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The Congress for
Progressive Change (CPC) says Muhammadu Buhari’s candidature is still
treated as a rumour until party officials adopt him during its national
convention.

Dennis Aghanya, the
spokesman of the CPC, who disclosed this yesterday, said other members
of the newly registered party might show interest in the race, adding
that it would be against its constitution to impose anybody on the
party without following due process.

He said the party
is not only trying to consolidate in all the states of the federation
but also engaging in talks with other political stakeholders ahead of
the 2011 general elections. “We have not officially adopted Buhari as
being speculated as our presidential candidate. I am not also aware
that we have officially adopted any other person as our candidate. So,
his (Buhari) candidacy is still a rumour,” Mr Aghanya said during a
telephone interview. “We are a party that respects the law and follows
due process. We don’t want to be seen as imposing anybody. Our party is
spreading in all the states and other members may be interested in the
position.

We are still
consolidating in the states and we are talking with other political
stakeholders. But now that INEC has released timetable, we will move on
quickly.”

Mr Aghanya,
however, said that in the choice of its flag bearer, the party will
consider a man or woman who has uncommon integrity like Mr Buhari, its
founder. He confirmed that if the party eventually picks Mr Buhari as
its candidate for the presidential polls, his running mate who would
come from the Southern part of the country, would be expected to
possess similar attributes as the former military head of state.

“We are not just
going for anybody,” he said. “There are some basic attributes we want
in our vice presidential candidate considering our ideology. Such a
person has to be credible like Buhari. He should be somebody you can
beat your chest and say yes, this person has integrity. He should also
be somebody that is a bridge builder between the north and the south.
So, we want somebody of Buhari’s stature.”

Planning the convention

The CPC spokesman
said with the release of the election timetable by the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC), the party’s will soon organize
its launching/national convention.

According to him, the agenda of the programme would have been concluded by next week.

Meanwhile, the CPC
has condemned plan by the federal government to raise the pump price of
petroleum products within the next six months.

Mr Aghanya, said in
a statement on Sunday, that if the government goes ahead with the plan
as revealed recently by the finance minister, Olusegun Aganga, it will
worsen the already difficult situation the common man is facing. “This,
if implemented, will be adding to the pains the masses are already
going through as a result of the non availability of the basic
infrastructures due to bad and corrupt leadership of the PDP,” he said.

“On what basis does the government intend to carry out this new policy?

Petroleum is the
pillar of virtually all the economic and social activities in any
developed, developing and static society. Ours, being a static one,
mostly depends on this God’s free gift to sustain life.

We should learn to think before we act than acting before we think.”

Udoh Essien, a 37-year-old Nigerian fashion specialist based in Germany, has been arrested for allegedly trafficking cocaine.

According to the
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the suspect was nabbed at
the weekend during the screening of passengers at the Murtala Mohammed
International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

“Scanning machine
at the screening area revealed that he had ingested suspected
substances during the outward screening of British Airways passengers,”
said Mitchell Ofoyeju, spokesperson for the agency.

Mr. Ofoyeju
disclosed that the suspect allegedly excreted 75 wraps of the powdery
substances that tested positive to cocaine weighing 1.27kg while under
observation by officials of the agency.

According to the
anti-narcotics agency, Mr. Essien is said to be a rising fashion
designer of repute, who had participated in several international
fashion exhibitions, adding that the suspect has a show room in
Ogunlano drive Surulere, Lagos and another in Germany.

The suspect in a
statement from the agency, however, claimed that he wanted to use the
proceeds from the business to open an online fashion shop, and that
financial difficulties led him into the illicit trade.

“I had financial
problems and was under pressure. My intension was to close my Surulere
shop and concentrate on my shop in Germany.

I have been approached severally to traffic drugs because I travel a lot but I always turn them down,” said Mr. Essien.

Frustration with work

The suspect, who
was to earn 4,500 Euros from the deal, further said: “all I needed was
to complete my online fashion shop, because I have many products. It
was due to frustration and desperation that I agreed to smuggle drugs.”

