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The Conference of Nigeria Political
Parties has expressed outrage over the ban placed by the Federal
Capital Territory Police Command on public rallies, demonstrations,
processions, road shows and other public meetings.

“For us freedom of assembly and freedom
of association are the hallmarks of democracy, guaranteed by the 1999
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, African Charter on
Peoples and Human Rights and UN Declaration of Human Rights,” the group
said in a letter to the Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, and
signed by its spokesperson, Osita Okechukwu..

“We find it cogent to remind the Police
that the obnoxious Public Order Act, a colonial instrument of
oppression in the hands of the Police, was repealed in a profound
judgment delivered by Justice Anwuli Chikere of Federal High Court and
upheld by the Appeal Court in a suit instituted by the CNPP.”

The group should not resort to strong
arm tactics which neither detect nor prevent crime. It stated that a
vigilant and mobile police force with modern equipment could have
forestalled the mayhem of the independence anniversary, which claimed
innocent lives, wounded many and rubbished the image of the country.

“We, therefore, call on the Inspector General of Police as a matter
of urgent national importance to cancel the ban and embark on the
process of installation of modern equipment to fight.”

Peruvian, Mario
Vargas Llosa, has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Peter Englund, a professor and permanent secretary of the Swedish
Academy, made the announcement on Thursday morning.

The Academy said
the prize was awarded to Llosa “for his cartography of structures of
power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt,
and defeat.”

Born on March 28,
1936, in Arequipa, Peru, Llosa is one of the most acclaimed writers in
the Spanish speaking world with over 30 novels, plays, and essays to
his credit.

Apart from being a
writer, Llosa is also a noted journalist, academic, essayist, and
politician who contested for the Peruvian presidency in 1990. His
interest in professional politics has, however, waned, though elements
of politics are still in his writings.

He has also had a
career in lecturing, teaching in universities in the US, South America,
and Europe. He is currently at Princeton University, New York, where he
was told by telephone on Thursday that he had won the prize.

Llosa’s honour comes 28 years after South America’s last winner of the prize, the renowned Gabriel Garcia Marquez, won in 1982.

‘The Time of the
Hero’; ‘Conversation in the Cathedral’; ‘The War of the End of the
World’; and ‘The Feast of the Goat’ are some of the popular works by
the latest Nobel literature laureate.

Llosa’s works have
been translated into about 31 languages including French, English,
German, Swedish, Chinese, Hebrew, Arabic, and Croatian.

His international
breakthrough reportedly came with the 1960s novel, ‘The Time of The
Hero’ which built on his experiences at the Peruvian military academy,
Leoncio Prado. The book was considered controversial in his homeland
and 1,000 copies were burnt publicly by officers from the academy.

The 74-year-old author is the 102 winner of the prize, which has
been awarded since 1901. Four Africans, Nigeria’s Wole Soyinka; South
Africa’s Nadine Gordimer and JM Coetzee; and Egyptian, Naguib Mafhouz,
are past winners of the prize, which wasn’t awarded on seven occasions.

By virtue of section 58 of the constitution a bill
can be amended by an act of the national assembly. The president makes
law by passing a bill into law.

The constitution is not different from
any other law; it is just that it is the supreme law of the country.

The national assembly has nothing to lose by sending the bail for the
president’s assent. If the president does not pass the bill into law,
the bill still returns to the national assembly which can then pass the
bill into law by a two third majority of the assembly.

The national
assembly is playing games with the lives of Nigerians. Their position
is unnecessary, stupid and irresponsible.

Mr Ogunye is a lawyer in Lagos

The battle between
President Goodluck Jonathan and some northern leaders over the October
1 bombings took a new twist yesterday as the Kebbi State coordinator of
the Goodluck Support Group (GSG), Nasir Abubakar, resigned his position.

In a letter dated
October 6, 2010 and addressed to the Director General of the Goodluck/
Namadi Campaign Organisation, Mr. Abubakar said the President’s actions
following the bomb blasts caused his resignation.

“My resignation is
as a result of the stand of Mr. President on the issue of zoning and
lately his position absolving MEND of responsibility despite their
repeated claim of responsibility for the unfortunate incidence of
October 1st, 2010 in which lives of innocent Nigerians were lost and
several others severely injured,” Mr. Abubakar said.

