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Speakers of the 36
State Houses of Assembly in the country have threatened to boycott the
primary elections of their parties if the proposed amendment to the
Electoral Act 2010 to include federal lawmakers in the National
Executive Committee (NEC) of their parties scale through.

The Speakers, who
met in Abuja yesterday under the aegis of the Conference of the State
Legislature (CSSLN), also rejected the exclusion of the members of the
state assemblies as delegates to the conventions of their primaries
where the presidential candidates will be picked.

The CSSLN chairman,
Haruna Istifanus Gbana, who read the communiqué to journalists, said
the bill to make the members of the National Assembly members of NEC of
their respective parties as passed in the House of Representatives last
week, is totally undemocratic, self-serving, and repugnant.

“In the event the
National Assembly goes ahead to pass this Amended Act, the way it is
now, Rt. Hon. Speakers and deputy Speakers will have no choice than not
to participate in the party primaries for the selection of candidates,”
Mr. Gbana said.

The conference also
faulted the exclusion of party executive members from the selection of
candidates during party primaries at all levels.

Be patriotic

It frowned at the
exclusion of members of the state Houses of Assembly as delegates to
their parties’ primaries for selection of presidential candidates of
their parties.

The Speakers asked
the federal legislators to show more patriotism and put the interest of
the nation first in coming up with legislations.

The National
Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
was forced to adjourn yesterday after about 40 minutes following
disagreement among its members on the amendment to the Electoral Act
2010, designed to include members of the National Assembly in their
parties’ NEC.

The meeting, which
began at about 1.47 pm at the Wadata Plaza came to an end at about
2.20pm after the party’s national Legal Adviser, Olusola Oke hurriedly
moved a motion for the adjournment of the meeting till Thursday. The
motion was seconded by a member of the House of Representatives, Shehu
Garba Matazu from Katsina State.

Sources at the
meeting said things started getting out of control when the PDP
national organizing secretary requested that the party chairmen from
Anambra, Ogun, Enugu and Oyo States should leave the venue of the
meeting.

Some of the
governors were said to have resisted the order, thereby prompting the
National Chairman, Okwesilieze Nwodo, to call for the adjournment of
the meeting, after consulting with President Goodluck Jonathan.

The governors, at
their different meetings in the last three days in Abuja, have kicked
against the amendment and had reportedly asked Mr Jonathan not to
assent to it when passed by the National Assembly.

Following the
adjournment, some top members of the NEC subsequently moved to the Aso
Rock Villa for a meeting, apparently to resolve the controversy on the
Electoral Act and other issues.

Those who moved to
the Aso Rock Villa were President Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo
and the entire leadership of the National Assembly.

Others were all
former national chairmen of the PDP, former chairmen of the Board of
Trustees, and all the governors. They were still meeting at press time
yesterday. The minister of Women Affairs, Josephine Anenih also held a
closed-doors meeting with women members of the NEC at the PDP
secretariat while state chairmen of the party also moved to an
undisclosed venue for their own parley.

Meeting adjourned

In a statement he
issued shortly after the meeting, the party’s national publicity
secretary, Ahmed Rufa’i Alkali said the NEC adjourned till Thursday to
give room for further consultations, adding that it became necessary
because of the need to include all stakeholders in the process of
arriving at acceptable decisions.

“At the 54th
meeting of the National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic
Party held today at the National Secretariat of our great Party, NEC in
a brief session resolved that in view of the critical importance of
issues to be deliberated upon, the meeting be adjourned till Thursday,
16th December, 2010 to give room for further consultations,” Mr Alkali
said.

However, before the
meeting dissolved into closed-doors, Mr Jonathan, in an apparent
reference to the tension generated in the party over the Electoral Act
and election timetable/guidelines, urged all members of the ruling
party to work together.

“It is a period that the atmosphere is charged and everybody is
stressed about one thing or the other. This period is very critical not
for PDP alone, but for the whole country,” he said. “But PDP is on top
because anything about PDP we set the agenda and everybody knows that
and that is why they concede to us and that is why other parties want
to participate in our primaries. Even though we don’t know when they
conduct their own primaries but they want to be involved and witness
our primaries. No matter what anybody says, we are the ruling party.

