The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • ‘Why Nigerians don’t believe in govt programmes’

    Until her appointment as the Delta State Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Anthonia Ashiedu worked as a development expert with international organisations as UNDP, UNICEF and the World Bank. She spoke with Shola O’Neil on the state government’s micro-credit programme. 

    From where the micro credit scheme started in 2007, where are you today?

    I’m much fulfilled and I feel quite happy because the programme started on a very cynical mood. Cynicism came from those the programme was meant for – the so-called ordinarily man. People were very skeptical, because they were not sure if the government would actually live up to what it promised. The good thing for us was that in conceiving the programme, the governor made it a bottom-up model meaning that we have to go down to the people. The programme is not run from the office; it is basically a field affair. Trust is very critical, because every development expert will tell you that for any programme to succeed, the people must believe in it and be part of the project circle. The level of cynicism, for me, was justified because programmes like this have failed in the past.

    Do you have the wherewithal to meet the expectations of the people?

    Yes that’s the interesting thing about programmes like this. If you run them very well, you have a way of attracting outside assistance. When this programme started, we didn’t go to anybody to ask for assistance. We said let us run it assiduously and eventually let us see what we can achieve and our achievement would be the track record that would attract foreign assistance and recognition. The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) sought us out and is collaborating with us to create a leather works village, to create some of these beautiful shoes you see. We have produced, even belts and anything that has to do with leather. So we are taking the programme from the level of micro businesses to a lot higher.

    The partnership with UNIDO was announced months ago, what is the level of the union now?

    When the governor signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UNIDO, he told them that land would be provided immediately and that land has been provided; 2.6 hectares of land have been provided for the purpose. He also said that money required for the work and action plans to be put in place would be provided. That money, as I speak to you today, has been paid to UNIDO’s headquarters. In a couple of weeks, action will start on the site because all the work plans, action plans from both parties have been met.

    You have various agric support programmes, what are the measures you have to ensure that they do not end up with this administration?

    That can only happen to a programme that is built on quick sand, lacks structure and not popular with the people. It would be a political hara-kiri for any new administration in this state not to build on the micro credit programme because the people are taking ownership of it.

    Do you intend to help your clients export their produces outside the country?

    We are very proud of our products, especially our spices. If you go to any Shoprite in Nigeria or Africa, you will see our products. This is one thing that gives me joy. If I enter Shoprite in Lekki, I go straight to the spice corner because I am proud to see them on display. Also the ones in Enugu, Abuja or Ikeja and I have been told authoritatively that they sell it elsewhere now. During the last Olympic Games in London, we had the opportunity to take these products to London and the acceptance was so good, especially for the spices. For the other products, what we have done is to try and get them registered with NAFDAC. For us to succeed, what we tell everyone in the programme – we call our people clients of the programme, we don’t call them beneficiaries so that they don’t think it is another national cake – is that we must compete with anybody doing same business with us. In competing, you must raise the bar of whatever you are doing. We must also make sure that we comply with the regulations.

    Many DMCP clients are going into palm oil farming; do you have a data on volume of oil palm they produce?

    We have a lot of palm tree estates in Delta State. It didn’t just start now; this is what our forefathers have been doing. Now, we have pumped in a lot of money into palm oil production for all our groups who are into palm oil production. I would give you an example of one of our groups in Agbor. You need to see this group when they are loading trucks of palm oil; destination is the North, even across Nigeria, sometimes Cotonou and Ghana. They also supply a lot of palm oil to the East. They supply to Onitsha. Keep in mind that we are also fortunate to be located near the biggest market in West Africa, that’s Onitsha, which serves as a good distribution point for us.

  • 2014 Anambra: Andy Uba back in the fray

    2014 Anambra: Andy Uba back in the fray

    Contrary to insinuations in some quarters, Senator Andy Uba is still interested in contesting the 2014 governorship election in Anambra State, Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor reports

    Senator Andy Uba has resonated as a political factor in the politics of Anambra State largely due to his bid to govern the state since 2007. The Senator who represents Anambra South in the National Assembly, The Nation can now reveal, is still very much interested in ruling the southeast state.

    Though Uba’s name has featured prominently among those of other likely aspirants in the countdown to next year’s governorship election in the state, his interest or otherwise in the race has remained a subject of intense debates within and outside the state.

    Uba’s cautious approach to questions about his next political move and the fact that he is yet to publicly declare his interest in the race prompted the thinking that he may be uninterested in the governorship contest which has already gathered momentum with politicians criss-crossing the state to propagate their candidacy.

    But following Uba’s penultimate Friday judicial victory over his long time political opponent, Mr. Nicholas Ukachukwu, in a suit meant to determine who is the duly nominated Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2011 senatorial election in Amanbra South, there are strong indications that he is now oiling his political machinery to make a strong bid for Governor Peter Obi’s job next year.

    Besides, an ally of the senator told The Nation that Uba has summoned a meeting of all his associates and allies to discuss his next political aspiration. The meeting, according to our source, focused on how Uba’s governorship aspiration would be.

    A chieftain of the PDP in the state said “The then unending judicial battle over his seat in the senate was one major factor why his governorship aspiration was not clearly spelt out. We were interested in knowing how that was going to end. This is politics and the result of the litigation will surely have an impact on his politics.

    “But now that we know he is the duly nominated candidate of our party and he is the rightful occupant of the Senate seat, there is nothing to distract us from the next project which is the governorship. I can tell you authoritatively that from now on, Andy Uba is the man to watch out for in the Anambra guber race.

    “We are already back to the drawing board to map out the strategies with which we will corner the PDP ticket and then go ahead to win the election again just like we did in 2007. The people of the state know their leaders. They know the man we need now is Andy Uba. They voted for him in 2007 and they are ready to vote for him again.”

    Uba, who was sworn in as governor after the 2007 election, but removed few days later through a court order which faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting election in the state when Governor Peter Obi’s tenure was still running, has had to endure a long judicial challenge from Ukachukwu after the 2011 senatorial election.

    But the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, the Imo State capital on Friday May 31, ruled against Ukachukwu who had asked the appellate court to declare him the duly nominated candidate of the PDP in the 2011 senatorial election.

    In a lead judgement, Justice Inyang Okoro ruled that Ukachukwu had lost his “right of action” against Uba and could therefore not sue him over a pre-election matter.

    Although a similar suit is against Uba at a federal high court in Abuja, the judgement by Justice Okoro, being from a superior court is believed by Uba’s men to have effectively settles the matter thereby encouraging the Senator to return to his gubernatorial dream with more concentration.

    “The Abuja High Court case is no longer a problem as a higher court in Owerri has effectively settled the issues argued in the case. With this, Uba’s election has been affirmed,” one of Uba’s counsels told The Nation.

    It would not be the first time Ukachukwu would be losing in his bid to oust Uba from the Senate. Last January, the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, the Imo State capital dismissed his request to be declared as the duly nominated candidate of the PDP for the senatorial election which was won by Uba.

    In the suit no CA/OW/180/2012 between Ukachukwu and others versus INEC and Uba, the court had ruled that Justice J. Umar, then of the Federal High Court, Umuahia, was wrong to have transmitted the application to the Court of Appeal.

    The court further held that Ukachukwu had no grounds of appeal on the real issue in question and therefore refused to exercise its power under section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act to decide on who was the nominated candidate of the PDP.

    The Court of Appeal, therefore, ordered that the substantive suit pending at the Federal High Court, Umuahia, be transferred to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for re-assignment.

    Earlier in September 2011, the Court of Appeal, Enugu division dismissed a petition filed by Ukachukwu challenging the election of Uba for the Anambra South Senatorial Zone. The court presided over by Justice Abubakar Jega held that the petition brought by Ukachukwu was a pre-election matter which raised intra-party dispute.

