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Attahiru Jega, the
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
yesterday said in Abuja that both local and international observers
would be properly accredited for the voter registration and the general
elections.

He told the News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum that: “We are going to naturally allow
observers both domestic and foreign, but there is a process of
accreditation. Any group that wants to observe will need to apply and
to be properly accredited. We are not, this time around, going to allow
anybody to just come and say that they are observers, we have to ensure
that there is discipline in that process,” he said.

He added that a
guideline had been developed for both monitors and observers, adding
that although the law did not allow for monitoring, the commission
could devise an administrative mechanism for it. “I think that some of
the problem of the past is that people were observers but they were
also assumed to be monitors and in the process they created additional
chaos and problems.

No constituency delineation for now

Mr Jega added that
the commission will work with the existing polling units for the voter
registration and the general elections because there was no time to do
proper constituency delineation.

“The former
commission started the process of constituency delineation but had not
finished it but we realised that there was no time for us to do it, so
we have decided to restrict ourselves to the existing polling units,”
he said.

According to Mr
Jega, the commission has done extensive harmonisation of the polling
units with the Geographic Information System (GIS) coordinating and
that about 90 per cent of the polling units across the country had been
properly mapped out.

“There are still
areas in Adamawa and the Mambilla Plateau as well as the creeks in the
Niger Delta and few places that we haven’t got GIS to coordinate,” he
said.

He expressed
concern at what he described as lack of internal democracy in most
political parties. According to him, “Our worry in the commission is
that it does not appear as if our politicians and the political parties
are learning the lessons that we ought to have learnt from our past
mistakes and past errors, unfortunately, these are being repeated.
Internal party democracy is very important in our democratisation
process and in ensuring that there is a credible electoral process in
place but from what we are seeing, there is a serious concern.” Mr Jega
expressed regrets that the commission was receiving complaints that
some parties are not following due process during their congresses. He
restated the determination of the commission to rekindle the confidence
of the populace in the country’s electoral process.

Part of this process is the decision of the commission not to use
vendors for ballot papers and by ensuring that ballot papers are
printed by the best security printers in the world. He said for now,
the commission has put a stop to the registration of more political
parties.

With about 48 hours
to the Delta State gubernatorial re-run election, six governorship
aspirants yesterday took the stage to let the electorate know what
their plans are for the state.

The apirants who
participated in the live debate were Onokpite Ogbe, of the Citizens
Popular Party (CPP); Veronica Bamuza-Mutu, of the All Nigerian Peoples’
Party (ANPP); Abel Edijala, of the Labour Party (LP); and Peter
Oghenevwogaga, of the Accord Party (AP).

There was also
Emmanuel Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the former
governor whose election was annulled by the Elections Petition Tribunal.

The gubernatorial
aspirant of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), Great Ogboru, sent a
letter to the panel that he would not participate in the debate.

The debate, which
involved questions from journalists and some members of the audience,
centred around the candidates’ manifestoes, infrastructural and
economic development of the state, and the aspirants were given 90
seconds to respond.

Plans for the state

The aspiring governors took two minutes each to reel out what they would deliver to their people if elected into office.

“This is a year we
are going to have tremendous change in the history of our state. What
Labour stands for is welfarism. We need a welfarist, capitalist
government that has the peculiarities of a welfarist state,” said Mr.
Edijala.

In his speech, the
CPP candidate, Onokpite Ogbe, who spoke with an American accent,
maintained that his aspirations would be focused on youth development.

“I’m running the
race because of you guys. My people have been suffering since 1999 and
that’s why I’m running this race. To assist my people. If elected
governor, I’m gonna work hard for the people. I’m gonna focus on
health, schools, and I’m gonna work with local government chairmen,”
Mr. Ogbe said.

On his part, Mr. Uduaghan stated that his development agenda would be two-pronged.

“When you are
talking of infrastructural development, there are two of them – the
ones that will attract investment like ICT, power, and industries.

“Another is social development, like schools and hospitals. The things that people need on a daily basis,” said Mr. Uduaghan.

The LP candidate,
Mr. Edijala, blamed the poor state of infrastructures in the state on
shoddy jobs executed by low rate contractors.

“PDP has been on
infrastructures in the state for 12 years. World certified
professionals have not been engaged and sub standard jobs are being
done all over,” he said.

Power generation

As an oil producing state, some of the aspirants admitted that the state should have no business with epileptic power supply.

