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Tag: presidential

  • Presidential pardon under the Constitution

    Presidential pardon under the Constitution

    The sudden news of grant of prerogative of mercy by President Goodluck Jonathan, to some high profile ex-convicts in the country had sparked off angry reactions from well-meaning citizens, from all walks of life, particularly the elites and the civil society groups, principally predicated on the negative implication to the purported war against corruption and the image of the country before the international community, especially for a government that prides itself as a leading bastion of civility, due process and constitutionality, in Africa.

    The grant of pardon or prerogative of mercy is a right recognised under the 1999 constitution of Nigeria, as amended in 2011, and should ordinarily, if properly exercised, be greeted with applause and gratitude to the President when such is extended to deserving person or persons who have been tried and convicted of any offence and with no pending appeal against the conviction, irrespective of the gravity of the offence or the severity of punishment meted to the offender.

    This practice dates back to the medieval times when the King as imperial potentate in exercise of his temporal and ecclesiastical powers, administered both cannon and civil laws, extolling the divine qualities of mercy and forgiveness, as precondition for salvation.

    The reality and necessity for this long standing practice seeking to temper justice with mercy was most profoundly and unequivocally illuminated by the renowned wordsmith, Williams Shakespeare, in his book, The Merchant of Venice, thus, “The quality of mercy is not strained; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath; it is twice blest; it blesseth him that gives, and him that takes;…”

    Ever since then till date the exercise of prerogative of mercy has become very popular as a legitimate component of the administration of justice underscoring its incorporation into the laws and constitution of most civilised countries, including Nigeria, which has extant legislations and statutory enactments at the state and federal levels making ample provisions for grant of prerogative powers in favour of a convict.

    This right provided for under sections 212(1) and 175(1) & (2) of the Constitution for the Governor and the President, respectively, is legally assessable and available to all classes of convicts in Nigeria and is obtainable by a convict applying either personally or through a solicitor, or even through the prison authority where he or she is incarcerated, to a Governor or the President as the case may be, for grant of the prerogative of mercy or pardon, in his favour.

    Under the forgoing provisions of the constitution, a State Governor or the President of Nigeria has constitutional powers to grant conditional or unconditional pardon to a convict, or to substitute, reduce, commute or remit the length of sentence and/or the severity or quantum of punishment and penalty or forfeiture, imposed on that person by a court of law.

    The legal effect of a pardon is very profound and far reaching to a beneficiary, as it exempts, frees and releases the convict of all liabilities or disabilities flowing from his said conviction and is therefore completely purged and cleansed of the pariah status, infamy and ignoble toga of an ex-convict under the law.

    However, as a special kind of power held in public trust by the Governor or President, it ought to be exercised with the highest sense of responsibility, probity and circumspection by the person vested with such powers.

    This is to ensure that the critical balance between the rights of the individual concerned and the corresponding right of the public to good order, decency, peace and security, is maintained, to meet the ends of equity, justice and good conscience at all times.

    The pristine quest for substantial justice and a wholesome criminal justice system is at the root of the practice of prerogative of mercy. It is therefore a product of genuine desire to remedy or ameliorate the effect of a conviction perceived not to have reasonably met the standards of justice, the rule of law and due process, having regards to the facts and circumstances of the particular case, especially, where such trials were targeted at perceived enemies of a particular government or military junta, not necessarily for any plausible infractions of the law but as a punishment for speaking the truth to power.

    State pardon is a discretionary power to be exercised judiciously and judicially and not meant to be used as an instrument of patronage for political benefactors or for self enhancement and aggrandizement but must be exercised in a reasonable manner devoid of bias and public umbrage and strictly consistent with the letters and spirit of the law and the code of conduct for all public officials.

    The fundamental obligation and primary purpose of government under section 15(5) of the 1999 constitution is the abolition of corrupt practice and abuse of power, a provision strongly reinforced in the fifty schedule to the constitution (Part 1) dealing with Code of Conduct for Public Officers. Section 1 hereof forbids any conflict of interest with official duty and provides that, a public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities.

