Nigeria Content Online

President Goodluck
Jonathan has accepted to engage his main opponent for the presidential
ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, in a
political debate.

Though he said this
must be done at the instance of the party, he said he expected that the
party’s flag bearer and other candidates will debate on issues based on
manifestos rather than challenging each other as if to a wrestling
competition.

Mr. Jonathan’s 2011
political ambition took a step forward when he was yesterday
unanimously endorsed by South-South delegates to the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) national convention during a meeting between the president
and the south-south delegates in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

The delegates from
the six states of the region openly endorsed the Jonathan/Sambo ticket
as the best ticket. While thanking delegates for their support, Mr.
Jonathan said he was ready to take up the challenge of his main
opponent whenever the party deems it fit for them to meet.

“I am waiting for the party to invite me for presidential debate,” he said.

The president also
assured the people of the region that he will do his best not to let
them down, noting that whatever he does while in office will rub off
positively or negatively on the people from the south-south region.

He further noted
that he will ensure that he does nothing that will jeorpardise the
chances of others from the region in the nearest future.

“If I mess up, the
people will reject us (zone) completely, and this is why I have to do
everything possible to ensure that we do well as a government,” he said.

Working for progress

He reassured the
people that come March next year, the country will enjoy relative power
stability, as all the efforts put in by the administration should have
yielded tons of fruits.

The president said
after considering the other aspirants from the party, he is convinced
that he and his vice president present the best that will lead the
nation out of the woods.

“That is why our
administration is assuring Nigerians that if given another four years,
we would try and make the country better,” he said.

Mr. Jonathan, who
had earlier met with the chairman of Rivers State traditional ruler,
King TJT Princewill JP Amachree, Amanyanbo of Kalabari Kingdom, also
reiterated his plan to send to the National Assembly a bill that will
recognise the traditional institutions in the country.

This he said he
will do early next year. He asked the traditional rulers to contribute
towards the bill when the National Assembly commences public debate on
the it.

The president, who
also reacted on the Jos killings, said the situation is a national
embarrassment, adding that terrorism has become a global plague which
the government is working hard to tackle and make a thing of the past.

The National
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Okwesilieze Nwodo
yesterday warned officials involved in the on-going electoral process
in the party not to flout the guidelines spelt out for the process.

Mr Nwodo gave this
warning while reacting to issues raised by various aggrieved party
members, especially aspirants alleging irregularities in the process.

The party had,
during its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting two weeks ago,
approved the fresh guidelines for its State Assembly, National
Assembly, gubernatorial and presidential primaries. It also approved
panels to screen the aspirants and later raised appeal panels to handle
complaints arising from the process.

Mr Nwodo said that
the National Working Committee (NWC) will not tolerate situations where
officials or members violate the guidelines which the party had made
efforts to draw up in order to ensure a credible process.

He said that he has
dedicated a special telephone line (08060095007) to welcome views and
complaints arising from the intra party process across the country.

The party boss
added that barely 24 hours after installing the telephone line, he had
read and reacted to over 25 text messages (SMS) on the election across
the country.

Problem states

He listed the sates
from which complaints came to include Plataeu, Abia, Bayelsa, Oyo,
Anambra and Enugu. Others include Osun, Lagos, Delta, Kwara and Ebonyi.

Mr Nwodo added that
most of the complaints alleged manipulations by some party leaders to
thwart the will of the party members and some deliberate attempts to
exclude majority from participating and picking leaders of their choice.

According to him,
he has referred some of the issues raised by the complainants to the
relevant panels for attention and necessary action.

Mr Nwodo also
reiterated his determination to ensure that internal democracy is
allowed to prevail in the party just as he vowed to provide a level
playing ground to all aspirants.

The Resident Electoral Commisioner of
the Independent National Electoral Commission for Adamawa State, Kassim
Gaidam has taken delivery of over 8,000 Direct Data Capture (DDC)
machines, promising that the machines will get to every ward and the
2609 polling units of the state.

Security around the
INEC headquarters’ in the state has also been tightened following the
delivery of the machines. Visitors to the INEC office now have to be
subjected to serious security checks, a measure, Mr Gaidam said has
become necessary to ensure that the machines are protected from theft.

