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Forget the sleepy town of Umuahia, Aba is the commercial and
spiritual capital of Abia State. But for the now decayed Government College,
founded in 1929, and the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umuahia
would hardly be recognised on the map of Nigeria.

A slight correction of a popular error: the cognomen “Enyimba”
is metaphorical, and actually from a figurative description of Aba that dates
back to the 1940s. It simply means “Great city,” and not the more
environmentally-friendly “People’s elephant,” preferred by modern-day football
fans.

Despite the industry and innovation inherent in the people of
Aba, and the recent headlines in tabloids declaring it a “kidnap capital of
Nigeria,” the heinous crime of hostage-taking is not an invention of the city.
Before we get over-excited and descend into the usual Nigerian past-time of
scape-goating, let us not obscure the fact that kidnappers from Akwa Ibom,
Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers are enjoying financial stipends in comfortable
rehabilitation camps, under a Federal Government amnesty.

These Robin Hoods of the mangrove forest were hailed as
‘militants,” “freedom fighters” and accorded royal treatment at Aso Rock.
Nobody seemed to quarrel with that, and no state of emergency suggested in
these areas from the exalted seat of the Senate President. But clearly, few
governments anywhere in the world can afford to romanticise, bagatellise and
reward criminal behaviour without running the risk of encouraging emulation and
replication.

The British had planned Aba as a typical “junction town,”
located equidistant from Uyo,

Port Harcourt and Owerri, with Onitsha not much farther away in
the radius.

Thus, Aba became rapidly commercialized and assumed a
cosmopolitan vibrancy in the 1950s, attracting public servants, professionals,
merchants, and the entertainment industry from other parts of Nigeria.

I still remember the house in which the barristers Rhodes (the
late Steve’s father), and Udo Udoma lived in, the homes of the Adeniyi-Joneses,
Drs Pearse and B.J.

Ikpeme, the architect Aboyade-Cole, and Allwell-Brown’s stores.
In 1959, Mike Leet from the UK succeeded Tony Hylton of Jamaica to the cricket
captaincy at Aba Club. The Assistant District Officer in the city at the time
was one Emeka Ojukwu, fresh from Oxford University. The late Margaret Ekpo,
after whom the airport in Calabar is named, was the NCNC MP for Aba-Urban in
the Eastern House of Assembly at Enugu.

On the scrap heap

What is crucial about visiting Aba these days is not so much how
to get there in terms of transportation means, but the mental and emotional
constitution of the traveller. From an environmental and social perspective,
life in Aba is practically on the scrap heap – no roads, no water, no
electricity, no waste management, and no government! The abundant commodity is
lawlessness and therefore crime. So why would anybody want to go there?

On landing at Port Harcourt last week, the first cab driver I
asked to take me to Aba, looked quizzical as though he thought I needed to see
a psychiatrist. The second was a cut-throat and promised to go if I forked out
N40,000! A third and I agreed to N10,000.

The 60 kilometres from Port Harcourt to Aba is slightly more
than a drive in the Federal Capital Territory, from Asokoro to Gwagwalada. It
took us three hours in the mugging heat of broad daylight! There were 35
checkpoints and countless potholes and crevices that made the road look like
blisters on the moon surface.

A bus overtook us as we got into Aba. On its rear was the inscription: Uwa
di egwu – the world is awesome!

Commercial banks operating in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital,
yesterday closed shops against customers, following rumours of an armed robbery
plot to attack targeted financial institutions in the town.

Some suspected armed robbers have allegedly concluded
arrangement to launch attack on a number of banks in the town, a development
which forced many of the banks to hurriedly halt operations.

Many customers, who were not aware of the speculations, were
locked out by the bank officials. The banks also contacted the police to
request for increased security.

When NEXT visited some of the banks, customers were sighted
waiting in droves, while the banks staffers refused to open their doors,
arguing that it would be risky to continue operations.

