The Nation Newspaper

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  • NPAN urges court to void APCON’s law on advertisement vetting

    The Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) has questioned the propriety of some provisions of a law by the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) requiring media establishments to submit advertisements for vetting by the council.

    NPAN, in a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos argued that the provisions contained in Article 21 and 137 of the Nigerian Code of Advertising and Sales Promotion (NCASP) are inconsistent with the provisions of Section 39 of the Constitution guaranteeing the freedom of expression and to hold opinion.

    The association urged the court to void the provisions in the suit initiated by its registered trustees via the originating summons, and in which it raised three questions for the court’s determination and prayed it for five reliefs.

    They include a declaration that APCON, under its Establishment Act, Sap A7 Laws of the Federation 2004, lacked the powers to create offences and impose penalties as contained in Article 137 (a) (b) and (c) of the NCASP, a declaration that should void the provisions and render them unconstitutional.

    The plaintiff is also seeking a perpetual injunction restraining APCON from treating or continuing to treat Article 21 and 137 of NCASP as valid, and restraining the defendants and their agents from applying the provisions of Articles 27 and 137 (a), (b) and (c) of NCASP.

    NPAN also prayed the court to declare that the Articles 27 and 137 are ultra vires as they relate to its (NPAN’s) members and a declaration that Article 21 is unconstitutional in that it violates Section 39 of the Constitution.

    The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) is named with APCON as defendants in the suit marked: FHC/L/CS/1067/2012.

    NPAN’s General-Secretary, Comfort Obi, said in a supporting affidavit that the suit was informed by the recent invitation and interrogation of the officials of two of its 24 members – Leadership and Vanguard newspapers – by the police, who claimed to be acting on the complaints by APCON, purportedly acting on the said provisions of NCASP.

    She believed APCON lacked the powers “to regulate the activities of members of the plaintiff or their employees who are not registered members of APCON or practising advertising. I also believe that the provisions of Articles 21 and 137 of the code are inconsistent with Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”

    Comfort argued that it was in consonance with the provision of the Constitution should the plaintiff’s prayers be granted.

     

  • NAPEP to focus on agriculture

    The National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) has refocused its attention on agriculture as a tool in the fight against poverty in the country.

    In a statement by the Head, Publicity, Danladi Hassan Kobi, the National Coordinator, Muktar Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, led the agency to focus its core mandate on critical intervention areas such as agriculture to enable farmers participate in the agricultural transformation agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

    He said: “As a knowledge-driven agency in poverty eradication, there is the need for the Ministry of Agriculture to engage NAPEP in ensuring that not only farmers participate, but also that the poor are encouraged to join in the transformation train.

    “To fight and defeat poverty, Nigerians must support President Jonathan’s transformation agenda to generate growth, especially in agriculture where the potentials for maximum utilisation of abundant natural resources hold sway for the needed answers in our quest for solution to the poverty scourge, not just of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target.

    “Agriculture is the mainstay of our people. They have remained subsistent and the current economic problem has exacerbated their position.

    “The poor among them need a little push to enable them benefit from the enormous opportunities in the agricultural transformation agenda. This way, NAPEP, as the apex organisation on poverty issues, will identify and target those in need of assistance in that regard.”

     

  • Should the CBN Act be amended?

    Should the CBN Act be amended?

    The move by the National Assembly to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act 2007 has attracted mixed reactions. Some think the bank should be brought

    under some form of legislative control as no institution is an island, and because absolute power corrupts. Others argue that CBN’s autonomy should not be tampered

    with. Stakeholders have rejected a bill seeking to remove the Governor, Deputy Governors and Executive Directors from the bank’s board. Should the CBN Act be

    amended or not?

     

    Should the National Assembly go ahead with its plan to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act 2007?

    This was the question begging for answer at a one-day public hearing organised by the Senate Joint Committee on Banking and Judiciary, last Monday.

    The National Assembly is considering tinkering with CBN’s autonomy and making changes to its board and management structure. The move attracted divergent views from stakeholders at the hearing.

    Officials of the bank, past and present, have faulted the move. A former Minister of Finance, Dr Adamu Ciroma; a pioneer director of the bank in 1958, Alhaji Hamza Otiti; and another former director, Prof Green Nwankwo, urged the Senate to rescind its decision to amend the Act which will tamper with CBN’s autonomy.

