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The amount to be
paid each of the hundreds of thousands of corps members who will
administer nationwide polls beginning Saturday remains unknown as the
two organisations responsible for their deployment passed the buck
yesterday, two days to the elections.

The Independent
National Electoral Commission and the National Youth Service Corps
declined to disclose the figures on Wednesday, putting the
responsibility for doing so on each other, as the bulk of the
participating corps members -2011 batch ‘A’- seem increasingly
impatient.

The corps members
passing out from the three-week orientation programme across the
country, said unlike the voters’ registration where the amount due for
participating corps members was announced weeks ahead, the NYSC
officials is keeping the information away from them this time claiming
INEC had not briefed them.

“We have not been
told till now; they said INEC has not told them how much,” a member who
gave his name as Tajudeen Usman said, irritably in Abuja yesterday. The
claim was corroborated by some members speaking on phone from some
states.

Yet, the
potentially explosive subject – as shown during last voters
registration where some corps members threatened to down tools midway
into the exercise – remained surprisingly a top secret between both
commissions as of yesterday, with each blaming the other for
withholding the figure corps member will be entitled as ad hoc staff
during the elections.

Officials of INEC,
who spoke to NEXT, said the figures had been released to the NYSC and
it was now their duty to make them public while the NYSC officials
argued that the elections are regarded as the electoral body’s
programme, requiring the commission to make every announcement as it
did during the voter’s registration.

Nick Dazang, the
Deputy Director, Public Affairs of INEC said officials of the NYSC were
familiar with the figures but declined to name the amount each ad hoc
official will be entitled to for either a single election, or for the
three comprising the National Assembly, presidential and governorship
elections.

“The NYSC officials
know what will be paid to them. I don’t have the figures but I know
there is an improvement on what they had before.

“And this time, it
is done in a way that there will be no delay like that of last time,”
hinting that the required sum had “already been paid into NYSC account
for their officials to disburse since they have the details and account
information of the corps members.”

Corroborating that
position, Kayode Idowu, Chief Press Secretary to the chairman of the
commission, said the corps members would have been informed of the
figures and how they will be paid, as of yesterday. He too, declined to
name the amount.

“It is not true that they don’t know the figure. Ask any corps member and they will tell you,” he said.

Corps members who
spoke to NEXT insisted the figures were unknown to them, against what
obtained in January when INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, repeatedly
stated that each member will earn N30,000 for the registration.

The Director for
Public Relations of the NYSC, Foluso Kolajo, said the figures should be
made available in a day or two, saying the state offices of the NYSC
had just been directed to inform the corps members.

“You know they are
just coming out of camp, so just give them like a day or two, the
figures will be made known. Every corps member will know how much they
will be paid,” she said. She too, declined to mention the figures.

A top official of
the NYSC’s Welfare and Inspection Department, which oversees the
organisation’s collaboration with INEC, dismissed the request for the
information, blaming the electoral commission for withholding the
amount.

The official who refused to be named, said only INEC can announce
the amount although she acknowledged the money had been remitted to the
NYSC.

The Chief of Army
Staff, Azubuike Ihejirika, has expressed joy over the cordial
relationship between the army and members of the public.

The army chief, who
was in Ibadan yesterday to assess the level of preparedness of the 2
Mechanized Division for the forthcoming elections, visited Governor
Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State. He noted that he was particularly
happy that the visit is coinciding with the time the army was being
drafted to monitor the elections to ensure that it is not marred by
violence.

He urged the people
of the state to be peaceful and law abiding during the elections,
adding that the involvement of the army was to ensure that the exercise
is conducted under peaceful atmosphere. Commenting on the level of
preparedness of the 2 Mechanised Division, which has its headquarters
in Ibadan, the army chief said all the activities in all the formations
under the division confirmed to him that the men are more than ready
for the exercise.

