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An emergency meeting
of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) was convened last Monday to attend to what the party called “some
burning issues”, especially the controversy that trailed the
dissolution of the executive committee of the Enugu State chapter of the
party.

Two days earlier,
the office of the national chairman, Okwesilieze Nwodo had, in a
statement dissolved the state executive committee and in its place
appointed an eight-member committee headed by Anthony Agbo, a senator,
to organise a fresh congress.

The state was among
the eight states whose congresses are being disputed by the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC). The other states are Adamawa, Imo,
Kogi, Delta, Oyo, Plateau, and Bayelsa.

INEC, in a letter
sent out by its director of political party monitoring, Regina Omo-Agege
last month, said it would not recognize the congresses conducted in the
states because they did not follow laid down procedure and were
therefore inconclusive. The electoral body advised the ruling party to
conduct fresh congress where authentic executive committees would
emerge.

Although, the NWC
met over the matter and resolved to direct the party’s national legal
adviser, Olusola Oke to inform INEC that it was an internal matter, the
commission was to fire another letter to the party, this time signed by
its secretary, Abdullahi Kaugama, insisting that the fresh congresses
must hold in the states.

With INEC’s fresh
letter and the controversy over dissolution of the Enugu State on its
agenda, the NWC went into the emergency meeting at the Legacy House,
Maitama, Abuja, formerly the campaign headquarters of the Obasanjo/Atiku
Campaign Organisation.

The meeting turned
out to be stormy. Chaired by the deputy national chairman, Haliru Bello
Mohammed, members of the committee were reportedly at dagger drawn over
the issue of congress. It was gathered that some of them expressed shock
at the dissolution of the party by Mr Nwodo, who was then holidaying in
the United States, through his media aide Ike Abonyi.

Party chiefs,
especially those sympathetic to the Enugu governor, Sullivan Chime,
viewed the development as an exhibition of personal interest by Mr
Nwodo, who himself hails from the state and was its governor. Some were
said to have argued that since the protest of the chairman of the
dissolved committee, Vitalis Abba had not come to it, there was no need
discussing it.

In the end, the NWC
resolved to set up a three-member committee, comprising Messrs Mohammed,
Oke and Abubakar Baraje, the national secretary, not only to look into
the matter but also to make representation to President Goodluck
Jonathan over the manner Mr Nwodo runs the party.

Besides, the deputy
national chairman was mandated to write INEC explaining why fresh
congress should not hold in the affected states. In his letter the
following day, October 25, Mr Mohammed, said that the congresses had
become matters of litigation in the court of law, particularly in Delta
and Oyo States.

He reminded INEC
that its then Resident Electoral Commissioner in Delta State, Humphrey
Nwangeneh, monitored the congress in the state and subsequently sent a
report to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

“The documents
emanating from your commission do not support the claim of inconclusive
congress in Delta state. While the above suit pending, no fresh congress
can legally hold in Delta state. There appears to be good reason for
the commission to have a second look at the case of Delta State,” Mr
Mohammed said.

In the case of Oyo
State, although the PDP deputy national chairman confirmed that INEC did
not monitor the congress as required by law, he said there was already
an order of injunction issued by a court, hence it would be wrong to
interfere in the matter.

“Our understanding
of the ruling on jurisdiction is that the ex-parte order earlier issued
by the court was never made and that at all materials times, the Oyo
state congress was never legally encumbered by any valid court order,”
Mr Mohammed said.

Mr Mohammed,
however, informed the commission of the party’s desire to conduct
another congress in Imo State between October 29 and November 1.

Although it could
not be confirmed if INEC has replied the party, the controversy over the
conduct of fresh congress is still tearing the party apart.

It is still not
certain how Mr Nwodo, who is due back in the country this weekend, will
respond to the development, especially the reported resolution of his
colleagues in the NWC to report him to Mr Jonathan over his dictatorial
tendencies since assuming office last June.

EFCC gets in the way

As he returns, he
will be confronted with another matter, the list of the alleged corrupt
officials posted on the website of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) but which was unveiled by the media earlier in the
week.

The issue came up
for discussion at the Monday’s NWC meeting, apparently because of the
preponderance of members of the ruling party on the list.

