Nigeria Content Online

Two
members-sponsored bills have shown up at the National Assembly, again
seeking to allow political appointees serve as delegates at the
conventions of political parties, weeks after the Senate dumped a
similar bill and the House promised to do same.

The bill, sponsored by the 44 members of the
committee on Constitution amendment, was read the first time at the
Senate, on Tuesday, while the House passed its version, released for
the first time through a second reading.

The Senate’s bill is a milder version of an earlier
amendment bill, which was proposed by the Presidency but thrown out by
the Senators, who described the earlier amendment as “toxic” to the
Electoral Act 2010.

The new bill proposes that the Section 87(8) of the
2010 Electoral Act, which prohibits political appointees at all
government levels from participating as voting delegates at party
congresses, be amended to accommodate political appointees who are
elected officials of the party.

“No political appointee at any level shall be a
voting delegate at the convention or congress of any political party
for the purpose of nomination of candidates for any election, except
where such a political appointee is also an elected officer of a
political party,” the new bill proposes.

Even though the new bill negates the rule of the
Senate that any bill which was thrown away from the floor of the Senate
cannot be re-introduced until after six months from the day the bill
was rejected, the Senate appears keen on passing it.

Ayogu Eze, the Senate spokesperson, argued that the
new bill is not on the same subject matter as the executive bill, which
the lawmakers rejected a few weeks ago.

Automatic delegates

The insistence of the lawmakers to go ahead with the
bill, despite their rules, may be linked to another change the bill
will bring to the Act. The bill seeks to set the quality and membership
of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of all political parties in
the Act by introducing subsection 12 to section 87.

According to the bill’s proposal, the membership of
every parties NEC shall include presiding officers of the National
Assembly, who are members of the political party, and chairmen and vice
chairmen of standing committees, who are members of the party in both
the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 55 standing
committees in the Senate and 85 in the House of Representatives. Going
by the proposal of the bill, the National Executive Committee of the
People’s Democratic Party, the largest party in National Assembly,
would have about 240 lawmakers as members.

Conventionally, members of the National Executive Committee are automatic voting delegates at party primaries.

“In our own view, any law that we will make to ensure
our party rule more democratically, to ensure that there is good
governance, to ensure that you pull in more voices to increase the
breath of consultation within the political parties themselves, that
law is a desirable law, because at the end of the day, the people you
are sending there are the representative of the people,” Mr. Ayogu Eze
said, justifying the amendments.

“In any case, most of the other political parties,
except a few in the country, already have member of the National
Assembly as member of their NEC. What we are doing is not new or
strange in that law,” he added.

The House’s version of the bill is sponsored by Cyril
Maduabum and Igo Aguma. The bill, according to its sponsors, targets
“inconsistencies” in the already amended Electoral Act. One of them is
the mention of the Independent Candidate in the document, even when it
was rejected during constitution amendments.

The bill is to also reconcile provisions made about
dates in the Act, as well as the constitution. But the final part of
the bill seeks to make all members of the National Assembly automatic
members of the National Executive Committee of their parties.

The committee, to be the highest making body of the
parties, is expected to provide for an easier decision on the choice of
the bulk of party delegates.

Mr. Maduabum has denied that the bill has ill
intentions. He said yesterday that the bill is not a “reincarnation” of
the one rejected by the Senate and is not out to destroy democracy. The
House promptly read the bill the second time on Tuesday without debates.

Disbursing the loan
in Gombe, the NDE Coordinator, Abdulkadir Madubi, said the facility
will enable the beneficiaries to start off their individual businesses.
He added that the beneficiaries had learnt various trades under the
directorate’s skills acquisition programme. Each of them received
N20,000 payable within three years without interest. The Chairman of
the Physically Challenged Persons Association of Nigeria, in the state
Ali Goro, commended the NDE for the gesture and gave assurance that the
recipients would use the loan for the stipulated purpose. The
beneficiaries had undergone a three-month training in bead making,
weaving, fashion design, leather work and knitting.