He pledged total
commitment of the army to democratic governance, saying the force will
do its best to make the elections free, fair, credible and
violence-free. He said his visit to the governor was to express his
gratitude for the cordial relationship between the army and the people
of the state.

Mr Alao-Akala, in his response, said he would not shirk from his
responsibility as the chief security officer of the state. Insisting
that security is everybody’s business, he thanked the army for giving
his government necessary supports since its inception. The governor
also praised the federal government for mobilizing all the security
agencies to monitor the elections.

As the 2011 elections draw nearer, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has directed that none of its technical and search and rescue officers would go on leave during the period just as 12 states have been identified by the agency as flashpoints that require more public consciousness and awareness against untoward attitudes during the elections.
The Director-General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani-Sidi, gave the directive today while receiving members of Media and Information Committee on Emergency Management (MICEM) which comprises spokespersons of response agencies in Nigeria.
While calling on emergency spokespersons to cooperate with the press in providing timely, accurate and truthful information at all times to minimise speculations, Mr Sani-Sidi said they should be alert on their responsibility.
He, however, urged the electorate not to allow themselves to be used to disrupt the electoral processes, adding that the country would soon have dedicated hotlines that could be accessible to the public in reaching response agencies during emergencies.
He said just as the agency enjoyed massive support and cooperation of other agencies in all its activities, members of MICEM should also extend similar goodwill towards adequate information dissemination.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of MICEM who is also Director of Defence Information, Colonel Mohammed Yerima, commended NEMA for the success of its evacuation of Nigerians from Egypt and Libya and for timely response to distressed and displaced victims of natural disasters and communal clashes in recent times.
The chairman, Media and Information Committee on Emergency Management (MICEM) in Nigeria comprising members from NEMA, Defence, Police, Federal Road Safety, Civil Defence Corps, Federal Fire Service and other security outfits, said the association has identified major flashpoints that have witnessed heated and tensed political environment.
“The states have attracted more headlines and public attention to acrimonious activities among the political actors and parties. Two states were identified by MICEM from each geopolitical zone that required more public consciousness and awareness for orderliness during forthcoming elections. They are Katsina and Kano States in the North-West, Bayelsa and Akwa-Ibom States in South-South, Oyo and Ogun States in South-west, Nasarawa and Benue States in North-Central, Borno and Gombe in the North-East and Ebonyi and Anambra in the South-East,” he said.

The Federal High
Court in Abuja has cleared the governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime,
as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the
state.

The court dismissed
a suit filed by governorship candidate of the Platform Party, Anayo
Onwuegbu, on the ground that it constitutes an abuse of court process.

Judge Abdul
Kafarati ruled that the PDP has already submitted the name of Mr Chime
as its candidate for the election contrary to the claim of the
plaintiff, Mr Onwuegbu.

The court also ordered the defendants to file their counter affidavit against the plaintiff’s claim within the next two days.

Mr Kafarati also
resolved the issue of jurisdiction in favour of the plaintiff, saying
that the court has jurisdiction to hear his case and adjourned the
matter till February 23 for hearing.

The commission had
on February 14, told the court to vacate the interim order restraining
it from giving recognition to Mr Chime as the governorship candidate of
PDP in Enugu State.

INEC told the
court through its lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu, that if the interim order
was not vacated, it may affect the chances of the party fielding a
gubernatorial candidate for the scheduled April general elections in
Enugu State.

The order of the
court, handed down on January 31, had also stopped PDP from submitting
Mr Chime’s name to the INEC as its candidate for the said poll pending
the hearing and determination of the suit filed by the plaintiff and 38
other contestants challenging Mr Chime’s candidacy.

Even though the
court ordered the PDP not to submit the list of its candidates for
Enugu State to INEC, the party had last Monday informed the court that
it had already sent Mr Chime’s name to INEC before the order was made.

The party, which
was represented in court by its national legal adviser, Olusola Oke,
equally urged the judge to set aside the restraining order, contending
that the high court lacks the jurisdiction to stop an already perfected
act.