Mr. Edajile
questioned the rationale behind the state government’s massive
investment into generating power only to transfer it to the national
grid.

“Recently, we have
spent N29 billion to transfer electricity to the national grid. We have
to fight as a state to ensure that the reforms in the power sector are
holistically reviewed,” he said.

Sourcing for
alternative avenues of power generation, according to Mrs. Bamuza-Mutu,
is the panacea for stable power in the state.

“I’ll look into
other areas that generate power: gas flares, solar plants, and gas
turbine. But first of all, we should state that Delta will generate
power independent of the federal government,” she said.

However, the CPP
candidate maintained that power is a federal affair and he would simply
work the federal government in that regard.

“I can’t say a lot about power right now until when I get into the seat,” said Mr. Ogbe.

Mr. Uduaghan promised to complete the ongoing Delta Power Project.

The debate also touched on other issues such as health, security, and wealth creation.

While the AP, ANPP,
and PDP candidates promised to create agro based economies, the
candidate for the CPP said he would invite his friends from all over
the world to help diversify the state’s economy.

On the issue of security, the LP candidate promised to borrow a leaf from Lagos State by partnering with the police.

“We have to do
identification of Delta citizens. A lot of people come from outside to
commit crimes. We are going to identify every Deltan, and if possible,
tag them. The technology is already there,” he said.

The ANPP candidate said that job creation, especially in rural areas, is the way out of security problems in the state.

While the AP
candidate promised to give the youth “hope”, the CPP candidate said
he’d work with police officers and local government chairmen.

The two-hour debate ended with handshakes and hugs between the gubernatorial candidates.

The Senate
Majority Leader, Teslim Folarin, was on Monday quizzed by the Police
over the gruesome murder of Lateef Salako (aka Eleweomo).

Mr Folarin, who
was at the state’s police command headquarters on invitation, was
interrogated for about three hours at the office of the state’s
Commissioner of Police, Baba Adisa Bolanta, before he was moved to the
Crime Investigation Department (CID), Iyaganku, to write his statement.
The lawmaker was accompanied to the police command by Lekan Balogun,
leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) coalition in the state,
Yekeen Adeojo and Wole Oyelese, both chieftains of the party and
governorship aspirants; Ayoade Adeseun, Chairman, House Committee on
appropriation, Sarafadeen Alli, former secretary to the Oyo State
government, some of the suspended members of the Oyo State House of
Assembly, and many other members of the coalition.

Police almost
created a scene at the command headquarters yesterday when some senior
police officers with the Commissioner of Police wanted to push the
lawmaker into the hilux pickup van that was to convey him to where he
was to give his statement. He was about being pushed to the pickup van
when Mr Adeseun and other members supporters insisted that he should go
in his own car.

Accusing the police of bias

Earlier, before
going in for interrogation, the crowd that came with Mr Folarin had
accused Mr Bolanta of working for the state governor, Adebayo
Alao-Akala.

They shouted him
down when his men prevented them from going in with Mr Folarin to his
office, saying nothing must happen to him.

Journalists
waiting for information were prevented from coming close by the police
as he was driven out of the premises in company of some senior police
officers and their subordinates.

Speaking with
pressmen at the command’s headquarters, Mr Balogun said they had to
come with the Senator to show their solidarity as one of them.

He said he still maintains his stand that the CP was placing his interest above his professional calling.

According to him,
what he witnessed at the meeting between his team and that of the
police showed that nothing has really changed yet.

Until around 5.00
pm yesterday, Mr Folarin was still with the police where he was
reportedly made to give explanations to his alleged link with the
killing of Eleweomo, factional leader of the National Union of Road
Transport Workers (NURTW) in Oyo State, who met his untimely death
shortly after the local government congress of the PDP at Ona-Ara kast
Thursday.

As at press time,
it was not certain whether the senate leader will be detained or
released on bail as it was learnt that just as he was leaving the
premises of the state’s CID after giving his statement, he was
recalled, while some policemen were drafted to conduct a search on his
house.

NEXT also gathered that the police might bring him to court for prosecution today.

After last
Thursday’s incident, the police had withdrawn police aides attached to
the senator and interrogated them on what they know about it.

It was also
speculated that if he had not shown up yesterday, there were plans by
the police to declare him wanted today, probably, to embarrass him.

Since the major
crack within the Oyo PDP over the second term ambition of Mr
Alao-Akala, the murder of Eleweomo was about the major casualty.

