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Former Vice
President, Atiku Abubakar, appears unrelenting in his call for the
return of power to north, as he declared yesterday that Nigerians
should not support Goodluck Jonathan because of his decision to contest
next year’s election against the wish of some politicians from the
north.

“This was a man
who sat at a PDP caucus meeting where a vote was taken over the
presidency and he voted for the zoning motion and has subsequently
developed amnesia,” Mr Abubakar said in a statement yesterday. “Given
this antecedent, does anyone think that candidate Jonathan will
recognize term limits in the probable assumption that Nigerians entrust
him with the responsibility of leading them?”

The former Vice
President’s statement was in reference to a caucus meeting of the PDP
held in December 2002, where leaders of the party met and agreed that
the PDP rotates the presidency between the Northern and Southern part
of Nigeria every eight years.

NEXT had
previously reported how 51 leaders of the PDP, including Mr Jonathan
who was then the deputy governor of Bayelsa State; Mr Abubakar and
former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, met in December 2002 and agreed
that power be rotated between the north and southern part of Nigeria
every eight years.

The resolution of
that meeting was however criticised by some members of the party, who
claimed that the meeting was held to satisfy the political ambition of
Mr Abubakar.

“It was a
political gimmick, an understanding to get a soft landing for Atiku,
who felt that he should have been given the opportunity to contest (in
2003), so that he can be the party’s candidate in 2007,” said Bernard
Mikko, a former PDP member of the House of Representatives.

Blame the president

Mr Abubakar also
blamed the presidency for the disruption of the summit organised by
some politicians from the south-eastern part of the country recently.

“This government
by denials will not, by any standard, help the course of Nigeria’s
development and the confidence of its people. The Commissioner of
Police in Imo State takes orders from the Inspector General of Police,
who in turn reports to the president,” he said.

“But when a
Commander-in-chief fails to take responsibility for a clampdown on a
legitimate gathering, denies knowledge of it and fails to hold anyone
responsible, it becomes difficult to trust that leadership.”

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday formally launched the N50 commemorative note and the non circulating coins.

The new note is
expected to exist side by side with the old while the coins will be
used as souvenirs during the 50th independence anniversary.

The launching,
which was done during yesterday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC)
meeting, which lasted for just about 48minutes, was part of the
activities to celebrate the country’s 50th Independence Anniversary.

Modifications

Speaking at the
occasion, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi, stated that the new note which is designed to commemorate the
country’s 50th anniversary is similar to the circulating N50 note.

The only
difference, he noted is the addition of the 50th anniversary logo, a
gold iridescent band, and a goodwill message written in varnish.

“The new note which
is the same design as the circulating N50 bears slight modifications in
the form of an addition of the 50th anniversary logo, a gold iridescent
ban and a goodwill message written in varnish” he said.

He added that “the
new note will circulate side by side with the existing N50 polymer
notes. While some of the commemorative coins are produced in 22 carat
gold, others are gold plated silver”.

Mr. Sanusi also announced that the bank is redesigning the bank notes to reduce costs and enhance security.

Speaking on the
history of the notes, the CBN governor said since July 1, 1959 when the
first Nigerian currency denominated in one pound, ten shillings and
five shillings was introduced, it had undergone various transformations
as the CBN evolved.

The Bayelsa State
governor, Timipre Sylva, nearly assaulted a journalist yesterday for
asking him a question he considered embarrassing.

Mr Sylva, who was
at the Peoples Democratic Party national secretariat, Abuja, to submit
his nominations form, was asked by Nigerian Observer reporter, Mike
Odiakose, why he was accompanied by praise-singers from the northern
part of the country rather than supporters from his state, suggesting
that he is not accepted by his people.

“Your Excellency,
we are noticing something unusual here today,” Mr Odiakose said. “When
governors come to submit their forms, their indigenes in Abuja come to
welcome them. But the people we are seeing here are Hausa boys. Does
this not raise questions about your acceptability by the people of
Bayelsa State?”

The governor pointed his finger at the reporter. “How did you know that these boys are Hausa boys?” Mr Sylva asked.

“We have already
interacted with them when we saw them before you drove in,” the
reporter replied. “That is mischievous, that is mischievous, that is
mischievous,” the governor said. “Who are you? Who sent you?”

Suddenly, the
governor’s security aides descended on the reporter, dragged him while
another one snatched the reporter’s mobile phone with which he was
recording.