Bolaji Akinyemi,
the former minister of foreign affairs, has called for a code of
conduct for Nigerian journalists. Speaking in Lagos yesterday, at the
launch of a book, “A decade of democracy,” written by Sanya Onayoade,
the former minister called on journalists to stop publishing pictures
of dead bodies in the media. He also decried the practice of the police
parading crime suspects in the media. He said, “Even if the police do
it [parade crime suspects], the media, knowing better, should not do
so.” Mr. Akinyemi commended the author of the book for taking the pains
to document a detailed record of Nigeria’s democracy in the last 10
years. He said Nigeria’s is bedevilled by incorrect details, especially
where it concerns the dead whose accounts are often misrepresented by
the living.

Distorted facts

The former minister
who spoke as the chairman at the book launch said: “What we have today
is people coming up with manufactured and twisted facts to suit their
own intentions, especially because some concerned people, who can
corroborate the facts, are already dead. A nation that cannot agree on
its history is a nation in crisis.”

He called for a concerted effort, from journalists and historians, to ensure Nigeria’s recent history is documented in earnest.

Alex Akinyele, a
former information minister, also backed the call for a code of conduct
for journalists. In his remarks, Fredrick Fasheun, the founder and
president of the Oodua Peoples’ Congress, reiterated the agitation of
the Yoruba ethnic nation for a sovereign national conference and true
federalism. He pleaded with all Nigerians to ensure they register and
vote in 2011, while also chiding the National Assembly members for
their recent unruly acts.

“Democracy where people have turned the chambers into boxing ring is no democracy,” he said.

Mr. Onayoade, the
author, said he decided to write the book to preserve the history of
the last 10 years for young Nigerians whose minds are prone to warped
tales from politicians.

“I don’t want my kids growing up reading wrong historical facts,” he said, recommending the book to all Nigerians.

Dele Alake, a
former information commissioner in Lagos State, who launched the book
said the book is a must-read for everyone aspiring to be leaders in
Nigeria. “Nigeria needs a leader who has knowledge, vision,

and will but we
have not been fortunate to have a president in the last decade that has
the three qualities. This book should be read by aspiring leaders in
Nigeria,” he said.

He described former President Olusegun Obasanjo as the most
courageous president we have had but one that lacks the prerequisite
knowledge and vision and the late President Musa Yar’Adua as the exact
opposite of Mr. Obasanjo.

Wrongdoing in
society must be identified and punished to avoid the development of a
culture of impunity, President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday during
a meeting with the leadership of the Evangelical Church Winning All
(ECWA).

Responding to a
call on government to take radical steps to ensure that individual
votes count in 2011, Mr. Jonathan said perpetrators of electoral
offences such as “changing figures of votes cast”, which is forgery,
would face the full wrath of the law, since “any crime that goes
unpunished leads to a culture of impunity, which does not augur well
for law and order.”

He also re-stated
his commitment to the conduct of free and fair elections in 2011,
adding that, “until people can elect those they want as their leaders,
democracy will not take root in Nigeria.”

Clarifying his
position on the militants and anti-social conduct in the Niger Delta,
the president said genuine militants who had embraced the amnesty were
being taken care of, but all those who have engaged in criminality
would be treated as criminals. The president further commended ECWA for
their role in partnering with government in educational, health and
rural development and congratulated them for celebrating their
centenary this year.

Laws on electoral offence

The president of
ECWA, Anthony Farinto, who led a delegation of the church to the State
House, called for laws to criminalise electoral malpractices.

“The current situation whereby some state governors,

federal and state
lawmakers occupy office for about three and a half years only to be
rooted out of office by competent courts is definitely not good for our
democracy,” he said.

He commended Mr.
Jonathan’s commitment to free and fair elections in 2011, his
determination to improve power supply and the establishment of six new
federal universities.

The ECWA president expressed concern at the incessant religious
crises in the North andcalled for a serious check on electoral
malpractices, as well as for a return of mission schools taken over by
government to their original owners.

