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Members of a Libyan army unit told Benghazi residents on Sunday
they had defected and “liberated” Libya’s second city from troops supporting
veteran leader, Muammar Gaddafi, two residents said.

Habib al-Obaidi, who heads the intensive care unit at the main
Al-Jalae hospital, and lawyer Mohamed al-Mana, told Reuters members of the
‘Thunderbolt’ squad had arrived at the hospital with soldiers wounded in
clashes with Gaddafi’s personal guard.

“They are now saying that they have overpowered the Praetorian
Guard and that they have joined the people’s revolt,” al-Mana said by
telephone. It was not possible to independently verify the report.

Obaidi said the bodies of 50 people killed on Sunday had arrived
at the hospital in the late afternoon. Most had died from bullet wounds.

Sunday’s bloodshed follows the deaths of scores of protesters on
Saturday in one of the most violent days since protests began sweeping through
the Arab world two months ago.

Residents said tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of protesters
had taken to the streets of the city to bury scores of dead killed in the last
24 hours. A witness said security forces opened fire on them.

The United States said it was “gravely concerned” by what it
called credible reports hundreds of people had been injured or killed.

“Libyan officials have stated their commitment to protecting and
safeguarding the right of peaceful protest. We call upon the Libyan government
to uphold that commitment and hold accountable any security officer who does
not act in accordance with that commitment,” said State Department spokesman,
Philip Crowley.

Protesters, inspired by uprisings in neighbouring Tunisia and
Egypt, are demanding an end to the 41-year rule of strongman Gaddafi. His
security forces have responded with a violent crackdown. Communications are
tightly controlled, and Benghazi is not accessible to international
journalists.

Human Rights Watch said 84 people were killed in the city on
Saturday, bringing the death toll in four days of clashes mainly in the east of
the country to 173 before Sunday’s violence.

“A massacre took place here last night,” one resident, who did
not want to be named, told Reuters by telephone on Sunday.

A leading tribal figure who requested anonymity said security
forces, mainly confined to a compound, had been venturing out of their barracks
and shooting protesters in the street in “cat and mouse chases.” Clashes were
taking place on a road leading to a cemetery where thousands had gone to bury
the dead.

“The situation is very tense and scattered fires have erupted in
revolutionary committee headquarters and other buildings,” he said.

“Dozens of martyrs”

Piecemeal accounts suggested the streets of Benghazi, about 1000
kilometres (600 miles) east of the capital Tripoli, were largely controlled by
anti-government protesters, under periodic attack from security forces who
fired from their high-walled compound.

A resident said some 100,000 protesters had headed on Sunday for
the cemetery “to bury dozens of martyrs” killed on Saturday.

Another witness told Reuters thousands of people had performed
ritual prayers in front of 60 bodies laid out in the city. Women and children
were among a crowd of hundreds of thousands that had come out onto the
Mediterranean seafront and the area surrounding the port, he said.

“The protesters are here until the regime falls,” he said.

The Libyan government has not released any casualty figures. A
text message sent to mobile phone subscribers on Sunday said protesters in the
east were trying to break the region away from central rule.

“The deaths in Benghazi and Al Bayda (a nearby town), on both
sides, were the result of attacks on weapons stores to use in terrorising
people and killing innocents,” it said. “All Libyan sons, we have to all stand
up to stop the cycle of separation and sedition and destruction of our beloved
Libya.”

A senior Libyan security source said a group believed to be
criminals had launched an attack on the Benghazi municipal building, blew it
up, seized rifles, and fired randomly in order to create an opportunity to
escape.

The government has disrupted the Internet, used by protesters to
organise.

Al Jazeera, the Arabic television station whose coverage has
played a big role in protests throughout the Middle East and North Africa, said
its satellite transmissions across the region had been jammed. The Lebanese
telecoms minister said the jamming appeared to come from Libya.

“Stop the massacre now”

The crackdown prompted about 50 Libyan Muslim religious leaders
to issue an appeal, sent to Reuters, for the security forces, as Muslims, to
stop the killing.

“We appeal to every Muslim, within the regime or assisting it in
any way, to recognise that the killing of innocent human beings is forbidden by
our Creator and by His beloved Prophet of Compassion (peace be upon him) … Do
NOT kill your brothers and sisters. STOP the massacre NOW!” the appeal said.

Libya is a major energy producer with significant investment
from Britain’s BP Plc, Exxon of the United States, and Italy’s ENI among
others.

British foreign secretary, William Hague, urged Libya to begin
dialogue with anti-government protesters and implement reforms, in a phone call
to a son of Gaddafi on Sunday.

In Brussels, the Hungarian EU presidency said Libya had told the
European Union it would stop cooperation with the bloc in stemming illegal
migration to Europe if the EU encourages pro-democracy protests in the country.

Gaddafi’s fate may hinge on whether the unrest remains confined
largely to the eastern Cyrenaica region around Benghazi, where his support has
traditionally been weaker than in other parts of the country.

Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole has restated
the readiness of the state to partner with the private sector on power
generation to enable it become the energy capital of the nation. Mr Oshiomhole
hopes that his state will generate twenty five percent of the nation’s power
needs by the year 2020.

The Governor, who disclosed this in Benin City
during the state’s power sector round table meeting at the weekend, maintained
that the long-term challenge of fighting and defeating poverty cannot be
realised without reliable power supply.

Mr Oshiomhole said Edo State is strategically
located with comparative advantages and is ready and willing to make available
up to a thousand hectares of land to investors in the power sector.

While assuring that the state will collaborate
with the private sector by providing conducive political environment, adequate
security and well trained human capital, the governor said, “We have the will
to do what has to be done.

“It is time to focus more aggressively on power
supply by working with the private sector so that we can become the energy
capital of Nigeria. At least two billion dollars of investment can be attracted
to this sector,” the governor noted.

Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on
Energy, Barth Nnaji commended the Edo State government’s initiative on power
generation saying that, “Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has recognised that reliable
power supply will catalyse the businesses which will create jobs.” In his
words, “you are not fighting this battle alone because the federal government
is determined to provide reliable power supply across the nation with the
investment of ten billion dollars per year in the power sector.”

Private-public
collaboration

According to him, the public sector cannot embark
on this project all alone, that is why it is important for private investors to
be involved and a Presidential Action Committee has been set up to identify
problems and seek ways to resolve them.

While noting that Edo State Government has become
the vanguard for the rehabilitation of the power sector, Mr Nnaji assured that
the federal government will give investors the necessary guarantees required.

The Head, Economic and Strategy Team of Edo State
Government, Godwin Obaseki said the first Round Table which is aimed at
discussing how to make the state the energy capital of the nation is just the
beginning.

The restriction order by authorities of the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport (MMIA), Lagos banning non-travellers from gaining
entrance into the terminal has drawn the ire of general public who accuse the
airport authority of shortchanging their relatives.

Some of the travellers spoken to by NEXT admitted that the
directive is aimed at safeguarding and protecting lives and properties at the
country’s premier airport over the weekend, but others maintained that the
development was not justifiable, as they argued that one should not be denied
the chance to say “a warm goodbye” to his or her loved one embarking on a
journey.

“It is important to keep this place safe, but denying us the
privilege of keeping our brother’s company while he waits for his flight, in
name of security, is unacceptable. They (Aviation Security personnel) said we
cannot go beyond this point and that only the traveller can go inside,” said
Ronke Thomas, a non-traveller, who together with two other family members were
barred from entering the departure lounge by FAAN’s Aviation Security officer
stationed at the terminal gate.

Explaining that her brother, who was to leave for London that
evening, will have to wait for about 30 minutes before boarding, Ms. Thomas
frowned at the new security measures, as she called on authorities to review
the directive.

“Not everyone, whether travelling or not who comes to the
airport should be treated as miscreants, and I don’t think the same is done in
civilized countries. They should be able to differentiate between those who see-off
their relatives and those who constitute nuisance here,” she said.

Late last month, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA),
in conjunction with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), MMIA
Command of the Nigerian Police Force, and other law enforcement agencies at the
airport, after a meeting held at the headquarters of the civil aviation
regulatory agency decided to limit the number of persons allowed into the
terminal. The development, however, came after rumours of possible explosion at
the international wing of the Lagos airport, following series of bomb scare and
explosions recorded across the country. “I’m not worried about it,” said
another non-traveller barred from entering the terminal, who simply gave his
name as Anayo. “The security guy there said it’s a practice aimed at ensuring
safety and checking the number of unidentifiable persons who parade the airport
occasionally.” Mr. Anayo said that the development should be encouraged, adding
that those who have no business at the airport should not be allowed entry.

“I brought my aunt here, and after he (security) stopped me from
entering, I had no choice but to take my leave,” he said. “Though not everyone
will like this, the truth is that those who are not travelling should not congest
the small space and air meant for travellers and workers in that terminal
building.”

Screening continues

Commenting on the development, Akin Olukunle, General Manager,
Public Affairs for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria said that the
process will continue till there is enough reason for a halt.

“The screening is going to be a continuous process until there
is need for us to end it, and as soon as this becomes necessary, we will make it
public to the general masses through the appropriate channel,” he said.

“We are going to maintain the standard as far as safety and security of
lives and properties is concerned and people who are not travelling should stay
outside the terminal whenever they get to the airport.” Meanwhile, officers
from the airport police command stationed road blocks few kilometers away from
the international terminal, as they check private and commercial vehicles
heading for the airport.

