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President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday in Abuja at the
commissioning of the Nigeria Police aircraft/helicopter hangar at the Nnamdi
Azikwe International Airport, called on all tiers of government and the private
sector to commence the payment of their own share of the N1.5 trillon meant for
the Police Reforms Programme in the interest of security.

The president maintained “that the ongoing reforms in the police
has made it mandatory for government to provide essential facilities and
logistical equipment needed by the force to ensure that government delivers on
its primary responsibility of providing adequate security for its citizens.”

Mr. Jonathan was represented by the Minister of Police Affairs,
Humphrey Abah. He said the federal government is expecting the delivery of two
additional police helicopters – a Cessna Citation XLS “for higher command and
control and high level operational duties” by the force.

According to him, “It is noteworthy that the ongoing reform
programme of the Nigeria Police Force has placed a high premium on the
provision of facilities and logistical equipment to ensure that government
delivers on its primary responsibility of providing a secured environment to
its citizens.” The president added, “All these efforts are practical
demonstrations of the commitment of this administration to protecting the lives
and property of all citizens across the width and breadth of this country.”

Answering questions from reporters, the minister urged the
members of the public and the media to daily appreciate the sacrificial work of
the police to spur them to do more.

He said, “That is the kind of ‘energization’ that the policeman
will get when you encourage him and say something good about him. So I want to
appeal to us gentlemen of the press, find a portion of your publication that
says something, daily, good about the policeman, that says something positive
good about the policeman.”

On the violence that has engulfed Bornu and Plateau states in
view of the forthcoming April elections, the minister said calm would soon be
restored in the areas.

“If you notice, Bornu has been calm and it is going to be calmer
by the grace of God. We are getting to Jos and Jos will also be calm in the
next few weeks. The deployments we have done are just beginning to spread and
take root.

“We are deploying both IT and human material resources. We are
deploying vehicles. In the next one or two weeks all our deployments will be
complete and I believe that you will begin to help us sing a new song that
those places are calm,” he stated.

The project, which was awarded in June 2005, was later stalled due to the
unavailability of funds but work recommenced in June 2010 through funds
provided by the present administration according to the permanent secretary of
the ministry, Bukar Goni Aji. At the event were the Inspector General of Police
Hafiz Ringim, the chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Parry
Osayande, former chairman of the PSC, Simon Okeke, and the Senate and House
Committee Chairmen on Police Affairs.

The Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday allayed fears that its candidate, Goodluck
Jonathan, will find it difficult to secure victory in the South West and North
West geo-political zones of the country during the April 9 presidential
election.

The director of youth of the PCC, Dare Adeleke, who stated this
in a chat with journalists in Abuja, said that reports from the field indicate
that Mr. Jonathan, who is the incumbent president, has massive support in the
two zones.

He faulted the permutations that the Congress for Progressive
Change (CPC) flag-bearer, Muhammadu Buhari, and Nuhu Ribadu of the Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN) will defeat the president in the aforementioned
zones, saying they were wrong.

Mr. Adeleke said Nigerian youth of voting age who are fully
determined for change are prepared to ensure victory for Mr. Jonathan. He said
his interaction with youth across the geo-political zones show that religion
and ethnic affiliations would not be factors that would shape 2011 presidential
election.

“Various youth organisations have been trooping to Legacy House
(Jonathan’s campaign headquarters) and all they have been doing is to express
their support and participate in the emergence of the man, Goodluck Jonathan,
as president and the whole secretariat has been appreciative of their
solidarity.

“They are determined to make the new dispensation truly
government of the people and it showed in their massive turn out during the
voter’s registration exercise and it was certainly because of the love they
have for President Jonathan. You know they used to show this indifferent
attitude before. But there is a change of attitude this time around, not only
to voter’s registration, but voting for Goodluck Jonathan,” Mr. Adeleke said.

Shun violence

Mr. Adeleke described the south west as Mr. Jonathan’s second
home, stressing that it was the reason the people of the zone trooped out to
attend his campaign rally in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, a few weeks ago.

He said the council is planning to visit universities to
mobilise the youth while enlightenment programmes would also be organised to engage
them on the need not to partake in violence during the election period.

“We are also going to create a youth mobilisation committee to engage them
at the grassroot. We want to impress on them Mr. President message of one man,
one vote,” he said.

The House of
Representatives has passed the new Minimum Wage Bill which will enforce
N18, 000 as the least paid wage nationwide, while recommending a paltry
N20,000 as penalty for defaulting employers.

The bill was sent
to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan late last year
and is now central to the president’s effort at securing wide support
from public and private sector workers for his re-elections.

