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Traditional rulers and prominent indigenes of the
nine local government areas that make up the Akwa Ibom North East
Senatorial District, have pledged to ensure that any senator
representing the district spends no more than two terms so that
indigenes of all the local councils take their turns for the seat.

The Oku Ibom Ibibio, Edidem Robert Obot 11, told the
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Rules and
Business and a senatorial aspirant, Ita Enang, who visited his palace
yesterday that the traditional rulers will do everything within their
powers to ensure that what is right for the people is done. Effiong
Bob, who currently represents the Uyo senatorial district, is spending
his second term in the upper house and has since declared his intention
to run for the seat a third time.

But Mr. Obot 11, who is also the Paramount ruler of
Nsit Ubium Local Government Area and who spoke on behalf of seven other
traditional rulers in the area, noted that though the royal fathers are
non-partisan, political aspirants ignore their opinions at their peril.

He praised Mr. Enang for being “a worthy
representative in the National Assembly”, and noted in particular, his
role in the struggle to abolish the onshore/offshore oil dichotomy
principles in the constitution.

“As royal fathers who should not be seen to be
partisan, let me, on behalf of the other traditional rulers in the
council, wish you success in your future aspirations, even though only
God knows the man who will win at the end, given that three persons are
vying for the same position from Ibiono Ibom,” he said.

Before departing the Oku Ibom’s palace, the king and
other traditional rulers performed the symbolic anointing of the
aspirant. “As this oil is poured on your head today, you shall shine
and win in all your endeavours,” he said.

Elders seek equity

The chairman of the Uyo Senatorial District Elders
Council, Edet Akpan and other prominent indigenes of the district, had
last month said that none of their representatives will be allowed to
spend more than two terms of four years in the legislature.

Mr Akpan, a retired military general and former director general of
the National Youth Service Coprs (NYSC), also argued that considering
that each of the nine Local Government Areas (Uyo, Uruan, Nsit Atai,
Nsit Ubium, Nsit Ibom, Ibiono Ibom, Ibesikpo/Asutan, Itu and Etinan)
that cut across three federal constituencies has equal stake and right
to serve in that capacity, it would neither promote equity nor enthrone
fairness among all stakeholders if Mr Etinan is allowed another
four-year term in 2011. Also, about 456 village heads from all the nine
Local Government Areas also met under the umbrella of the Conference of
Village Heads of Akwa Ibom State to urge the state governor, Godswill
Akpabio, to ensure their decision is respected “in the interest of
equity and justice.”

A former vice
president and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant,
Atiku Abubakar has cautioned members of the National Assembly on the
proposed amendments to the Electoral Act 2010, saying that the
lawmakers should avoid a situation where excessive powers will be left
in one arm of the government.

Mr Atiku, who stated this on his
facebook page, urged the lawmakers to critically study the
amendments,especially the one seeking to make them members of the
National Executive Committee (NEC) of their respective parties before
approving them.

A bill which seeks
to amend the Electoral Act 2010 to allow the 469 senators and members
of the House of Representatives become party decision makers is
currently before the two chambers of the National Assembly.

The bill was
sponsored by Cyril Maduabum (PDP, Anambra).However, a similar bill in
the Senate sponsored by the deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu and
24 others, requires that all committee chairmen and the deputies as
well as the principal officers should be members of the NECs of their
parties.

While acknowledging
that the lawmakers are trying to avoid a situation where the parties
will be hijacked by a clique, Mr Atiku however advised them to weigh
the pros and cons of the amendment before passing it. “Excessive powers
and advantages in the hands of either the executive or legislative
branch of governmentmay lead to tyranny, which may in itself stifle the
growth of democracy,” he said. “Therefore, while welcoming the current
effort to amend the Electoral Act, seeking to make federal legislators
automatic members of their parties’ NECs, I urge the lawmakers to
examine the pros and cons of this amendment in order to sustain public
confidence in the legislative process.” The presidential aspirant noted
that one of the fears being expressed about the proposed amendment is
that it may be unwieldy to have all the members of the National
Assembly in NECs of their parties, which are the highest decision
making bodies.