The Kebbi State
politician said his support for Mr Jonathan “was based on the
circumstances of his first emergence first as Acting President and
subsequently as commander in Chief in strict adherence to the letter
and spirit of our constitution.”

Mr. Abubakar’s resignation is, however, believed to be a fallout of
the ongoing struggle between the Kebbi State governor, Saidu Dakingari
and his predecessor, Adamu Aliero who has since joined the Congress for
Progressive Change, the party under whose platform former Nigerian head
of state, Muhammadu Buhari, is contesting for President.

A faction of the Progressive Peoples
Alliance (PPA) said, on Thursday, that former Abia State governor, Orji
Uzor Kalu, will not be given the ticket of the party to contest the
presidential election.

Mr. Kalu had recently declared his intention to vie for the presidency.

The deputy national chairman of PPA,
Benjamin Oburota, said in Abuja that Mr. Kalu has since ceased being a
member of the party. He said that the former governor led some members
of the party to join the ruling Peoples Democratic Party some months
ago.

“Is it possible for a non-member of a
political party to fly its presidential flag?” he asked, adding that
Mr. Kalu had long severed his ties with PPA. Mr. Oburota alleged that
the former governor thrived in dictatorship and under-hand deals, and
that the party no longer accommodates him.

He blamed the former governor’s
brazenness in the political scene on the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission(EFCC) and the judicial system which, he said, are slow in
prosecuting him.

“This has created room for Kalu to roam the streets rather than cool his heels in prison,” he said.

Dispute over membership

Referring to the recent invasion of
Thisday newspaper premises by Mr. Kalu, accompanied by court bailiffs
and policemen, Mr. Oburota said that the act further exposed the
desperation of the former governor in seeking to re-establish his
relevance.

But the chairman of the other faction
led by Larry Esin, dismissed Mr. Oburota’s assertion, saying Mr. Kalu
has the right under the country’s constitution to contest the
presidency.

According to Mr. Esin, the leader of
the other faction, Lisu Akerele, is no longer a member of the PPA,
having resigned from the party last year.

He added that Mr. Oburota is neither the chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) nor the chief law officer of the
federation to interprete the constitution and the electoral law.

The national
leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has barred delegations
from the state chapters of the party from visiting the Abuja
headquarters to lodge complaints.

The national
working committee of the ruling party, at its meeting on Wednesday
night, resolved not to receive any delegation henceforth except it
receives prior notice and approve the visit. The committee also
directed state chapters and stakeholders who have any complaints, to
channel them to their zonal offices, which will handle them or refer
them to the national headquarters for further attention. “The National
Working Committee directs that henceforth, no state delegation will be
received at the National Secretariat without prior notice and approval
by it,” a statement signed by the party’s spokesman, Rufai Alkali, said.

“All State
Chapters, groups and stakeholders in the States are advised to lodge
all complaints with their respective zonal offices who will resolve the
matter or refer same to the NWC where necessary.” The committee said it
has received news of the order of the High Court of the Federal Capital
Territory dissolving the Anambra State Congresses committee and has
filed an appeal. The party said a motion for stay of execution of the
order has also been filed.

It noted that there
was an earlier order by the High Court of Anambra State directing the
PDP to hold congresses in Anambra State, which is still Subsisting.

“Consequently, the NWC has directed the South East zonal Working
Committee to conduct the primaries to select PDP Candidates for the
forthcoming Ward and Local Government Electionsin Anambra State,” it
said.

Nigeria’s security
operatives have expressed doubt about the authenticity of the
celebrated interview with a former leader of the Movement for the
Emancipation of Niger Delta’s (MEND), Henry Okah, by Al Jazeera, during
which he said an aide of President Goodluck Jonathan asked him to
implicate Northern politicians over October 1, 2010 bomb blasts, which
left 12 persons dead.

A security source
said investigations within the security services in Nigeria and South
Africa revealed that the interview with Mr. Okah might have been faked
to deceive the Qatar-based news network.

The source said
last night that their South African counterpart confirmed that, “at no
time did we allow Okah to make such telephone contact. Following
suspicion raised about the authenticity of the interview, we contacted
South Africa to confirm its validity, but were shocked to find out that
at no time did such interview take place,” he said.

