Nigeria Content Online

Amnesty
International has urged the Nigerian government to check the rising tide of
political, ethnic and religious violence threatening the April general election.

In a
statement issued on Thursday, Amnesty International said that so far, more than
50 people have also been killed since July 2010 in conflicts directly related
to elections.

According
to the statement, Human rights defenders, who will play a key role in
monitoring the April election, are facing increased threats and violence with
no adequate protection from the security forces.

The group
urged political parties and candidates to put justice, security and human
rights at the heart of the election campaign, in order to break Nigeria’s
nationwide cycle of violence.

Impunity

The human
rights group said Nigerian authorities have failed to bring suspected
perpetrators to justice, or to prevent further human rights abuses.
Investigations, it said, are infrequent and often inadequate and hardly anyone
has been convicted for the killings.

“The
Nigerian authorities must act to protect people’s lives and all political
candidates should denounce violence and tell their supporters to campaign
peacefully,” Tawanda Hondora Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Africa
said.

“Candidates
should tell voters what they will do to stop the senseless killings and improve
security and justice in Nigeria. The Presidential Debate on Friday 18 March is
an excellent opportunity to make such a commitment,” he added.

The
statement added that despite these deaths, there have been no national
campaigns against election violence, and very few arrests.

Mr. Hondora warned that “When no-one is
brought to justice for violence, this sends the message that you can get away
with murder.”

Poor investigation

“The
authorities have also failed to competently prosecute those responsible for the
Jos and Plateau State violence, and the results of previous government
investigations into reasons behind the violence have never been made public.

“The
security forces have reacted with wide ranging abuses such as enforced
disappearance, extrajudicial execution, and sweeping arbitrary detention,”
Amnesty International added.

In Borno
state, where Boko Haram has been blamed for attacks on security forces,
government officials and religious leaders a local resident told Amnesty
International that “After the killings [by Boko Haram]… they come and arrest
all those people around [the area]… Now, if an incident happened in an area you
will see most of the neighbours packing out of the area.”

“We were
taken to SARS [Special Anti-Robbery Squad], Abuja. It’s known as the abattoir… we were not
alive. We had no food, no water… One
cell held about 45 of us… There were five small children there too,” another
resident described his detention as a Boko Haram suspect to Amnesty
international.

The human
rights group is of the view that poor police investigation is undermining
efforts to bring suspected perpetrators to justice.

Meanwhile, the international organisation will
today launch a website, Eyes on Nigeria. The website,
http://www.eyesonnigeria.org, “employs new monitoring tools and technologies to
expose and visualise human rights abuses and situations in which human rights
are at risk throughout Nigeria, including through active monitoring of harmful
gas flaring in the Niger Delta region.”

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
in the April 9 election, President Goodluck Jonathan may not participate in the
presidential debate holding this evening in Abuja. The debate, which is being
packaged by NN24, will be held at the Transcorp Hotel, Abuja between 6 and 9pm.

The organisation had last Friday held the vice presidential
debate which was attended by Fola Adeola of the Action Congress of Nigeria
(ACN), Tunde Bakare of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and John
Odigie-Oyegun of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

Vice President Nanamadi Sambo, who is also the running mate of
Mr Jonathan, stayed away from the event.

It was gathered yesterday that though the President sent his
security details to the organisers to clarify issues relating to the security
of the venue ahead of the debate, he may not show up.

Spokesman of NN24 Presidential Debate Committee, Shagari Sambo,
told NEXT yesterday that Mr Jonathan may likely participate in the debate
because of the signals coming from the Presidency. He did not, however,
elaborate beyond adding that the event will hold whether the president shows up
or not.

Abba Dabo, the director of media and publicity of the
Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the PDP, said yesterday that the
president may not take part in the presidential debate. He said Mr Jonathan is,
however, willing and ready to participate in the one planned by the other
groups that are collaborating with the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria
(BON).

Wider reach

He told NEXT in a telephone interview that the one organised by
BON will have a wider reach, hence Mr Jonathan has decided to participate in
it. Mr Dabo added that the vice presidential debate organised by NN24 did not
have wide coverage and reach.

Mr Jonathan had made earlier pledges through his aide that he
and his deputy were willing to participate in presidential debates.

Ibrahim Modibbo, spokesman of the Nuhu Ribadu Campaign Organisation,
confirmed to NEXT yesterday that the ACN standard bearer, will attend the
debate.

“Yes, Nuhu Ribadu will be there and in fact we are looking
forward to this debate,” Mr Modibbo said in a telephone interview.