    Consequently, the tribunal struck out the petition and upheld the ruling of the election tribunal sitting in Akwa. Ukachukwu had gone to the court to challenge the April election of Uba and his subsequent declaration by the Independent Electoral Commission [INEC]. A cost of N30, 000 was awarded against the respondents in the case.

    Uba had in January 2011, won the PDP senatorial ticket for the Anambra South Senatorial District in a keenly contested primary election that featured Chief Nicholas Ukachukwu, Dr. Andy Uba and Hon. Barr Nnamdi Ezike.

    Uba polled 1766 votes to Ezike’s 72 votes to emerge winner. Ukachukwu had 68 votes. With that victory, Uba went into the general elections where he matched up with Hon. Chumah Nzeribe who contested on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and a number of other candidates.

    Uba defeated Nzeribe and his other challengers to emerge the winner of the 2011 senatorial election. However, his victory was challenged and INEC had to conduct a re-run election in the district a year later.

    At the March 2012 senatorial re-run election, Uba and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) defeated Chuma Nzeribe and the All Peoples Grand Alliance (APGA).

    Official results released by the INEC indicated that the former domestic aide to President Olusegun Obasanjo, polled approximately 42,804 votes, beating his main opponent, Nzeribe by some two thousand votes.

    Pundits say Uba’s entrance into the governorship race in Anambra will alter all previous permutations on the race for the gubernatorial ticket within his party, the PDP as well as on the general election.

  • Enugu 2015: Pendulum swings as Chime endorses Nsukka

    Enugu 2015: Pendulum swings as Chime endorses Nsukka

    The recent declaration by the Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime, to back the aspiration of Enugu North Senatorial Zone for the 2015 governorship race, the battle on who wins the governorship ticket of the People Democratic Party (PDP), may have begun in earnest, reports Assistant Editor,  Dare Odufowokan. 

    After months of prevaricating on the issue, Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State last week threw his weight behind the agitations for zoning ahead of the 2015 governorship election in the state.

    In a move that elicited widespread jubilation amongst the people of Enugu North Senatorial District, the governor pledged his support for the emergence of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial flag bearer from the zone for the forthcoming governorship contest in the state.

    Chime, who made this known at a stakeholders’ meeting in Enugu on Wednesday, said his decision to support the agitation of the zone is based on an earlier understanding within the ruling PDP. The governor stated categorically that he would work to ensure that his successor comes from the Nsukka cultural zone.

    While the governor’s announcement is expected to douse the tension created by months of fierce agitation for and against zoning in the state, his decision to announce his support for the Nsukka zone is being interpreted in some quarters as a move to truncate the rumoured but denied gubernatorial aspiration of Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.

    There have been apprehensions in the state over speculations that Ekweremadu, who is from Enugu West, was putting in motion machinery to contest for the governorship. His posters have flooded some major streets of Enugu and Nsukka though he was yet to make a formal declaration of his ambition.

    Expectedly, Ekweremadu came out boldly to fault the governor’s claim that there was an understanding within the party that supports zoning of the governorship position. While announcing officially for the first time that he is not interested in the guber race, the deputy Senate president said no zone should be given preference in the contest.

    The supporters of Ike Ekweremadu had few weeks ago pasted his posters around Enugu North, indicating his interest to contest in 2015. The posters had been pasted at strategic places like Odenigbo Round About, Ogurugu Road, Nsukka Main Park and the University of Nigeria Road.

    Consequently, there has been widespread criticism of an alleged plot by the Old Enugu cultural area, comprising Enugu West and Enugu East senatorial Zones, to marginalise the people of Nsukka in the race to the Government House in 2015.

    Recently, angry youths of Nsukka went round the state removing Ekweremadu’s posters while the elders released a protest statement against the senator’s reported ambition.

    The statement read “Nsukka Cultural Zone Elders’ Forum has just met to review recent political developments in Enugu State, especially as it affects our cultural zone. The appearance of the campaign posters of the respected and respectable Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, signifying his interest in the governorship race in Enugu State in 2015 naturally engaged our attention.

    These posters (with inscription Enugu State Dream 2015) ostensibly pasted in the night of Saturday, March 9, 2013, adorned major streets of Enugu and Nsukka metropolis by Sunday March 10, 2013. Even though these posters were quickly cleared from the streets by persons suspected to be angry youths, the appearance of the posters generated quite some concern in political circles in the state.”

    “The governorship seat has been in old Enugu zone since 1999 and by 2015, it would have been 16 years in that zone. Nsukka Cultural Zone which is 52 percent of the voting population in the state has been held down for the two senatorial zones of old Enugu Zone to have their turn of eight- year tenure each consecutively as governor of Enugu State,’’ the statement which was signed by Chief Maximus Ukuta, Chief Nick Ojike, Professor Damian Opata, Dr Chuka Ezema, Chief Emmanuel Alachi, Sir Albert Nnamani and Major General Godwin Ugwoke (rtd), read in part.

    However, Ekweremadu insisted that there was no zoning arrangement in Enugu State as being bandied about in some quarters.

    “There is no zoning in Enugu. I am not aware and nobody is aware. I have been in politics in Enugu since the beginning of this particular dispensation. People from every part of the state have vied but somehow, somebody would win.

    “So, I am sure that our brothers from Nsukka understand that clearly. I stand to be challenged.

    “I want anybody to tell me a document or a meeting where the Governorship of Enugu has ever been zoned since 1999. I will be happy if somebody from Enugu North becomes governor but not on the basis of zoning. Probably they are the only one that has not produced the governor of the state but like I said, it has nothing to do with zoning.

    “There is nothing like zoning in Enugu as at today. Until zoning is done, I don’t think anybody who wants to run from other parts of the state can be stopped. But for me, I am not running for governorship,” he said.

    But Governor Chime said the state has operated unwritten rotational arrangement in the selection of its governors since it s creation in 1991. According to him, it would be the turn of Enugu North to occupy the highest office in the state after the expiration of his two-term tenure in 2015.

    Chime even added that the ruling PDP in the state already have an arrangement to pick its next flag bearer from Enugu North. Chime added that contrary to speculations in some quarters, he is certain that whoever the PDP picks as its standard bearer from Nsukka, will win in the state, being predominantly PDP.

    Since the governor’s announcement and Ekweremadu’s official statement that he is not eyeing the governorship, there have been insinuations in some quarters that there was actually a plot to stop the deputy Senate president by Chime’s men.

    The decision by the governor to publicly back the zoning arrangement to the detriment of Ekweremadu is seen as the first step in the said plot. But allies of the governor denied the existence of such a plan.

    “The governor made it clear that if Ekweremadu eventually decides to run, nobody will stop him, but he was trying to let him know that in the 2011 elections, no Nsukka person contested the election on Nsukka banner. Those who decided to test their individual strengths, expectedly, were defeated.

    “We now expect the people of Enugu zone to also keep their side of the bargain, otherwise, any action that is taken at variance with this postulation would, no doubt, culminate in an unimaginable crisis in Enugu State. That is what the governor is trying hard to avoid,” a source noted.

    The Nation also learnt that the move by Governor Chime to publicise his resolve to support Enugu North may have further widen the gulf between his political camp and that of the Deputy Senate President.

    Insinuations that Chime’s camp may have resolved to back the gubernatorial aspiration of Senator Ayogu Eze in 2015 has also added to the political tension between the two camps.

    Rumours of Ekweremadu’s intention to contest the 2015 governorship election had earlier bred political suspicion between Senator Eze and the Deputy Senate President’s political camps so much so that clashes between the supporters of the two erstwhile allies have been reported on a few occasions.

    Many watchers of Enugu politics have looked forward to what appeared as an impending gubernatorial war between the two serving senators at the governorship primaries of the ruling party. But if Ekweremadu make good his resolve not to contest the election in 2015, the much anticipated clash of titans would have been averted.

