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The change had been
swift. From an early apprehension that peaked following the
postponement of the National Assembly polls and its subsequent acclaim
as one of Africa’s best in years, according to foreign observers, the
2011 elections have gained rapidly rising reputation in just weeks.

Now, after two
polls that earned it praise, the exercise, in its final lap, faces the
prospect of losing the bulk of its workforce – the youth corps members
– who have threatened to boycott the governorship and state assembly
elections scheduled for Tuesday following last week’s riots in which
many of them were targeted in some northern states.

For most of last
week, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) played down the possibility of the
withdrawal, and officials sought to de-emphasize its impact on the
local elections.

“The chairman has
said the commission is doing all it can to make sure, if there are
shortfall in manpower, they will be made up for,” said Kayode Idowu, a
spokesperson of the commission on Friday, a day after a televised press
conference where the chairman, Attahiru Jega, displayed similar
optimism.

The electoral body
maintained that besides Kaduna and Bauchi states, where elections have
been moved by two days for security concerns, it does not expect the
exercise to be marred by shortage of personnel in the other states
where there had been violence.

Earlier on
Thursday, Mr Jega himself, said the commission had trained more hands
than needed for the elections and would deploy the extra ad hoc staff
to fill in at locations without sufficient electoral officials. He said
while the commission would be hopeful about the participation of corps
members in the elections for the remaining states on Tuesday,
provisions were however made for alternative personnel.

“Our hope is that
many of them (corps members) will recognize what these people want to
achieve. They want to scuttle the effort that we have made in the past
elections,” he said in condemnation of the violence that followed the
outcome of the presidential election, dismissing reports that members
of the corps had decided to withdraw their services as electoral
officers.

NYSC officials too
have denied corps members were pulling out and said the situation would
be clearer after a tour of the affected states by the director general,
Mahara Tsiga.

As at Friday
evening, the deputy director, Public Affairs, Chinwe Ojukwu, told NEXT
by phone that a position was being expected from Mr Tsiga.

Beneath the public
façade however, officials speaking confidentially, say the speculated
boycott of the exercise by the corps members has spawned mounting
concerns within the leadership of the INEC and the NYSC.

“With what is going
on, we all hope things will be fine, but naturally they may not be the
same again as with the other elections,” a staff of the electoral body
said.

A Kaduna-based
group, the Civil Rights Congress (CRC), also on Friday, said the total
number of deaths has surpassed 200 while the wounded passed 500.

“In Kaduna alone, we have more than 20 deaths,” Shehu Sani, executive director of the group told NEXT by phone.

No specific figures
could be obtained of the actual number of corps members killed or
injured in the crisis, as authorities appear keen on keeping public
passion within control. The NYSC spokesperson said only Mr Tsiga, who
could not be reached Friday, can give the actual numbers, if at all
there was any. Rights groups such as CRC, said it is challenging to
ascertain which victim was a corps member and which was not.

Earlier reports say
four died in Bauchi State, which is one of the worst-hit states. In
Kano State, although deaths of corps members could not be confirmed,
serving members have narrated at least two incidents where rioters
attacked their lodges before they were rescued by armed soldiers.

Officials say there
are worries the impact of the attacks may transcend the northern region
where it originated and may be felt elsewhere, as anxious parents
dissuade their wards from taking a role in the remaining elections.

“Many people have
travelled and don’t plan to come back for the election,” said Nty Ben,
a serving member in Osun State. The state is reportedly calm, yet some
corps members are apprehensive about the final elections expected to be
more passionate and have left on the orders of their parents.

Much-praised youth

Accused of aiding
election rigging by their attackers, and coming after the Suleja
bombing the killed at least 10 of their colleagues, the recent violence
has been particularly hard on the youth corps members who have been
lavishly praised by foreign election observers.

After the
presidential election, the European Union said as electoral officers,
the corps members performed their duties with “courage and to the best
of their capacity.” The Commonwealth said they showed “dedication and
courage that helped deliver a transparent process, often in difficult
conditions. They are a source of pride and hope for Nigeria,” the group
said.

The National
Democratic Institute applauded the corps members for their “dedication
and neutrality” while the International Republican Institute commended
them for their “dedication and hard work.”

Despite the
assurances that all is well, nothing illustrates the electoral body’s
frustration with the development as Mr Jega’s remark that the
commission will understand if the horror-stricken corps members stay
off the exercise.

