G-5 GOVERNORS PREPARE A COME BACK TO PDP AS APC CRISIS ENLARGES.

G-5 GOVS

(LOUD NEWS TODAY-ABUJA). **Marwa gets supporters’ nod to go back.

The festering crisis within the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, may have taken a new dimension as the G-5 governors’ who defected from the Peoples Democratic Part, PDP, last year are reportedly considering a possible return to their former party.

A cold war is currently rocking the APC over the composition of its National Executive Council and the 2015 presidential election.

This was just as the former military administrator of Borno and Lagos states, Gen. Buba Marwa, had got his supporters’ nod, after a town hall meeting inYola, Adamawa State, yesterday to dump the APC for the ruling PDP.

This may have put an end to speculations over the disenchantment of the retired general with the APC since Governor Murtala Nyako was handed the control of the APC in the state.

A party source at the weekend told National Mirror that if the leadership crisis in the APC persisted for too long, some of the G-5 governors had been mulling the idea to open discussions with the leadership of the PDP to return before preparations for the 2015 elections kick off fully.

The G-5 governors – Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and Abdulfattah Ahmed (Kwara) had in November last year defected to the APC over irreconcilable differences with the leadership of the PDP and the Presidency.

But the source, a member of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the APC, who spoke with journalists, said the party was on the verge of losing its new allies.

He said: “We cannot say all is well because some persons are trying to run the APC the way they ran their former parties and this will not augur well for us because if we continue this way, our desire to get power from the PDP will only be a pipe dream.

“At least, we cannot say that the party has not benefitted anything from the governors who defected from the PDP; but as it is now, some of these governors, we learnt, are beginning to express disappointment about the state of affairs, especially the issue of national officers of the party.

“We even gathered that moves are on for some of them to re-trace their steps to the PDP; that will be disastrous for us in the APC because their return will only confirm that our crisis is irredeemable.

“It is our belief and hope that we are able to manage the seeming crisis of confidence and suspicion among our leaders, but a few of the leaders only want their wishes to be obeyed and nothing else; that will only kill the party.”

Asked whether the purported move by the governors was as a result of the issue of national chairmanship, the source said he was sure that it could be a reason, stressing that some other reasons might also be responsible.

“The issue of national chairmanship is the main issue that has almost torn the party apart, so they might be sensitive to same, but you should also know that in politics, there are interests to be protected.”

National Mirror gathered that one of the APC governors in the South- South did not support the move by some leaders of the party to ‘dash’ the zone the office of national chairman.

According to findings, the governor prefers the South-East to produce the national chairman with the desire that he would be picked as running mate to the presidential candidate of the party.

For another governor from the North-West, his disappointment stems from the fact that he has been told to forget his 2015 presidential ambition for which he has commenced consultations soon after he joined the APC.

For over two weeks now, a cold war had been brewing among the APC leadership over the May 2014 national convention of the party.

While former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu prefers to retain Chief Bisi Akande as national chairman, others, led by Senator Ali Modu Sherif, are rooting for Tom Ikimi.

The Northern caucus of the party has already decided that the slot be zoned to the South-South. This may have been responsible for the alleged face-off between Tinubu and Sheriff at one of the party’s NEC meetings.

Marwa had convened a town hall meeting of his supporters where over 1000 delegates from Adamawa State concluded that “We don’t want APC.”

The former military administrator had asked his supporters at the meeting whether they should return to the PDP, a question to which the majority shouted ‘ayes’.

Marwa had told the gathering that the meeting would put paid to the lies, deceit and lack of justice within the APC, berating the party for its sudden lack of integrity and character.

Tracing the problem of the party to the national leadership foisting Nyako on the party, Marwa regretted that the house they helped built had been taken over by political marauders.

He wondered why state legislators and National Assembly members in the state were yet to follow Nyako into his new party.

A former member of the House of Representatives, Saad Tahir, noted many irregularities, which he said made the APC an aberration and bound for an imminent collapse.

Tahir said: “A house built on a shaky foundation will not stand,” adding that the PDP had already formed government in Adamawa State with the movement of Marwa into its fold.

State treasurer of the party, Musa Bubakari Kamale, put the blame of the crisis rocking the APC in the state on the doorsteps of the national leadership of the party.

He said the leadership of the APC “committed a national blunder” by foisting defecting PDP governors on the party as party leaders.

Marwa’s spokesman, Kamale, added that parting ways with the APC was an attempt to protest the flagrant disregard of democratic ethos by the “lameduck leadership” foisted on the party by Nyako, whom he said was pursuing parochial agenda.

Listing the many sins of the APC in the state, Kamale cited the continued existence of a task force team allegedly controlled by Nyako’s son, Commander Abdulaaziz Nyako, which he said was an aberration.

According to him, going by party rules, upon inauguration of the state interim management committee, all other organs of the party prior to the merger stood dissolved but “that was not the case in Adamawa,” he said.

Meanwhile, Marwa said that he would be meeting with the leadership of the PDP to finalise all protocols necessary to rejoin his former party.

A Federal High Court ordered 37 former members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to resign their seats.

(LOUD NEWS TODAY-ABUJA). The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered 37 former members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to resign their seats at the House of Representatives for defecting to the All Progressives Congress, (APC).

Delivering judgment, Justice Adeniyi Ademola held that the defected lawmakers no longer had any business, morally and legally, to stay in the House of Reps.

He said they should honourably resign from their seats as members of the House of Representative , having moved to another political party, while their tenure had yet to expire.

“Having perused the arguments of counsel and the constitutional provisions, it is clear and unambiguous that the defendants were sponsored by the PDP and won the election on its platform.

“It is also the court’s opinion that their tenure has not expired and there is no division in the PDP.

“The defendants are, therefore, not competent to vote or contribute to any proceedings in the House of Representatives.

“An order of perpetual injunction is, hereby, ordered, restraining them from altering or attempting to change the leadership of the House of Reps,’’ Ademola said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the PDP had on Jan. 7 instituted a suit seeking to restrain the House of Representatives from altering the composition of its leadership.

The party had commenced the action following the defection of 37 lawmakers, who won election on its platform, to the opposition APC.