Among the party
faithful listed on the advisory list were formers governors James Ibori
(Delta), Rashidi Ladoja (Oyo), Joshua Dariye (Plateau), Lucky Igbinedion
(Edo), Boni Haruna (Adamawa), Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu), Michael
Botmang (Plateau), Jolly Nyame (Taraba), Saminu Turaki (Jigawa) and
Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa).

Iyabo
Obasanjo-Bello, a senator, two former aviation ministers, Babalola
Borishade and Femi Fani Kayode, former FCT Minister, Nasir el-Rufai and a
host of other members of the PDP also made the list. Interestingly,
some of them are aspiring to various elective offices in the forthcoming
polls.

A source revealed
that the NWC members were concerned because of the effect it would have
on its outing during the forthcoming general elections. Ahmed Rufa’I
Alkali, the party national publicity secretary was to publicly expressed
this concern.

“When the EFCC,
which is the professional organ responsible for this assignment, issues a
statement like this, many people will be concerned. We should be able
to calm them down to let them know that the party will not go after
their jugular just like that. So we want them to remain calm and
continue with their normal activities as party men and leaders,” Mr
Alkali said.

The PDP spokesman,
who said the party leadership had previously met with the EFCC
chairperson, Farida Waziri to discuss ways of ensuring rancor-free
elections, said it would not take any action based on the list because
the allegations against the politicians had not been established by any
court.

The north-south tango

Curiously, these
issues are trailing the controversial rotation of presidential power
between the north and the south, allegedly adopted some years ago. The
zoning issue had not only posed a serious threat to the unity in the
ruling party, but might mar its chances in the elections.

Already, a
significant number of its members in the north, are threatening protest
votes against the party if Mr Jonathan should insist on contesting the
presidential elections next year.

Besides, four of the
presidential aspirants from the north and their aides having been
meeting with some northern elders under the aegis of Northern Political
Leaders Forum headed by former finance minister, Adamu Ciroma with a
view to picking a consensus candidate amongst them. They are insisting
the north should be allowed to produce the nest president, at least till
2015, to serve out the tenure began by the late President Umaru
Yar’Adua, a northerner.

A 12-member committee appointed by the NPLF to pick the consensus candidate, is currently on tour of the 19 northern states.

But the deep seated
animosity in the 12 year old party has crept into the National Assembly,
where it holds the majority in both chambers. Only last Tuesday, the
Senate threw out a amendment sought by Mr Jonathan to the Electoral Act
2010.

The President had
sought an amendment to Sections 25 and 87, which would have altered the
sequence of the general elections and also allow presidential aides (in
the case of presidential primaries) to be delegates during the party
primaries. The approval of the amendment, many believe would give the
president victory over his challengers.

Interestingly, the
bill was opposed not only by those asking Mr Jonathan not to run but
also those supporting his ambition to succeed himself. Kanti Bello, the
deputy director general of the Ibrahim Babangida Campaign Organisation
led those who canvassed the defeat of the amendment.

Before the amendment
came to the floor, the issue was already mired in controversy following
alleged inducement of the senators and representatives by the
Presidency. The Presidency was alleged to have promised to give each
lawmaker $30,000 to allow the amendment scale through, but the senators
through their spokesman, Ayogu Eze denied it. The presidency also denied
this.

In any case, there
was also another allegation that the lawmakers were reluctant to pass
the amendment because their own interest was not factored into the
entire deal.

For a party going into election in a few months time against threatening opposition, the rising challenges are enormous.

For those still
trying to conjecture why the Special Adviser to the President on Power,
Barth Nnaji, is fast developing gray hairs, two reasons came from the
horse’s mouth at the weekend in Abuja: ‘suffering’ and his presidential
assignment.

Though Mr Nnaji,
who was responding to a toast to his achievements at a special dinner
organised in his honour by ‘Friends of Barth Nnaji’, did not expatiate
on what he meant, he, however, assured them of the present
administration’s commitment to deliver on its promise to give Nigerians
reliable electricity supply before long.

President of the
South-east and South-south Professionals, Emeka Ugbuoju, who said Mr
Nnaji was his former classmate back in St Patrick’s Secondary School,
Emene, Enugu State, had eulogised him for remaining a worthy ambassador
of his generation.

