GOFAMINT VICTORY MONTH PRAYER POINTS FOR DAY 22: MIGHTY MOVE OF GOD IN ALL OUR CHURCHES IN EUROPE, AMERICA, ASIA AND AUSTRALIA

THE GOSPEL FAITH MISSION INTERNATIONAL (GOFAMINT)

DAY 22: THURSDAY 23RD JANUARY 2014

FOCUS: MIGHTY MOVE OF GOD IN ALL OUR CHURCHES IN EUROPE, AMERICA ASIA AND AUSTRALIA

TEXTS: Acts 16:6-10; Isaiah 60:9, 18.

INSIGHT FOR EFFECTIVE PRAYING

The Lord gave our G.O, Pastor (Dr.) E.O. Abina, the vision to cover all the Continents of the World by Year 2010 (Vision 2010) and to the glory of God, this was achieved in year 2010.

Right now, the burden of the ministry is to cover all the nations of the world in each continent. This is in consonance with the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). It is a task that must be done, if indeed we are to retain the word ‘International’ in our name. Our coverage is still currently far from our expectations, and hence the need for this prayer.

Apostle Paul developed a regional apostolic network in order to cover the then known world. It is time the GOFAMINT also utilizes all her known potentials to network the gospel in all nations. The time is short, the harvest is plentiful, but committed laborers or harvesters are few!

Apostle Paul spent altogether thirteen years planting Churches: first missionary journey A.D. 47-54 about three years; second missionary journey A.D. 50-54; four to five years; third missionary journey A.D. 54-58; at least four years. Paul spent only about ten yeas for establishing a regional apostolic network (which covered his second and third missionary journeys). He had over fifty individuals involved with his apostolic ministry in the Mediterranean regions.

From the composition of his apostolic network, we can see the geographical and spiritual coverage of his ministerial mantle. It covered “the world” of his time. His ministry was established over a geographical region of many advancements: intellectualism, politics, military, commerce, trading, agriculture and industry. Paul had indeed developed, the largest regional network of ministry recorded in the Bible. He had active fellowship and associations with people in most of the essential cities of his time.

 Right now, the GOFAMINT has Churches in some countries of Europe, such as England, Ireland, Belgium and France. There are still several nations in Europe which we are yet to cover. Even the nations where we are now, our impact is yet to be felt as desired. We must pray hard for better results. The same scenario plays itself out in America (North and South) while in Asia or Middle East, we only exist for now in Philippines, United Arab Emirate and Israel. Australia is a separate continent and we bless God that we had made incultion into the capital city most recently (2010).

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will surely bring to performance our desire to occupy all other nations for Him in Jesus’ name. This prayer session will create in us a big burden to fulfill the great commission with the urgency it deserves. The Lord will also use this prayer session to provide the needed finance in local and foreign currencies.

LET US  PRAY

1.      Let us bless the Lord for the advances that have been made so far on our foreign mission fields by highly committed missionaries.

2.      Let us also give thanks to God for the financial resources so far raised both in local and foreign currencies that facilitates entrance into these nations.

3.      We cover all our foreign missionaries with the Blood of Jesus and with the glory of God as they go to the foreign fields with the message of the gospel, even in hostile territories.

4.      O Lord, we commit into Your hands the nations in the Missionary Window ’10-40’, that you will grant us grace for a strategic advance of the gospel into these Nations in Jesus’ name.

5.      O Lord, let Your glory manifest in us as we enter into various unreached areas in Jesus’ name.

6.      We pray that there will be Macedonian doors that will fling open for us to enter and we shall possess all needed logistic backing to these countries in Jesus’ name.

7.      O Lord, it is time to enlarge the coasts of GOFAMINT globally. Let every spirit of impossibility, Goliath, Sanbalat and Tobiah bow before us as we take giant steps of faith to the Nations.

8.      As our Churches in USA have just got a new national leadership, let us pray that the Holy Ghost will work with them and give them a revisit of Pentecostal revival.

9.      Pray that our Churches in USA will become financial hub of blessings for many of our Foreign Mission fields and as they sow to these fields, their capacities too should continue to be enlarged in Jesus’ name.

10.    In the Middle East, our Church has been feebly footed in Israel and United Arab Emirate. These are very hard grounds. Pray that as we rekindle the fire in Israel, the Lord will grant us more open doors with massive conversions of the indigenes, and strengthen our base in United Arab Emirate.