It argued that it
forwarded the name of Mr Chime alongside other candidates vying for
various positions in the state to INEC on January 17, for publication
before the restraining order was made.

In dismissing the
suit filed by the Onwuegbu and his running mate, Ogbu, Mr Kafarati
noted that the issue in question is subject matter of litigation in
another court.

Mr. Kafarati said the suit lacks merit and accordingly dismissed it.

Jonathan Shakarho,
a Justice of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, has awarded N10 million
damages against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for
attempting to forcefully seal off the private residence of former Ekiti
State governor, Ayodele Fayose.

Men of the
commission had created a scene at the former governor’s house on
September 29, 2010 when they were mobilised to forcefully eject the
occupants and seal it off.

It took the
resistance of some of Mr Fayose’s family members, who also reside in
the house located within the Government’s Reservation Area (GRA),
Iyaganku Quarters, Ibadan, to save the day.

The former Ekiti
State governor thereafter approached the court to seek redress and
enforcement of his fundamental human rights. He prayed the court for an
order confirming and enforcing his fundamental rights to fair hearing,
dignity of human person, liberty, private and family life and to own
immovable property; an order restraining the respondent from issuing
misleading press statements or publishing the picture of the house in
the media; N50 million damages and any other order the court may deem
fit.

EFCC was obeying orders

In an 18-paragraph
affidavit in support of the prayers, the applicant alleged that the
EFCC officials intruded in his family’s privacy and also published the
picture of the building in print media.

He also averred
that the EFCC’s attempt to seal off the building claiming it was an
order of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi was a lie. Mr Fayose said the
EFCC was acting the political vendetta script authored from the Ekiti
State government house through a letter dated September 20, 2010.

But the
commission, in a 16-paragraph counter affidavit, said it only acted on
the order given by Tijani Abubakar of Federal High Court, Ikoyi which
empowered it to seal off the premises.

According to the
EFCC, its office had been inundated with several petitions on Mr
Fayose’s alleged misdemeanour while still serving as the governor in
2005.

The allegations, it
added, have to do with abuse of office, money laundering, corrupt
practices and stealing of government funds especially money obtained
through Biological Concept Nigeria Limited.

The EFCC said it
was short of prosecuting the former governor because of the immunity he
enjoyed then as one Gbenga James and some other persons arraigned in
2006 over similar offences mentioned his name as accomplice, adding
that it later amended the charges to include his name after his
impeachment by the Ekiti State House of Assembly.

It further stated
that it had pasted the said order on Mr Fayose’s house immediately
after its issuance in 2006, together with the sealing notice, only for
the former governor to go behind and “unseal the properties, removed
the order and moved into them without the permission or authorisation
of the respondent of the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

The Judge’s verdict

In his judgement
delivered on Wednesday, Mr Shakarho posited that the commission must
take full responsibility of the wrongful act carried out by his men on
the day in question and ordered it to pay N10 million for damages.

According to him,
the act is tantamount to “malicious embarrassment” to the former
governor since there was no order of the court to forfeit his property
to the Federal Government.

He also gave an
order to restrain the commission, his agents, privies or anyone or
organisation acting on its behalf from further issuing “misleading
press statements, publishing pictures of the applicant’s residence and
or procuring the release of any misleading information in the print
media, in any manner.” The presiding judge equally restrained the EFCC
from sealing off the said property or from engaging in any manner of
infringement Mr Fayose’s fundamental and constitutional rights.

A Federal High
Court in Abuja yesterday, dismissed an application for stay of
execution of judgment by former Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Mr. Aminu Bello Masari seeking to halt the judgement
of the court which stopped him from contesting the governorship
position of Katsina State under the Congress for Progressive Change
(CPC) in the April election.

Presiding judge
Abdul Kafarati also affirmed its earlier judgement that Senator Yakubu
Garba Lado is the authentic candidate of the CPC in Katsina State as
well as the candidature of 43 other candidates contesting for the
Senate, Federal and State Houses of Assembly in the state.