    CBN Governor Mallam Lamido Sanusi, who led the presentations, said subjecting the bank’s budget to scrutiny by the National Assembly would be used to score political points.

    “If the CBN needs the approval of political authorities before it gets its budget, those authorities can compel the bank to act in a manner that befits what they seek it should do,” he said.

    Sanusi, represented by CBN Deputy Governor, Banking Operations, Mr Tunde Lemo, added that the financial autonomy of the bank was germane to its operations. “An efficient CBN is one that is truly independent,” he said.

    He drew the committee’s attention to 40 countries where their central banks did not submit annual budgets to parliaments for approval except Zimbabwe, adding that the economic situation in that country was not worthy of emulation.

    Ciroma said the CBN should be left to operate without political interference, noting that such interference could erode its powers, especially in crises.

    He said: “Let us not bring a policy that will open the system to things that we cannot predict. The Board of Directors of CBN is made up of people with knowledge and integrity. Why do you want to do something different? Leave the CBN well alone.”

    Otiti said: “The CBN Act should be left as it is; it should not be subjected to the appropriation of the National Assembly. The International Monetary Fund will not respect the bank if the present Act is changed.”

    They also rejected a bill seeking to remove the bank’s Governor, Deputy Governors and Executive Directors from the bank’s board.

    The proposed amendment provides for a former Governor of CBN to be board chairman while also divesting the board of the power of consideration and approval of the bank’s annual budget.

    A former Information Minister Frank Nweke (Jr), speaking at a recent event in Lagos, said the National Assembly should not tamper with CBN’s autonomy.

    Nweke, who is the Director-General of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), described as “unhealthy” what he said was a deliberate effort by the government to “subordinate” the CBN.

    “This is unhealthy and clearly portends danger to the management of Nigeria’s monetary policy. For the CBN to be effective, its work must be devoid of any political considerations and or interference.”

    The National Assembly’s argument is that the CBN is not an Island. It should be under legislative control.

    A former Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Senator Nkechi Nwogwu, said the CBN “is not an island” and cannot be absolutely independent.

    She said: “There’s no agency that is an island. We’re saying that there are some CBN projects that need democratic review. Certain monetary policies must be brought before the legislature for a review. That’s what we’re concerned about.

    “We’re not at loggerheads with the CBN at all. All we’re saying is that they should consider the opinions of Nigerians.”

    There has been a trend towards increasing the independence of central banks as a way of improving long-term economic performance. However, while a large volume of economic research has been done to define the relationship between Central banks’ independence and economic performance, the results are ambiguous.

    Advocates of Central banks’ independence argue that a central bank which is too susceptible to political direction or pressure may encourage economic cycles (“boom and bust”), as politicians may be tempted to boost economic activity before an election, to the detriment of the long-term health of the economy and the country. In this context, independence is usually defined as the central bank’s operational and management independence from the government.

    In some instances, legal independence of a central bank is limited in a democratic state; in which the central bank is accountable at some level to government officials, either through a minister or directly to a legislature.

    Other forms of independence of the central bank include goal independence ( the right to set its own policy goals, whether inflation targeting, control of the money supply, or maintaining a fixed exchange rate); operational independence (to determine the best way of achieving its policy goals); and management independence (authority to run its own operations, such as appointing staff, setting budgets and so on without excessive involvement of the government).

    It is argued that an independent central bank can run a more credible monetary policy, making market expectations more responsive to signals from the central bank. Recently, the Bank of England (1997) and the European Central Bank have been made independent and follow a set of published inflation targets so that markets know what to expect.

    Governments, generally, have some degree of influence over even “independent” central banks; the aim of independence is primarily to prevent short-term interference. For example, the chairman of the United State Federal Reserve Bank is appointed by the President (all nominees for this post are recommended by the owners of the Federal Reserve, and the board members, too). The president’s choice must be confirmed by the Congress, and he must appear and testify before Congress twice a year.

    International organisations, such as the World Bank, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are strong supporters of central bank independence. This results, in part, from a belief in the intrinsic merits of increased independence.

    The support for independence by the international organisations also derives partly from the connection between increased independence for the central bank and increased transparency in the policy-making process. The IMF’s Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP) review self-assessment, for example, includes a number of questions about central bank independence in the transparency section. An independent central bank will score higher in the review than one that is not independent.

    However, for Nigeria, the issue seems to be with the Governor. The recent planned introduction of N5,000 banknote did not go well with many Nigerians, who accused Sanusi of exhibiting autocratic tendencies.