11.    Our Church plans to make further gains into such Muslim strongholds as Jordan, Quarter and Malaysia. Let us pray for open doors that will make this a possibility this year.

12.    Let us pray for our Foreign Missions Board, being led by the G.O, Pastor (Dr.) E.O. Abina, that God will grant divine insight and revelation to them that will make the financing of these foreign fields relatively stress-free.

13.    Asia currently commands the largest human population in the world with China nearly 1.4 billion and India 1.1 billion. Our Church has no physical presence in any of these nations, let us therefore pray that the Lord will raise up groaners, goers and givers for these lands.

14.    Our Church in Canada needs to be strengthened for further expansion. Let us pray that help will arise for us in this country so that the Church will grow stronger to become a sower field for others.

15.    Our Church needs to have stronger physical presence in South America. Let us pray that covenant helpers will rise for GOFAMINT in these locations.

16.    Our Church in Australia needs strong financial support. Let us pray that covenant helpers will rise for us in that continent to strengthen the mission.

17.    Let us pray that God will raise up strong professionals, who can use their connections as tent makers to help many of our existing foreign Missions fields, especially with the model being canvassed at Philippines.

18.    Let us also pray that in the same way God raised ministry associates for Paul who spanned so many careers and professions, He will also raise for us in GOFAMINT in both public and private sectors.

19.    Let us pray that in as much the exchange rate of Naira to Dollars makes it an uphill task to fund these fields from Nigeria, the Lord will raise up financial support in the currencies of the host nations of our foreign fields.

20.    Pray that our Church will be able to ride upon the challenge of technological interface of these advanced nations to present the gospel to them at their various levels.

21.       Pray that none of these nations moral bankruptcy will affect our members resident there, this should rather be catalysts of change and revival for them.

22.    Because the Lord told the people of Israel, “you have stayed for too long on this side of the mountain…”, pray that the spirit of “Kadesh Barnear” that goes round in circles creating slackness in possessing the land, will not come upon us in our bid to possess more nations for Christ.

23.    O Lord, cause Your terror to fall upon those illegal occupants of our territories and send hornets before us to scare them away. Declare that we will inherit the land and many souls will be brought to God through us this year.

24.    Pray for all our Missionaries in these foreign fields that they will be baptized with a special anointing for advancing the gospel in their locations through signs and wonders

MINISTRATION

Those who want new ventures, doors and territories to be opened before them for an advantageous entrance of the gospel into people’s lives.

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL For Thursday 23 January 2014 "NEW LIFE IN JESUS II" BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL For Thursday 23 January 2014 "NEW LIFE IN JESUS II" BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

Memory Verse: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13


Read: Romans 6:12-13

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 

13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 

Message

As a born-again Christian, you need to understand and live by the nature of the new creature that you are. This is the key to your victory in this world. One character of your new nature is revealed in Galatians 5:25:

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts”

Once you belong to Jesus Christ by being born-again, your sinful nature has been crucified. Your nature no longer conforms to that which is controlled by the flesh because you are dead to the flesh. This is further clarified in Romans 8:9-10:

"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

However it does not end there. Armed with this understanding of who you are, you have to conscientiously by faith enforce this victory over the flesh in your mind. 1 Peter 4:1 says:

“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;”

This day-to-day battle of enforcement and resistance will be very “painful”. The flesh is not going to like your stance; but you must let it know that you are dead to it and it cannot rule you. As a matter of compulsion, make no provision for the flesh.

Apart from the flesh being crucified, another character of your new nature is that through Christ, the world is crucified to you and you are crucified to the world (Galatians 6:14). This implies that you are dead to the world. What does this mean? Before we were born-again, we had friends or relations whose company we used to enjoy, people whose opinions mattered a lot to us and influenced us to do lots of things we did not really want to do. Many a times some people are found smoking not because they enjoy smoking, but because they were worried about their friends’ uncomplimentary remarks about their abstinence from such habits. Therefore when their peers smoke, they join them to smoke even though they know that smoking will send them to their untimely death. However, once you are born-again, armed with the mindset that you are dead to the world, such opinions will no longer matter. It does not matter what they say, you are determined to follow Jesus. You will not perish with the world in Jesus’ Name.