Some of the bank officials were seen peeping through the
windows. At Oke-Ilewo area, where a larger percentage of banks were located,
even the presence of a police armoured vehicle was not enough to reassure the
bank staff.

“Do you think we are safe, even with the armoured vehicle in
our vicinity, my brother we are all aware that the equipment of these bad boys
are more sophisicated than the police, even the armoured tank we are talking
about is like ogbanje (unreliable),” said a staff who preferred not to be
named.

But the Ogun State Police Command Public Relations Officer,
Muyiwa Adejobi, down played the issue, adding that the Command had however
deployed more officers to various locations within the town and environs.

Political leaders
from the south south yesterday stated clearly that they are in support
of President Goodluck Jonathan contesting for the office of president
in 2011.

They said the entire population of the Niger Delta would endorse whatever he decided to do.

The Niger Delta
leaders, who formed part of the crowd at a South South Stakeholders
Forum held Monday in Port Harcourt, also called on Nigerians in other
parts of the country to support the candidacy of Mr. Jonathan as a sign
of solidarity with minority groups in the country.

Godswill Akpabio,
the governor of Akwa Ibom State, said the meeting was called by the
governors to enable them interact with the people of the area so that
they could jointly take a common position on the 2011 election and
expected candidacy of Mr. Jonathan.

A support across regions

They are of the
view that the support for Jonathan will cement the feeling of oneness
in the country, and signify that anyone can aspire to any heights as
long as he/she has the quality required.

The meeting, which
was attended by all the Peoples’ Democratic Party governors of the
region, also had in attendance National Assembly members, state
lawmakers, and political leaders such as Edwin Clark, Anthony Anenih,
Matthew Mbu, and Don Etiebet.

“We urge Nigerians to support Jonathan to move Nigeria forward beyond 2011,” the communiqué of the meeting said.

The forum also
affirmed the right of Mr. Jonathan to contest in 2011, “especially as
this zone has not produced a president in the 50 years history of the
nation.”

The communiqué was
signed by the Cross Rivers State governor and chairman of the South
South Governors Forum, Liyel Imoke; Rivers State governor, Rotimi
Amaechi; Bayelsa State governor, Timpreye Sylva; and Akwa Ibom State
governor, Godswill Akpabio.

The leaders
expressed the opinion of the region that a Mr. Jonathan presidency is a
continuation of the Yar’Adua/Jonathan presidency, and that Mr. Jonathan
was carrying out the policies and programmes of the government.

The communiqué
added, “The summit supports the team of Jonathan and Namadi Sambo, and
their efforts to take the Yar’Adua reforms to the logical conclusion.”

Speakers listed the
various contributions of the region to the survival of the country.
They also called on the rest of the country, especially the north, to
support the region in its quest to have one of its own elected
president of Nigeria next year.

“If the people of
the south west were given the presidency in 1998 to assuage a hurt,
then no one has suffered more than the people of the south south, and
no one deserved the presidency more than them,” said former governor of
Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alaimeiyeseigha.

“For 56 years, our
resources have been used to develop Nigeria. We did not complain. We
are waiting for a time like this, and the time for Nigerians to show
reciprocity is now”, said another speaker.

Reciprocity from north

Mr. Anenih, however, warned that the proposal to hold election in January portends grave danger for the nation.

“If it holds in
January, there is no reality of free and fair elections. I have fears
as relates to preparation and the lack of a proper voters register,” he
said.

He urged the north to back a Jonathan presidency, in the light of past support the region has enjoyed from the south.

“The south south
has been a firm ally of the north for a long time, and the present time
calls for reciprocity and cooperation. We will claim our rights with
dignity and determination,” he declared.

The communiqué concluded, “It is time to transcend primordial sentiments and build democratic blocks for peace.”

This open
endorsement of Mr. Jonathan by his people signifies the kick-off of an
intensive regional campaign for next year’s election. The Northern
governors, whose rank and file seems to have been divided over whether
to support Mr. Jonathan or not, are meeting today.

However, what stand the southwest governors would take is yet to be articulated.