    Some believe such monetary policies that have direct impact on the masses and the economy should be subjected to a thorough debate first. To such people, a situation where the CBN announces a policy without wide consultation and debate does not augur well.

    An expert on banking law, Chukwuemeka Eze, said when the CBN Act was enacted, the framers thought that each CBN Governor would assume his position, concentrate on his job and paddle through the vicissitudes of economic combinations and permutations.

    He argued that it was not conjectured that a certain Sanusi would appear and use the CBN as the fulcrum to challenge the powers of the National Assembly on appropriation, donate huge sums of money to Kano and bomb victims, make political statements at will and enjoy controversy as a fish enjoys aquatic environment.

    Eze added that it was also not contemplated that the nation would be saddled with a CBN Governor who allegedly runs a secretive and speculated annual budget of about N400 billion (almost 10 percent of the total annual national budget) for a population of not up to 5,000 persons (who constitute the board members and staff of CBN).

    On the proposed new board, Eze said the business of the CBN is too serious to be handed over to some proposed nominees to the board, who may not be sound in monetary policies and banking practices. The proposed composition of the CBN board is to include a director in the Ministry of National Planning, and a director of the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

    According to him, appointing a former CBN Governor as chairman of the board may create problems that could polarise the board, as a former CBN Governor may have “analogue” ideas while the sitting CBN Governor may have “digital” ideas. The latter, he said, may be hampered by the former who may refuse to acknowledge the rapid changes manifesting in global economic trends.

    Lawyers were divided on whether the CBN Act should be amended. Those who spoke on the issue, in separate interviews with The Nation, included Chief Felix Fagbohungbe (SAN), Malam Yusuf Ali (SAN), Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), Mr Dele Belgore (SAN), Mr Femi Falana (SAN), Mr Norrison Quakers, and constitutional lawyer Mr Ike Ofuokwu.

    To Fagbohungbe, there should not be an agency of the government with absolute power.

    “It is not done anywhere in the world. Central banks the world over do not enjoy absolute powers as it is evident in Nigeria. The CBN is running a parallel government with the power it has presently. It is also not good for the CBN governor to be Chairman of the Board of CBN because he has nobody to report to and as such, acts without checks and balances.

    “I support that the Act should be amended to control the powers of the CBN governor. Of course, the National Assembly should be able to control the funding of the CBN. Its budget must be approved by the National Assembly, otherwise the CBN will run a parallel government.”

    He added:“If the budget of the executive must be approved by the National Assembly, why not that of the CBN? Moreover, I think that clause in the Act that says the governor of CBN cannot be removed by the president without the approval of the Senate should be removed.

    “It should be such that the National Assembly will confirm the governor’s appointment but the President should have the power to remove the CBN governor. As it stands now, the CBN governor has powers that even the President does not.”

    Ali held a contrary view. He said: “If we love our country, the autonomy of the CBN should remain. Vendetta should never be the basis of the amendment of our laws.”

    For Idigbe, the CBN should not be given freedom without control, because, according to him, absolute power can lead to corruption.

    “The greatest fear of Nigerians is arbitrariness in the implementation of policies. There should be some level of oversight over the CBN,” he said.

    Belgore, a former Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate in Kwara State, believes the autonomy of the CBN is sacrosanct and must never be compromised and subjected to legislative control.

    His words: “In England, the governor of the Bank of England is autonomous. He sets the interest rate, determines monetary policy without control by parliament. In the US, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board enjoys similar powers without congressional control. This was not always the case in these countries.

    “They have had a situation of legislative control of their central banks before, and they found that monetary policy was influenced by politicians and this was bad for economic growth. So, it was decided that, for consistency of monetary policy and to take it outside of politics, the central bank would be autonomous.”

    Belgore continued:“In Nigeria, our CBN is autonomous, so why do we want to drive our country back to a situation that advanced countries abandoned decades ago? We may not like the person of the CBN governor or his policies but that should not be a basis to change a structure that almost universally has been accepted to be correct.

    “We should not change how institutions function because of our opinion of the personalities that run those institutions. People should change to fit into institutions not institutions being changed to accommodate personalities.”

    For Falana, the amendment being proposed by the House of Representatives is unnecessary. “This is because no public institution under the current democratic system is totally autonomous. The CBN is equally wrong in its assertion that it can operate outside the Constitution,” he said.