The House of Representatives, on
Tuesday, readmitted another suspended member, Doris Uboh (PDP, Delta)
to the House as part of a gradual reintegration of the sanctioned
‘progressive’ lawmakers back into the House. Gbenga Oduwaye (PDP, Ogun)
and Austin Nwachukwu (PDP, Imo), who were also on suspension, were
pardoned last week. They attended yesterday’s plenary session. Also in
attendance were arrowheads of the group, Dino Melaye, Independence
Ogunewe, Solomon Awhinawhi, Abas Anas Adamu and Bitrus Kaze.

Messrs Melaye and Awhinawhi had, last
week, stormed the House’s chamber during a plenary session to enforce a
court ruling that their suspension was illegal, prompting deputy
speaker, Usman Nafada, to announce that the House was a law-abiding
institution and would therefore respect the decision of the court. It
was, however, gathered that the presence of Mr. Melaye and the others,
led to the temporary delay of the commencement of the plenary session
as the chamber was locked for about an hour allegedly to prevent them
from going in. But the doors to the chambers were opened at about
11.15pm after some of the lawmakers, who were hanging around the lobby,
expressed their anger over the development.

Obeying the court

In announcing the re-admittance of Ms.
Uboh, who had also gone to court to challenge her suspension, Mr.
Nafada, in the course of making the day’s announcements, informed
members that: “I received a communication in my office this morning on
the case by Doris Uboh that the Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled
that she be recalled back to the House. Uboh is hereby re-admitted.”

The lawmakers were suspended in June after they accused the leadership
of the House of corruption and threatened to remove the Speaker, Dimeji
Bankole if he did not resign as demanded. The lawmakers were forced out
of the House during a fracas at a plenary and were indefinitely
suspended by their colleagues. They has struggled most of last week to
have the judgment of the court overturning their suspension accepted by
the House leadership.

John Abraham
Godson, a Polish citizen born and raised in Nigeria, has been sworn-in
as the first black member of Poland’s parliament.

Mr. Godson had
served as a councillor in the city of Lodz before taking up a
parliamentary seat, vacated by a party colleague after local elections.
His entry into parliament has created a media stir in the mainly white
country.

He came to Poland
in the 1990s, opening an English language school, and working as a
pastor in a Protestant church. He has since married a Polish woman and
the couple have four children.

Beaten up twice

A member of the
centre-right Civic Platform Party, he was appointed to the seat vacated
by party colleague, Hanna Zdanowskaafter, after she became mayor of
Lodz.

Racism is still a
problem in Poland, where it is not uncommon for well-educated people to
make racist jokes and it is still quite rare to see black people even
in the Polish capital, Warsaw, Poland’s most cosmopolitan city.

Mr. Godson was
beaten up twice in the early 1990s, but he says attitudes to black
people in Poland are changing for the better, particularly since the
country joined the EU six years ago.

Speaking earlier to Polish radio, Mr. Godson said:

“I am from Lodz, I will live here, I want to die here, and I want to be buried here.”

Vice President
Namadi Sambo has advised the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)
not to allow maintenance of power plants across the country interrupt
the supply of electricity to Nigerians.

Speaking during the
weekly meeting of the Presidential Task Force on Power in Abuja,
yesterday, Mr Sambo also said there should be a synergy between the
Ministry of Power and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation to
avoid a drop in gas supply during maintenance operations. He directed
the Power Holding Company to prevail on its staff to desist from the
act of shutting down power plants whenever they make demand, adding
that adhoc staff be trained to handle power plants against subversive
elements in PHCN.

While emphasizing
transparency and accountability in the sector, Mr Sambo said Nigerians
should be informed on the efforts of government to provide adequate
power supply by settling labour issues, benefits of the planned
privatization, and the subversive activities of labour union which
militate against the attainment of this goal. The vice president
further set up a committee to resolve any impending issues with labour.
Members of the committee include the Ministries of Power, Labour,
Finance, National Planning, Justice, and the Head of the Civil Service
of the Federation.

