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The case of five governors seeking to extend
their tenures beyond 2011, was yesterday stalled at the Federal High Court in
Abuja after an Adamawa governorship aspirant filed an application seeking to be
joined as a party in the suit.

Micheal Zira asked to be included in the lawsuit
filed by Adamawa governor, Murtala Nyako saying that the outcome of the case
will affect his ambition.

The five incumbent governors, specifically,
Ibrahim Idris of Kogi, Aliyu Wamako of Sokoto, Timiprieye Sylva of Bayelsa,
Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Liyel Imoke of Cross-River, challenged the decision
of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct governorship
polls in their states next year while, according to them, their tenure is still
running. They also asked the court to stop the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
from conducting any primaries for the governorship elections in their states.

The court, presided by Adamu Bello, will decide
on November 9 whether to join Mr. Zira, who is running under the National
Transformation Party (NTP), in the suit.

Without merit

Both the counsel to the governors, Olusola Oke,
and the counsel to INEC, Kanu Godwin Agabi, asked the court not to grant Mr.
Zira’s application because he is not a necessary party in the suit.

Also, Mr. Agabi said Mr. Zira’s application was
defective, as a joinder ought to be a political party and not an individual.
Mr. Oke, who represented the PDP, agreed and recommended that the judge dismiss
the application for lacking in merit.

But in his reply, Godwin Ogboji, counsel to Mr
Zira, said his client sought to be joined as a co-defendant in the suit because
the governors’ action could prevent INEC from conducting free and fair
governorship elections in Adamawa state in 2011 elections. He said the lawsuit
would adversely affect him as a candidate.

Mr. Ogboji told the court that it would be in the interest of justice if the
application were granted, as none of the original parties to the suit would be
adversely affected in any way. He noted that “Mr. Zira has started campaigning
already, opening campaign offices in all the local government areas of the
state, recruiting personnel, procuring campaign vehicles and criss-crossing the
of the state in pursuit of his ambition,” he said “For anybody to suddenly stop
the said poll would be injurious to my party’s interest.”

President Goodluck Jonathan is worried that the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is fast losing grip of the South West
zone, which he believes might affect the party’s outing in the 2011
general elections.

The President is said to have expressed his fears,
during a meeting with the national chairman of the PDP, Okwesilieze
Nwodo last weekend.

Three of the six states in the South West region are
controlled by opposition parties while there are protracted crises in
the others controlled by the PDP.

The six states in the zone are Oyo, Ogun, Osun Ondo,
Ekiti and Lagos. While Oyo, Ogun and Osun are controlled by the PDP,
Lagos and Ekiti are run by Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)
administrations. The Labour Party controls the government in Ondo State.

According to a source at the national secretariat of
the PDP, Mr Okwesilieze, who returned from his overseas trip last
Friday, was said to have met with the President to discuss the state of
affairs in the ruling party.

Mr Jonathan was said to have mandated the PDP
chairman during the meeting to explore all avenues towards resolving
the crises and unite the various factions in the party in the zone.

“Jonathan gave Nwodo the mandate to explore all
avenues towards resolving the crises so as to avoid a situation where
the main opposition party in the South West, the Action Congress of
Nigeria could exploit the crack within the PDP state chapters to its
advantage,” the source said.

Both Messrs Jonathan and Nwodo were said to have
discussed the crisis in Enugu State, especially the dissolution of the
party’s executive in the state.

The President, the source said, insisted that the
matter should be left to the court to determine since some members of
the party had challenged the dissolution in court.

It was learnt that the President, who is the leader
of the party, was aware of the plan to dissolve the executive in Enugu,
having held a meeting with Mr Nwodo and some members of the National
Working Committee (NWC) before he (Nwodo) went on vacation abroad.

Our source indicated that Enugu State chapter was
dissolved because it was among the chapters whose members did not
challenge their 2008 congresses in court but merely quarrelled over the
matter.

When contacted yesterday, Ike Abonyi, the media aide
to Mr Nwodo said he was not aware that Mr Jonathan is worried over the
state of PDP in the south west zone.

“I am not aware of the President’s position on the matter you are
talking about. All I can say is that the PDP chairman returned from
abroad last Friday. I have not been briefed about his meeting with the
President,” Mr Abonyi said.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has said it is
ready to ensure a violence-free election as the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) begins its registration of voters in January next year.