Mr. Kafarati had,
on February 25, 2011 ordered the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) not to recognize any other candidate for the Katsina
state governorship position under the CPC other than Lado.

Senator Lado and
his running mate, Abdulaziz Yar’adua had gone to court seeking an order
to restrain INEC from accepting Mr. Masari; the senator claimed that he
won the primary election and should have been presented instead of Mr.
Masari.

Mr. Lado wants the
court to mandate the submission of no other candidate except him to
INEC as the party’s governorship candidate for the state for the April
2011 election.

Specifically, he
wants the court to mandate the electoral body to accept only him as the
candidate of the party at the 2011 general elections for which they won
their party primaries.

The aggrieved
Senator who led 44 other members of the party told the court to
restrain the electoral body from accepting any other candidates apart
from them as the candidates of the party for the April governorship
election in Katsina state.

Kafarati, in his
judgment held that CPC has no option than to submit Senator Lado’s name
to INEC as its authentic governorship candidate for the Katsina State
governorship election in April.

He dismissed the
defendants’ preliminary objection, said Lado’s action was properly
brought before the court, that the plaintiffs have reasonable cause of
action as they are the authentic candidate of the party in Katsina
State.

The former speaker
and the CPC had filed an objection to Lado’s suit on the ground that
the way and manner a party elects or nominates its candidate for any
elective position is an internal affair of the party and that the court
lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

But, Kafarati, in
his judgement said with the 1999 constitution of the federal republic
of Nigeria as amended, the election or nomination of party’s candidate
ceases to be solely an internal affairs of the party because the
amended constitution provides that any aggrieved member of the party
can sue if the process for electing or nominating the party’s candidate
violate the party guidelines and the Electoral Act which are tailored
in line with the constitution of the country.

Furthermore he held
that the defendants failed woefully to bring any documentary evidence
before the court to show that there was another governorship primary
election held by the party where Masari was elected.

Masari has gone
before the Abuja Court of Appeal challenging Kafarati’s judgment which
held in his judgment delivered on February 25, 2011 that Lado is the
authentic gubernatorial candidate of the CPC in Katsina State.

In a motion on
notice filed through his counsel, John Baiyeshea , Masari is seeking an
order of injunction restraining Lado and the 44 others who filed the
initial suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja, their agents or
privies from giving effect to the Judgment delivered by Justice Abdul
Kafarati pending the hearing and determination of his appeal before the
Appeal Court.

In an affidavit in
support of the motion, Masari said he, the party and its Chairman,
Prince Tony Momoh are dissatisfied with the judgment, as a result of
which thousands of supporters and sympathizers have resolved not to
vote for the party in the forthcoming general election in Katsina.

He also said he won the primary election which held on January 13,
2011 and it was duly declared by the relevant committee which conducted
the election.

The Oyo State government has completed the electronic
storage of about 350,000 land documents in its archives, the state
governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala, said yesterday.

Speaking at the official commissioning of the newly
automated lands registry at the state ministry of Lands, Housing and
Survey, in Ibadan, the state capital, the governor said the new system
will help guard against theft, falsification of documents, fire threat
and other forms of destruction to the documents.

He said before his government took the step, land
documents were saved manually since the days of the colonial
government, exposing them to all forms of dangers associated with the
process.

According to him, the new system is not only going
to take care of those challenges, but will also reduce space used in
storing the documents as well as assure on safety.

“The paper documents in the registry consist of
volumes of several ledgers and property cards that have become very old
and worn out due to wear and tear by reason of use and vagaries of
weather,” he said.

The governor urged property owners in the state to
register their interests to avoid being outwitted by fraudsters and
those who might want to obtain land documents under false pretence.

Saving time

He warned land prospectors to go to the land registry
to conduct researches before entering into agreement on lands to
ascertain the bona fide owners of the property, stressing that the
system will always be open to all for verification after payment of the
required fee.