Unhappy unions

Minister of State
for Power, Nuhu Wya, gave highlights on Geregu, Ibom, Jebba and Egbin
Power Plants. According to him, the Geregu Power Plant suffered from
gas interruption last week due to repairs carried out by Nigeria Gas
Company over a pipe leakage on Oben-Ajaokuta Line. He also noted that
the Ibom Power Plant is experiencing low gas pressure and has been out
of operation since December 10, while Egbin is undergoing repairs on a
broken cold reheat pipeline that occurred immediately after the system
collapse of December 8, 2010.

He was, however, optimistic that the repairs would be completed by
December 17 to restore 200MW to the system. Mr Wya said the PHCN
in-house union had given notice to the Ministry of Power and the
management of the company on its plan to embark on a “sensitization
exercise” on December 16 against the proposed privatization exercise in
the power sector. He also stated that 791 staff, representing 1.20
percent, are yet to be cleared for payment of monetisation benefits
while 44,035 (97.41%) staff have been paid.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi narrowly survived a no-confidence
motion on Tuesday that left his struggling centre-right government clinging to
power by a handful of votes.

The result reinforced Berlusconi’s reputation as one of the great survivors
of Italian politics but left him badly weakened, without the numbers in
parliament to ensure stability at a time of big economic challenges and a
menacing euro zone debt crisis.

Berlusconi’s survival was ensured with 314 votes against 311 in the lower
house of parliament.

Vote counting after an acrimonious debate was briefly interrupted by a
scuffle between deputies from rival camps.

Pier Luigi Bersani, head of the opposition Democratic Party, said
Berlusconi’s survival was a Pyrrhic victory.

“You, prime minister are no longer in a position to govern,” he
told parliament.

Riot police blocked off the centre of Rome and clashed with protesters who
threw firecrackers and paint bombs at the Senate and oranges at the economy
ministry.

After a year overshadowed by corruption and sex scandals and an acrimonious
split with former ally Gianfranco Fini that cost him a secure parliamentary
majority, the result offered at least a temporary lifeline to the 74-year-old
premier.

Berlusconi has repeatedly defied sceptics, shrugging off a string of gaffes
and scandals to win three elections and transform Italy’s political landscape
since gaining power for the first time in 1994, but he has polarised Italians.

Thousands of students, workers and other
government opponents staged other protests around the country on Tuesday.

Had Berlusconi lost in the lower house following a clear win in the Senate
earlier on Tuesday, he would have had to resign, potentially opening the way to
early elections more than two years before they are due in 2013.

The result was secured after a fevered campaign of back room deals, in which
opposition accusations of vote-buying and corruption have been answered by
fierce denials and counter-accusations of treachery.

“Go to elections”

With the vote out of the way, attention now switches to the concessions
Berlusconi will have to offer to centrists and rebels on the centre-right to
secure a longer term alliance.

On Monday, Berlusconi offered to open up his government to moderates in a
broad electoral pact but his coalition allies in the Northern League, who play
the role of government kingmakers, have already expressed scepticism.

“Either there are the conditions for continuing in government with a
solid majority or it would be better to go to an election,” Interior
Minister Roberto Maroni, a senior member of the Northern League told reporters.

Tuesday’s vote was closely watched by financial markets on high alert over
the euro zone debt crisis, and a prolonged period of doubt could turn the
spotlight on Italy’s strained public finances.

“Political uncertainty will only be dissipated in case of a clear
majority,” analysts from Italian bank UniCredit wrote in a research note before the key vote.

Italy has one of the heaviest public debt burdens in the world, at almost
120 percent of gross domestic product. But it has largely escaped the euro zone
debt storm thanks to tight control of spending and a conservative banking
system that avoided excess during the market boom.

Markets were reassured last week when the 2011 budget was passed in
parliament ahead of the votes, but the vote does not provide the secure
majority investors want to see and leaves the future of the government in
doubt.

Former anti-corruption judge Antonio Di Pietro, who now heads the opposition
Italy of Values party, said in parliament:

“Whatever the result of the vote you have bought, one thing is clear.
You (Berlusconi) do not have a political majority that would allow you to
govern.”