But Mr Nnaji told
his audience, including the Presidential Adviser on Petroleum, Emmanuel
Egbogah; former Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications
Commission (NCC), Ernest Ndukwe and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN),
Paul Usoro, that he has been wondering why his former classmate (Mr
Ugbuojo) has managed to look fresh, while he is graying all over.

“Emeka Ugbuoju said
he used to sit next to me in school. But, look at my hair and look at
his,” he told guests, as he made gestures at the graying hairs on his
head.

“It is suffering
that brought these things. And then, the President decided to heap the
challenge of electricity industry on my head, and literarily said that
my neck is on the line here. So, he gave me more gray hairs.” Mr Nnaji,
who appeared overwhelmed by the gathering, thanked his friends for the
gesture. He described it as humbling, acknowledging that though he is a
people’s person, he always prefers celebrating others than being
celebrated.

The former
Chairman, Geometric Power, who was accompanied by his wife and son,
then declared to his audience: “What I can promise you is that the work
that the president is doing, we, the people in the trenches, who are
working with him, will do everything to deliver electricity for Nigeria
in a reliable way.”

Blazing trails

Don Adinuba of
Discovery International Communicators, who proposed the toast on behalf
of the group, described Mr Nnaji as one of the nicest human beings he
has ever come across.

“We are gathered to
celebrate a man who has risen to the top, but has not lost the common
touch; one who has broken all records and still remains very humble in
his modesty,” he declared, adding that Mr Nnaji has sponsored the
training of about 300 people from primary school to university level,
most of who are currently pursuing different professional careers both
within and outside the country.

Mr Adinuba
described Mr Nnaji’s academic accomplishments as exemplary, as he not
only became a professor before the age of 30, he also broke a 120 years
record in the history of St. John’s University, New York to emerge the
institution’s first black to be named its best graduating student in
1980.

Before presenting a
giant portrait of Mr Nnaji’s image, Barth Okonkwo recalled his tenure
as Chairman of the Nigerian Peoples Forum, an umbrella organisation of
Nigerians in the United States.

He said it was under his leadership that Nigerians, on behalf of the
whole Africa, made a bold statement in American politics, by donating
about $350,000 to Al Gore’s presidential campaign.

Long after
diseases such as polio, guinea worm, tetanus, leprosy, and measles,
among others, have been eliminated in many countries of the world,
Nigeria is still contending with these problems. Even today, the hope
of eradicating some of them in the nearest future remains dim.

The diseases have
been targeted for eradication and elimination by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) which hopes in the short run to lower their
prevalence so that they can more easily be managed.

According to the
Organisation, “Throughout history, only one infectious disease –
smallpox – has ever been eradicated. Today, polio and guinea worm
diseases are on the verge of eradication.” However, experts are worried
that the Nigerian government has at best shown a dubious attitude
towards their eradication.

Dearth of amenities

Some of these
diseases have been eradicated in most parts of the world, and their
continued presence in the country has been attributed to poor hygiene
and government’s inability to provide basic amenities that would help
keep them in check.

“Many of these
diseases have to do with good hygiene, good water supply for the
people,” said Edamisan Temiye, the chairman of the Lagos chapter of the
Nigeria Medical Association.

“For example,
guinea worm. You can contact it if you step into the water containing
the guinea worm larva; it will penetrate the skin and the person will
be infected,” said Dr Temiye.

“If somebody has
polio virus and his stool is not properly disposed of and it
contaminates water that is going to be drunk or food that is going to
be eaten, then the person is going to be infected. They have to do with
water so they are water-borne diseases.

“So, if the
country has been able to supply potable water for her citizens, we
would have eradicated these things; they will not be a big problem,” he
said.

Despite the
success recorded through mass immunisation campaigns, which officials
say had reached hundreds of millions of children, experts say some of
the diseases, like polio, are still widespread in some heavily
populated areas due to ignorance and poor reporting systems.

Ignorance and political interference

During the second
round of immunisation in Lagos State last year, some teams of
vaccinators met with stiff resistance in some areas of the state.

Tunde Oni, the
proprietor of Sam Debo Nursery and Primary School, Gowon Estate, in
Alimosho local government area of the state, resisted attempts to
immunise pupils in his school.