The lawmakers had earlier named the bill as one of the few that will be given accelerated attention as they resumed January.

They adopted the
recommendations of the House joint Committee on Labour, Employment and
Productivity, and Finance on the law, before allowing the bill through
a mandatory third and final reading Wednesday.

The bill was passed two weeks ago by the Senate, and now requires only the presidential assent to become law.

However, there are doubts whether or not some state governors will pay the new amount.

The House
committees recommends that any employer that fails will pay N20,000 on
conviction and extra N1,000 daily as long as the breach continues. It
is not clear whether the amount will be paid to the employees.

Employers of labour in respect of which the law apply shall also
have the duty to keep records of wages or conditions of employment to
show compliance with the law or to face the same penalties.

Aside from being
the commercial and entertainment capital of the sub-region and the
nation, Lagos has the largest number of voters as revealed by the just
concluded voter’s registration. The state boasts of over 6million
registered voters for the forthcoming general elections hence the
appeal by the president to the voters to support him and his party’s
controversial candidate.

The state
according to the Central Bank of Nigeria is responsible for over 50% of
the revenue earned in the continent’s third largest economy and its
host to the busiest seaports and airports in the West Africa sub-region
boosts its relevance.

With these
alluring economic credentials, the state has pulled through the
nation’s history as the only state consistently ruled by the opposition
party, despite all the shenanigans of the People’s Democratic Party (in
particular) to capture the state since the advent of democracy in 1999.

Though riddled
with aging infrastructure, the state recently rated as the fourth worst
state to reside in the world by the Economic Intelligence Unit of the
Economist magazine, the state has improved its manner of income
generation at a whopping N16bn per month, which is geared towards
revamping its infrastructure and making the city a model city.

A lot of
projections have already being made on the potential of Lagos as a mega
city and one of the most populated cities in the world with an assumed
population of 18 million people, the state has been tipped to be the
third mega city in the world by the Year 2050 after Tokyo .

Everything about the city makes it mouth-watering for the ruling
party but with state’s chaotic traffic been made worse with very
incessant visit by the president which gets the entire city lock-down,
the PDP might just be shooting itself in the foot against a governor
who is highly popular and drives along the traffic without even using
the annoying sirens.

There are strong
indications that Teslim Folarin, Senate majority leader, may join the
campaign train of Oyo State governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala, to route for
his second term ambition in the state.

Events at the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rally at the Ibarapa zone of the state
on Monday, give credence to the suspicion as some of the close allies
of the Senate leader, who had shown stiff opposition to the governor,
showed up to identify with him and other candidates.

Ademola Akeem Ige,
former chairman of the Ibadan South East local government and close
associate of Mr. Folarin, was at the rally, held at Eruwa, Ibarapa East
local government of the state, where he pledged his total support for
the governor and his ambition, as well as informed the gathering that
the soft-spoken Senate leader would soon join the train.

Mr. Folarin, who
was recently docked and detained for alleged involvement in the murder
of Lateef Salako (aka Eleweomo), factional leader of the National Union
of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Oyo State, was believed to have
suffered the humiliation because of his opposition to the second term
ambition of the governor.

Mr. Ige told the
bewildered gathering that Mr. Folarin would join the campaign team in
the next two weeks to champion the governor’s ambition in Ibadan and
ensure his eventual victory at the poll.

According to him, since Mr. Folarin remains a leader of the PDP in the country, he would not work against its interest.

The governor had
recently given hint on Mr. Folarin’s return to the fold when he
announced at the state executive council (Exco) chambers, where he
signed the 2011 appropriation bill into law, that he had already
secured the approval of some eminent members of the opposition against
his second term bid, to work for the party in the April polls.

One toe in the water

NEXT, however,
gathered that the leader of the upper chambers of the nation’s National
Assembly may have made up his mind to join as speculated, but still
waiting for the right time and intervention from the national office of
PDP before coming to the open.

While speaking
further at the campaign rally, Mr. Ige urged the people of the state to
vote en-masse for Mr. Alao-Akala and all other PDP candidates for “the
good work of the party to continue in the state.”

He stated that the
governor had done far better than any of his predecessors in office and
deserves to be given the chance to do more.

Taofeek Arapaja, deputy governor of the state, appealed to other
aggrieved members of the party to come back and work for its success in
the next elections, saying the governor’s performance is enough to
campaign for him.

Former President
Olusegun Obasanjo’s faction of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in
Ogun State, and that of Gbenga Daniel, will know their fate on March 3.
A Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Abdul Kafarati on
Tuesday fixed the date to resolve the crisis over who is the
governorship candidate of the party in the state.

