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A national official
of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday
declared that the April general elections were conducted with utmost
transparency and fairness, hence the acceptability of its results by
most of the contestants.

The INEC national
commissioner in charge of Osun, Oyo and Ondo states, Adedeji Soyebi,
speaking in Osogbo at the presentation of certificates of return to all
the elected candidates, said INEC conducted the elections with the fear
of God and without prejudice to any authority.

He said the
elections were adjudged the best in the history of the country’s
elections even by the international community, saying INEC achieved
such a lofty height through commitment and determination to building a
virile society.

Mr Soyebi, who
acknowledged the support of the people, said the credible conduct of
the polls was made possible by the co-operation the commission enjoyed
from the people.

Particularly, the
INEC boss noted that the electoral body recorded peace in Osun state
during the polls, saying that the elections were conducted in a
relatively peaceful atmosphere in all the Local Government Areas in the
state compared with other parts of the country.

The INEC resident
electoral commissioner in the state, Rufus Akeju said the commission
succeeded in redefining the electoral landscape of the country with its
performance during the last eletion.

“We are today
celebrating the results of national political consciousness and its
process for the conduct of election with transparency, fairness and
freedom,” he said.

Mr Akeju said the
commission is focused on its vision and mission for a new democratic
order in the country and advised the newly elected political office
holders to place the interest of the people above their personal
interest in all that they do.

The Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC) has generated N1.4
billion as fines from traffic offenders in the country in the last four years,
the Corps Marshal of the commission, Osita Chidoka said yesterday in Abuja.

Speaking at the launch of the UN Decade Of Action On Road, with
the theme: “Committed To The Decade Of Action Road Safety 2011-2020,” Mr
Chidoka warned that the FRSC will not spare any violator of road safety rules
regardless of who ever is involved, stressing that if serious measures are not
taken, accidents will overtake malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS as the leading
cause of death in the country.

“Efforts are in top gear to ensure a national council on road
safety and inclusion of a broad coalition of multi-agency stakeholder
approach,” he said.

Traffic collisions

Speaking also at the event was the minister of health, Onyebuchi
Chukwu who said traffic collisions constitute major health and economic hazards
globally, with extensive deleterious effect in developing countries such as
Nigeria.

He also announced that the World Health Organisation and the
World Health Assembly have projected that by 2020, road traffic collisions
would have risen to be the third leading cause of disability and the fifth
leading cause of death by 2030.

The minister also revealed that a national stakeholders committee
has been constituted towards preventing collisions and making roads safer. He
said the committee would ensure effective collaboration among identified
stakeholders as well as partner with local and international agencies and
organisations.

The Obi of Onitsha, Alfred Achebe; Works minister, Sanusi
Daggash and the Women Affairs and Social Development minister, Josephine Anenih
all signed commitment cards which forbids them from over speeding, drinking
while driving and using mobile phones while driving. It also commits them to
always wear seat belts while driving.

The senate deputy leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, has risen in
defence of the National Assembly over allegations of profligacy, saying the
civil service and not the legislature consumes most of the the nation’s wealth.

In a veiled reference to claims by the governor of the Central
Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, that the National Assembly takes home a
greater part of the nation’s income, the re-elected senator said the civil
service consumes more.

He called for a review of public expenditure at all levels so
that more money is available for investment in infrastructure, social service,
health care and industrialisation.

“I do not think that the National Assembly is consuming the
wealth of this nation more than any other group,” he said. “Check the
parastatals, main civil service and local government councils; they consume
more. Every office has overhead costs. When you add these together every month,
you discover that civil servants consume more of the nation’s resources.”

Continuity in service

On the just-concluded general elections in the country, Mr
Ndoma-Egba said the high rate of attrition in the National Assembly is
affecting robust legislation, as fresh lawmakers find it difficult to catch up
with their older colleagues on thorny issues.

“[The] high turnover of senators in this country affects
lawmaking as newcomers start from the scratch, finding it difficult to catch up
with their senior colleagues,” he said. “The senate in the USA is stable
because it does not experience such a huge number of new members, despite the
biennial conduct of legislative elections in that country.” He recommended that
senators be allowed to spend more years at the National Assembly to gain
experience in lawmaking for the good of the country, as having a new crop of
senators every four years negatively impacts on administration at the federal
level.

