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Work is set to
commence on a shipbuilding yard in Calabar, capital of Cross River
State, following an agreement signed between the state government and a
consortium of shipbuilding firms from India.

E. J. Williams of
Jones-Tech International Limited, the project facilitator, told the
state governor, Liyel Imoke in his office in Calabar that they have
assessed the shipyard to be built after clearing the land. He said they
were convinced that the project will employ over 5,000 Nigerians,
including artisans and various engineers when it takes off.

Mr Williams noted
that the project when completed will change the socio-economic status
of Cross River State, based on their experience in the business.

Calabar is peaceful

The project
facilitator said the state government will provide counterpart funding
to the tune of 10 percent, other Nigerians 40 percent while its Indian
technical partners will come through with the remaining 50 percent of
the cost of the shipyard, valued at one million dollars.

Mikael Lindholm of
ABG Shipyard Limited said they have undertaken feasibility studies of
the project as builders of one of the biggest shipyards in India and
are prepared to undertake a similar project in Nigeria.

He said West Africa
is ideal for such a gigantic venture because of oil exploration
activities, and Calabar being a peaceful city with vast tourism
potential is a suitable place for the project. Mr Imoke, in his speech,
commended the company for choosing Calabar as a location for building a
shipyard. He observed that as the headquarters of the Eastern Naval
Command of the Nigerian Navy, Calabar is safe for marine business.

The governor said
the envisaged shipyard will boost the shipping industry in the country
for various operations for civil and military use. He expressed the
hope that it will be concluded for the benefit of those in the shipping
business.

Security is soon to be beefed up in banks following the restoration of mobile policemen to all banks in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Commissioner of
Police, Akwa Ibom state command, Felix Uyanna, who said the mobile
policemen would be restored to all commercial banks in Uyo on Tuesday,
mentioned that the action was in linewith the directive of the
Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim. Mr. Uyanna made this known
when he received two Hilux Toyota patrol vans donated to the command by
the Uyo zone clearing bankers’ committee, a forum of all commercial
banks operating in the state.

He assured the
bankers of increased security to banks and its customers, stating that
with the new patrol vans and the restoration of the withdrawn
policemen, bank robbery would be a thing of the past. The police boss
challenged robbers to relocate from the state as they have no hiding
place, saying, “If we cannot get you today, we will get you tomorrow”.

It would be
recalled that Mr. Ringim in January directed that all mobile policemen
attached to banks and private individuals be withdrawn, adding that the
mobile force was established to deal with internal security issues.
Ebong Bassey, Chairman, bankers’ forum and regional business
controller, Intercontinental Bank who expressed delight on the
development said it would be a boost to banking activities as they had
been the target of armed robbery attacks. He said the decision of 22
out of 23 banks to donate the vans was to strengthen the efforts of the
police towards ensuring security in the banks, lives and property of
the citizens.

Meanwhile, the
police have confirmed the arrest of 16 suspects allegedly planning to
cause violence during the postponed National Assembly elections on
Saturday. Police Public Relations Officer, Onyeka Orji said nine and
seven suspects each from Etim Ekpo and Ibesikpo local government areas
were being held in custody on plans to instigate violence during the
aborted elections. They were said to be in possession of charms, native
gin and substances suspected to be marijuana.

Despite its
criticism of the Independent National Electoral Commision’s
controversial failed bid to launch the 2011 General Elections last
Saturday, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) insists calls for its
chairman, Attahiru Jega, to resign his post are unnecessary. It said Mr
Jega’s resignation will have a negative effect on the electoral process
and put the nation’s democracy in jeopardy.

“In fact, we would
like to note that if what happened on Saturday had occurred under
Professor Maurice Iwu, the election would have gone ahead nonetheless
and results would have been collated and announced, with or without
result sheets.” The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed,
in a statement issued in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Monday, said that
while the party was shocked at the poor preparations by INEC, it still
believed the one-week postponement would give the commission enough
time to rectify the problems.