    The president had with the approval of the Council of State, exercised the powers conferred upon him by the provisions of Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to extend presidential clemency, amnesty or pardon to his former boss and ex-Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. DSP Alamieyeseigha and six others, who have been tried and convicted of various offences in the past ranging from official corruption, grand larceny to alleged coup plotting and treasonable felony by Nigerian courts.

    The propriety or otherwise as well as the real motive behind the President’s action, has generated so much furor and criticisms in the domain of public opinion, especially in the case of his said former boss and kinsman, and Mr. Shetima, the former Managing Director of Bank of the North, both of whom were convicted by the court for official corruption and misappropriation of bank funds.

    The public outrage and controversy foreshadowing the above pardon granted to corrupt politicians calls to question the government’s sincerity in its avowed determination to truly tackle the menace of corruption in the country, as the survival of the people including the government itself depends on stamping out this systemic scourge in our body politic.

    The government rather than heckle, intimidate and antagonise those opposed to its actions should instead embrace the merits of these well-meaning concerns for positive change, even in the face of emerging fresh facts that most of the beneficiaries of the pardon had earlier been pardoned by a previous regime which undermines the propriety of the entire exercise seen by many as a mere hoax or stratagem foisted on the people to achieve a predetermined end.

    • Chief Agbedo of Crown Law Chambers is based in Lagos.

  • Kenyans await winner of presidential poll

    Kenyans await winner of presidential poll

    •Kenyatta leading
    •Biometrics aid election’s success

     

    Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan presidential candidate indicted for crimes against humanity, was heading for victory after he opened up a double digit lead over his main rival.

    Mr Kenyatta was ahead with 53 per cent to Raila Odinga’s 42 per cent with ballots from Monday’s election counted in around half of the country’s 33,000 polling stations.

    Both men were neck-and-neck with about 44 per cent in opinion polls before the vote, seen as a crucial test of whether one of Britain’s closest allies in Africa could hold credible elections.

    International Criminal Court prosecutors accuse Mr Kenyatta of crimes against humanity for his role in orchestrating violence that followed Kenya’s last polls, in 2007.

    He denies the charges, but if he wins, protocol dictates that Kenya’s Western allies including Britain have nothing but “essential contact” with him.

    Kalonzo Musyoka, Mr Odinga’s running mate and Kenya’s vice-president, yesterday vowed that his side would catch up and over-take Mr Kenyatta as more polling stations returned their count.

    “The results have been challenging to us, but we hope that will be rectified in the next two to three hours to more realistic results,” he said.

    “We are beginning to see that these things are going to change rather dramatically. We must prepare the country for that.”

    In Kibera, Nairobi’s largest slum, those words were interpreted as a warning to Mr Kenyatta’s supporters not to react if he slips into second place.

    “It is boiling here,” said John Oyoo, a community activist and election monitor, told The Daily Telegraph. Kibera is heavily pro-Odinga, and saw some of the worst violence in 2007.

    “Everyone is wondering why the results are so slow for Odinga’s strongholds. They think something fishy is going on. If suddenly all of our results come in and we take the top spot, Uhuru’s (supporters) will not accept that.”

    The sudden shift of the vote tally during the 2007 count, to Mr Odinga’s then rival, Mwai Kibaki, spiked suspicions of a rigged ballot that spilled into weeks of clashes when Mr Kibaki was eventually sworn in.

    More than 1,100 people died, 630,000 people were violently evicted from their homes, and Kenya’s reputation as an emerging and peaceful African democracy were shattered.

    Should Mr Odinga not manage to take the lead, he will face significant pressure to concede defeat quickly or announce how he will pursue his concerns through the courts.

    Yesterday, there were increasing reports of vote irregularities.

    Technical glitches on election day and further problems with electronic tallying prompted calls from party agents for urgent investigations.

    More ballots were spoiled than were cast for the six other presidential candidates combined, a situation Mr Musyoka called “worrying”.