Okeh Emmanuel, public relations officer of the corps, told
journalists in Abuja yesterday that the need to guarantee the safety and
security of voters, electoral materials and officials cannot be
over-emphasized.

He was reporting on the outcome of the Commandant-general of the
corps, Ade Abolurin’s, briefing of top management staff, including state
commandants and zonal commanders, at the corps’ national headquarters Abuja.

“All hands must be on deck as any manifestation of violence in
politics gives an unmistakable impression that the security system of the country
is yet to get it right especially in this era of modern civilization,” he said.

“All eyes are on the organization and we cannot afford to fail
or disappoint the confidence Nigerians reposed on the corps”.

Proper training

Mr. Abolurin had said that the corps would commence the training
of its electoral duty personnel drafted from state commands across the country
at the various corps’ colleges and institutions in Katsina, Abeokuta and Abuja.

The personnel have been drafted from various departments such as
the special duties, counter-terrorism, intelligence, anti-fraud, and
anti-vandal units.

“The training program will further propel the corps personnel
for better service delivery and to ensure institutional integrity,” he said.

Mr. Abolurin said the resolve to organise this training program
was in tandem with President Goodluck Jonathan’s promise to deliver credible
elections.

“As an organisation which enjoys government support and funding,
[the corps] must not fall short of expectations in the general interest of the
country,” he said.

The Democratic People’s Party (DPP) said
on Monday that the defection of former governor of Sokoto State,
Attahiru Bafarawa, to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), has not
shaken the party.

Mr. Bafarawa, the chairman, Board of
Trustee (BOT) of DPP, has since forwarded his letter of withdrawal to
the party’s national chairman, Jeremiah Useni, the national secretary of
the party, Mohammed DanAzumi, said in Abuja yesterday.

Mr. DanAzumi claimed that Mr. Bafarawa
had the constitutional right to move to any party of his choice, so long
as the constitution had given him the freedom of association.

“It’s worthy to note that a wrong defection can ruin a politician and it is better to look well before leaping,” he cautioned.

The DPP scribe said it was natural that
Mr. Bafarawa’s supporters would join him, adding that the chunk of DPP
faithful would remain.

He, however, described the defection as
expected, claiming that Mr. Bafarawa move to ACN was not a surprise to
the party, adding that discussions had been on for quite a long time.

The job creation
committee of the National Economic Management Team (NEMT) yesterday
submitted a framework to facilitate the realisation of an ambitious
target of creating 15 million new jobs in the country in the next five
years.

Chairman of the
Committee, Aliko Dangote, said in line with its specific mandate of
developing an action plan for interventions towards increased job
creation, the committee recommended priority areas in three core
sectors with strong and natural comparative advantage.

But the exercise is
already generating a conflict in responsibility among agencies of
government, as the representative of the Federal Ministry of Labour gave
indication during the ceremony that the ministry would, at the
appropriate time, express its concern over the ‘creation of another
office to do a job already assigned to the Federal Ministry of Labour –
making sure that unemployment is removed in the country.’ The official,
who represented the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chukwuemeka
Wogu, said: ‘I think Labour is well positioned today to drive and
coordinate the activities that would generate employment, whether from
the private or private sector.’ But Mr. Dangote identified the areas the
committee intends to focus its attention on to include agriculture and
agro-allied industries, manufacturing as well as building and
construction, though he also acknowledged the strategic importance of
the micro, small and medium-scale industries.

The framework
submitted yesterday focused on creating the environment that would
support entrepreneurs effort to set up new businesses; provide
opportunities for existing businesses to grow, as well as help mobilize
the informal sectors into the mainstream of the economy to enable them
benefit from government and private sector supports.

The committee
identified the entertainment and sports industries as emerging sectors
where the country has strong and natural advantages, where opportunities
to create jobs are immense, pointing out that as an extremely creative
and competitive nation with abundance of young people, these would be
natural areas of growth and focus.

At the core of the
overhaul, the committee explained, is the need to resuscitate
structured, credible and respected vocational programmes to provide the
skills that would fuel the growth of local industries and improve the
attractiveness of vocational careers.