Mr Yunus Usman (SAN), PDP’s counsel had, while arguing his originating summons, faulted the cross-carpeting of the lawmakers, saying that the legislators did so during the dependency of a judgment.

He argued that by virtue of the Oct. 2013 judgment of Justice Evoh Chukwu, which said there was no division in PDP, the matter had been laid to rest.

Usman had further submitted that by virtue of the provision of Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Nigerian constitution, as amended, the lawmakers ought to have vacated their seats immediately.

Mr Mamoud Magaji (SAN), counsel to the defendants, had in his submission, argued that it was wrong for the PDP to have sought to restrain its former members from House activities for defecting.

Other defence counsel, Mr Niyi Akintola, SAN, Mr Sebastian Hon, SAN, Mr James Ocholi,SAN, Mr Abiodun Owonikoko,SAN, and Jibril Okutepa,SAN, had prayed the court to dismiss the suit.

APC Inches Towards Buhari-Tinubu Presidential Ticket. Atiku tactically sidelined and Muslim/Muslim Presidential Ticket Emerges.

Atiku

(LOUD NEWS TODAY-LAGOS). As the All Progressives Congress (APC) prepares for its ward, state and national congresses, it has emerged that the leadership of the party may have quietly decided to settle for a Major-General Muhammadu Buhari-Senator Bola Tinubu presidential ticket to contest the 2015 presidential election.

...that by fielding Buhari and Tinubu for the 2015 presidential election, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who joined APC recently, has effectively been left out in the cold.
“We know that if there is a free and fair presidential primary, there is a major likelihood that Atiku has the resources to muster a victory.

“However, Buhari, who initially had concerns about the merger between the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) has grown more confident in the alliance.

It is not clear how Atiku and other past PDP members who defected to APC would react, however, Buhari and the Tinubu group are determined to midwife the party they created through the merger of ACN, CPC and ANPP.

“Besides, he and Tinubu worked too hard to ensure the merger took place, so it would be foolhardy for someone to come in from outside after APC has been formed to think he can get the presidential ticket of the party just because he has deep pockets,” the APC source said.

When asked how party stalwarts such as the River State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, who has been against a Muslim-Muslim ticket, would react to the pairing of Buhari and Tinubu, another party source who was familiar with developments,  acknowledged that the issue had been tabled and the party had evolved a strategy that will handover the party leadership to Amaechi and the PDP group by making Sam Jaja the party chairman.

He said: “We know Amaechi and other former PDP governors who joined the party may prove to be difficult. So our plan is to ensure he secures the senatorial ticket on our platform and wins the election to go to the Senate.

“But before this happens, we shall immediately make Sam Jaja, who is his kinsman, the chairman of APC. Then when Amaechi becomes a senator, our goal is to see him emerge as the senate president, following which Jaja will be asked to step down as the party’s chairman to ensure ethnic balancing.”

By the party’s calculations, Buhari, who remains very popular at the grassroots level in most parts of the North-west and North-East, alongside Tinubu, who is from the South-west, will be banking on an estimated 44,848,911 registered voters who accounted for 61 per cent of total registered voters of 73,528,040, in the 2011 election.

This is in contrast to the 27,735,678 registered voters in the North-central, South-south and the South-east zone combined, who accounted for 39 per cent of total registered voters in the 2011 election.

APC’s strategists are also confident that with Tinubu as Buhari’s running mate, the pair will be able to secure the bulk of the 2,941,214 votes cast for Jonathan in the South-west and Edo State in 2011.

According to an APC source, “With Buhari and Tinubu as presidential and vice-presidential candidates respectively, our goal is to secure the core north and South-west, which are the most populous sections of the country and can guarantee us at least 50 per cent of the total votes in the country during the presidential election.”

On the impact of the Muslim-Muslim ticket on the electorate, especially with the insurgency in the North-east which has resulted in the deaths of so many Christians, he said the party had decided to forge ahead with the ticket because it is certain that it has a winning formula.

“Initially, Buhari’s handlers and Tinubu’s men were hesitant due to the Muslim-Muslim pairing. But they have decided that it should not be an issue, irrespective of the accusations by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that APC is a Muslim party.

“Lest you forget, Tinubu is an extremely liberal Muslim and is married to a Christian, and has been known to attend church services during weddings, funerals and other special occasions.

“Like most South-westerners, he is quite liberal and we hope this would persuade Christian voters that they have nothing to fear. So Buhari and Tinubu have reached a quiet agreement to contest on a joint platform, with the latter already setting up structures nationwide,” he said.

IS OBAMA WEAK AGAINST PUTIN?

Andrew C. Kuchins

Editor's note: Andrew C. Kuchins is director and senior fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(LOUD NEWS TODAY-NEW YORK). I recall being an undergraduate in Russian Studies at Amherst College when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. I was flabbergasted when then-President Carter initially expressed surprise that Leonid Brezhnev and his cronies decided to undertake that ill-fated adventure. Just the little I knew of Soviet history at that time led me to conclude that one should never be naïve about Russia. Wisely, the Carter administration soon implemented a wide-ranging and powerful set of sanctions against the USSR.

By comparison, Barack Obama is now making Jimmy Carter look like Attila the Hun with a series of empty threats and "too little, too late" punitive measures against Putin's Russia.

On February 28, President Obama warned Russia not to take military action against Crimea, and if he did so, serious "costs" would be imposed. A few weeks later, Crimea was annexed to Russia and virtually no serious "costs" have been incurred from U.S. sanctions.

Now Obama and our European allies have virtually conceded Crimea, but again warn Putin that we really mean it this time, that if you take military action in Ukraine outside Crimea, you will be really sorry!

I think the only thing that has surprised Putin is how weak Obama's response has been. The administration was not prepared for the contingency that Putin would act so brazenly.

But Obama's stubborn insistence on a measured, incremental approach seems premised on his belief that Putin will, after his frustration and anger clears, come to his senses and seize the proverbial "off ramp" Obama and his officials ritualistically refer to, hearkening back to nearly two years of the mantra, "Assad must go." We know that Assad never left, and I see no evidence that Putin wants to take the "off-ramp."