Commending the Central Bank of Nigeria’s banking
reforms, the International Finance Corporation announced Monday that it
is increasing its support to major financial institutions in Nigeria.

The IFC, a member of the World Bank group said the
support is part of its broader strategy to contribute to the country’s
banks in the aftermath of the global crisis.

Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor, Country Manager, Nigeria, said this move was due to the success of the Central Bank’s reforms.

“We have noticed the positive transformation towards a sounder banking system,” Mr Adegbie-Quaynor said.

“What attracts us now is the ability of the
Central Bank to foresee the challenges of the industry and the bold
steps taken to address them.

“We are here to demonstrate our support for the
ongoing banking reforms. We are one of the most experienced financial
institutions globally and we believe this move will have a catalytic
effect on other finance bodies because we need organisations to also
invest in these banks because we have confidence in the system now” he
said.

IFC’s Vice President for global industries, Jyrki
Koskelo said at the conference that underscoring this new commitment,
it has agreed to provide $200 million in long term funding to Guarantee
Trust Bank, subject to its board and shareholders’ approval.

Mr Koskelo also announced that the organisation
has agreed to provide $100 million in convertible sub-debt and senior
loans to First Bank of Nigeria, including participation by the IFC
Asset Management Company in the equity- based financing.

“IFC is stepping up its support for the financial
sector in Nigeria to help local banks grow more and contribute to
private sector development. In the wake of the crisis, Nigeria has made
significant progress toward creating a policy environment in which good
banks can thrive. This is the right moment for IFC and private
investors to work with banks best positioned to realize growth
profitability” he said.

Nine banks benefit

The IFC officials said the bank was interested in
investing in seven more banks, aside from GTB and First Bank, adding
that it may also extend its investment to more banks as the need
arises. These banks include Diamond, Zenith, FCMB, Eco Bank, Access,
Stanbic IBTC and UBA.

Mr Adegbie-Quaynor said the organisation is also out to help stabilised banks acquire some of the rescued banks.

“We would be working with acquiring banks to
acquire the distressed banks. That is the area we are helping to
address now, in respect to non performing loans and the Asset
Management Company” he said.

The IFC officials said the organisation is committed to partnership
in Nigeria that help encourage a growing banking sector through a
coordinated crisis response. The strategy it hoped to use in partnering
with the Nigerian banking sector includes ‘providing long-term
financing to help well-managed systemic banks to achieve growth
objectives within the constraints of the banking crisis, improve their
reach to underserved segments such as infrastructure and small and
medium enterprises.

Protests against the deployment of the newly
appointed resident electoral commissioner for Ondo State, Ayooka
Adebayo, took new dimensions when an Akure-based legal practitioner
filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Akure to challenge Mrs.
Adebayo’s deployment to the state.

Titiloye Charles, through his counsel, Modupe
Daramola, prayed the court to declare Mrs. Adebayo unfit to be named
the state electoral commissioner. Joined in the suit are Attahiru Jega,
the Chairman of Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and the
commission. In the suit, Mr. Charles opposed the declaration of Mrs.
Adebayo as commissioner, stressing that “she is not a fit, proper,
neutral, and independent person to be deployed and appointed as
electoral commissioner in Ondo State to conduct (the) 2011 general
elections.” He prayed the court to declare Mrs. Adebayo as unfit to
hold the sensitive office because of her controversial conduct during,
and after, the elections held last year in Ekiti State.

He sought for a court order directing Mr. Jega and the electoral
body to remove Mrs. Adebayo as electoral commissioner in Ondo State.
The plaintiff also prayed for an order of perpetual injunction
restraining the defendants from conducting any elections in the state
with Mrs. Adebayo serving as commissioner or returning officer. Mr.
Charles recalled that the re-run election supervised by Mrs. Adebayo in
Ekiti State was allegedly marred with irregularities, intimidation of
voters, journalists, and election observers. He said the defendant
failed to take positive steps in ensuring free and fair polls, adding
that bribery allegations were made against officers who served under
her.