Prayer Point:

Father, thank you for giving me a new life in Christ; please help me to live by this new life till I see you in glory.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 TIMOTHY 1 - 4 and PSALM 22:1-21

GOFAMINT VICTORY MONTH PRAYER POINTS: GRACE OF CONNECTING GOD IN THE CLOSET AND MANIFESTING HIS GLORY OPENLY

THE GOSPEL FAITH MISSION INTERNATIONAL (GOFAMINT)

Day 21: Wednesday 22nd January 2014

Focus: GRACE OF CONNECTING GOD IN THE CLOSET AND MANIFESTING HIS GLORY OPENLY

Texts: Matthew 6:6; II Corinthians 10:6-7a

INSIGHT FOR EFFECTIVE PRAYING

In our world, the spiritual controls the natural. The earlier the believers know and act on this, the better. Many of those things we see that happen during the daylight  are always being decided and hatched in the spirit realm in the night. Activities in the natural realm are largely controlled in the spiritual realm, either positive or negative.

The incident in Exodus chapter 17 was an example. Joshua the great warrior and the entire host of Israel were engaged in battle by Amalekites’ Army. Surprisingly, as the soldiers went to the battlefield, Moses and his co- ministers went to a different place, which was the mountain of the Lord. There and then, whenever Moses raised his hands up, the Israelites army prevailed but whenever he let his hands down, the enemies prevailed. The raising up of hands typifies prayer. Simply put, Moses was raising up his hand and praying on the mountain. Through the prayer action and inaction on the mountain, the outcome of the battle on the battlefield was being determined.

Unknown to many of us, agents of darkness are busy day and night operating in the dark to determine people’s fate on earth. Sufficeit to say that Christians are not meant to be indolent or inactive, no! We have been instructed to meet our God in the secret place of prayer so that we, in conjunction with God, can determine what will happen in our world. How many of us are conscious of the fact that we can do and undo in prayer? “In God, we can do valiantly”. That is the great opportunity that presents itself to us on a platter of gold this victory month.

When we meet God in prayer, in the secret place, the way we are supposed to do it; things take an upward turn in our lives. We move from natural to supernatural; from human to divine level; from carnality to spirituality; from sickness to healthiness; from victimization to victory; from nobody to somebody; from slavery to dominion etc. That is what we are in for this month, especially today.

LET US PRAY

1.     Thank You, Lord because you are in control of the whole earth and in our individual lives.

2.     Thank You dear Lord, for Your readiness and willingness to meet us at the point of our needs today.

3.     We are here today Lord, whatever is there that may hinder Your presence from us, let the blood of Jesus nullify them.

4.     We stand on the covenant of the blood of Jesus Christ and we ask for Your presence in our lives today in Jesus’ name.

5.         You promised that You will walk and work in our midst, we are here today for that purpose, works in our lives, touch and transform our lives in Jesus’ name.

6.     We have come to the secret place of the Most High today, hover upon us and cover our lives with Your healing and miracle working wings in Jesus’ name.

7.     Dear Lord, release upon my life, Your healing virtue that will destroy any negative work of darkness that might have been deposited into my life in Jesus’ name.

8.     Let Your hand of miracle touch every life that needs Your touch in every area of our lives today in Jesus’ name.

9.     Tokens of evil and weapons of the power of darkness are destroyed in everyone’s life in Jesus’ name.

10.   Let all old and evil things disappear and let new and good things ensue in our individual lives in Your presence today in Jesus’ name.

11.   We command that every bondage in the lives of everyone be loosed in Jesus’ name.

12.   We pray that every evil power that works against anyone’s life among us be broken and all things begin to work together for good in Jesus’ name.

13.   All evil pronouncements and effects of curses be nullified in everyone’s life in Jesus’ name.

14.   Lord, by Your power, change our lives from what it is at present to what it should be in Jesus name.

15.   Let Your anointing that breaks yokes and solves problems come upon our lives in Jesus’ name.

16.   Dear Lord, my life must not remain the same again, I assume Your power and my life embrace Your glory in the mighty name of Jesus.

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL For Wednesday 22 January 2014 "NEW LIFE IN JESUS I" BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL For Wednesday 22 January 2014 "NEW LIFE IN JESUS I" BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

Memory Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

Read:
Galatians 2:20

 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.


Message

No doubt, there are lot of things that Apostle Paul wrote which are hard to fathom. How can somebody be crucified and yet be alive? A crucified fellow is bound to die; but in Galatians 2:20, Paul says

“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live”.