Surely Putin's goals were not limited to getting Crimea while losing Ukraine. That does not make sense. And since he has met virtually no push back for Crimea, why would he stop there?

It is not like his views on Ukraine are not fairly well known. At the Bucharest NATO summit in April 2008, Putin told George W. Bush in no uncertain terms that Ukraine was not a real country. And now Putin has found the appropriate moment to demonstrate to the "trans-Atlantic community" that Ukraine is not a real country by starting to dismember it with impunity.

In case there was any doubt about Putin's views of the illegitimacy of the post-Cold War European security order in Europe, his vitriolic speech to the Federal Assembly in Moscow on March 18 should clarify it for skeptics. I have no doubt that there is nothing Vladimir Putin would rather do than delegitimize the post-Cold War order, expose the Trans-Atlantic partnership as a sham and deeply degrade U.S. leadership in the world. He has already gone fairly far down that path in four weeks.

Why do American presidents have such a hard time understanding Russian leaders? First, it starts with our inability to fathom just how traumatic the collapse of the Soviet Union was for several generations of Russians. From a clinical standpoint, Russia has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder for the past couple of decades.

Putin resonates with many Russians because he is seen as the embodiment of the humiliation, status deprivation and grievances that the country has purportedly suffered.

Making matters worse, he was an intelligence operative virtually abandoned by what he and his brethren view as incompetent Soviet leadership. The ethos of the Russian intelligence officer going back to the foundation of the secret police in the early 19th century centers on their special, almost messianic obligation to save Russia from itself -- a task only they were adequately trained for.

These were people who, for example, enthusiastically supported the U.S. initiative more than 20 years ago to remove nuclear weapons from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, not because they gave a damn about nonproliferation but because when the day came for Russia to restore the "Greater Russia," that task would be much easier with nukes out of the way.

In the 1990s, many speculated about the danger of a "Weimar Russia" scenario in which the humiliated superpower would re-emerge in more of a fascist form.

I am afraid that day has arrived. Putin's task is to take back what a certain streak of Russian nationalism views as not only rightfully, but sacredly, what should be Russian. Obama may satisfy some supporters and even some critics by taunting Putin and Russia as a "regional power" of no great consequence acting out of "weakness." This will only bait the bear to lash out to demonstrate who is really weak and who is strong. It is a game that Obama is not psychologically equipped to understand, let alone win.

A Russian strike, either after a manufactured provocation or without one, into eastern Ukraine, is inevitable. Putin smells blood in the water, and nothing we have said or done will deter him. Economic measures alone are insufficient.

If Obama does not rise to this challenge soon, I fear that Putin will happily ruin his legacy and U.S. credibility, with massive collateral damage for Russians and Ukrainians. Putin will likely meet his own end if he miscalculates in Ukraine. It is incumbent for the United States, its allies and most importantly Ukrainians themselves, to help Putin not miscalculate because if he does, there will be hell to pay for all of us.

Lagos Sues FG over Deductions from Federation Account

GOV. FASHOLA

The Lagos State Government has dragged the Federal Government to the Supreme Court, challenging the latter’s power to deduct one percent from the revenue due to all federating units from the Federation Account for the purpose of funding police reforms.

In the originating summons filed pursuant to sections 1(3) and 232 of the 1999 Constitution by its Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeola Ipaye, among others, the state government said the decision to deduct the one percent from the Federation Account violated section 162 (3-5).

The state government disclosed in the originating summons that the federal government (defendant) had been deducting the one percent since October 2013.

On this note, the state government averred that the deduction of one percent from the revenues due all the federating units from the Federation Account was absolutely unconstitutional and illegal.

As contained in the summons, the plaintiff asked the apex court “to declare that it is unlawful for the defendant to deduct at source one percent or any other fraction or per cent of the revenue due to Lagos State and its local government councils from the federation account under the Allocation Revenue Act for the purpose of funding police reforms or for any other purpose.”

The plaintiff, also, sought a declaration that it “is unlawful for the National Economic Council or any other agency of the federation to authorise by resolution, decision or consensus, the charge or deduction at source by any authority or person of any part of revenue due to Lagos State Government and its local government councils under the Allocation Revenue Act for the purpose of funding police reforms.”

The plaintiff sought an order compelling the defendant “to immediately reverse the unlawful deduction of one percent or any other sum deducted from the revenue due to Lagos State and its local governments from the Federation Account and to credit the amounts so far deducted to Lagos State Government with interest at the current Central Bank of Nigeria minimum rediscount rate.

It further sought from the court an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant by itself, agent, servants or workers from unlawful deduction of one percent or any part of the amount due to Lagos State Government and its local government councils from the Federation Account for purpose of funding police reform or for any purpose whatsoever.

The federal government began the deduction of the one percent from states since October. In a response to alleged deduction, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan on November 12, 2013 imploring him to kindly direct that the deductions in respect of Lagos State be reversed and credited for the benefit of the state and its local governments.

But the president did not reply, a situation which prompted the governor to formally inform the Lagos State House of Assembly recently “to declare his intention to sue the federal government over the matter.”

At the briefing, the governor contended that as a result of the deduction, insufficient statutory allocation “has reduced the capacity of the state and its local governments to fund their programmes and projects.”

Fashola added: “The police as constituted is an organ of the federal government and that the constitution does not prescribe a situation where one level of government will impose a financial obligation on another level of government.

“The National Economic Council has no power under the constitution of Nigeria or under any act of the National Assembly to approve any deduction, appropriation or expenditure from the federation account or statutory allocations due to the states and local governments.

Fulani Crisis: Police Adopt Multi-Faceted Conflict Resolution

IGP

As part of deliberate efforts by the Nigeria Police Force to finally bring to an end, the lingering crisis between herdsmen and farmers in some parts of the country, the Inspector-General of Police, IG, Mohammed Abubakar, held an interactive meeting with the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore (Umbrella body for Fulani Herdsmen), which comes as the first of a series of meetings already planned by the Force.

The essence of the meeting, according to the Police boss, was to find an alternative dispute resolution mechanism geared towards finding a lasting solution to the lingering crisis.
Abubakar called on the leadership of Miyetti Allah and other relevant stakeholders to cooperate with the Police in this regards.

