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The expected
emergence of former governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige, as the
senatorial candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria for Anambra
Central will not cause sleepless nights for Dora Akunyili, the All
Progressives Grand Alliance candidate said yesterday. Mrs. Akunyili who
stated this at a meeting with the opponents she defeated in her party’s
primary said she was prepared to take on any opposition.

“I’m not worried by the emergence of anybody,” she said. “Everybody is free to vie for any position. The more the merrier.”

Mr. Ngige who
governed Anambra State for three years before being thrown out of
office by the courts has been rumoured to harbour senatorial ambitions
although he is yet to make a public declaration. But indications that
he was going to contest emerged when he allegedly had the name of his
political son put in for the Anambra Central senatorial slot for
Senate, prompting political analysts to speculate that Mr. Ngige’s name
will be put in as a replacement for the current candidate on the last
day for substitution of candidates.

But Mrs. Akunyili
said she was not bothered, whether Mr. Ngige was going to run or not.
She said that the paramount thing was to put her house in order by
mending fences with those who ran against her before the primary.

“You don’t expect
people that didn’t make it in the primaries to be rejoicing, you don’t
expect them to be happy,” she said. “It is natural and it is our
responsibility as people that won to call them and their supporters
together and appeal to them to sheathe their swords so that together,
we can work to achieve victory.”

Of the three people
that contested against Mrs. Akunyili, two — George Ozodinobi and Emma
Nweke — have declared their support for her, with Mr. Ozodinobi showing
up in person at the venue of the meeting.

According to Mr.
Ozodinobi, he was present at the occasion in order to help salvage the
APGA in the state. Describing Mrs. Akunyili as a woman of substance, he
said it was now time to come together to ensure victory for the party.

“What I’m saying
today is that the contest is over,” he said. “In the game of football,
there are provisions for gold, silver and bronze but in politics, the
winner takes all. Akunyili is our gold, she’s our choice and it is our
duty to support her. If she fails, everybody has failed and it will be
our collective shame.”

Earlier in the day, Mrs. Akunyili, in the company of her husband
John Akunyili, a medical doctor, had opened her campaign office in Awka
and paid a courtesy call to the traditional ruler of Awka thereafter.
The Awka monarch, Igwe Gibson Nwosu, praised Mrs. Akunyili and noted
that “never in the history of politics in the state had such a popular
candidate come out”, and urged the people of the state to support her.
The contestant restated her commitment towards giving her people
unparalleled representation in the Senate and promised to resign if her
impact was not felt within a year.

The charges of
illegal arms shipment leveled against one Iranian and three Nigerians
before a Magistrate Court in Abuja, was yesterday struck out, following
the filling of a similar charge against the accused persons before a
Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.

At the resumed
hearing of the case, the prosecutor, Moses Idakwo, informed the court
that a fresh charge has been filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos
due to the fact that the court in Lagos can easily be moved to inspect
the exhibits (The arms containers).

Also, the Federal
Government withdrew charges against two of the accused persons, Aliyu
Wammako and Mohammed Tukur, as the prosecutor said that the proof of
evidence does not directly link them with the commission of the crime.

The application for
withdrawal by the prosecution was contested by the lawyer representing
the Iranian, Chris Uche, who argued that it is a ploy to further
infringe on the right of the accused persons. One Iranian and three
Nigerians were last year charged before a Magistrate Court in Abuja for
allegedly conspiring to import and importing containers loaded with
assorted calibers of prohibited fire arms into Nigeria.

The charge against
the accused persons, Azim Aghajani, an Iranian; Ali Usman Abbas Jega;
Aliyu Oroji Wamako; and Muhammed Tukur Umar was yesterday withdrawn by
the federal government. Magistrate Hafsat Soso, in her ruling, granted
the application of the prosecution, saying they cannot be forced to
proceed with the trial.

But the joy of Azim
Aghajani and Ali Abbas Jega were short-lived as they were re-arrested
by men of the state security service shortly after stepping out of the
court.