Personal advantage

He asked the
lawmakers to allay public fears that they are not seeking personal
advantage by the proposed amendments, noting that it could undermine
the credibility of their efforts.

Mr Atiku, however,
admitted that the politics of exclusion and the hijacking of parties by
a clique may have compelled the intervention by the federal lawmakers.
“In doing so, however, I urge the National Assembly to debate the issue
clinically, critically and dispassionately so that in our efforts to
avert dictatorship, we don’t end up entrenching it in disguise,” he
said.

The former vice president said that democracy is a dynamic process
and that at every stage when challenges emerge, new initiatives also
evolve, designed to entrench democratic culture and ethos in the
country and among the existing political parties.

The UK’s International Development
Minister, Stephen O’Brien has announced that its government will double
the coverage of existing project across four northern states in
Northern Nigeria to improve the health of two million women of child
bearing age.

Mr Brien made this known in Jigawa on
Thursday saying “I am proud to announce this expansion of the UK’s
support to maternal and child health in Northern Nigeria. In this visit
I’m seeing with my own eyes the challenge, but also the success of our
support in saving lives. We must all continue to work together to bring
on these encouraging results – and there is a lot more that needs to be
done” he said.

According to the British High
Commission, the country’s development agency; DFID, support for routine
immunisation in four states in Northern Nigeria has seen the number of
children fully immunised double from less than 5% to nearly 10%. It
also raised the proportion of children vaccinated against polio from
14% to 38% leading to a 98% case reduction in polio in the past year.

It’s noted that DFID (with additional funding from the Norwegian
government) is working with state agencies to improve maternal and
child health services, and making these services more accountable by
involving communities and neighbourhoods.

An opponent to the
senatorial ambition of Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel, emerged
yesterday as a flight engineer; Tahib Adetunji Odunowo anounced his
interest to tackle Mr. Daniel for the Ogun East senatorial ticket of
the PDP.

Some supporters of
Mr. Daniel recently purchased a form of intent for him. But Mr.
Odunowo, who belongs to the Omo-Ilu faction of the party, has said he
is prepared to slug it out with the governor.

The candidate, who
made this known at Ijebu-Igbo while addressing party supporters who
were beneficiaries of his {Odunowo} empowerment programme, assured his
supporters of a better life if voted into office.

Accompanied by the
financier to the well attended ceremony and leader of the Omo Ilu
group, Buruji Kashamu, the candidate said he has age and experience on
his side to represent the senatorial district at the National Assembly.

He said the
emergence of Omo-Ilu Foundation is to bail out party members and other
state residents from the slavery inflicted on them by the state
government.

“It is high time to vote Daniel out of power, in view of his dictatorship style of governance,” Mr. Odunowo said.

“I brought myself
out to you today as a member of Peoples Democratic Party{PDP}, which is
affiliated to the Omo-Ilu Foundation, and to tell you of my desire to
contest the senatorial seat from the Ogun East district,” he added.

He expressed optimism that if given the party ticket, he would win the general election.

The House of
Representatives Committee on Aviation has confirmed that the country’s
airspace is under the full surveillance of the Total Radar Coverage of
Nigeria (TRACON).

Describing
reservations and criticisms by some people who faulted the radar
commissioning on the grounds that the system does not operate in some
locations as “political statements”, the committee, on Thursday,
asserted that the multi-billion naira project is functional. “We want
to confirm that the material scope for the project has been completed
and we have the report of ASECNA, the calibrating aviation firm which
carried out the flight check on these equipment and affirmed to its
functionality, especially that of Kano that was tested on October 21,
2010,” said Bethel Amadi, the Chairman of the committee, in a statement
made available to journalists at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

Mr Amadi, who was
accompanied by other members of the committee, on a fact-finding
mission to the Kano Radar Site, said that the operation of the newly
commissioned TRACON has confirmed the committee’s position on the floor
of the House as pertaining the completion and operation of the Kano
radar and other eight stations across the country.