“Obviously people in that kind of situation should be afraid,” he
said. “If some of them are scared enough to stay away, we will
understand. If they don’t come out, we will understand.” Mr Jega said
while INEC feels their pains and sympathizes with the families
affected; it will “understand should they choose not to participate
again.”

The only female
presidential candidate in last Saturday’s presidential election, Ebiti
Onoyom Ndok, was yesterday arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Abuja
for allegedly issuing dud cheques to different hotels were she lodged.

Ms Ndok, the
National Chairperson of the United National Party for Development and
the presidential candidate of the party, has been in detention in
Keffi, Nasarawa State, following a court order, and remained in
detention during the presidential polls. She was arraigned in Abuja
yesterday by the police and is standing trial under Section 322 of the
Penal Code and Section 1 (1) of the Amended Cheque Act 2004.

She faces a
three-year imprisonment if convicted of the charges. The prosecution
said she lodged in a hotel from November 30, 2010 to January 24, 2011,
for which she raised a cheque of N1, 287,500 to offset the bill, but it
was dishonoured by her banker. She was said to have equally lodged in
another hotel this year, during which she incurred another bill of
N790,619 but wrote a cheque of N595,000 for part payment. It was also
returned unpaid.

The Magistrate,
Ahmed Shuaibu, however, adjourned hearing in the matter till May 12,
2011 after the prosecutor, S.A. Bandawa, told the court that
investigation into the case is yet to be completed. The accused is
standing trial for “cheating and issuance of dud cheque contrary to
section 332 of the penal code law and section I (1) of the Amended
Cheque Act 2004.”

Police charge

A charge sheet
presented by the police read: “On the day of March 2011, one Moses Ege,
of Onyx Hotel and Apartment, Abuja, came to the C.I.D department and
reported that you, Mrs Ebiti, checked into the hotel from 30/11/2010 to
24/1/11 and incurred bill of N1,287,500 for which you issued a
post-dated cheque which, upon presentation to the bank, was returned to
the clearer dishonoured.

Similarly, on the
30/1/11, one David Simon, of Harthrow Suite, Garki, Abuja, wrote a
petition to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, C.I.D, Abuja, that
sometime in the month of January 2011, you, Mrs Ebiti, lodged in the
suite and left without paying bills; and when confronted, you issued a
cheque for N595, 000 which was returned dishonoured on presentation.
And also that the total bills incurred by you is the sum of
N790,619.52. You thereby committed the above mentioned offences”.

President Goodluck
Jonathan yesterday reaffirmed the commitment of his administration to
create job opportunities in all sectors of the economy to enable
Nigerian youth contribute meaningfully to the development of the
country. He made this commitment while receiving a delegation from
Adamawa State led by the state governor, Murtala Nyako, who paid him
congratulatory visit at the State House, yesterday, on his victory in
the presidential elections held last Saturday.

Nationwide campaign

Mr Nyako praised
the president for what he said was his energetic and extensive
nationwide campaign, as well as his performance so far in governance.

“These were enough
to make ordinary Nigerians vote for you,” he said, while congratulating
Mr Jonathan for his resounding victory at the polls.

Mr Nyako also
commiserated with the president and Nigerians over the violence that
swept part of the country in the days following the conclusion of last
Saturday’s voting.

Mr Jonathan,
however, said the violence is another reason to explore job creating
opportunities, as gainfully employed youth cannot be used to foment
trouble by unscrupulous elements at the slightest excuse.

“Within the next four years, we will work hard to create job
opportunities for our youth in all sectors of the economy, so that they
can contribute meaningfully to national development,” he said. Mr
Jonathan thanked the Adamawa State delegation for the visit, describing
it as “the first by any state.”

Former Attorney
General and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, has hailed the
election of President Goodluck Jonathan as the best thing for Nigeria.

Mr Aondoakaa, who
seemingly did not find it pleasant with President Goodluck Jonathan
after the death of president Umar Yar’Adua, spoke with NEXT in his
residence in Ushongo Local Government Area in Benue State.

The former minister
stated that the government of Mr. Jonathan was following the policies
and programmes of his former boss since he was also part of that
administration. He believed that Mr. Jonathan would not derail.

Mr Aondoakaa
expressed the hope that the election of the President may go
unchallenged given the transparency, free and fair conduct witnessed
during the election.

