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The Enugu State
House of Assembly has, for a second time, rejected the amendment of
some sections of the 1999 Constitution as proposed by the National
Assembly.

Ruling on the
motion, the Speaker, Eugene Odoh, advised his colleagues at the
National Assembly to heed the rule of law irrespective of the interests
they might be canvassing.

According to him, there is no justification for the inclusion of the electoral timetable in the Constitution.

“Such a provision
should remain in the electoral act because human factors may
necessitate a change in any date,’’ the Speaker said.

Also, Mr. Odoh
reminded his colleagues that a few weeks ago, a Federal High Court in
Lagos declared the first constitutional amendment as “null and void’’,
since the president did not give assent to the amendments.

“We shall
communicate to the National Assembly our total rejection of the
amendment but if any court of competent jurisdiction states otherwise,
we will abide by it

“No court has
given any stay of proceedings in respect of the Federal High Court
judgment and since human nature is flexible and dynamic, it may not be
proper to put such timetable in the constitution,’’ he said.

Moving the motion,
Johnny Obidinma, the Leader of the House, urged his colleagues to
reject the provisions of the amendments as contained in clauses 1 to 11.

Paul Anikwe,
(PDP-Ezeagu), suggested that provisions of the 1999 Constitution should
be used to conduct the 2011 general elections, since the judgment of
the Lagos High Court had not been vacated.

Cletus Enebe,
(PDP-Awgu North) said that provisions of the second constitutional
amendment would promote constitutional crisis as section 132 (2) of the
1999 Constitution made provisions for days within which elections
should be conducted.

Legislators present
during the proceedings, unanimously voiced a rejection of the Act to
alter the Constitution (First Alteration).

In another
development, Abel Chukwu, Chairman, Joint Committee on Works, MDGs and
Judiciary, presented a report of the public hearing held on the Public
Procurement Bill and Regulatory Authorities.

He noted that many
of the contributors objected to a governor being chairman of the bureau
because there could be other state matters that might require attention
of a chief executive and could thus delay public procurement.

Debate on the
report for possible passage was deferred to a later date to be
determined by the Rules and Business Committee of the House.

NAN

The Senate
yesterday denied doing any selective work in favour of certain
proposals for state creation submitted to it by people agitating for
new states.

The senate
spokesman, Ayogu Eze, on Thursday in Abuja, denied allegations that the
senators have shortlisted a list of new states which they intend to
rubber-stamp during the state creation exercise.

“There is no list
of states to be created that has been drawn by the national assembly,”
he said. “That matter is not being considered right now but we hope
that we will consider it in the life of this sixth national assembly.”
He added that currently, the lawmakers are only receiving requests and
collating such requests and that the issue of state creation has been
relegated until the constitution review exercise is finished.

“We don’t have any
reason whatsoever at this stage to eliminate any request or to include
any request because we have not started the consideration of any
request,” he said.

Mr Eze said all the
requests for creation of states are with the senate’s 44-member ad hoc
committee on the alteration of the constitution, which would bring out
criteria for selection of the states to be created – in accordance with
section 9 of the constitution – “when the time comes.”

“All the requests
that have been received are with us, we have not drawn up any list, we
have not thrown away any request, and we have not taken any request
onboard. All of them are intact as they have been made,” he said.

He insisted that
the state creation exercise will follow the same pattern with that of
the constitution alteration, as outlined in section 8 and 9 of the
constitution. He added that it is through such a process that the
lawmakers will determine which states would be created, depending on
the mood of the public.

Altruistic lawmakers

He also added that
the insistence of the lawmakers that the president need not sign an
amendment to the constitution before it becomes effective is not an
“ego trip,” but a necessary argument that will benefit the constitution
in the end.

He also defended
the ongoing amendment to the 2010 electoral act, part of which seeks to
make the lawmakers members of the National Executive Committees (NEC)
of their various parties.

“We are not making laws for ourselves because we are not going to
stay in the national assembly forever,” he argued. “We think that if
you pull in the representatives of the people into the decision making
bodies of the parties, we are making it more democratic; we are
bringing in more voices, and views; we are enlarging the political
space within the parties and increasing the participation.” He added
that the amendment is not strange, considering that only a few parties
in Nigeria do not have all their national assembly lawmakers as members
of the NEC.

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday warned
criminals who continue to hide under acronyms to engage in criminal
acts of self-enrichment that they no longer have a hiding place, as
orders have been given to law enforcement agencies to hunt them down.
The President also affirmed that government will continue to pursue its
programmes for the re-orientation, rehabilitation and reintegration of
all genuine militants who had laid down their arms under the amnesty
programme.

