Jega Reads Riot Act to INEC Commissioners

From Kunle Akogun and Chuks Okocha in Abuja, 07.21.2010

Fresh from its retreat in Calabar, Cross River State, where the Indepe-ndent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chiefs met to map out strategies for the 2011 polls, the commission’s Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega yesterday read out the riot act to the 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).

He told them not to accept or seek any form of assistance from state governors.
Also yesterday, as part of preparations for the elections, Jega redeployed the 19 newly-appointed RECs and their 17 counterparts hitherto at the commission.

Speaking at the inauguration of the new RECs, the INEC chairman charged the commissioners not to seek or receive any gift from the state governors, saying doing so would compromise their integrity and independence.

Jega said: “The practice by the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in the past of going cap-in-hand to state governors for assistance is to be discouraged because it is capable of undermining your independence.

“RECs are advised to get in touch with the National Headquarters to address whatever problems they may face. Even in instances where assistance is freely offered as is done to other federal agencies, approval for accepting such assistance must be obtained from the commission.”

Only last week, former Cross River State governor and one of the major actors in the country’s electoral process, Mr. Donald Duke, gave a gathering of pro-democracy activists at an event in Abuja a low-down on how governors rigged elections.
He said the dalliance between governors and RECs ensure elections are rigged.

Duke said: “This is what happens; the Resident Electoral Commissioner is usually from another state. The electoral officers, they move around. They are usually from that state, but for the conduct of elections itself, you would probably move from Cross River to Akwa Ibom or to Abia, but these musical chairs don’t mean nothing.

”When the Resident Electoral Commissioner comes before the elections are conducted- of course when he comes to the state, usually, he has no accommodation; monies have not been released for the running or conduct of the elections and all that because we always start late.

He pays a courtesy call on the governor. It’s usually a televised event you know, and of course he says all the right things. ‘Your Excellency, I am here to ensure that we have free and fair elections and I will require your support.”
Jega said his directive to the RECs is necessary in order to maintain the independence of INEC, saying, “you will agree with me that such measures are essential in ensuring public confidence in your work.”

He also urged RECs to exercise caution in their relationship with the state governors, explaining that this directive is as a result of reports reaching the commission.
Jega said the most important task before the commission as it prepares for the 2011 elections is the display of the voters’ register.

“One of the most important priorities facing us now is to display the existing voters register across the country. The success of this exercise would depend on you. You are therefore requested to make a serious assessment of your operational readiness and capabilities at the state and local government offices for this exercise and subsequent ones as we move towards the election.”

He said INEC believes that credible elections are not only feasible, but it is incumbent on the commission to strive to do its best in ensuring the elections are credible, urging them to bear that in mind.

The INEC boss said the swearing-in and redeployment of RECs is geared towards repositioning the commission to deliver free, fair and credible elections in 2011 and beyond in Nigeria.

The newly sworn-in RECs are Prof. C.E. Onukaogu (Abia), Prof. Tukur Sa'ad (Adamawa), Ahmad Makama (Bauchi), Mr. Mike Igini (Delta), Prof. Selina Omagha Oko (Ebonyi), Mr. Edwin Offor Nwartarali ( Enugu ), Alhaji Yakubu Shehu (Kaduna), Alhaji Jibril Ibrahim Zarewa (Kano), Hassan Ahmed Mahuta (Katsina), Abubakar Umar Garba Wara (Kebbi) and Dr. Emmanuel Onucheyo (Kogi).

Others are Ambassador (Dr.) Rufus O. Akeju (Lagos), Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Danyaya (Niger), Mr. Timothy A. Ibitoye (Osun), Dr. A.L. Ogunmola (Oyo), Dr. Rose Obuoforibo (Rivers), Mallam Haliru A. Tambawei (Sokoto), Mallam Kassim Gana Galdam (Yobe) and Ibrahim Bagobiri Marafa (Zamfara).

