Oleksandr Feldman, a member of the Party of Regions faction in parliament and author of the initiative, believes that broader opportunities for the discussion of draft laws are indicative of the general democratisation of society.

Meanwhile research carried out by GfK Ukraine demonstrates that the majority of Ukrainians believe that the government does not work in the people’s interests. According to 84% of respondents, those in power do not care about the lives of those beneath them. 80% of respondents are certain that their opinion is worth nothing and 78% believe strongly that they have zero influence on what is happening in Ukraine. Besides this, 83% of Ukrainians agree that the majority of people in power strive to profit at the expense of common people.

Considering the situation depicted by this data, deputies will likely have problems engaging the public in open dialogue – at best to be met with the all-to-typical Ukrainian apathy or at worst opening a channel to a torrent of earnest dissatisfaction.

People First Comment:

Congratulations to Oleksandr Feldman for initiating this step towards real democratic due process. The more open and transparent the Rada becomes the more faith the public will have in the work of elected deputies however this is a double edged sword as it is one thing to engage with the public it is another to heed their opinions. What will be interesting to watch is the extent of public reaction and the extent to which the Rada promotes this public opportunity. The opposition, unfortunately, keeps paying lip service to public engagement hoping to be re-elected to parliament as they are desperate to retake power.

Sadly this administration has a track record of paying lip service to public opinion and doing exactly the opposite. The new tax law and the new election laws are prime examples where the government trumpeted their cooperation with the international business organisations and some of the world’s most prominent democracy NGOs only to virtually ignore the majority of their advice. If the same thing happens with public comment on draft legislation then this administration may well find its self limited to only one term as public scepticism turns into voter anger.

Yanukovych is disappointed – the public is unsurprised

During the President’s annual address to parliament he expressed discontent with the results delivered by the governing authorities during the first year of his presidency. Yanukovych noted that he and his team have managed to implement only one third of what they promised for 2010, blaming the government together with society for being unprepared for the changes as suggested. In his speech the President assured Verkhovna Rada of his intentions to break through societal apathy, lack of accountability of politicians and overcome the bureaucracy and corruption within the governing authorities.

However, Yanukovych has continuously lost the trust of the people since his inauguration, as proved by the social survey carried out in late April by Razumkov Centre. If the Presidential elections were to be hosted in the near future Yanukovych would receive 16.7% of the votes, representing a dramatic drop in his personal rating. Yet all the other political figures possess even less credibility: Yulia Tymoshenko with 13.3% and Arseniy Yatsenyuk with less than 10% of the peoples’ favour.

Should the president allow the implementation of his initiatives, aimed at improving the overall quality of life in Ukraine, to be delayed further he risks losing the little support he has left.

People First Comment:

At last the President, in his speech, has reached the inevitable conclusion that it takes much more than just a strong captain to ensure that the ship sails in the right direction. Sitting behind a big desk barking orders may have worked in the soviet era when orders from above were backed up by one of the largest secret services on earth but they are little more than yapping when the civil service and the much of the security apparatus is working in their own interests. Even the President’s vertical power structure has done little to reduce bureaucracy, government incompetence, corruption, laziness and greed. In any normal large institution the organisation would have a mission, a vision, a strategy to achieve the vision and a set of tactics in order to implement the strategy. Every member of the team would be fully briefed on his or her role, each would be enthused, encouraged and rewarded for their efforts and at the end of each year the team would be able to look back on a whole series of real achievements. The problem with the management structure of the government of Ukraine is that it is not based on enthusiasm and supportive management, it is based on fear and personal interest.

Few bureaucrats actually make decisions as this would mean they would have to take responsibility for the outcome. Most simply use their position and power as a means of exhorting money from those that need their grace and favour and as a result nothing really happens. History has taught us that authoritarian government is possibly the most ineffective form of government yet invented therefore is it really any wonder that the President is so disappointed.

Party of Regions points fingers abroad and raises fears of revolution in Ukraine

Oleksandr Yefremov, leader of the Party of Regions fraction in the parliament, has issued a public statement claiming that a foreign investor has donated funds towards implementing projects in Ukraine reflective of the recent revolutions in North African countries. He claimed that Jorge Soros had directly invested funds to prepare a protest group of young Ukrainians. After Yafremov’s statement a newspaper owned by a well-known deputy from the Party of Regions published information from an anonymous source claiming that Jorge Soros and Boris Berezovsky also financed the recent protests against the new tax code. These claims were refuted not only by Berezovsky, director of the International Renaissance Foundation (established by Soros), but also by the organizers of the protests against the tax code and representatives of the Security Services. The Security Service of Ukraine has also informed that there have been no investigations concerning International financing of a North African style revolution in Ukraine, nor has there been any enquiry received from Ukrainian deputies about the activity of Soros in Ukraine.