    Some 330,000 of the five million votes counted by yesterday evening had been rejected, the electoral commission reported, blaming people slotting their voting papers into the wrong boxes.

    He appealed for voters’ patience and promised an expert review into the technical failings of Kenya’s new computerised vote tallying system, bought at significant expense to head off the blatant rigging seen in 2007.

    Franklin Bett, chairman of Mr Odinga’s ODM party, said that errors electronically identifying voters during polling “placed in jeopardy the credibility of the process”. Despite this, the majority of the country remained calm. Most Kenyans were transfixed by rolling coverage of the results trickling in that was broadcast on all major television and radio stations.

    To win outright, a candidate needs 50 percent of the votes cast plus one, and a quarter of votes in half the country’s 47 counties.

    The electoral commission stressed, however, that confirmed rather than provisional results might not be released for days yet.

    “We have seven days to return the final results, and today is day one,” Mr Hassan said.

     

  • Presidential Panel uncovers irregularities in NDDC projects

    •46 per cent NDDC projects in Edo, Ri

    The Presidential Monitoring Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), chaired by Chief Isaac Jemide, uncovered many irregularities in the activities of the Commission.

    Presenting the committee’s report on monitoring of projects executed by the NDDC between 2005 and 2011 to President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday, Jemide said there were large number of projects abandonment and NDDC has refused to recover the funds through appropriate government agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences (ICPC).

    He said the reports were the outcome of a painstaking inspection, assessment and evaluation of projects and programmes executed by the NDDC and other relevant activities.

    Jemide said over 46 percent of projects awarded by the NDDC in Cross River, Edo and Rivers states between 2005 and 2011 were abandoned.

    According to him, most of the water projects embarked upon by the NDDC are non-functional. Besides, the approval and execution of some projects are completely outside the statutory operational scope of the NDDC.

    The NDDC refused to provide accounting records for some of its projects and activities, Jemide said.

    He said: “The committee would, like to draw Your Excellency’s attention to the following critical issues in the reports: The abandonment of a large number of projects and the refusal of NNDC to address the issue of abandoned projects with no evidence of any attempt to recover the funds using appropriate government agencies such as EFCC and ICPC.”

    “The failure of the NNDC, to complete all Civic Centre projects over an operational period of 12 years.

    “The failure of NDDC to complete all shoreline protection projects over an operational period of 12 years.

    “The failure of NDDC to complete all university hostel Projects over an operational period of 10 years.

    “It is noted that the Federal Government has allocated billions of Naira on the projects listed in ii-iv above and as spent these monies.

    “The unjustifiable introduction of astronomical variations on the contracts sums of most projects awarded by the NDDC over short periods of time.

    “The deliberate exclusion of some mega projects from the list of projects submitted to the Presidential Monitoring Committee for evaluation.

    “The refusal of NDDC to sanction incompetent contractors such as Fountain Construction Company Ltd handling the Eket-Ibeno road in Akwa Ibom State.

    “It was noted that the incompetence of this contractor led to the strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Mobil Producing Nigeria Branch (PENGASSAN-MPN) on August 28, last year.”

    On the abandonment of projects, he said: “Specifically, I wish to report to Mr. President that 609 projects spread across the three states were physically inspected and evaluated.

    “Of the 609 projects monitored, 222 (36.5%) were completed, 102 (16.7%) were on-going and 285 (46.8%) were abandoned.

    “The monitoring of 1,510 projects for the period 2005-2011 in the remaining six NDDC states has been completed and the reports are being compiled for submission”.

    President Jonathan promised that the government will look into the report and take appropriate steps to ensure development of the region.

    He said: “I can assure that government is going to look into the report and the summary statement you have made and we will see all we can do for the development of NDDC.

    “I think the report is from 2004 to 2011 that means that that the report of 2011 is yet to come in and that concerns the present leadership of NDDC.

    “What it means is that we have issues in the NDDC. The NDDC was set up because of the militancy in the Niger Delta.