The oath of office was administered on them by INEC Director of Legal Services Ibrahim Bawa.
Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan has made good his promise to replace two INEC nominees he dropped before they could be screened by the Senate over allegation of partisanship.

In an official communication he sent to the Senate President David Mark and read to the senators before the commencement of yesterday's plenary, Jonathan urged the Senate to confirm the nominations of Ambassador Mohammed Wali from Sokoto (North-west) and Dr. Christopher Ehimoga from Nasarawa (North-central) as INEC National Commissioners.

The two are to replace Ambassador Mohammed Anka and Maj. Gen. Abdullahi Bagudu Mamman who were dropped in June over their membership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).


The remaining INEC nominees have since been screened and approved by the Senate and sworn in by the President.
Also yesterday, the President sought Senate’s approval for two nominees into the Supreme Court, Justices S. Galadima (North-central) and B. Rhodes-Vivor (South-west) to replace retired Justices Idris Kutigi and A. Aderemi respectively.
Jonathan urged the Senate to give the nominees' screening accelerated consideration.


COMMENTS [total: 2]

Nigerian leaders are lazy, says Ribadu

July 21, 2010 04:04AM


Next's Segun Balogun
Nuhu Ribadu, the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday accused Nigerian leaders of intellectual laziness.

Speaking at the 13th annual Wole Soyinka lecture commemorating the Nobel Laureate's 76th birthday, Mr Ribadu said, "I have always believed that to have an economy that depends solely on oil and gas is a sign of lack of economic imagination and ambition. It is a sign of mental laziness."

However, when asked if he will contest for political office next year, Mr. Ribadu, who was recently touted as the presidential candidate of the Action Congress (AC) retorted, "To that I say amen. But my expectation in 2011 really is free and fair election." He refused to entertain further questions along this line.

NEXT had on July 9 exclusively reported that Mr. Ribadu has been tipped to be AC's presidential flag bearer in 2011. There are now indications that four other political parties have asked Mr. Ribadu to be their presidential candidate.

According to an AC stalwart, "fruitful discussions are already at an advanced stage with Mr. Ribadu and he is only waiting for the right time especially because he will need the northern consensus."

Nigeria's problem

In his lecture titled "Nigeria at 50: the crisis of nationhood", the former anti-graft czar used the example of Tanzania and Somalia, to disparage suggestions that religion and ethnicity are the bane of Nigeria's progress. "Tanzania in terms of its ethnic diversity has about 175 ethnic groups and its religious pluralism is a good balance between Christians and Muslims. Not to idealize the country, and in spite of the usual strains and pains of nation building, is it not surprising to us that it remains the most stable and peaceful land in that region?" he asked.

"Think, on the other hand, of Somalia, with its homogeneity in ethnic and religious experience...one people, one religion, one language. What has become of it? Somalia is today the poster child of the very example of a veritable failed and rogue state." Quoting Christopher Kolade, former Nigerian high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Mr Ribadu said "I have read in the papers that the country might be celebrating its 50 years of independence this year and that we might be spending N10 billion on that. For those of us that are more than 50 years, if we think about what we had in place 50years ago, then we shall be celebrating 50 years of decline."

Youth power is the agenda

Mr. Ribadu who appealed to the country's large youth population to drive national development, said public officials illegally transferred about $10 billion from the country to different foreign bank accounts around the world in 2005.

"Within two to three days after the federal government shared allocation, there is always an outflow of money from the country. But in 2006 when we started working with foreign law enforcement agencies and foreign bank accounts were no more safe, about $15 billion came into Nigeria. That was the money that fuelled the banking and the stock market" he said.

"We did it then, even though they were not happy about our service to the country. We need to do it again for national development." He argued that any argument that Nigeria lacks credible human resource is not rational considering the fact that the country has produced the likes of Mr Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and a host of others, and appealed to the victims of his anti-corruption campaign to turn around and join in the quest to rebuild the country.