Mr Ndoma-Egba said, although parliamentary bodies the world over
are bolstered by the equality of their members, irrespective of the spread of
their constituencies, the experience of older members is what keeps that arm of
government moving so that it does not fall short of expectations nor become a
rubber stamp for the executive.

The senator, who has just secured a third mandate, sees his
re-election as victory for history.

“This is the first time a senator from Cross River State will be
doing a third term at the National Assembly, but I am not the first from the
Niger Delta to be so elected. James Manager is older than me at the senate. He
is also from the Niger Delta,” he said.

Fair elections, but…

He described the recent elections as transparent, orderly and
fair; and asked INEC to correct the lapses it noticed in the 2011 exercise
since the country’s democracy is still growing.

“If INEC had an arrangement whereby accredited voters exercise
their franchise immediately, more people would have come out to participate,”
he said. “In rural communities of Cross River State where the inhabitants are
predominantly farmers, they find it difficult to wait for many hours after
being accredited before voting,” he said.

Mr Ndoma-Egba, who said it was a challenge for him to convince his kinsmen,
who are mainly farmers, to get accredited and wait for some hours before
voting, advised INEC to develop a new voting system that would ensure Nigerians
vote immediately after accreditation and leave for their homes or farms.

The senate on Wednesday, passed the Nigeria Sovereign Investment
Authority bill, with an approval that it be jump started with the Naira
equivalence of $1 billion.

The start-up capital is to be contributed by the three tiers of
government including the federal capital territory, each contributing a
percentage of the initial fund equal to such government’s share of the
federation revenue in accordance with the subsisting formula.

Subsequent funding for the fund will be derived from residual
funds from the federation account which shall be transferred to the authority.
The derivation portion of the revenue allocation formula is excluded from the
subsequent funding source.

60 percent of both the start-up capital and subsequent funds
will be allocated equally to the authorities’ three main investment options:
The Future Generation Funds, the Infrastructure fund and the Stabilization
Fund.

The fund, when established, would replace the country’s excess
crude account (ECA) that banks Nigeria oil revenue above a benchmark oil price.

Critics of the excess crude account, created by the
administration of Olusegun Obasanjo, says it lacks a legal framework. The
account was set-up in 2004 following a fiscal policy decision to check the
negative impact of the swings in crude oil prices at the international oil
market on government expenditure, and to help create savings from excess crude
earnings for the country.

The incumbent administration in March 2011, revealed plans to
abolish the excess crude account as the minister of finance Olusegun Aganga,
told NEXT in an interview that the government resolved to abolish the account
not only because its existence was illegal and unconstitutional, but also that
management of the ECA has in recent times been subjected to abuses that tend to
defeat the objective for which it was established.

He noted that the process for accessing the ECA is not
transparent and clear to the Nigerians, therefore there is a general perception
that there is some level of mismanagement.

“The intention is that the (sovereign wealth) fund will be
funded by what we have in the excess crude oil account,” Olusegun Aganga told
reporters after the economic council meeting last month.

“The present arrangement is just an administrative arrangement,
it has no legal basis”, he said. “What we have to begin now is to give it a
legal basis so the excess crude account will be replaced by a legal
arrangement.”

The authority is expected to invest the funds in a diversified
portfolio of medium and long term investments for the benefit of future
generation of Nigerian citizens.

Mr Aganga said the fund adds to fiscal discipline of government
and is capable of attracting investment in infrastructure development from
sovereign wealth funds of other countries. According to him, accruals to the
fund would be put to work to intervene in critical sectors of the economy.

“The fund will have the ability to attract both local and
international investors. So even if they have $1 billion, it will be capable of
attracting more than $5 or $6 billion from other funds. Already we have had
interest from other sovereign wealth funds. It will be managed in a very
transparent way because we will have better control.”

The finance minister said the setting up of the sovereign wealth
fund will improve Nigeria’s rating in the international financial market. The estimated
value of global sovereign wealth funds is currently put at $2.5 trillion.