Project beyond politics

Two weeks ago,
President Goodluck Jonathan, commissioned the complete and operational
Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria project in Abuja; a development which
is viewed by some as deception on the side of the Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency, as they alleged that the system does not fully cover
the country’s entire airspace. The radar enables air traffic
controllers to efficiently and accurately place, manage, control, and
direct aircraft and helicopters in motion within the airspace as well
as those on ground.

The committee chairman advised that the project should not be
politicised, adding that the country’s image should be the first thing
in every right thinking mind. “This project should not be used for
political games,” he said. “Those who are busy spreading this falsehood
should rethink about the implications for our national image and
external investors in the aviation sector of the economy.”

Mr Amadi
also noted that Nigeria had a history of abandoned projects and that
the TRACON could have suffered the same fate, if not for the commitment
by the federal government on safety in the aviation sector, following
the mishap of 2005 and 2006. “The United States Federal Aviation
Authority Category One Status could not have been achieved without the
new surveillance system,” he said.

The failure of the
Federal Government of Nigeria to produce Siemens AG, accused of
conspiring with others to commit the Siemens bribery scam, before an
Abuja High Court yesterday, stalled the arraignment of officials
allegedly involved in over several million dollars Siemens bribery scam.

When the matter
came up yesterday for arraignment of the accused persons, counsel to
the Federal Government, Godwin Obla, told the court that the 1st
accused (Siemens AG), is a foreign entity, and that several attempts to
serve them through the 2nd accused (Siemens Nigeria Limited) was not
fruitful.

He said the
representative of Siemens AG, just arrived from Germany Tuesday by
8p.m, and that counsel to the second accused called him that he is
making efforts to serve them.

Mr. Obla apologised
to the court for the delay in service, stressing that since prosecution
cannot be done on installment, a short adjournment should be granted to
enable him effect service on the first accused.

The trial judge,
Danlami Senchi, adjourned the matter to November 22, to enable the
prosecution produce all the accused persons for arraignment, and
further ruled that the accused persons present in court should enjoy
the administrative bail granted them by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The accused persons
are, Siemens AG, Siemens Limited; Eduard Seidel (at large); Klaus-Peter
Gilbert (at large); Waclaw Lukowicz (at large); Maigada Shuabu, former
executive director, Power Holding Corporation of Nigeria (PHCN);
Mahmood Sadiq Mohammed, former permanent secretary, ministry of
power/steel; Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Ossai, former general manager,
finance, NITEL; and Edwin Moore Momife, former managing director, MTEL.

The thirty-five court charges read, in part:

“That you, Eduard
Seidel (at large), Siemens AG, Siemens Limited, on or about the fifteen
day of August, 2002, within the Abuja Judicial division of the high
court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria, conspire among
yourselves to give a valuable thing without consideration to a pubic
servant, Shuaibu Maigada (then executive director, Power Holding
Company of Nigeria Plc.) and to persons to whom a public servant is
related, Aisha Maigida, Yasmin Maigida, Khadija Maigida, Hassan
Maigida, Amina Maigida, and Farouk Maigida, to wit: purchasing
Lufthansa Business Class air ticket in their favour and thereby
committed an offence under section 96(1) (a) of the penal code and
punishable under section 120 of the penal code CAP 532 LFN (Abuja) 1990.

“That you,
Klaus-Peter Gilbert (at large), Waclaw Lukowicz (at large), Siemens AG
and Siemens Limited, on or about the 20th day of July, 2005, within the
Abuja Judicial division of the high court of the Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja, Nigeria, conspired among yourselves to give valuable
things, without consideration, to public servan t, Mahmood Sadiq
Mohammed (then former permanent secretary, ministry of power/steel);
and persons to whom a public servant is related: Hanif Mohmood,
Khairyyah Moahmood, Hamida Maahmood, and Yusra Mahmood, to wit:
sponsoring medical expenses in Stifung Deutsche Klinik fuer Diagnostik
Gmbh, international patient service, Aukammasl;le 33, 65191, Wiesbaden,
Germany, in their favour and thereby committed an offence under secion
96(1) (a) of the penal code and puinishable under section 120 of the
penal code CAP 532 LFN (Abuja) 1990.

