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The Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) will, today, release the final
figures for the 2011 voters register with only a marginal difference
from the provisional figures released on February 21.

NEXT learnt that a
review carried out after the exercise to weed out instances of multiple
registration and other irregularities showed less than one percent drop
in the provisional figure of 67, 764, 327 million registered voters in
the country. Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Katsina states have the highest
number of voters in the country, according to the provisional list
released by the commission.

Kayode Idowu, spokesperson to INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega was non-committal about the release yesterday.

“The law requires that the voters’ register be published 30 days to the election, so that is it,” he said.

He also said he
cannot confirm the difference between the figures displayed before and
that expected tomorrow since he is not sure of the source of our
information.

“I am not saying
the disparity will not be less than one per cent, but I cannot
corroborate because I don’t know where you got the figures,” he said.

Meanwhile, the
United States yesterday called for a prompt trial of Nigerians who
registered more than once as voters, saying such a move will prove
INEC’s commitment to credible polls.

A US delegation led by the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights,

Maria Otero and US
Ambassador to Nigeria, Terrence McCulley, told officials of INEC led by
Mr Jega, at a meeting yesterday, to make true the commission’s promise
to deal boldly with multiple registration.

Mr Jega had spoken
harshly against repeated registration by prospective voters, assuring
more than once that the commission’s registration machines have been
configured to detect offenders who will be prosecuted by INEC.

At a meeting with
members of the House of Representatives during the January
registration, he said only six people had been charged for the offence
after the first two weeks of the exercise, affirming that more
prosecutions will be made.

Ready to help

An official of the
commission who attended the meeting with the American team, who prefers
anonymity told NEXT that the issue of double registration featured
prominently at the meeting held behind closed doors.

“The chairman was
asked how the commission intends to deal with multiple registration and
although his response seemed satisfactory, they (American delegation)
specifically asked him to ensure those found guilty are punished,” the
official said.

Such a move, the
team is said to have advised INEC, will send a message that the
electoral body is not willing to condone fraudulent activities such as
rigging during elections in April.

The American team
also include: USAID Mission Director, Ray Kirkland and USAID Democracy
and Governance Team Leader, Minnie Wright.

Speaking to
journalists after the meeting, Solomon Soyebi, the INEC National
Commissioner in charge of Information, said the team only conveyed
America’s goodwill to INEC and their commendation for the efforts put
in by the electoral body ahead of elections.

But other sources said the US team made broad inquiries on how the
commission is preparing for the elections and how the US government can
be of help.

No fewer than 3,000
policemen have been deployed to the venue of the President Goodluck
Jonathan campaign rally in Ondo State today.

This is in addition
to the military personnel from the 323 Artillery Brigade of the
Nigerian Army drafted to the venue to provide adequate security. Aside
from this, anti bomb squad had been deployed to the venue of the event
to ensure that lives of people are safe.

The image-maker of
the Ondo State Police Command, Adeniran Aremu said that adequate
security would be provided at the venue of the rally.

He said the police will not hesitate to deal with anybody or group of person trying to foment trouble at the venue of the rally.

According to him,
“The police in Ondo State are poised to ensure that the rally is
successfully. We are not going to take chances as we are ready to deal
decisively with anybody or group of persons who may want to foment
trouble at the venue of the rally.”

The Publicity
Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party in Ondo State , Adeyemi
Adedipe disclosed that two former Commissioners in the state Yele
Omogunwa and Segun Ojo will officially join the PDP.

Mr Omogunwa left the cabinet of Olusegun Mimiko before the conduct
of the Primaries of the Labour Party over allegations that the party is
not ready to provide a level playing ground for the party’s primaries

301 passengers and 16 crew members of the British Airways who
left Nigeria from Lagos to London in the late hours of Saturday last week
arrived their destination about two days after.

The travellers, who left the Murtala Muhammed International
Airport, Lagos aboard a BA74 aircraft landed at the Tamanrasset airport in
Algiers around 2.30am after an equipment cooling exhaust in the plane developed
a technical fault, a situation which made the pilot of the aircraft to enforce
an emergency landing.

The media consulting firm for the carrier, The Quadrant
Company, on Monday revealed to NEXT that the affected passengers of the flight
have been evacuated from Algiers and have all landed at the Heathrow Airport,
London.

“A replacement B747-400 aircraft was sent to Algiers to pick
the customers up and they are all now in London with those who have connecting
flights already heading from their destinations,” said Chidiebere Onorha, media
representative of the Quadrant Company in Lagos.