    “Government will look into some of these issues raised and look at what led to the abandonment of projects, the issues of variations and we will find out whether those variations are done in line with the laws.

    “We will also look at the issue of renovation of Port-Harcourt Club because it is privately owned and it was renovated by the NDDC.

    “But from what I have heard it is like there was no interface between the management and the committee and that will even give us a little more work to do.

    “I believe that these are human factors that will be dealt with as we progress, but most especially I have to thank you for the report.”

     

     

     

    vers, Cross River abandoned

    •Jonathan: mismanagement of NDDC fund unacceptable

  • Presidential order on hostage rescue

    Presidential order on hostage rescue

    As far as orders go, President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive to the security forces to locate and rescue the seven foreigners abducted by the Ansaru Islamist sect on Sunday in Bauchi State is an indication of concern and eagerness for a quick resolution of the hostage crisis. Ansaru, otherwise called Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis- Sudan (JAMBS), a splinter group of the more well-known Boko Haram sect, has carried out a few abductions and terrorist attacks that ended badly for security agencies. The sect, whose name is translated as “the Group that dedicates itself to helping Muslims in Africa,” had in January claimed responsibility for the attack on a convoy of Mali-bound Nigerian soldiers near Okene in Kogi State. It also proudly claimed responsibility for the attack on the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) office near Abuja in November 2012. In May 2011, the group, still in metamorphosis at the time, was believed to be responsible for the abduction of Messrs Chris McManus, a Briton, and Franco Lamolinara, an Italian. Both hostages, who worked for a foreign construction company in Northern Nigeria, were killed in a botched rescue carried out by a combined team of Nigerian and British forces in March 2012 near Sokoto.

    Two months later in Kano, an attempt by Nigerian Special Forces team to free a German engineer, Edgar Fritz Raupach, also went horribly wrong, leading to the killing of the expatriate and some of his abductors. It was also believed that the same Ansaru group was responsible for that abduction, especially as Boko Haram had disavowed kidnapping as a terror weapon. Perhaps, the Kano debacle was at the back of the minds of Ansaru leaders when they darkly hinted to Nigerian security agents that any attempt to carry out a rescue operation in the recent abductions was likely to end in failure.

    The botched rescue in Sokoto and Kano led Hardball to ask the Nigerian forces to declare a unilateral moratorium on hostage rescue. In the June 4, 2012 piece, Hardball had declared: “It is apparent that Nigerian security forces have not yet acquired the know-how of rescuing hostages. The spectacular failure of the Sokoto rescue effort, which involved British Special Forces, should have informed Nigeria of the need to exercise restraint in the Kano hostage case. That restraint was not observed. In both the Sokoto and Kano rescue efforts, security forces attacked the terrorists with all they had when what would have guaranteed success were stealthy methods and surprise. The Kano effort, for instance, lasted for 30 minutes, and like Sokoto, involved the deployment of armoured tanks and overt troop movements. It is hoped this would be the last time attempts would be made to free hostages when the possibility of success is less than assured. Indeed, it is time Nigeria declared a moratorium on hostage rescue rather than continue to risk the murder of hostages by their captors. From evidence provided by security forces, the hostages in Sokoto and Kano were killed by their captors when it seemed the chances of escaping with the hostages were lost.”

    It is in consideration of the foregoing that this column views with apprehension the order by Jonathan that the hostages be located and rescued. It is possible that the Nigerian forces had learnt a thing or two from the failures of the past, and have probably acquired better equipment and skills. However, as Hardball warned last year, if the chances of a successful rescue are not high, it would indeed by unwise and politically costly to embark on uncalculated heroism. Unlike the Sokoto case where two foreign hostages were involved, and Kano where one foreign hostage was involved, the Bauchi case involves seven hostages. And unlike the Sokoto debacle where Italy was kept in the dark as British and Nigerian forces stormed the terrorists’ hideout, this time, Italy will take more than a passing interest in what happens to its abducted citizen. And with France intervening in Mali, hostage-taking may have just begun.