A crucial meeting
of the national caucus of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) holds
today in Abuja to decide the zoning of its chairmanship position ahead
of the party’s two-day national convention which begins in the federal
capital on Friday.

Those expected at
the meeting include all members of the national executive committees,
national working committee, chairmen of the party in the 36 states of
the federation, state governors elected on the party’s platform and
members of the Board of Trustees (BOT).

The big contenders

They are also to discuss the possibility of scaling down the number of the candidates gunning for the party’s top seat.

There are already
five candidates with two from the north and the remaining four from the
southern part of the country. Those from the north are the party’s
chairman, Board of Trustees, Gambo Magaji (Gombe) and the national
deputy chairman (north) Yusufu Musa (Plateau).

The others from
the south are former governor of Edo State, John Odigie-Oyegun (Edo);
the incumbent national publicity secretary, Emma Eneukwu (Enugu);
former national secretary, George Moghalu (Anambra) and billionaire
businessman, Harry Akande (Oyo).

It was gathered
that the caucus will consider the quest by some members of the party to
zone the chairmanship position to the north thereby paving the way for
only the two aspirants from the north to slug it out or for one of them
to step down.

Some party top
members are said to dis-satisfied with the state of the party in the
last 10 years, especially since the chairmanship of the party shifted
to the south. They claim in particular that since the emergence of Don
Etiebet as national chairman, ANPP has been having problems which,
according to them, resulted in the unpopularity of the party and its
reduction of the number of states it controls.

Apart from Mr
Etiebet, from Akwa Ibom State, the other southerner who has occupied
the post is the incumbent, Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, from Anambra State.

Former chairmen
from the north have been Mahmud Waziri and Yusuf Ali. Former Zamfara
Governor, Ahmad Sani and Alani Bankole, at some point, acted as
national caretaker committee chairman and acting chairman, respectively.

It was learnt that
the issue of returning the chairmanship of the party from the south to
the north is already tearing the party apart.

The plot to return
the party’s topmost seat to the north is meant to take advantage of the
problem of zoning in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), especially if
President Goodluck Jonathan decides to contest.

“If you read
Jonathan’s lips you know he is contesting the presidential elections
and so we must take advantage of this problem of zoning in PDP,” the
source said. Already, one of the aspirants, Mr Magaji is making zoning
a campaign issue. He said ANPP has been wasted since its chairmanship
was ceded to the south and recalled that in 1999, the party controlled
nine states in the north and a sizeable number of senators and members
of the House of Representatives from the South-South and the South-East
geo-political zones.

Also, a group of
party members, which calls itself “ANPP Grassroots Members” has vowed
to destabilise the party if zoning, especially as it relates to the
office of the national chairman, is not removed or adjusted before the
convention.

A divided house

In the unsigned
protest letter to Mr Ume-Ezeoke yesterday, the group said it was tired
of zoning policy that has been producing national chairmen that
“exchange the interest of the party for peanut or bargained it for
their wives and children.” It argued that if the quest for the ANPP to
oust PDP is to become a reality, the zoning policy which favours the
south to produce the national chairman should be adjusted.

When contacted,
the spokesman of the party, Mr Eneukwu, who is also a chairmanship
contender, said he couldn’t speak because he was in a meeting. He,
however, confirmed that he was still in the race.

The National Director of Publicity of the party, Sabo Muhammad did
not to pick calls made to his telephone and was said to be attending a
meeting when a reporter visited his office.

The Head of the
Civil Service of the Federation, Stephen Oronsaye, said the biometric
enrolment of pensioners embarked upon by his office has started to
yield some of the desired results.

Mr. Oronsaye made
this known when four suspected fake pensioners, three men and a woman,
arrested at the Lagos Centre in the course of the exercise were paraded
by the Police in Abuja.

Represented at the
event by the Director of Pension, Karamot Lawal, he explained that two
of the suspects confessed to have been recruited by a syndicate
involved in the registration of fake pensioners.