In other states
which had earlier received the equipment, training has already started
for staff on the use of Direct Data Capture machines ahead of the voter
registration scheduled to begin on Jan. 15. In Enugu State, the
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Josiah Uwazuruonye, urged the
trainees to be diligent and receptive to instructions.

He said voter registration is the starting point of the electoral process and should be taken seriously.

“Registration is an
important exercise, given the current political history of the nation,”
he said. “There is a need to get it right this time.” In Adamawa State,
Mr Gaidam told journalists that additional 2,000 DDC machines were
still being expected to be delivered in a second consignment.

He said adhoc staff
being recruited by INEC in the state for the forthcoming voter
registration exercise will be subjected to test at the end of the
training as part of measures to ensure that it got only the best hands
for the exercise.

Train the staff

A staff of the
commission said the office needs to make strenuous efforts to train its
284 registration camp officers on the use of the DDC machines due to
the late arrival of the machines.

At the Federal
College of Education, Yola venue for the train the trainers workshop,
our reporter gathered that the DDC machines which are suppose to be
used for the training a day earlier were only received today, the last
day of the training. A check on the venue revealed that some of the DDC
machines were already been displayed and ready to be used for training.

It was gathered
that the commission directed a shift in the close of the training to
allow for the trainees to be properly skilled on the use of the DDC
machines.

“226 official
registration area camp officers are being trained to preside over each
of the registration area centres of the 226 wards in the state,” Thomas
Umar, head of operations of INEC, said. He pointed out that 62 other
officials are taking part in the exercise.

Mr Gaidam, who re-stated the target of
his commission to register over 2million voters in the state in the
forthcoming voter registration exercise, noted that “there’s much more
awareness now about the forthcoming voter registration exercise.” He
promised to ensure that the DDC machines get to each of the 2609
polling units in the state, promising to put at least 3 DDC machines in
each of the polling units.

President Goodluck Jonathan has accepted the resignation of his special adviser on Niger Delta Affairs, Timi Alaibe.

Mr Alaibe had
informed the President in a letter that he is resigning his appointment
with effect from today to contest for the governorship of Bayelsa State
in the 2011 general elections.

In the past weeks, some ministers have also exited the cabinet with special assistants now towing the same line.

Until his resignation, Mr Alaibe was in charge of the amnesty programme for repentant militants in the Niger Delta.

A statement signed
by the special adviser to the President, Ima Niboro said following the
vacancy created, Mr Jonathan has appointed two other senior special
assistants.

The President
appointed Emmanuel Egbagbe as Senior Special Assistant to the President
on Infrastructure Development Matters and Saidu Yusuf Dutsi as Senior
Special Assistant to the President on Political Matters.

Until his
appointment, Mr Egbagbe, who holds a Masters of Sciences Degree in
Water Resources Systems Engineering from the University of California
and was the best graduating student of Civil Engineering at the
University of Lagos in 1977, was the Director of Infrastructure
Development at the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

Mr Dutsi, who holds
a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Administration from Bayero
University, Kano has held various elective and Public posts in his
native Katsina State. Until his new appointment, he was the Special
Assistant on Political Matters to the Katsina State Governor.

“Both appointments,
which take effect from January 1, 2011, are to fill vacancies created
by the appointment of Femi Ajayi (former SSA to the President on Social
Development) as Director-General of the National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency and the death of Polycarp Nwite (former SSA to the President on
Political Matters),” Mr Niboro said.

Mr. Alaibe later picked up the nomination form of Labour Party to contest the Bayelsa State’s governorship election in 2011.

He picked the form
at the national secretariat of the party where he was received by the
National chairman of Labour party, Chief Dan Iwuanyanwu.