    In the end, the responsibility of taking action on the hostages lies with Nigeria. We must hope that the Algerian example of January 19 does not hold more than a fleeting fascination for the Nigerian government. In the Algerian case, where terrorists held more than 150 foreign workers hostage at a desert gas plant, Algerian Special Forces carried out a brutal counterattack to send a message that it would neither negotiate with terrorists nor allow a drawn-out siege. Consequently, 69 people died, including at least 39 hostages and 29 Islamist kidnappers in the effort to retake the plant. It was a heavy price to pay for a simple message.

     

  • In defence of presidential umbrage

    In defence of presidential umbrage

    If there is any positive point to be taken away from President Goodluck Jonathan’s on-the-spot assessment of the state of infrastructural decay at the Police College, Lagos, it is the fact that it indicates that after all, our President is far from being clueless as most of his critics would want us to believe. As should be expected, most Nigerians wasted no time in joining the bandwagon of Facebook and Twitter ‘abusers’, labelling Jonathan “clueless” all because he fingered his enemies as the brains behind the Ikeja Police College rot. And there lies my problem with the Nigerian electorate. They are simply difficult to govern. They complain over every step taken in the name of governance. They complain incessantly over the hilariously unique brand of good governance that our President exemplifies. Oh, come off it! You can accuse the President of anything but definitely not a charge of inability to handle all the problems confronting this country…in his own way. Surely, a clueless person would not have answers to all questions like he has been doing lately. Please, you may wish to have another view of the interview conducted by Christiane Amanpour where the President scored himself high on power supply, saying: “Power is one area that Nigerians are pleased with this administration. I prefer you ask ordinary Nigerians on the street of Lagos or Abuja this question.” Ha! Holy Moses!

    Question is: must we heckle for heckling sake? Or are we saying that the President should keep quiet while critics run him out of Aso Rock? By the way, I am of the opinion that Jonathan’s indignation against the media and the yamheads that allowed the filming of that great institution is justified! In fact, no one worthy of being described as a patriot would have allowed such sacrilege. What exactly was the television station trying to prove by showing footages of police trainees queuing to answer the call of nature in open and dirty spaces; scrambling to be part of a sharing ratio of 50 trainees per fish head; bathing in the open; adopting the ‘shot put’ method in the disposal of human wastes; and sweating for sleeping space in overcrowded, poorly ventilated and stuffy dormitories that could pass for an utterly unkempt prison in saner climes? Didn’t it occur to these dumb heads that these processes are deliberately designed for the trainees with the aim of getting them psychologically prepared for the arduous task of policing in the country and sadistically taming citizens in the open prison called Nigeria?

    They said the environment under which the police are trained is dehumanising and lowers the integrity of trainees. And I ask: how? Has any policeman complained to the public or has that affected the “your boys dey here” mentality? Besides, if the environment under which officers are trained were to be squeaky clean, would it have been easier for trainees to, with lightning speed, adjust to the real condition of the police stations and barracks? Or have we not given a thought to what it would cost the authorities to maintain a Shock Therapy Unit whereby freshly recruited officers would be lectured on how to cope with the ghetto lifestyle of police barracks should the government succumb to the call for an upgrade of the police colleges of which the Lagos centre is described by one of the interviewed senior police officers as “the best in the country?’ How long, really, can the pig last outside its stinking sty?

    On a serious note, I am shocked that Nigerians have refused to see the business sense in this whole matter. They dissipate needless energy on the social media, faulting the Otuoke-born leader for his “un-presidential remarks” by quipping: “This is a calculated attempt to damage the image of the government, as the college is not the only training institution in the country.”  They said he missed an opportunity to show leadership and seize the moment to explain what his administration would do to the correct the rot of countless years. Haba, what else do we want him to do? Has he not reminded us that he should not be blamed if he was annoyingly slow in correcting the decay he inherited from our long inglorious past? Has he not explained that these things take time and that 2013 promises better prospects of regular electricity supply, infrastructural development, employment generation and a robust security network? So, why can’t impatient citizens exercise some patience with our leader’s ‘Papa Go-Slow’ principles of leadership so that we can all benefit from the good luck that 2013 holds?