What he is saying here is that ‘the man that I used to be is dead: the fornicator is dead; the liar is dead; that man who used to be angry is dead; that man who used to defraud is dead; the man with the unforgiving spirit is dead; thank God, that man on the way to hell is dead; now I am going to heaven; I am a brand new creature’.

What message is Apostle Paul trying to convey when he says: “I am crucified”? What really does he mean when he says: “Christ is living in me”? When we become born-again, the Bible says we become brand new creatures in Jesus Christ. Quite a lot of things change when we become born-again; all of them are inward things which later reflect on the outside. 


Assuming you attend a church service and you become born-again during the service, if you came in as a black fellow, you would still leave as a black fellow. After salvation, the colour of your skin does not change and you don’t grow taller or shorter. However, inwardly, certain things have changed. Your spirit now is in communion with God. 

Your spirit man that was dead before is now alive; but you are still living in the same body. The devil will try as much as possible to use that body to drag you back to his ways, but you must not give in. I pray that you will not backslide in Jesus’ Name. It is now your duty to keep on renewing your mind to keep the cravings of your body under the control of your spirit. You need to keep reminding your mind and body that your flesh has been crucified. Apostle Paul writing in Galatians 5:24 said:

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

There are certain things that the body loves to do and it is eager to do them all the time. Many will claim that they are already crucified with Christ, but their stomach is still their lord. For instance, if a fasting period of seven days is declared, many people will be very sad. Why will they be sad? It is because almost immediately, their stomachs will start rumbling in agitation: “What are you trying to do? Do you want to starve me and deny me food?” That is the flesh grumbling and crying out. What you must do at that moment is to silence the flesh, declaring by faith that it has been crucified, thus bringing it under and subjecting it to the dictates of the Spirit.

Action Point:

Decide as from today, which day(s) of the week you will be fasting. This is one way of bringing your body under subjection to the Spirit.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : 1 TIMOTHY 1 - 6 and PSALM 21

Aminu Tambuwal Must Defect To APC To Remain Speaker – Nwagwu

A Public Affairs Analyst and former Vice President, Transparency Nigeria, Ezenwa Nwagwu, has called on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, to either defect to the opposition party or lose his position as the All Progressives Congress (APC) now boasts of having majority of the members in the House.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had obtained a judgement from a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja stopping the House of Representatives from changing its leadership pending the determination of a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to restrain the lower chamber from altering the composition of its leadership.

There have been agitations by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a result of mass defection of member lawmakers who cross carpeted to the APC. The party had also gone ahead to seek redress in the court of law to deter more members from decamping, as well as to ensure that the court declares seats of the decampees vacant.

Nwagwu, who is the Chairman, Partners for Electoral Reform, told Channels Television that the Speaker, a PDP member, has no choice in the matter. “You have a PDP speaker now, if majority of the members are opposition. It’s common sense. You can’t continue to be speaker. There’s no magic, all you need to do to retain that position is to defect,” Nwagwu said.

Nwagwu, who noted that the PDP’s decision to go to court is “immoral,” said that the party had benefitted from similar events in the past.

“The PDP as it stands now, going to court is immoral” because “you’ve benefitted from this process in time past, you are still benefitting really.” The PDP “swallowed up majorly most of the smaller parties, in our recent history” and so “to begin to worry now that there’s a change that looks like it’s going to be a vista of hope for serious democratic practice is worrisome.”

The struggle put up by the ruling party “is about contest and leadership. It’s about who controls the leadership of the National Assembly in both Houses, he said, adding that “the agitations of the PDP are not fuelled by principles but by power.

He traced the history of the culture of defection to the 50’s during the “AG and NCNC saga, where members of the then NCNC had to move to the Action Group, which had consequences (till date),” he said, and also noted that the defection “affected the relationship between followers of Nnamdi Azikwe and those of Obafemi Awolowo,”who are still alive.

“That debate is still on as to what really happened. Some said the AG bought over the members of the NCNC,” he said.

He berated PDP’s agitations and further noted that the “The Peoples Democratic Party had benefitted immensely from defections in this democratic dispensation.” He cited instances including the defection of Governor Ikedi Ohakim, “who got his ticket under the PPA and moved to the PDP, with almost all the members of the House of Assembly.”

He also mentioned the case of the governor of Bauchi state (Isa Yuguda) who “did not just marry the PDP. He also married the President’s daughter to cement that relationship.” Also, “In the Senate, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe who moved from AD.”