“Creation of the fund will ensure that the present and future
generations of Nigeria will still have a country to call their own,” Teslim
Folarin, leader of the senate said in his lead debate.

In exceptional circumstances set out in the act, the authority
will utilize certain liquid assets in the stabilization fund to supplement
other available fiscal stabilization funds to temporarily sustain duly budgeted
public expenditure in the interest of macroeconomic stability in Nigeria.

Bribery allegation denied

The Senate also denied media allegations that its members
demanded N25 million in bribes to hasten the passage of the Sovereign Wealth
Fund and Petroleum Industry bills.

The Senate President, David Mark, described the allegations as
“sheer blackmail.” The denial followed complaints by Dahiru Kuta, a member of
the committee that reviewed the bills, about a Monday publication in Punch
Newspaper claiming the senators demanded bribes to pass the bills.

“This blackmail is totally unnecessary and uncalled for. It is
not a very good thing by Punch Newspapers. I think they owe this hallowed
chamber an apology,” the senate president said.

“We will investigate this and the ethics committee should take it up live on
TV. No senator has demanded for anything. It is totally uncalled.”

The Anambra State government is set to partner with a
South Africa-based company, Eagle Structured Finance Consortium on the
establishment of an independent power plant (IPP) to address the power
needs of the state.

Top officers of the South African firm were in Awka
yesterday to make a presentation on the building of a barge mooring
infrastructure for the generation of power by Anambra State.

The project, to be powered by natural gas, will use
two GE frame PG9171(E) gas turbine generators to provide regulation
services to the state and will come in two stages. While stage one
involves the construction of two floating barges of 120 megawatts (MW)
capacities each, the second stage has to do with earthworks.

In his response, the state governor, Peter Obi, said
the state was enthusiastic about the project since, according to him,
availability of power would help attract industries to the state. He
added that it would also improve prospects for Small- and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) of the people of Anambra State who are noted for
their entrepreneurial spirit.

On the cost of the project, Mr Obi said that funding
is not the issue but the federal government giving approval to the state
which would ensure that the generated power was usable in the state.

He noted that he was keen to pursue the project,
estimated to take less than one year to complete, because most companies
he was negotiating with to come and build their facilities in the state
were particular about power.

In his reaction, the Anambra State commissioner for public utilities,
Emeka Nwankwu, assured that the state government was doing everything
possible to sustain the improvement in the general infrastructure in the
state for better living and improved economic activities.

As the Plateau State
government, on Monday, inaugurated a 39-person committee to oversee
preparations for a celebration of Democracy day on May 29, the state’s
House of Assembly is still in a state of inactivity five months after
members proceeded on Christmas break.

The last official
sitting of the House was on December 18, 2010 when the state governor,
Jonah Jang presented the 2011 appropriation proposal to the
representatives for debate and subsequent approval. Speaker of the
House, Caleb Istifanus Mwansat, however adjourned the House immediately
for Christmas break. It was obvious at the time, with the build up to
2011 elections heating up, that the House was bitterly polarised between
the governor, Mr Jang, and his deputy, Pauline Tallen.

Intrigues in the
House worsened and paved way to the subsisting impasse when 16 of the 24
lawmakers defected, in solidarity with Mrs Tallen, into the Labour
Party early in January ahead of last April’s elections. Leading his 15
colleagues into the opposition camp, the deputy speaker, Baba Hassan,
was reported to have launched a plot to remove the speaker whom they
accused of not only being loyal to the governor, but was also
frustrating efforts by the house to check the executive.

2011 budget

Since January, the
speaker has, in turn, failed to reconvene the House to consider the
budget and other matters pending on the legislative calendar. One of
such outstanding matters is the consideration and approval of the 2011
budget, as the executive arm, since January, has been working without
oversight checks.

At odds with one
another, there was no indication at press time whether the speaker will
reconvene the House before the legislative year ends, as a majority of
the members who defected to the Labour Party, except the deputy speaker,
Mr Hassan, lost their re-election bid and will not be part of the next
legislature, which will be sworn in next month.