On the run

The two men, one a
brick layer and the other a tailor, told pressmen that another lady who
is currently on the run, was the contractor that approached them in the
guise of securing federal government employment for them.

According to Mr.
Oronsaye, the third suspect and the only female amongst them allegedly
confessed that she had been collecting her late father’s pension since
he died in 2008 and that she recruited the fourth suspect to attempt
enrolment at the biometric exercise in the place of her dead father.

The Head of Service
explained further that these two categories of fake pensioners have
existed on the payroll and the biometric enrolment is a good way of
flushing them out.

He said that these
and other fake pensioners, arrested during the exercise all over the
federation would be charged, and would face the law in court.

The federal
government launched the biometric registration of pensioners on June 21
this year. The exercise was designed to acquire full knowledge of all
the people who are eligible to receive pensions from the federal
government.

The exercise was,
however, marred with controversy in most states of the federation. Even
after the federal government extended the exercise by two extra weeks,
many pensioners are still not registered, a situation which has been
roundly condemned by various executives of the Nigeria Union of
Pensioners.

The Senate president, David Mark has commended the
National Association of Resident Doctors for ending their four-week
industrial action.

The senate president gave the commendation on
Monday after the striking doctors announced their return to duty after
four weeks of industrial action to demand for the payment of their five
months arrears of salary, and restoration of decaying infrastructure in
government hospitals, and lack of professional training abroad.

The resident doctors called off their strike on Saturday last week.

Thanks for saving lives

The senate president who met with the doctors over
the strike action, last week said he was pleased that the doctors
listened to his plea to save lives and return to work.

Tunde Aremu, the president of the association,
confirmed that their meeting with the senate president facilitated
their plight and that they are giving the government the benefit of
doubt to redeem their promise.

Mr Aremu said the striking doctors called off
their strike in the interest of the general public and that the
authorities have assured them that their unpaid allowances was included
in the 2010 supplementary budget which was passed by the senate last
week Wednesday.

“We were pleasantly surprised that (the 2010
supplementary budget) was passed in the senate on Wednesday and passed
second reading in the House of Reps.” Mr Aremu said. “The remaining
part of the (pact) is now with the executive arm and we hope that it
will be sorted out because we will be having a meeting in two weeks
time. I expect the executive arm to do its part before the end of the
two weeks.”

On the part of the infrastructure decay, he said
the senate president has asked for some more time to consider the
problems since it is an issue that requires a long term approach to
solve.

On the issue of training abroad, the association’s
president said the senate is also looking into the matter to find ways
they can help.

He however added that if the government defects, they may also embark on another industrial action.

“We want people to start appealing to government
now to make sure they do their part of the bargain because we don’t
have any alternative again.” Mr Aremu added.

The doctors had embarked on an indefinite strike
over failure of the Federal government to implement the consolidated
Medical Doctors Salary Scale, (CMDSS).

But at a meeting with the Senate President, the
senate president undertook to intervene so that government meets its
own side of the bargain.

“Dialogue is the best option to any disagreement or crisis.” The senate president said.

He reiterated the resolve of the government to
meet the demand of its workforce including medical workers so that the
dividend of democracy will trickle down the ladder.

Former minister of
the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasir El-Rufai, yesterday told a
Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, that it lacked the power to try
him over allegations of abuse of office as minister. He said that the
proper court to try him was the Abuja High Court.

Counsel to the
former minister, Akin Olujimi, filed a preliminary objection saying
that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Matters
Commission (ICPC) Act of 2000, which his client had been charged on,
had been repealed and so the federal court lacked the jurisdiction to
try the matter. “The prosecution acknowledges that the charges stand on
nothing,” said Mr Olujimi. “The effect of a repealed law is that it is
a nullity, and no charges founded on it can stand.”

In response to the
preliminary objection, the prosecution said that the court could assume
jurisdiction in the matter because it involved an agency of the federal
government and a former minister in the federal cabinet. Trial Judge,
Adamu Bello, adjourned ruling on the case to 13th October.