The strike was
embarked upon jointly by the academic staff of Kano State
Polytechnic,Sa`adatu Rimi College of Education, Aminu Kano College of
Islamic and Legal Studies as well as College of Arts, Science and
Remedial Studies. The Commissioner for Higher Education, Aisha Ismail,
stated that all the parties were able to reach an agreement to call off
the strike ‘‘based on mutual trust’’. She noted that in view of the
fact that Kano is the most populous state in the country, available
infrastructure in its institutions were over-stretched due to
increasing number of student’s enrolment. Ismail reiterated
government’s commitment to the provision of necessary facilities and
structures at the institutions, through various strategies, including
Public Private Partnership.

For allegedly
flouting the local content bill, the Nigeria National Fitters
Association (NNFA), an affiliate of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),
has petitioned the Local Content Commission and Monitoring Board over
alleged contravention of the bill by oil companies in the oil rich
Niger Delta region.

The Delta State
zonal chairman of the NNFA, Morrister Idibra, who disclosed this in
Warri, shortly after the inauguration of the Udu/Ughelli South local
government central unit, accused oil multinationals of alleged
deliberate disregard to the local content bill.

Mr. Idibra said
Nigerian fitters have not failed in their job, but their major
challenge has been the influx of foreigners. He then called on the
commission to take action and sanction multinationals that refuse to
respect the bill. He said it is unacceptable for jobs that could be
done by local fabricators to be given to foreigners.

The newly
inaugurated chairman of the Udu/Ughelli South LGA, Sugarry G. Djukpan,
said the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), awaiting passage by the
National Assembly and the Nigeria Oil and Gas Content Bill, which
encourages employment of indigenous professionals in the downstream
sectors, are major development in the nation’s oil and gas industry.

Mr. Djukpan
expressed optimism that the bill would enable locals to be real
stakeholders in the management of natural resources found in their
locality, adding that locals should be allowed to participate as way of
developing their local communities and the entire nation.

He, however,
appealed to multinationals in the region to be more responsive and
ensure that the local content bill, which enables Nigerians to handle
local work in the industry, is not violated.

The Anambra State government aims to achieve over
70 percent implementation of the 2010 budget by the end of the fiscal
year, the commissioner for budget and economic planning, Chinyere
Okunna, has said.

Ms. Okunna, who addressed the media yesterday in
Awka at a town hall meeting, said only about 40 percent had been
achieved, owing to the rains, which she said had stalled road projects.

She said the purpose of the town hall budget
meeting was to ensure that the various communities made their inputs
into next year’s budget by specifying their areas of need, so that
money would be allocated to them.

“The town hall meetings are part of government’s
participatory budget preparation, which we have been pioneering. It
allows people to make their input into budgeting, unlike the situation
in the past when government imposed budget on the people,” Ms. Okunna
said.

She also noted that the state appreciated its poor
resource base and thus needed to budget meticulously and precisely by
involving the people in the planning.

The officials also said most of those involved in
the budget preparation were also part of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) programme, where she said the state had equally been doing
well.

Providing water

She said the state had scaled up the provision of
boreholes to communities to enhance availability of water. This, she
said, is a back-up to bigger water projects such as five water schemes
going on in parts of the state.

Assuring them that massive road construction would
recommence after the rains, Ms. Okunna scored the state government high
in such areas as health, education, agriculture, among others.

According to her, the recent provision by the
state government of 100 buses to secondary schools, as well as the
earlier provision of computers, boreholes, generating sets, and
construction of classroom blocks in each of the 177 communities in the
state, had marked the state out as an education-friendly state.

Activities at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) and
the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) were yesterday brought
to a halt as both the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU), UNIBEN
chapter, and the Association of Resident Doctors, UBTH chapter,
embarked on separate protests, calling for the immediate release of Mr.
Eugene Okpere, a professor and the former Chief Medical Director, CMD,
of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, who was kidnapped
on Sunday morning.

The protesting doctors barricaded the ever-busy Ugbowo-Lagos Road, resulting in heavy vehicular traffic.

They also hijacked one of the recently
commissioned Edo Intra-City buses, and discharged all the passengers
who demanded a refund of their fares.

Chairman of the UBTH Resident Doctors, Omoigo
Casmir, said the state was no longer conducive for them to practise
their profession. He said they would from today embark on total strike
action and would no longer attend to emergency cases.

