Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State said yesterday that his administration had set aside N1.5billion for the post amnesty capacity building programme expected to train 5,000 youths in various skills even as he joined in the call on President Goodluck Jonathan to contest 2011 presidential poll.

As a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party, what exactly was the arrangement in terms of zoning of the office of the president in terms of rotating between the north and the south?
This issue of rotation between the north and the south came about as a result of what you will call an arrangement of necessity which came as a result of the marginalization cry by many Nigerians when we were doing what turned out to be the 1999 constitution.

Nigeria’s foreign reserves have been shrinking since July 2007 when it stood at 67 billion dollars. The books read $40.48 billion last March. At the last meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee, the Minister of State for Finance Mr . Remi Babalola, said that in the last ten years, growth in discretionary spending by all federal, state and local government out paced the annual growth rate of the overall economy, resulting in deficits.

That the Super Eagles played a barren draw against Saudi Arabia in Austria last Tuesday in their first build-up match for the 2010 World Cup is no longer news. The team’s technical adviser, Lars Lagerback had his first feel of the players in the match which many Nigerians have described as below par and unconvincing.

Jonathan’s predecessor, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, frankly acknowledged that the elections that brought them to power were flawed. Therefore, the President is morally obliged to support electoral reforms that would eliminate the flaws. It is unfortunate that he has to work in concert with a National Assembly overwhelmingly dominated by crude Machiavellians actuated by instincts of primitive accumulation and political survivalism.