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MORE •I’m not seeking to be president, says Tinubu •AND ON PAGES •’Use of card readers does not violate Electoral Act’ 2-10 •One dead as Accord, APC trade words over Ibadan rally •Kwara governor: it’ll be disastrous to remove Jega
•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper
TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH
VOL. 10, NO. 3141 MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2015
Marketers halt importation as petrol scarcity persists
N150.00
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The President has no powers under the law to remove the INEC chief without the support of two-thirds majority in the Senate. The President is probably aware of this and that accounts for the alleged subterfuge of going through the route of an epistolary brigandage. They are alleged to be plotting to ask the Head of Service to write Prof. Jega to proceed on a terminal leave
By Emeka Ugwuanyi and John Ofikhenua, Abuja
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UEL queues grew longer in many cities at the weekend — no thanks to the disagreement over subsidy between the government and marketers. It was gathered that because marketers have reduced their import, the scarcity may persist. But the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) plans to triple its supplies to mitigate the shortfall. Many filling stations in major cities, including Lagos and Abuja, at the weekend either did not sell the product or sold above the N87 price. Many sold at between N97 and N110 Continued from page 4
•www.thenationonlineng.net
•NNPC MD Dr. Joseph Dawha
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LEAVE JEGA ALONE (EDITORIAL) —PAGE 15
•INSIDE: OKUNBOR TAKES OVER AS SHELL MD P6 NNPC FOR PROBE OVER $14.9B LNG CASH P6
•A MAR CH AGAINST EVIL: People take part in a demonstration in downtown Yaounde, against Islamist group Boko Haram and in support of the Cameroonian army engaged in a multi-national MARCH battle against the group...at the weekend. Some 10,000 to 15,000 people took part in the march. PHOTO: AFP
Fear of new polls shift rises
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WILL THE CHIBOK GIRLS KIDNAPPED ON APRIL 15, LAST YEAR EVER RETURN?
APC seeks sanction for PDP leaders NGOs rise for Jega
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HERE are fears that the March 28 and April 11 elections may be shifted. The elections were originally slated for February 14 and 28. They were shifted because the Service Chiefs told the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that they could not guarantee security. They asked for six weeks to defeat the Boko Haram insurgents troubling the Northeast. “The same reason is likely to be advanced in making a case for another postponement,” a source said last night.
From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja
The Service Chiefs, The Nation learnt, will tender the military’s recent gains in the war against Boko Haram to make the case for another postponement. The military says it has made much progress in the anti-terrorism war, retaking towns captured by the terrorists and making arrests. But, the popular thinking, particularly in the camp of the opposition, is that another shift will allow the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
to perfect its strategies to stay put in office by manipulating the elections. The strategies include: •the sudden push for the removal of INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega and; •the campaign against the use of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) and the Card Reader – two key elements of a fraud–free election, according to INEC. The PDP insists that many wouldbe voters are yet to get their cards. Besides, the party says the Card Read-
er may go faulty. Almost 80% of would-be voters have got their cards. INEC says there are spare card readers, should some suddenly go faulty. Some civil society organisations have stepped up their campaign that the elections should hold as scheduled. The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday said there were fears that another postponement was in the smithy. Nigerians United for Democracy (NUD) held a rally in Lagos on SaturContinued from page 4
•’COLLAPSED SYNAGOGUE BUILDING NOT CAUSED BY STRUCTURAL DEFECT’ P12