“Whether you like it or not, you have reached the end of the line for
your political experience,” he said.

REUTERS

James Ibori, former
Delta State governor, who is on a wanted list in Britain over
allegations of corruption, yesterday in Dubai, the United Arab
Emirates, lost his appeal against his extradition.

The Gulf Arab
Emirates’ cassation court ruled against Mr. Ibori’s appeal. The former
governor, who has also been declared wanted by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was arrested in the Emirates in
May. The arrest was at the behest of the London Metropolitan Police,
and a Dubai court later approved a British extradition request.

Convicted associates

A British court had
in August 2007 frozen his assets, worth over $35 Million, based on the
suspicion that they were the proceeds of corruption. Some of Mr.
Ibori’s associates in Britain have been convicted.

Among these are his
sister, Christine Ibie-Ibori, and his ally, Udoamaka Okoronkwo (nee
Onuigbo). Both are currently serving jail terms in a United Kingdom
prison. Mr. Ibori’s wife, Theresa Nkoyo, and his UK-based lawyer,
Bhadresh Gohil, were also convicted recently.

A statement by Femi
Babafemi, the spokesperson of the EFCC, yesterday said, “The ruling
today of the appellate court in Dubai only goes to confirm our earlier
position issued after the first ruling in October that justice is
universal and applicable anywhere in the world.

“We have been
cooperating with authorities in other jurisdictions on this matter and
we will continue to do this until the cause of justice is fully served,
irrespective of the ignorance and misrepresentation being peddled by
mischief makers.”

The anti-graft
agency had in April tried to arrest Mr. Ibori before his trip to Dubai,
to question him over allegations that he looted N44 billion from Delta
State coffers. However, a large number of his supporters prevented
police from arresting him in his hometown, Oghara. Few days after, he
fled the country for Dubai. How he fled the country without being
apprehended is still unknown.

Mr. Ibori governed
Delta State from 1999 to 2007. He was a big power broker in the Peoples
Democratic Party after he left power, dismissing all accusations
against him as political.

It is not clear yet how soon he will be flown to Britain to face further prosecution.

Human right
activist, Femi Falana has condemned the jumbo pay collected by members
of the National Assembly and stressed the need for Nigerians to
critically examine the total cost of governance in the country.

Mr. Falana said
this over the weekend in Benin City at a lecture/lunchion organised by
members of the University of Ibadan Alumni Association, Edo State
branch. He called on all Nigerians to resist the jumbo salary of the
federal legislators.

Quoting section 70
of the constitution which stipulates that the salaries and allowances
of federal legislators shall be determined and fixed by the revenue
mobilisation allocation and fiscal commission, he faulted the situation
in which only 429 members of the National Assembly of the 140 million
population allocates to themselves 3% of the national budget in the
country where 70% of her populace live on less than N150 a day.

He noted that in
utter violation of the constitution, National Assembly members have
allocated to themselves jumbo emoluments through the appropriation act.

“Whereas the
National Assembly is empowered by the constitution to make laws for
‘the peace, order and good government of the federation’ the laws that
are today being passed by the legislators are designed to satisfy the
interest of a tiny portion of the populace. By this, the NASS should be
made to appreciate that its constitutional duty is to make laws for the
peace, order and good government,” he said.

Mr. Falana said
that in the course of passing the appropriation bill which embodies the
estimates, national legislators, increased the annual budget by
up-surging or sharing power with the President to prepare the budget
and lay it before the assembly, an act, he condemned.

“In the ongoing
debate on the salaries and allowances, federal legislators have claimed
that the over-head of the National Assembly is not 25% but 3%. This is
unacceptable in a country where N18, 000 minimum wage is less than N10,
000 per month. These legislators are the highest paid in the world.” He
said.

Nigerians must act

Mr. Falana
therefore challenged Nigerians, on the on-going debate on the fat pay
of federal legislators, saying that they should not allow the assembly
members and the President to violate the constitution in the passage of
the 2011 appropriation bill into law.