“The nature of
information is importation of prohibited firearms, contrary to section
27 (1) (a) (11) (111) of the Firearms Act Laws of the Federation of
Nigeria 2004. Attempt to export prohibited firearms, contrary to
section 27 (a) (1) (11) (111). That between 7th and 15th July 2010,
Azim Aghajani and Ali Usman Abbas Jega conspired to import and did
import thirteen (13) twenty feet (13×20) containers loaded with
assorted calibers of prohibited firearms consisting of 60mm mortars,
120m HE mortars, 81mm mortars, 107mm rockets, and 23 mm Apit fot gmzu
23 into Apapa Port, with the jurisdiction of this court. This is
contrary to section 27 (a) (1) (11) (111) of the firearms Cap. F28 Laws
of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

“Also, that between 12th and 25th October 2010, Azim Aghajani, an
Iranian, Ali Usman Abbas Jega, Aliyu Oroji Wamako, and Muhammed Tukur
Umar conspired to import and did import thirteen (13) twenty feet
(13×20) containers loaded with assorted calibers of prohibited
firearms, consisting of 60mm mortars, 120m HE mortars, 81mm mortars,
107mm rockets, and 23 mm Apit for gmzu 23 into Apapa Port, with the
jurisdiction of this court, to Banjul, Gambia. This is contrary to
section 27 (a) (1) (11) (111) of the firearms Cap. F28 Laws of the
Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”

Few weeks after the
campaign director of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Musa
Iilu was granted bail by the Chief Magistrate court 111 over the
alleged destruction of the billboards of the Nasarawa State Governor,
Aliyu Akwe Doma, his billboards at the Keffi and Karshi axes of the
State went up in flames.

NEXT gathered that
the razing of the bill boards was due to the recent People’s Democratic
Party (PDP) primaries which was marred with some irregularities as some
of the delegates who participated in the elections were worried with
the manner in which the primaries was conducted.

An eye witness told
our reporter that the youth are not happy with the governor and his
deputy for their inability to consider their plight.

Recently, the
governor’s billboards in Wamba Local Government Area were also brought
down in anger when irate youth claimed the governor restricted his main
contender, Tanko Almakura from constructing roads in their Council
Headquarters. Mr Almakura had rolled in bulldozers and graders to the
council area as part of his campaign plan to start road constructions
when he was asked to stop the projects immediately by the State Urban
Development Board.

In Doma, the
governor’s home town, his billboards were also torched down by
protesting youth who said the governor failed to honour his earlier
pledge of citing the new Federal University allocated to the State by
the President in the town.

The youth who were
initially happy that the university will be located in Doma were
disappointed when the governor announced that the state College of
Agriculture should be relocated to Doma while the University be taken
to the state headquarters in Lafia.

Our correspondent who visited Doma yesterday confirmed that all the
billboards set ablaze by the unhappy youth have since been replaced.

As part of moves to
discourage currency speculation and protect the value of the national
currency, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is creating a currency
futures market.

A currency futures
markets trade futures contracts, which specify that the underlying
index, in this case, the US dollar, will be bought or sold for a
specific price, on a specific date, in the future (known as the
expiration date).

In the recently
released guidelines, ‘Foreign Exchange Derivatives and Modalities for
CBN FX Forwards’, the regulator hinged this on its mandate to develop
the Nigerian financial markets and assurance of financial system
stability.

“The reforms cover
products, practices, regulation and supervision. The objective of the
CBN is to make our financial markets global, organised, liquid and
diversified. The development of the financial markets will enhance the
transmission of the monetary policy and minimise the risk to financial
system stability,” the CBN said.

Maximum tenor

The guidelines
states that, “The maximum tenor allowed for FX Forwards, and by
implication FX Swaps and Cross-Currency Interest Rate Swaps, is now
extended to five years. Authorised Dealers may seek specific approval
for longer tenors.”