It was not however clear if the CPC candidate, Muhammadu Buhari
will participate in the debate. Both his spokesman, Yinka Odumakin and that of
the party, Rotimi Fasahakin could not be reached as their telephones handsets
were switched off.

They were believed to be in the campaign field with Mr Buhari,
who was in Kebbi and Sokoto States yesterday. But a source in the party
confirmed that the former military head of state is prepared to participate in
the event.

On his part, the ANPP flag bearer, Ibrahim Shekarau has
reportedly given his word that he will attend the event. Meanwhile, NN24, in a
statement yesterday, said the debate would go ahead today.

Mr Sambo, who signed the statement also said that accreditation
and seating arrangements have been reserved for about 40 journalists. The
presidential debate is coming ahead of another one being packaged by the
Nigeria Presidential Debate Group, which is billed to hold on March 28-30.

Unlike the NN24 debate, which will have only four participants,
all the 19 presidential hopefuls in the April election will participate in the
three-day event.

Also on Thursday, the leaders of the debate group reportedly
held discussions in Abuja with the leadership of the political parties whose
flag bearers are participating in the debate, to fine-tune the procedure for
the event.

During the vice presidential debate last week, Messrs Bakare,
Adeola and Odigie-Oyegun frowned at the refusal of their PDP counterpart to
show up, noting that it was a display of arrogance on the part of the vice
president.

The Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel yesterday said he is
still keeping some secrets close to his chest but will open a can of worms
before May 29, 2011 when his tenure ends.

Mr Daniel spoke at an event held at the International stadium
Sagamu to honour his administration. He told organisers of the event, the
Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools of Nigeria (ASUSS), Ogun State
chapter, that, “no amount of intimidation will stop your governor from standing
firm. And let me assure you that I will stand firm till the last day. By the
special grace of God, we will hand over the mantle of leadership to people that
you are going to be proud of. I don’t know who but God knows,” he said.

“There are a lot of people who want to go in through the
backdoor; they are the people who have gone to get kangaroo judgment. There is
no doubt that there was a lot of thunderstorm in Ogun State. Not many people
believed that we are going to be here till today. Even, as I stand before you,
those people are not relenting,” he said.

Speaking to the large number of teachers in attendance, Mr
Daniel declared that he has done his bit, pointing out, that “Ogun State will
never be the same again. There is no doubt that when a country or a state is
progressing, some people will not just understand the kind of magic we are
using. Let me assure you that there is no magic, but it is the work of God”.

For ₦2000 only

Mr. Daniel added that his investigation revealed that those who
booed him during the presidential rally in Abeokuta, the state capital, were
given N2,000 each by their sponsor. He said they have confessed to him. “On
Saturday, they hired some people. We have found out; they hired people to the
stadium in Abeokuta. The people that they hired have now come to us to confess.
Some of them from the Lagos State College of Education, Ijanikin; some of them
from the Polytechnic in Lagos confessed. They said each and every one of them,
they paid them ₦2000 each to come to the rally to come and boo OGD,” the
governor said.

Earlier in his welcome address, President of the teachers group,
Tunde Folarin, said the programme was designed to appreciate the governor’s
gestures to the teachers in the last eight years of his administration.

“Today is a day to show considerable appreciation for crucial
contributions of the OGD-led administration to we teachers, especially in the
Secondary School sector, so as to motivate you in your path of fulfilled
destiny,” Mr Folarin said.

After weeks of rescheduling, the House of Representatives
briefly mentioned the Petroleum Industry Bill yesterday but shelved the
long-awaited passage after lawmakers rowed over the planned deregulation of the
sector.

The members only considered two clauses of the 405 reviewed
clauses of the bill, on Thursday – the same number earlier examined by the
senate – which spells out the bill’s introductory remarks and the purview of
its contents.

But the lawmakers, polarised between the North and the South,
expressed concerns on the contentious deregulation of the petroleum sector – a
government plan now to be integrated into the bill- and whether Nigeria’s oil
wealth is owned by the federal government as stated in the bill or the
federation.

Northern lawmakers argued that the region will be worst hit by
deregulation since transportation of fuel products will raise the retail cost;
while lawmakers from the south, insisted that the policy will serve the nation
best.

“I cannot sit here as a representative of my people and accept a
policy that will make the people of Borno State pay higher for fuel than people
in Lagos or Port Harcourt,” said Sa’adatu Sani, who heads the House committee
on Millennium Development Goals.