“It is not for the progress of this nation as the government has proposed, so I don’t want it done in my school,” he said.

Mr Oni believed
that the exercise had ulterior motives: “The government knows why it is
carrying this out. Maybe they don’t want it exposed to the people, but
I know the reason,” he said.

Afghanistan,
India, Nigeria, and Pakistan are the only four countries yet to
eradicate polio, according to a United Nations report.

Adebayo Onajole, a
medical professional, blamed the country’s inability to effectively
eradicate the disease on the irresponsible attitude of officials who
see the health institution as an avenue to engage in political
showmanship.

“The issue of
poliomyelitis is more of a political problem than us not doing some of
those things right,” said Dr. Onajole, an associate professor of
Medicine at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

“And the political
problem came as a result of the religious strife from misinformation
about the vaccination against polio,” he added.

A few years ago,
some states in the northern part of the country rejected the polio
vaccines for the immunisation of children after rumours claimed there
was a chemical embedded in the vaccine which would sterilise male
children and destroy the womb of female children.

“That was one of the things that drew us back in terms of the polio eradication programme in Nigeria,” said Dr. Onajole.

“Because
immediately after that, paralysis as a result of polio that was noticed
in far away countries like Saudi Arabia was said to have originated
from Nigeria.

“A lot of people
were sponsored to go out of the country, even to purely Islamic
countries to be able to ascertain that the same vaccines that were
being used in Nigeria are the same that are used in those countries and
it was not deleterious to their health,” he said.

Immunisation is key but…

Various state
governments have embarked on immunisation campaigns to ensure that
these diseases are eradicated but, so far, polio seems to get all the
attention.

“Immunisation is
yielding some results, but they are concentrating only on polio. There
are so many diseases that are vaccine-preventable that are ravaging the
people of this country,” said Dr. Temiye.

“The focus is on
polio. There is no talk about measles, tetanus, and the rest, and some
of these vaccines are quite cheap; the system can afford them. We are
only concentrating on polio because we have funds from international
agencies to eradicate polio and governments have not put their money
down to eradicate other diseases, which are also there and there are
vaccines for them,” he said.

Dr. Temiye said
that a lot of children and adults are dying in large numbers as a
result of tetanus, measles, and meningitis, which are making a comeback
in epidemic proportion.

“If we have had a
system that ensures that every child born in this country is immunised
with all the available vaccines, then our health indices will increase.
We will also be able to eliminate diseases such as measles, tetanus
that are vaccine-preventable,” he further said.

In the case of
measles, however, the WHO states that global efforts to control the
disease have been hampered by low immunisation of coverage areas in
some countries.

“One of the
challenges facing measles eradication is that you can only administer
the vaccine via injection and it is only trained personnel that can do
that,” said Dr. Onajole.

“And you also know
the problems with injections today. A lot of us in the health sector
are trying to limit people getting injections because of diseases that
are spread via blood, especially HIV. Therefore, you will not want just
anybody to start administering injection because there is no advantage
in saving a child from measles, only for the child to have HIV,” he
added.

Ensuring that the
routine immunisation programmes are sustained and that people are able
to access immunisation at locations close to them would give the
necessary fillip to the fight against these diseases, according to Dr.
Onajole.

“Also, the
practice whereby local governments, primary healthcare centres, and
every other places are closed up because government wants to do her
so-called ‘special immunisation’ programme to immunise against one
disease, polio, is a major drawback.

“But, part of the
process of how the polio was eradicated in the Americas is that if a
case of acute flaccid paralysis is noticed as a result of
poliomyelitis, you do what we call a mop-up immunisation campaign
around five kilometre radius of that vicinity,” he said.

The migration of
people from disease endemic regions also weakens the fight against
eradication. Last year, more than 10 cases of paralysis as a result of
polio were reported in Lagos, where the disease was thought to have
been eliminated.

“The Lagos cases have been taken care of and the mop-up has been done,” said Dr. Onajole.

“Polio is easier
to eradicate because there is no reasonable extra human reservoir for
the virus and that means that somebody who has and is incubating the
virus must have been transmitting it to somebody else. So, if you can
eradicate it in the human population, then you are surely going to
eradicate polio virus,” he said.

Uniting to eradicate

Tremendous
achievement has also been made in the area of guinea worm disease, with
Nigeria recording her last case of transmission in 2008.