If any of the four leading
presidential candidates for the upcoming elections thought that
clinching a clear majority of votes would be a walk in the park, they
better think again. Especially the People’s Democratic Party. The camp
of the Goodluck Jonathan campaign is quickly coming to terms with the
fact that the supposed stronghold states of the president turned in
poor results in the recently concluded voter registration. Predictions
of votes based on the traditional voting blocs shows that none of the
three presidential candidates will win the required simple majority and
25 percent in 24 states including the Federal Capital Territory.
Although analysts believe the winner of the election will emerge on his
personality as well as the bloc votes, the current reality of the bloc
votes leaves the new campaign council anxiously battling to maintain a
clean unbeaten record and deliver the election to their principal. The
southeast and south-south geopolitical zones where President Jonathan
has his highest popularity rating registered the lowest number of
voters. The south-south geopolitical zone, President Jonathan’s home
zone registered only 7.959 million voters. Despite President Jonathan’s
popularity in the south-south region, Edo and Delta States hold about
2.1 million votes and show strong affiliation with Mr. Ribadu and his
party, ACN.

The southeast, the PDP’s second
stronghold registered 6.892 million, the least volume of registration
nationwide. PDP is also not certain of clean out victory in Imo State
with its 1.6 million votes following the defection of Ifeanyi Ararume
and other former influential members of the PDP in the state.

Both zones registered a sum of
14.852 million voters, which is less than the 18,368 million voters
registered in the northwest, and just hundreds of thousands above the
14,057 million voters registered in the southwest. Both the southwest
and the northwest are President Jonathan’s weakest links. The northwest
is held as the iron grip of the Congress for Political Change (CPC)
whose presidential candidate, Mohammadu Buhari, is also from the region.

“The northwest believes Jonathan
has stolen their mandate and may never vote for him in bloc,” Ikemefuna
Justice, an analyst said. However, Mr. Buhari’s high handedness and
allegations of imposition of candidates as well as his choice of vice
president have loosened his party’s grip on the fundamentally Islamic
northeast. The crises rocking the CPC however place Mr. Ribadu and the
ACN at the lucky end in the North West. In Kano state, Abdullahi
Gwarzo, the deputy governor, recently quit the All Nigeria People’s
Party (ANPP) to join Can. Meanwhile, Mohammed Abacha, who was one of
CPC’s most influential members in the state, is at loggerheads with the
party and Buhari over his gubernatorial ticket. The same crises plagues
the party in Katsina, Bauchi and Kaduna where Buhari is said to have
abandoned the politicians he built CPC with for others. Nuhu Ribadu,
the Presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria is from
the northeast region; however, he has his highest acceptability in the
southwest.

Not all lost

The PDP, however, still has the
potential of pulling large votes in both Oyo and Ogun state in the
region despite deep rooted divisions in the party there. The northeast
and north central states are forage fields for all the presidential
candidates. In the northeast, the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP)
becomes a factor. The northeast registered 8.560 million voters while
the North Central registered 8.142 million voters. Together both zones
have 16.702 million voters which both the PDP Presidential Campaign
Council and their principal are not certain of victory. In the
northeast, ANPP with Ibrahim Shekarau as its presidential candidate
wields a high level of popularity in Borno but shares equal potentials
with the CPC in Yobe state. While PDP is almost certain of winning
Gombe state, the ~ ruling would have to put up a strong fight to win
Bauchi state over CPC. Adamawa, Mr. Ribadu’s home state is most likely,
but not certainly, going to vote in his favour. However, both the PDP
and CPC have strong potentials in the state. Mr. Ribadu and his party,
however, wields a high potential in Taraba, the least registered of the
northeast states. While the traditional bloc votes will determine the
basic direction of votes, other factors such as the personality and
media popularity of the contenders will finetune factor their
achievements in each of the states.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s
relationship with about 21 opposition parties which recently pledged to
support him in the April 9 elections has gone sour. The president, who
is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is reportedly
angry that the same parties have also met his All Nigeria Peoples Party
(ANPP) counterpart, Ibrahim Shekarau and pledged their support for him.
The parties are Mega Progressive Peoples Party (MPPP), Peoples
Progressive Party (PPP), National Movement of Progressive Party (NMPP),

Action Party of Nigeria (APN),
Republican Party of Nigeria (RPN), National Majority Democratic Party
(NMDP), Liberal Democratic Party of Nigeria (LDPN), Alliance for
Democracy (AD), Nigeria People Congress (NPC), Action Alliance (AA) and
Movement for Restoration and Defence of Democracy (MRDD).

The others are New Democrats (ND),
Citizens Popular Party (CPP), Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN), United
Democratic Party (UDP), Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA), Change
Advocacy Party (CAP), Movement for Democratic and Justice (MDJ), United
National Party for Development (UNPD), Advance Congress of Democrats
(ACD) and Accord Party (AP).

The parties, under the aegis of
the Patriotic Electoral Alliance (PEAN) had, at the flagging off of the
presidential rally of the PDP on February 7 in Lafia, Nasarawa State
assured the crowd that they will work for the victory of the
Jonathan-Sambo ticket.