The guidelines
stated that authorised dealers are allowed to offer to their customers
and the modalities under which the CBN intends to boost the trading
liquidity in these products. “Authorised dealers are expected to be
professional in their conduct in ensuring the efficient operations of
the Foreign Exchange (FX) market. Also, unprofessional conduct by the
staff of the Authorised Dealers shall not be tolerated.”

According to the
CBN, the approved hedging products are FX Options, Forwards (Outright
and Non-Deliverable), FX Swaps, and Cross-Currency Interest Rate Swaps.

CBN governor,
Lamido Sanusi, hinted last October that he would consider introducing
products that would discourage currency speculation.

“Part of what we
are trying to do in the Central Bank is introduce a forward market so
that people can hedge that risk and then don’t feel any urge to
pre-liquidate outstanding dollar exposure,” Mr. Sanusi told Reuters.

Frontloading

According to him,
there were indications that some people might be frontloading some of
their dollar obligations, resulting in the huge demand for foreign
exchange, a situation that would be ameliorated by a currency futures
market. The naira has shed 0.77 per cent since the beginning of the
year, closing yesterday at N150.31, compared to 149.16 at which it
closed last year at the official market.

The naira traded at N126.48 per dollar at end-December 2008.

According to the
CBN guideline which was released yesterday, the minimum allowable bid
amount by authorised dealers for each tenor shall be $500,000.

“The maximum spread
of 50 kobo is allowed on the sale of forwards with less than three
months tenor, whilst 75 kobo is allowed for tenors above three months.”

To further
discourage speculation in the futures market, the guideline disallows
forwards bought from the CBN to be traded in the inter-bank market.

“FX purchased from
the WDAS-SPT cannot be sold forwards to customers, as it must be
utilised within five (5) business days after settlement as per the
WDAS-SPT guidelines.”

Also, as incentive to encourage participation, “Forward contracts
will be recognised as off-balance sheet exposures in the books of
Authorised Dealers. Authorised Dealers are expected to bid on behalf of
their customers.”

The Vice-Chancellor of the University
of Jos, Sonni Tyoden, has said that the school will resume classes on
Thursday, February 3.

“With the restoration of peace and
order, normal academic activities will commence this Thursday,” Mr
Tyoden told journalists in Jos on Monday. The Vice Chancellor said that
the management is satisfied with the security measures put in place to
ensure the safety of the university community. He expressed regret that
17 students sustained gunshot injuries in the fracas with some
miscreants. “Happily, none of the 17 students has died; I think it is
necessary to make that clarification to assuage anxious parents, who
are naturally curious about the welfare of their wards.” “The
management has visited the hospitals where the injured were being
treated and can confirm that some have been discharged.” The
Vice-Chancellor said that there has been high level security talks with
the Special Task Force (STF) to secure the inhabitants of the
university community. “Our assessment of the security situation shows a
great improvement. Moreover, we now have a reinforcement of the STF
guarding our environment. Last week’s encroachment into the institution
remains the first time we were directly attacked,” he said.

The Federal High
Court Abuja’s injunction restraining both the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from
recognising the Joju Fadairo led party congresses in the Ogun State
Chapter of the party is now unsettling the faction on what the next
step should be.

According to the
Chairman of one of the factions, Dayo Soremi, the Mr Fadairo led
group’s claim to have secured the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) nomination form to field its gubernatorial candidate,
Gboyega Isiaka, was all a ruse.

“Our attention has
been drawn to some media reports claiming that the dissolved state
executive committee of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun
State has been recognised as a legitimate body by the national
secretariat of our great party. This followed claims that a puppet of
Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, has been given the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination form by the PDP
National Secretariat.”

“We affirm that
this cannot be true as our great party respects the rule of law and
will not be part of a sinister plot to enthrone impunity as a way of
life in conducting the affairs of the PDP” he stressed.

“To be sure, a
Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has already stopped whatever
charade the Joju Fadairo led dissolved executive committee did in terms
of congresses/primaries. Both the PDP National Secretariat and INEC
were restrained from relating with the illegal Fadairo group,” Mr
Soremi said.