He further reiterated that in addition to the ongoing crisis management measures and the core law enforcement strategies already being implemented by the Force in the affected areas, there was need for the Police to meet with stakeholders and parties to the conflict so as to bring an end to the crisis.

On their part, the Miyetti Allah delegates assured the IG of their readiness to cooperate with the Government and the Police in finding lasting solutions to the problem.
Consequently, a committee was constituted which has the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations as Chairman.

Other members of the committee include: the President, the Secretary-General and three other members from Miyetti Allah as well as the President and the executives of Farmers Associations and community leaders of the affected areas.

The IG charged the committee to visit all the affected states to liaise with Police Commands and to consult with the Governors and stakeholders in the affected states with the view to entrenching peaceful co-existence.

Also in attendance at the meeting were the Deputy Inspectors-General of Police in charge of Training and Operations Departments respectively, Principal Staff Officer to the IGP and other Senior Police Officers.

Defection: Court Strikes Out Suit by 79 Lawmakers

justice symbol

(LOUD NEWS TODAY-ABUJA). A Federal High Court in Abuja friday struck out the suit filed by 79 legislators seeking to stop the Peoples Democratic Party and the leadership of the National Assembly from declaring their seats vacant following their defection to the All Progressive Congress (APC).

In striking out the suit, the court said that the PDP could not give effect to its threat to declare the lawmakers' seats vacant.

The court asked the affected law makers not to entertain any fears about the possibility of the party influencing the declaration of their seats vacant in view of the pendency of two cases on the issue.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed held in a judgment yesterday that the PDP and its Chairman, having filed two separate suits, seeking that the seats of the law makers be declared vacant,  could no longer proceed with their threat to ensure that the legislators' seats were declared vacant while the cases were still pending.

The judgement was on the suit by the 79 legislators, who sued the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and leaders of the National Assembly over threat by the party to declare their seats vacant.
The lawmakers included 22 Senators and 57 members House of Representatives.

Justice Mohammed held that since the kernel of the suit by the legislators was the threat by the PDP to declare their seats vacant, the threat no longer exist because the party and its Chairman had realised they have no such powers and have submitted the issue before the court for determination.

The judge further held that since the issue of whether or not the seats of the defecting law makers could be declared vacant was yet to be resolved in the pending cases, the suit by the law makers was no longer necessary.

Justice Mohammed held that the suit by the law makers was now without any life issue and had become an academic exercise since the threat that forced them to file it no longer existed with the pendency of the two suits by the PDP.

He held that the law makers would have the opportunity of arguing their position in the pending cases.
He consequently struck out the one by the law makers.
Earlier, the judge dismissed a motion by the lawmakers for an indefinite adjournment, in view of their pending application before the Court of Appeal, Abuja.

The plaintiffs had referred a portion of the case, concerning the interpretation of Section 68(1) (g) to the Court of Appeal for interpretation and urged the trial court not to deliver its judgment, but await the decision of the appellate court.

In dismissing the application, Justice Mohammed held that it was strange that a party would seek an adjournment over 60 days after the court had concluded trial in a case and was ready to deliver judgment.

In the two suits by the PDP, which are now pending before Justice Mohammed, the party is seeking to, among others; compel the leaders of both chambers of the National Assembly to declare vacant the seats of the defecting legislators.

The first of the two marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/65/2013 has the Senate President, David Mark, 12 defecting Senators and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants.
The second marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/57/2014 has Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, 40 defecting Reps members and INEC as defendants.

The PDP, in the suit against Mark and others, posed three questions for the court's determination:
*Whether the 1st defendant (Mark) by virtue of the provisions of the Constitution (as amended), does not owe a legal duty to declare vacant the seats of the 2nd to 12 defendants, members of the Senate who decamped to the All Progressives Congress (APC) without satisfying the conditions stipulated under Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution.

*Whether the 2nd to 12th defendants, having been elected to the Senate on the platform of the 1st plaintiff (PDP), can in view of the provisions of Section 68(2) of the Constitution and having failed to meet the conditions laid down in Section 68(1) (g) of the Constitution, validly decamp to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and retain their seats.

*Whether having regards to questions 1 and 2 above, the 13th defendant (INEC) are not obliged to conduct elections to fill the vacant seats in the affected senatorial districts
The party sought the following reliefs:

"A declaration that the 1st defendant  owes a legal duty by virtue of Section 68(2) of the Constitution  to declare vacant the seats of the 2nd to 12th defendants, members of the Senate who decamped to the All Progressives Congress (APC) without satisfying the conditions stipulated under Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution.
*A declaration that the 2nd to 12th defendants, having been elected to the senate on the platform of the 1st plaintiff cannot in view of the provisions of 68(2) of the Constitution and having failed to meet the conditions laid down in Section 68(1) (g) of the Constitution cannot validly decamp to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and retain their seats.

*An order declaring the seats of the 2nd to 12th defendants vacant, the 2nd to 12th defendants having decamped to the APC without satisfying the conditions stipulated under Section 68(1) (g) of the Constitution.

Alternatively, it is praying for an order of mandamus directing the 1st defendant to declare the seats of the 2nd to 12th defendants vacant, having allegedly decamped to the APC in the absence of any factionalisation of the 1st plaintiff".

*An order of the court directing the 13th defendant (INEC) to immediately organise and conduct elections into the senatorial districts to fill the vacant seats.
Similar prayers are equally contained in the other suit.
Both suits have been adjourned to April 17

Court declares new number plates illegal

A Federal High Court in Lagos has declared that the new number plates introduced by the Federal Road Safety Commission are unconstitutional and as such cannot be imposed on vehicle owners.

In a judgment delivered by Justice James Tsoho on Wednesday, 26th March, 2014,  the court held that the redesigning of the old number plates was not backed by any law.

Tsoho, who was delivering the judgment in a suit by a lawyer, Emmanuel Ofoegbu, against the FRSC, therefore, held that the FRSC had no power to impose the redesigned number plates on vehicle owners, who had not acquired them.