He commended the military high command and officers
and men of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta for
the safe rescue of the seven foreign and 12 Nigerian oil workers held
by kidnappers in the region, yesterday.“While the Federal Government
will continue to take all necessary steps to guarantee the safety of
lives and property, as well as the security of oil workers and
installation in the Niger Delta, all law-abiding citizens have nothing
to fear,” the president said.

The security forces yesterday handed the freed
hostages to their employers on Thursday.The release of the hostages is
seen as a victory for Mr Jonathan’s administration.

Charles Omoregie, commander of a military taskforce
in the Niger Delta, said the military had taken over several suspected
militant camps in the region’s three main states, including those run
by a newly emerging kingpin, known as Obese.“Two camps have been taken
over in Delta, two in Bayelsa and three in Rivers … (The hostages)
were all rescued from Obese’s camp here in Rivers state after a
sustained military operation.” He said the raids started on Monday and
that Obese, thought to be a newfield commander of the Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)militant group, had contacted the
security forces via former militant leaderswho accepted amnesty last
year to tell them he was ready to surrender.

Mr Omoregie praised the role that former MEND field
commanders, including Boyloaf and Farah Dagogo, who acceptedlast year’s
amnesty, played in ensuring the release of the hostages.

Shocking Experience

The seven expatriates were taken from an offshore oil
rig operated by exploration firm Afren on November 7. Eight of the
Nigerians were abducted from an Exxon Mobil platform a week later,
while the remaining four were employees oflocal construction firm
Julius Berger.

One hostage, Canadian Robert Croke, described the ordeal.“It was a
shocking experience. They gave us mattresses to sleep on,virtually
nothing else. We were begging for food and water because what we were
exhausted,” he told reporters. “We were not maltreated, they were not
hostile to us, it was just that we lacked the basic necessities.”

The National
Chairman of All Nigerian Peoples Party(ANPP), Ogbonnaya Onu yesterday
expressed concern over the insecurity of lives and property across the
country.The former governor of Abia State also said ‘‘more worrisome is
the increasing spate of assassinations of innocent citizens across the
country’’.

Fielding questions
from newsmen in Umuahia during a one-day sensitization visit to Abia
State, Mr Onu said, “ all Nigerians are worried. Security is very
important,the ANPP is worried, we have been victims living in a very
unsecured environment. We have lost our National Vice Chairman, North
East who was assassinated and he died in cold blood in his own house
and those who went there removed nothing except his life.” He said “we
are extremely worried that people no longer go to bed with their two
eyes closed because of the fear of armed robbers and of late,
kidnapping and what is worrying us is that the situation is getting
even worse”.

Vibrant opposition

On the growing fear
that the country might be heading towards a one party state, the ANPP
leader said democracy would not strive without a vibrant opposition.

“So,we do not
believe, and I know that it is unacceptable to most Nigerians,if not
all Nigerians ,that we should have one party rule,” he said. “The ANPP
believes that there ought to be competition in the political arena. We
are convinced that once there is competition in the political arena,
that Nigeria will develop at a very fast pace. The problem we have
today will not be there.” He said the party was not formed to serve as
an opposition party because it believes it can win power through the
vote of the people to form a government at all levels.

Giving insight into
the procedure the party would adopt in selection of its candidates for
the 2011 election, Onu said, “we will not interfere with the people in
terms of choosing who is to represent them. We are leaving the
situation to internal democracy”.

The Kano State
Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau has called on all Muslims in the country to
treat the forthcoming voters’ registration as a jihad that require the
participation of all those desirous of change in the country.

The governor warns
that the forthcoming voters’ registration scheduled for January 8-22 is
compulsory for every Muslim, stressing that, “it is a religious duty
that no one should be excused.” “It is only through the process that
credible leaders can be elected.” He therefore claimed that “the
process must be treated as a jihad.” Mr Shekarau made this known while
receiving the Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero at the state government house
for the eid Kabir celebration.

Corroborating the
governor’s stand ,the Emir also mandated that “no faithful (Muslim)
should be excused from the voters’ registration exercise, as long as
he/she is hale and hearty during the exercise,” adding that it is part
of religious duty to make the national exercise a success.Mr Shekarau,
noted that “it is compulsory for all faithfuls to partake in the
national exercise.” He explained that democracy has come to stay in
Nigeria and the only way to elect leaders of choice starts with the
impending registration processes.

The governor also
said that the introduction of sharia law in the state has helped
“stabilized Kano social circle,” stressing that moral decadence has
been on steady decline compared to what it was before his ascension to
power in 2003.Mr Shekarau evaluating his two terms in office as the
governor of the state since 1999 noted that he has elevated the state’s
moral standard through the societal reorientation programme of his
administration, pointing out that it is of hope that those that will
succeed him will improve on the record.