The WHO attributed
the success to the effective public/private sector partnerships towards
its eradication and elimination programmes.

Last week, some
African leaders demonstrated an unprecedented co-operation and
commitment to drive out polio when they launched a synchronised mass
immunisation campaign to reach 72 million children, capitalising on
gains made this year.

A report released
by the WHO stated that the “synchronised mass immunisation” became
imperative following the spread of the disease from Nigeria to 24
countries across West and Central Africa.

“As a direct
result of these immunisation campaigns, the polio outbreaks have slowed
to a trickle. Across West Africa, only Liberia and Mali have recorded
any case in the past five months, while Nigeria – the only country in
Africa never to have stopped polio transmission – has slashed polio by
98 percent in the past year,” the WHO report stated.

Also last week,
the World Health Assembly expressed worries over the $1.3 billion
funding shortfall, a 50 percent drop in the overall funding for the
polio eradication programme over the next three years.

Dr. Temiye
maintained that Nigeria should be looking inwards for finance, rather
than waiting for handouts from foreign agencies.

“Why should we
depend on donors? We have enough money to take care of ourselves. Why
should we depend on people dictating to us what to do when we know our
own problems?

“Nobody can solve our problems for us from outside. We must solve it
within. We should use our money to develop ourselves. Until we do that,
I’m sorry we’ll still have a lot of problems,” he said.

Over the week,
federal lawmakers began the final stage of adjusting the constitution to
provide enough time for the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) to prepare and deliver credible elections next year without
shifting the May 29 handover date.

Although the efforts
of the lawmakers have offset some of the huddles that might have
chocked INEC if they went ahead with the old timeline, the election
management body still faces obvious timeline challenges.

One of the major
amendments to the constitution is that of the timeline, which has been
widened. The new changes recommend that elections be held not earlier
than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of a
running term.

That gives INEC a
total of four months – between 29 December 2010 to 29 April 2011 –
within which to organise and hold elections. But the Electoral Act gives
INEC the power to fix election dates. But elections would preferably
hold in April 2011.

In a meeting with
the senators early this month, Atahiru Jega, the chairman of INEC, said
if the commission has till April 2011, it will organise a free, fair,
and credible election. Tentatively, elections would hold in April but
not in one day and the furthest the first elections can hold, in
accordance with the law, is on the first weekend of that month.

Section 25 of the
Electoral Act 2010 provides that elections be staggered, with the Senate
and House of Representatives elections coming first. Thereafter, the
Presidential elections and later the state Houses of Assembly and
Governorship elections will hold the same day.

Important dates

The basic for a
credible election is a reliable voters’ register. The Electoral Act
requires that the voters list of each local government, council area, or
ward be displayed for scrutiny not later than 30 days before a general
election.

With the furthest
date for the first election being on the first weekend of April 2011,
the voters’ list must be on display before the first week of March 2011
and that is away.

Currently, the
Bureau of Public Procurement and INEC are yet to finalise the terms on
which the Data Capturing Machines INEC intend to use to conduct a fresh
voters’ register will be purchased.

The purchase of the
Data Capturing Machines is a major step to kick start the process of the
forthcoming general elections and industry experts say the process of
purchasing the machines may take up to 8 weeks or more.

Going by that
estimate, if INEC finalises with BPP this week, voters’ registration may
commence early next year. But if INEC fails to commence the purchase
process early enough in November, voters’ registration may be rushed in
February of next year to beat deadlines, and errors and malpractices
will be inevitable.

Kayode Idowu, INEC’s
public relations officer, however, said his organisation is
“virtually” through with BPP on the process of purchasing the data
capturing machines.

Other important
dates INEC would have to meet with the new timeline include publishing
its election timetable before the end of January.

The 2010 Electoral
Act in section 30 provides that INEC shall publish the date of elections
“90 days before the date appointed for holding of an election.”

Political parties
are also expected to submit to the commission list of the candidates
they propose to sponsor in the election 60 days (2 months) before the
date of the elections.

Reaction chain

Also, with the
latest amendment, the settlement of election cases before swearing-in
dates is no longer practicable in the next general elections.