“Therefore,
unfortunate and inexcusable as the failure of last Saturday’s National
Assembly election may be, it should not translate to calls for Prof.
Jega to resign or be sacked. Some of those instigating the calls are
not even doing so for patriotic reasons. In fact, we have it on good
authority that die-hard election riggers are not comfortable with Jega
as INEC chairman, since they see him as a stumbling block to their
fraudulent plans, hence would not mind getting rid of him by all means.

“We also know that
massive pressure is being mounted on INEC to jettison the Modified Open
Ballot system and replace it with the Secret Ballot system which some
unscrupulous parties see as a better system for them to perpetrate
their rigging plans. We say no to this, and warn that any attempt to
get rid of Jega and replace him with a pliable INEC Chairman will be
resisted,” Mr Mohammed said.

Questions for Jega

The party however
challenged Mr Jega to rise up to the occasion and work hard to meet the
yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians for a successful election. While
searching for answers from the commission, the party asked: “How will
INEC rectify the problems of multiple symbols, like those of AC and the
ACN appearing side by side on the same ballot? What about parties whose
symbols were not even on the ballot?

It also wants to
know if INEC has been able to fully retrieve the ballot papers sent out
on Saturday for the National Assembly elections and if it can assure
Nigerians that the ballots have neither fallen into the wrong hands nor
been printed by unscrupulous politicians?

The fear of that
eventuality also makes the party wonder if the commission intends to
use the same ballots as the ones deployed for Saturday’s ill-fated
poll, “how does INEC rectify a situation whereby some of those ballots
have found their way into some Government Houses, as is being alleged
in certain quarters?” Meanwhile, the electoral body has, on its Twitter
page, reiterated plans to ensure that all ballot papers already
distributed or used are retrieved to its headquarters, checked and
recorded as proof of evidence, after which they would be destroyed.

President Barack
Obama launched his 2012 re-election campaign on Monday, framing his
final stint as a candidate as an effort to cement and expand the
policies he has enacted from the White House.

Mr Obama, a
Democrat who won a sweeping victory over Republican Senator John McCain
in 2008 with a message of change, said in a low-key email to supporters
that he was filing papers to start his re-election bid in a formal way.

“So even though I’m
focused on the job you elected me to do, and the race may not reach
full speed for a year or more, the work of laying the foundation for
our campaign must start today,” he said in the email.

“We’ve always known that lasting change wouldn’t come quickly or easily. …

But as my
administration and folks across the country fight to protect the
progress we’ve made — and make more — we also need to begin
mobilising for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin
campaigning in earnest.” As president, Mr Obama secured an overhaul of
the healthcare system and financial regulation.

He has already
started fundraising for Democrats in recent weeks. Filing papers with
the Federal Election Commission will allow Mr Obama to fill his own
campaign coffers directly as well.

Political observers expect the Obama campaign to raise an unprecedented $1 billion for the race.

Mr Obama raised a record $750 million to win the 2008 election while running as a senator from Illinois.

A handful of
potential Republican challengers including former Massachusetts
Governor Mitt Romney and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty are laying the
groundwork for their own campaigns but none of them has formally
announced a candidacy.

Early polls show Mr Obama leading potential Republican rivals.

Focus shift?

Mr Obama’s
announcement could generate criticism that he is switching attention
too early to his re-election hopes. The low-key nature of his
announcement seemed designed to rebuff that criticism.

The president is in
the middle of a budget battle with congressional Republicans and has
focused his message in recent weeks on reducing U.S. dependence on
foreign oil and investing in innovation and education — themes he
likely will highlight in his bid to hold on to the White House next
year.

Mr Obama also has defended U.S. military intervention in Libya.

Republicans say Mr
Obama’s policies to boost the economy and expand healthcare coverage
are too expensive. They are pressing Democrats to make deep spending
cuts to shrink the deficit, another issue that could play a crucial
role in the campaign.

Mr Obama’s email,
which closed with a button labeled “donate” that linked to his campaign
website, said his 2012 bid would have to be more innovative than his
successful 2008 organisation.

“In the coming
days, supporters like you will begin forging a new organization that
we’ll build together in cities and towns across the country,” he said
in the note. REUTERS

Gaddafi forces
using tanks and snipers are carrying out a “massacre” in Misrata with
corpses on the streets and hospitals full of the wounded, evacuees
said, with one describing the besieged city as “hell”.