Mr. El-Rufai and two others were accused by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission of illegally allocating land in the FCT to
friends and relatives, some of whom included Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, the
daughter of former president Olusegun Obasanjo. The other accused
persons are Altine Jubrin, former director general of the Abuja
Geographical Information System, and Ismail Iro, former general manager
of the agency. All three men pleaded not guilty.

The Bureau of
Public Procurement (BPP) yesterday raised alarm over the abuse of
stipulated procurement due processes by ministries, departments and
agencies (MDAs).

Emeka Ezeh, the
Director General of the procurement agency, who stated this at the
third National Procurement Forum, said the revision of the threshold
for contracts valued at between N50 million and N1 billion has led to a
high incidence of malpractices, including contract splitting,
collusion, award of contracts to same persons using different company
names, and abuse of prequalification procedures.

Though he said the
implementation of the Public Procurement Act (2007) has largely
succeeded in democratising the public contracting system, by promoting
competition, and helping curb wastefulness in the application of public
funds, Mr Ezeh said the greatest challenge the bureau is facing has
been the resistance from members of the elite class in the society.

“I am the most
investigated public officer in Nigeria today, because a few powerful
class of elite see the implementation of the Act as being responsible
for the non-implementation of the budget. They have been using
blackmail, media, frivolous petitions against my person and officers of
the Bureau. In some cases, they try to use investigative agencies like
the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the police to intimidate.

“I have appeared
over 250 times before various committees of the National Assembly and
uncountable times at the ICPC along with officers of the bureau, who
are constantly offered all kinds of goodies, ranging from promise of
contracts to money, all in attempt to circumvent the process and bring
the hard earned reputation of the bureau to ridicule,” he stated.

Describing the
petitions as healthy, as they help strengthen the process to bring
accountability and good governance in the system, Mr Ezeh urged the
petitioners to desist from constantly interfering with the procurement
process.

Guest speakers from
United States, United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Tanzania,
Trinidad and Tobago as well as Ghana would share their experiences at
the forum, while heads of key local institutions would also present
papers.

The Minister of
Finance, Olusegun Aganga, who was the event’s Chairman, said the forum
was timely – coming at a time when the nation needs to take all
necessary steps to address her infrastructure deficits and restore the
country on a structurally sounder basis for renewed economic growth.

The Bureau of
Public Procurement is a major ally in the process and was created as
part of government’s effort to sanitise the procurement practices in
the public sector following a World Bank study which revealed that the
nation was getting less than 40 per cent value for its public
expenditures.

Describing this as
unacceptable, Mr Aganga said any government serious about checking
public wastage of its resources will not hesitate to initiate radical
changes necessary to curb the excesses, pointing out that the first
step was the establishment of monitoring and price intelligence unit in
the Presidency.

Though he said the
administrative unit recorded limited successes in its mandate, the
minister said there is need for a stronger structure under the agency,
adding that government is determined to sanitise the process of public
expenditure, by entrenching a planned approach to such exercise, as
against existing ad hoc approach.

“To this end,
government is working towards reviewing its expenditure to strengthen
the monitoring and implementation processes, to entrench a
performance-based budget system,” he said, adding that this will help
consolidate on the successes achieved so far in the monitoring and
implementation of government projects.

The proposed
system, he explained is a process of rewarding chief executives of
government agencies and departments for best practices in their
businesses based on some stated performance indicators bordering on the
level, quality and efficiency of implementation.

The pilot of the
new scheme is to be implemented in the key big spending government
agencies either before the end of the year or early next year in
conjunction with the International Monetary Fund.

While urging
participants to move towards adopting measures capable of enhancing the
quality, accountability and efficiency of public expenses adopted by
the United Kingdom, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, Vietnam and the
Philippians under the construction sector transparency initiative led
by the Department for International Development (DFID).

“We must take every step necessary to achieve transparency and
accountability to ensure that Nigerians get value for every Naira spent
as well as enhance the quality and efficiency of government’s
expenses,” he said.