The vice chairman of the alliance,
Shittu Mohammed, who represented the group at the rally, read out the
names of the 21 parties as Mr Jonathan, his deputy, Namadi Sambo,
acting chairman of the PDP, Bello Mohammed and other party chieftains,
all of whom were on the podium, applauded. Mr Jonathan was so excited
that he took the list from Mr Shittu.

Curiously, 16 of the parties that
went to Lafia were in Kano the previous weekend where they reportedly
gave their support to Mr Shekarau. They were led by the national
chairman of the National Movement of Progressive Party, Lawrence
Atuwana.

In a statement to the media, Mr
Atuwana said that the parties resolved to support the Kano State
governor after considering a number of factors. “Having X-rayed the
personality, political antecedents and ability of the present governor
of Kano State, we call on all Nigerians of voting age, irrespective of
religious, political or tribal affiliation, to offer their complete and
unwholesome support to a man who for eight years has held Kano State
stable, peaceful and, above all, a place for every Nigerian to live and
earn his/her living,” he said. “Considering Shekarau’s accomplishment
in different areas of human development in Kano, there is no better
person to be entrusted with the leadership of the country at this
critical juncture of our history. We have collectively and voluntarily
agreed to avail Shekarau of the structure of our parties from the wards
to the national level to work towards realization of Shekarau
presidency come April this year.” A source who was at the event said
the statement was drafted by Mr Shekarau’s aide and given to the party
leaders to read.

Mr Jonathan was reportedly livid
to hear that the same parties had met Mr Shekarau two days earlier in
Kano and announced their support for the governor. The president was
said to have told the parties to immediately “put their house in order”
if they want to work with him.

A presidency source said, “It is
not as if the parties can make any impact during the election, but it
is a morale booster for the president for having 25 parties pledging to
work with him.”

Briefcase parties

A senior member of the ANPP, who
does not want to be named, said it was all in the game of politics. “It
is a strange thing. These are registered parties and they know what
they are looking for. The thing is that when they say they are coming,
you can’t say they should not come. These are brief case parties and
this is their time to go marketing,” he said. “They have been coming to
me too. They have been phoning me. I don’t want to look ridiculous. A
politician cannot turn anybody back. So, it is left for you journalists
to judge.” Efforts to speak with Sule Yau Sule, media aide to Mr
Shekarau were not successful. However, his running mate, John
Odigie-Oyegun confirmed that some parties visited his principal in Kano
to pledge their support for him, but refused to give further details.

The leadership of patriotic
alliance confirmed that there has indeed been some controversy over the
trip. Mr Mohammed, who is the vice chairman of the group, said leaders
of six of the parties mentioned have denied making the Kano trip.

“My party was not among them. Six
of them have refuted the report that they made the trip. Even one of
the chairmen, the Accord Party chairman who reportedly made the trip
was there in Lafia with me,” he said. “We don’t know what Shekarau
wanted to achieve with that.” Mr Mohammed also said that his party, the
Republican Party of Nigeria, does not involve itself in political
prostitution. “In RPN, we don’t jump about. Is it money you are going
to give myself here? I am young but I am not hungry,” he said.

Abba Dabo, the director of media
and publicity of the Jonathan-Sambo Presidential Campaign Council said
he was not aware that the same parties which pledged their support for
Mr Shekarau, appeared in Lafia.

“Do you think they are the same group? I think it is for you to find out,” Mr Dabo told NEXT in a telephone chat on Friday.

Mr Dabo couldn’t confirm if Mr
Jonathan reached any agreement with the parties to accommodate them in
a Government of National Unity (GNU) if he wins. “I cannot speak on
this matter. Only the acting chairman (of PDP) can speak on it,” he
said.

On his part, Mr Mohammed said the
support for the president was borne out of a desire to ensure the unity
of the country and not to get any monetary gift or appointment.

An alliance of equals

PEAN was formed last year when 37
registered political parties met to deliberate on how to confront the
PDP in the forthcoming elections. Convened by former Lagos State
governor, Lateef Jakande, and Rasheed Shitta-Bey, the group’s goal was
“to field common candidates at all electoral levels to win elections
and govern as a united front.” At its third pre-inaugural meeting, the
alliance agreed to reconvene on Wednesday, November 24 for the election
of the national executive council. Consequently, each party was asked
to send three delegates to the working session to constitute the NEC
and the other working committees. The three delegates included the
national chairman of the party, the national secretary and one other
member.

In November last year, about 16 of
the parties and the ANPP agreed to work together during the elections
to form a formidable group. The group was led to the meeting by Maxo
Okwu, the national chairman of CPP, who challenged the ANPP to provide
quality leadership for the opposition groups to ensure that Nigeria
does not become a one-party state, which he said could truncate the
nation’s democracy.