“It was exciting for everybody and the PDP lapped all of that up.”

Mr Nwagwu, who was on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, expressed hope that the rise in cases of defection would lead to “a situation where the opposition will be leading an arm of government.” “If it truly becomes opposition, then Nigerians would be in for (truly) what democracy is about, which is about checks and balances.” he said.

Responding to claims that the Senate President (SP) will take action against defectors, Mr Nwagwu said the SP cannot do such as he is only ‘primus inter pares” and not the ‘Senate.’ “You can’t by yourself say you would stop people,” he added.

He continued by saying that: “The majority of your colleagues need to stand up to you and show you and show you this history. That’s the point that I’m making.” “I think if democracy is about majority rule, then if in the House of Representatives, you have opposition having the number, it’s just important that you allow them have their way.”

“My expectation as a citizen is that I would want to see a situation in which you have true opposition.”

Channels

Borno State: 18 Killed in Alau Ngawo Fate Village

Gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect have killed 18 people in an attack on Alau Ngawo Fate village in Jere local government area of Borno state. The Chief of Alau Ngawo village, Bulama Ibrahim said he counted 18 bodies after the shooting adding that most of those who survived the attack have fled the village.

The spokesman for Nigerian Army, 7 Division, Mohammed Dole and Borno state Police Commissioner, Lawal Tanko who confirmed the incident, stated that they were yet to get detailed information on the number of casualties. A former local councilor, Mustapha Galtimare, who was on the scene after the attack, concurred with the numbers of dead.

“They had been in the village for nearly two hours without any security personnel coming to the aid of the villagers,” Ibrahim said. Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the northeast last May and ordered in extra troops and air strikes on Islamist bases.

On December 2 Boko Haram gunmen stormed the Air Force Base and military barracks around the airport of the northeastern city of Maiduguri. 

The group was also blamed for a car bomb in the city this week that killed 29 people.

CNN’s Vladimir interviews openly gay Nigerian woman (Video)

CNN’s Vladimir Duthiers interviews a human rights activist and openly gay Nigerian woman in this report and shows where Nigerian LGBTs used to hang out in Lagos…








http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h66j3qrIqfM#t=0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h66j3qrIqfM#t=0

GOFAMINT VICTORY MONTH PRAYER POINTS; ENJOYING THE GUIDANCE AND THE LEADING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON DAILY BASIS

THE GOSPEL FAITH MISSION INTERNATIONAL (GOFAMINT)

DAY 20:  TUESDAY 21ST JANUARY 2014 TEXT: Romans 8:1-16

FOCUS: ENJOYING THE GUIDANCE AND THE LEADING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON DAILY BASIS

INSIGHT FOR EFFECTIVE PRAYING

Human knowledge and perception in life are limited in scope and operation. With that, what one can achieve or attain is limited.

God knows this and that is why He made a provision for a Counsellor. “And I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know Him; for hedwelleth with you, and shall be in you”  (John 14:16-17).

The Comforter is no other but the Holy Spirit. His purpose of coming to this world was to represent the God-head and assist the believer to fulfill their mandate on earth. With Him, the era of failure is gone. There is no room for excuse of failure in Christian life. Every failure in any area of Christian life can be attributed to the absence of the Holy Spirit. At a point in time in Paul Apostles life, it was failure galore as he expressed it in Romans 7:14-24. The story however changed in his life in the next chapter, Romans chapter 8 which is our Scripture reading today. The more of the Holy Spirit we have in our lives the better. That is what makes our prayer today crucial and pertinent. However, it all depends on how hungry we are.

Let us pray:

1.      Holy spirit of God, we are hungry and eagerly waiting for You today. Manifest Yourself in our midst and fill us to the brim in Jesus’ name.

2.   We confess that we are weak, come and fill us with Your power and turn our lives around  positively in Jesus’ name.

3.   Without You we can do but nothing, meet us and fill our lives with Your power, Holy Spirit, that we may be able to do what we are supposed to do in life in Jesus’ name.

4.   Open our eyes to see Your glory and to walk in the consciousness of Your presence all the days of our lives in Jesus’ name.

5.   Help us to know the way and the will of the Lord more and be committed oh blessed Holy Spirit.

6.   Holy Spirit, we desire a more intimate relationship with You, keep us closer to Yourself in Jesus’ name.

7.   Give us hearing ear and seeing eyes that we may hear You clearly and follow You closely in Jesus’ name.

8.   We dont want to walk alone in the wilderness of this world, guide and lead us as You did to Israelites in the wilderness in those days through the pillar of fire and cloud, dear Holy Spirit.