Solution

The ugly
development according to further findings has forced Mr Daniel, who is
the leader of the faction to abruptly cut short his trip to China and
return to the country over the weekend, apparently to find a way out of
the problem. Ironically, Mr Soremi and his group at the weekend threw a
lavish party tagged, ‘victory over our enemy.’ The party was sponsored
by the millionaire financier of the Omo-Ilu Foundation, an apex body of
the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Buruji Kashamu and held at his
Ijebu-Igbo palatial residence.

It would be
recalled that, the factional governorship candidate of the party, under
the Daniel group, Gboyega Isiaka was reported to have collected the
party nomination forms, which include the Senatorial nomination of Mr
Daniel and others from their group which were allegedly brought to the
Abeokuta party headquarters.

But barely 24 hours
after, came the controversial Federal High Court injunction, rasing
panic in the group, becoming a subject of gossip in the town.

However, in a
related development, the faction of the party which produced Tunji
Olurin as the party governorship candidate, announced that, it had
earlier collected their own nomination forms earlier before the Mr
Daniel group collected theirs, as claimed by them, stressing that, the
group the claim that the group collected forms was a mere propaganda.
Further findings however revealed that, Mr Daniel’s camp is now making
effort to ensure that the injunction is reversed, before the situation
gets out of hand. The case had been adjourned to February 8, 2011,
while the submission of nomination closes before the hearing date of
the case.

Opposition reacts

The Media Officer
to Mr Isiaka, (governorship candidate from the Mr Daniel’s group),
Bolaji Adeniji while reacting said, “Mr Olurin’s claim is false. It is
clear to say that it is a false, totally untrue and a deliberately
orchestrated subterfuge sold to confuse the party and unsuspecting
public.

“How can he claim to have a form, when did he get the form? Gboyega
Isiaka went to the party office based on the submission of his name by
the party to the INEC. He was received by Uche Secondus. He got the
forms in public, in the full glare of the press and party officials.
This was reported in the media the day after. How can someone now claim
to have a form 48 hours later. Who saw him, who witnessed it, who has
seen the form? So Olurin’s claim is a ruse that cant fly. The party and
INEC will decide the authentic candidate, which is Gboyega Nasir
Isiaka.” He said.

A Federal High
Court in Abuja will today decide the fate of five governors seeking
legal interpretation of their tenure in office, whether it will be
extended beyond May 29 this year. The governors of Kogi, Adamawa,
Sokoto, Bayelsa and Cross River (Ibrahim Idris, Murtala Nyako, Aliyu
Wamakko, Timiprieye Sylva and Liyel Imoke) are challenging the decision
of the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct
governorship elections in their states. At the last court sitting,
Adamu Bello, the presiding judge, decided to fixed the judgment date
after counsel to the governors had adopted their briefs of arguments
and stated their positions and authorities to back up their position.
Counsel in the matter are Lateef Fagbemi, Kanu Agabi, Sunday Ameh, Ladi
Rotimi Williams and Paul Erokoro for the governors of Kogi, Adamawa,
Sokoto, Bayelsa, and Cross River States respectively.

The lawyers asked
the court to stop INEC and the People’s Democratic Party from
conducting elections in the five states because the tenure of the
current governors will still be on. According to them, INEC erroneously
came to the conclusion that the tenure of the governors would expire in
2011 based on the court-voided elections.

Specifically, they
cited the provision of Section 180 (2) of the 1999 Constitution,
providing for a four-year tenure of office for a governor from the day
he took the oath of office and oath of allegiance as a sacrosanct
provision of the law which cannot be abridged or ignored. The federal
government and PDP took different positions, even though they were
defendants in the case. In its opposition to the bid of the governors
to have their tenures extended, the government objected to the hearing
of the case by the court and pleaded that the case be dismissed for
lacking in merit.

Government lawyer,
Adeniyi Akintola, who stood in for the Attorney General of the
federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, argued that
no tenure elongation should be granted to any of the governors since
the amended 1999 constitution was opposed to such a move.