    Eze, currently representing Enugu North, has been consulting with Enugu elders and other stakeholders in his bid to garner support for his governorship ambition come 2015. He is said to have gotten the governor’s temporary nod recently during a meeting of party elders in Nsukka.

    “It is true that Senator Eze was presented to the Governor at a stakeholders’ meeting recently and he encouraged his aspiration largely because he is from Enugu North. Don’t forget that one of the reasons why the people of our zone voted for Chime in 2011 was the promise he gave them that he would support someone from that zone come 2015,” a PDP chieftain from Nsukka told The Nation.

    However, Senator Ayogu Eze is not alone in the contest from Enugu North. To emerge as the PDP flag bearer in 2015, he would have to surmount political hurdles posed by the aspirations of the likes of Hon. Eugene Odo, present Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly; Ambassador Fidel Ayogu, Chief Vita Abba, PDP Chairman in the state and Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwunayi, amongst others.

  • Fed Govt to get N200b Cooperative Fund trapped in CBN

    Fed Govt to get N200b Cooperative Fund trapped in CBN

    Federal Government yesterday announced plans to access the N200billion Cooperative Societies Fund trapped in the vault of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) 10 years ago.

    The government said the fund would be used to create new jobs and empower small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) thereby reducing reliance on government for jobs.

    Special Adviser to the President on Ethics and Values, Dr. (Mrs) Sarah Jibril, made the disclosure in an interview with journalists during the inauguration of the first batch of National Youth Vanguards on Ethics and Values and public presentation of the Code of Conduct handbook.

    The programme is an initiative of the Centre for the Promotion of Ethics and Values, a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

    She said arrangement to execute this will take off soon at the zonal, state and local government levels.

    This, she said, would enable people to establish small and medium scale businesses – thereby reducing the over reliance on the government for the provision of jobs.

    The presidential aide noted that government cannot be “talking to people and preaching ethics and values on empty pockets and empty stomachs.” She insisted that the government must be accountable to the citizens through economic empowerment.

    She said: “The CBN has been holding the over N200 billion because we have not been organised and have not been able to take off.  The CBN is however, now happy that Nigerians were able to organise themselves for this exercise.

  • Akinrinade calls for devolution of powers

    Akinrinade calls for devolution of powers

    The Convener of Yoruba General Assembly, Gen. Alani Akinrinade, has reiterated his call for the devolution of powers in the country. He said this is the first critical step in repositioning the polity for true federalism.

    Akinrinade spoke at the Oodua Foundation Conference in Delaware, United States of America (USA) on the topic: “Time for strategic thinking and action”. He urged the people of the Yoruba race to protect its civilisation as an integral part of Nigeria.

    The retired General pointed out that the pro-democracy crusaders, who lost the ‘June 12’ battle, following the death of its symbol, Chief Moshood Abiola, have also not succeeded in their call for a Sovereign National Conference. He recalled that he had reiterated this when the leaders of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) advised those in exile to return home in 1998 to participate in the transition programmes.

    He said: “We thought that the issue of a Sovereign National Conference to work out the parameters for keeping Nigeria united for stellar achievement in the comity of nations and for development-oriented governance of the various nationalities in the country was crucial, if the Yoruba nation and other nationalities in the country are to avoid a repeat of what happened to Abiola and Yoruba nation after the June 12, 1993 presidential election”.

    Akinrinade echoed the decision of the Yoruba Assembly at Ibadan, Oyo State, submitting that Yoruba sons and daughters are clamouring for the right structure that can allow each nationality to thrive in an atmosphere of freedom and respect for the various worldviews that exist in the country. He also recalled that the Assembly set up a Yoruba Constitutional Commission to pursue a non-violent struggle for true federalism and regional autonomy.

    The retired General said that, if the commission works hard, it would have confronted the challenge of achieving a conducive political structure for the growth and refinement of Yoruba civilisation and the civilisation of other nationalities within the context of a united Nigeria.

    Urging the Yoruba to have faith in the regional integration agenda, Akinrinade said efforts are on to re-educate the governors of the fragmented Southwest geo-political zone to see themselves, not as the managers of fiefdoms, but as governors of sections of a civilisation that can be better advanced by internal cooperation in a country where funds are doles out to states by the central government.

    Lamenting the way the issues of indigeneship and residency are been handled by the federal lawmakers in the constitution review, he said proposing laws that dictate the process of indigenising migrants from other indigenous communities across the country may be controversial.

    Akinrinade stressed: “In other federations of the world, governments make laws to protect the rights of citizenship through residency laws crafted by each state, but our own central government is trying to decide when an Ijaw, Fulani, Igbo man must become indigenes of Ife, Ondo, Ijebu, Oyo, Ijesa, Ekiti. Some lawmakers are even calling for the creation of grazing zones all over the country for cattle, even after it has become clear that deadly conflicts happen almost daily between herders and farmers. the same lawmakers appear unaware of the developments in the science and business of animal husbandry in the modern world.

  • Can Ajimobi break one term jinx?

    Can Ajimobi break one term jinx?

    In the history of Oyo State, no governor has been re-elected for a second term. Can Governor Abiola Ajimobi become an exception? Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the governor’s push for continuity and the impediments on the way.

    Since the Second Republic, no governor has been re-elected in Oyo State. Although the governors tried their luck, certain forces aborted their dream. Will Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who has been endorsed by his party and other stakeholders for a second term, make a difference in 2015?

    Oyo State is a politically conscious and sophisticated state. Its capital, Ibadan, which doubles as the political headquarter of the Southwest, is also a politically volatile city. The political actors there are not associated with long-term politics of affection. That apparently explains why no governor has been elected twice in the Pace setter State.

    The first civilian governor, the late Chief Bola Ige, was elected on the platform of the banned Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). That was in 1979. However, his second term ambition crumbled in 1983, following the split in the ruling party and the defection of key associates, including his deputy, the late Chief Sunday Afolabi, and the late Chief Busari Adelakun, to the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), which fielded Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, to challenge him. Olunloyo, who hails from Ibadan, was declared the winner in a controversial circumstance by the proscribed Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO).

    However, the NPN stalwart spent barely three months in the office. On December 31, 1063, he was sacked by the soldiers during the fifth military coup. The displacement of the legitimate authorities did not permit Olunloyo to nurse a second term ambition.

    In the aborted Third Republic, the late Chief Kolapo Ishola was elected as the governor under the banned Social Democratic Party (SDP). It was a turbulent period when the former military President, Ibrahim Babangida, foisted diarchy on the country. When he annulled the historic presidential election won by the late Chief Moshood Abiola, tension enveloped the polity. Babangida bowed out, following the setting up of the interim contraption headed by Chief Ernest Sonekan. In November 1993, Gen. Sani Abacha toppled the transitional government and declared himself as the Head of State. The Isola’s tenure ended on that note.

    In this dispensation, Oyo State has produced three governors before Ajimobi assumed the reins. Although they were interested in the second term, their ambitions were dashed. Former Governor Lamidi Adesina, who was elected on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 1999 failed at the poll in 2003. In that election, which result was disputed, the Independent Nigeria Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Senator Rashidi Ladoja of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the winner. Thus, Adesina’s second term dream was aborted. But Ladoja later faced the same predicament. He initially lost power for 11 months, following his impeachment, in error, by the legislators instigated by his benefactor-turned foe, the late Chief Lamidi Adedibu.

    When he regained his lost seat, after a protracted legal battle, he was hopeful. In fact, he went to Akure, Ondo State capital, where the flags were presented to the Southwest PDP governorship candidates by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. To Ladoja’s consternation, the Oyo State ticket was given to his estranged deputy, Adebayo Alao-Akala. Thus, his second term hope was dashed.