He declared, "There is nothing personal. We are all citizens of Nigeria. We can make mistakes due to the fault of the system. But the good thing is that we can also make amends of what we have done wrong. Let us come together and fix our country including those who made mistakes." He disparaged money politics and enjoined Nigerians to shun it because "the work to remake Nigerian federalism and its democracy for the benefit of the majority of our people is not in air-conditioned offices, not in the long stretched limousines, the private jets, or the pent houses on foreign beaches that house the property acquired with resources appropriated by a few of us from our common wealth."

He said that, "It is the boundless energy of our people and the indomitable spirit of our youth. Let us say it bold and clear here today that young Nigerians must take the responsibility and accountability for leadership of this great nation from now on."

The lecture was witnessed by Babatunde Fashola, the Lagos State governor, Segun Olusola, former ambassador, and Kayode Fayemi, the Ekiti State gubernatorial candidate for the AC, among others.

2011: A daunting task for Osun PDP

By TUNDE ODESOLA
TUNDE ODESOLA writes that the Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party must mend cracks within it and ensure a level playing ground for all its members as 2011 elections approach.

In his inaugural speech as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, said in Abuja, ”The days of imposition of candidates by the PDP, hoping to hoist such leaders on the people of Nigeria through rigged elections are over and over forever. We rode to power on the massive support and enormous goodwill of the Nigerian people. Over the years, we have squandered this goodwill to the point that even some of our members are no longer proud to be identified as PDP members and other Nigerians say that the problem of Nigeria is the PDP.”

The alarm raised by Nwodo in his inaugural remark is echoing within the Osun PDP, where the ruling party is battling with the crisis of presenting a credible governorship candidate and ensuring good governance in the 19-year-old state. Speaker of the Osun House of Assembly, Chief Adejare Bello, in a recent interview, hinted that the charge by Nwodo might be akin to a tall order if the party and the national chairman did not walk the talk!

No sooner had the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola winner of the April 14, 2007 Osun governorship election than some members of his cabinet and politicians within the PDP started angling for his job. As at the last count, 17 members of the Osun PDP have signified interest in succeeding Oyinlola. They include a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode; incumbent Chairman, Ife-East Local Government Council, Chief Gbenga Owolabi; a former governorship aspirant of the Alliance for Democracy, Chief Femi Alafe- Aluko; Chief Tunde Odanye; a former Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Akinade Akinbade; a former Chief of Staff, Mr. Peter Power; Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Chief Iyiola Omisore, Nigeria‘s Ambassador to Cuba, Chief Segun Bamigbetan-Baju; and Chairman, Nigeria Wire and Cable, Alhaji Lateef Bakare.

Others include Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta, Chief Gbenga Onigbogi; Chief Diran Odeyemi; Chief Nathaniel Oke (SAN); Chief Dosu Fatokun; Chief Remi Olowu; Chief Wahab Toye; Mr. Fatai Sarumi; Mr Akin Jegede, and Prof Wale Oladipo.

Unlike the remark of Nwodo denouncing godfatherism, the tussle for the Osun PDP governorship ticket is a battle of godfathers and godsons. The Osun State Traditional Council had long thrown its hat into the ring with some Ife traditional rulers supporting Omisore while some, including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, are said to be not favourably disposed to Omisore‘s governorship. Oyinlola is perceived to be in support of Omisore. Some of the traditional rulers took the battle to the pages of newspapers, where advertorials highlighted their preference and misgivings. But the Ooni has maintained a studied silence, opting not to trade words with any of the opposing rulers. Traditional rulers from other communities are tacitly supporting other aspirants.