His entrance into the race makes him the main challenger to the
incumbent governor, Timipre Sylva of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Nigerian youth have
been asked to actively participate in the voters registration and
voting exercises coming up next year so that they can elect leaders
with track records and integrity, President Goodluck Jonathan said
yesterday in Abuja.
The president, who
stated this during the National Youth Summit organised by the Federal
Ministry of Youth Development, said the future belongs to them and it
is their duty to ensure that they use their numerical strength to
effect a change by ensuring the country has good leaders at all level
of government.
Mr Jonathan said as
a former student and lecturer, he knows the needs and desires of youth
and promised that he will not disappoint them if voted into office next
year. The president, who was excited by the loud applause from the
crowd, said the ovation has rekindled his joy and enthusiasm and has
also convinced him that what the youth and the entire country need are
leaders that will turn their dreams into reality.
“You have made me proud of you and I want to promise you that I would not disappoint you,” he said.
He charged them to
always think of how the country can move forward instead of thinking of
things that will not benefit humanity.
“If you don’t contribute to societal progress, foreigners will not come and fix Nigeria for you,” he said.
Youth power
The Speaker of the
House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole said the problems the country
is going through today were caused years ago when none of those
gathered at the summit were probably born. To get out of the mess, he
said, youth should use their large population to effect a positive
change by voting good candidates into office at all levels.
“Nigeria today is
settling heavy debts that were incurred years ago due to
maladministration,” he said and suggested that the only way out is to
ensure good governance for the country. Mr Bankole advised the youth
not to allow themselves to be deceived by politicians who have nothing
to offer and challenged them to look at the achievements of this
government since Mr Jonathan assumed full office as president.
The Minister of
Youth Development, Akinlabi Olasunkanmi said the 2006 census put the
population of the youth at over 60 million and explained that if they
all voted, they can determine who governs the country.
“This generation of
young voters holds the weapon of change from old stereotypes,
primordial conceptions and entrenched cynicism,” Mr Akinlabi said.
Citing instances,
Mr Olasunkanmi said in the United States of America (USA), youth
participation at the ballot box progressively increased from 2006 to
date, noting that it is on record that over 22 million youth voted in
2008 to deliver a major power shift in the U.S,A , producing president
Barrack Obama, the first black man to ever occupy the White House.

The Katsina State government has budgeted N99.9
billion for its services in the 2011 fiscal year. The budget, tagged
“Budget of Fulfilment,” is higher than that of 2010 by N7.3 billion.

Presenting the budget estimate to the state House
of Assembly in Katsina on Thursday, state Governor,

The Katsina State government has budgeted N99.9
billion for its services in the 2011 fiscal year. The budget, tagged
“Budget of Fulfilment,” is higher than that of 2010 by N7.3 billion.

Presenting the budget estimate to the state House
of Assembly in Katsina on Thursday, state Governor, Ibrahim Shema said
the money will be sourced from the N52 billion Federal Revenue
Allocation and VAT of N5 billion. Other sources are N6 billion Special
Funds, N12.7 billion internally generated revenue, Capital Receipts of
N4.2 billion and the opening balance of N20 billion.

Mr Shema said N68.1 billion (68 per cent) of the
estimate was earmarked for capital projects, while N31.7 billion (32
per cent) was set aside for recurrent expenditure. He also said the
increase in the 2011 budget by N7.3 billion was based on realistic
computation of government’s revenue profiles, both statutory and
internal, as well as other expectations.

Describing the estimates as a “balanced budget,”
Mr Shema said the government will in 2011 complete all ongoing projects
and embark on new ones. He commended members of the state Assembly for
their cooperation and understanding, which he said had assisted
government in the implementation of the 2010 budget, and urged them to
maintain the tempo.

The Speaker of the Katsina State House of
Assembly, Ya’u Gwajogwajo, promised that the House will give the
proposal speedy deliberations and passage.

said
the money will be sourced from the N52 billion Federal Revenue
Allocation and VAT of N5 billion. Other sources are N6 billion Special
Funds, N12.7 billion internally generated revenue, Capital Receipts of
N4.2 billion and the opening balance of N20 billion.

Mr Shema said N68.1 billion (68 per cent) of the
estimate was earmarked for capital projects, while N31.7 billion (32
per cent) was set aside for recurrent expenditure. He also said the
increase in the 2011 budget by N7.3 billion was based on realistic
computation of government’s revenue profiles, both statutory and
internal, as well as other expectations.