The new amendment
recommends that an election tribunal shall deliver its judgment on a
case within 180 days (6 months) from the date of the filing of the
petition. It also stipulates that the petitions be filled within 21 days
after the elections.

“An appeal from a
decision of an election tribunal or court shall be heard and disposed
of within 60 days (two months) from the date of the delivery of
judgment of the tribunal,” the new constitution also recommends.

In the case of
presidential and governorship elections – including deputy governors –
the appeals could also go further to the Supreme Court.

Allowing petitions
on governorship elections go up to the Supreme Court is an idea of the
Senate in the amended constitution, but if the House of Representatives
accepts it, it will further extend the time an illegal officer would
occupy political office beyond one year, completely defeating the
initial aim of the first amendment to the constriction.

Ike Ekweremadu, the
deputy Senate president who also heads the Senate ad hoc committee on
constitution review, said the idea of providing for extension of appeal
of governorship election petitions to the Supreme Court for final
determination is to curb the conflicting judgments which arise from
various Courts of Appeal.

The amendments are,
however, not finished yet. As a major part of the process, the Senate
set up a committee to harmonise the differences in the bill passed by
the Senate with that of the House of Representatives.

Thereafter, a clean copy of the bill will be sent down to the state
Houses of Assembly for the assent of at least 24 of the states before
the amendment will become a law.

An early morning fire gutted the DAAR Communication Plc, AIT/Raypower, office in Kano on Friday, destroying equipment worth millions of Naira.

Nobody died or sustained any injury in the inferno which lasted for over three hours. The head of the station, Abdullahi Addy, said the fire started around 8.20am when the station was on transmission. He said studio workers suddenly saw smoke in the office, which is on the 6th floor of the building.

Mr Addy said the fire destroyed equipment such as transmitters, cameras, the library, and the editing box of both the television and radio studio.

“Though it is painful, but we pray that the station will bounce back with more determined to inform, educate and entertain its numerous listeners,” he said. “We give gratitude to God that this fire did not kill anybody and nobody sustained any injury. But it is unfortunate that our whole corporate studio and office have been razed down by the fire.” He commended the efforts of fire fighters who immediately swung into action and subdued the fire after a two hour battle.

The Director of Operations of the state fire service, Kassim Abdullahi said he mobilised men and enough vehicles immediately he got information about the fire.

“We cannot ascertain the number of properties lost by the station, but we will investigate the cause of the fire and make it known soon”.

Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi, apparently
overwhelmed by the occasion when the late Deputy Speaker of the State,
Saliu Adeoti was being buried yesterday, shed tears and could hardly
deliver a prepared grave-side eulogy at the deceased’s home in Otun
Ekiti, Moba Local Government area of the state.

Mr Adeoti, formerly the most senior official of the
Action Congress in government, died Wednesday at the University
Teaching Hospital, Ibadan.

Earlier at a special valedictory session held for the
late politician in the chambers of the State House of Assembly Complex,
the deceased was eulogized by former colleagues and political
associates. These include the Deputy Governor of the state,
Olufunmilayo Olayinka who described the late lawmaker as a political
son who was an epitome of dignity and honour.

The former governor of old Ondo state, Bamidele
Olumilua said it is not the tradition of the land for a father to
witness the burial of a son but that the late politician was not an
ordinary son but an accomplished general who fought for the
emancipation of the state.

“His appointment was made in heaven and he was a gift
to the state. At 39, he was an accomplished achiever whose life is a
shining example for others to emulate,” he said.

A former deputy speaker of the state Dapo Karunwi
said the late politician fought against the attempt of the People’s
Democratic Party to impose itself on the House.

Family tragedies

Mr Fayemi, on arrival at the deceased’s home, wrote
a sorrowful prose in the condolence register and later joined other
mourners at the graveside of his ardent supporters.

“Saliu, we did not plan it this way. You fought
gallantly for our people’s liberation and freedom. You were still with
us on victory day but alas! You are no more. Who are we to query
Allah?” the statement reads. “We can only promise that all your dreams
for our people in Moba and the whole Ekiti shall be fulfilled. Aljanah
First Class. Rest In Peace.” The late Deputy Speaker‘s family has
suffered a myriad of tragedies in the past few months, with the death
of his 28-year-old wife in February this year. His personal driver also
died few days after this incident, while his mother died three months
before his inauguration as Deputy Speaker.