Omisore is fighting the greatest battle of his life to claim the governorship ticket. Unlike 2003 and 2007 when nobody in Ife challenged his senatorial ambition, Omisore is faced with a stiff competition at home with at least four Ife indigenes vying for the governorship ticket with him. They include Owolabi; Fani-Kayode; Oke and Oladipo. The leadership of the party in the state has overtly thrown its weight behind Omisore, and this has caused a great rift within the party as many other aspirants have called for the dissolution of the Alhaji Ademola Rasak Oyelowo-led state executive. The foul cry by aggrieved chieftains of the party necessitated the setting up of a reconciliatory panel which sat in Ibadan , Oyo State . Appearing before the panel in Ibadan, Akinbade, the immediate past SSG, and many other bigwigs accused the Rasak-Oyelowo state executive of unfairly supporting Omisore. Defending the stance of the executive, Deputy Chairman, Osun PDP, Mr Ojo Williams, said members of the executive were free to support an aspirant.

Some of the obstacles standing in the way of Omisore‘s governorship ambition are his trial over the death of a former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige, and his fallout with the erstwhile Governor of Osun, Chief Bisi Akande, when he (Omisore) was deputy – over a water chemical contract and an impeachment saga that led to the appointment of Sooko Adeleke Adewoyin. However, Omisore said his travails in the hands of the Akande administration paved the way for his political ascendency, stressing that he bore no grudges against the former governor.

An aspirant from the Ijesa axis, Onigbogi, has been picked by the Ijesa Elders‘ Caucus to be the standard-bearer of the party. Other aspirants from Ijesaland include Odanye, a lawyer; and Fatokun, a chartered estate surveyor and Alafe Aluko, an economist.

Alafe-Aluko is a son of a former principal of Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro, Ogun State, the late Dr. M.O.Alafe-Aluko. A businessman and founder of DFA Ventures, the aspirant is an ex-student of Igbobi College, Yaba, Lagos; Compreshensive High School, Ayetoro; Government College Ibadan; University of Ife, Osun State and Waltham College, London. Alafe-Aluko parades a wide experience in the private sector having worked as a financial adviser at Life Insurance Company, London

His blueprint for development of the state consists of education and culture.”Education is all-encompassing. Lack of it will ultimately lead to poverty,” Alafe-Aluko said while defending his emphasis on education. He added that emphasis on culture, especially tourism, will generate millions of naira for the state, which is blessed with many tourist attractions.

Of all the aspirants, Akinbade, an indigene of Ogbaagba community in Ola-Oluwa Local Government Council, has the largest grassroots support. As a result of his influence, some prominent traditional rulers and party chieftains have appealed to him to step down and run as deputy governor – an offer which he shunned. The insistence of Akinbade has caused anxiety within the party with many supporters saying that if Akinbade pulled out of the PDP, electoral defeat is imminent for the party in 2011.

Owolabi, a fresh and resourceful blood in politics, and Fani-Kayode are perceived as the jokers of the Ooni. Fani-Kayode, a Harvard trained lawyer, and Owolabi, a Liverpool trained banker, are very close to the Ooni. Fani-Kayode‘s late father was a friend of the Ooni while Owolabi is the Oluomo of Ile-Ife.

It is believed that the Ooni may, however, settle for Owolabi because it was the monarch who pressurised him to run for the chairmanship of Ife East Local Government Area so as to remain in the mainstream after he (Owolabi) was requested to drop his senatorial ambition in 2007.

As the Chairman of the Ife East LGA, Owolabi‘s performance in terms of infrastructural development is also said to have impressed both the monarch and Oyinlola. And his connection with all the council chairmen, who control the grassroots in the state, will be an added advantage to his candidature.

Another major obstacle in the emergence of a PDP candidate as the governor of Osun in next year‘s general election is the administration of the Oyinlola administration, which a cross-section of the citizenry has described as inept, lacking vision and wasteful. The government has continued to be upbraided by the citizens over its decision to obtain a controversial N18.3 bn loan on the ”eve of its departure.” The rainstorm that killed people and lay waste buildings and goods worth several millions of naira in Osogbo, last week, has become another subject of criticism for the Oyinlola government, which has been accused of lacking environmental planning.

Indeed, there are cracks in the wall of the Osun PDP and the stakeholders are not handling the situation with tact. Analysts believe that the best the party can do as 2011 elections approach is to bring a fresh perspective to the governance of the state.