    Still on the fish head matter, a bird whispered to Knucklehead that some smart foreign investors are already asking questions on the magical formula being used in sharing the poor thing. Even Arsene Wenger, the coach of my favourite EPL club, Arsenal, would sacrifice an eye to learn one or two economic lessons on the Almighty Theory of feeding 50 men with one fish head. Yet, here in Nigeria, we are shouting blue murder. In the first place, must trainees eat fish or even its fins? In fact, we ought to thank the police hierarchy for their magnanimity in sparing the fish head to ordinary trainees while they manage the softer parts! For this great sacrifice, all they get as rewards are visible pot bellies. Oh, what a great sacrifice!

    Predictably, the Action Congress of Nigeria joined the fray for all the wrong reasons. It lampooned Jonathan for demanding to know how a private television station’s camera “penetrated’ the walls of a 70-year-old institution, with a collateral damage of exposing its stinking innards to the world. Playing the role of an unsolicited advisor, the party went to say that:  “Mr. President, those comments were totally unnecessary, and they put a damper on what would have been a great moment for you. Terrible as the state of the Police College in Ikeja is, it represents a tip of the iceberg when compared with the pervasive rot in police barracks and police stations as well as the generally poor welfare of the police.” What gall! Why should any unremunerated citizen or political party dare to render quality advice that seems to put them above dimwit fat cats in high places? Rot ko, eyesore ni.

    I wonder why Dr. Doyin Okupe has not taken exception to this outright fallacy by the ACN. Yes, our policing system may not be the best in West Africa but it is definitely not the worst. All it takes for the government to prove this is to commission a high-powered committee to understudy policing in the sub-region; submit a report to be examined by another white-paper drafting committee; and leave the razzmatazz of the great findings to Minister Labaran Maku to handle! For a man who conveniently maintained a permanent smirk on his face while announcing a magical 80 per cent daily electricity supply in all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria in 2012, dabbing the police rot with sweet-smelling fragrance should be a piece of cake for Nigeria’s innovative Information Minister! Even if the result turns out to be negative, I doubt if that should be a veritable ground for making a “calculated attempt to damage the image of an administration’s” transformation agenda?

    And so, Mr. Jonathan was right on point for lashing out at those whose calculators only work to perfection whenever the subject was an assessment of his performance in government. His riotous outrage is not without validation. Why were those cameras not focused on the millions of jobs that have been created since Jonathan became President? Why can’t the affected television station zoom its camera on the smiling faces of in-patients at our hospitals as they receive qualitative treatment from doctors who no longer go on strike? Why, for crying out loud, can’t they run a documentary on the historically unique state of our public schools and juice it up with the stories relating to the world standard graduates that we now bake here at home? Didn’t they know that parents no longer send their children to Ghana and Togo for secondary and tertiary education? Have they not seen the high reduction in the money being wasted on medical tourism? Were they not there when the First Lady visited Iginla Hospital for medical check-up only to make a brief shuttle to Wiesbaden, Germany to collect the result? How about the transformation of Nigeria into an investors’ paradise in the face of explosive insecurity? Why are these ungrateful Nigerians courting the rage of Jonathan by directing their camera lens on the activities of a ‘local terror group’ called Boko Haram, an insignificant institution like the police college or the corruptive tendencies of some bad apples in high places?

    Why are they drawing the President’s ire needlessly? Why are these persons confusing our rulers since it is mutually agreed that they are yet to be blessed with true leaders. They make all the right noise about voters’ power but hardly make wise use of it on Election Day. They sell their votes for a pot of porridge and still have the balls to demand for accountability from the one who bought their conscience. They want to eat their cake and still have it as takeaway.  Why can’t they understand the unwritten code of the deadly game and join the bandwagon of those who applaud blind larceny. Why can’t they settle for the usual crumbs and watch as the nation slides further into egregious rot? Why?