Count 23,”that you,
Scroeterr Jochen (at large), Waclaw Lukowicz (at large), Siemens AG and
Siemens Limited, sometimes in 2007, within the Abuja Judicial Division
of the Federals Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria, having reason to
believe that an offence namely, giving valuable things without
consideration to a public servant has been committed, did conspire
among yourselves to cause evidence of the offence to disappear, to wit:
evacuating expatriate staff of Siemens Nigeria Limited with the
intention of screening the said Siemens AG and Siemens Limited, thereby
committed an offence under section 96 (1) (a) of the penal code,
punishab le under section 167 of the penal code CAP 532 LFN (Abuja)
1990”, count 23 stated.

Some top former officials of the government were alleged to have
received about 10 million euros as bribe from a German te
lecommunication company, Siemens AG.

In the ongoing and
necessary discussions about the state of our nation and the quality of
our polity, the phrase ‘dividends of democracy’ keeps coming up, often
as a strident complaint that we have not received the dividends of
democracy even after 10 years of democratic government.

It seems like only
yesterday that the news filtered out in hushed tones and hurried
conversations that Abacha was dead. No one DARED speculate openly about
the veracity of the rumour. I received the first phone call informing
me in code that the head honcho had passed on, at 11am.

At 2pm, a friend
who was close to a Permanent Secretary in a federal ministry and whose
in-law is a military attaché in one of our diplomatic missions abroad,
called me to say the news was unconfirmed even to the military brass
and the civil service elite who were conducting themselves
circumspectly as if nothing had happened. He said I should not repeat
the rumour to anyone for the sake of my personal security. Not to
anyone! And I did not. I kept my mouth shut.

It was not until
6pm while I was playing netball with a group of ladies at the Lagos
YMCA on Awolowo Road, that we heard a roar from the street; the kind of
jubilation that occurs when Nigeria scores a goal in an international
football match. The news was officially out. It was only then that
people, big people and small people, powerful people and helpless
people could talk about it.

How many of us remember those days and identify freedom of speech as a dividend of democracy?

How many of us
acknowledge that only 15 years ago, the public assault on Uzoma Okere
by naval ratings would have led to loss of physical freedom for the
victim, instead of an official inquiry and embarrassment for the
previously untouchable men in uniform and their superiors?

While acknowledging
that we have so many systemic problems and challenges to overcome, we
also need to recognize that we are revelling in one of the dividends of
democracy – national debate.

National debate is
something we held very close to our hearts. Any time two or more
Nigerians gathered by chance or design, a national debate would take
place. These conversations would usually take place in a home, in a
restaurant, at a bar, during a work break. It was informal and it was
private. In public fora, we did not engage in national debates, other
than in side comments to the person adjacent to us about how correct or
how naïve the speaker taking on the establishment was.

Today, national
debate has come out of the closet. For the past years since the
successful handover from Obasanjo to Yar’ Adua, and all of this year,
following the successful, if rocky, handover of leadership to Goodluck
Jonathan, the level of public discourse, open opposition and support of
politicians and candidates has reached a level that my generation is
witnessing for the first time.

Let us take the
furore over Mr Babangida’s renewed political ambition. Today’s young
adults are not aware of what he did; it was before their time, and the
June 12, 1993, annulment of the presidential election results that
declared MKO Abiola the winner is clearly not a focus of their modern
history classes.

Yet derisory
posters, satirical cartoons, articles in newspapers and magazines,
blogs, television programming is analysing it all – OPENLY – and taking
positions while they do so.

Opening the public space

National debate is
a leading indicator of a progressive state of affairs, even though it
makes the leadership seat too hot for the incumbent to settle too
comfortably in. With the proliferation of private media – radio,
television, print, and online – commentary from the man on the street
about these issues is immediate and feedback through call-ins and
television appearances have become commonplace.

There are many
examples of debates going at the grassroot, state, and national levels,
to mention just a few: the outcry about the okada (motorcycle taxi) ban
in some cities; the organized opposition to the perceived abdication of
government of its responsibility to maintain major roads e.g.
concessioning of Lekki Expressway in Lagos; the conflicting expert
opinions on the governorship succession in Kwara State and the
canvassing of public opinion on the place of family dynasties in our
politics.