According to the airline’s consultant, the travellers got to
London at about 9pm on Sunday, adding that they were transferred to another
aircraft with less Club Seats compared to the original one that took them out
of Nigeria.

“They were diverted to Algiers because Algiers is halfway from
here to London and the aircraft from London got there at about 4.45pm. It takes
about three hours from Algiers to London and the reason for their getting to
London in the evening was due to the processes of transfer from the original
aircraft to the new one,” he said.

According to British Airways, a number of passengers had to go
through downgrades upon arrival of the sent aircraft due to the fact that the
plane had less comfort in contrast to the original plane which took them out of
Lagos, Nigeria.

Meanwhile, NEXT could not reach any of the travellers who are currently in
the United Kingdom, as the carrier did not make this possible prior to press
time.

Reports that
Belarus has delivered three attack helicopters to Ivory Coast strongman
Laurent Gbagbo in violation of U.N. sanctions have not been confirmed,
U.N. diplomats told Reuters on Monday.

U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s office issued a statement overnight
saying that Ban “learned with deep concern that three attack
helicopters and related materiel from Belarus are reportedly being
delivered” for Ggagbo’s forces.

“The first delivery
arrived reportedly on a flight which landed this evening and additional
flights are scheduled for tomorrow,” it said. “This is a serious
violation of the embargo against Cote d’Ivoire which has been in place
since 2004.” Diplomats said Mr Ki-Moon’s allegation was based on
reports he had received from the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Ivory
Coast.

But U.N. Security
Council and other diplomats said on condition of anonymity that neither
the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations nor the Security
Council’s so-called Group of Experts that monitors sanctions violations
could confirm the allegation, which Belarus has denied.

A report from the
expert group (parts of which were read to Reuters by several diplomats)
said that as of Monday afternoon in Ivory Coast, it was “able to
confirm that no aircraft landed” that would meet the description of
Mi-24 attack helicopters.

However, the group
said there was a large military presence at Yamoussoukro on Monday,
indicating that they might be expecting such a delivery in the near
future.

“We’re trying to
figure out if this allegation is credible or not,” a council diplomat
told Reuters. “There’s a lot of confusion.” Diplomats said their
understanding was that the helicopters were being shipped in parts and
had not necessarily come directly from Belarus or with Minsk’s official
approval.

A post-election
power struggle between Mr Gbagbo and his rival Alassane Ouattara,
almost universally recognized as winner of a November 28 poll, risks
pushing the top cocoa grower back into full-blown civil war.

The 15-nation
Security Council had planned to discuss Mr Ki-Moon’s allegation on
Monday morning but they postponed those talks until there was more
information, council diplomats said.

The new Resident
Electoral Commissioner in Ekiti State, Hussain Pai, has called on staff
of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state to
work assiduously at becoming role models for their counterparts across
the country. Mr Pai said this in Ado Ekiti yesterday while taking over
the office from his predecessor, Isyaku Maigoro, who recently retired
from the Commission.

He said the staff
must see it as their duty to conduct free, fair and credible elections
in 2011. He said he hopes to build on the good legacies left behind by
his predecessor by ensuring that no staff of the commission circumvents
existing rules in the conduct of an election. The commissioner promised
to discharge his duties very effectively and ensure that the elections
were devoid of crisis. He praised Mr Maigoro, who was described by
staff of the commission as highly experienced and unbiased.

Earlier, Mr Maigoro urged commission’s staff to support his
successor and ensure that Nigerians are proud of their conduct of the
elections. He reminded electoral officers in all the 16 local councils
of the state and other top management staff of the commission to allow
the new INEC boss the benefit of their wealth of experience. “The REC
has a serious role to play in the conduct of 2011 , but his role could
only materialise if the Electoral Officers and other staff that are
directly connected to the conduct of elections are responsible and
alive to their responsibilities”, he said.

Dideolu Awolowo, the wife of the late politician
, Obafemi Awolowo praised the Ogun state governor, Gbenga Daniel for
contributing his quota to the development of the state.

She said this when the governor paid her a
valedictory visit at the Awolowo’s home in Ikenne, noting that the
Daniel administration has changed the face of Ogun State through
meaningful people-oriented programmes and projects in consonance with
the template of late Obafemi Awolowo.

The matriarch of the Awolowo family made
reference to the Free Trade Zones, renewal of critical infrastructure,
construction of roads and housing estates across the state,
establishment of a new university and polytechnics and development of
the grassroots. “You have touched the lives of the people of Ogun
State. The tree of good governance and economic development that you
have planted during your tenure will continue to grow. You have not
disappointed the Awolowo family; you have not disappointed the people
of Ogun State. You have succeeded in your present endeavour, your
detractors will not succeed in pulling back the hand of the clock of
progress,” she said.