According to him,
the election witnessed minimal cases of violence. He urged the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to continue to improve
on the standard.

He expressed
confidence that his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would
again emerge victorious at the remaining elections and called on the
electorate to continue to vote for the party to have a clean victory in
the next Tuesday’s polls.

While appealing to
contestants who did not win their elections to accept defeat in good
faith, he also appealed to the winners to regard their success as
victory for all Nigerians.

The Conference of
Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) says it will not congratulate
President Goodluck Jonathan on his victory at the last Saturday’s
presidential poll until he explains the source of his campaign funds.

The group said in
a statement by its national publicity secretary, Osita Okechukwu
yesterday, alleging that Mr Jonathan, who was the candidate of the
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) violated the provision of the 2010
Electoral Act by overshooting the N1 billion recommended by the Act for
presidential campaign.

“CNPP cannot
congratulate President Goodluck Jonathan when on the last count,
outside the breaches, he violently violated section 91 of the 2010
Electoral Act by spending over N100 billion in his campaign hence
corrupting the electoral process,” said the group.

“Please, help me
calculate the amount of money Jonathan’s campaign council spent on
advertisement on electronic, print and social media network alone; it
is over N17 billion.” Mr Okechukwu said. The statement added that the
CNPP is aware of “how billions of naira were doled out across the
country to induce voters by sundry groups in the name of President
Jonathan and thus expanding the budgetary spending.”

Neighbour to Neighbour group

The group wondered
who funded the “Neighbour to Neighbour” group, a component of the
president’s campaign outfit, asking “did it discover electricity or a
window in the computer?” “CNPP will congratulate President Jonathan
when he comes clean on the amount spent and the sources, failing which
the legitimacy crisis will linger,” the CNPP spokesman said.

According to
Section 91 (1) subsection 2-7 of the Electoral Act 2010, the maximum
election expenses to be incurred at a presidential election shall be N1
billion while that of a governorship candidate is N200 million. The Act
also pegs the campaign expenses of a senatorial candidate at N40
million while that of a House of Representatives candidate is N20
million. The Act also provides corresponding penalties for those who
violate the provisions.

Next week’s
governorship and house of assembly elections in Katsina State are under
threat following the mass displacement of National Youth Service Corps
members from their various places of primary assignment.

The corps members,
numbering about 500, had to be evacuated from several local governments
in the state where they had been serving as presiding officers in the
ongoing general elections.

The rescue
operation by security agencies which has continued since Wednesday,
April 20, was necessitated by the violence which erupted in the state
following last week’s presidential elections.

In Daura local
government, the home town of the presidential candidate of the Congress
for Progressive Change (CPC), Muhammadu Buhari, at least 100 corps
members were escorted by fully armed soldiers in seven hired commercial
buses to the NYSC orientation camp in Katsina, the state capital. The
army’s response arose after the lodgings of some corps members,
including several churches and shops of non-indigenes, were totally
razed.

“We have lost all
our belongings. Everything we had is gone,” said Wale Odusanya, who
shared the burnt lodge, provided by the Local Government Education
Authority, with seven other corps members.

“I don’t have anything. All my money, ATM cards, everything gone. We don’t know what to do.”

Threat of no elections

The chaos
reverberating across the state saw corps members in their hundreds also
fleeing Funtua, Musawa, Bakore, and several other local governments for
the NYSC camp. At the camp, corps members told the Commanding Officer
of the Nigerian Army 35 Battalion, Emmanuel Etuka, a lieutenant
colonel; the Katsina State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Mohammed;
the Director of the State Security Service; and other NYSC officials
that they would not take part in the governorship elections scheduled
for April 26.

“No more elections.
We are going home. Home sweet home. We are not doing any more,” chanted
the corps members as they made their displeasure known.

“I cannot stay in a
place where people want to kill me for no reason. They said the problem
is political, yet they have being targeting corpers. Here at Funtua,
innocent people have being burnt alive and they are saying we should go
back. Never. I am not going,” said a corps member who gave her name as
Cynthia, as she went to collect a mattress from the camp store.

Mr. Etuka and heads of other security agencies however assured the corps members of their security in the camp and afterwards.

“Your security was
threatened far above what we could guarantee. That is why we have
brought you here until normalcy returns and you can go back. Your
safety is our concern and we‘ll ensure you remain safe,” Mr. Etuka said.