The judge said, “The issue of redesigning new number plates by the respondent, is not covered under the provisions of any law in Nigeria.

“The respondent cannot force Nigerians to acquire new plate numbers by impounding cars without the backing of any legislation to that effect.

“I hold that the act of the respondent amounts to an arbitrary use of power, and is therefore illegal and unconstitutional.

“Judgment is therefore entered in favour of the plaintiff, and all the reliefs sought is hereby granted, I so hold.”

Ofoegbu had instituted the suit on September 30, 2013, to challenge the power of the FRSC to impound vehicles of motorists who failed to acquire the new number plates.

The plaintiff contended that the threat by the FRSC, which gave October 1 deadline for all vehicle owners to acquire the new number plate, was a gross violation of the provisions of Section 36 (12) of the 1999 Constitution, which guaranteed the rights of individuals.

He maintained that the threat by FRSC was illegal, since the amended National Road Traffic Regulations (2012) should not affect everything that was done, based on the revoked NRTR (2004), under which the old number plates were issued.

According to the plaintiff, Regulation 230(2) of the National Road Traffic Regulations (2012) states that the revocation of NRTR (2004) “shall” not affect anything done, or purported to be done pursuant to that regulation.

He submitted that the NRTR 2004 was a subsidiary legislation, made under the Federal Road Safety Commission Act, Laws of the Federation, as revised in 2004.

He, therefore, asked the court to declare as unlawful, the threat by the respondent to arrest motorists, using the old number plates, as according to him, “there is no law validly made in accordance with the constitution, prohibiting its use.”

The applicant also sought a court injunction restraining the FRSC from impounding vehicles, arresting or harassing vehicles owners, who refused to comply with the directive.

ATTACKS ON NIGERIAN FEMALE ELITES: DISCRIMINATION OR OPPRESSION? Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Honorable Minister of Finance and Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke as a Case Study.

Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke

A Review by Udebhulu O. Kelly.

       Social and legal discrimination against women remains a major obstacle to economic development in emerging and developing countries, according to the latest edition of OECD's Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI). Though women's rights are improving in a number of countries, in others, women are still barred from fully contributing to social and economic life.

Discrimination against women is defined by Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women of 1979 (heretofore referred to as the 1979 Convention or CEDAW) as "any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field."  As defined by the CEDAW, discrimination is characteristic of a situation where patterns of structural inequality are maintained by rules, norms and procedures that dictate a subordinate role for women in all spheres of society.

    From the above, the writer bothered often when accusations and counter accusations, assaults on characters, necessary and unnecessary comments are made towards most Nigerian female elites participating and contributing their respective worth to the development of our country, Nigeria. Most annoying of it all is that the male entities in the Government of Nigeria both past and present commit more havoc than most female counter part; yet, Nigerian critics keep mute till it involves female elite. Why? To this writer, most criticisms and attacks on Nigerian female elites are bored out of gender discrimination, hatred and envy on the part of some male counterpart who feels neglected because it is recognizably recorded that any ministry headed by a female is a no-go-area for corrupt intruder/contractor compared to a ministry headed by a male administrator.
    To explain vividly, many engage in defaming these Nigerian female elites. A concept that involves exaggeration or manipulation of facts to present an untrue picture of the targeted person, double speak, spreading of rumors, innuendo or deliberate misinformation on topics relating to the subject's morals, integrity, and reputation. It is a form of defamation or character assassination.

    Let us look at the biographies of two female elites in Nigeria political atmosphere presently and see if their backgrounds, educations, experiences and exposures would have landed them into any sorry condition in life before now?

A) Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke was born on 6th December, 1960, in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, to the family of His Royal Majesty, late Frederick Abiye and Chief Mrs. Beatrice Agama from Yenaka, Yenagoa Local Government Area, of Bayelsa State.

Mrs Alison-Madueke completed her early education in Nigeria and the United Kingdom before proceeding to study Architecture in the United States. She completed her 5-year professional Architectural degree at Howard University, Washington D. C.

She began her working career at Charles Szoradi Architects, moving on to American Interior Builders Inc. as Project Engineer, both in Washington D.C. In 1988, she joined Furman Construction Management Inc. Rockville, Maryland, as Design Coordinator, returning to Howard University as an in-house Project Manager and a member of the Planning and Development team responsible for the design and implementation of a comprehensive master building and renovation plan for the University.

Mrs Alison-Madueke joined Shell Petroleum Development Company in 1992 as Head of the Project Unit of the Estate Development Division in Lagos, supervising the refurbishing and Maintenance of the company’s real estate in Lagos, Abuja and Jos. She later moved to the External Affairs Directorate as Head of the newly instituted Corporate Issues Identification and Management Department.

In 2002, Mrs Alison-Madueke was awarded the prestigious British Foreign and Commonwealth Chevening Scholarship and proceeded on sabbatical leave to the Cambridge Judge Business School (then called “Judge Institute of Management”), Cambridge University Hughes Hall, UK, where she obtained an MBA in 2003.

On her return, she was appointed Shell Nigeria’s Senior JV Relations Adviser for Strategy and Planning and then Lead Ventures Relations Adviser, managing the company’s relations and reputation amongst its Joint Venture partners. In 2006, in recognition of her track record of excellence, she was appointed to the board of Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited, as External Affairs Director, making her the first female to be so appointed in the history of Shell Petroleum Development Company’s business practice in Nigeria.

Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke has held three significant Federal cabinet positions in the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria since 2007:

1.     Appointed first female Honourable Minister of Transportation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in July 2007, charged with the responsibility of over-seeing the Maritime, Aviation, Railways, and Road Infrastructure of the Nation;

2.     Following a cabinet reshuffle in December 2008, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke was appointed the Honourable Minister of Mines and Steel Development in which she held the primary responsibility for directing the ministry’s mandate in the exploitation of the nation’s solid minerals and steel endowments;

3.     After a cabinet dissolution in March 2010, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke was appointed Nigeria’s first female Honourable Minister for Petroleum Resources in which she holds the primary responsibility for the stewardship of Nigeria’s vast oil and gas resources.

A key responsibility in each of the Ministerial positions held by Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke was her participation as a member of Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council and the attendant responsibility for making presentations to the Federal Council on behalf of the respective Ministries.

Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke is married with children to Rear Admiral Alison-Madueke (rtd), a former Governor of old Anambra and Imo States and a former Chief of Naval Staff of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala 

B) Dr, Okonjo-Iweala, Ph.D.

Dr, Okonjo-Iweala , PhD,  was born June 13 , 1954, from Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, where her father Professor Chukuka Okonjo is the Obi (King) from the Umu Obi Obahai Royal Family of Ogwashi-Uku.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala graduated with an A.B. magna cum laude in Economics from Harvard University and holds a Ph.D. in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr, Okonjo-Iweala, PhD, was considered as a possible replacement for former World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. Subsequently, in 2012, she became one of three candidates in the race to replace World Bank President Robert Zoellick at the end of his term of office in June 2012. On April 16, 2012, it was announced that she had been unsuccessful in her bid for the World Bank presidency, having lost to the US nominee, Jim Yong Kim. This outcome had been widely anticipated. However, this was the first contested election for World Bank president after the demise in 2010 of the Gentlemen's Agreement that the US would appoint the World Bank president and Europe would appoint the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, PhD, is also an Adviser to the World Bank on the Stolen Assets Recovery initiative. She served as a Managing Director at The World Bank Group since December 1, 2007 until August 2011. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala founded NOI-Gallup polls. She served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria from 2003 to 2006. Before taking up her Ministerial appointment, she served in a number of important positions at the World Bank including Vice President and Corporate Secretary, Director of Operations in the Middle East and North Africa region, and Country Director for the South East Asia and Mongolia Country unit. She joined the World Bank in 1982. She serves as a Member of the Board of Governors of African Development Bank

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, Ph.D., is a member or Chair of numerous boards and advisory groups in the public, private and non-governmental sectors including DATA, the World Resources Institute, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Nelson Mandela Institution and the African Institutes of Science and Technology, and Friends of the Global Fund Africa. She is a recipient of numerous awards and honors including Time Magazine European Hero 2004, Euro money Magazine Global Finance Minister of the year 2005, Financial Times/The Banker African Finance Minister of the year 2005, and This Day Nigeria Minister of the Year 2004 and 2005.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Honorable Minister of Finance of Nigeria. She is also a Member of the Governing Council of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority in which capacity she provides advice and counsel to the Board of Directors. 

       From the above information relating to the two female elites, it is understandable to realize that corruption and excesses cannot be eradicated in Nigeria by criticisms and accusations anchored on  hatred, envy, selfish interest and discrimination. Let us learn to appreciate and welcome any Nigerian ready to contribute to the development of Nigeria. Get my message clearer, they might not be saints as you are not a saint either within your local or corporate area of control but we shall reduce corruption solely by engaging on constructive criticisms and accusations.

     This call for an end to all forms of discrimination against women emphasizes the need for a radical re‑definition of the process and content of economic, social and political development.  It stresses the need for a holistic orientation which acknowledges the vital role of women in development and engineers their integration into development processes as equal partners with men.  For this purpose, it is argued that legal and substantive protection at the local, state and federal levels should be coordinated for more meaningful enhancement of both the status and situation of women. All cabinet or nor cabinet ministers or ministerial heads should be given a constructive criticism, correction and condemnation; for this, a viable Nigeria for good governance will be realized. Thank you all.

Udebhulu O. Kelly is a trained journalist from AIU, Hawaii, USA, he lives in Madrid, Spain.

Police Arrest Seven in Ibadan over Unearthed Body Parts at Kidnappers’ Hide out

human parts

LOUD NEWS TODAY-IBADAN- The police in Oyo State have arrested seven persons in connection with the discovery of a kidnappers' den at Soka area on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The den, located in Oluyole Local Government Area of the state, and littered with severed  human parts of scores of yet-to-be identified victims of ritual killers, was discovered on Saturday.

No fewer than 20 decomposed bodies were discovered while about 23 people, comprising 18 males and five females who were looking gaunt, were found with their legs manacled at an uncompleted building in the den.

One of the women was said to have been delivered of a baby early yesterday, but the infant was sold. The woman was brought out of the bush with bloodstains  on her body.

She could not tell anyone how she got to the place, before she fainted after uttering some words.

It was gathered that the den was where human parts were freely sold to people who often come to the area at night.

The police yesterday confirmed the arrest of seven persons in connection with the discovery of human parts in the bush.

Those arrested were two persons found in the building and five security personnel working in a nearby company.
A statement by the police spokesman, Bisi Ilobanafor, a Superintendent of Police (SP),  said the State Criminal Investigation Department had begun investigation into the incident.

She explained that a group of 100 area boys had invaded the area in search of two missing cyclists when they discovered an uncompleted building where some persons were found.

They also found decayed corpses and skeletons in a nearby bush while one Abideen Akanmu who claimed to have been employed by one Gbadamosi, now at large, was arrested in the building.

She said those arrested were being charged with murder and unlawful possession of firearms while the destitute rescued from the building had been taken to a hospital for treatment.

Corpses found have also been deposited at the morgue.
Items recovered from the building were three dane guns,  three single barrel guns,  one bow, 16 arrows,  22 cutlasses,  40 live cartridges, seven knives, an axe, two iron files and a phone.

Meanwhile, relatives of missing persons have stormed the area in search of their lost ones following reports that there were still some people hidden in the dungeon, crying for help.

However, other people came to get a glimpse of the gory sight of decomposed bodies and human skeletons.

One of those who visited the place, who gave his name as Kolawole Falana, said he came looking for one Dare, 18, who had been declared missing for about a week.
He explained that he joined in the search for Dare yesterday only for security agents stationed in the area to descend on him for no just cause.

Falana, who had some bruises on his face as a result of the manhandling by the police, called on the state government to move to the site and demolish all the structures there to safeguard the public.

All the way from Gbongan in Osun State also came two men  who said they came looking for their 95-year-old father, Isaac Adeoye Oguntade, who had been missing since December 31, 2013.
They explained that Oguntade, a retired teacher, had left home for Osogbo to collect his pension from a bank but had not returned since then.