Similarly, Ebenezer Babatope, former minister of Transport and long
time associate of the Awolowos who was also in Ikenne during the visit,
described Mr. Daniel as one of the prides of the Yoruba race who has
consistently followed the footsteps of Obafemi Awolowo in his deeds.

The World Bank at a
round table on armed conflicts on education, an event organised by
UNESCO yesterday in Abuja said the economic woes and sectarian violence
being experienced in some parts of the country are responsible for the
decline in the level of education in such areas. Speaking on behalf of
the World Bank, Senior Education Specialist, Tunde Adekola, in his
submission said: “Armed conflicts disrupt the education sector and the
learning process of children. The socio-economic uncertainties in the
country make many vulnerable to resort to violence.” He therefore,
urged the government to provide what the World Bank terms “social
safeguards and net worth to cater for the citizenry, especially women
and children who are the most vulnerable during crises.” Mr Adekola
said: “There should be a safety net for those that had contributed to
nation-building because everyone is susceptible to the uncertainties
and vulnerabilities in the system.” Also speaking, the Senate Committee
Chairman on Ethics and Privilege, Omar Hambagda, stated that most
crises in the country are more economic than religious or political.

Mr Hambagda traced
the Boko Haram conflicts in Bauchi and Borno States to inept political
leadership. “The council chairmen don’t stay in the office and the
governors are always globe-trotting, so when the SSS send security
report, the government’s response is inadequate and slow,” he said.

The deputy
missioner of the Islamic group, Nasfat, FCT chapter, Abdulkadiri
Apaokagi stated that the right of children needs to be protected during
crisis, just as he criticised the removal of religious education from
school curriculum.

The cleric
described religion as a mitigating factor in crisis reduction,
stressing that the absence of religious education in schools promoted
lack of respect for the sanctity of human lives.

Mr Apaokagi called on the Federal Government to increase the
budgetary allocation to schools, insisting that the nation has enough
money to surpass the United Nation’s recommendation on education
spending.

The battle line
seems to have been drawn between the two prominent child rights groups
in Akwa Ibom State – Stepping Stones Nigeria and the Child Rights and
Rehabilitation Network (CRARN), over the decision of the former to
sever all ties with the latter.

On February 18,
Stepping Stones Nigeria, an international charity organisation working
to defend the rights of the child, announced the termination of its
partnership with CRARN, one of its Nigerian partners. According to a
statement from the UK group, the trustees of Stepping Stones Nigeria
arrived at the “unanimous decision” following receipts of “a number of
unproven but very serious allegations” regarding the conduct of a
senior CRARN staff member.

The group further
stated that following CRARN’s failure to promptly and effectively
comply with its demands to suspend the individual in question pending
an independent investigation; they have ceased all forms of
partnership. “Stepping Stones Nigeria treats any and all issues of
child protection with the utmost gravity,” said Felicitie Holman, Chair
of Trustees of Stepping Stones Nigeria. “Following these allegations,
we demanded that CRARN immediately suspend the staff member concerned
and cooperate with a full and independent investigation as a matter of
urgency. Sadly, CRARN failed to comply and we had no option but to
terminate the partnership, in line with our Child Protection Policy and
Memorandum of Understanding. We regret that this action has had to be
taken; however we must ensure that all of our partners adhere to the
highest standards of child protection, accountability and transparency.
We will do everything in our power to assist any further investigation
into these allegations.”

‘Serious allegations’

While throwing his
support behind Ms Holman, the Director of Stepping Stones Nigeria, Gary
Foxcroft, said that the recent allegations against the CRARN staff
member and the organization’s failure to take appropriate action to
enable an independent investigation to take place necessitated the
termination of the partnership. “Stepping Stones Nigeria has invested
significant effort and resources into our work with CRARN over the last
5 years… We are in no way prejudging the outcome of this situation,
but we feel that swift action is required,” he said. “As Director of
SSN (Stepping Stones Nigeria), I have no hesitation in giving this
decision my full backing… We will now look forward to strengthening
our existing partnerships and develop new ones to help more children in
the Niger Delta access their rights and realise their full potential.”

When asked the
nature of the allegations against the senior CRARN official, Mr.
Foxcroft said, “We are not in a position to discuss the nature of the
allegations but we would like to emphasize that it was CRARN’S failure
to effectively and promptly respond to the allegations that resulted in
our Trustees deciding to terminate the partnership.”