9.   Help us not to rely on our human wisdom or the arm of the flesh to run the affairs of our lives in Jesus’ name.

10.   Holy Spirit, we need You as the vicar of our Church, work through our ministers that divine will and purpose shall be fulfilled in our Church.

11.    Work in the lives of  all our members and workers that they may be preaching and witnessing wherever and whenever they expected to do so.

12. Help us not to disobey You in important areas of our lives any longer and turn our failures to success in Jesus’ name.

13.    Whatever You want each of us to do, help us to understand and do likewise.

14. Wherever You want each of us to go for You, help us to hear and heed in Jesus’ name.

15.    What is my “Isaac” that You want me to give to You sacrificially? Tell me and help me to give it to You.

16.    Wherever there is any short-coming and short-fall in our lives, Holy Spirit, fill the vacuums with Your fullness.

17. Help me and every member of my family not to grieve You all the days of our lives in Jesus’ name.

18. Grant us the power to fulfil our destiny and our mandates in life in Jesus’ name.

UN: Iran excluded from Syria peace talks

The United Nations has cancelled Iran's invitation to attend a Syria peace conference this week on account of its refusal to back calls for a transitional government in Syria.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is "deeply disappointed" at Iran's statements rejecting a 2012 communique adopted by international powers on ending the Syria war.

"Given that it has chosen to remain outside that basic understanding, he has decided that the one-day Montreux gathering will proceed without Iran's participation," Nesirky said at a press briefing yesterday.

Ban issued a surprise invitation on Sunday for Iran to attend the start of the Syria peace conference in the Swiss town on Wednesday.

But the Syrian opposition threatened to withdraw from talks if Iran was present and the United States had demanded the invitation be retracted if Iran did not accept the communique, which called for a transitional government.

Just before the UN announcement, Iran's UN envoy Mohammad Khazaee reaffirmed his government's rejection of the communique adopted in Geneva in June 2012.

"Iran has always been supportive of finding a political solution for this crisis," Khazaee said in a statement.

"However the Islamic Republic of Iran does not accept any preconditions for its participation in Geneva II conference.

"If the participation of Iran is conditioned to accept Geneva I communique, Iran will not participate in Geneva II," he said.

Defence Ministerial Appointment Awaits Tukur

Indications have emerged in Abuja that ousted former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has been penciled down by President Goodluck Jonathan as the next Minister of Defence.

While announcing Tukur’s retirement and displaying the envelope containing the letter last week, President Jonathan, who is the leader of his party, revealed that he was going to reward the former chairman with a very tough appointment.

Security sources told Vanguard, yesterday, that contrary to the belief that Tukur was asked to resign as PDP chairman because he ended up causing disaffection within the party, President Jonathan only told the former chairman to step aside to enable a wholesome resolution of perceived grievances of various camps who cited Tukur as the problem.

The decision to reward the one time governor of old Gongola State, according to the sources, followed Jonathan’s conviction that Tukur is not only a detribalised Nigerian, having worked with him at close range, but that the former chairman is somebody that cannot be bought over no matter the incentive.

His dogged loyalty and resolve to stand by President Jonathan even when governors, including those of the G-5 who defected, allegedly approached him with mouth watering incentives to join the fray of those wanting to stop the President from contesting the 2015 election, was cited as one of the reasons.

Furthermore, Vanguard was told that in the coming days and months leading to the 2015 elections, tough times regarding issues of security challenges are expected because security agencies are already in the know about plans by certain groups and elements to cause chaos and destabilise the peace of the nation for selfish and political interests.

According to the source,“the fact that the north eastern part of the country has been the hotbed of terrorism, leading to the declaration of a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states last April, with some elders of the area, who are allegedly sponsored, claiming that the military onslaught on Boko Haram has ulterior motive” is also said to have played a role in the President’s decision.

“With Bamanga Tukur as Minister of Defence, and overseeing the quest to have a terror-free society and revival of peace and security in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, the so-called elders and groups who are politicizing very serious security threats to the nation and its citizens will be made to understand that government’s intention in the North-East is noble,” the source added.

If he takes over as the minister, Tukur would become the second PDP chairman to be appointed Defence Minister after the appointment of former chairman, Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, to that position in the past.

VANGUARD