Defending their aide

Other reporters
that went to their colleague’s aid were also attacked, before one of
them successfully retrieved the phone from the security aide.

Last year, another
member of the Abuja Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Akin
Orimolade of National Life, was allegedly abducted by Mr Sylva’s aides
and taken to Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

It took the intervention of the NUJ before Mr Orimolade could regain his freedom

Alao Akala, the
Governor of Oyo State, on Wednesday, advocated for community policing
as an efficient means to curbing the incidence of kidnapping
experienced in some parts of the country.

Mr. Akala, who
spoke to correspondents at the Murtala Mohammed Airport 2 (MMA2),
Lagos, on his way from Abuja, stated that with the system security
operatives will get to know the culprits perpetuating the heinous
crime, adding that state governments should employ the services of
community policing. “They (state governments involved) should just try
to make sure that they get to know themselves very well and they should
involve community policing. Community policing is very important for
with it you will be able to identify when who is doing what,” he said.

The governor, an
ex-police officer, said that the kidnap of one of his aides gave him
insight on how to handle the culprits, adding that though he paid the
kidnappers, he would have caught the perpetrators if there was
community policing. “Okay I got this experience from my own adviser
that was kidnapped, because I paid out something for it,” he said. When
asked how much he paid, Mr. Akala said “N6 million.”

Why the kidnappers escaped

“I wouldn’t have
paid with my experience as a police officer, but the person they used
her account, the woman was begging me that if I don’t allow them to
cash that money they will kill her; that is why I now did it, because I
would have gotten them,” he said.

The governor said
that the kidnappers used another victim’s account to get the funds,
otherwise they would have been trapped. “But they were, you know they
used another kidnapped woman’s account to collect that money from me.
So from my experience I know that when you have this community
policing, it will be very effective and you will be able to capture all
of them,” he said.

The governor, however, insisted that kidnappers cannot thrive in his
state, as he promised residents of Oyo State that his government is
doing everything possible to ensure top security of lives and
properties. “It is a pity that this is happening in our country; it
will never spread to my state because we know ourselves,” he said,
adding “before you can kidnap you must know the terrain of where you
want to kidnap very well. It is not possible for them to kidnap in my
state because we don’t have kidnappers in our state.”

The Down Syndrome Foundation Nigeria has called upon
the government, corporate bodies and individuals to help raise funds
needed to perform corrective surgeries on seven children with Down
Syndrome.

Down Syndrome is a condition in which extra genetic
material causes delays in the way a child develops, both mentally and
physically. It affects about 1 in every 800 babies. Speaking at a press
conference yesterday to kick start the 2010 Down Syndrome Awareness
Week in Lagos, Rose Mordi, the National President of the Association,
appealed to people to come to the aid of these children.

Help needed

According to Mrs Mordi, the foundation presently has
seven babies on its surgery list needing medical interventions in
India. Four of these children: Oluwafemi Oderemi (13 months), Honour
Trust (6 months), Daniel Oliha (2 months), and Olanrewaju Azeez (11
months) require corrective heart surgeries; while twins Favor and
Martha Jideonwor (9 years), and Kenneth Nwosu, need urgent eye
surgeries to save their sight. An estimated N10million is needed to
fund these surgeries. The cost is inclusive of travelling,
accommodation, surgical fees for the babies and one parent along with
two chaperones.

Statistics show that people with Down Syndrome have
some prevalent peculiar health issues such as congenital heart defects
which occurs in 40-50 percent of them, 8-12 percent have
gastrointestinal tract abnormalities present at birth while up to 65
percent suffer hearing defects. This informed the need of the
foundation to launch a medical intervention initiative called the
‘Save-A-Life Project’ in 2004. The project has so far sent some
children to the Narayana Hrudayalaya Institute of Cardiac Sciences in
India for some successful heart surgeries. The inspiration to start the
foundation, according to Mrs Mordi, began when she gave birth to a
child with Down Syndrome.

How it all started

“It was 23 years ago that I had a baby who had a
condition called Down Syndrome,” she said. “When I had her, I found out
that most of the people who should know about it did not know anything
about the condition. It means there was no hope for anyone who had a
child with Down Syndrome in this country. She happens to be my last
child and there is a reason God sent her to me. I went from hospital to
hospital but no one in the country could give me any advice. I had to
go back to the UK and it was there I got the help and information I
needed to take care of my child. There, I was advised to start a
support group for parents of children with Down Syndrome. It took me 14
years before I eventually decided to take it up and the rest is
history. We started in my sitting room. I called some parents together,
we brain stormed and thought of ways we could help our children.”

