F there is any political party that the just concluded primaries for for the April general elections has dealt an unkind blow in Delta State, it is the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. At the moment, the battle for the soul of the state is not just between it and its newfound challenger, the Democratic Peoples Party, DPP, marshalled by Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, and his armies, but also against aggrieved PDP members on the other side. This is the paradox.

TWO months to the general elections, the two major political parties in Ondo State, Labour Party (LP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are battling to put their houses in order following the acrimony that attended their primaries.

LIKE in many states of the country, the parties’ primaries in Akwa Ibom State were riddled by accusations of betrayal, plots of humiliation, scheming and outright denial of tickets to some deserving aspirants. Currently, however the tension that greeted the primaries is no longer mounting as was the case few days to the nominations.

As family, friends and well wishers of the former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olabode George, await his return on completion of his prison term on Saturday February 26, Vanguard can exclusively report that the politician regretted how some of his friends deserted him while serving his jail term.

PRIOR to November 2007 when Comrade Adams Oshiomhole became the Governor of Edo State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was always the focus when it comes to primaries of political parties in the state. Now, the action has shifted to Oshiomhole’s Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). A host of PDP leaders defected to the ACN after the party took over power and it was expected that the primaries of the party would be a tough fight.

The old saying that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” may hold some truth after all as dieticians confirmed the sexual nature of some foods. It is not out of place to note that many first dates and special occasions are centered around a romantic dinner

Senator Baba Tela, one-time chairman Senate Committee on Communications, who recently decamped from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), in this interview with Vanguard, speaks on his emergence as the ACN gubernatorial candidate in Bauchi State, his chances and how to deepen democracy in the country. Excerpts:

THE war against crime and criminality in the Imo state has begun to yield some fruitful results with the recent arrest and recovery of arms and ammunition by detectives attached to the state police command. Evidently, social and commercial life has since picked up tremendously in the state as the state police command has declared a zero tolerance for crime in the state. Before now, it was common knowledge for innocent citizens to be brazenly attacked by armed robbers while the hydra-headed monster called kidnapping took the center stage. It was therefore, true to say that the present adminis-tration under Governor Ikedi Ohakim inherited quite a number of challengings of which armed robbery and kidnapping were part

NONE of the victims saw it coming that sunny afternoon. The Liberation Stadium, venue of the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential campaign rally for the South South region, was filled to capacity. A stone hurled into the arena would probably have landed on somebody’s head because every available space in the arena was literally taken over by humans

He is very fluent and speaks straight to the point on any issue that has to do with Rivers State. The passion with which he speaks is unmatched. Dr. Abiye Samuel Precious Sekibo, former SSG Rivers State (1999-2003) and former Transport Minister (2003-2007) is the governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the April 2011 election in Rivers State. He spoke to a select group of journalists in Abuja recently on Rivers politics, his ambition, chances and the way forward for the state. Excerpts:

THE Area Manager Nigeria, Starwood Hotels & Resort, Alexander Gassauer, said the group has been stimulating tourism into Nigeria with its hotels located in Lagos, Abuja, Uyo and Port Harcourt

THIS explains the root of African brotherliness. It also emphasizes the African notion that man is sacred and should be respected, catered for and sustained in charity by others.

Arik Air may have begun moves to compete favourably with major airlines in the world, having joined the Billing Settlement Plan, BSP, for Nigeria and Ghana, of the International Air Transport Association, IATA.

The Debt Management Office, DMO, has said it was currently designing for implementation appropriate vehicles for attracting funds from Nigerians in Diaspora with the hope of investing it in critical national development priority projects.

THE International Monetary Fund, IMF, has urged the CBN to focus more on inflation targeting, instead of the current focus on banking supervision. The International Financial surveillance body made the observation in its Article IV Consultation with Nigeria, saying the naira was currently over-valued.