Monarch Sacked As Journalists Are Freed

•‘How N5,000 recharge cards saved us •‘We thought we were going to die’
By Our Correspondents, 07.19.2010

Kidnap Saga

Following the ongoing crackdown on those behind kidnappings in Abia, particularly the recent kidnap of four journalists in the area, the state government has come down hard on traditional rulers alleged to be involved in abductions and other criminal activities.

Yesterday, the government arrested the traditional ruler of Amauba-Ime Oboro Autonomous Community in Ikwuano Local Government Area of the state, Eze Vincent Okezie Uche, who is said to have already been charged to court “for sponsoring kidnapping and armed robbery.”
A special announcement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Theodore Orji, Mr. Kingsley Emereuwa, said the royal father was also dethroned.

The government also suspended three traditional rulers namely Eze Okechukwu Atulobi of Osusu Abala Autonomous Community, Eze Nwabiaraije Eneogwe of Abayi Autonomous Community and Eze S. Onwukwe of Abala Ibeme Autonomous Comm-unity, all in Obingwa Local government of the state.
The four journalists and their driver kidnapped by gunmen in the state regained their freedom early yesterday after one week in captivity.

The journalists, abducted on their way from the National Executive Council (INEC) meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, at Obi Ngwa in Abia State, are Chairman of the Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Wahab Oba, Secretary of Zone G Adolphus Okoronkwo, Acting Secretary of Lagos NUJ Sylva Okereke, Lagos-based journalist Sola Oyeyipo and their driver Azeez Abdulrauf.

Oba relived their experience in the hand of the abductors, saying they saw death coming.
Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan has commended the police on the release of the journalists but called for the arrest of all the kidnappers “by all means possible.”

The Abia State government said the decision to suspend the three royal fathers followed security reports of their involvement in sponsoring kidnapping and armed robbery in the state, for which they are currently under investigation.
The government assured the entire citizenry that it “will not stop at anything to eradicate the shameful menace of kidnapping and armed robbery in the state as any person/s suspected to be behind this ugly vocation, no matter how highly placed will be summarily dealt with.”

Reliving their experience after they regained freedom, Oba said it was worse than being in hell. Speaking with newsmen shortly after they arrived Government House, Umuahia, in company with armed mobile policemen and officers from Interpol, Oba noted that the period of their captivity exposed them to the other side of life.

He said before releasing them, their captors had threatened to unleash mayhem in the entire five South-eastern states, especially Abia, in the next one month if urgent steps were not taken by the government to pacify them.
Oba also disclosed that the kidnappers threatened to make the entire zone ungovernable, while vowing to scuttle the 2011 general elections in the state.

“They made it clear that they were not going to allow any election to be conducted in the state because the government had failed woefully to make appreciable impact in the living condition of the people.
“They also told us that the Abia State government had collected a whooping sum of money meant to be disbursed to the youths in the spirit of the amnesty programme of the Federal Government but that nothing was given to them.

“The experience we had in that jungle is better imagined. These boys were wielding all manner of sophisticated arms and ammunition which I don’t think our police force really possesses. We saw our death steering us in our face but God really saved us from their hands.

“At a point, I even had to write my will albeit verbally because we thought we were not going to see the light of the day. I can’t wish even my worst enemy to pass through such a horrendous experience,” Oba said.
The full story of how the journalists were released has, however, emerged.

“Inspector-General of Police Sir, this is breaking news for you. I have with me the four kidnapped journalists and their driver who were handed over to us this morning.”With these words the Abia State Commissioner of Police Jonathan Johnson officially announced the release of the four journalists and their driver

The kidnapped men breathed their air of freedom at about 1.30 am when their abductors released them at a market place at Ukpakiri in Obingwa Local Government the same area where they were taken hostage on Sunday July 11, 2010.
By 8.45am when the released journalists were brought to the state command headquarters in Umuahia by a team of policemen, they looked unkempt and were barefooted, a sign of the ordeal they had passed through in the last seven days.