During a visit to
the House of Assembly complex along Old Bukuru road, Jos yesterday, some
of the staff were seen discussing the re-election of the speaker and
deputy speaker, who are returning in the next legislative year on
different political platforms. Mr Mwansat won his election on the
platform of the PDP while the deputy is now a lawmaker of the Labour
Party.

The Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday, issued certificates of
return to all the victorious candidates in elections held to fill
political positions due to be vacant in Oyo State on may 29 Speaking on
behalf of his colleagues, the state governor-elect, Abiola Ajimobi,
vowed to engineer a new beginning for the state as he take up the mantle
of leadership.

The ceremony was
held at the premises of the Oyo State INEC, where he and other 49
elected candidates to the seats in the state House of Assembly and
National Assembly were present to get their certificates of return.

Mr Ajimobi called on
his co-contestants in the election, especially, Adebayo Alao-Akala, the
state governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as
well as Rashidi Ladoja, the former governor and candidate of Accord
Party, to rally round him in efforts to lift the state to greater
heights.

The governor-elect admonished his colleagues not to disappoint the electorate that gave them their mandates to represent them.

Describing his
opponents in the election, Messrs Alao-Akala and Ladoja, as brothers and
friends, Mr Ajimobi declared that there were no loser nor vanquished in
the polls.

Great expectations

He called on those
elected to put in their best to ensure that dividends of democracy are
well delivered to the people in their time, saying ‘to whom much is
given, much is expected.”

According to him,
the expectation of the people of the state in the in-coming government
is too high to be dashed, promising to do his part to make the people
the focus of his government.

The National
Secretary of INEC, Abdullahi Kaugama, expressed appreciation to the
political stakeholders in the state for their conduct in the election,
which he said was peaceful.

The state Resident
Electoral Commission, Ayo Adakeja, also said he felt fulfilled for
superintending over credible election in the state, maintaining that
there was room for improvement.

He commended the
losers of the poll for being gallant as, according to him, they
demonstrated spirit of sportsmanship in spite of the tension arising
from unfounded rumours and false alarms that reigned during the
pre-election period.

Mr Adakeja also gave kudos to all members of the National Youth
Service Corps (NYSC) used as ad hoc staff as well as members of the
academia who served as supervisors, collation and returning officers
during the exercise.

The Delta State
government yesterday asked residents not to embark on panic buying of
fuel as a result of the fire incident at the NNPC loading depot in
Warri.

The Commissioner
for Oil and Gas, David Ekereokosu while speaking to journalists
yesterday at the scene of the NNPC Depot explosion said that there was
no cause for alarm over the incident, saying he had been assured by the
management of the Petroleum Pipelines Marketing Company (PPMC) that
supply of fuel will not be affected.

The Commissioner
who was conducted round the scene by Sunday O. Edegbo, the Depot
Manager, PPMC and Joseph E. Edeamrere, Community Relations Officer,
PPMC said: “We want to urge all Deltans not to panic, what has
happened, for now; nobody can tell what caused the fire incident. But
investigations are on-going; it will be hasty on the part of anybody to
jump to conclusion as to what caused the fire. For now, we want to
assure Deltans that very soon the depot will bounce back to full
operation and there should be no panic buying.

Sufficient products

“There is
sufficient product to go round for all those who want to get the
product, so the Delta State government calls on all Deltans not to be
discouraged over what has happened. Governor Uduaghan is aware of what
has happened and that is why he has sent this delegation to PPMC to
ascertain what has happened.” He expressed gratitude to God that the
fire incident did not extend beyond the scene just as he thanked all
Deltans, including fire services for their efforts in ensuring that the
fire was put off timely.

Explaining the
incident to the commissioner, the PPMC Depot Manager, Mr Edegbo said:
“What I will just say briefly is that, I was in the office yesterday
when we heard a large explosion. We evacuated our staff; the whole
place was engulfed with fire. We are still investigating the actual
cause; we have not been able to establish what caused the fire
incident. Committees have been set up and we are trying to get back to
operation as soon as possible.

“I want to assure
the public that there is no need to panic for now because we are
working for early resumption of our operations.” It was observed
yesterday that the loading depot that used to be busy was empty and the
four petroleum tankers razed at the scene were yet to be removed.