Abacha's Son Expresses His Anger To Wole Soyinka Over His Comments. Just As Every Son`s Responsibility To Every Parents or What...?

soyinka and sadiq

"I applaud the patience of President Goodluck Jonathan and his composure and restraint in not having a knee jerk reaction at such a pivotal moment in our nations history, but you would mar the occasion, Sir, in the future, please pick your battles, and do better to safeguard your relevance,  Enough Sir!"

One of the late Military dictator, Sani Abacha's daughter, Gumsu Sani Abacha recently blasted Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka over his comments that sharing the Centenary Award with the late Abacha was an insult.

Apparently she's not the only child that is angry as one of the sons, Sadiq Sani Abacha also did not find the comment funny and did not hesitate to  express his anger in an open letter.
If you want to think, speak and act logically then you should know all three.
1. The law of identity
2. The law of excluded middle
3. The law of non contradiction.

Now let's look at each one of these and see what they mean in practice.
1.The law of identity.

The law of identity means that things are what they are, which at first doesn't seem very illuminating, but wait; it implies also the following, that things are what they are, whether you like them or not, it implies that things are what they are whether you know them or not, it implies that things are what they are whether you agree with them or not.

However, if you don't like the facts as they are you are going to have to put up with them, because facts are what they are, if it's raining on your golf day, get used to it! Because the facts are what they are and are often not what you want them to be, like if the traffic lights turn red when you approach, stop complaining! The law of identity means that you must adapt yourself to the facts and start your work from there, it implies that the facts will not bend to meet your expectations. You must first adapt yourself to what life is and then get to work changing and improving things in your life, be brave to meet reality as it really is and not how you would wish it to be.

2. The law of excluded middle.
  The law of excluded middle means that you should give a straight yes or no answer always and there is no middle ground. The law means that there is no kinda yes and kinda no, there is no ‘sort of’ being married because you are either married or you are not, you are either a thief or you are not, you are either on time or not, you are either living in Nigeria or you are not. The law is the idea that you should not try to keep all of your options open by staying in the middle or hedging, when it suits you, like when you accepted an appointment during IBB's regime as chairman of FRSC. I bet that was a military regime you partook in. Please pick one wife and state your claim 100% to her, pick one idea and go for it 100%! Decide and commit Sir! There you might find great power and self satisfaction in the doctrine of decide and commit. No half way measures, no middle ground, exclude the middle! Here! The law of excluded middle Sir.

3. The law of non contradiction.
The law of non contradiction says don't contradict yourself simple. If you say you will be there then be there. If you say you will do it then do it. Don't say or fight for one thing and then do the opposite. Don't say one thing and then later deny that you said it. Don't say one thing and then later contradict it. Be consistent in your thoughts and actions. Observing someone who was a socialist in the morning but then became a capitalist in the evening is a textbook on contradiction, these are two polar opposites, such a person is clearly inconsistent and is therefore considered a flip flop, confused, easily led or misled or at best a lunatic who has no clear understanding of the basis of either doctrine.

Apply these three logics to others with consistency and then you can ask for the same or expect the same from others, and then you can also ask for others to deal with facts not fantasy, which is the law of identity. Ask others to make up their mind to decide and commit. The law of excluded middle.Then ask others to follow through on the things that they say they would do. The law of non contradiction.

Sir, I believe brilliance is not perfection. I have grown and watched you criticize regime after regime and at that young and naive age I was thinking why wouldn't this man just contest to be president so that Nigeria can be saved, I would have defiantly voted for Mr Soyinka if it would have brought an end to Nigeria's woes. To my utter surprise, I heard about your FRSC leadership and how funds were misused and a great deal of it unaccounted for. "Oh my God! In the end he turned out to be just the same as everybody else" were my next thoughts. My hopes for you, all ended up in great disappointment.

Here I find myself defending my father 15 years after his death because some of you have no one else to pounce on, or rather, you have chosen a dead person to keep pouncing on over and over again when you have more than an array of contestants.  A coward's act I believe.  "A common writer" is what I have heard you being referred to lately, and I believe a mature mind would now agree to such referrals. With all due respect, there is a great challenge that faces the country, we have to put our heads together, rather than clashing, our collective ships must sail in the same direction, let us leave the ghosts of past contention and face the future bravely as one, criticizing the past does not help the present or define a path to the future.

You are a learned man, you would have to undo all your learning to knowingly wish to undo all these achievements! I will be the first to proclaim that my fathers leadership was not pitch perfect or spot free, that does not exist, maybe in utopia but not here on this earth, so let us keep our discourse set in the sphere of reality please, he deserves the award, and he did not campaign for it, let it go, Sir...and allow Nigeria to at least bask in our survival and endurance in our growing prosperity and development in these trying times. I have been accused of being an optimist, hence, I am optimistic that you will come around and accept that we can all come together and face the future together, forgive each other our wrongs while celebrating our rights, I am still an admirer of your works after all, however, I cannot and will not attempt to answer your every charge, this is not the time or place, this is a time for solidarity, if only you were wise enough to grasp this.

I applaud the patience of President Goodluck Jonathan and his composure and restraint in not having a knee jerk reaction at such a pivotal moment in our nations history, but you would mar the occasion, Sir, in the future, please pick your battles, and do better to safeguard your relevance,  Enough Sir!

Sadiq Abacha.

Ukraine crisis: Russia stands firm despite rebukes, threats of sanctions.

LOUDNEWS- USA) -- Russia showed no signs of backing down Monday even as world leaders threatened sanctions and sternly rebuked the country for sending troops into Ukraine.
At an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss the unfolding crisis, Ukraine's envoy asked for help, saying that Russia had used planes, boats and helicopters to flood the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea with 16,000 troops in the past week.

"So far, Ukrainian armed forces have exercised restraint and refrained from active resistance to the aggression, but they are in full operational readiness," Ukrainian Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev said.
As diplomats at the meeting asked Russia to withdraw its troops and called for mediation to end the crisis, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin insisted his country's aims were preserving democracy, protecting millions of Russians in Ukraine and stopping radical extremists.

He said ousted President Viktor Yanukovych remains Ukraine's elected leader and has asked Russia to send troops.