Others include: the
critique of the strategy and value of zoning in party politics and the
salary and allowances of members of the legislature.

We have largely
lost our fear of oppression. Even if we are wrongfully arrested, with
good representation either private or public, and with civilian
protests, the likelihood of being released is high.

The recourse to
assault and illegal means of settling disputes is being channelled into
the courts and alternative dispute resolution system. It is rarer to
hear of landlords removing the roofs from their houses to evict tenants.

As politicians
start their campaigns to solicit for our votes, we want to know how the
incumbent has fulfilled his or her responsibilities, and what s/he has
done to improve our lives. Are the roads repaired, the streets clean,
refuse being collected, schools improved, hospitals equipped, police
paid and supported, citizens’ rights protected?

Those are the questions that I will be asking. What will you be focusing on?

Members of the Ondo State Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owner and Riders Association of Nigeria, yesterday, expressed dismay over the alleged unethical practices and violation of standard practice by its leaders, due to what they said was the absence of a democratically constituted union.

The group, in a statement issued by the Chairman of its board of trustees, Akinmade Rotimi, and the Coordinators of its central, northern, and southern zones, Olumorin Akinlolu, Okunola Ademola, and Alade Abdul, appealed to the state Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, to wade into the crisis so that it can also witness rapid development.

The Ondo State chapter of the union has been enmeshed in leadership crisis since March 2009. Members of the union noted that the continuation of the crisis was inimical to the orderliness and smooth operation of commercial motorcyclists in the state.They also lamented that the lingering leadership vacuum, if not urgently addressed, might affect the peaceful coexistence of the people in the state.

The group appealed to the state government to approve the composition of an electoral body to conduct a free and fair election to fill leadership positions in the union. “We, the key stakeholders in ACOMORAN in Ondo State, wish to draw the attention of the State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, to the lingering leadership vacuum existing in the body since March 2009.

We are constrained to point out that the union has been administered by proxy via an undemocratic process, which is in conflict with the spirit and mood of a civilised system and government,” the group said, in a communiqué issued yesterday.

Civil society
groups have suggested that issues bothering on extractives resources
should be put in the front burner of the 2011 elections, since
extractives account for more than 90 percent the country’s national
income.

Making the
suggestion yesterday in Benin City at a town hall meeting on Nigerian
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and 2011
elections, a leader of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre
(CILAC), Innocent Adjenuhure, called for strategies that would help
ensure that politicians, political parties and the electorate regard
Transparency Initiative as critical election issue that must be
addressed by them as a necessity.

Mr. Adjenuhure also
advocated that political parties and candidates for elective positions
be invited to address the electorate at town hall meetings on their
understanding of what NEITI is, and their plans towards ensuring that
government ensure full implementation of the initiative.

Besides, he tasked
civil society organisations on education of the citizens on what NEITI
entails, and the need to demand from contestants in all elections their
plans for NEITI if elected into office.

Failed on initiative

Earlier in her
welcome address, National Co-coordinator of “Publish What You Pay,”
Nwandichi Faith announced that Nigeria was yet to comply with the
implementation of NEITI, whereas five African countries have been
validated so far, and are now compliant.

“Nigeria is still
undergoing validation and has been given a six months extension which
will expire by April 2011. So Nigeria is tagged “close to compliant”
country in the NEITI process,” she said.

Ms. Nwandichi listed the benefits of NEITI to include the
strengthening of accountability and good governance, promotion of
greater economic and political stability and improved investment
climate by providing a clear signal to investors and international
financial institutions that the government is committed to greater
transparency.

In an unusual
twist, the ruling People’s Democratic Party, which used to be the
favourite destination of politicians jumping ships at the Senate,
yesterday lost three of its members to the rank of the opposition.