“We are protesting the incessant kidnappings in
the state. We want the government to wake up and fight kidnappings and
other crimes in the state. We don’t know what has happened to all the
kidnappers they have arrested,” Dr. Casmir said, calling for a total
overhauling of the security personnel in the state.

The lecturers protested through some major streets in Benin City, ending at the State Government House in GRA.

Chairman of UNIBEN ASUU, Kenneth Ilavbare, said they were demanding
the release of Mr. Okpere, who is a lecturer in the medical school of
UNIBEN.

Abductors of former
Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Benin Teaching
Hospital (UBTH), have demanded for a ransom of N50 million before
releasing the man.

Eugene Okepere was kidnapped on his way to church on Sunday morning.

A close family
source told journalists yesterday that the abductors contacted the
family on Sunday night, where they made their demands and thereafter
switched off their lines without giving room for any negotiation.

Meanwhile,
activities in government hospitals across the state remained skeletal
yesterday owing to the directive from the leadership of the state
chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to restrict their
services to only emergency cases and those already on admission before
Sunday.

Dr. Philip Ugbodaga,
the association chairman, said they had to still continue to render
skeletal services because of the presence of the old politician, Anthony
Enahoro, who is still recuperating at UBTH.

“Ordinarily, we are
to stop work totally, but we have a special guest in one of our
hospitals, Anthony Enahoro, so we are attending to people already with
us because of him, and also emergency cases. The leadership of the NMA
will meet to take a critical position on this development where medical
workers are now targets of kidnappers,” he said.

Meanwhile, as at the
time of filing this report, it was gathered that the Medical and Dental
Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), UBTH chapter, was meeting
to review the situation and may embark on total strike action to call
for the unconditional release of the former CMD who is believed to have
improved on the infrastructural and personnel status of the teaching
hospital.

Police sources
confirmed the latest development on the demands of the suspected
kidnappers, but refused to disclose what they were doing.

The state police spokesperson, Peter Ogboi, was said to be at a meeting when checked at his office yesterday.

The House of Representatives will today formally
consider lifting the suspension of its members who were sanctioned in
June, 2010, for leading calls for the removal of the Speaker, Dimeji
Bankole, accused of fraud.

Two members, out of the 11 lawmakers banned, are to
be considered first, following a guideline which spokesperson, Eseme
Eyiboh, said will accept such reviews on individual basis only if the
affected members quit litigations, and tender apology.

The roles played by Ehiogie Idahosa (Edo State) and
Olugbenga Onigbogi (Osun State) – who did not seek legal redress – will
be reviewed today in a report that is expected to recommend their
recalls.

Both members, with nine others, under a group named
The Progressives, asked for Mr. Bankole’s removal, accusing him of
misusing House 2009 capital budget funds amounting to N9 billion. On
June 22, agitations for the Speaker’s removal led to violence, which
left two members hospitalised.

Members of the group, led by Dino Melaye, were forced out of the sitting, and handed indefinite suspension terms.

The House Ethics and Privileges committee, the
equivalent of an in-house jury, which scrutinises erring members, laid
reports of over three months of hearings on the matter last week, and
the House indicated yesterday that a resolution will be reached to pave
way for their recall.

The report will be the first to be considered on
Tuesday, according to the House weekly notice paper released Monday,
amid alleged threats by some members to disallow proceedings until the
recommendations are concluded to reinstate the members.

Although members of the group, Mr. Idahosa and Mr.
Onigbogi, were absent from the chamber during the fracas, the two
lawmakers petitioned the House, offering to surrender themselves for
internal inquiry.

Two other members of the group, Gbenga Oduwaye and
Kayode Amusan, who also waived their rights to court action and last
week offered to be investigated, will be considered next while Austin
Nwachukwu who withdrew his case from court will also receive attention,
the Ethics committee chairman, Saleh Minjibir, said.

The leader of the group, Mr. Melaye, and five others, challenged the ban in court, and are expecting a ruling November 15, 2010.

“For those who are still in court, we expect that
some of them will take similar step to obey and respect the
institution, but we assure you that the House will take necessary steps
to ensure that such a thing does not repeat itself again,” Mr. Eyiboh
said.