Southern representatives, whose members head the three
committees that turned in the PIB, responded that an open market will in the
long run introduce competition, combat high cost and as well dislodge the tiny
“cabal” that is feeding on government subsidy.

“We must be very clear, this bill is in the interest of the
country not for a particular section,” said Igo Aguma, the chairman of the
House Committee on Gas, which worked on the bill jointly with the committees on
Upstream Petroleum, Downstream Petroleum and Justice.

Ameliorating impact

As a safeguard, part of the projection is to site at least three
government-run mega filling stations in each of the 774 local governments
across the nation.

Again, lawmakers from the north protested the inclusion of a
clause vesting the ownership of petroleum in the country to “the Government of
the Federation,” asking that it be replaced with “the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.”

Both concerns were, however, overruled by the deputy speaker,
Usman Nafada, who nudged a lean plenary attended by only 15 members, to push
the final debates of the legislation before adjourning for another break.

“There may be difficulties when we start implementing them, but
over time I believe they will take shape,” he said. “For those who think that
the law is for a part because today we have oil in the south, the north too
will have oil.”

The House is to resume sitting April 19 after elections. Mr.
Nafada said the House, yet to complete work on other major bills including the
Anti-terrorism and Money laundering bills, will pass the long-standing
Petroleum Industry Bill upon resumption.

The expansionary tendency of the 2011 appropriation budget
passed by the Senate on Wednesday would yet again put the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) under to introduce liquidity tightening much quicker than it
ought to.

Razia Khan, regional head of Research, Africa, Global Research
at Standard Chartered Bank at a media presentation in Lagos yesterday said a
major problem with the outlook is that it gives a false hope that all is well.
“Raising recurrent expenditure creates an expectation that this is the amount
that would be received every year such that if revenue drops, it becomes
difficult to cut back.”

The Senate approved a budget of N4.971 trillion as against
N4.538 trillion presented by President Goodluck Jonathan. Out of the amount,
N2.467 trillion or 54.4 per cent was earmarked for recurrent (non-debt)
expenditure, while N1.562 trillion or 34.4 per cent is for capital expenditure.
“Such higher spending, everything being equal will lead to higher inflation.”

According to Razia, the budget outline does not add real value
to the economy as such huge spending on recurrent expenditure have shown in the
past. “Other African countries are making more progress than Nigeria in terms
of increasing revenue earnings as a percentage of GPD (gross domestic product).
The huge amount that we have seen and the increasing debt burden that is
required to sustain the budget is worrying,” she said.

More transparency

While Nigeria still holds much promise to investors, she called
for more transparency on how resources are allocated. “Another source of
concern is the run down in the foreign exchange reserves. You can see how
reserves rise at the beginning of the month and fall at the end of the month.
The uncertainty for investors is that it is not necessarily transparent.
Investors want to know about what the future risks are.”

She said Nigeria would need to pay more attention to its debt
market, particularly the sustainability of the debt level especially with the
figures approved for the 2011 budget just passed by the Senate. “Nigeria is
still within comfortable level but we worry about the rate of increase and what
the borrowings are for. We can’t look at debt ratio in isolation but how much
of future earnings of Nigeria are going to be ring fenced to be able to pay.”

Nigeria’s potential She however said Nigeria has the potential
to double the size of her economy within the next 10 years if it maintains the
current trajectory of 7 per cent annual growth in gross domestic product (GDP),
adding that African economies are the focus of many global financial players.
“The growth momentum in Africa has been strong. Perhaps, more meaningfully in
our view is that policy makers in Africa are reacting to the global financial crisis
themselves, using monetary instruments to address the issues.”

According to her, the youth dependency which used to be the case
in much of Africa is changing as many of the youth are growing into working age
due to a change in demography. “With the exception of Asia and the middle east,
much of the rest of the world are contending with an aging population.

She said the regulator would need to keep its focus on the
exchange rate in order to achieve a more balanced portfolio. Contrary to
expectations, she advised the CBN not to embark on huge devaluation of the
naira. “What we will not recommend is a big devaluation in the naira because
that will create more problems in the economy. It may lead to increase in
prices. There is nothing to stop the CBN from adjusting it up gradually in
response to higher demand. Why ignore the signals coming from the market. If
you keep supplying foreign exchange just to keep exchange rate steady and
demand keeps rising, then you are creating a situation which is simply problematic.
The band could move up to N151 for example. ” She said the plan by the CBN to
begin foreign exchange forwards may reduce demand pressure.

The CBN has said it would commence sales of foreign exchange
forwards from Wednesday, 23rd March, 2011.