As part of its efforts to reduce cases
of accidents and casualties on the nation’s highways, the Federal Road
Safety Corps (FRSC) has entered into a partnership with the Ministry of
Health to actualise the United Nations’ ‘decade of action’ on road
safety.

The corps marshal and chief executive of
the FRSC, Osita Chidoka, said yesterday in Abuja that his commission
had developed a national strategy, which had already been adopted by the
relevant agencies, towards the actualisation of the goal.

The action plan, which is slated for
launch tomorrow, and which Nigeria as a member of the United Nations is
fully committed to, will enable an improvement in the condition of the
nation’s highways, the regulation of license issuance, drivers’
training, as well as post-crash care.

Mr Chidoka said inter-agency support had
helped the commission in achieving the reduction of deaths on Nigerian
roads. In 2010, the country recorded a 33 percent reduction in the
fatalities on its roads, and a 30 percent reduction in automobile
crashes. This year, a 23 percent reduction in road-accident deaths had
already been recorded.

“If more effort is not committed to
reducing the menace of accidents on Nigeria roads, the percentage of
casualties from road accidents will rise to 65 percent in 2015,
overtaking malaria as one of the leading causes of deaths,” he said.

Mr Chidoka said some of the commission’s
efforts at ensuring the reduction of roads accidents in Nigeria
included the sensitisation of motorists, the training of road safety
officials and partnership with bodies such as the World Bank.

Cause of mortality

The minister of health, Onyebuchi
Chukwu, commended the FRSC on its efforts to curb the carnage on the
roads but noted that traffic injuries were a major cause of morbidity
and mortality in the country.

The minister, who described trauma as a
serious health issue that leads to so many other diseases, stressed the
need for more attention to be placed on it. He said the federal
government was working towards improving the three hospitals which had
the requisite skills to handle trauma cases.

Mr Chukwu also called for the thorough
medical examination of potential drivers before licenses are issued to
them and enforcement by the relevant law enforcement agencies.

The representative of the World Health
Organisation (WHO), David Okello, noted that part of the objectives of
the ‘decade of action’ is to change the perception about the problem.

“Though road crash injury is mostly
predictable and preventable, it can only be solved by multi-sectoral
cooperation and action,” he said.

Poor remuneration
and low appreciation for professionalism are some of the problems
hindering legal practice and the delivery of justice in Nigeria, a
senior lawyer, Funke Adekoya said yesterday while delivering a lecture
at the Nigeria Bar Association, Ilorin Branch 2011 Law Retreat.

Mrs Adekoya, who is
also the president of the Nigeria Chapter of the Federation of
Arbitrators, said following poor remuneration of staff by the
principals of law firms in Nigeria, the legal profession has lost its
best brains to multinational firms over the years.

“The practice of
law is a profession, but a law practise is also a business,” she said.
“It should have a clear and consistent structure. The owners need to
give thought to the opportunities and clients available in the chosen
practice area, and determine how to focus on the markets you want to
practice in. Get into the habit of having an annual business plan where
you lay out your key objectives for the year. What do you want to
target in the year? How much money do you need to make to cover your
overheads?” She said although having technically competent and
motivated lawyers is important, that alone does not guarantee success.

“Where the take
home salary of the associate does not take him or her home, we have a
problem to contend with,” Mrs Adekoya said. “I hear lawyers saying
their practise cannot justify paying associates a larger salary. How
then does the practise justify paying a driver the same amount as an
associate, or even more? Associates are the primary asset of any firm
and the effective management of the asset should be one of the highest
priorities of the firm.”

Show some respect

The chairman of the
Kwara State branch of the Nigeria Bar Association, Salman Jawondo,
attributed the failure of some chambers in Nigeria to a lack of
professional conduct by the owners and associates of the firm.

“I believed that
this lecture would go a long way to resuscitate and guide the existing
legal practice firms in Nigeria,” she said.

The Chief Judge of
Kwara State, Salihu Durosilohun Kawu, stressed the need for owners of
law firms to treat their associates with sincerity.

“I wish I had
listened to this lecture a long time ago, I would have also loved to
own a law firm and nurture it to a greater height,” he said.