But the PDP,
represented by its national legal adviser, Olusola Oke, said the tenure
of any governor in Nigeria today legally begins from the date the
governor takes the oath of office and oath of allegiance.

The party claimed
that the 2007 elections that brought the five governors to office in
the first instance were voided and set aside for fresh ones by courts.
PDP insisted that the oath of office taken by the affected governors in
the voided elections have been voided along with the elections and were
of no effect whatsoever in law. The governors are seeking to prevent
the commission from holding elections for their seats until April 5,
2012.

INEC had announced that the tenures of governors who were re-elected
after their 2007 elections were cut short by tribunals would end on May
29, 2011, just like the other governors. INEC is the first defendant in
the suit while PDP is the second defendant.

The Aeronautical Information Service Association of
Nigeria (AISAN) has countered the claims of the Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency (NAMA) on the sufficiency of manpower requisite for
the smooth running of the country’s airspace.

The president of the body, which comprises of
professional Aeronautical Information Engineers, Paul Igene disclosed
to airport reporters at the weekend that Nigeria needs a minimum of
about 250 personnel to man the 27 airports across the country, while
noting that 15 officers out of the 126 members of the association will
be retiring between 2011 and 2012.

He said the claims by NAMA that the agency recruited
aeronautical personnel last year was “misleading,” Mr Igene said that
the most recent employment into AIS was done between 2002 and 2003 and
that no recruitment has taken place since then, adding that the current
shortage of manpower will bite harder on the agency when its top 15
senior officers disengage from service.

Mr Igene said that the government has been promising
to recruit more hands into the service after series of request but
lamented that nothing has been done to ameliorate the stress and
fatigue experienced by members of the association on daily basis as a
result of manpower shortage.

“We want the government to create a directorate of AIS in NAMA to boost our operations and meet our operational needs,” he said.

The president of the association, however, said that
Annex 15, document 8126 of the International Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO) Act, has it that the basic purpose of AIS is to
ensure the safety, regularity and efficiency of civil aviation.

Last week, Supo Atobatele, head of public affairs, NAMA, said, “NAMA
has a succession plan. This year we expect some of our engineers to
retire. In the last 12 or 15 months, the agency embarked on intensive
recruitment of fresh graduates,”. “Late last year, we recruited over 40
engineers and right now some are in the field while some have gone to
NCAT (Nigerian College of Aviation Technology). We also recruited AIS
officers last year.” He added. The AISAN president urged the airspace
agency to visit its aeronautical department for details concerning
technical AIS issues and the actual number of officers present.“15 top
AIS officers out of the 126 we have now will be retiring from the
organisation between 2011 and 2012 and right now, we have shortage of
personnel to cover the 27 airports where our members are operating. We
are in need of 250 staff to adequately man these airports,” he said.

President Goodluck
Jonathan and Liberian President, Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson yesterday
unveiled the United Nations Women’s logo, at the 16th ordinary session
of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union,
holding at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mr. Jonathan who was represented by the former
ambassador to Ethiopia, Nkoyo Toyo expressed his hope that African
women will find their voice through the new organization. He said that
his administration would join other African leaders to support the new
organization even as he congratulated the executive director of the UN
Women and former president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet for a successful
ceremony.

In her remarks, Ms.
Sirleaf-Johnson expressed her happiness that women now have a platform
to voice their preferences on issues that concern them, adding that the
logo conveying the message of women’s equality and empowerment
worldwide was in capable hands with Mrs. Bachelet as head.

“We applaud this
new entity, and you can be rest assured that all of us will support the
contribution to the success of women’s empowerment and gender equality.
You can count on us to be a great partner,” she said.

The UN Secretary
General, Ban Ki-Moon in his remarks also said: “We need to empower
African women who produce food, raise children and drive the economy.
When women take their rightful place at the negotiating table, in the
parliament and in leadership positions across society, we can unleash
Africa’s enormous potential. UN Women is here to help reach this goal.”