    Alao-Akala, who ruled the state between 2007 and 2011, was basking in the euphoria of incumbency. But that incumbency power collapsed on poll day in 2011 when voters dumped him and elected Ajimobi as the governor.

    Before the mantle of leadership fell on him, Ajimobi was a long distance runner. In 2003 and 2007, he had vied for the position, but without success. But since he took the oath of office, his camp has been gazing at the future. The political development in the neighbouring state of Ondo, where Governor Segun Mimiko, seemed to have broken the one term jinx, may have energised them.

    The Oyo State governor is conscious of the volatile situation in his state, especially during electioneering. He is aware that his native Ibadan holds the ace. Many also agree that, if Ibadan decides to back a candidate, victory is sure.

    However, the city and state have been in pains in the past eight years. Before Ajimobi became the governor, Ibadan was living on its old glory- first stadium, first television in Africa, first sky scrapper (Cocoa House), and first university in Nigeria. The governor inherited a metropolis in ruins; with collapsed infrastructure, filth and violent thugs.

    Ajimobi rose to the occasion. Today, his insurance against future electoral loss is his performance. His first assignment was to stop the sharing of money in the State House. Gone were the acts of profligacy, theft and graft and misuse of public funds. Although detractors who could not adjust to the shift from the ‘amala politics’ to the politics of transformation and development fuelled the sentiment that government’s impact has not been felt.

    The deputy governor, Pa Alake Adeyemo, who listed the achievements of the governor, gave the administrationna pass mark. He explained that, since 2011, peace had returned to Oyo State. The clash of rival road transport union leaders has been nipped in the bud, thereby liberating the city from tension.

    Ajimobi may have also compared notes with Lagos State. Now, more than 100 buses have been acquired to replace the old rickety intra- and inter-city buses. There are free buses for workers in the civil service. Recently, the government commenced the state’s version of the Lagos BRT. Also, tricycles, popularly known as ‘Keke Ajumose,’ have been distributed to thousands of people. Hailing the government, a stakeholder, Moroof Adegbile, said it was a right step in the right direction. He advised the governor to spread the dividends of democracy to other parts of the state. “I think the government is kicking off on a good note in the area of providing befitting means of transportation for the populace, but more needs to be done so that this can reach the nooks and crannies of the state. Don’t forget that this is a very big state with huge population in the hinterlands who needs to also feel the impact of this government in the area of public transportation”, Adegbile added.

    Ajimobi has also been applauded for his urban renewal. The administration has rehabilitated over 199 roads and bridges across the state. It has also constructed the new billion flyover at Mokola, worth N2.1 billion. It is a novel project, which previous administrations have avoided. Other steps taken by Ajomobi included the clearing of over 120 blocked drains in Ibadan metropolis, dredging of 43 rivers and streams across the state, the on-going beautification of ‘Trunk A’ roads, and the institutionalisation of weekly environmental sanitation.

    Reviewing the activities of his government, Ajimobi said: “In the last two years, we have provided infrastructural facilities that are unprecedented in the history of our state. We have constructed/rehabilitated over 260 roads and several bridges across the state. Right now, we are dualizing the major roads in the capital city of Ibadan, Ogbomoso, Iseyin and Oyo”.

    His distant predecessor, Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, has commended him for the feats. The former governor said: “Rebuilding or even mere renovation often involves demolition of existing structures, be they standard buildings, shanties or slums; once they stand in the way of a new vision of what the place should look like. The work of the governor is therefore, necessary, valuable, and commendable repair of the facade of Ibadan.”

    During his visit to the state, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) chieftain, Senator Solomon Ewuga, applauded the governor. He said: “I want to use this opportunity to commend you on the work you are doing on infrastructure. We have gone round and we have seen the work you are doing; you need to be commended and please, don’t give up, that is the spirit of change that the new party, APC, is going to bring to Nigeria.”

    In the education sector, Ajimobi is not relenting in his efforts. Apart from building new classroom blocks and prompt payment of teachers’ salaries, efforts are also been made to provide adequate learning facilities. This may have led to the improvement recorded in the students’ results.

    The governor is also committed to the new Technical University project. The goal is to produce self-dependent youths who will not be running after the few jobs in the civil service. Other achievements include the constant training of teachers, the re-introduction of Science and Home Economics in secondary schools and the successful accreditation of courses at the Polytechnic, Ibadan, and College of Agriculture, Igboora.

    Another stakeholder, Kole Ajidahun, however, said: “The government will need to do more, if it is serious in bringing back the good, old days of the Action Group government in the West.” Also a social critic, Abel Makinde, urged the governor to promote the culture of prudence. He said only a governor who can erect lasting legacies would be remembered by the future generations.

    One of the factors that will shape the nomination process in 2015 is the performance of the governor. An acclaimed opposition leader in Oyo State, Ladoja, has described Ajimobi’s feats as cosmetic achievements. “It is window dressing”, he said, dismissing the urban renewal project as retrogresive. To the former governor, the programme lacks human face, adding that many people have been displaced and deprived of their means of livelihood.

    Ladoja has a motive. Since crisis broke out between him and the governor, he has been attracting to himself the governor’s political foes, with the aim of stopping his second term ambition. Recently, Ajimobi sacked Ladoja’s men in the administration. The Oyo State government has also written to President Goodluck Jonathan, alleging that Ladoja was creating security problems in the state.

    Today, the marriage between the ACN and Accord Party (AP) has been dissolved. Ladoja is involved in a new alliance with Alao-Akala, who supplanted him during the protracted crisis between him and the late Adedibu.

    The leadership of ACN in the state has described the new romance as the return of the gladiator to his vomit. But analysts said that it is in the nature of politics; there is no permanent friend, but permanent interest.

    The PDP is also plotting Ajimobi’s downfall. Sources said that pressures are being mounted on Ladoja to return to the PDP, where he is being promised the position of the National Secretary. “The calculation is that, if PDP and AP team together and they raise an Ibadan man as governor in 2015, they will shake Ajimobi”, said the source. However, a section of the AP is suspicious of Alao-Akala, judging by the role he played in the impeachment plot against Ladoja in the past. “Those who were dropped in Ajimobi’s cabinet are not all that happy with Ladoja. They feel that it is better to have dealings with Ajimobi than Alao-Akala and the PDP. They doubt the PDP’s sincerrity”, added the source.

    Many observers point out that the plot to sponsor an Ibadan man against Ajimobi may not yield the desired results. Apart from his endorsement by many groups in the ruling ACN, many influential associations in the metropolis have also tacitly endorsed the governor for a second term. Basking in the euphoria of endorsement, Oyo State ACN Publicity Secretary Dauda Kolawole said that it has underscored the growing confidence in the administration.

    The Oyo Development Initiative led by Dr. Adesola Okanlawon, Ibadan Elders Forum led by Ambassador Olusola Sanu and the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) are among the groups that are backing the governor. The CCII was party to the conferment of the title of Aare Atayese on the governor by the Olubadan, Oba samuel Odulana.

    Analysts believe that the event marked the formal endorsement of the ‘son of the soil’ for continuity. Sanu has praised the governor, pointing out that the body he represnts is impressed by the restoration of peace in the state and other laudable people-oriented, developmental projects. Okanlawan also said that the endorsement was worthwhile, adding that it would encourage the governor to work more for the people.

    Can Ajimobi ride on the back of these stakeholders to 2015? can he sustain the tempo of achievements? Can the governor break the one term jinx? Time till tell.