Two of the
defecting senators, Adego Eferakeya from Delta State and Joel Danlami
from Taraba State moved to the growing Action Congress of Nigeria
(ACN), while the third, Umar Argungu from Kebbi State joined the
Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) whose membership is expanding,
especially in the northern part of the country. Wednesday’s exodus
brings the number of senators who have left the PDP to four in the last
one month, a record high in the history of the Senate.

In a letter to the
Senate President, David Mark, the three lawmakers blamed their decision
to resign their membership of the PDP on the divisions within the party
in their various states, and the likelihood of their political
ambitions being truncated if they remained in such a party.

This movement
brings the number of ACN senators in the senate to seven and raised the
population of senators in the opposition to 14, although this is hardly
enough to alter the direction of any bill even if they all voted in a
plenary.

The senators had
concluded the ceremonies for their defections in their home states, yet
the formal change of seats by the senators at the floor of the Senate
was filled with emotions and revealed the turmoil within the ruling
party.

As Mr Mark read out
their letters of resignation from the party, one after the other, their
former PDP colleagues struggled to either keep them back or, failing
that, make them forfeit their seats.

Some of the
lawmakers lamented the inability of the PDP to resolve its internal
disputes and called on the senate president to intervene.

“I wish to draw the
attention of the (PDP) national headquarters to do something because
the rate at which the crossing away from the party is becoming
alarming,” Jubril Aminu, a ranking senator and party stalwart from
Adamawa State said.

All the PDP
senators who had left for the opposition blamed the inability of the
party to resolve internal crisis as their reason for leaving. Still,
the opposition had, over the last one year, lost eight senators to the
PDP. They include Uche Chukwumerije of Abia State, whom the Senate
President described as a “big catch.”

Trouble in the party

Mr Danlami who was
the first to cross the aisle on Wednesday, is considered a big fish in
his home state of Taraba. He intends to contest the governorship
election in his state in 2011 against the incumbent, and he described
his former party as a party in tatters in his state. The Taraba PDP has
long being engulfed in crises, leading to series of protests to the
party headquarters in Abuja and court cases in the state.

Mr Eferakeya, a
professor of pharmacology, is teaming up with Ovie Omo- Agege, a former
PDP gubernatorial candidate in Delta State who led about 10,000 members
of the party into the ACN a fortnight ago. He also blamed the crises
rocking the party in Delta State for his decision to dump the PDP.
Although he is not considered a political heavy weight in his state,
Mr. Eferakeya is believed to control a large bloc of followers.

Like Ehigie
Uzamere, (Edo State) who was the first PDP senator to decamp to ACN,
Mr.Argungu is also jumping over to the CPC perhaps because of the
growing popularity of the party in his state.

“I don’t understand
how you will leave the known to the unknown,” Mr Mark said, while
accepting his letter of defection. Mr. Argungu explained that PDP was
dead in his state.

Within the coming
weeks, more senators in the ranks of PDP are expected to join the
opposition as their chances of getting tickets for the 2011 elections
grow slim. Despite the worries expressed by the PDP senators, party
officials claim the defections will not affect the national strength of
the party.

Unconstitutional move

The 1999
constitution prohibits the carpet crossing of serving legislators in
section 68 sub-section 1 (g) where it stated that unless there is a
merger of political parties or division or even factions in a political
party, no serving legislator may cross over to another party.

The constitution,
in the same section, also provides that if any legislator contravenes
the provisions, he or she will be required to give up his seat in the
chamber. Perhaps in order to circumvent this, all the senators
defecting claimed there was trouble within the party in their states.

Mr Mark, in
accepting the defections, said he trusted the integrity of the
defecting senators. This was the same line he had used when there was
mass movement of opposition senators into the PDP side in the Senate.

In the past, each
time this crossing of the carpet took place in the Senate chamber,
Olorunnimbe Mamora (AC Lagos State), who is the deputy minority leader
of the Senate always objected, saying the PDP was benefitting from
illegality. But Mr. Mamora’s voice was always too weak to stop the
process, though yesterday he did not raise any objections to the
defections.

During the first
amendment to the 1999 constitution, the lawmakers attempted to amend
this section but their efforts were thwarted by legislators at the
state houses of assemblies who refused to vote for the deletion of the
section.