The Emir commended the governor for the support to the emirate
council during the last 7 years, adding that ‘he hopes that the gesture
will be improved on outside the office.” He urged the citizenry to
imbibe peace which he claimed is essential for “a society to record
progress.”

A Johannesburg
Magistrates’ Court yesterday deferred judgment to November 30, in an
inquiry being conducted on Azuka Okah over the ringing of her cell
phone in court.

On October 21, Mrs.
Okah was attending the bail application hearing of her husband, who is
facing terrorism related charges in connection with the October 1
bombings in Nigeria, when her cell phone rang during proceedings.

The Magistrate,
Hein Louw, had last week fixed judgment in the case for November 18, on
the expectation that he would have delivered judgment in the bail
application of her husband, Henry Okah, before then.

The Magistrate had
said that due to the closeness of Mrs. Okah to her husband, he chose to
give judgment in her case, after dealing with her husband’s matter.

However, the court
was unable to deliver its verdict in Mr. Okah’s bail bid at the last
sitting on November 12, and has fixed it for tomorrow, November 19.

Mrs. Okah’s lawyer,
Rudi Klause, had during the inquiry, told the court that she was under
pressure, and had actually placed her phone in silent mode until the
court stood down the case. He, therefore, apologised for the error,
which he said was not intentional, though negligent.

Shaun Abrahams, the
prosecution counsel, had said the court should use its discretion in
the matter, as Mr. Klause had referred to it as a case of negligence.

The judge had said
his court had never had such huge number of disruptions before, and he
had even overlooked some of them. He said he understood the pressure
Mrs. Okah was under, but added he would give judgment in the matter.

Judgment in the
bail application was stalled on November 12, as the Magistrate handling
the case said CD recordings of proceedings were retrieved from him for
transcription while he was preparing his verdict.

Mr. Louw,
therefore, fixed today, November 19, to deliver the judgment, by which
time, he said, he would have finished with two other outstanding
judgments he is working on, which also demanded urgent action.

The Magistrate said
apart from the CD request, another issue which affected the delivery of
the verdict was that he lost access to his electronic library with
which he tried to review some case laws, and he was told it was a
national problem.

Mr. Okah is
presently held in a single cell at the Johannesburg Prison. He is,
among other issues, charged with delivering, placing, and detonation of
explosives, and conspiring with others to do so, in connection with the
explosions which claimed no fewer than 12 lives.

Mr. Okah, who
maintains he is innocent, is asking the court for bail while the state
is opp osing the application. He has been in custody since October 2, a
day after the explosions, and first appeared in court on October 4.

NAN

For allegedly
withholding over N274.2 billion of the Federal Government’s compulsory
contribution to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), an
indigene of the Niger Delta area has taken President Goodluck Jonathan
to the federal High Court in Abuja.

Onengiye Elekima,
an indigene of Bukuma, joined the Attorney General of the Federation
(AGF) and Minister of Justice, Adoke Bello and the NDDC as defendants.

He said he wants
the court to declare the president’s action as unlawful, unjustifiable
and ultra vires the provisions of the NDDC (establishment) Act.

The trial Judge,
Ibrahim Auta, who did not sit on the matter, adjourned hearing in the
matter, through the Registrar till December 1, 2010.

The plaintiff is
praying the court for a declaration that the failure of the AGF (3rd
defendant) to take steps to recover these monies from the president was
a breach of the said law and the trust it owes him as a person directly
affected and entitled to benefit from the operation of the NDDC Act
2000.

Mr Elekima wants
the court to order the president and the AGF to comply with the
provisions of Section 14(2) (a) of the NDDC Act 2000 to immediately
release or pay the aforementioned N274, 159, 428, 139.23 belonging to
the commission allegedly withheld.

Not making payments

In an affidavit in
support of the originating summons, the plaintiff averred that the NDDC
Act requires the federal government to contribute to the commission’s
fund, 15 percent of the total monthly statutory allocation due to the
oil producing states.

According to him, a
check at the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission and
the office of the Accountant General of the Federation with respect to
accruals and disbursements of money from the consolidated fund, the
federal government has not been making the aforesaid compulsory
contribution to the fund.

“The 1st defendant
has consistently maintained (publicly) that those monies are withheld
on his orders and have remained withheld from 2000 to 2007”, the
affidavit stated and added that the payment of the money will enhance
the operations of the commission as it will enable it carry out its
responsibilities to the Niger Delta Region.

“All efforts by me and other well meaning people in my area to get
the board of the 3rd Defendant (NDDC) to take steps to recover the
withheld fund has been to no avail as the board have wilfully refused
to do so”, he said and prayed the court to order the payment of the
said money by the federal government in the interest of justice.