    The former West African Bar Association (WABA) President and rights activist, however, said CBN’s power to approve its budget outside of the National Assembly was illegal.

    Falana said: “The CBN Act 2007 has to be read subject to the Constitution. Under sections 68 & 69 of the Constitution, either chamber of the National Assembly can summon the CBN governor to give evidence in respect of an investigation.

    “By virtue of Section 81, the President shall submit the national budget of the Federal Government and its agencies, including the CBN, by way of appropriation bill presented to the National Assembly.

    “No money shall be spent by the Federal Government of Nigeria or any of its agencies without a money bill passed pursuant to Section 59 of the Constitution. The Auditor-General of the Federation is empowered to audit the accounts of all government agencies, including the CBN. In several decisions, the Supreme Court has held that the CBN is an agency of the Federal Government.

    “To that extent, the CBN’s budget has to be submitted to the National Assembly for approval. The power of the CBN board to approve its budget is illegal as it is inconsistent with several provisions of the Constitution.

    “Until recently, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) claimed that its board could pass its budget without legislative approval! It took appreciable effort to call the NNPC to order.

    “However, the operational autonomy of the CBN is guaranteed by the CBN Act. But it is anomalous to talk of the autonomy of the CBN outside the ambit of the Constitution.”

    Quakers said any amendment should not remove CBN’s autonomy. “I believe the Act can be amended within the ambit of the current economic and financial realities. The powers of the CBN should remain sacrosanct.

    “The amendment should not be aimed at the occupant of the office, but to strengthen the regulatory institution to perform it statutory duties without barriers, which in my humble view the legislative control will inflict.

    “The current occupant of the office has discharged his duties creditably. The shortcomings can be addressed as human errors, but not to throw the baby and the bath water,” Quakers said.

    Ofuokwu said the proposed amendment was necessary. His words: “The current CBN Governor has exposed the institution because of his uncouth tongue, reckless use of power, his display of arrogance and swagger which had gone unnoticed over the years.

    “Absolute power corrupts absolutely. If the CBN acts as a check on other banks, who checks the apex bank? The amendment of the CBN Act is necessary and timely but certainly not to the whims and caprices of the National Assembly or else that would be the end of financial intergrity of the CBN.

    “Other than providing the needed legislative framework, parliamentary rascality cannot be an option. I suggest a Governing Council with conservative men and women of sound mind, integrity, economic wisdom and prudence amongst other sterling qualities to over the CBN,” he added.

     

  • Ofeimun: Nigeria must enhance English language

    Ofeimun: Nigeria must enhance English language

    Notable poet and playwright, Odia Ofeimun, has said Nigeria must develop maturity and versatility in the use of English language to break grounds in industrial growth.

    He said users of English language must aim at a sophistication that would enable them interchange and shift between their mother tongues and the language.

    Ofeimun said while the sciences must be improved and seen as a key factor, scientists must equally be made to develop a facility to translate the sciences, which are recorded in English into their indigenous languages and vice versa.

    Currently, he said, efforts have either not been made at all in the direction of equipping science teachers with enough competence in English language to enable them interpret science terms into their mother tongues or are being inappropriately directed.

    The poet said: “Unfortunately, our universities are not assisting in the development of the kind of language culture to engender that dream.”

    Describing efforts at concentrating attention on the so-called major indigenous languages as being promoted by the National Policy on Education as ill-informed, he said all languages are relevant and should be leveraged to advantage.

    He said: “The position of the National Policy on Education, which allows for the development of three major languages, was wrong headed. Every language is a national language. There is no reason for segregating the languages: some that will die and others that will get government support to live. It is rubbish.

    “Egbe Omo Oduduwa planned to transfer the knowledge in English language into the indigenous languages and transfer the knowledge in the indigenous languages back into English. Politics was employed to frustrate this dream. “

    “In Korea, they do astrophysics in Korean. We could do the same thing here as well.”

    Asked why graduates of tertiary institutions are unable to use languages well, Ofeimun said: “Many people don’t go to the universities because they want to do anything right.”

    He added: “Many parents don’t send their children to school because they want them to acquire knowledge, but because they want them to obtain a certificate.”

     

     

  • Romney as ‘evil genius’

    Romney as ‘evil genius’

    Who says campaign of calumny is a Nigerian thing? Or what do you call a campaign advert in which President Barack Obama’s strategists painted his rival Mitt Romney as the ‘evil genius’.

