Nigerian Times

14 Jun 2011 14:15 Africa/Lagos Remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at African Union, June 13, 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia WASHINGTON, June 14, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at African Union, June 13, 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia SECRETARY CLINTON: Good afternoon. It is a great honor to join you here in Addis Ababa and to address the African Union. I want to thank Chairperson Ping, members of the African Union Commission, ambassadors to the AU, representatives of United Nations agencies, and, most of all, representatives of the nations and people of Africa. Thank you for the opportunity to be here with you. It is good to be back in Africa, and it is a singular honor to address this body. During the past few days, I have traveled to Zambia, Tanzania, and now Ethiopia, meeting with leaders and citizens who are rising to meet challenges of all kinds with creativity, courage, and skill. And I am pleased to c...

Nigerian soldiers on patrol in an area of conflict. Security Challenges In Nigeria ~ By Albert Akpor Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan says he is determined to improve security in the country with a new administration that takes power with Sunday's inauguration. Security was a driving issue in the presidential campaign following bomb blasts by militants from the oil-rich Niger Delta and attacks on police by members of an extremist Islamic group in the north. President Jonathan campaigned hard to convince Nigerians that his government was meeting those security challenges. But rioting that immediately followed his election raised anew questions about security preparedness. The New York-based rights organization Human Rights Watch says Muslim-Christian electoral violence in northern states killed at least 800 people. President Jonathan says he is determined to protect Nigerians wherever they live. “As president, it is my solemn duty to defend the constitution of this country. That...

It was a very calm Sunday as President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn-in at the Eagle Square in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, witnessed by thousands at the venue and millions of others followed the event on TV and the internet. There is relative peace in the Niger Delta as the former militants are now fully engaged in the Amnesty programme of the government, but the terrorist Islamist sect Boko Haram is still attacking and killing innocent citizens in Borno State. President Goodluck Jonathan should do his best to prove to Nigerians that he can lead without the interference of his discredited political godfathers like his former boss, the disgraced former state governor of Bayelsa State Diepreye Alamieyeseigha who was indicted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for corruption and former President Olusegun Obasanjo who has done more harm than good to Nigerians. Mr. Jonathan does not need their excess political baggage in his mission to reform and transform the m...

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, in this May 1, 2011 handout photo. Pete Souza/The White House 3 May 2011 20:02 Africa/Lagos Newsweek / Daily Beast Poll Reveals American Voters Unaffected by President's bin Laden Victory PR Newswire NEW YORK, May 3, 2011 NEW YORK, May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- An exclusive Newsweek / Daily Beast poll using exclusive data conducted immediately before the president's Sunday announcement about the death of the FBI's most wanted terrorist - and immediately after - indicates that President Obama's approval ratings have remained static despite media rhetoric to the contrary. Polling 1200 voters – 600 on Saturday April 30th and Sunday May 1st, and a further 600 on Monday May 2nd and Tuesday May 3rd - Newsweek and The Daily Beast discovered that in the aftermath of bin Laden'...

President Goodluck Jonathan How The Psychology of Dr. Jonathan’s Presidential Election Could Be About National Sensibility and Development It will not be unusual to state that the April 16, 2011 presidential election of President Jonathan remains a non-default national outcome with a clear or given mandate which is richly suited to our current national needs; no matter how imperfect it may be to some quarters in the country or else where. The Nigerian people are a mix of various ethnic, traditional and religious sentiments and these psychologies play a role as to how the President will appeal to the country’s common national identity, share our common interests and address the soul or mentality of those tied to the politics is ruthless divisions and selfishness. President Jonathan knows that his newly found mandate is not only God-sent but anchored in the spirit of a people crying for progress in their general living conditions; a cry that began since the democratic year of 1999. In ...

Professor Amos Claudius Sawyer April 14, 2011 11:22 ET Professor Amos Sawyer arrives Abuja to lead ECOWAS observers to Nigeria's presidential election ABUJA, April 14, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The former President of the Interim Government of Liberia and Head of the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to Nigeria's 16th April 2011 presidential polls, Professor Amos Sawyer , has arrived Abuja, the Nigerian capital, to lead 300 regional observers who are being deployed to the six geo-political zones of the country to observe the election. Members of the Mission include ECOWAS Ambassadors, representatives of the ECOWAS Council of the Wise, representatives of civil society organizations, the ECOWAS Parliament and Court of Justice, electoral experts as well as representatives of electoral commissions from the 15 Member States. Professor Sawyer who will be joined on Election Day by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, was part of the...