Hamza Umar, the
anti-drug agency commander for MMIA, warned drug traffickers not to
risk smuggling drugs through the Lagos airport, saying they would be
caught.

Mr Umar disclosed
that the apprehended suspect’s claim that he is a “first offender” is
being investigated, adding that the suspect will be prosecuted
according to the demands of the law.

“The suspect will be charged to court soon,” he said.

The Federal
Government will require a minimum of $10 billion (about N1.5trillion)
in annual investment in power generation, transmission and distribution
infrastructure if it is to guarantee stable electricity supply in the
country.

Special Adviser to
the President on Power, Barth Nnaji, who stated this at the weekend as
guest in a national television programme monitored in Abuja, said the
insistence for private sector partnership in the development of the
nation’s power sector is based on the point that government alone
cannot handle the responsibility.

“At least $5billion
is required every year to take care of infrastructure for power
generation, while additional $5billion is needed to deal with
distribution and transmission facilities. The government just cannot
afford it. It is far beyond what government can invest in all sectors.

“There is need for
both foreign and local investors to come in so that the system can
become more robust and for the nation to get away from talking about
3,500 mega watts (MW) to the quantum of power that other developing and
advanced countries have. That is when the country can begin to talk
about stimulation of the economy,” he said.

Mr. Nnaji said, for
the first time steps have been taken to remove the bottlenecks that
have always frustrated efforts by previous administrations to
permanently address the problem, pointing out that apart from the
Electricity Sector Reform Act (EPSRA), passed to provide the legal
framework for effective operations, government has also established a
holistic plan that connects players from wholesale generation and
distribution, to how consumers would benefit under the new regime.

“This is the first
time that government would march implementation with plans, by way of
implementation of the Act, and actually taking steps to begin to
actualize most of the plans that have been on the drawing board since
the early 1980s”, citing the issue of construction of hydro stations,
like the Mambilla power Station, which has been since 1982, adding that
for the first time government has moved towards actual implementation.

Too big for government

In spite of the
efforts, the presidential adviser, who is also the Chairman, Geometric
Power Limited, which is handling the construction of an Independent
Power Plant (IPP) in Aba, Abia State, said government has since
realized it cannot solve the problem alone.

“The private sector
must step in and take responsibility in providing electricity in the
country,” he said, adding “that is why the president is saying that
from next year generation and distribution will go into private hands
as a way of reducing all kinds of issues that are in the system,
including the corruption.

Asked if the
private sector would not be overwhelmed by the high level of
corruption, which has rendered their involvement in other sectors
unsuccessful, Mr. Nnaji said: “Private sector cannot corrupt itself. If
one invests money, one cannot steal from oneself. It is just the bottom
line. It is only when people are looking at government as another
establishment that that can happen. Private sector would drive
efficiency and sustainability and ensures that there is actual
investment, so that the Federal Government does not continue to be the
only one to invest.”

“We are beginning
to have more stable supply of power, though there are some areas with
transformer challenges. This modest improvement will continue until the
country reaches adequacy of supply.

Over the coming months, consumers are going to witness this improvement.”

Ready private sector

An Infrastructure
Specialist, Oliver Andrew, who also appeared as guest on the programme,
said there is a credible government plan in place to address the
challenge of infrastructure in the power value chain under the road map
launched recently by the government.

He identified the
plan to include issues of facilities to take care of fuel supply to the
power generation plants; strategy for power evacuation; liberalization
of the gas sector under the National Gas Master Plan (NGMP);
involvement of independent power distribution companies to handle the
distribution of the power generated to the consumers in line with the
dictates of the market forces.

According to Mr.
Andrew, the private sector is now ready to come in with the
infrastructure needed to get the sector running having seen that
government has plugged the gaps, pointing out the N500 billion
Infrastructure Intervention Fund by the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN)
for the provision of more capital for infrastructural development will
help attract more foreign direct investment (FID) to facilitate the
needed short term impact.

The minister of
Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajumogobia, has condemned a recent essay on
Nigeria by a former United States envoy to Nigeria, John Campbell.