The consultant in charge of the project, Makinyele
Oladeji, said his company, Tabcod Nigeria Limited, uses the latest
facilities on earth for the automation.

“The implication of this project in that the time
required in searching for land documents will be reduced by more than
80% since documents can be retrieved with the touch of a button,” he
said.

Forty members of
the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) posted to Oyo State delivered
babies during the three-week orientation programme.

The state director
of the NYSC, Gabriel Ibe, who disclosed this during the passing-out
programme of the Batch ‘A’ orientation programme in Iseyin, on Tuesday,
said the nursing mothers were sent back to their families after
registration.

He said a total of 2,423 graduates were posted to the state for the compulsory one-year national service.

Mr Ibe said the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) engaged the corps
members for two out of the three weeks orientation programme to train
them for their expected duties as ad hoc staff in the forthcoming
elections.

He said the
three-week programme was packaged to expose the participants to the
ideals of patriotism and selfless service for the nation.

Mr. Ibe however expressed worries over the way politicians attempt to drag corps members into the murky water of politics.

“I have read with
utter consternation and trepidation the allegation published in a
national daily, that the government of Oyo State is organizing parties
for corps members in Oyo State, with a view to getting their support,”
he said.

“Let me state
categorically here that no person, group of persons or government has
approached me or my officers with any proposal to host a party for
corps members in Oyo State. Neither will any corps member or staff
engage in such activity, as they know fully the implications.”

He alleged that the
politicians raising the allegation had approached corps members during
the last voters’ registration exercise to manipulate the process in
their favour, adding that the refusal of the offer led to the attack on
some corps members at Erunmu area of Egbeda Local Government of the
state.

The Nigerian
Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress yesterday expressed
happiness over the signing of the N18,000 minimum wage into law by
President Goodluck Jonathan.

While briefing
journalists at the Presidential Villa, after a meeting with the
president, the NLC president, Abdulwaheed Omar, and his Trade Union
Congress (TUC) counterpart, Peter Esele, described the signing as
historic.

According to them,
the increase of the minimum wage from N7,000 to N18,000 would go a long
way to improve the welfare of workers in the country.

“We are very
excited,” Mr. Omar said, adding that they decided to meet with
President Jonathan to clarify the conflicting reports of the signing
into law of the minimum wage bill.

“Mr. President
himself confirmed that he has signed the bill to law. We are happy that
Mr. President has signed the minimum wage bill into law and the
minister of labour has assured us that a copy of the bill would be sent
to us,” he said.

“We are jubilating
over it and the next thing is implementation. We will try to ensure it
is fully implemented because as you are aware, that is usually the bone
of contention,” the NLC president said.

On the alleged
threat made by some states not to implement the N18,000 minimum wage,
Mr. Esele said the first achievement was the signing of the bill into
law, adding that the union will deal with the issue of defaulting
states when the time comes.

Mr. Jonathan
finally put to rest speculations of whether or not he has signed the
bill. Responding to concerns expressed by the leaders of the two labour
unions about the new minimum wage, the president said he had signed the
minimum wage bill into law, adding that, “ordinarily, such a sensitive
Bill should have attracted a ceremony with members of the labour
movement in attendance, but I did not want the tight schedule of the
election campaigns to delay the signing.”

Hope for successful elections

Speaking on the
national elections starting this weekend, he said the 2011 elections
will be different, because a lot of work had been done and each vote
cast would count.

“Before now, our
elections have been of questionable credibility, but we are determined
to conduct free, fair, and credible elections, so that we will be
accepted and take our rightful place in the international community,”
he stated.

Mr. Jonathan
condemned the violence that was unleashed in Akwa Ibom State and in
other parts of the country, and warned that the culture of impunity
which propels lawlessness, especially in the run-up and during the
elections, would not be tolerated from anyone.