The House Ethics committee, which also investigates corruption
allegations against its members, had promised it will probe the N9bn
charge against the Speaker, but is yet to make any report on that.

The Goodluck/Sambo Presidential Campaign Organisation has
commended the pan Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, for
endorsing the presidential bid of President Goodluck Jonathan.

It also commended another group, the Igbo Professionals
resident in Lagos, for their objective and nationalistic position that Mr
Jonathan is the preisdent Nigeria needs at the moment.

Sully Abu, the director of media and publicity of the
organisation, said “Ohaneze and the Igbo Professionals are pointing the way to
the Nigeria of our dreams where Leadership is determined by competence rather
than ethnicity”.

Mr Abu urged Nigerians not to be deceived by those who have
been using primordial sentiments to divide the polity.

“The endorsement of Jonathan by these patriots has put paid to
the devious machinations of those divide-and-rule politicians who think they
can hoodwink our Igbo brethren by dangling fake carrots, even when their antecedents
are full of broken promises,” he said.

He called on all political aspirants to emulate the president
in embracing an issue-based campaign devoid of ethnic rancour and acrimony.

NPC forms

Meanwhile, the national executive committee of the Nigeria Peoples
Congress (NPC) at its meeting on Monday fixed the costs of its nomination forms
for members aspiring for elective office during 2011 general elections.

In a communiqué signed by its national chairman of the party,
Ngozi Emioma, the party approved N1 million for office of president and
N500,000 for the governorship office.

The others are Senate (N200,000), House of Representatives
N100,000, House of Assembly N50,000. Women aspirants, he said, are exempted
from nomination fees.

Mr Emioma said that the NEC strongly condemns the spate of
violence, arson, bomb blasts, armed robberies and kidnappings in the country
and calls on security agencies to halt the trend in tandem with section 14 (2)b
of the 1999 constitution which states that, “the security and welfare of the
people shall be the primary purpose of government.”

The NEC, he added, also urged the federal government to take
steps to alleviate the sufferings of the masses who, it said can no longer
afford three square meals a day due to the harsh economic meltdown, in addition
to various natural disasters particularly flood, erosion and desert
encroachment that have worsened the plights of these citizens.

Mr Emioma also said the NEC asked the government to expedite action on the
minimum wage the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) demanded, stressing “Nigerian
workers deserve a fair deal and improved standard of living.”

The members of the
Ondo State House of Assembly seeking re-election in the 2011 general
elections under the platform of the Labour Party should go to their
various constituencies and campaign, the party’s leadership has said.

Olaiya Oni, the
Labour Party chairman who dropped the hint when the 13 lawmakers went
to the party’s secretariat to procure nomination forms.

Mr. Oni noted that
the party was ready to conduct transparent primaries adding that there
will be no automatic tickets for any political office holders seeking
re-election.

The party chief,
however, commended the nine LP lawmakers who were declared winners of
the election held on April 14, 2007 for their steadfast and rare show
of loyalty when the party was struggling to regain its mandate.

“For 21 months that
we were battling to reclaim our mandate, the nine LP lawmakers shunned
all forms of financial inducement and remained steadfast to our course.
They were sending N400, 000 to the party secretariat regularly.

“It is not as if we
are endorsing them as a party; we are only commending them for the work
they had done in the past. We will also be glad if they are re-elected
to continue the quality representation they have been providing for
their people.”

The lawmakers are:
Emiola Dare, Ifedayo Akinsoyinu, Oladejo Adeloye, Akinsiku Afolabi,
Abiodun Ogunbi, Omotayo Abidakun, Henry Akinsuroju, Bakita Bello,
Ayodele Awodeyi, Samuel Pelemo, Oyebo Aladetan, Olatunji Dairo, Adeniyi
Akindele and Dejo Adeloye.

Speaking on behalf
of his colleagues shortly after submitting the forms the Majority
Leader of the Assembly, Ifedayo Akinsoyinu, said, “We decided to come
as a team to submit our forms because we believe that together, we can
effectively work with the executive to deliver dividends of democracy
in the next political dispensation.

“We are seeking re-election because we had many unfinished assignments at the House which we hoped to complete”.