In the essay, which
was published last week, Mr Campbell predicted that the 2011 polls
could tear Nigeria apart and that it could lead to post-election
sectarian violence, paralysis of the executive branch and even a coup.

“I have just read
with dismay, excerpts from Ambassador John Campbell’s latest essay on
Nigeria, entitled “Nigeria: Dancing on the brink” published in local
and international electronic and print media. It contains his doomsday
analysis of Nigeria’s 2011 elections and their aftermath,” Mr
Ajumogobia said at the weekend.

He said it was
unfortunate that the former diplomat, unlike his several illustrious
predecessors and worthy successor, “appears to take delight in inciting
instability in Nigeria with his entire thesis based on a worst case
scenario and seeming relish in willing it to occur.

“Perhaps Ambassador
Campbell seeks credibility for his suspect claim to in-depth knowledge
and expertise on matters concerning Nigeria,” the minister said.

Limited understanding

Mr Campbell’s
analysis, he said, is based on an obviously jaundiced and clearly
limited appreciation of the facts and dynamics of the current Nigerian
politics.

“This disturbing commentary is not only divisive but is also irresponsible and dangerous,” the minister said.

He said Nigeria is
committed to organizing credible elections in 2011 and in spite of the
acknowledged and self-evident challenges posed by the proposed INEC
timetable, the process is moving forward in a credible and transparent
manner.

“Ambassador
Campbell and his ilk would do well, if unable to add value, to keep
silent and observe as Nigeria takes definite steps to consolidate her
12 year old democracy and perhaps try to seek relevance in other more
constructive ways,” he said.

Where to start with
such a trail is the primary question; which kind of money are we
talking about and who to follow, is another. Recently, I saw on
television, a collaborative effort at curbing corruption by the EFCC,
the FBI and another American agency. The FBI spokesperson was the one
that said “We call it: follow the money” because, usually, there is a
trail left behind by such money. Well, even if I did not follow his
story from the beginning, I got enough inspiration for my story.

We are bombarded
daily in Abuja by the pungent wafts of naira and even dollars, such
that one cannot really imagine the amount of government money that
flies around every second of the day. This includes the money that uses
the ‘due process molue’ and the others that are conveyed in ‘undue
process jets’, and the activity of this ‘necessary evil’ has been
heightened by the firing of the starting gun for the 2011 elections by
Jega and his team.

I was in one of
these government offices last week and an acquaintance that I hardly
ever see outside the office was outside leaning by his car, looking
forlorn. Without prodding, he started lamenting about the present
predicament since their chief executive indicated his interest to run
for the governorship of his state. This young man used to be a bit
light and very robust, looking really healthy, and he works in a
department where he used to lick his fingers regularly, as in, on a
daily basis. He always used to stay inside the office so that the
goodies do not pass by him. This time, he went off on a litany of
complaints.

“Bros, nothing is
happening right now (pointing to their office building) in this office.
If oga no dey around, everything is grounded. See now, everybody is
outside because there is nothing to do. The entire office budget has
been licked by the ‘thief’…chief executive. He is the all in
all…can you imagine, if he is not around nothing moves because it is
him alone that signs…and now, as I speak to you, there is no money to
run this office…in fact, most of us are applying to be posted out of
this place before we go under…can you imagine, this is how we hang
outside looking for whom to beg…as I talk to you now, I do not know
how to get money to fuel this car back home…and you know I just got
married…this man is very wicked, in fact, he is a demon…”

I felt pained by
his situation and was moved to narrate the story to a close friend in
another smaller government department. But before I could finish, he
also interrupted me with “… ah-ah, oh so you no know…our oga wan
run for House of Reps and every contract now for this office, na she
dey do am. No matter how small; she get reach 50 business name wey she
dey use…ah, dey there, express don leave you finish.”

Running for office

Are you following my money, sorry, story?

That was all I
needed to draw the attention of the EFCC to all the government offices
being led by prospective governors to be, senators or representatives
to be. Even local government chairmen or councillors to be.

Or maybe one needs
to learn how to shout like Jega, for immediate and urgent response to
this issue? Well, no dice because if you get the attention and we move
a motion, who will pass it into law? It is the same distinguished
senators or members. Have you not noticed that any law, no matter how
sweet or good, if it does not favour this bunch of extinguished or
dishonourable people, such laws do not see the light of day?