Mr Fayemi told journalists after the lowering of the
coffin around 1.13pm that the late politician was loyal and totally
committed to the cause of transforming the state. He said party
faithful will be consoled by the fact that he lived to see the victory
of the party.

“He was a field Marshall for Action Congress of Nigeria and we owe him a duty to take care of his family,” he said.</

Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi, apparently
overwhelmed by the occasion when the late Deputy Speaker of the State,
Saliu Adeoti was being buried yesterday, shed tears and could hardly
deliver a prepared grave-side eulogy at the deceased’s home in Otun
Ekiti, Moba Local Government area of the state.

Mr Adeoti, formerly the most senior official of the
Action Congress in government, died Wednesday at the University
Teaching Hospital, Ibadan.

Earlier at a special valedictory session held for the
late politician in the chambers of the State House of Assembly Complex,
the deceased was eulogized by former colleagues and political
associates. These include the Deputy Governor of the state,
Olufunmilayo Olayinka who described the late lawmaker as a political
son who was an epitome of dignity and honour.

The former governor of old Ondo state, Bamidele
Olumilua said it is not the tradition of the land for a father to
witness the burial of a son but that the late politician was not an
ordinary son but an accomplished general who fought for the
emancipation of the state.

“His appointment was made in heaven and he was a gift
to the state. At 39, he was an accomplished achiever whose life is a
shining example for others to emulate,” he said.

A former deputy speaker of the state Dapo Karunwi
said the late politician fought against the attempt of the People’s
Democratic Party to impose itself on the House.

Family tragedies

Mr Fayemi, on arrival at the deceased’s home, wrote
a sorrowful prose in the condolence register and later joined other
mourners at the graveside of his ardent supporters.

“Saliu, we did not plan it this way. You fought
gallantly for our people’s liberation and freedom. You were still with
us on victory day but alas! You are no more. Who are we to query
Allah?” the statement reads. “We can only promise that all your dreams
for our people in Moba and the whole Ekiti shall be fulfilled. Aljanah
First Class. Rest In Peace.” The late Deputy Speaker‘s family has
suffered a myriad of tragedies in the past few months, with the death
of his 28-year-old wife in February this year. His personal driver also
died few days after this incident, while his mother died three months
before his inauguration as Deputy Speaker.

Mr Fayemi told journalists after the lowering of the
coffin around 1.13pm that the late politician was loyal and totally
committed to the cause of transforming the state. He said party
faithful will be consoled by the fact that he lived to see the victory
of the party.

“He was a field Marshall for Action Congress of Nigeria and we owe him a duty to take care of his family,” he said.</

Two presidential candidates, Muhammadu
Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and Nuhu Ribadu,
of the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday outlined their plans
to tackle Nigeria’s educational challenges.

The candidates spoke at the second
national Joint Education Stakeholders Action Coalition (JESAC)
conference held at the women development centre in Abuja.

Mr. Ribadu, the former chairman of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), who was represented by
an Anambra-born politician Sunny Ugochukwu, outlined “seven broad
areas” his administration would address for a revamping of the
education sector.

The seven areas according to Mr. Ribadu
are funding, access to qualitative education, quality
assurance/regulation, infrastructure, staff training and welfare,
research, and student discipline and related matters.

The CPC aspirant and former military
ruler, Muhammadu Buhari outlined seven problems facing the Nigerian
education system and proffered five solutions to them.

The five solutions to the nation’s
educational challenges according to Mr. Buhari are improved quality of
education, expansion of higher education, sustainable mechanism of
funding, utilizing the gains of research for rapid national
development, and restoring an effective Inspectorate Service to cater
for all levels of our educational system.

The candidates identified poor funding
as a problem facing education in Nigeria. However, while Mr. Ribadu
stated that he would “implement to the full the 26 percent UNESCO
recommendation on taking office,” Mr. Buhari stated that he would
“suggest a minimum of 26% of the national budget in consonance with
UNESCO’s well grounded recommendation.”

Both candidates, who are both
recognized for their stance against corruption, also identified
corruption as one of the challenges facing the educational sector.