The Obasanjo
faction, led by Mr Olurin had secured a court injunction restraining
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the People’s
Democratic Party from accepting or acting upon the results of the
primaries conducted by Mr Daniel’s faction pending the determination of
the substantive suit filled by the former on the matter. The two
factions had conducted parallel gubernatorial and National Assembly
primaries that led to the emergence of different winners.

In his argument at
the substantive case yesterday, counsel to PDP Lateef Fagbemi told the
court that the Joju Fadairo-led executive is the authentic executive of
the party in Ogun state saddled with the responsibility of conducting
primary elections. And urged the court to recognise the primary
election conducted by the factional chairman, Mr Fadairo on the ground
that a judgment delivered by an Ogun State high court recognised Mr
Fadairo as the authentic chairman of the party in the state.

But counsel to Mr
Olurin, Olagoke Fakunle however told the court to discountenance the
submissions of Mr Fagbemi on the ground that the Mr Fadairo led
executive conducted an illegal primary election in violation of a
subsisting court order which sacked him. He however prayed the court to
dismiss the arguments of Mr Fagbemi and urged the court to hold that Mr
Olurin is the validly elected governorship candidate of the party in
Ogun State.

The governor of
Kwara State, Bukola Saraki, has said that it will be difficult for all
states in Nigeria to implement the N18,000 minimum wage recently
approved by the National Assembly.

Mr. Saraki, who was
in Lagos with President Goodluck Jonathan for the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) campaign, told journalists in an interview at the
presidential wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, that though
state governments are willing to carry out the mandate, the development
may not thrive in some states because of the challenges they face.

“Some states are
going to have a lot of challenges with implementing it; not because
they don’t want to implement it, not because they don’t believe that
workers should have the minimum wage, but you know the realities that
we are facing,” he said.

Late last year,
after it approved the minimum wage of N18,000, the National Council of
States (NCS) advised President Goodluck Jonathan to deliver their
request to the National Assembly. The bill, however, has been passed by
the Assembly but is yet to be implemented in most states across the
federation.

Asked if he will
implement the new minimum wage in his state, Mr. Saraki disclosed that
the issue should not be politicised, adding that though he is left with
only two months in office, he would ensure that workers in his state
are treated fairly.

“I am aware that
the law has been passed; more so, I know that there are one or two
things that we have talked about from revenue allocation review and all
the sort of constitution amendment reviews.

“As of now, I am
worried as much as you are, so I think that very soon there will be a
forum that will allow us look at the issue of implementation. But there
is no doubt about it, except we want to play politics with it,” he said.

The Kwara State
governor said that he is working on getting things set before he
vacates the position as helmsman in his state, and advised other
governors not to disappoint workers in their respective states.

The Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) will, today, release the final
figures for the 2011 voters register with only a marginal difference
from the provisional figures released on February 21.

NEXT learnt that a
review carried out after the exercise to weed out instances of multiple
registration and other irregularities showed less than one percent drop
in the provisional figure of 67, 764, 327 million registered voters in
the country. Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Katsina states have the highest
number of voters in the country, according to the provisional list
released by the commission.

Kayode Idowu, spokesperson to INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega was non-committal about the release yesterday.

“The law requires that the voters’ register be published 30 days to the election, so that is it,” he said.

He also said he
cannot confirm the difference between the figures displayed before and
that expected tomorrow since he is not sure of the source of our
information.

“I am not saying
the disparity will not be less than one per cent, but I cannot
corroborate because I don’t know where you got the figures,” he said.

Meanwhile, the
United States yesterday called for a prompt trial of Nigerians who
registered more than once as voters, saying such a move will prove
INEC’s commitment to credible polls.

A US delegation led by the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights,

Maria Otero and US
Ambassador to Nigeria, Terrence McCulley, told officials of INEC led by
Mr Jega, at a meeting yesterday, to make true the commission’s promise
to deal boldly with multiple registration.

Mr Jega had spoken
harshly against repeated registration by prospective voters, assuring
more than once that the commission’s registration machines have been
configured to detect offenders who will be prosecuted by INEC.

At a meeting with
members of the House of Representatives during the January
registration, he said only six people had been charged for the offence
after the first two weeks of the exercise, affirming that more
prosecutions will be made.

Ready to help

An official of the
commission who attended the meeting with the American team, who prefers
anonymity told NEXT that the issue of double registration featured
prominently at the meeting held behind closed doors.

“The chairman was
asked how the commission intends to deal with multiple registration and
although his response seemed satisfactory, they (American delegation)
specifically asked him to ensure those found guilty are punished,” the
official said.