“I believe that ANPP should go
back. When you have one way rule, democracy will die. Try to energise
your party, we urge you to do more,” he said. “The next contest must be
a clear contest. If PDP is one goal post, please come and help us to
man the other goal post. Democracy must grow and we must make it grow.”
At the meeting, the ANPP chairman, Ogbonnaya Onu pledged to lead the
other opposition parties against the ruling PDP in the general
elections.

Mr Onu, criticised the PDP for
giving Nigerians poor leadership in the last 12 years, saying if the
ANPP collaborates with the other parties, they (Nigerians) will have
the change they are yearning for.

“By the time they see us, they will know that something is
happening in Nigeria and that people are ready for change. Let us never
doubt what we can achieve if we work together. The time has come for
change in Nigeria and we are the apostles of that change.” The ANPP
national chairman said that most of the problems confronting the
country are self-inflicted and can be solved, stressing “we are asking
Nigerians to give us the opportunity to lead the country. If one party
(PDP) has failed the nation, there are 62 other parties.”

Kenya’s president
said on Friday he had acted properly in making nominations for top
legal posts after the speaker of parliament deepened divisions in the
coalition by declaring them unlawful.

The row over
whether President Mwai Kibaki acted within the law in naming the chief
justice, attorney general and director of public prosecutions has raged
for weeks, pitting Kibaki’s allies against those of Prime Minister
Raila Odinga, who opposed the nominations because he was not consulted.

The dispute has
left their fragile coalition cabinet tottering on the brink of
collapse, and worried investors who sent the shilling and stock market
tumbling.

Kibaki’s
nominations were meant to improve confidence in the judiciary, and
support his case for transferring the trials of key suspects behind the
post-election violence of 2008 to Kenya from the International Criminal
Court headquartered in The Hague.

Kenneth Marende,
the speaker of Kenya’s parliament, said in an eagerly-awaited ruling on
Thursday that Kibaki acted unconstitutionally by failing to consult the
prime minister sufficiently.

Marende asked the
president to start the nominations afresh in a ruling seen by analysts
as a slap in the face for Kibaki and a symbolic political victory for
Odinga.

Lawmakers allied to
Kibaki — who said they had marshalled enough numbers to endorse the
president’s nominees — promised to contest Marende’s ruling. They said
he was biased because he had been elected as speaker by Odinga’s party.

Kibaki said on
Friday he would turn to the judiciary for a resolution of the dispute.
Kenya’s High Court has already issued temporary orders declaring the
nominations unlawful, pending the outcome of a constitutional court
hearing.

An opinion poll showed most Kenyans believe Kibaki flouted the law in nominating the judicial figures.

Above the fray The
president, who has for years cultivated an image of staying above the
fray of Kenyan politics, was true to form by not criticising Marende
directly, but said he had acted constitutionally while naming the top
state officials.

He said the speaker
had given a “different position regarding the constitutional status of
the nominations” in contrast to two parliamentary committees that
Marende had appointed to vet whether Kibaki’s nominations were lawful.

“The principle of
separation of powers between the three arms of government on this
important constitutional issue ought to have been respected,” Kibaki
said in a speech to reporters.

“Therefore, the interpretation of the constitution ought to have
been left to the judiciary.” Political scientist Mutahi Ngunyi said
there was a chance the constitutional court may interpret the issue in
Kibaki’s favour. “Kibaki may know something that we don’t,” he said.

There is a flurry of activity in
the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
Piles of files and documents are being collated and officials have been
detailed to analyse the huge mass of documents and data. NEXT
investigations reveal that the SGF’s office is working behind the
scenes for President Goodluck Jonathan who is determined to produce a
comprehensive response to the report of the Presidential Advisory
Council (PAC) which last month accused his government of wasting funds
on a behemoth work force.

Among other things, Mr. Jonathan
will put up a valiant defence for the over 133 personal aides which he
currently hires for the Presidency and who get paid about N780 million
every year. Sources who spoke with NEXT in confidence said that
although there are civil servants officially stationed in the State
House, the Presidency has not only hired this large array of private
aides but is furious with the Theophillus Danjuma-led committee for
questioning these appointments.

The advisory council was set up in
March, 2010 by the president, “to evaluate policy implementation and
advise on areas requiring adjustments; to advise the President on how
to maximise the benefits derivable from government’s efforts; to advise
on such actions and programmes that may improve credibility and
performance of the government.” Almost a year later, on January 20,
2011, the group submitted a major report, which heavily criticised Mr.
Jonathan’s government.

The council had among other
recommendations, advised the president to prune the bloated federal
bureaucracy. But few days after the report was released, Mr. Jonathan
announced the appointment of new special advisers and assistants.

Yet, determined to respond to the
charges by the council, the presidency has set up a team, mandated to
prepare a report that will reflect the government’s gripe with the PAC
report. The team is being coordinated by officials in the office of the
SGF, Yayale Ahmed, and is expected to show that the PAC, made up of
eminent Nigerians including Fola Adeola and Kanu Agabi, is largely
ignorant of the intricacies of government affairs.