    The ad was inspired by the moment when the Republican candidate turned to moderator Jim Lehrer and said he would defund the Public Broadcasting Service.

    ‘I’m sorry Jim, I’m going to stop the subsidy to PBS,’ he said. ‘I like PBS – I love Big Bird, I actually like you too, but I’m going to stop borrowing money from China to pay for things we don’t need.”

    Democrats exploited the incident for a sarcastic campaign advert.

    The 30-second video mocks Romney for taking aim at the public broadcaster rather than cracking down on financial fraud.

    Sesame Street, however, criticised the Obama campaign for exploiting their character and demanded that the advert be cancelled and removed from the internet.

     

    Obama winning the ad battle

    A study released last Wednesday showed that President Obama and his allies have aired more adverts in battleground states this month despite being outspent by Republican nominee Mitt Romney and GOP groups. The study also shows that Romney is getting less for his money .The Obama campaign and its supporters spent $77 million on 112,730 advertisements from October 1 to 21, according to the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks and analyses political ad spending. Romney and his allies, by contrast, spent more, $87 million, on 15,000 fewer spots.

     

    Blackmailing the voters?

    The International Tribune Herald, which is the global edition of New York Times, carried a report last week which said strategists for both President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney have gathered private information about voters and are exploiting them to get them to vote on election day. According to the report, such information include whether or not they are gay or lesbian, their crime history and others that they may ordinarily want to keep from the public.

    But, on record, both candidates insist they respect people’s privacy. If it is true that they are exploiting such strategy, it may as well mean blackmailing them to vote.

     

    Of third party candidates and independents

    It is as if only President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are running for America’s presidency. But, it is not. There are third party candidates and independents. Third party candidates are of parties other than Democratic and Republican. Independents are standing on their own.

    The third parties include Socialist Party and the Peace and Freedom Party.

     

    Why Americans vote first Tuesday in November

    Hear what an expert says: “In a rural republic that was very religious, nobody worked or travelled on Sunday.  So, this gave people who had to walk or ride their horses or wagon or whatever, gave them a full day to get to the polling place, the voting station in their county.  It also was in November, which was the right time window for the expiration of the presidential term.  You had to hold your election sometime – certain amount of time before the expiration of the term.  It was also good to hold it in November because the harvest had been collected and the farmers had some spare time on their hands.  And also in the northern states in November, the roads are clear and dry, you haven’t had major snowfall, there’s no mud, it’s easier to travel.  So these are some of the arcane reasons that led us to establish our election day on Tuesday after the first Monday in November.”

     

    A controversial election result?

    Under the United States Electoral College system, President Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney need to win at least 270 of the country’s 538 electoral votes to be president, rather than simply the majority of votes from voters. With pollsters predicting a close race, the Electoral College result could possibly yield a controversial election outcome.

    Florida, whose 29 electoral votes are the biggest prize among states considered too close to call, Ohio, which has 18 electoral votes, and others are being bombarded by Obama and Romney in the last days of campaigns.

     

    ‘Voter intimidation in Florida, others’

    There are attempts to confuse voters in Florida, Virginia and Indiana. Voters have received phone calls telling them there was no need to cast a ballot in person on election day because they could vote by phone.

    Reuters quoted Kurtis Killian, a Republican from St. Augustine, Florida, as one of those who have reported receiving calls that encouraged them to vote by phone so they would not have to go to the polls.

    Killian said he received a call from a man who identified himself as an employee of the Florida Division of Elections.

    He also said he refused the caller’s offer to cast his vote by phone then reported the call to local elections officials.

    “I know there is no such thing as phone voting,” Killian said. But “for someone who can’t get out easily,” such as elderly or disabled voters, “they might go for that because it would be convenient for them. Once you think you voted you won’t go to the polls. My vote would be cancelled out.”

    Virginia’s State Board of Elections received similar complaints from at least 10 people – most of them elderly – who said they had been urged to vote by phone.

    Reuters reported that in Ohio and Wisconsin, billboards in mostly low-income and minority neighbourhoods showed prisoners behind bars and warned of criminal penalties for voter fraud, an effort that voting rights groups say was designed to intimidate minority voters.

    Some employers, such as David and Charles Koch, the billionaire brothers who helped fund the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, are pushing their workers to vote for Republican Mitt Romney for president.