“In fact, our
contact wondered why it took us so long to cross check this information
because they did not want to interfere, since the issues did not
concern their government directly. They have been waiting for such
security inquiries from their Nigerian counterpart before revealing the
veracity of the interview, since the content does not concern them
directly.”

Al Jazeera confirmation

An Al Jazzera
reporter, however, told NEXT that the interview was conducted with Mr
Okah. The reporter said Okah called from South Africa and he was passed
on to the company’s studios in Doha.

“He called me from
prison on a +27 number,” the Al Jazeera staff said. “We had a long
discussion about the bombs and the situation in general. Clearly, they
are allowed access to fixed phone lines in SA prisons. I asked him
whether he would be prepared to be go live on Al Jazeera that very
instant. He said ‘yes’.

“So I gave him our
newsdesk number in Doha – and alerted them to the fact that Henry Okah
was about to call from prison. He called, and they put him right
through to the studio and live on air,” the reporter said.

The Joint Task
Force (JTF) for the Niger Delta has also debunked the veracity of
another Al Jazeera programme featuring alleged MEND fighters in the
region. The JTF said an aerial surveillance of the region showed there
were no longer any militant camps anywhere, as claimed by Al Jazeera.

“Al Jazeera, it will be recalled, had also during the late President
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s health saga, staged a similar interview with the
late president’s cousin, claiming that the sick man was healthy,
playing with his children, and climbing 13-storey building,” a security
source said.

The Imo State House of Assembly, on Wednesday, passed the amended Bill on Bush Burning Prohibition.

The Speaker of the House, Goodluck Opiah said in Owerri that having met the necessary legislative requirements, the bill will now be sent to the Governor, Ikedi Ohakim, for assent.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the bill, which seeks to curb environmental degradation through bush burning, was sponsored by Chukwuemeka Egbuchulam, the Majority Leader of the House.

Hajiya Maryam Babangida, a housewife, on Thursday, announced that
she will contest for a seat in the Adamawa State House of Assembly in
the 2011 elections.

Mrs Babangida told the News Agency of Nigeria, in Mubi, Adamawa,
that she would be proactive as a lawmaker, if elected. The aspirant,
who wants to represent Mubi-North State Constituency on the PDP
platform, promised to give special attention to the problems of
maternal mortality and youth unemployment through legislation.
“It
is time to effectively address the nagging problems of family health
and unemployment among the youth through legislation,” she said.

Mrs Babangida also pledged to collaborate with like-minded
colleagues in the House to enact gender-sensitive laws as part of the
process of improving the socio-economic status of women. She said such
laws would go a long way in addressing the problems of domestic
violence, juvenile delinquency, street begging and other forms of
violation against women and children.

“We need to develop a mechanism to ensure proper implementation of
poverty eradication among the youth and women,” she said. “I will
initiate economic empowerment programmes at the grass roots to uplift
the standard of living of women and youths.”

She also urged women to join politics and vie for elective positions
so as to ensure quality and proactive representation at all levels of
government. “It is desirable to evolve mechanisms to deal with issues
militating against effective women’s participation in politics,” she
said. “Nigeria is blessed with abundant talented women, but our
greatest setback is the lack of wisdom to support them and recognise
their contribution to national development.”

Business activities were on Wednesday paralysed for the second day running at the Chevron’s corporate headquarters in Lagos as it workers stayed off duty.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that some women from Ilaje area of Ondo State had on Tuesday besieged the company’s head office protesting alleged neglect. Subsequently, the management of the oil giant directed the workers to stay off duty pending when the issues that led to the women’s protest would be resolved.

The protesting women, who vowed never to vacate the company’s premises, accused management of the company of neglecting the host communities in Ilaje area. NAN gathered that the women also complained that the multi-national company had reneged on its promises to improve the welfare of the people in the host communities. They also demanded for better treatment from the company in the area of employment for the indigenes, good roads and portable water among others.

A staff of the company, who did not wish to be named, confirmed that the workers could not come to work on Wednesday because the management directed them to stay off from duty.

Folorunso Oginni, the Lagos Zonal Chairman, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, also confirmed that the workers were directed to stay off from duty. He said that the decision was taken to avoid possible attack of the workers by the protesting women.

Efforts to reach Femi Odumabo, the company’s General Manager, Government and Public Affairs, were unsuccessful as calls and text messages sent to his mobile phone were unanswered.