My first acquaintance, however, ended his sad tale with some distant
light in the horizon. “…anyway, as God go punish the yeye man, you
know say dem say if you want contest for election as government
officer, you must resign…the devil think say im smart…e come apply
for ‘leave of absence’ so dat, if im lose, e go fit come back after the
election, come replace the money wey e don thief. But for where? All
the other small-small oga wey dey join us suffer, don put leg for
ground say this our thief executive must resign. This is so that if im
lose, e go suffer like all of us dey suffer here.” Abeg, is Farida
Waziri listening? Let somebody follow “dis money”.

The battle for
control of Kogi in the 2011 elections will be a litmus test for the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to show the world its ability to
enthrone fairness and equity among its followership, as politicians
from all the zones jostle to replace the incumbent, Ibrahim Idris, who
has served his legally permitted two terms.

The majority Igala
has dominated the political scene since its creation and the other
minority groups, especially the Yoruba-speaking Okun, now want power…

For details, pick up a copy of today’s NEXT newspaper

Two years after it
was gutted by fire, the Inspector General of Police Officer’s
relaxation centre, known as the “IGP mess,” located on Shehu Shagari
way, in Area 11, Garki, Abuja, remains in tatters. A substantial part
of the N200 million said to have been released for its renovation has
disappeared. The ruined building is just one of the testaments Ogbonna
Onovo left behind as he ended his tenure as head of the nation’s Police.

Mr. Onovo was
named Inspector General of Police on August 5, 2009, taking over from
Mike Okiro, who retired. When he first took office, he promised a
series of sweeping reforms that included: raising salaries and
improving benefits, establishing a Special Monitoring Unit to check
officer misconduct and an array of retraining programmes. The early
days of his leadership witnessed some of these changes. However, Mr.
Onovo’s reforms soon began to falter.

After the 2008
fire incident, which killed James Mseilla a deputy commissioner of
police and an aide to Mr. Okiro, the former police chief promised to
renovate the IGP mess as part of his bid to improve the welfare of his
officers.

A NEXT
investigation confirmed that Mr. Onovo awarded the renovation to one of
his relatives known only as Majek. Officers say Majek may have
collected several millions of naira as a mobilization fee for the work.
In February this year, Majek removed the damaged roof, but has since
abandoned the building.

The police’s
public relations officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel
Ojukwu, said no official renovation contract was ever awarded for the
building.

“I am not aware of any contract in respect of the officers’ mess in Area 11,” he said.

Beyond the broken
promises to his staff, it was his inability to curb violent crime,
particularly kidnapping, and improve police performance that were
considered Mr. Onovo’s biggest failures.

Damning reports

Several
international human rights organisations have condemned Mr. Onovo’s
performance. In May, this year, he was dubbed a “Predator of Press
Freedom” by Reporters without Borders. The group noted that the police
enjoy complete impunity, even when their abuses are well documented.

“The abuses often
occur when reporters go to cover operations by police who decide they
do not want witnesses,” said the group on their website. “The verbal
threats, beatings, unwarranted searches and confiscation of equipment
are not the result of any official policy or use that politicians make
of the police. They are just the acts of an ignorant and thuggish force
that does its job with a great deal of enthusiasm.”

Another report
released by Human Rights Watch in August this year accused the force of
corruption, rape, murder and detaining innocent people then demanding a
fee for their release. It said the problem was systemic, as officers
were often forced to pay their seniors a share of the money they
extorted from the public.

A NEXT editorial noted that widespread impunity for officers accused of misconduct had led to “a rot in the system.”

Lack of account

Mr. Onovo has also
shown a lack of accountability in his personal affairs. Earlier this
year, he was sued by a human rights organisation over the illegal
detention of two police corporals accused of kidnapping an unknown
victim. The Abuja court ruled in the group’s favour and ordered the
police boss to release the two men. However, Mr. Onovo consistently
ignored the court’s orders – four of them – and denied knowledge of a
bench warrant for contempt issued by the court.