    Efforts to mislead, intimidate or pressure voters are an increasingly prominent part of the political landscape.

    “We’ve seen an up-tick in deceptive and intimidating tactics designed to prevent eligible Americans from voting,” said Eric Marshall of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, who manages a coalition that has a telephone hot line that collects tips on alleged voter intimidation.

    They also cite groups linked to the conservative Tea Party movements that are training tens of thousands of people to monitor polling places on November 6 for voter fraud, a plan criticised as an attempt to discourage voting.

     

  • ‘Oni unfit to preside over Southwest PDP meeting’

    ‘Oni unfit to preside over Southwest PDP meeting’

    A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Prince Segun Seriki, yesterday said ousted Ekiti State “Governor” Segun Oni had no right to preside over the purported caucus meeting of the PDP in the Southwest.

    He described Oni’s conduct as “contemptuous, illegal and an affront on the rule of law”.

    In a statement, Seriki said Oni’s action was illegal because he was sacked by the April 27 judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which nullified the PDP congress in the Southwest.

    He drew the attention of the party’s national leadership and PDP chieftains in the Southwest to the consequences of allowing a man, who was sacked by a court of competent jurisdiction, to manage the party’s zonal affairs.

    The statement reads: “I am at a loss as to why a man, who came third at the party primaries pre-2007 elections but was imposed by his godfather and yet could not win the election, presided over a meeting where the strategies to win back the Southwest were being discussed.

    “It is all the more disappointing, given the fact that Oni had been removed as the Southwest PDP Chairman by the Federal High Court. That fact is incontrovertible.

    “And since you cannot build something on nothing, whatever action and decision taken by Oni since April 27, 2012, including the decisions purportedly reached at the meeting, is illegal, null and void.

    “I take solace in the fact that this development will be addressed at a more appropriate time and forum. It cannot stand the test of time and the law. At least, three of those who dared the courts have been convicted. Now, they are ex-convicts, whether they want to admit it or not.”

    Seriki urged the PDP national leadership not to leave its affairs in the hands of people “with ulterior motives, who are bent on bringing the party to opprobrium by trampling on the rule of law, which is one of the cardinal principles of the present administration”.

    He said: “All the posturing of Oni and his co-travellers are towards the 2015 elections, as their godfather has sworn never to support President Goodluck Jonathan should he throw his hat into the ring.

    “All they seek to do is to float a separate structure, which they intend to use against the interest of Mr. President in accordance with the dictates of their godfather. That is their game plan.”

  • Obama, Romney: bickering for America’s sake

    Obama, Romney: bickering for America’s sake

    President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney are not enemies, but for the sake of America, they are doing battles, writes OLUKOREDE YISHAU

     

    They have agreed on a few things: no military action in Syria, continuing support for sanctions against Iran and withdrawal of America’s military from Afghanistan. But their areas of disagreements are more. This is the tale of two presidential candidates: President Barack Obama and his challenger, former Governor Mitt Romney.

    Obama is today expected in the vital swing state of Ohio, where, according to the latest polls, the president has a slight lead. Romney is ahead in Florida, and Virginia is a dead heat.

    Like Obama, Romney is also stepping up his last-minute campaigns. Like they have done since their campaigns kicked off, they are going to use the next one week to paint each other in bad light.

    Romney will continue to drum it into Americans’ ears that the president has not provided a clear example of American leadership for the world, whether in Syria or Iran or Russia. He is unlikely to also change his position that the president has failed to improve the economy.

    Obama, too, will not abandon his song, which he has been playing to Americans: Romney would be unsteady on the world stage. The president’s employ of sharp and sarcastic language to cast Romney as out of depth is not likely to abate. Not with polls showing that they run neck-to-neck.

    During the last debate, Obama lampooned Romney’s promise to increase defence spending by two trillion dollars and build up the US Navy – a move which Obama claimed failed to take into account the needs of modern warfare.

    Obama said: “You mention that we have fewer ships than we had in 1916. Well, governor we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because that nature of our military has changed.

    “We also have these things called ‘aircraft carriers’ that planes land on, and ships that go under water – nuclear submarines. So the question is not a game of battleships, but what are our capabilities…and how we are going to meet the best of our defence needs.”

    On the issue of Afghanistan and al-Qaeda, Obama and Romney clashed repeatedly, with the president claiming Romney’s strategy was in a constant change of flux and in no way clear.