  • Obama or Romney? Five scenarios that could affect outcome of US presidential election

    Obama or Romney? Five scenarios that could affect outcome of US presidential election

    The memory of 2000 hangs over next Tuesday’s election. Could we wake up on Wednesday with the result undecided? Ed Pilkington reports.

     

    The memory of Bush versus Gore will be hanging over next Tuesday’s election like a black cloud. Could it be possible that, as in 2000, we wake up on Wednesday morning with the next occupant of the White House still undecided?

    Quite possible, says Professor Edward Foley, an expert in election law at Ohio State University. He estimates, based on his knowledge of the legal landscape and his reading of the polls, that there could be up to a 1% chance of the outcome of the election still being in the balance beyond next Tuesday.

    He goes further. He says that the US should embrace the possibility of a delayed result as a necessary and healthy part of the electoral process in the advent of a very close race. “Just because we are forced into overtime on 7 November doesn’t automatically mean we are in crisis,” he says. “Such uncertainty is not a reason for panic.”

    Here are some possible doomsday scenarios that could leave us still guessing next Wednesday morning:

    STORM SANDY

    As the fallout of the storm continues to play out across several north-eastern states, the question arises could major disruption to voting centres cause a delay. It’s possible, though highly unlikely, that Congress could pass legislation postponing the election. Federal officials have indicated that individual states should decide. Those most affected by the storm, notably New Jersey and New York, are so firmly Democratic that there is no doubt about their outcome. Virginia is the only battleground that has been heavily affected, yet latest estimates suggest power should be restored in most areas of the state by Friday.

    TOO CLOSE TO CALL

    It’s possible that a state whose crop of electoral votes could determine the identity of the next president – Florida with 29 votes, perhaps, or Ohio with 18 – could be so close that either candidate refuses to concede and demands a recount. Florida’s recount debacle in 2000 famously went all the way to the US Supreme Court and was finally awarded to George Bush by just 537 votes. It’s also possible that several states are too close to call, leading to a multiple agony of indecision. That happened in 1916, with America’s position in the First World War hanging on the election, when so many states were exceptionally close that Woodrow Wilson’s victory over Charles Hughes was delayed for many days. In 1876, four states were in dispute, pushing back the victory of Rutherford Hayes for months to the eve of his March inauguration. If a recount happened in Ohio next week it could delay the final result of the presidential race until 11 December.

    PROVISIONAL BALLOTS

    In an attempt to avoid the 2000 snarl-up repeating itself, Congress passed the 2002 Help America Vote Act to try and modernise the system. That has increased the role of provisional ballots, which are cast by voters where there is a question mark over their eligibility and are counted after election day. Several swing states – for instance Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Virginia – have had substantial numbers of provisional ballots in recent elections. The phenomenon is particularly acute in the key battleground state of Ohio where more than 200,000 provisional ballots were cast in 2008. Were sufficient provisional ballots cast this year in Ohio to put a close result in jeopardy, then the outcome in Ohio and thus potentially in the entire presidential race could be delayed until 17 November.

    ABSENTEE AND MILITARY BALLOTS

    It is conceivable that a dispute could erupt over absentee or military ballots in a very close race. Consider what happened in Minnesota in 2008, where Al Franken’s eventually successful challenge to the incumbent senator Norm Coleman was delayed by more than seven months by wrangling over absentee ballots.

    Colorado, Florida and Virginia all have large military bases and are therefore likely to have a substantial number of military ballots which could be important in a razor-close vote.

    A 269-269 TIE

    It takes 270 electoral votes to earn the keys to the White House. It is theoretically possible that there could be a tie between Obama and Romney of 269 votes to 269. In that event, the House of Representatives would choose the president in a ballot to be held in January in which each state delegation in the House would have one vote. The Vice-President would be chosen by the Senate. Pundits have had a lot of fun envisaging the remote prospect that Mitt Romney is elected Republican president with Joe Biden as his Democratic vice-president.