Mrs. Bachelet, in
her remarks, added that, “A vision of how much more is possible when
men and women have equal rights and opportunities will drive UN Women.
We will be bold and ambitious in our aspirations. We will also be
practical in building an organization that can make a lasting
difference in women’s lives.”

The UN Women will
also work globally with all UN member states to forge international
standards and goals for gender equality. The agreement to create the UN
Women came from a UN General Assembly’s resolution in July 2010.

On the January 1, 2011, the new agency became operational under the
leadership of Mrs. Bachelet. Her attendance at the AU summit marks her
first official visit outside the UN headquarters in New York. The AU
has enshrined gender equality in its constituency act, and adopted the
Protocol to the African Charter of human and People’s rights on the
rights of Women in Africa. In 2010, it further declared the Decade for
Women in Africa.

Thousands of
Tunisians turned out on Sunday to welcome home an Islamist leader whose
return from 22 years of exile indicated that his party would emerge as
a major force in Tunisia after the ousting of its president.

The reception for
Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the Ennahda Party, at Tunis airport was
the biggest showing by the Islamists in two decades, during which
thousands of them were jailed or exiled by President Zine al-Abidine
Ben Ali.

Mr Ghannouchi was
exiled in 1989 by Mr Ben Ali, who was toppled on January 14 by popular
protests that have sent tremors through an Arab world where similarly
autocratic leaders have long sought to suppress Islamist groups.
Ennahda is expected to contest future legislative but not presidential
elections, dates for which have yet to be set.

The Islamists were
Tunisia’s strongest opposition force at the time Mr Ben Ali cracked
down on them in 1989 but are thought not to have played a leading role
in the popular revolt. But at Tunis airport on Sunday, they were out in
force.

Up to 10,000 young
men and veiled women packed the arrival hall and car park. Some climbed
trees and electricity pylons to catch a glimpse of the 69-year-old Mr
Ghannouchi, who says he has no ambition to run for state office. “Oh
great people who called for this blessed revolution, continue your
revolution, preserve it and translate it into democracy, justice and
equality,” Mr Ghannouchi told the crowd, to chants of “Allahu Akbar”.
Ennahda supporters embraced each other in joy. A group of men performed
prayers on a grass verge, a scene unthinkable in Tunisia just a few
weeks ago.

Ennahda likens its
ideology to that of Turkey’s ruling AK Party, saying it is committed to
democracy. Experts on political Islam say its ideas are some of the
most moderate among Islamist groups.

Secular order imposed

Tunisia has imposed
a secular order since independence from France in 1956. Habib
Bourguiba, the independence leader and long-time president, considered
Islam a threat to the state. Mr Ben Ali eased restrictions on the
Islamists when he seized power in 1987, before cracking down on them
two years later.

The protests which
dislodged Mr Ben Ali and electrified the Arab world have largely dried
up in the last few days following the announcement on Thursday of a new
interim government purged of most of the remnants of Mr Ben Ali’s
regime.

The security forces
have tried to restore order to the capital, where confrontations
between shopkeepers and protesters have indicated dwindling support for
demonstrators on the part of Tunisians who want life to return to
normal.

U.N. Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon, speaking at the African Union summit in Addis
Ababa, said the United Nations would be “pleased to help the people of
Tunisia freely choose their leaders through timely and credible
elections.”

Mr Ghannouchi told the crowd that the path to democracy was “still long”. “Unite and consolidate, democracy cannot
happen without national consensus and development can only happen with
justice and democracy,” he said. Ennahda activists wearing white
baseball caps tried to marshal the crowd. Asked how they had managed to
organise so quickly, one activist said: “Our activities were stopped,
but you can’t disperse an ideology.” Some Ennahda activists were among
the political prisoners released under an amnesty granted by the
interim government. A handful of secularists turned up at the airport
to demonstrate against the party, holding up a placard reading: “No
Islamism, no theocracy, no Sharia and no stupidity!” Ennahda and its
supporters say they do not seek an Islamic State and want only the
right to participate in politics.