Officers have also
accused Mr. Onovo of using his office to corner choice business
contracts. A source, who asked not to be mentioned, said the recent
contract for the production of new shoulder badges was awarded to one
of his relations, Mike Onovo.

“Police officers,
including rank and file, totals 500,000; but the young Mr. Onovo was
only asked to produce 300,000 pieces, running to several millions of
naira,” said the source.

A difficult task

However, the
former IGP has defended his tenure, noting that reform of the force is
an especially difficult task. When he appeared before the House of
Representatives Committee on Police Affairs, during the 2009 budget
review, he said outside forces were interfering with his drive to
remove corrupt officers from the force.

“Out of the 10,000
policemen sent out of the force during a recent manpower audit, about
50 percent of them found their way back into the system,” said Mr.
Onovo. “They used various guises, including questionable
recommendations from influential persons in the society.”

Despite his poor
performance, the Inspector General of Police was among 186 people who
were honoured with the 2009 National Award by President Goodluck
Jonathan in July.

As Mr. Onovo leaves what is the shortest tenure for an inspector
general of police in the nation’s history, speculations are rife over
his future. But a look at his official website might suggest a clue:
the future portion is blank.

Sometime in 2002, in the quest to
fortify its plan to wrest power from the ruling Peoples Democratic
Party during the 2003 general elections, the leadership of the then All
Peoples Party began negotiation with some prominent politicians in the
country who it believed were electoral assets. Among them were former
military vice president, Augustus Aikhomu, a former petroleum resources
minister, Don Etiebet and a former Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Edwin Ume-Ezeoke.

Messrs Aikhomu and Etiebet were
coming from the United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP), a party reputed to
have been floated by political associates of former military president,
Ibrahim Babangida. They had also been in the PDP.

For details pick up a copy of today’s NEXT Newspaper

Residents of Yayale
Estate in the Dutse district of Garki in Abuja are constantly
threatened by floods resulting from the Federal Capital Development
Authority’s (FCDA) inconclusive work on roads in the area.

During a typical
rainy day, poor drainage within the estate causes floodwaters from the
road to rush into residents’ compounds, destroying property and
threatening lives.

Solomon Daudu, a
resident of the estate, said his building is worst hit when it rains.
Last Wednesday, he almost lost his Toyota Camry to the flood. Mr. Daudu
said he left for work in the morning and returned around 11:00am to
pick up his children for lunch. On their way home, at around 4:00 pm,
he received a phone call that his compound was flooded.

“The flood pushed
down the fence at the back of my house and pushed my car outside to the
main road after it forced open the gates,” he said.

“Everything kept outside the building was swept away in the flood,” he said.

However, officials
of the FCDA deny that the flooding is linked to the road construction.
The FCDA’s chief resident engineer, who declined to be named, said that
there was no need for the government to build additional drainage on
the road. Instead, he blamed the problem on the inability of the
estate’s developer to utilise the survey data for the area.

“If they had the survey data, they would have known that in future, there was going to be a major road there,” he said.

“We did our best on
that project and there is nothing more to it. There is no need for
drainages on express roads, or are we expected to provide drainages in
the estate too?”

He warned that the road will be expanded into a dual carriage way in future and that the estate will definitely be affected.

Irregular construction

But the residents
disagreed with the FCDA’s assessment. They pointed out that drainage
was provided on other sections of the road. Emmanuel Okoronkwo, a civil
engineer who lives in the estate, said the road project was poorly
executed.

“It is wrong of
them to have gone ahead to do this thing without providing for a
channel for the flood. They could have put what is called a ‘cut-off
drain’ and then channel it properly,” he said.

Mr. Okoronkwo said
that the road should not have been categorised as an expressway, as it
passed through a residential area. He said the government had evaded
its responsibility to the estate.

“You cannot provide
a road and not take care of that,” he said. “That is ignorance at its
height. You must channel water somewhere, otherwise you leave it to
wreak havoc,” he said.