Wait and see The
committee therefore asked government to appoint a Special Adviser to the
president on Job Creation, who would also be a member of the NEMT as
well as establishment of an Agency for Job creation responsible for
gathering, analyzing and disseminating information on job creation.

“The agency will be a
public-private partnership, but with independent leadership and
thinking to ensure that performance on job creation takes centre stage
in the assessment of the tenures of successive governments,” the
committee said.

Minister of Finance,
Segun Aganga, emphasized the importance of creating jobs for the
people, particularly for the youths who have the highest rate of
unemployment among the age bracket of 15 to 24 years, at 41.6 percent.
He said despite the growth of the economy, projected at 7.7percent this
year, unemployment has continued to outstrip the economic growth.

Though the Minister
was unable to explain how the committee would achieve its mandate
differently than the existing job creation agencies like the National
Directorate for Employment (NDE) and Ministry of Employment of
Productivity, he urged Nigerians to “wait and see” as said government is
determined to ensure its impact is felt as felt as possible.

The Abia State
Government, yesterday, said it has uncovered a plot by some people to
smuggle 50 suspected kidnappers out of the country.

Kingsley Emeruwa,
the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, who disclosed this while
briefing journalists at the government house, said the state government
has reported the case to the inspector general of police. According to
him, a member of the group, who he said is a relative of the former
personal assistant to the impeached Deputy Governor, Chris Akomas,
impersonated the substantive Deputy Governor, Eric Nwakanma, to ask for
a waiver from the South African Embassy for entry visas for 50 persons
who they claimed were to undergo training on project management and
window server. The state government’s spokesperson said a letter from
the South African embassy to the government asking for confirmation
drew attention to the scam.

Reduced crime rate

Mr Emerua, who also
said kidnapping in the state has reduced following the invitation of
soldiers to the state, said the state Governor, Theodore Orji, has
banned any form of reception party by any group for the soldiers. He
also said the governor has requested that nobody should place any
advertorial for him on his birthday, but instead donate the money that
would have been used for such venture to charity.

The Special Adviser to the governor on security matters, Awa Agwu,
denied media reports that between 12 and 15 persons were kidnapped in
Aba last week. According to him, kidnapping in the state has dropped to
the barest minimum. Mr Agwu said political opponents of the government
are using the press to write things that are not factual, and urged
journalists to crosscheck their facts before publication. “The
prevalence of crime in Abia is below 15% and we commend the Army for a
job well done in the fight against kidnapping,” he said.

The Chief Judge of
the Federal Capital Territory, Lawal H. Gummi, has announced that he
will deliver his judgment on a suit challenging the party on the issue
of zoning on November 24.

Mr. Gummi fixed the
date after listening to arguments by the parties in the suit filed by
Sani Aminu Dutsinma, a presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), yesterday.

Mr. Dutsinma had
sued both the party and its national chairman, Okweselize Nwodo,
contending that the party had deliberately ignored its constitutional
zoning arrangement to make room for Goodluck Jonathan to contest in
2011.

In an originating
summons deposed, Mr. Dutsinma had asked the court to force the party to
adhere to the provisions of its constitution and zone the presidency to
the Northern zone of the country.

The PDP’s defence

The PDP refuted the
allegations that it had previously zoned the presidency to the north,
and maintained that it would be discriminatory to exclude anyone from
contesting election in a democratic setting on the basis of religion or
place of birth.

“It is our
submission that nomination of candidate of a political party has always
been regarded as a domestic affair,” said Olusola Oke, the party’s legal
adviser.

“If internal
democracy must be deepened, no individual aspirant should be given
advantage over the other by reason of his place of origin,” Mr. Oke
said.

He asked the court
to strike out the matter for lack of jurisdiction, saying that Mr.
Dutsinma was not a bona-fide member of the party, having failed to pay
his dues for the past 3 years.

Furthermore, the
party said that its constitution never specified that any zone will
serve for two consecutive terms as president.

He, therefore, asked the court to discountenance Mr. Dutsinma’s claim that a zone is entitled to two terms.

The deputy chairman
of the Board of Trustees of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC),
Sule Hamma, on Tuesday, said the party sympatises with the northern
elements within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who felt
betrayed by the alleged zoning arrangement agreed upon some years ago.