    The president said: “And you know, Governor Romney, I’m glad that you agree that we have been successful in going after al-Qaida, but I have to tell you that, you know, your strategy previously has been one that has been all over the map and is not designed to keep Americans safe or to build on the opportunities that exist in the Middle East.”

    On Iraq, Obama painted Romney as inexperienced, saying: “I know you haven’t been in a position to actually execute foreign policy — but every time you’ve offered an opinion, you’ve been wrong. You said we should have gone into Iraq, despite that fact that there were no weapons of mass destruction.”

    The president also took Romney on about al-Qaida. Obama said: “Governor Romney, I’m glad that you recognise that al-Qaida is a threat, because a few months ago when you were asked what’s the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia, not al-Qaida; you said Russia, in the 1980s, they’re now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.”

    “Both at home and abroad, he (Mr Romney) has proposed…reckless policies. He’s praised George Bush as a good economic steward and Dick Cheney as somebody who’s – who shows great wisdom and judgment. And taking us back to those kinds of strategies that got us into this mess are not the way that we are going to maintain leadership in the 21st century.”

    Romney, too, has delivered some upper-cuts on the president. Romney accuses president of ‘weakness’ abroad.

    On his methods for dealing with Russia, he said: “I’m not going to wear rose-coloured glasses when it comes to Russia, or Mr. Putin. And I’m certainly not going to say to him, I’ll give you more flexibility after the election. After the election, he’ll get more backbone.”

    He has also accused Obama of not providing the leadership at the world stage. Romney said: “I absolutely believe that America has a – a responsibility, and the privilege of helping defend freedom and promote the principles that — that make the world more peaceful. And those principles include human rights, human dignity, free enterprise, freedom of expression, elections.”

    He also believes the president has not done much to stop Iran‘s nuclear project.

    He argued that the country was “four years closer to a nuclear weapon” and that Obama has “wasted” the last four years because “they continue to be able to spin these centrifuges and get that much closer.”

    Certainly, the next one week is a crucial one in deciding who carries the day. The candidates realize this and have planned to make the best use of it.

  • Kuku denies funding Ondo poll

    The Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, has denied the allegation that he spent N249 million to fund the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the Ondo State governorship election.

    Kuku, who is also the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), challenged the Niger Delta Amnesty Watch to show evidence of such expenditure during the poll.

    A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Kuku, Daniel Alabrah and made available to reporters in Benin City, said: “Not a dime of the strictly budgeted funds of the amnesty programme was spent on the election.”

    Kuku also denied promising N100 million to some ex-militants in the third phase of the amnesty programme to work for the candidate of the PDP in the election.

    He said: “The PAP is not surprised about this development as it in September alerted the nation to a plot by some politicians and disgruntled individuals, who never wanted the amnesty programme to succeed and had become jittery over the rising profile of the chairman, to cause mayhem in the Niger Delta.

    “It is obvious that the intention of the sponsors is not only to distract Kuku, but to pull him down to derail this laudable but delicate Federal Government programme that has been widely acclaimed as being properly managed.”

     

  • Floods: Kwara monarch urges govt to establish power commission

    The establishment of Hydro Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) is the antidote to perennial flooding in Kwara State, the Etsu Patigi in Patigi Local Government Area, Alhaji Ibrahim Umar, has said.

    The monarch also prescribed the extension of the dredging of River Niger to Jebba to prevent flooding in Patigi and Edu local government areas.

    There were floods in some parts of the state when River Niger overflowed its banks.

    The floods destroyed farmlands and property worth millions of naira.

    Umar spoke in his palace when the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Dr Bukola Saraki, visited flood victims in the area.

    Thanking the senator for donating relief materials to the flood victims, Umar said: “You are familiar with the problem of flooding in this state and you are always concerned with what happened in Patigi. As you might be aware, we recall that you championed the establishment of HYPPADEC, which we believe will be a permanent solution to perennial flooding.

    “We’ve been suffering from it almost annually. So, unless we have a commission, we believe flooding will continue to recur and the problem is not on relief alone but also on a permanent solution which a commission of that nature will be able to address.

    “For us to solve this perennial problem, extend the dredging (of River Niger) to Jebba. It will be one of the permanent solutions that will save us. Our problems are so many because every year, people lose their farmlands and homes. This year’s flooding is unprecedented, because some villages were completely vacated. The houses were submerged because of the effects of Kainji Dam, Jebba Dam and Shiroro Dam. The effects of these dams continuously affect us in this part of the state.”