Such a move, the
team is said to have advised INEC, will send a message that the
electoral body is not willing to condone fraudulent activities such as
rigging during elections in April.

The American team
also include: USAID Mission Director, Ray Kirkland and USAID Democracy
and Governance Team Leader, Minnie Wright.

Speaking to
journalists after the meeting, Solomon Soyebi, the INEC National
Commissioner in charge of Information, said the team only conveyed
America’s goodwill to INEC and their commendation for the efforts put
in by the electoral body ahead of elections.

But other sources said the US team made broad inquiries on how the
commission is preparing for the elections and how the US government can
be of help.

A Federal High
Court in Abuja on Tuesday, ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices
and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to pay N5 million as
damages to Edugie Abigail Abebe, a Permanent Secretary in the Federal
Ministry of Transport for unlawful arrest.

Presiding Judge,
Donatus Okorowo also gave an order of perpetual injunction restraining
the anti-graft agency and the Police from further harassing or
intimidating Mrs Abebe over the same subject matter.

He also ordered the
ICPC to issue a written apology and publish same in at least one of the
three National Newspapers that carried the story of her arbitrary
arrest from office on June 2, 2010.

Operatives of the
commission had stormed the headquarters of the Ministry in Abuja,
arrested, handcuffed and dragged Mrs Abebe from her office on the 6th
floor of the building to the ICPC headquarters for questioning over an
allegation about the award of contracts for the rehabilitation of the
Lagos-Jebba railway lines.

In the course of
its investigations on the matter, the ICPC invited her through a letter
dated June 2, 2010, to report to their office on June 7, 2010, but the
ICPC team leader, Wellington Nkemadu who went to serve her the letter,
was angered when staff of the Ministry denied them direct access to Mrs
Abebe who they said was anchoring a meeting at that time. The men
forced their way into the office and dragged Mrs Abebe out. The judge
held that though the ICPC has a right to do its job, such right must be
exercised in line with the express provisions of the constitution.

“Records before the
court indicate that the applicant was not directly investigated since
she was yet to occupy the office when the alleged crime was committed.

“The applicant
having shown by affidavit evidence that her right was breached is
entitled to an enforcement of the rights and the 1st Respondent, ICPC,
is liable to the actions of the 2nd Respondent, Nkemadu, who is its
officer.

“It is hereby
declared that the invasion and forceful dragging of the applicant
through the stair case, treating her like a convict by officers of the
1st respondent led by the 2nd respondent and team of police men whose
chief officer is the 3rd respondent, Police IG, is unconstitutional and
unlawful.

“A person who
suffers wrong in the conduct of another is entitled to damages;
consequently I award N5m as damages against the respondents.

“The 1st respondent is to issue a written apology and publish it in
at least one of the three Newspapers that published the story when the
applicant was arrested,” the judge ruled.

The controversial
lawmakers of the troubled Ogun State House of Assembly known as the
G-12 yesterday made a dramatic and controversial return into the House
of Assembly where they held a plenary and allegedly approved the 2011
Appropriation Bill of N1.5 billion.

NEXT gathered that
the lawmakers arrived the complex at about 10.25am accompanied by
security men and headed into the chambers where they sat for about two
hours.

During his recent
two-day official visit to the state, the President, Goodluck Jonathan,
did not make any comment over the unresolved crisis between the
legislative and executive arm of government. Journalists were barred
from witnessing the sitting, but Ayo Giwa, Chief Press Secretray to the
factional Speaker, Soyemi Coker, later issued a press statement at
about 3.00pm informing newsmen that the lawmakers had approved the
budget.

He said the
breakdown of the figure showed that a sum of N42,756,822,000:00k was
appropriated for recurrent expenditure, N14,140,800,000:00k for
servicing of loans, pension and gratuities while N48,654,844,284:00k
was for capital expenditure.

The release added
that Mr Coker noted with appreciation, the painstaking efforts of the
Inspector-General of Police to re-open the House for plennary
notwithstanding the long closure due ostensibly to a desire to uphold
the rule of law and security of lives and property.

Mr Coker in the
statement stressed that despite the closure of the House of Assembly
Complex, other legislative duties in form of committee sittings and
oversight functions were performed.

He said the House also passed a resolution endorsing the bid of Mr Jonathan to emerge as President in the April 2011 elections.

As at the time of
filing this report, it was not clear whether the re-opening of the
Assembly complex was on the order of the Presidency, or
Inspector-General of Police.

The Assembly had been under lock since September, 2010 following the
controversy which trailed the sudden emergence of nine out of the 26
lawmakers announcing the sack of other 15 members. The nine lawmakers
have since been joined by three other members from the sacked 15.