“We shall not be handing out sacks of
Naira to actors in the education sector like sailors out on a binge. We
shall ensure that every Naira disbursed will be carefully monitored to
eliminate waste, corruption, and inefficiency. We shall not only give
education funding the highest priority, we shall also prioritize a new
culture of accountability and transparency,” the former EFCC boss
stated.

They also promised to address issues of
teacher and staff welfare, dilapidated infrastructure, and education of
the physically challenged.

Free education for all

Mr. Ribadu, however, promised to
implement free education in pre- secondary schools saying “we shall
make education free in all primary and secondary schools in this
country on assuming office. We have estimated the cost for this
programme, and we know it is achievable.”

On higher education, both candidates promised to make available loans and scholarship for deserving students.

“The scholarship system which will
cater in the main for indigent students will be resuscitated and funded
adequately with the only proviso being accountability. We might even be
willing to experiment with the setting up of a loans board to give
loans to students,” Mr. Buhari stated.

While both candidates also spoke on research, they differed in their modalities for it.

While the CPC aspirant stated that “the private sector will be
encouraged with specific incentives in order to finance research and
development,” Mr. Ribadu the ACN aspirant stated that his government
would “establish a National Research fund, that will be manned by
experts and from which research grants would be accessed by researchers
in our various institutes.” </

Following
Wednesday’s passage of the second amendment to the 1999 constitution by
both chambers of the National Assembly, the Senate on Thursday set up a
six man committee to harmonize the bill with the Rep’s version.

The committee is
headed by Victor Ndoma-Egba (PDP Cross River state) and will join a
similar committee made up Rep members to harmonize the differences in
the bill.

It is a crucial step in the law making process to ensure the enactment of a single copy of bill.

“What is passed in
the House is different from what we passed,” the Senate President,
David Mark said. “This committee is to harmonize it.” The Senate voted
on ten clauses and passed the bill on Wednesday providing the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) new time-lines and
allowing the Supreme Court to handle Governorship election petition
cases.

The House of
Representatives, however, only passed the new time-lines for INEC and
did not discuss the court of finality in governorship election petition
cases.

Waiting on the states

Other members of
the Conference Committee set up by the Senate yesterday include
Senators Dahiru Umar, Ikechukwu Obiorah, Sola Akinyede, Abubakar
Sodangi and Idris Umar.

The names of the
members of the committee were announced by the Senate President, after
the bill was read the third time during plenary session yesterday.

Whenever the two chambers are through with harmonizing the bill,
clean copies would be sent to the 36 State Houses of Assembly for
endorsement. Two-Third of the votes of 36 State Houses of Assembly is
required for the alteration to become law.

The Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC)
has announced that it was considering enlisting the support of the
military in the provision of logistics for the conduct of 2011 general
elections.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end
of a two-day workshop on “Security Challenges of Election Management:
Toward Nigeria’s 2011” organised by INEC in collaboration with
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Foundation.

It said “the decision became necessary having noted
that the challenges facing INEC are multi-dimensional and the need to
garner support for tactical internal security awareness.” According to
the communiqué, INEC needs to develop a special electoral security
strategy and plans that will delineate roles for different agencies
based on their competence profile and capacity. The Chairman, Board of
INEC Electoral Institute Lai Olurode, in his presentation at the
workshop stressed that the need to enlist the military for logistics
was necessary to overcome the challenges in difficult terrains.

“In the distribution of materials there are some
difficult terrains that you cannot navigate ordinarily unless you get
some logistics support from security agencies,” Mr Olurode noted. He
said that INEC was discussing with security operatives to see how best
to collaborate with them in the distribution of election materials in
river sides and difficult areas. He said that kidnapping and abduction
would not necessarily pose a threat to the military engaged in the
distribution of materials in such areas.

He said that participants at the workshop had
observed that security remained a persistent critical challenge to the
conduct of elections in Nigeria. “It was recommended for INEC to
create a platform for inter-agency collaboration on security matters at
all levels as a matter of urgency. INEC should also design and deploy
appropriate training and sensitisation measures to guide security
personnel and agencies to be deployed for electoral duties,” Mr
Olurode added. The workshop drew some 50 participants from the academia,

security services, civil society organisations, the media, private
security firms and electoral management bodies from Lesotho, Kenya,
Togo and Senegal.</