Speaking with
journalists in Abuja, Mr. Hamma, who was also the director general of
The Buhari Organisation (TBO), however, ruled out the involvement of the
CPC and its leader, Muhammadu Buhari, in the search for a consensus
candidate among the presidential aspirants on PDP platform from the
north.

“We see (Adamu)
Ciroma as a friend and as an honourable person, as a very conscientious
senior Nigerian citizen that is committed to ensuring justice within his
own party,” he said.

“So far as that is
concerned, we sympathise with anybody that has been betrayed by a
political partner or associate, no matter which party he is in, because
we stand for principle and we insist that people must be responsible and
must also discharge obligations freely entered, irrespective of what
are the circumstances,” he said.

Mr. Hamma dismissed
reports that Mr. Buhari distanced himself from the search for a
consensus candidate because he would rather prefer to face Goodluck
Jonathan in the election to a candidate from the north. According to
him, the retired military general is not afraid of contesting against
any candidate.

The CPC chief urged Nigerians to ignore the PDP, which he said, does not respect agreements freely entered into.

“There is no doubt
about the fact that the issue that has created this wave within the PDP
is one of treachery and betrayal by the PDP dominant group that is in
power today, that is unwilling to recognise and accept the provisions of
the constitution of the party, and the agreement that was entered into
between the northern elements within the PDP and their southern
brothers,” he added.

He admitted that
there is a group of people in the country who are determined to deny Mr.
Buhari the opportunity of returning to power.

“First, the issue of
a cabal; no matter how enlightened they may be, is completely
objectionable to us. We insist that Nigerians are capable of electing
their leaders.

“We insist that in
the twenty first century, Nigeria will be defined in terms of the
strength and stability of its democracy, its openness, and its
transparency, and its participation and responsiveness to the need of
its own people.

“Nigerians will not be accepted or judged as a civilised democratic country if it is controlled by a cabal,” he said.

The rains which
started at about 5.30 a.m., lasted for three hours, flooding many parts
of the town except Summit and Nnebisi Roads, as well as the Asaba-Benin
highway.

The flood also
affected the Government House and Okpanam Roads where the House of
Assembly, Police headquarters, Legislators Quarters Federal and State
Secretariats are located. Vehicular movement was disrupted on many roads
while residents were seen wading through their flooded homes and
streets.

When contacted on
telephone to comment on the development, the state Commissioner for
Environment, Bello Orubebe, declined comments, saying he was busy with
political matters.

The National
Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed that, as of October,
about 500,000 were displaced due to the devastating floods in many parts
of the country.

Mohammed Sani-Sidi,
the director general of the agency, disclosed this today during a Rapid
Assessment tour of flooded communities in Bayelsa State.

“The country has witnessed the debilitating effects of flooding in states like Sokoto,

Jigawa, Kebbi,
Nassarawa, Lagos, Ogun, Cross River and Akwa Ibom,” Mr Sani-Sidi said.
“We are now victims of this fate wherever you go: North, South, East or
West.”

He blamed the floods
on weather patterns in the country, and all over the world, which have
resulted in adverse ecological imbalances.

“Although flooding
in communities along the Niger trough and coastal communities is not new
to us, what is worrisome is the severity of these cases as we have
witnessed, and the extreme weather conditions experienced globally due
to climate change.”

Disaster prevention

Mr Sani-Sidi said
there was a critical need to make communities more resilient by funding
disaster and risk-reduction activities, safer building methods and
protecting critical infrastructure. He said disasters do not occur in a
vacuum and advocated more communal action to prevent them.

“There is also a
need to imbibe the culture of disaster prevention,” he said. “This can
only be done if we all know that it is wrong to build on water channels,
blocking drainages with refuse, felling trees indiscriminately without
even planting new ones. We all must come together to right the wrongs we
have all individually and collectively brought on our environment.”

Mr Sani-Sidi said
while his agency will do all in its capacity bring relief to the victims
whose livelihoods were washed off by the flood, there is a need for the
establishment of well structured and properly funded state emergency
management agencies to manage disasters in their localities.

“The environment remains our most valued possession and legacy which
we must all strive to protect. Let us all join hands in protecting our
common interest,” he said.