“They have concluded that the
Danjuma group is made up of people who do not understand the workings
of government,” a source within the SGF’s office said, asking not to be
named since he was not speaking in official capacity.

“Danjuma and his people have
become infamous because of the report. To them, the group does not
understand issues like national character or the constitutional
provision for the engagement of assistants,”

133 aides

An official document obtained by
NEXT, titled ‘List of presidential Aides as at February, 2011’ shows
that the country currently pays for at least 133 personal aides to the
president, the vice-president, and the first lady. These aides, who are
mostly political appointees, include the Chief of Staff to the
President, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President, Principal
Secretary to the President, Principal Secretary to the Vice President,
25 special advisers, 42 senior special assistants, 52 special
assistants and 12 personal assistants. Two of the personal assistants
are Malian and Senegalese tailors who sow the president’s clothes.

Activist Shehu Sani, president of
the Civil Rights Congress, said most of the appointees were simply
engaged by President Jonathan as campaign foot soldiers.

“The president is simply wasting
our national resources and applying pressure on the economy by settling
cronies, bootlickers and parasites on the corridors of power with
appointments,” said Mr. Sani who wants labour, civil society and
opposition parties to check the trend.

Looking through the list, some of
the appointments indeed appear to be duplication of duties. For
instance, there are six physicians (two senior special assistants and
four special assistants) who attend to the health needs of the
president, the vice president and the first lady. They include two
chief physicians to the president and vice president, two personal
physicians to the President and the vice president, an assistant
personal physician to the president and a personal physician to the
first lady. Yet some public hospitals across the country do not have a
single physician.

Apart from the large number of
domestic staff in the presidential villa, who are civil servants, there
are also six special assistants in charge of domestic matters for the
president and his vice. Their job descriptions are special assistants
on presidential household matters, domestic affairs, domestic matters,
household administration, social events and household matters, and
domestic affairs.

Eleven of the presidential aides
on the list work for the unconstitutional office of the First Lady.
They are Ike Neliaku and Oroyemisi Oyewole, both senior special
assistants on administration to Mrs. Jonathan; Mary Oba, a special
assistant on administration; Grace Koroye, coordinator, Organization of
African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS, and Martha Owuzurumba,
coordinator, African First Ladies Peace Mission. Other aides of Mrs
Jonathan are Hannah Offor, a special assistant on protocol, Isiaku
Aliagan, her media assistant, and Elizabeth Austin Amadi, her personal
physician. On August 13, 2010, Mrs. Jonathan’s stylist, Agnes Aineneh,
was appointed a presidential assistant. Two ladies-in-waiting were also
appointed for the president’s wife. In the United Kingdom, the term
Lady-in-Waiting, according to Wikipedia, is used to describe a woman
attending a female member of the royal family other than the Queen or
Queen Consort. In Cambodia, the term refers to high ranking female
servants who served food and drink, fanned and massaged, and sometimes
provided sexual services to the King. It is however not clear what
Justin Adaba and Amina Iye Ahmadu do for Mrs. Jonathan.

Yet, there are other aides of the
First Lady that are not on the list. Among them are her steward, Benson
Okpara; her luggage officer, Geoffrey Obuofforibo; her aide-de-cap,
Jacob Tamunoibuomi; her orderly, Abigail Jonah, her chief security
officer; Francis Ibiene; her director of protocol, Mfama Abam; her
principal protocol officer, Nuhu Kwache; and another media assistant,
Ayobami Adewuyi.

It remains unclear the exact
number of official staff permanently employed by the federal government
for the state house in addition to the 133 personal aides. This would
include bureaucrats, directors, security personnel, administrative
staff, and cleaners. Indications are that this figure would be higher
than that of the special aides since the State House has budgeted an
additional N1.42 billion for the payment of salaries of these other
staff this year.

The cost to the nation

The Nigeria Labour Congress is
seeking a minimum wage of 18,000 naira for civil servants. The total
sum used in paying the annual salary and allowances of the 133
presidential aides is N775, 207,125. This money will pay the basic
salary of 3,600 civil servants. The money is also more than the Federal
Ministry of Education needs this year to construct new schools (N202
million) and provide infrastructure in existing ones, including all the
103 unity schools (N102 million).

This money, even by government
estimate, can construct 100-room hostels in each of the nation’s five
first generation universities which will comfortably accommodate
thousands of young undergraduates who have no place to sleep in our
universities. (Cost of constructing a 25-room hostel is N41million.)

Between Jonathan and Yar’Adua

Investigations by NEXT indicate
that Mr. Jonathan has more appetite for personal aides than his
predecessor. After he was sworn-in in May 2010, following the death of
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Mr. Jonathan retained almost all the special aides
appointed by his late boss. But he has also appointed 57 new ones. In
the nine months that he has been president, Mr. Jonathan has appointed
a chief of staff, a deputy chief of staff, nine special advisers, 23
senior special assistants, 21 special assistants and two personal
assistants.