  • Jonathan, Amaechi face-off unnecessary – Pdp BoT member

    Jonathan, Amaechi face-off unnecessary – Pdp BoT member

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) member Chief Gordon Bozimo spoke with BISI OLANIYI on the  crisis rocking the Rivers State chapter of the party and the face-off between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    Should President Goodluck Jonathan seek re-election in 2015, in view of the zoning agreement in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

    There is so much noise about Dr. Jonathan’s bid to have a second term. It is his fundamental right to contest, if he wants to. He maintains that he has not made up his mind because he wants to face governance.

    Unfortunately, some people who believe that it is their birthright to rule, have made the country ungovernable and have distracted the President consistently. He should be allowed to do his job as the President. With the deliberate distraction, it will be difficult to get his best.

    The President is one individual. For him to succeed, he needs the cooperation of other arms of government and the general citizenry. That is only when the President can achieve results. A situation where every step he takes will not be given the benefit of the doubt, whichever way he moves, he must be criticised and those who criticise him hardly come up with alternative viewpoints, so that the country can look at the merits of their own suggesti

    Do you think he has performed creditably?

    In governance, there are certain things or projects that have gestation period. On the electoral reforms, this is the first administration that has taken it as a major issue. Progressively, our elections are getting better. Everybody knows that if the President does not give his support, it will not be possible.

    On the Local Content Act, today, a lot of Nigerians are able to bid for jobs in Shell, Mobil, Agip and other multinationals because there is an Act that compels them to keep a certain percentage of the jobs for Nigerians. Without that, we would have still been in a situation where the multinationals will bring drivers, mechanic and others from outside the country.

    Now, there is a law that if you are tendering for a job, you must show specifically, the local content. If not, the bid will be disqualified.

    The power sector gulped billions of naira before President Jonathan came into office. It is now that most of the power stations are nearing completion. The administration has assured that at the end of this year, 10,000 megawatts will be generated. If you go round the country, you will see seriousness on the power project. The President needs to be encouraged, so that he can do more. To me, he deserves the second term.

    But, some Niger Deltans think otherwise…

    As an Ijaw man, as a Niger Deltan and as a Trustee of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), I am confirming to you that President Jonathan has done well. He symbolises our aspiration. It is an act of God that somebody from the Niger Delta is the President of Nigeria.

    We are very grateful to other Nigerians, who gave us the opportunity, but let us govern like others have done (two terms of eight years). Support President Jonathan, so that at the end of the day, we will be able to say we have tried our best. The rest will be left for posterity.

    A section of Nigeria wants to mess up the opportunity.We have cooperated with all other presidents. Right from Shagari’s time, Rivers State has been giving the highest votes.

    How will you react to the remarks of Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari and Kingsley Kuku that there will be mayhem in the country, if President Jonathan is not re-elected in 2015?

    Kuku’s and Dokubo-Asari’s comments are their personal views. I am a democrat, but you must give us a level playing ground. If the President does not have the cooperation of the citizenry and other arms of government, there is no way he can perform. There is no magic.

    They should allow him do his best.

    This is the first time in the history of this country that promotion and transfer in the military are not being politicised. You can criticise and give alternative suggestions.

    President Jonathan described the Boko Haram suicide bombers as ghosts and he said he would not give amnesty to ghosts. Eminent people from the North met him and he listened to what they said. He has put machinery in place towards giving amnesty, but he has not given the amnesty. He has just set up a committee to look at the modalities and make recommendations.

    President Jonathan needs the cooperation of all Nigerians. Countries like Afghanistan that is how it started. Even Mali, you know what would have happened, if not for the quick intervention.

    President Jonathan has not told anybody that he is seeking re-election in 2015. If he declares his intention to vie, let him contest on a level playing ground and he should not be distracted.

    How would you describe the face-off between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi?

    The whole situation is uncalled for. PDP is capable of resolving whatever problem that exists. We should not give opportunity to the opposition to make profit out of whatever misunderstanding they have. It is a family affair. They should allow us to solve the problem. People should not stoke the fire.

    It is unfortunate that within the party, there is this problem. The PDP is robust enough to calm all frayed nerves. I am for dialogue. Some of us are ready to join Chief Tony Anenih (Chairman of the BoT of the PDP) and Alhaji Bamanga Tukur (PDP Chairman), to see how we can find a lasting solution to this problem.

    How would you react to the six-year single tenure being proposed?

    It is still a proposal. I want President Goodluck Jonathan to complete his four years and seek re-election in 2015, for another four years. If somebody is coming to say he is bringing a new law and shifting the goalpost, when the game has already started, I think it is unacceptable.

    Many Niger Deltans are complaining that the region is not receiving adequate attention from this administration.

    President Jonathan is not a tribalist. It tells you the character of the man. He is not a dictator. The East-West Road, according to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, the initial design did not take into account the number of bridges and culverts. Most people design roads in their office.

    I do not feel that President Jonathan will deliberately not want to embark on capital-intensive projects in the Niger Delta. He has plans for this region. My plea is for Niger Deltans and other Nigerians to continue to support the Jonathan Administration and not to distract the President.

    What is your take on the removal of subsidy on petroleum products?

    Whether subsidy is removed or not, the problem is other infrastructure like the rail line and the mass transit issue, if they are addressed, will go a long way. Alternative means of transportation will reduce our dependence on fuel. They are working on the rail lines and other things. If we have efficient transport system, you do not need to take your car to the office. That is why a five-year-old car sent to Nigeria from abroad is new, because it is not used everyday.

    Infrastructure in Nigeria has decayed to an extent that you need a magic wand to be able to resuscitate all these things within a short time.

    The economists will tell you that the subsidy we are making is hurting us. Even the Central Bank Governor (Sanusi Lamido Sanusi) said it. Subsidy is not in our long term plan.

    We should not look at spending so much money to fuel our cars. If we look at it that way, this country will never grow. Subsidy means that government is using part of our commonwealth to provide fuel, for us to run our cars. How many Nigerians have cars? How many villages in Nigeria have roads? The subsidy is for the pleasure of the middle class and the upper class.

    The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before the National Assembly has recommended 10 per cent for the oil producing communities, but some communities where the pipelines pass through are also agitating and want to be considered. What is your opinion?

    What they are saying falls flat on the face. The place where you are taking the crude oil from the soil is more important. We all know about pollution, devastation and environmental degradation. If the pipe passes through your place, it is to serve you. Without the pipes, the cost of transporting the fuel from Port Harcourt to Sokoto, they will not be able to afford the price. Without the pipelines, a litre of petrol at N97 in Port Harcourt, will sell for N350 in Sokoto.

    Government is spending our money to lay the pipelines, so that they can sell fuel at the same price all over the country. That is a concession to them. It is to their advantage. So, if they do not see it that way, then I wonder how we are going to solve the problems in Nigeria.

    The agitation of people in communities with pipelines passing through their area has no merit and it is uncalled for.

    Anybody who says the extra 10 per cent that will be coming from the PIB to the host communities is not proper should be considered as an enemy of progress and someone who does not want the hitherto neglected host communities to develop.

    That is why if you go to some communities, with over 100 gas flares surrounding them, you will be able to appreciate their plight.

  • Electoral reform: An unfinished business

    Electoral reform: An unfinished business

    Fourteen years after the restoration of civil rule, free and fair election remains a dream in Nigeria. AUGUSTINE AVWODE and LEKE SALAUDEEN examine the factors militating against this important pillar of democracy.

    Nigeria will hold the next general elections in the first quarter of 2015. But, before then, the governorship elections will hold in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states.

    Ahead of the proposed polls, the confidence of the electorate is shaking. Many Nigerians are anxious and angry. Their anger stems from the fact that 36 governors who, by all standards, should be the epitome of what is noble and honourable, failed to hold a free and fair Governors Forum election. The fiasco brought to the fore, almost instantly, the danger that lies ahead.

    The electoral laws also appear confusing. Recently, the Supreme Court faulted Section 285(5)(b) of the constitution, which states that “an election tribunal shall deliver its judgment in writing within 180 days from the date of the filing of the petition.”