The Russian envoy read a letter from Yanukovych at the U.N. meeting, describing Ukraine as a country "on the brink of civil war," plagued by "chaos and anarchy."

"People are being persecuted for language and political reasons," the letter said. "So in this regard, I would call on the President of Russia, Mr. Putin, asking him to use the armed forces of the Russian Federation to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order, stability and defending the people of Ukraine."
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said Russia's claims about the situation in Ukraine are untrue and warned that sending military forces "could be devastating."

Yanukovych, she said, abandoned his post last month and was then voted out of office by Ukraine's democratically elected parliament.

"Russian military action is not a human rights protection mission," Power said. "It is a violation of international law."

Earlier Monday, global stocks slipped on fears things could get worse, and diplomats grasped for a way to stop the situation from escalating.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the situation Europe's most serious crisis of the still-young 21st century.

And U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States is examining a series of economic and diplomatic steps to "isolate Russia," and he called on Congress to work with his administration on an economic assistance package for Ukraine.
Tensions mount
In Crimea, more Russian troops arrived, surrounding military posts and other facilities and taking effective control of the peninsula from Ukrainian authorities. What they planned to do next remained unclear.
Analysts told LOUDNEWS the apparently growing presence of Russian troops in Crimea means there's a risk the tense standoff could escalate.

"There are lots of unintended consequences when you have armed men staring at each other in places like you do in Crimea," said Michael McFaul, the former U.S. Ambassador to Russia. "So I think we all need to be very vigilant and worry about the worst case scenario, because it's no one's interest ... to see all out civil war in this country in the heart of Europe of 50 million people."

Putin's moves into Ukraine come as the Russian leader struggles to deal with a political crisis in the neighboring country that didn't unfold as his government hoped, according to Russia analyst Jill Dougherty, formerly CNN's Moscow bureau chief.

"Putin has been trying to figure out what to do. So now he's taking these steps," Dougherty said. "And I think that he probably thinks that they're carefully calibrated. But he really is playing with fire."
In one ominous incident, a Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman said the commander of Russia's Black Sea fleet boarded a blocked Ukrainian warship and issued a threat.

"Swear allegiance to the new Crimean authorities, or surrender, or face an attack," he said, according to the spokesman, Vladislav Seleznyov.

But a spokesman for the Russian Black Sea Fleet said there are no plans to storm Ukrainian military units in Crimea, according to the state-run Interfax news agency.

And one Crimean official has reportedly described the situation there as quiet.

Despite the assurances, stocks fell around the world, with Russian stocks leading the way as investors parsed the day's developments. Markets declined in Asia, Europe and the United States, where the benchmark Dow Jones fell 153 points Monday.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday that sanctions against Russia weren't just possible, but likely.

Ukraine's shaky new government has mobilized troops and called up military reservists.
In Kiev, interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who has accused Moscow of declaring war, vowed that his West-leaning government would not give up the region.

"Nobody will give Crimea away. ... There are no grounds for the use of force against civilians and Ukrainians, and for the entry of the Russian military contingent," he said. "Russia never had any grounds and never will."

A strange scene: Somewhat polite standoff in Crimea.

If judged by the numbers, Ukraine's military loses war with Russia.
Worried West.

The tensions have worried the West, and Russia's G8 partners have condemned Moscow's military buildup in Crimea. The world's seven major industrialized powers also suspended preparations for the G8 summit in Sochi, Russia, in June.

Their finance ministers announced some economic support for cash-strapped Ukraine.
"We are also committed to mobilize rapid technical assistance to support Ukraine in addressing its macroeconomic, regulatory, and anti-corruption challenges," the finance ministers said in a written statement.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, due in Kiev Tuesday, said several foreign powers are looking at economic consequences if Russia does not withdraw its forces.

The United States has suspended upcoming trade and investment talks with Russia due to the events in Ukraine, a spokesman for the U.S. trade representative said Monday.

Obama said Monday that Russia should consider international condemnation of its military moves in Ukraine, adding that "over time, this will be a costly proposition" due to sanctions and isolation that will result if the situation continues or worsens.

Kerry will offer Ukraine a "specific" package of U.S. economic aid when he travels to Kiev for talks Tuesday, Obama said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's office said Putin had accepted a proposal to establish a "fact-finding mission" to Ukraine, possibly under the leadership of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and to start a political dialogue.

How is the rest of the world reacting?

East vs. West

Ukraine, a nation of 45 million people sandwiched between Europe and Russia's southwestern border, has been in chaos since Yanukovych was ousted on February 22 after bloody street protests that left dozens dead and hundreds wounded.

Anti-government demonstrations started in late November, when Yanukovych spurned a deal with the EU, favoring closer ties with Moscow instead.

Ukraine has faced a deepening split, with those in the west generally supporting the interim government and its European Union tilt, while many in the east prefer a Ukraine where Russia casts a long shadow.
Nowhere is that feeling more intense than in Crimea, the last big bastion of opposition to the new political leadership. Ukraine suspects Russia of fomenting tension in the autonomous region that might escalate into a bid for separation by its Russian majority.

Ukrainian leaders and commentators have compared events in Crimea to what happened in Georgia in 2008. Then, cross-border tensions with Russia exploded into a five-day conflict that saw Russian tanks and troops pour into the breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as well as Georgian cities. Russia and Georgia each blamed the other for starting the conflict.

Moscow has defended its parliament's approval of Putin's use of military force to protect its citizens in the Crimean Peninsula, an autonomous region of eastern Ukraine with strong loyalty to Russia.
But Ukraine's ambassador to the U.N. says Russia's reasoning for a possible invasion is fake.

"There is no evidence that the Russian ethnic population or Russian-speaking population is under threat," Sergeyev told LOUDNEWS.

The Russian parliament, or Duma, is also considering a law that would allow for the annexation of Crimea, according to the parliament's website.

"Now they are trying to create new legal basis to prove annexation of the territory they're now occupying," Sergeyev said.

READ: Ukraine mobilizes troops after Russia's 'declaration of war'

READ: Opinion: Putin's move could be costly to U.S., Middle East