Ahmed Yabagi,
chairman of the Yayale Estate Residents’ Association, said the problem
was the irregular planning and construction of the road. When the road
was designed, the estate was not in place. However, by the time the
road was constructed, no one bothered to update the initial survey data
for the road, which channelled the flood into the land where the estate
now stands.

Blame the management

The issue has been
complicated by poor government management of the estate, said Mr.
Yabagi. The estate was built in 2004 to provide accommodation for civil
servants. The head of service partnered with a private developer,
Shelter Initiatives, on the project, while the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) provided the land.

Beneficiaries of
the housing scheme were to make monthly payments for their houses to
the government which would, in turn, remit a part of the money to the
private developer. However, the government has not been making adequate
remittances to the developer.

Mr. Yabagi said
that was why so many of the estate facilities, including the drainage
system, were in such a deplorable condition. The developer had even
sold some of the estate’s units in a bid to recover his money, he said.

There are over 150
residents within the estate and they have made several attempts to draw
the federal government’s attention to their plight, but to no avail.

“We demonstrated,
we blocked the road, and stopped the work on the road at a time. We had
also written to FCDA but no response yet,” said Mr. Yabagi.

“We equally held meetings with the office of the head of civil
service of the federation, but none had yielded fruits,” he said.

Last year when they
struck, members of the Boko Haram group spread their violence across
states such as Borno, Bauchi and Kano. Little wonder officials in those
states are skittish following last week’s resurgence of violence in
Bauchi by suspected members of the same group.

At the height of
the Boko Haram insurrection in 2009, the sect members ambushed
policemen at the Wudil Divisional headquarters and fought security
operatives in bloody encounters. No fewer than 25 members of the group,
whose cases are yet to be dispensed with, are still held at the Kano
Central Prison, not too far away from the city’s main praying ground,
the Kofar Mata eid praying ground.

Days before last
Friday’s Sallah celebration, there was noticeable heavy presence of
security officials, including detachment of the army, across Kano city.
On Thursday, this was reinforced, as about 15 trucks loaded with mobile
police were spotted moving around every nook and cranny of the city in
a show of force.

Heavily armed
military and mobile police took over Kano Central Mosque ahead of the
Eid el Fitr prayer session, held to mark the end of the Ramadan.
Movement of vehicles to the praying ground were restricted, just as
Muslim faithful were allowed entrance after they have been thoroughly
searched by the security men.

There was unusual
tight security around the governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, as stern looking
soldiers surrounded his official cars, with an armoured tank, during
his trip to the mosque for prayers from his Government House residence,
about three kilometres away.

At the end of the
prayers, the soldiers accompanied Mr Shekarau’s convoy to the
Government House, leaving many residents who were not used to this
bizarre style pondering what must have gone wrong on a day that should
be celebrated.

Security report

Top security
sources in the state who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the
heavy presence of the military is because of security reports on
possible attacks by the members of the Boko Haram. The source added
that the tight security is owing to fear that the members of the
dreaded sect could use the celebration day to attack the governor and
other targets.

However, the Sallah
day was celebrated peacefully, as Mr Shekarau joined thousands to offer
prayers and urged Kano residents to remain peaceful at all times. Mr
Shekarau said that this year’s Sallah festivities called for double
sober reflections and appreciation, as it coincides with the 50th
anniversary of our country’s nationhood.

He added that his
government was working to ensure that security of lives and property is
respected in the state and called on the people to go about their
duties without fear.

The emir of Kano,
Ado Bayero, expressed gratitude to Allah for bringing an end to
religious and sectional crises in the state. “We hope that the peaceful
development has come to stay,” he said, calling on all in the state to
continue to cooperate with security agents for the maintenance of peace
and stability.

He also called on
the people of the state not to take for granted the recent successes
recorded in the fight against polio, and maintain vigilance at all
times. He cautioned residents to take all preventive measures to check
the spread of cholera, which is currently ravaging neighboring states.

A senior special adviser to Mr Shakarau, Sule Yau Sule, said the heavy security in the state was proactive.

“After the security council meeting yesterday, the Bauchi State case
was reviewed and that is why there is heavy presence of security in
Kano to ward off any threat,” he said.