    Expressing frustration at the constitutional provision, which makes it mandatory for election tribunals to dispose petitions within 180 days, the court noted that many aggrieved politicians had lost their petitions on this technical ground. The apex court, therefore, maintained that the only way to ensure that litigants’ fair hearing was not violated is for the constitution to be amended.

    Justice Mahmoud Mohammed, was delivering judgment in an interlocutory appeal filed by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)’s governorship candidate in Ondo State, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, (SAN).

    Akeredolu was challenging the striking out of some paragraphs of his petition against the election of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State. Akeredolu appealed to the Supreme Court after the election tribunal had struck out some paragraphs of his petition. The Court of Appeal in Akure allowed his appeal in part, a situation that forced him to file another appeal at the Supreme Court, while Mimiko filed a cross-appeal.

    But Justice Mohammed said, since Akeredolu’s appeal was caught by the provisions of Section 285(5)(b) of the Constitution, it would amount to embarking on an academic exercise to determine the merits of the appeal after the tribunal had already delivered its final judgment.

    The two events have inadvertently turned the search light on the electoral process. The question is: What hope for the ballot?

    A ray of hope

    The late President Umaru Yar’Adua gave Nigerians a flicker of hope in 2007. In his inaugural speech, he shocked his party members, when he openly admitted that the election, which produced him, was flawed. He immediately promised electoral reforms to correct the anomaly in the system. Three months after coming into office, the late Yar’Adua inaugurated a 22-member Electoral Reforms Committee (ERC) headed by the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammadu Uwais. The ERC was to specifically “examine the entire electoral process with a view to ensuring that we raise the quality and standard of our general elections and thereby deepen democracy”.

    The members of the committee include former Foreign Affairs Minister Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, Alhaji Ahmadu Kurfi, Chief Olisa Agbakoba, Sheikh Ahmed Lemu, Prof Grace Alele-Williams, Bishop Matthew Kukah, Chief Festus Okoye and the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega. It initially had 12 months to submit its report, but it could not meet the deadline line. Therefore, the committee applied for an extension, which was granted.

    In a bid to do a thorough job, the committee got 1,466 memoranda from the members of the public. It also held public hearings in two major cities in each of the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). There are 907 presentations. Justice Uwais and his team did a job that could have changed the face of electoral contest for the better in the country. The report of the committee came in six volumes and contained three draft bills. The first bill was for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution; the second was for the amendment of the Electoral Act 2006 and the third was for the establishment of the Electoral Offences Commission.

    Uwais said: “The Committee is firmly convinced that the acceptance and implementation of the recommendations contained in this report will significantly restore credibility in the electoral process and usher in an era of free, fair and credible election in the country”. But, four and a half years after the Uwais committee report, the search for free and credible election continues. with smaller neighbouring countries successfully conducting general elections, the need for Nigeria to enthrone the best practices in the conduct of elections has become more compelling.

    Obstacles to reforms

    Analysts have maintained that, had

    the political elite not hijacked the re-

    port of the Justice Uwais report, the electoral process would have been sanitised. In December 2012, Uwais gave an insight into why the report never achieved the objectives.

    Speaking during a dialogue on the review of the Electoral Law and Process organised by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), he observed that, instead of fully implementing the recommendations of his committee, the Federal Government opted to “pick and choose.”

    The jurist lamented that the recommendations of ERC were scuttled by political interests. He observed: “As we know, the bill that was produced by the National Assembly, though reflected on some of the recommendations of the Electoral Reform Committee, but not all the recommendations of the committee. As far as the Electoral Reform Committee was concerned, the recommendations were intended to be in tandem with one another.

    “If you want to make a good job of it, you cannot just pick and choose a few. Unfortunately, although I am not blaming the National Assembly, party interest came in. Well, the 2010 Electoral Act was produced; it was put in practice in the 2011 elections.

    “You are in the field. So, you are in the position to point out the shortcomings of the Act, but I know from the legal point of view, some provisions, like the one that electoral petition should be completed by the tribunals within 180 days, created some problems.

    After the Uwais Committee’s

    report had been reviewed by

    another committee, which produced a white paper on it, the Federal Government, set up another three-man panel to review the white paper. The committee was headed by the former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mike Aondoakaa. It had the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, and the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Hakeem Ahmed, as members.

    The ERC report that had enjoyed wide applause and commendation was considerably watered down by the Aondoakaa panel. For instance, contrary to the ERC’s recommendation, the three-man review committee recommended that the chairman of the INEC should continue to be appointed based on the recommendation of the President and confirmation by the National Assembly.

    The Uwais-led ERC had recommended that the appointment of the INEC chairman be advertised and coordinated by the National Judicial Commission (NJC), which will forward the name of the nominee to the Senate for ratification.

    The committee, it was learnt, had insisted that it would not be in the interest of the executive to allow an issue as important as the appointment of the INEC chairman to slip off its control, hence, the decision to jettison the electoral committee’s recommendation.

    It was one recommendation that would have guaranteed the neutrality and non-partisanship of the chief electoral officer in the country.

    Besides, the three-man committee not only threw out the recommendation for the establishment of an Election Offences Commission to try election offenders, but equally threw out the recommendation for the conclusion of all court cases relating to the election before the swearing in of winners.

    It recommended that all election-related legal battles should be disposed off within six months maximum, including trials for four months and appeal for two months.

    The review committee did not disagree with the nine-man ministerial white paper drafting committee, which had Minister of Defence, Alhaji Shettima Mustapha as chairman, on independent candidacy. However, introduced a clause, which will compel independent candidates to deposit certain amount of money to be determined by INEC and which would be refunded, if they win a specified percentage of the votes cast.

    Truly independent INEC

    The general belief is that a free and credible election begins with an unbiased, non-partisan head of INEC. That was why the Uwais Committee recommended that the process of appointing a new INEC boss should commence with the National Judicial Council (NJC) advertising, interviewing and short-listing three persons and recommending same to the executive who would in turn select one of the nominees and forward same to the Senate for further screening and confirmation. The Federal Executive Council rejected the proposal on the excuse that the appointment of the head of the electoral body was, originally, an executive function and argued that transferring this power to the judicial arm of government would violate the principles of separation of powers.

    The Head of the Department of Political Science, Lagos State University, Professor Abubakar Momoh, said the independence of the electoral body would go a long way in boosting its credibility and enhancing its acceptance in the eyes of the electorate.

    Momoh identified two issues that are germane to the independence of any electoral commission. These are the manner of appointment of the members of the commission and the source of funding to ensure its independence. He said that the nomination to electoral body should be taken away from the Presidency, the onus being placed upon a non-political body such as the one that the nominates Supreme Court Judges.

    Momoh said that the recommendation of the Uwais panel that the appointment should be made competitive by advertising the position would attract people of integrity and credibility who would not be subservient to the executive in the discharge of their constitutional responsibilities.

    He noted that the method of appointing electoral chairman varies from one country to the other.

    “In some countries, according to him, the President nominates, the parliament approves; there are countries where the President has the power to hire and fire; in other countries, the position is advertised and people apply and they are subjected to screening (written and oral test) to ensure only credible people are appointed. “Given our previous experience with the electoral body in this country, I think the best way to insulate the electoral chairman and commissioners from executive influence and guarantee free and fair elections is to adopt the latter as recommended by the Uwais panel”, he added.

    Momoh added that the electoral body could be induced by the executive under the present arrangement whereby there is no financial autonomy for the commission.

    “The electoral commissioners see the executive as their benefactor and would be willing to do their biddings. The adoption of this method would guarantee the independence of the INEC and sanitise the composition of the electoral body such that only people of proven integrity, that would bear no allegiance to any political party or interest, would emerge.”