In the meantime the Party of Regions has started work on a new draft law designed to expose the financing of civil organizations in Ukraine. The authorities may even attempt to restrict the activity of foreign and non-governmental organizations on the territory of Ukraine – mimicking the situation in Russia and Byelorussia. Vadym Kolesnichenko, one of the authors of the draft law, stated that the procedure according to which civil organizations receive foreign grants must be regulated by law.

Commenting on the new government’s initiatives Yevgen Bystrytsky, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation, mentioned that the very idea of restricting the activity of international non-governmental organizations in Ukraine goes against the country’s commitment towards integration with the EU.

People First Comment:

This is all very reminiscent of the McCarthy anti communist witch hunts of 1950′s America where the state spent millions of dollars and wasted years of court time looking for ‘Reds under the beds’. It is also yet another copy of the tactics used by then President Putin to ‘control foreign influencers however in his case it was more a retaliation against the British for the accusations of state sponsored assassination.

Perhaps Party of Regions should spend their time a little more productively looking at the impact of their policies on society as these are the real causes of social dissent. The reason why small business owners are up in arms is because the new tax law deprives them of their right to earn a decent living, educate their children and care for their parents.

We believe that civil organisations are the partners of effective government. People who do not trust or believe in political parties and government will continue to come together in civil organisations. And this has nothing to do with money.

Ukraine Internet enters the home

The percentage of the population of Ukraine with access to the Internet is on the rise, as evidenced by the research into global trends in Internet access carried out by GfK global in partnership with GfK Ukraine. According to estimates, the number of Ukrainians with at-home Internet access increased by 45% from the end of 2009 till the end of 2010 and now accounts for 26% of the population (11-12 million people). Before long nearly every Ukrainian family will have access to the Internet at home, providing unprecedented access to information. The home has now become the primary place for access to the Internet, accounting for 77% of Internet users in Ukraine.

The development of Internet access is particularly active in towns with 50-100 thousand people. This statistics show that the most of Ukraine is covered by the World Wide Web providing Ukrainians from every region with information free from the filters imposed upon the pro-government mass media. This together with growing popularity of social networks broadens opportunities for the development of democracy and makes it difficult for those in power to manipulate the population through misinformation.

Consequently, when the parliamentary elections are conducted in Ukraine Internet will serve as one of the primary information platforms and will prove its value as an increasingly influential communications tool.

People First Comment:

There was a time in this part of the world where the government machine controlled every single word, where the public were literally brainwashed with party dogma and party information, where the world was an illusion of security. 1999 put an end to the illusions of security just as the internet is putting to an end to the ability of governments and political parties to control what we read, see and hear. Today it is possible to chat to friends on the other side of the world in real time for kopeks. The sources of information both true and false are limitless and this freedom has changed the political landscape for ever.

There are those in political circles both in Ukraine and outside who feel this deluge of information can be controlled and even censored. This is not trying to hold back the tide, its the equivalent of trying to hold back a tsunami. The authorities just have to learn to live with the reality as all legislation and restriction will do is drive this thirst for information underground which will incur the wrath of voters and the international community. The opposition in its turn should realise that Internet will continue to be an alternative opposition until their suggestions stop being as primitive, self serving and naïve as they are today.

Most liberal and forward thinking governments in the world have recognised the inevitability of the information revolution and sought ways to use it to advantage. In the UK for example the government is ensuring that internet access is available to every household to enable more effective local and national government. In Sweden much of the health service and social services are now online. In Ukraine the biggest problem for the government is not the means of communication, it is what to communicate. After all if you don’t have well considered and fully budgeted plans you have nothing to measure your achievements by and therefore little to tell an interested public.

Quote of the week:

Government has become a fat, lazy behemoth, spawning parasitic bureaucracies resistant to reform… We need a more radical reduction in taxation as well as a stripping down of government agencies to essential social services. Funding is imperative for public education, public transportation, repair of roads and bridges and free medical clinics for the poor.