But they were full of joy and happiness for coming out of the bush alive.Oba said they were dropped at a bush in the area (Ukpakiri) but they waited till daybreak before they crawled out around 6.00am and a community leader took them to the police.

He said that all through the period they waited for daybreak, they laid still before they attracted some people around the area.Though the Lagos NUJ chairman said that they were not maltreated by their abductors, they were completely blindfolded and kept under trees and left at the mercy of the elements, with their abductors who were also drenched by rain or scorched by sun, as the case may be.

He said the kidnappers never allowed them stay at a particular place for long as they kept moving them every two hours due to the pressure from police.

The kidnappers had robbed them of their possessions and shared the booty among themselves
“They (kidnappers) collected everything we had, both wrist watches, money and shared everything. I saw my shoes; I saw my laptop computer being shared. Somebody even put on my wrist watch there in the bush,” Oba said.

The kidnappers had initially demanded N250 million ransom but Oba said the kidnappers later claimed they were not really interested in the ransom money because they were driven into criminality to protest government neglect.
Oba insisted that no ransom was paid to the hoodlums, adding that their only financial reward was N3 million they collected from them

The journalists therefore called on the federal government to adequately equip the police, to make them ready to face such people considering the kind of sophisticated weapons the hoodlums carried.
In his remarks the Abia State chairman of NUJ, Hyacinth Okoli, commended the police and the state government for their effort in ensuring the release of the journalists.

But he disagreed that the kidnappers were in the crime because they were angry with the government, saying that the kidnappers were evil in nature and had refused to key into the amnesty programme announced by government.
According to a statement by Presidential Spokesman Ima Niboro, President Jonathan said the release had brought to a close a sordid criminal incident, which he insisted must be completely stamped out of the polity.
Jonathan specifically praised the police and Nigerians for turning “sufficient heat” on the kidnappers, which made them to abandon their victims.

He directed the Inspector-General of Police Ogbonna Onovo to ensure the arrest by all means possible of the kidnappers.
The President felicitated with the four journalists, their families and NUJ.
According to him, “Even as we celebrate freedom today, let us insist that this spate of criminality must stop. In every way possible, we must say no to these vices and assist the authorities to expose perpetrators and bring an end to these vices as quickly as possible."

Onovo has also declared war on kidnappers in the South-east, vowing to make the zone difficult for any manner of criminality.
Speaking shortly after receiving the rescued journalists from the Abia State Police Command, Onovo said the police would engage the men of the underworld in a serious battle with the aim of riding the zone of kidnappers and armed banditry.
“The operation has just started with the rescue of these innocent journalists. We can no longer tolerate this in the South-east. Indeed the people are going to be denied their comfort in the process of embarking on this operation. But I want to plead with them to bear with us,” he stated.

The journalists left for Lagos yesterday through Port Harcourt Airport in Omagwa few hours after they were freed.
They left on a chartered flight marked ZS-SME from Top Brass Aviation provided by the Rivers State government, which said it was their own contribution to making the journalists return to their families safely.
Speaking on behalf of the governor, the Acting Chief Press Secretary Blessing Wikina said the kidnap was a cowardly act, which should not deter the journalists from their work.

He further asked security agencies to try and debrief those who have been kidnapped and freed so that a psychological profile of the kidnappers could be ascertained.

Oba who spoke on behalf of the journalists expressed gratitude to President Jonathan, the police, Abia State government, journalists and all the people that made it possible for them to regain their freedom and assured them that they would continue to ensure that they serve the people well.

Some Abia State officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said that no ransom was paid aside from some "small, small money they extorted from people promising to release them".
A source said N5,000 recharge cards, which the kidnappers sought for and got also helped to facilitate their release.
At the airport were police top shots including Onovo and Abia State governor who left on an Arik flight to Abuja.