    INEC chairman’s

    appointment

    Momoh noted that the

    present system that em-

    powers the President to appoint the INEC commissioners make members of the commission to be partisan because the President would likely appoint those who have sympathy for his party. “Definitely, the appointment of electoral commissioners is not based on merit. There are some merits in what the Uwais panel recommended. If the position is advertised and handled by a neutral body, it would ensure that INEC would be free of partisan members, people with criminal records or those who have sympathy for one party or the other.

    “There will be no petition against members after the inauguration of the commission, since their names would be made public before they are finally appointed. That has always being the problem. There will be no problem of public embarrassment for the appointees.

    “In the first instance, people of merit would apply. There would be no question of people accepting appointment reluctantly. There will be willingness to serve and commitment to serve. The process will ensure fairness, non-partisanship, strict adherence to the rules as laid down in the constitution and the electoral law. The Chairman and electoral commissioners would be free of doing the bidding of the person that appoints them.

    He urged the Presidency to reconsider its decision to reverse the recommendation of the Uwais Panel on the appointment of INEC chairman.

    According to Justice Uwais at the presentation of the committee’s report in 2009, the recommendation of the panel was premised on the fact that, over the years, the influential position of the INEC Chairman has been an obstacle to the conduct of free and fair elections in the country. The Chairman as the head of the commission is often seen as doing the bidding of the President, which means that elections have sometimes not reflected the wishes of the electorate.

    Funding

    To break the tradition of the electoral umpire going cap in hand to the executive to ask for funds to perform its duties, it was recommended by the Uwais Panel that the INEC should be place on first line charge so that it can enjoy financial autonomy. It also advocated that an effective financial management and control system be put in place with a request that the INEC’s financial accounts should be thoroughly audited by a private audit firm to deter and detect financial misconduct.

    Momoh said: “The present arrangement whereby INEC has to approach the executive for its financial needs makes the commission looks like an appendage of the party in power. The absence of independent funding can make the members to compromise their position”.

    Independent candidacy

    Many people may want to contest

    elections and not find any of the

    parties suitable. Thus, the Uwais committee recommended that the independent candidacy should be allowed. But, Momoh faulted the suggestion.

    “I am not against it for the fact that our political parties are fragile, not institutionalised and lack ideologies. It is where political parties have been institutionalised and political ideologies are known that independent candidates emerge without causing structural damages to the political structure. Independent candidacy serves as an alternative to what is on ground.

    “In Nigeria, some politicians dump their parties once they failed to win primaries for elective office and cross to other parties. If you allow independent candidates, such politicians would float a parallel structure because they have the resources. If an independent candidate wins, he is not accountable to anyone.”

    But Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) disagreed. He said that the independent candidacy should be encouraged. “This will enable other persons whose qualifications and motivation are more altruistic and who may be acceptable to the electorate, if allowed to stand for election, to have access to the electoral process as against regular party candidates whose only qualification is their personal relationship with the party machinery or the ability to oil the same machinery” he said.

    The lawyer therefore, suggested that the relevant provisions of the constitution and the Electoral Act be amended to allow independent candidacy. He said the provision should prevent abuses and mass proliferation of candidates by recommending that the opportunity for independent candidacy may require candidate’s nomination by a substantial portion of the registered voters within the constituency in lieu of political party framework.

    Time constraint

    However, the issue of time constraint, which many lawyers have complained about, was hailed by Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN). He said the 180 days time-frame for electoral litigation is sufficient to dispose of cases by election petition tribunals.

    Ngige said setting a time limit would ensure that the real winner is declared and assume office unlike where wrong candidates were declared winners and stayed in office for two or three years before the victory was reversed by the court.

    “Where a wrong person was declared by the electoral body and the tribunal ordered a fresh election, the election can still hold within six months. Remember what happened in Ekiti and Osun states where INEC declared Segun Oni and Olagunsoye Oyinlola as the winners of governorship elections in their respective states. It took almost three years before the Appeal Court ruled that their opponents Kayode Fayemi and Rauf Aregbesola; were validly elected. So, those who were supposed not to occupy the office as governors were there for three years.

    “The advantage of settling electoral dispute before the swearing-in of the winner is that it would not allow either the governor or the President to use his office to manipulate electoral process.

    “Remember the case of Justice Ayo Salami. He disagreed with the then Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Alloy Katsina-Ala, over the handling of the Sokoto governorship election. If the issue had been resolved before Goodluck Jonathan was sworn-in, it would not have been possible for Jonathan to remove Justice Salami from office.”

    Akintola said the litigation on election petition can be done within one month, if the INEC makes available all necessary documents to the parties involved in the case promptly.

    “To me, six months is too long. If the INEC releases materials to the petitioner on request, nothing stops the tribunal from completing its hearing within a month. See what happened in Kenya, the petition on presidential election was decided within one month.

    “It is possible here in Nigeria. INEC should oblige the petitioner by providing all documents demanded for the prosecution of the case. Lack of access to INEC materials allows election petitions to drag on for months. Tribunals resort to frequent adjournments thereby prolonging the hearing. Failure of the INEC to accede to lawyers, request made it impossible for them to offload documents as required by the tribunal’s proceeding. You can’t offload the documents that you don’t have.

    “This will help put an end to impunity. How can we continue to allow individuals whose elections are being contested at the tribunals and courts to assume office and use public resources to fight off the challenges for nearly as long as they want?And to make matters worse, the challenger is left out in the cold, paying all his or her legal fees. This is unfair and unjust, and it must stop”, he added.

    Some lawyers have argued that time limit constituted a major constraint in the speedy adjudication of election petitions. Chief G.O.K. Ajayi (SAN) who handled the Awolowo case in 1979 and Olu Falae’s petition in 1999 complained that he was not given enough time to prove his case beyond reasonable doubts.

    A lawyer, Chief Mike Ahamba had heaped much of the blames for the Gen. Mohammadu Buhari predicament in 2007 and 2011 on the tribunal. He said that the tribunal discouraged him from presenting witnesses in a bid to gain time, only for the judges to turn round to blame him in their judgments.

    The struggle continues

    Meanwhile, the struggle for credible election continues. In the recent past, phrases like ‘one man, one vote’; ‘our votes must count’ and ‘we will defend our votes’ have been made popular, in a bid to emphasis the importance of credible election. That it is dear to the hearts of Nigerians is beyond doubt. But whether the political elite will ensure that efforts are genuinely made to entrench the culture of free and fair election is left for the imagination. For now, the issue of electoral reforms in Nigeria remains an unfinished business.

  • On Uwais report we stand, says Opadokun

    On Uwais report we stand, says Opadokun

    The Convener of National  Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER), Mr Ayo Opadokun, in this interview with AUGUSTINE AVWODE, calls for the full implementation of the Justice Uwais report.

    There are some outstanding issues that are yet to be re-solved in the crusade for electoral reforms. What have you to say from the angle of CODER?

    The first thing I want to say is that Nigeria wasted a very big opportunity in the inconclusive digitalized voters register. The most important thing that we could have realised from a properly digitalized voters register was frustrated by the authorities of the Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC). What do I mean, it was expected that the different voters that registered in the different voting units, should transferred to the local government area, through computer and they will be transferred to the state level. At that state level, there is a very necessary, significant programme that ought to have been done. It is called Automatic Voters Information Scheme (AVIS), it was not done.

    What is your take on the Justice Uwais Report?

    Of all the recommendations by the Justice Uwais Electoral Reforms Committee, the one that INEC should be self accounting or should be on the consolidated revenue is the only that has been accepted by the government at the centre. The other recommendations have been jettisoned. The appointment of Prof. Attahiru Jega by Dr Goodluck Jonathan has not conferred any credibility on the electoral umpire. Secondly, there is also the recommendation that there should be an Electoral Offences Commission, that will have the power to prosecute offenders, either at the federal or state levels, the rejection of this one also is to facilitate the desire to rig elections because nobody can stop them. Besides, Uwais recommended that nobody should be allowed to assume office if his election is being challenged until all judicial interventions have been concluded. That also was not taken.