Human rights lawyer, Bamidele
Aturu describes the appointments as “extreme recklessness”. “It’s
wasteful and irritating,” he said. It shows brazen disregard for the
people of Nigeria most of whom live below the poverty line. We should
ask the president whether he wants to create a new country for himself
in the villa.”

The situation in other climes

In the United States, there are
470 employees working in the White House. But most of them are
employees on permanent appointments who have worked there for years.
President Barack Obama only appointed a handful of key advisers.

Similarly, in South Africa,
according to the 2009 annual report of the presidency, President Jacob
Zuma appointed only seven advisers while the remaining 582 members of
staff were mostly career civil servants.

Government officials in relevant
agencies expressed differing views on the legality and appropriateness
of the Presidency’s huge number of aides. An official of the Revenue
Mobilization, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the body
empowered to fix salaries and allowances of political office holders,
who did not want his name mentioned for fear that he might be
victimized, said most aides ought to be sourced from the government
departments and should be on secondment to the State House for as long
as their services are needed.

“Special assistants and personal
assistants to the president should be seconded from ministries i.e.
they should be civil servants,” the official said. I don’t believe that
the President has the right to appoint special assistants from outside
the service, unlike his special advisers.”

The spokesperson to the Secretary
to the Government of the Federation, Salisu Na’inna, however disagrees.
“The President has all the right to choose his assistants and advisers
and there is no constitutional limit to the number he decides upon,”
Mr. Na’inna argued. “Anybody who has a circular to the contrary should
produce it.”

What the law says

Section 151 of the 1999
Constitution provides that, “The President may appoint any person as a
Special Adviser to assist him in the performance of his functions.

“The number of such Advisers and
their remuneration and allowances shall be as prescribed by law or by
resolution of the National Assembly.

“Any appointment made pursuant to
the provisions of this section shall be at the pleasure of the
President and shall cease when the President ceases to hold office.”

But the Revenue Mobilisation and
Fiscal Commission says the President and heads of other arms of
government are appointing too many aides. In its latest executive
report on reviewed remuneration package, the commission noted “there is
non-compliance with the provisions of the remuneration packages such as
contained in either the Report of the Commission or the Act itself.

“Such violations by the three
tiers and arms of Government,” the commission further said, “include
arbitrary appointment of high number of Personal Assistants which is
adding more cost to the running of Government at the various levels.

“It is difficult to determine what
value they add to service delivery or to governance. The Commission
advise that all these illegal appointments by the 3-Tiers of Government
be stopped and officers concerned be relieved of their appointments.
Also the three tiers and arms of Government should eliminate or limit
the number of Personal Assistants to reduce cost of governance.”

Civil Society is angry too

Members of civil society groups
were also quick to condemn Mr. Jonathan for his large army of personal
aides citing the lack of regulation as a cause of the trend, which
persists in the National Assembly as well.

“Section 151 of the 1999
Constitution allows the president to appoint a number of advisers
approved by the Senate to help him in his work,” says Eze Onyekpere of
the Centre for Social Justice. “But what the president does is to
appoint all manner of aides that have become a drain on our national
resources. We should blame this on the dereliction of duty by the
National Assembly, which has failed to prescribe the number of aides
the president could appoint as well as their emoluments. The
legislature should quickly call the president to order,”

Mr Sani also described the
President’s numerous appointments as an act of frivolity. “Jonathan’s
many aides are simply campaign foot soldiers employed to be paid with
government money. And for a government that has less than four months
to leave, what assistant or advice does he need at this time? I think
that Nigerians – labour, civil society and opposition parties should
openly condemn and resist this wicked act,” he said in Abuja over the
weekend.”

Osita Okechukwu, spokesperson of
the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, also believes the
appointment of many aides is a reckless political strategy.

“By appointing such ridiculous
number of aides, the president is building a brigade for the election.
For instance, Bianca Ojukwu was appointed to capture APGA. His action
shows that all he is saying about reforming the economy is an orchestra
of deception. Can you reform the economy when you are increasing the
recurrent expenditure profile instead of trying to limit it to enable
you to have more funds for capital projects like the Mambilla power
project? It’s wastage and this does not give confidence to investors.
Foreign direct investment cannot come to a country with that level of
wastefulness,” he said.

Response from the presidency

The Special Adviser to the
President on Communications, Ima Niboro, wouldn’t comment on his boss’
penchant for appointing special aides. He did not respond to text
messages and calls to his mobile telephone on the matter.

Musikilu Mojeed, Idris Akinbajo and Elizabeth Archibong contributed to reporting for this story.

Two suspected
kidnappers yesterday met their waterloo in Warri, Delta State as an
angry mob lynched them after failing to abduct a woman and her child.
One of the unidentified suspects was burnt to death at Eboh, by Upper
Erejuwa junction while the other was beaten to death at Ogboru.