Illinois senator Barack Obama has laid claim to the Democratic presidential nomination, taking a historic step toward his once-improbable goal of becoming the United States' first black president. (June 3) | 4-Jun-08 12:39 AM GMT Tuesday night June 3, 2008, U.S. Senator Barack Obama became the first African-American to win the presidential nomination of an American political party when he reached the required number of 2, 118 national convention delegates of the Democratic Party. "Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States. Tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another -- a journey that will bring a new and better day to America," Barack Obama declared. Senator Barack Obama acknowledged his formidable Democratic presidential rival, Senator Hillary Clinton. "Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the hono...

1 Jun 2008 19:57 Africa/Lagos Howard Dean and Jim Roosevelt Discuss Rules and Bylaws Committee Meeting on ABC's This Week WASHINGTON, June 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee Co-Chair Jim Roosevelt discussed the Rules and Bylaws Committee's decision to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations yesterday and Democratic Party unity this morning on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Below are excerpts from Dean and Roosevelt's appearance: (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080519/DNCLOGO ) On the Rules and Bylaws Committee's Decision to Seat Delegations from Florida and Michigan: Dean: "Well, first, let me thank Jim and former Secretary Alexis Herman who is the other co-chair of the rules committee. They did an incredible job and so did the rules committee. The fact is, that we actually did what Michigan and Florida asked us to do. Michigan, this, the plan that...

Senator John Edwards' endorsement is like a pat on the back of Senator Barack Obama, because even heaven knows that Obama is winning the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party and does not need the help of John Edwards to get it. The support of John Edwards will not do much for Barack Obama in the presidential election and Senator John McCain can even beat Barack Obama in North Carolina, the home state of John Edwards. I am sure, Senator Hillary Clinton is not fazed by John Edwards' endorsement of Barack Obama. She is determined to continue her race for the Democratic nomination to the Convention. I believe the pledged delegates and super delegates will decide who is the better presidential candidate for the Democratic Party.

ENPR: Racial Divide Guarantees Obama Nomination by Robert Novak and Timothy P. Carney (more by this author) Posted 05/07/2008 ETUpdated 05/07/2008 ET Outlook In the wake of Sen. Hillary Clinton's dismal performance Tuesday, pressure will mount on her to get out of the Democratic presidential race against Sen. Barack Obama. She and her inner circle are determined to stay in, but since there is no way she can be nominated, don't be surprised if she gets out before the primaries end in June. Clinton needed a strong showing Tuesday in order to make a convincing pitch to super-delegates. Now her arguments to the super-delegates will go down two paths: a) The national polls that have shown Clinton running better than Obama against Sen. John McCain (though those surveys are sure to look different soon); or b) Clinton operative Harold Ickes is repeating his campaign's familiar refrain: We don't know enough about Obama, and Republicans will take dead aim against him in the gen...

Photo: Yahoo News "The road to 1600 Pennsylvania Road runs right through the heart of Pennsylvania." ~ Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton after winning the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary on April 22, 2008. Thank God, Senator Hillary Clinton has done it again, with another big state win in n Pennsylvania! It is an outstanding victory for Hillary Clinton who beat Barack Obama by 10 points. She won 55% of the votes, while Barack Obama won 45%. Barack Obama spent over $11 million on TV adverts and other strategies in his desperation to win the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary and lost to Hillary Clinton who spent only about $5 million. Hillary has the artillery to secure victory for the Democratic Party in the Presidential Election in November 2008. The Democratic Party will lose the Presidential Election without Hillary Clinton. Only the dream team of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton or Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama can beat John McCain and the political machine of the GOP in the...

Senator Hillary Clinton BILL CLINTON: I believe those are the three reasons you ought to be for her: She'd be the best for the veterans, she'd be the best commander in chief, and she would certainly be the best at managing this economy. And finally, according to the evidence today, she's also the most electable. She's running ahead of Senator McCain in Ohio; her opponent's running behind. She is ahead in Florida and Arkansas, a state that voted for me twice, 'cause I was the governor -- they sort of had to, I guess -- and voted for President Carter once. They haven't voted for another Democrat in 44 years. This week's survey in Arkansas: Senator McCain is leading Hillary's opponent by 16 points; Hillary's leading him by 15 points. So she can win this election. And, and, we need to change the direction of this country. But it won't be an easy race. John McCain is an...

The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright (left), pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. (January 17, 2008) Credit: Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune I have actually ignored the uproar over the so-called anti-American and unpatriotic sermon of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and I have been accused of been pro-Obama on my blog. Many of the supporters of Senator Barack Obama were really annoyed and disappointed by the lame excuses of Barack Obama. A poster said Barack Obama lied that he was not present on the day Jeremiah Wright preached the fiery sermon after the catastrophe of 9/11 . The misleading untternaces of Jeremiah Wright have made many Americans to doubt the personality of Senator Barack Obama and such erroneous utterances could harm the prospects of the Democratic Party in the presidential election in November. The burden is the crisis of faith in America and not about racism. The fact is, Barack Obama lacks sound judgment and from Pas...