Misrata, Libya’s
third city, rose up with other towns against Muammar Gaddafi’s rule in
mid-February, and it is now under attack by government troops after a
violent crackdown put an end to most protests elsewhere in the west of
the country.

“You have to visit
Misrata to see the massacre by Gaddafi,” said Omar Boubaker, a
40-year-old engineer with a bullet wound to the leg, brought to the
Tunisian port of Sfax by a French aid group. “Corpses are in the
street. Hospitals are overflowing.” Stalemate on the frontline of
fighting in eastern Libya, defections from Gaddafi’s inner circle and
the plight of civilians caught in fighting or facing food and fuel
shortages prompted a flurry of diplomatic contacts to find a solution
to the civil war.

But the evacuees from Misrata had more immediate concerns.

“I could live or
die but I am thinking of my family and friends who are stranded in the
hell of Misrata,” said tearful evacuee Abdullah Lacheeb, who had
serious injuries to his pelvis and stomach and a bullet wound in his
leg.

“Imagine, they use
tanks against civilians. He (Gaddafi) is prepared to kill everyone
there … I am thinking of my family.” Swathed in bandages, evacuees
gave some of the most detailed accounts yet of conditions in Misrata,
the last major rebel-held city in western Libya which recalled sieges
of town and cities in the Bosnian conflict.

U.N.-mandated air
strikes to protect civilians have so far failed to halt attacks by the
Libyan army, which residents said stationed snipers on rooftops and
fired mortars and artillery at populated areas of the city with
devastating effect.

Libyan officials
deny attacking civilians in Misrata, saying they are fighting armed
gangs linked to al Qaeda. Accounts from Misrata cannot be independently
verified as Libyan authorities are not allowing journalists to report
freely from there.

A rebel spokesman said the city was shelled on Monday.

“The shelling
started in the early hours of the morning and it’s continuing, using
mortars and artillery. This is pure terrorism. The shelling is
targeting residential areas,” the spokesman, called Gemal, told Reuters
by telephone, adding:

“We know there are casualties but I don’t know how many.”

Thousands left behind

A Turkish ship that
sailed into Misrata to rescue 250 wounded was protected by Turkish
warplanes and warships and had to leave in a hurry after thousands
pressed forward on the dock, pleading to be evacuated.

Another ship
operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres docked in Sfax in Tunisia with 71
wounded from Misrata. Many had bullet wounds and broken limbs. One
person’s face was totally disfigured by burns.

Fears of a massacre
in Misrata are helping to propel efforts this week to try and secure a
ceasefire in the North African oil-producing desert state. Sfax echoed
to the sound of sirens as a stream of ambulances ferried the wounded to
hospital.

“We cannot do
anything against this massacre any more. We ask the Americans and the
Europeans to put people on the ground and help us end these crimes,”
said another injured man, Imed.

REUTERS

Former Bishop of Akure Diocese of the
Anglican Communion and a member of the National Democratic Coalition
(NADECO), Emmanuel Bolanle Gbonigi, has described the cancellation of
the National Assembly election by the Independent National Electoral
Comission as a national disaster. Mr. Gbonigi, however, expressed
sympathy with the INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega, whom he described as a
man of humility and integrity. “I symphatise with INEC and its
chairman, Jega, because up till now, I am convinced that he has done
his very best. By this unfortunate situation, I imagine that his heart
is bleeding, because the situation is the opposite of what he stood
for. “He deserves our sympathy because over the time, he had proved to
be a man of integrity. He has apologised and accepted responsibility.
He deserves our understanding. He should take courage and not to be
angry to ensure that election takes place successfully,” he said.

Mr. Gbonigi urged politicians to take
it easy with the INEC Chairman and examine themselves on why they want
to contest for the election.

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Many Lagos
politicians believe the chairman of the Independent National Electoral
Commission, Attahiru Jega, did not tell Nigerians the whole truth
surrounding the cancellation of last Saturday’s National Assembly
election.