Describing the estimates as a “balanced budget,”
Mr Shema said the government will in 2011 complete all ongoing projects
and embark on new ones. He commended members of the state Assembly for
their cooperation and understanding, which he said had assisted
government in the implementation of the 2010 budget, and urged them to
maintain the tempo.

The Speaker of the Katsina State House of
Assembly, Ya’u Gwajogwajo, promised that the House will give the
proposal speedy deliberations and passage.

More states in the
south-south geopolitical zone of the country will be taken over by the
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), in the 2011 general elections. This
was the view of a Delta State executive of the party, Adego Eferakeya.
Mr Eferakeya said this while speaking to journalists after the
south-south zone caucus meeting of the party in Benin City yesterday.
Mr Eferakeya said all arrangements have been put in place to ensure
victory for the party in more states of the south-south, just as they
said the party will meet Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC)’s deadline for the submission of names of candidates for the
elections.

“We should work hard so that we can win more states because, as you know, ACN is the only party contending with PDP,” he said.

“We also spoke
about the primaries that are coming up, the dates will be fixed very
soon but tentatively, we expect that the primaries of the Action
Congress of Nigeria tentatively would be on the 6th for the state
houses of assembly, 8th, national assembly, on the 11th, the
governorship and on the 15th of January 2011 will be the presidential
primaries. We have all agreed that there will be a meeting of the
national body that will ratify and some of these dates may change. We
are also looking forward to collecting forms of expression of interest
and nomination forms which you know are very essential before primaries
can be conducted.” All together, Mr Eferakeya said all members present
at the meeting have said they are prepared to work hard for the success
of the party because they know that “divided we fall united we stand.
All of us are working in harmony to ensure that we win more states,” he
said.

The party official
also expressed optimism that security agencies will live up to
expectation of providing adequate security during its primaries and
meetings to avoid the series of explosions that have rocked some
political gatherings in the last few days.

The Edo State
Deputy Governor, Pius Odubu called on the party members to work hard to
achieve their set goal of winning more states in the region. He also
urged them to ensure that their followers do not disrupt the process.
Edo is the only state in the south-south that is being governed by the
Action Congress of Nigeria.

The Socio-Economic
Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President
Goodluck Jonathan to arrest and repatriate suspected perpetrators of
the violence in Jos, Plateau State to the International Criminal Court
(ICC) in The Hague for prosecution.

It, however,
attached the salvation of Jos to the government’s readiness to fight
against impunity in Jos by ensuring that no offender is shielded by
security agencies.

“President Jonathan
should meet this challenge head on and exercise the required political
will to make the arrest and transfer of perpetrators to the ICC
happen,” SERAP Executive Director,

Adetokunbo Mumuni
said. “It is now time for this government to show that it is truly
committed to putting an end to impunity for the crimes in Jos by
immediately arresting and surrendering suspected perpetrators to the
ICC.” The group called on Mr Jonathan to “show strong leadership in the
face of increasing violence in Jos, and the killings of innocent
citizens, by urgently arresting and surrendering suspected
perpetrators.” It stated that the court is already investigating the
international crimes being committed in Jos.

Doing little

No fewer than 80
persons have been confirmed killed and 109 wounded in the bombing and
reprisal attacks which took place in Jos from Christmas eve to date.

“It is on record that successive governments have failed to
implement the country’s international legal obligations to respect,
protect, and fulfil the human rights of the people of Jos by
persistently failing to deter and prevent recurring outbreaks of
violence, and by failing to effectively investigate and prosecute
suspected perpetrators,” SERAP says. “This in turn has fostered chronic
impunity for perpetrators, and total defenselessness of victims and
their relatives. The surest and most effective way to restore and
maintain peace and security in Jos is for this government to allow and
facilitate the investigation and analysis of Jos by the ICC by sharing
with the court important information that will lead to the transfer of
perpetrators to the court for trial.” The International Court had, in
November, promised to investigate and analyse the situation in Jos with
a view to prosecuting the relevant crimes. This followed a petition
sent by SERAP’s solicitor, Femi Falana to the ICC Chief Prosecutor,
Luis Moreno Ocampo.