     

    Source: guardian.co.uk

     

  • Presidential sport retreat: NFF is corrupt – Gov . Amaechi

    Presidential sport retreat: NFF is corrupt – Gov . Amaechi

    THE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has been labelled as the most corrupt institution in the country.

    This was the verdict of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, who also called for the immediately dissolution of the board.

    The dissolution, the governor argued, was the key to Nigeria regaining its lost glory in football.

    NFF is currently being led by Alhaji Aminu Maigari.

    He spoke at the Presidential Sports Retreat with the theme: “Harnessing the Potential of Nigeria’s Sports Sector: From Playground to Podium.”

    Speaking on the topic, “State government and sports development” Ameachi said it was the high level of corruption in the football house that discouraged most governors from funding sports in the country.

    Ameachi who was articulating the position of the governors said the enormous corruption in the board prompted the then members of the Presidential Task Force in which he chaired, to recommend the dissolution of NFF and damn the consequence of the Federation of International Football Association banning the country for two years.

    He said: “We recommended that to stop FIFA from banning we should withdraw from international competition for two years. Let us come back home and start afresh. We will perform better later. Today what you have is an NFF that is corrupt.”

    He said what was sustainable was for the country to revive primary school sports and for the country to train qualified coaches if it wants to see result.

    Ameachi revealed that the presidential task force also recommended a total overhaul of the coaching crew in football. “We said that clearly the present coaching crew do not have what it takes to coach. We said they should be sent abroad for training while we hire a foreign coach to handle our team for a while just like Westerhof did.”

    Amaechi also listed bad implementation of policies as part of the country’s problem.

    “Part of the problem is the implementation. Mr. President you must insist on implementation else we will gather gain in 2015 to discuss sports,” he said.

    The governor further said he knew that State governors are capable of funding sporting activities if there was transparency.

    He said it was not right that public fund should be mismanaged as currently being done by some sports administrators.

    “Those who administer public institutions should do so judiciously and transparently,” he posited.

  • Jonathan consecrates new unit of presidential Brigade of Guards

    Jonathan consecrates new unit of presidential Brigade of Guards

    A Special Force Battalion, 176, has been inaugurated by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The ceremony was part of activities for the 52nd Independence Day Anniversary celebration yesterday.

    The others are 177 and 7 Battalions of the Presidential Guards Brigade.

    The Brigade of Guards is a special unit specifically charged with securing the President and the seat of government.

    The ceremony took place at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

    Minister of State for Defence Erelu Olusola Obada explained that the newly established 176 Battalion was to strengthen the Brigade of Guards and to make it more effective in response to security challenges in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    She noted that the ceremonial presentation of colours to the newly formed battalion was symbolic and could only be done by the President.

    The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said the ceremony was special and grand in marking the Independence of a nation.

    The media aide also stressed that the low-key celebration of the 52nd Independence anniversary was to save cost and not because of security challenges in the country as being speculated.

    He added that it was meant to allow for adequate preparation for the centenary celebration in 2014.

    Nigeria would mark 100 year of existence from the amalgamation of 1914.

    “The anniversary is also low-keyed this year, taking place within the precint of the State House.

    “President Jonathan has personally responded to the allegation that the event is being held within the State House by making it clear that in 2014, we will have a big event; the centenary of Nigeria’s celebration, since amalgamation.

    “A few years ago, we had the 50th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence and that was a big event.

    “The President’s take on this is that between that 50 year anniversary and the centenary of Nigeria’s amalgamation, we should have low keyed celebration. Those who are looking for celebration on a grand scale should wait till 2014 when we will have 100 years of Nigeria’s amalgamation.”

    The 52nd independence, just like the 51st anniversary celebration was marked with a ceremonial change of guards by the outgoing and incoming Quarter and Guards Brigade. There were also parade and military display by men of the Nigerian Army Brigade of Guards, inspection of fitness and weapons, a symbolic colour parade as well as band parade in various military tones and melody.

    The President, assisted by the Service Chiefs and heads of para-military agencies, released pigeons, which signified the unfettered peace and harmony of the nation.