Fake register

“When Jega said the
cancellation was because materials were not available, I like you to
understand that it goes beyond that,” said Ganiyu Solomon, Action
Congress of Nigeria’s candidate for the Lagos West Senatorial District,
who was shocked that his name was not on the register brought to his
polling unit in Ilupeju. “He said he will tell Nigerians the truth; no,
he has not told us the entire truth, because in my polling units for
instance my name was not there. I am a candidate, and my name, in a
place where I have registered since I turned 18, now suddenly
disappeared. We had about 500 registered voters but INEC came with a
register containing only 153 names.”

He said such “grave
error,” having happened before to Chris Ngige of Anambra State, should
not even happen again, if the electoral commission is actually learning
from history. “This thing is avoidable if the verification exercise had
been done faithfully by INEC,” he said. “Jega requested for money and
more money, he was given. He requested for more time, he was also
given. He requested that the constitution be amended, it was done. He
asked us to send students home during registration, we did that.
Everything he asked for, he was given.”

The chaos

In many polling
units, the number of accredited voters was not up to half of number of
registered voters. In Governor Babatunde Fashola’s ward, 273 voters
were accredited out of 870 registered voters. In another polling unit
in Ikeja, 200 voters were accredited out of 828 registered voters. Many
voters claimed they could not find their names on the register.

Electoral materials
meant for Imo State were reportedly found in Badagary. In Lagos Central
Senatorial District and Ikorodu, Labour Party was also missing on the
ballot papers, National Conscience Party’s name was also omitted in
Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area. Tunde Agunbiade, the state chairman
of the National Conscience Party, said the voting that took place in
Lagos not only exposed the electoral commission’s ill- preparedness,
but also revealed a high level of irregularity. “If the election had
run as scheduled, the level of disenfranchisement and irregularity
would have been worse than 2007 elections,” he said.

Mr Solomon
complained that there were not enough vehicles to convey electoral
officials to polling units. “Why provide three vehicles to officers
manning about 300 polling units spread across a particular local
government and you expect them to reach there at 8am?,” he said. “So
they will be dropping from the vehicle as if they are in Molue buses.”

Mr Agunbiade wanted
“INEC to be completely independent by also providing needed furniture
for electoral officials” because the officials will “likely be
favourably disposed to whoever provides ancillary support and this may
be a source of rigging.”

More fears

Emmanuel Fadele,
the Executive Director of Justice, Development, and Peace Commission,
the largest indigenous electoral observer group, wants to know how the
commission will replace the used ballot papers. “We are worried
particularly over the security of the issued electoral materials in the
hands of various electoral officials who may collude with mischievous
politicians to perpetrate electoral fraud,” he said. “We are equally
disturbed by the fact that this can discourage the teeming electorates,
who trooped out [on Saturday], from coming out to vote during the rest
of the voting exercise.”

I would go out and vote for the
Presidential and Governorship elections, but for the National Assembly,
I have no interest again. I don’t know what is really going on in this
country so I would not bother going out on Saturday because there is no
point going there to waste my time.

–Esther Baiden

I don’t even know who to vote for. Right from time,
I’ve been confused about the National Assembly elections and I don’t
know any of the candidates. I don’t think I will bother myself on
Saturday. I’m not going to vote.

–Gloria Olorunyomi

As a Nigerian citizen, it is my right to vote. When I
heard the election was postponed, I was really disappointed about it,
but as a Nigerian, there is nothing I can do. I’m not interested in
anybody’s money to vote, but I will vote for the right person.

–Abdulkabir Salaudeen

I won’t vote. I went out on Saturday. They even came
to the place that I registered. I will vote for the Presidential and
Governorship elections but I won’t vote for this one on Saturday.

–Rachael Ogunseyin

I didn’t go out of my house at all on Saturday. In
the area I am living, I don’t have anybody that I should vote for. I
don’t have any interest in the campaigns for the Senate and House of
Reps. They are not doing anything. They just go to Abuja to go and
share the money in Ghana-must-go bags among themselves. There is no
need voting.

–Paul Oladotun

I am a good Nigerian and I have to vote. Nobody is
above mistakes. Jega has already explained the cause of the delay s so
we must give him more time. I will go and vote on Saturday.

–Tope Babalola