A
security source explained that four of the suspects had attempted to
kidnap the woman who was said to be driving a Toyota Camry car along
Eboh road but an alarm by the woman attracted a police patrol team and
passersby. It was further learnt that the police patrol team chased the
suspects and, with the help of youths in the area, apprehended the two
while the others escaped. But the mob, angered by the persistent cases
of kidnapping in the area refused to allow the Police to take the two
men to the station instead, jungle justice was administered to them.

The Delta State Police Public Relations Officers, Charles Muka, who
confirmed the incident, also disclosed that two cut-to-size double
barrel guns were retrieved from the suspects. “Detectives are on the
trail of the fleeing kidnappers and we are confident that they will be
arrested soon,” he said.

Ambrose Alli
University (AAU), Ekpoma was yesterday shut indefinitely by authorities
of the school following violent protest by the students which entered
its second day.

The protest by the
students paralysed all form of commercial activities within the Edo
state government owned institution. Banks, business premises, schools
and other commercial ventures were forced to close down, just as
motorists had to carry green leaves on their vehicles as sign of
solidarity with the students.

It was gathered
that the students had on Monday prevented workers from going to their
duty posts as a result of lack of potable water at the institution
following the breakdown of the dam which supplies water to the
University. The dam was constructed via funds donated from the European
Union (EU).

The university
authority hurriedly reacted by dissolving the Student Union Government
(SUG) executive council and arrested its President, Itote Damisa, who
was allegedly released shortly after. Prior to his release , the
students got infuriated and embarked on a violent protest which led to
destruction of property on the campus, just as the students allegedly
placed a mock coffin at the campus’s security office. The police had a
hectic time controlling the protest as a result of the massive number
of protesting students, as several bonfire posts were made within the
Ekpoma town by the angry students who reportedly pulled down some
structures at the market square.

Apart from the
initial grievances over lack of water supply to the campus, the
students are also protesting the high school fees being charged by the
authorities of the higher institution. The sacked student union earlier
in the week ordered the students to pay half of the newly increased
fees announced by the school authority, lamenting the 250 per cent
increase .

Responding to the crisis, the management of the school argued that
the students haven’t paid the school fees for the last session, and
therefore it is irresponsible of them to complain about the new fees.
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Sam Uniumikogbo however
confirmed the closure by the management, saying that it was done to
prevent other people from hijacking the protest. “We want to prevent a
situation whereby hoodlums would join them and loot,” he said.

The Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority, on Thursday, announced the enforcement of $100,000
(N15m) insurance compensation to families of victims involved in air
crashes as against the $10,000 paid them currently by domestic airlines
operating in the country.

Describing the
practice by the airlines as unacceptable, the authority said that it
has put in place proper procedure to ensure strict compliance with the
provisions of the Civil Aviation Act. “This seminar has been organised
to sensitise the industry on the importance of having adequate and
valid insurance cover by all airlines, service providers and allied
services for the benefit of all end users and third parties,” said
Harold Demuren, the Director General of the agency, during a
‘Sensitisation Seminar on Aviation Insurance for Stakeholders’, held at
the authority’s headquarters annex, Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, on
Thursday.

Lesson from the past

Mr Demuren said
that the agency was taking a decisive stand on the matter following the
protracted battles that families of air crash victims had to go through
during the spate of air accidents in the past. He said that the
compensation of the victims’ relatives became a serious issue as some
of the airlines involved could not settle the families of the victims
on time with the mandatory liability limit of $100,000 as compensation
stipulated in the Civil Aviation Act, 2006 which domesticated the
Montreal Convention.

According to him,
the Montreal Convention, 1999 (Convention for the Unification of
Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air) which specifies a
liability limit of $100,000, supersedes the Warsaw Convention of 1929
that stipulates a compensation of $10,000. “However, it has been
observed that many airlines still refer to the Warsaw Convention in
their tickets in spite of several letters from the NCAA asking the
domestic airlines to desist from this,” he said.

The regulatory
agency said that last year it inaugurated the NCAA/National Insurance
Commission Aviation Insurance Committee responsible for recommending
insurance liability benchmarks for ground handling, airports, air
navigation and other allied providers in the aviation industry. “The
committee also verifies and validates insurance policy documents and
certificates, as well as ensuring regular payment of insurance as at
when due,” said Mr Demuren. “An air travel insurance scheme, based on a
no-fault insurance is being put in place to provide supplementary
relief to families of victims of air accidents. This will be an
addition to the airline insurance cover for passengers and the premium
will be a negligible amount to be added to air fares.”

Insurance challenges

Femi Daniel, the
Commissioner for Insurance, outlined the challenges facing the
satisfactory compensation of victims involved in an air accident in
Nigeria to include: “inadequate insurance for ground handling
equipment, insufficient third party insurance, absence of comprehensive
list of aircraft operated by commercial and non-commercial operators,
dearth of personnel with sufficient expertise for ensuring compliance,
and general lack of public awareness for insurance.”