A hidden agenda

Bassey Ukang,
CRARN’s administrative officer, said that plans by the UK group to
sever ties with them had been hatched over a month ago according to a
letter they received inviting them to a meeting in Ghana where one of
the key agenda was the termination of the partnership. “CRARN actually
did not buy this idea given the huge amount of money made on the heads
of Akwa Ibom children, mostly those from the CRARN centre,” he said.
“While trying to negotiate that, they came up with uncanny sorts of
allegations which they claim involved some key staff and want those
staff to relocate to an unknown place in Abuja while their phones and
laptop confiscated.”

CRARN said that it
appealed to officials of Stepping Stones Nigeria, who wanted to invite
European Union human right lawyers for an investigation, to consider
their memorandum of understanding before inviting any third party since
it is a matter to concerns children. “While waiting for their reply, we
received information from the Ibom Forum discussion group that they
have terminated partnership with us due to unproven allegations,” said
Mr Ukang. “Are they justified? We do not understand the instrument of
which they used in terminating the partnership because immediate
termination must take about three months while gradual termination will
take about a year plus.”

Seeking redress

The two groups had
borne the brunt of hostilities from the Akwa Ibom State government, as
well as court cases by Helen Ukpabio, a Calabar-based evangelist and
movie producer, over their campaigns against child witchcraft. “If they
say they have terminated (our) partnership, it is not a big deal but we
hope to evoke the spirit of the MOU (memorandum of understanding) and
that of the law to deal with the situation,” said Mr Ukang, adding that
there are over 200 children under their care. “So all the funds made
from publicizing the children of CRARN will be remitted to them and not
the other way round. If (they) terminated the partnership, where are
they going to use the money they collected on behalf of the children of
CRARN? It is a rash and hasty decision and an attempt (to) fulfil the
Ghana plans in disguise.”

Foreign powers
accelerated efforts to help oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on
Monday as rebels fought government forces trying to take back strategic
coastal cities on either side of the capital, Tripoli.

Mr Gaddafi’s forces
have been trying for days to push back a revolt that has won over large
parts of the military, ended his control over eastern Libya and is
fending off government assaults in western cities near Tripoli.

It is difficult for reporters to move around western Libya and reports of fighting were hard to verify independently.

But witnesses in
both Misrata, a city of a half a million people 200 km (125 miles) to
the east of Tripoli, and Zawiyah, a strategic refinery town 50 km (30
miles) to the west, said government forces were mounting repeated
attacks.

“An aircraft was
shot down this morning while it was firing on the local radio station.
Protesters captured its crew,” a witness in Misrata, Mohamed, told
Reuters by telephone.

“Fighting to
control the military air base started last night and is still going on.
Mr Gaddafi’s forces control only a small part of the base. Protesters
control a large part of this base where there is ammunition.” A
resident of Zawiyah, called Ibrahim, told Reuters by telephone: “We are
expecting attacks at any moment by brigades belonging to (Gaddafi’s
son) Khamis.

They are on the
outskirts of the town, about 5-7 km away. They are in large numbers.”
In the capital, Mr Gaddafi’s last stronghold, a Reuters reporter saw
about 400 people protesting in a square in the Tajoura district, an
area already partly outside his control.

Soon after, men in sports utility vehicles pulled up and fired into the air in an attempt to disperse the protest.

Sanctions

Foreign governments
are increasing the pressure on Mr Gaddafi to leave in the hope of
ending fighting that has claimed at least 1,000 lives and restoring
order to a country that accounts for 2 percent of the world’s oil
production.

The U.N. Security
Council on Saturday slapped sanctions on Mr Gaddafi and other Libyan
officials and imposed an arms embargo and froze Libyan assets.

European Union
governments approved their sanctions against Mr Gaddafi in Brussels on
Monday, implementing the U.N. resolution sooner than expected.

In The Hague, the
International Criminal Court prosecutor said he would finish a
preliminary examination of the violence within days, after which he
could open a full inquiry — a step mandated by the Council that could
have taken months.

France proposed an emergency summit of EU leaders for Thursday, EU diplomats said.

In an address to
the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State,
Hillary Clinton said Mr Gaddafi was using “mercenaries and thugs” to
suppress his own people and said the Libyan leader must step down
immediately.

“Gaddafi and those
around him must be held accountable for these acts, which violate
international legal obligations and common decency,” Mrs Clinton said,
adding that nothing was off the table as the international community
considers its next steps.

A U.S. official in
Geneva said a central aim of sanctions was to “send a message not only
to Gaddafi … but to the people around Gaddafi, who are the ones we’re
really seeking to influence”.

