AGANGA'S NOMINATION, BODE GEORGE BOUNCES BACK

Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olabode George, might be behind bars at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, but his influence in the nation's corridors of power has not diminished.

Impeccable sources informed Sunday Sun that the strong walls of the prison could not stop the incarcerated PDP chieftain from successfully nominating his cousin, Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga, into the Executive Council of the Federation (ECF) being reconstituted by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan. Aganga, who is to represent Lagos State in the new cabinet, is Managing Director of Goldman Sachs International, one of the world's largest investment banks.

He was said to have sent his nomination through one of his trusted aides, who is also a national officer of the PDP.

The bulky national officer, who is a frequent caller at the Kirikiri prison, was said to have been handed the name soon after the cabinet was sacked last Wednesday.

George, it was further learnt, was given the slot in deference to him as the leader of the PDP in Lagos and to show solidarity with him in his travail.

George was sent to jail for two and a half years by Justice Olubunmi Oyewole in November 2009 alongside four other members of the board of the Nigeria Port Authority on charges of corruption, abuse of office and disobedience of lawful financial directives in the management of over N85 billion NPA funds. Aganga is expected to man the finance portfolio in the new cabinet while Shamsudeen Usman, who was Finance Minister in the dissolved cabinet, might be moved to another ministry.