    Saraki assured that the dredging of River Niger would be extended to Jebba in Kwara State.

    He noted that the extension of the dredging would check flooding in Patigi and Edu Local Government areas.

    The senator described the recent floods in Nigeria as a national calamity.

    Saraki promised to assist the victims.

    The former Kwara State Governor said his committee would monitor the distribution of materials donated to the victims to prevent their diversion.

     

  • NBA President inaugurates committees

    NBA President inaugurates committees

    Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Okey Wali (SAN), last week at NBA Secretariat, Abuja, inaugurated three committees that will fast-track his desire to improve the lot of lawyers.

    Wali (SAN) said he inaugurated the committees because their strategic nature does not permit them to wait till November when the association will inaugurate her committees at its National Executive Committee( NEC) meeting in Asaba, Delta State.

    The Committee on Lawyers Welfare Trust Fund, which has Chief Ken. Njemanze (SAN) as Chairman, M. A. Abubakar, alternate Chairman and Linda Bala, Secretary were named.

    The Database Committee has Chief Augustine Alegeh (SAN) as Chairman, Liman Hassan (SAN), alternate Chairman and Effiong Ekong, Secretary.

    Others are the Legislative Advocacy Working Group which has Chief Paul Erokoro (SAN) as Chairman, Chief Arthur Obi Okafor, alternate Chairman and Elachi Agada, Secertary.

    In a chat with The Nation, Wali said: “We expect the committees to hit the ground running, we have to inaugurate them out of order as we felt they are committees that cannot wait till November when other committees will be inaugurated in Asaba, as a result of the importance which we attach to the Constitutional Review Committee.

    He went on:“Of course you know National Assembly matters are going on, they are not waiting for you to inaugurate your committees in November and so they need to get involved very urgently.

    “The welfare trust fund is new and so there is no foundation for it. Therefore, they will need to start earlier than other committees that will be inaugurated in Asaba so that they can achieve what we have set for them to achieve within this limited period of two years.”

    On whether the committee is an Ad hoc or Standing committee, Wali (SAN) said: “It is a standing committee, the welfare trust committee is a policy making body. They will make policies that will be implemented by the welfare committee which is headed by the Second Vice-President of the Bar. Because it is a policy making body, their scope is wider than the ordinary welfare issues. They will look at the insurance policy for lawyers, micro-finance bank proposal, social welfare and facilities for young lawyers. So, the earlier they start, the better for us because there is so much for them to do”

    In a chat with The Nation, Paul Erokoro (SAN) said: “ Expect a vibrant and active committee that will do its best to push the Justice Sector Reforms bills in the National Assembly and other public interest bills.”

    Fielding questions on the exact number of such bills in the National Assembly, Erokoro said: “Well there are a number of bills that have been before the National Assembly for years. While some survived the past legislature, some did not. So, we hope to revive all of those bills that were not able to scale the hurdle of the previous legislative years. We want to see how we can bring them back.”

    Erokoro said: “Certainly, it is time we did something about Prison Reform bill, Legal Practitioners’ Act and the Justice Sector Reform bills, there are a lot of bills that are so important to Nigerians”

    Chief Njemanze (SAN) said: “Well I believe the task is fastidious but we can surmount the challenges. We believe in the next 10 months, we should be able to start implementing some of the policies that we intend to recommend to Mr. President and the NEC”.

    “We believe the Bar should have a welfare package for all its members. We believe lawyers should be insured and we should equally have a pension scheme for all the lawyers. These are workable things, it is just for us to sit down, look at the papers, contact experts in these fields and we will be able to bring out something for the Bar.

    On whether they the took some strategic decisions at the inaugural meeting of the committee, Njemanze said: “ Yes, we did, we have basically agreed on the modalities for our meetings and how to make inputs on all the terms of reference. We have agreed that each member should make his input in writing and send to the secretary within 14 days, so that when we meet next we shall use all the inputs as working paper for the committee”

    Chief Alegeh (SAN) said: “We have decided on how to get the Bar to get the Digital Bar Initiative Identity card which will be an ID card that may also have financial features on it. We believe when we get it, every lawyer that has it will be certified to be a lawyer and no fake lawyer will be able to get that card. If we achieve this, I think we have achieved a lot.”