Three people,
including a councillorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) in Ede South Local Government Area of Osun State, have been
arrested by the police for allegedly printing ballot papers to be used
for Tuesday’s state House of Assembly election.

The candidate,
identified only as Lateef, the computer operator at a business centre
and the proprietor of the centre were arrested at a building located
along Polytechnic road, Ede at about 9.45pm yesterday.

It was gathered
that the suspects, who have since been detained at the state Criminal
Investigations Department (SCID) of the state Police Command in Osogbo
were arrested by a team of detectives from the state CID while printing
the ballot papers at the business centre.

The suspects were
alleged to be scanning pictures and inserting INEC VIN number on the
forged voter cards when they were caught by the police who stormed the
area after a tip off.

Lateef, who is
the councillorship candidate of the PDP for Ward 09, Oloki-Akoda,
Ede-South Local Government Area of the state, was said to be behind the
operation. The forged INEC voters’ cards were for Ward 09, Oloki Akoda
in Ede-South Local Government council.

He was alleged to be acting the scripts of some eminent politicians in the town.

Lateef and some
men suspected to be members of his party reportedly came to the shop
with a Hilux Pick-Up vehicle at about 8.30 pm yesterday.

Spooked by opponent

The suspects were
unlucky when a councillorship aspirant of the Action Congress of
Nigeria (ACN) for Ward 02, Ede-North Local Government Area, Gbadebo
Babatunde Sodiq, visited the business centre where the voter cards were
being forged to make a phone call.

Mr Sodiq alerted security agents who made the arrect.

The suspects were
later taken to ‘A Division Police Station, Ede, from where they were
transferred to the state Criminal investigation Department (CID),
Osogbo for further investigation.

The spokesperson
for the police in the state, Oluwagbemileke Taiwo ,who confirmed the
arrest of the suspects said the matter is still being investigated.

“The command would not relent until those involved in the matter are brought to book to serve as deterrent for others,” he said.

Edo State students
have recorded another mass failure in the November/December 2010 NECO
examination, results from the National Examinations Council (NECO) has
shown.

Out of the 25
subjects taken by students from the state, none of the participating
students had up to 50 per cent pass mark in the examination set for
graduating secondary school students.

This has raised
concern among relevant parties, with teachers and parents trading
blames as to who is responsible for the poor academic performances of
students in the state.

Those who spoke to
NEXT on the development attributed the cause of the mass failure to
many factors, including lack of qualified teachers, particularly in
private schools, and the premium they place on money. Others include
lack of reading culture among the students, and loss of societal
values. Owners of private schools were also indicted in the mass
failure of students, as many of them have turned their schools to
‘miracle centres’, where students easily indulge in examination
malpractices after paying high fees to the school owners.

Solomon Osarenren,
who teaches Mathematics in a private school in Benin City, blames lack
of seriousness on the part of the students, lazy approach to study, and
lack of infrastructure in the schools, as some of the factors
responsible for the decline in the performance of the students.

“So long as
students attach more importance to mundane things and spend more time
surfing the Internet and watching movies, it will be difficult for them
to excel in their studies. After all, students of those days performed
even better than students of today, even without those infrastructures
that are in schools of today,” Mr Osarenren said.

An educationist,
Roland Asoro, who decried the rate of mass failure in examinations in
the state in particular and the country at large, advised the
government to take proactive steps to address the trend. He called for
regular training and re-training of teachers, as well as the provision
of learning aids in the schools.

Mr Asoro also
admonished parents and guardians to supervise and regulate activities
of their children at home, with a view to making them more responsible
and serious.

Some parents,
however, said that the bulk of the blame should not be attributed to
them alone. They argue that teachers are also responsible for the poor
performance of students in external examinations.

A parent, Osarobo
Asemota, whose child attends one of the private schools in Benin City,
argued that teachers can only give what they have academically.

According to her,
many of the teachers, especially in some private schools, lack the
minimum qualifications required. She also called for consistency in the
educational policies of government.

“We want all
concerned to urgently address this ugly development. If things continue
the way they are, ten years from now, the country may inherit half
baked workforce,” Ms Asemota said.

When contacted on phone, special assistant on education to Governor
Oshiomhole, Alli Sule, said: “We are still studying the result at the
ministry level. We shall come out with our position later.”