Camille PagliaAmerican author, teacher, and social critic

Filed Under: Election Issues Tagged With: , , ,

April 26, 2011 Election and Reign of Folly, Mammon in Delta

June 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Vive la bagatelle – long live folly! If you are doubtful you heard that French phrase properly then you may care for another from classics: Horace once penned virtus post nummos i.e. virtue after money or properly interpreted ‘money first’. And if your confusion multiplies then you may well now be in a position to marginally comprehend the confusion Deltans have been into since 1999. The two sarcasms, which those phrases actually are, sadly represent the true face of governance in Delta. Folly and mammon: These are the two things that have been governing PDP’s politics and government in Delta since Ibori and the Uduaghans smuggled themselves into Delta politics. If you don’t know this hitherto the London story of Ibori which is only a tip of the iceberg can help you to some extent in capturing the vexatious point one is talking about here.

 

Folly; whether recklessness, thoughtlessness, unreason or misguided undertakings is the rule in governance in Delta; so is avarice, acquisitiveness and cupidity.  These are the vices that our common treasury has been hosting since 1999, and they have just refused to go. Folly and all that is anti-civilization has been so promoted and entrenched in Delta’s PDP and in governance just as mammon spirit or demon has almost emptied many so-called government functionaries of virtue and all that is enthralling to civilization.

 

All the rigging of elections since 1999 and the rubbishing of our judiciary since 2003 have explanation in these. Folly, Mammon that is!  The recent April 26, 2011 gubernatorial election in the state represents latest brazen and noxious outing of PDP and specifically of Emmanuel Uduaghan and his cohorts in this regard. It is folly and mammon that explains the affront to democracy and on our senses immediately before and during the April 26, 2011 election. Folly and mammon powered it all, and unashamedly and blatantly so. And you wonder when things like these shall end. Not even the present shameful story of Ibori in London could weaken their daringness in evil matters.

 

Driven by folly and mammon, Uduaghan employed all anti-democratic means to steal and conjure votes once more. Money went in droves to all persons that mattered to him in the election. It was most times offensively conspicuous; and there were moments not even the monitoring eyes of the opposition could stop them. One of the messages from DPP in the day of the election reads in part: “BEWARE!!! Uduaghan is moving stolen cash about to alter results. We are frustrating him in Asaba…” There were apparently innumerable times when DPP tried to frustrate such attempts, but how much can you really do when the officers have dangling before them in a single day what they cannot possibly get in a decade of service to the nation. And so, many consciences collapsed with this election for mammon. Because some of the exchanges must be done as secretly as possible and because there was no room to cover all grounds because of DPP monitors and search machine the imposed curfew the evening and night preceding the election was enough to wrap up everything. Having thus cut off the lenses of DPP, incumbency was fully exploited as Uduaghan’s machine rode out to designated places. That was the night everything was finally settled.

 

Then came Election Day: Can you believe that on this day government and or PDP chieftains were freely driving everywhere doling out money? Yours sincerely saw one of such convoys at Okere Road by Mowoe Junction and of course hungry youths, made so in the main by Ibori and Uduaghan, were ready to fight to get their share just as others who weren’t there when the convoy passed went everywhere with horrible faces seeking the recipients of the money to also get their share. This replicated itself everywhere this April 26, 2011.

 

Before the elections proper money also went to the boys too: the area boys and militants. And even guns! I wrote about it but no known action was taken.  And so when the make-belief ‘crises’ in some polling units and wards where the DPP hitherto had strong showing came up, we knew they were sponsored crises. When elections in such places were cancelled for whatever reason INEC gave we knew the cards played well to design.

 

What did they not do? What can you say about ballot paper snatching? Or, ballot papers thumb-printed away from polling centers and some allegedly led by ordinarily very high, respected and never to be suspected persons  like a leading clergyman in the state and a leading transporter in the country. If men like these can lead in this show of shame then you can imagine the extent to which Uduaghan went. Uduaghan’s people with government backing also intimidated, fought, maimed! They diminished figures here and bloated figures there! They paid heavily to see these figures move from one electoral point to the other. And in some other places were elections did not take place according to their design, results flooded INEC from such places, and as usual these figures were highly and ‘safely’ bloated before taking them late to Asaba, which also partly explained why Delta ‘result’ came to us late. Never mind that INEC said in one of such instances that they went to verify and discover that elections held, only that they held late.

 

Even serious lies were told by Uduaghan’s men too. A federal minister came lying with the name of Goodluck Jonathan that he (Jonathan) said people should vote for Uduaghan. But a text I received from E. K. Clark countered it this way: “I spoke with President Jonathan and he assured me Orubebe is on his own. He is upset that Orubebe is using his name for the wrong reasons. He never directed him to support a criminal…” You can go on and on for the rubbishy list runs ad infinitum.