    What is the way out?

    The way out is for Nigerians to be ready to reject fraud in any election, for them to say enough is enough. The time to ensure that their votes count is now. The time to protect their votes is now. Nigerian must stand up and insist on the Justice Uwais report if we want our elections to be credible, free and fair. It only be insisting on the Uwais report that Nigeria can hope to make her elections credible and meet international best practices. All elections in this country outside the recommendations of the Uwais report is just a façade.

  • Why anti-graft battle is slow, by Agbakoba

    Why anti-graft battle is slow, by Agbakoba

    Former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) told reporters in Lagos that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the police were mishandling the prosecution of suspects. MUSA ODOshimokhe was there.

     

    What is your reaction to the handling of the the subsidy probe by the EFCC?

    Not just the subsidy probe; everything. I don’t rate the EFCC highly in their prosecutorial methods. I know of some of my very good colleagues in the EFCC who have performed very well and I can mention Rotimi Jacobs (SAN). But I speak generally – we are talking whether the EFCC should be restructured. Not just the EFCC, what of the police? Police is a disgrace. Because at least, EFCC are lawyers, but the police are not lawyers so the police can prosecute and prosecuting a crime is not an easy thing because you have to understand what you are doing and you have to be trained.

    So, a lot goes on at the levels of law, whether EFCC or the police because they are not trained. If as a persecutor and I’m reading the file brought by Mr. X and EFCC investigating officer says this is a file I have investigated and I feel that you, the legal officer will make a charge. That is how it starts. It is the EFCC investigative side that first takes off the case; gather all the evidences and then says we think something should be done here. Do they do it? I challenge the EFCC to confirm or deny that they have a meeting where they say how many files do we have?

    Could you shed light on this?

    Who is the investigating officer? You, did you check to see that all the elements that constitute murder is present? They don’t do that! They just say we don’t like you, put him in the jail. Go and get witness from everybody. When you get it, collect and put it in proofs and when you put in the proofs, take him to court. In one case in Abuja, I told the judge that my Lord, I can’t read this thing. I’m entitled by Section 35 (2), to provide legal representation to my client but if I cannot read the document how can I do so? And I’m bringing that in this case too because they have charged the man with offences giving a bundle but when I read the bundle, they are all jumbled– disjointed– not even paginated.

    So, if you say the man forged something, I cannot tell where I can find it. Because in the olden days, a statement with which a man is to be charged with an offence is a sacred document. The judge reads thoroughly. Here, how many judges read the proofs before they give consent? They just pile the files in the judge’s chamber and they say what do you want, consent? That was why Gani challenged the principle of consent many years ago. Consent to prosecute is a serious thing. My point is that the entire chain of prosecution that begins from investigation, to prosecution to judge’s consent is all messed up. So by the time you are in the hands of an experienced constitutional-criminal lawyer like me, they can tear it apart.

    In that case, what is your position in the handling of the entire fuel subsidy crisis?

    It is has not been handled well because Nigerians were very disappointed. In fact, not disappointed, Nigerians were shocked to their bone marrow that this type of thing is happening. And for me, in the maritime industry, I was absolutely stunned because I never knew that this type of thing was happening. So what Nigerians seek to see is a vigorous campaign to recover the money. But I don’t even know how much was stolen. I’ve forgotten because today they say it is this, tomorrow they say it is that. But whatever, what the EFCC should tell us now is “so much has been recovered.”

    Don’t blame defence lawyers who take advantage of EFCC’s weakness. Like Seun, because Seun is entitled to the presumption of innocence, so it is you who says he has done something that should make sure that the case is respected because the matter are all being bungled, nobody has any clue what has gone on. If I were the EFCC Chairperson, here is what I would have done; I would written a memo to Mr. President, I would tell him, Mr. President, this is a highly specialised matter and I don’t have the skills to handle it. We need to retain competent private prosecutors. Agree with their terms of engagement and go to court.

    That is what happens in England. In England, you have what is called the Crown Persecution Service; it is headed by the Attorney-General. It is a highly organised and proficient prosecution service. Before they go to court, the evidence must be good. That is why they nailed Ibori and that is why the same Ibori could not be nailed here. Because Crown Persecution Service is no child’s play but the ministry of justice, with due respect to them because they are my friend, is not just working. So you have no result from the fuel subsidy scam because the prosecutorial skill is weak.

    Do you think a good use can still be made of the House of Representatives report on the subsidy probe?

    The House of Representative report on subsidy is what informed the EFCC probe so I think they have exhausted their own part – they have done their own beat and the names they have sent off to EFCC are the ones the EFCC is now required to technically examine, so you don’t waste time prosecuting a person who turns out to be innocent.

    I have also discovered from my years of experience that there is always public sentiment in everything such that while the fuel scam was a huge thing, I was shocked to be informed, even though I still don’t believe, I thought that the entire scam was as big as ninety percent, but that should have been the first thing that the EFCC should have decipher so that we know who to concentrate on, so that there is no need to work on a large number of files if most of the files will not yield result.

    Nigeria has been repeated ranked among most corrupt nations in the world. How do you think the Federal Government can tackle the scourge of corruption?

    First is the will- to have the desire inside. You must desire it from the inside. I want to be lawyer, I must desire it. When that desire is there, then we must translate it by asking the right questions. Now, the right question will be how do we mount an effective anti–corruption campaign? What do we have as our anti-corruption campaign? And like I said earlier to you, my good friend Larry Diamond, one of the world’s leading professors on this subject, when he gave a lecture on this topic; what rings in my ear was when he said “perception”, you know perception is almost like fear.

    There is a perception that if you move about in the night you will be mowed. You may not be. So, you will say are you going out in the night? Don’t go! So there must be a perception that engaging in corrupt practices will land you in jail. In England, it is known and the thing in England is not to be caught but if you are caught you are gone. But here in Nigeria, whether you are caught or not, nothing happens to you. I have seen many people- a man who is under-going trial and who is still flying around in private jets and planes.

    But if the perception is right, many people allegedly facing trial, just going around at parties, entering planes and living life as if nothing happened, won’t be doing that. That is the challenge, but if that perception is there, many people who have done the wrong things would actually by now be in jail and you wouldn’t even see them because they will be so ashamed. Another thing is to have the tools. If you don’t have the tools, no, you can’t do it. In Nigeria, there is no quest for excellence. Nobody cares. I have not seen serious attempt by the law enforcement agencies to competently prosecute offenders.

    For instance, if the EFCC is competent in their operation, they will know the right court to go. The question is why is the EFCC prosecuting in the name of the federal republic of Nigeria in a Lagos State court? And you may ask: did Lagos State take those who take money from the revenue pulse to the Federal High Court in Abuja? Why should they say that they don’t have faith in the Federal High Court which is the correct court?

    You joined the defence team of your client, Mr. Seun Ogunbambo, who is standing trial for subsidy fraud. Don’t you think the grounds of your application to quash the case, which you referred to as “Miranda Rights” is alien to our legal system? What, is Miranda Right and how does it apply in this case?

    Miranda right is very applicable to Nigerians. It’s a name that derives from the American decision when Miranda, a black person was beaten to death by the police and Miranda’s family brought an action against the state of Arizona and the Supreme Court decided that the Miranda right is entrenched in the fifth amendment of the America constitution. Now in Nigeria, the origin of Miranda rights is quite old. It is traceable to the very widely known practice of the police; to beat people and extract information, which they call confessionals.