German Foreign
Minister, Guido Westerwelle said after meeting Mrs Clinton that he was
proposing a 60-day freeze on money transfers to Libya, and believed
other countries were open to the idea.

“We must do
everything to ensure that no money is going into the hands of the
Libyan dictator’s family, and that they have no opportunity to hire new
foreign soldiers to repress their people,” he said.

But there was less
support among foreign ministers in Geneva for an Australian proposal to
stop Mr Gaddafi’s forces attacking rebels from the air.

Asked if he had
discussed a no-fly zone in his meeting with Mrs Clinton, Russian
Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov retorted: “Absolutely not. It was not
mentioned by anyone.”

Resentment

Revolutions in
neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt have helped to ignite resentment of four
decades of often bloody political repression under Mr Gaddafi as well
as his failure to use Libya’s oil wealth to tackle widespread poverty
and lack of opportunity.

The 68-year-old leader has vowed to fight to the death, but a spokesman struck a new, conciliatory tone on Monday.

Mussa Ibrahim told
reporters in Tripoli that government forces had fired on civilians, but
said this was because they were not trained to deal with civilian
unrest.

He said the
government was still in control of Zawiyah, even though reporters who
were taken there at the weekend saw a town centre under rebel control.

“What you saw was
only the centre,” he said. “We allowed, we let these people with their
guns to stand there. Zawiyah has not fallen. The government could have
easily killed them and has not done so, because the government has not
been not bloody.” He said the revolt had “started as a genuine peaceful
movement.”

“We also believe it
is time for change,” he said. “But this movement has been hijacked by
the West … and by Islamic militants.” Regional experts expect rebels
eventually to take the capital and kill or capture Mr Gaddafi, but add
that he has the firepower to foment chaos or civil war — a prospect he
and his sons have warned of.

In the eastern city
of Benghazi, opponents of Mr Gaddafi said they have formed a National
Libyan Council to be the “face” of the revolution. They said they
wanted no foreign intervention and had not made contact with foreign
governments.

Oil

Opposition forces are largely in control of Libya’s oil facilities, which are mostly located in the east.

Fatih Birol, chief
economist of the International Energy Agency, told Reuters Insider TV
in Paris that industry reports suggested Libya’s oil output had been
halved.

Bank of America,
Merrill Lynch estimated in a note to clients that Libya was losing
about 1.2 million barrels per day, or 75 percent of its pre-revolt
output, and said the unrest could mean Libyan supplies were unavailable
for months.

Industry sources said actual shipments were at a standstill.

Benchmark Brent oil futures were slightly lower at just under $112 a barrel.

Wealthy states have
sent planes and ships to bring home expatriate workers but many more,
from poorer countries, are stranded. Thousands of Egyptians have been
streaming into Tunisia, complaining that Cairo has done nothing to help
them.

The United Nations
refugee agency said on Sunday nearly 100,000 people have fled violence
in Libya in the past week in a growing humanitarian crisis.

Democratic Republic
of Congo has arrested more than 30 people after a group of armed men
attacked the residence of President Joseph Kabila in a suspected coup
bid, authorities said on Monday.

Information
Minister Lambert Mende said seven people were killed during the
fighting that followed Sunday’s attack on Mr Kabila’s Kinshasa
residence, up from an initial toll of six.

Mr Mende said
around sixty men armed with light weapons, rocket propelled grenades
and machetes attempted to break into Mr Kabila’s house but were
repelled by the Republican Guard, one of whom was seriously injured.
Fighting then spread to a nearby army base before calm was restored.

“At the moment we
have no idea (why this happened) but there are lots of rumours,” Mr
Mende said in an interview, adding it was not clear whether there was
foreign involvement.

Mr Mende said some
of the attackers appeared to have military training but he denied
suggestions that the attack had been carried out by members of the
Republican Guard who were unhappy with their living conditions.

A presidential source said on Sunday that Mr Kabila was not in the residence when the attack happened and that he was safe.

Mr Kabila came to
power when his father was assassinated in 2001. He faces presidential
and parliamentary elections in November this year, the second such
polls since the official end of the 1998-2003 war.

In a controversial
January 15 move, parliament backed proposals by Mr Kabila to reduce the
presidential vote to a single round, getting rid of the possibility of
a run-off between the two leading candidates if neither has an absolute
majority.

The change means the winner can claim the presidency with less than
50 percent of popular support. That is seen boosting Mr Kabila’s
chances of victory because of the fragmented state of the opposition.