 

So, another mandate has been stolen. And it is already obvious that the Tribunal will restore it; and indeed there is no mandate given to Great Ogboru that will be in vain. I always like contrasting Uduaghan with Babatunde Fashola. Let’s do the contrasting from a different angle today. If Uduaghan were to be a bona fide governor as Babatunde Fashola is; if he has been performing as Fashola; and if he won this present election as Fashola did, I will be one of the first persons to tell Ogboru to congratulate Uduaghan as Ade Dosunmu did to Fashola.  But Uduaghan is not a bona fide governor of Delta as I write, rather he is a usurper of a mandate the people gave Ogboru. Given the resources of the state he is a woeful failure and anything but a performer. And now again, he rigged this April 26, 2011election; and this he did, as always, with the people’s money. Folly is the word; mammon the reason!

 

But really; can folly live forever in Delta; and can mammon reign forever in our midst! No matter what picture Delta represents today the state shall know civilization, sound values and good governance not many days hence. Spero meliora: I hope for better things. Ogboru would soon mount the saddle of governance. Contrary to all that we have known since 1999 that has not only brought shame to us but to all Nigerians home and abroad, Delta will soon become the sunshine state that other states would have as benchmark and reference point. This is the thing in the heart of Ogboru that explains his resilience despite these endless brutal affronts to democracy, civilization and societal values. Spero meliora!

 

                                                                                      Igho writes from Warri

 

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Euro Lottery Results 10th May 2011 Prizes Chart

June 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Article by Bradley Marchi

Visitors to this recent post will find the Euro Millions Lottery Numbers Results Tue 10th May 2011 this draw tonight is a very out of the ordinary £100 million Top prize to present and mark the brand new Tuesday Euro Millions game and Jackpot, if you did not previously know there are a number of differences in the means you can join in they are not major alterations and lotto players will find them beneath.

If you have been one of the fluky gamers please additionally locate Euro Millions Lottery Chosen numbers 10th May 2011 prize table to spot how much.

Euro millions lottery Chosen numbers For Tuesday the 10th of May 2011

03 10 15 28 45 *05 *07

Alterations to the Euro lottery

A smaller cash award payout has been created allowing lotto players the option to secure a money prize on just two chosen numbers.

Eager gamers can elect two lucky stars starting one upto eleven.

Euro Millions Results Tuesday 10th May 2011 Prize table

No. of matches No. of winners £s per UK winner UK Prize fundMatch 5 + 2 Stars 0 £0.00 £0.00Match 5 + 1 Star 13 £94,404.40 £94,404.40Match 5 8 £51,135.70 £102,271.40Match 4 + 2 Stars 147 £1,391.40 £41,742.00Match 4 + 1 Star 1,866 £95.90 £42,100.10Match 4 3,011 £59.40 £46,272.60Match 3 + 2 Stars 6,098 £20.90 £27,462.60Match 2 + 2 Stars 80,605 £7.20 £121,680.00Match 3 + 1 Star 78,180 £7.10 £134,317.80Match 3 128,824 £7.30 £242,024.20Match 1 + 2 Stars 393,868 £4.20 £348,654.60Match 2 + 1 Star 1,043,164 £4.30 £1,091,004.60Match 2 1,735,300 £2.60 £1,175,093.40

Certain recent lottery information eager participants might not yet have been presented to as follows, 2011 has experienced the expansion of some lotto gaming agencies and the growth of brand new ones. One company in particular has supplied a incredibly remarkable method to play a packet of jackpot draws in a bundle deal.

Late December 2011 Jackpot Store opened and advertised on TV the product LoveMyLotto.

Becoming a member by means of 1 of their three entrance levels entitles lotto gamers a number of entries to the Friday and Latest Euromillions Tuesday Jackpot, the Millionaire Raffle the UK Lotto and the more or less forgotten Premium Bond draws, nevertheless keen lotto players thinking that is not sufficient will notice that love my lotto concur with you and provide all their customers tickets into a £1 million each day lottery.

The Membership fees for a modern method to play euro millions lottery numbers with love my lotto are as follows, £10 will get the Bronze Box £18 gives you silver membership, and the £34 a month membership as you will have guessed gives you access to the Gold Package deal.

The central Camelot lottery website state playing mutually in a syndicate you are a lot more likely to win, based on their info it is in fact 1 in 4 that do. Not only do love-my-lotto hand over a additional approach to pay for Euro Millions Lottery Numbers lotto gamers get placed into a syndicate network made up of twenty one participants overall, presenting for more goes to win in every game.

However you wish to enter betting games play sensibly, thanks for your your time today which has bought you to the New Euro Millions Lottery results Tuesday 10th May 2011 and the primary Payouts table for the Tuesday lotto game.

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