A staunch
supporter of the governor, Eleweomo, reportedly led an army of thugs to
disrupt a session of the state House of Assembly where an impeachment
move against the governor was to be proposed.

Some of the lawmakers deposed to the move were injured, while the state House of Assembly suspended all of them.

The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP)
has challenged the federal government to explain its hurriedly shared
$1 billion among the three tiers of government on the eve of the new
year.

The Federal Accounts Allocations Committee had on
December 31 shared the money with the federal government, taking $458.3
million, the 36 state governments $232 million, and the 774 local
government areas taking $179 million. Also, the derivative states will
share $130 million.

In a statement by its spokesman, Osita Okechukwu, on
Sunday, the CNPP wondered why the FAAC meeting was “secretly and
hurriedly convened to share the money, regretting that the Excess Crude
Account (ECA), which is the nation’s safety net, had reduced from over
$20 billion as at June 2007 to less than $3 billion today.

“How can President Goodluck Jonathan account for the
hurried sharing of $1 billion to the three tiers of government on the
31st of December 2010? Of what urgent purpose was the $1 billion meant
for? Is it for politicking? Is it New Year bonus? Why was this meeting
on the eve of the New Year of the FAAC convened secretly,” the group of
opposition parties, asked.

The CNPP said it was alarmed because all indices point to less than
altruistic disbursement, adding that “it is highly regrettable to
finger President Goodluck Jonathan whose government is cap in hand on
borrowing binge, to covertly disburse ECA for political gains.”

One week and two
days after Jos, the Plateau State capital was hit by multiple bomb
blasts that claimed several lives, the Plateau State Inter-Faith
Committee has issued a communiqué condemning the incident.

At the Plateau
Special Task Force (STF) headquarters, located at the Hill Station
Junction along Tudun Wada, Jos, the secretary of the Plateau State
Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Alhassan Shuaibu, and the Plateau State
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) chairman, Mwelbish Dafes, spoke
against the segregation of Muslims and Christians, while expressing
condolences to victims of the explosion and reprisals that followed.

“We discourage
segregation, but rather call on the government to provide a conducive
atmosphere for both Christians and Muslims to continue to live together
as brothers and sisters in good neighbourliness,” the statement read.

The inter-faith
committee comprising members of the Christian Association of Nigeria
(CAN) and members of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) after two days of
consultation with the commander of the Plateau Special Task Force
(STF), Hassan Umaru, in the evening of January 2, 2010, denounced all
killings in the name of religion.

“We condemn all
forms of attacks and secret killings being carried out by criminals in
the name of religion and ask government to guarantee the safety of all
lives and properties. We hereby task the government of Plateau State
and all security agencies in the state to bring to book all
perpetrators of this evil and ungodly act,” read the communiqué.

Speaking on the
development, Mr. Dafes, said the failure of successive governments to
apprehend and prosecute perpetrators of previous crises that have
rocked Plateau State over the years is to be blamed.

“We’ve been asking
the government to bring these people to book. But we’ve not seen any
one punished. So it is the failure of the government. We as a church
are just the spiritual leaders to the people. We don’t have the power
of the law to prosecute,” said Mr. Dafes.

Both religious
leaders said they are committed to continue working together “for the
course of peaceful co-existence of all those who live in Plateau State,
irrespective of tribe or religion.”

Bamidele Aturu, a
lawyer, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to find a lasting
solution to the rising state of insecurity in the country or resign
from office.

According to Mr.
Aturu, the “news of the horrifying blasts by certain psychopaths in
Abuja on the eve of the New Year in which many lives were lost deserves
utmost condemnation by all decent human beings.”

He called on Mr.
Jonathan to “fish out the animals behind these despicable blasts or
quit the office immediately. He has our support to use maximum force to
bring the animals behind this serial human carnage to justice. If he
fails to do so, we would organise to throw him out.” “I am not only
shocked but appalled by the New Year eve bomb blast in Abuja; I extend
prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of this heinous
crime against humanity and the Almighty,” Mr. Aturu said.

He appealed to the
federal government and the FCT administration to thoroughly investigate
the act and arrest and prosecute those behind the bombings.

Also, an Abuja
senatorial aspirant under the Labour Party, has called on all
Nigerians, especially the residents of the capital territory, to be
self vigilant and observe three days fast and pray for the country and
its future.