Following the
perceived irregularities that characterised the conduct of the National
Assembly elections in Benue State, the immediate past governor of the
state, George Akume, has called on Senate President David Mark and the
former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
Barnabas Gemade to return the people’s mandate to the rightful owners.

Speaking in his
Makurdi residence yesterday, Mr Akume revealed that Messrs Mark and
Gemade did not win senatorial elections in their respective senatorial
districts given the declining popularity of their party, the PDP. He
alleged that the incumbent member of the House of Representatives for
Makurdi/Guma federal constituency, Emmanuel Jime and Iorwase Hembe of
Vandeikya/Konshisha federal constituency stole the mandate of the
people and they should return same.

According to Mr
Akume, the PDP in the state disregarded the warning of security
operatives and were responsible for the violence in the state during
the national assembly election.

“PDP introduced unprecedented violence but the ACN supporters voted for their candidates overwhelmingly,” he observed.

He lamented that a
32-year-old Aondongu Abuku was killed at about 11am on the election day
at NKST Anakaa polling unit in Logo Local Government, claiming
knowledge of those alleged to have participated in the killing.

Mr. Akume argued
that electoral materials were not sent to other polling units in
Oturkpo, adding that in Ado and Obi local governments, no election was
conducted. He, therefore, urged the Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC to nullify the election in those places.

The former governor
called on the INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega to remove the State Resident
Electoral Commissioner, Nasir Ayilara, stressing that the ACN in the
state has vowed to fight and reclaim its mandate until the last person
was dropped. “We cannot be threatened or intimidated,” he declared.

The Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) command of the State Security Service (SSS) paraded two
men in Abuja yesterday for allegedly abducting and attempting to use an
eight-year-old boy, Lokoja Abeshi, for money rituals.

The legal officer
of the command, Tom Aniefiok, told journalists while parading the
suspects – Jonah Jabah, a palm wine tapper, and Alhaji Mamman, both
35-year-old residents of Garaku in the Kokona local government area of
Nasarawa State – that Master Abeshi had been staying with the chief
suspect, Mr Jabah, before he lured him to Abuja.

The suspects
allegedly told the young boy they wanted to enroll him in a school in
the city and the unsuspecting boy did not have any premonition that
they wanted to harm him.

Mr Aniefiok said
the two suspects had owned up to the crime and would soon be handed
over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.

He advised members
of the public to take proper care of their wards and devote more time
to them in order to avoid such occurrences. He also urged members of
the public to promptly report such matters to the relevant security
agencies.

“On the 13th April
2011, the FCT command of the State Security Service (SSS), acting on a
tipoff, arrested two suspected ritualists at Durumi II, Garki, Abuja.

“The suspects,
namely Jonah Jabah and Alhaji Mamman, abducted one Lokoja Abeshi (a lad
of eight years) with the aim of sacrificing him for money ritual; one
Muhammed G. Ibrahim, who tipped off the service and in whose residence
the suspects were arrested, stated that the suspects brought the boy to
his residence to be sacrificed for money ritual,” said Mr Aniefiok.

Blame the boy

Mr Ibrahim, a
Muslim cleric, reportedly told the two men that he only prays for
people with problems but does not do rituals. He also reportedly told
them he was going to assist them by getting somebody to help them and
thereafter alerted the service. This led to the arrest of the two
suspects.

“One of the
suspects, Jonah Jabah, who claims to be the boy’s uncle, resides at
Garaku, Kokona LGA of Nasarawa State; he blamed his bad luck and
misfortune in life on the lad (Lokoja). Hence he resolved to sacrifice
the boy,” Mr Aniefok said.

Mr Mamman told
newsmen that he led Mr Jabah to the supposed ritualist when he told him
that the boy had a “bad spirit” and “needed prayers.” On his part, Mr
Jabah said he was a palmwine tapper and also owns a supermarket in his
village. He said the boy, whom he described as being “just like my
pikin,” had been staying with him since he was born.

Mr Jabah said he
had earlier taken the boy to several spiritualists when he learnt that
the boy used his powers as a member of a secret cult to scuttle his
supermarket and palm wine-tapping business.

He said it was when he could not find the solution he needed that he
contacted his friend, Mr Mamman to take him to a mallam who will help
him use the boy to perform the money rituals. He said Lokoja’s evil
powers were what led to his decision to use the boy for money making
rituals to salvage his situation.