Sunday Ogunrinde, the Senior Special Assistant to the
Governor of Lagos State on rehabilitation, emphasized the need for
educating parents of children with Down Syndrome on how to care for
their child rather than hiding them. “What we need in respect of Down
Syndrome and general disabilities is education,” he said. “We need to
work together to inform our society. When people are informed, they
would be alive to their responsibility. We need to break the barriers
that keep a Down Syndrome child away from visitors. We must cherish
what we have. It gives the child that self confidence that challenges
them to be somebody great.”

Educating the public

Mrs Mordi enlightened members of the press on the
steps taken by the foundation to reach out to people at the grassroots.
“We have come a long way from where we started,” she said. “Our aim is
to reach out to every child with Down syndrome in this country and
beyond. We intend to have chapters in the six geo-political zones of
this country, to the grass roots. We started with the grass roots and
thank God for where we are today. The government of Lagos state would
like to partner with us to organize seminars and workshops, to educate
the public, to encourage people to come out and put structures on
ground to take care of their needs and possibly translate our messages
into different languages for those who don’t understand English.”

Among the activities lined up for the Awareness Week are a Charity
walk, an international seminar to discuss educational, medical and
socio-economic issues of Down Syndrome in Nigeria, a fund raising
dinner and awards evening and a family fun-fair.

Plans by the former
governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, to return to power in 2011
have met stiff opposition by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC). The anti-graft agency is now making frantic efforts
to resuscitate the corruption charges brought against the former
governor since 2006 and, yesterday, sealed off Mr Fayose’s property in
Ibadan.

Although the EFCC
insists that its latest actions are in no way related to Mr. Fayose’s
renewed interests in the Ekiti state government house, the anti-graft
agency’s actions seem in line with recent statements by Farida Waziri,
the head of the EFCC, who has vowed to deflate the political ambitions
of all persons indicted by her agency.

Mr Fayose however
condemned the EFCC action, saying no political harassment could stop
him from contesting in 2011. He also warned the EFCC not to trample on
the integrity of the Court that is handling his case corruption case..

Briefing
journalists on how a team of from the commission invaded his Ibadan
residence in the early hours of Wednesday and harassed members of his
family while he was away in Abuja, the former governor said there was
no order of court mandating the EFCC to invade his home or paste
notices on his property, as its officers did.

Fayose’s new woes

The EFCC says that
it yesterday seized two buildings belonging to the former Ekiti State
governor in Ibadan, Oyo State. The spokesman of the EFCC, Femi
Babafemi, said the commission had earlier confiscated the buildings and
has court papers which gave the EFCC leave to seize the buildings.

He said Mr Fayose
had broken the EFCC seal on the confiscated buildings and regained use
of the buildings, which prompted the anti-graft agency’s actions
yesterday.

“The order was not
obtained today. It is an existing order. There was a subsisting court
order for the temporary forfeiture of those buildings. The properties
were seized since 2006 but they broke our seal and got into the
building. We just got information on that which prompted our agents to
move in.

“This is not
related in any way to the 2011 elections. We are seizing the properties
because they are proceeds of crime,” Mr Babafemi said.

Fayose’s crime

An EFCC official, who spoke in confidence with NEXT, further explained Mr Fayose’s alleged crimes.

“One of the
buildings seized by the commission was given to him (Mr Fayose) as a
bribe in the course of the popular poultry project that he carried out.
For the other one, we discovered that when Fayose submitted his assets
declaration form in 2004, the property was declared as a building. In
reality, that property was just a piece of undeveloped land. He lied in
his asset declaration form because the building was erected two years
later in 2006,” the EFCC operative said.

Mr. Fayose was
arraigned by the EFCC on a 51 count charge in a Federal High Court,
Lagos for alleged money laundering, illegal diversion and
misappropriation of about N1.2 billion in 2006. Early this year, Mr
Fayose challenged the jurisdiction of the Lagos courts to try him and
the case was transferred to a Federal High Court in Ekiti. The EFCC’s
case against Mr Fayose remains stalled in Ekiti State.