He said that a
group, Abuja Ambassadors & Volunteers, has been set up to ensure
the call for the spiritual step of fasting and prayers and will in
collaboration with other civil society groups, make public its plans
for it and other political objectives towards his senatorial ambition.

Greed and a desire
to accumulate monies are factors militating against Nigeria’s
development, President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday in Abuja.

The President, who
spoke during a church service yesterday at the Holy Trinity Catholic
Church, Maitama, Abuja, also described terrorism as a global trend
which Nigeria is also experiencing as part of the globe, adding that
those behind the bombings were agents of demons.

He said , though
he hated to use the word ‘corruption’ to describe Nigeria’s problem, he
has no other word to qualify the desire of the people in highly placed
positions who do all to accumulate wealth, which their children and
grandchildren won’t even exhaust.

Responding to a
request by the officiating minister,Innocent Jooji in his homily at the
Eucharist service, asking the president to ensure that professionals
were appointed into their areas of competence for greater performance,
Mr Jonathan said this was not the problem of the country.

The President used
the opportunity to tell the congregation that his administration has
put professionals in key ministries but noted that if Permanent
Secretaries and Directors, who had been long in Ministries were
committed and ready to serve the nation well, the appointment of a non
professional to a ministry will not be noticed.

“I agree that round
pegs should be put in round holes. My administration has been putting
professionals in core ministries. This is the first time that a health
professional is heading the ministry of Health, the same with some
other core ministries,” Mr Jonathan said.

“However, what
makes government to excel is not the professionalism of ministers but
their integrity. What sets us backward as a nation is greed; where one
person takes so much money that he and his grandchildren cannot finish
spending. We should not accumulate what we do not need. We will do our
best to select professionals but one thing we need is the credibility
of the leaders.”

Believe in the country

He further appealed
to Nigerians to continue to pray for the country and have more faith in
their country so that the action of detractors like those planting
bombs will not deter the country from its march to greatness.“My new
year wish for all Nigerians is that we should walk in unity and not
discriminate among ourselves, with hard work and love, our country will
be great,” he said.

Mr Jooji
reprimanded those who are canvassing for military rule, insisting that
the worst civilian regime was better than the best military
government.“If those calling for the military are having hangover, they
should go and sit down”, he said, but advised politicians to seek ways
of economic and political emancipation that will attract development.

He also counseled politicians against use of violence during the elections, pointing out that violence begets violence.

The recently
reached truce between the two factions of the Enugu state People’s
Democratic Party will be put to test as the party will later today
elect its flag bearers for the Enugu State House of Assembly election
at a party primaries.

The deal was
reached between the two factions; Sullivan Chime’s, the governor and
Okwesilieze Nwodo’s, the party’s national chairman in Abuja,last week
Tuesday at a peace meeting mediated by President Goodluck Jonathan and
his Vice.Both factions reached a power sharing deal which gave Mr Nwodo
some level of influence in the state’s party executive while letting
the governor hold the major control. The one week old peace may,
however,collapse today as its foundation will be tested by the outcome
of the congress.

NEXT gathered that
though the governor’s faction retained the chairmanship of the party,it
also plans to ensure that most of the candidates emerge from its camp.
The governor’s faction controls most of the current political office
holders in the state including the deputy Senate President, Ike
Ekweremadu and the Senate spokesman, Ayogu Eze.

While the leading
faction favour a “return to office” (continuity) policy that guarantees
a return ticket for most members of the faction, Mr Nwodo’s faction
wants the primaries open to all interested aspirants,apparently to
inject new loyalists into the state power brokers’ cadre.“If any of the
factions accepts defeat, then there will be peace in the party, but
that will be difficult,” Clement Ogbonna, a neutral member of the party
said.

Controlled democracy

Mr Ogbonna said
although the governor has warmed himself into the hearts of the people
since 2007, he is still finding it difficult to hold sway with
emergence of Mr Nwodo as the party’s national chairman and his
subsequent increasing interest in the state’s party politics.

“You don’t expect to have a party national chairman from your state and he will not have any say in the party,” Mr Ogbonna said.

Patrick Eze, a
member of Make Your Votes Count, an NGO advocating for true democracy
in the state, however said the power tussle in the state is an
indication that the party is still very far from practicing internal
democracy and that PDP still practices godfatherism.

“If at all there is
voting in the congress, the delegates can only vote those either
faction have approved and that way, we still can’t get the best hands
in government,” Mr Eze said.