He stated that
efforts were being made to ensure that the Petroleum Industry Bill was
passed into law during the current National Assembly, and drew
attention to the Memorandum Of Understanding recently signed by the
Ministry of Petroleum and foreign investors for the establishment of
two fertiliser plants, a refinery, petrochemical and ethanol plants,
all aimed at strengthening the economy and creating jobs in the
downstream sector of the oil industry.

The president said
Nigeria needs a generation that will make the extra sacrifice which
will take the country to a level equal to its contemporaries, and
appealed to the labour movement to be part of such a generation.

The governorship
candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Akwa Ibom State,
James Akpanudoedehe, has described his arrest and subsequent trial in
Abuja as an attempt by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stop him
from campaigning for the governorship election in the state.

He told a Federal
High Court in Abuja yesterday that his arraignment by the police was
politically motivated. His counsel, Kola Awodein told the presiding
judge, Adamu Bello that Mr Akpanudoedehe’s arrest in Akwa Ibom State
and his quick arraignment in Abuja was designed to keep him away from
the campaign trail.

Mr Akpanudoedehe,
who is standing trial for treason, has been in police custody since
last Friday following an order of the court that he be remanded pending
yesterday when his bail application was heard. He was arraigned on a
four-count criminal charge bothering on treason and felony, and pleaded
not guilty to all.

The court will tomorrow rule on his bail application.

The accused, a
former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was arrested
over last week’s clash between supporters of his party and those of the
PDP in the state during which many people were killed and properties
worth millions of naira damaged.

Mr Awodein urged
the court to grant his client bail pending the hearing and
determination of the charge against him by the police. He argued
further that the accused person be admitted to bail by the court based
on his antecedent as two-time senator, former FCT minister, former Uyo
Local Government Area Chairman and at present, a governorship candidate.

The counsel also
told the court that there was an earlier phantom murder allegation
against the accused person, in which the police searched his residences
in Uyo and Abuja and found nothing incriminating.

“The applicant was
compelled to approach a court of competent jurisdiction when he was
being harassed to create an enabling political environment to carry out
his campaign like every other candidate in the state and the court made
an order restraining the police from interrupting his campaign,” he
said.

He also told the
court that Mr Akpanudoedehe has an ailment that requires frequent
medical attention, a position he said was not countered by the
prosecution. He said the prosecution’s submission that they are still
investigating the matter showed that they have yet to establish a prima
facie case against the accused.

But the police
counsel, R. E Nkem asked the court not to grant the accused person bail
in view of the nature of the offence and the severity of the
punishment, if found guilty.

“The accused person
is charged with treason and other pending charges like that of murder,
arson and others, as such he should not be granted bail,” Mr Nkem said.

Justice Bello, after hearing from all the parties adjourned till Thursday, March 31st, 2011 to rule on the bail application.

The charge

The Police accused
Mr. Akpanudoedehe of levying war against the state with intent to
intimidate the governor of the State, Godswill Akpabio.

The charge sheet
read: “That you, John James Akpanudoedehe, ‘M’ and others now at large
as citizens of the Nigeria, on the 22nd day of March, 2011, at Ikot
Ekpene in Akwa Ibom state did conspire amongst yourselves to commit
felony, to wit: Treason by levying war against the state with intent to
cause such levying of war as would intimidate or overawe the governor
of the state and you thereby committed an offence punishable under
Section 37(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act Cap ‘C’ 38 Laws of the
Federation of Nigeria 2004.

“That you, John
James Akpanudoedehe, ‘M’ and others now at large, as citizens of the
Nigeria on the 22nd day of March, 2011, at Ikot Ekpene in Akwa Ibom
state in the Abuja Division did levy war against the state in order to
intimidate or overawe the governor of the state by discharging several
gun shots at him and his entourage while on his official assignment and
you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 37 (10 of the
Criminal Code Act Cap ‘C’ 38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”

Mr Akpanudoedehe pleaded not guilty to the four-count charge.