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Citizens of Lere
Local Government of Kaduna State have called on the state chapter of
the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to discourage the present chairman
of the council, Ibrahim Nuhu Kayarda, from his ambition of contesting
the House of Representatives seat in the constituency. The chairman of
the citizens council for the area, Isa Adamu Lere, said people such as
Mr Kayarda who have been tainted by corruption allegations should not
represent their people at any other level.

“It is important to
bear in mind the determination of all and sundry to rid this great
country of corruption,” said Mr Lere. “The government, politicians and
the civil society groups have all agreed that corruption, as a
cancerous virus, is not only pandemic but endemic in our political
continuum and therefore, the desire to bring politicians vying for the
2011 elective positions on a clean slate. It is on this premise that
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) vowed not to allow
corrupt politicians to contest any elective post in the forthcoming
2011 general elections and that is why politicians such as Nuhu Ibrahim
Kayarda will not be allowed to contest election in this country.”

Once bitten…

The group traced
its opposition to Mr Kayarda to an event in 2005, when the state
government directed council chairmen to buy official cars. They alleged
that the Lere council chairman, instead of purchasing a new motor
vehicle, deceitfully refurbished his personal car, a Peugeot 406 car
which he purchased and had been using since 2003, at the cost of
N3million.

“This association
forwarded a petition to the state House of Assembly, which mandated its
Public and Anti-corruption Committee to investigate the allegation of
impropriety against the executive chairman — wherein the said Committee
confirmed to be true the allegations of the petitioners,” according to
Mr Lere. “In compliance with the above House Resolution No.23, on the
10th day of October, 2005, the Ministry for Local Government, Kaduna
State suspended him for six (6) months with effect from 20th September
2005. He also refunded the embezzled money to the treasury of the Lere
Local Government Council. Why again will this man be allowed to
represent [the] common man in his constituency?”

Efforts to speak with Mr Kayarda did not succeed as the former
council chairman did not answer his phone or respond to a text message
sent to him.

The Delta State re-run gubernatorial
election ordered by the Court of Appeal in Benin was yesterday held
cross the state amid tight security and pockets of violence.

Attahiru Jega, chairman of the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who went round some
of the polling stations, threatened to cancel results of local
government areas where incidents of violence and ballot snatching were
reported and confirmed.

Mr. Jega, who monitored elections in
some polling centres in Warri and Ughelli axis during the election, did
not hide his displeasure with the violence and electoral malpractices.
During a visit to Ughelli North local government where the INEC
secretariat was torched on Tuesday, he expressed regrets over the
manner the election was being conducted.

Although not officially confirmed, there are strong indications that the result of the election in the area may be cancelled.

Early lead

Fourteen parties
are fielding candidates in the election. These are Emmanuel Uduaghan of
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whose election as governor was
quashed by a Court of Appeal; Ovie Omo-Agege of the Republican Party of
Nigeria (RPN); Great Ogboru, Democratic Peoples Party DPP); Peter
Oghenevwogaga, Accord Party; Ngozi Agbogbo, African Democratic Congress
; Veronica Musu, All Nigeria Peoples Party; Chief Onokpite, Citizens
Popular Party; and Emmanuel Mafiana, Democratic Peoples Alliance.

Others are Donald
Chukwuemaka, Justice Party; Abel Edijala, Labour Party; Johnson Boghudu
of the Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy; Patrick
Okenwagho, National Majority Democratic Party; Erobuke Alordiah,
Progressive Peoples Alliance and Igbini Emmanuel, Peoples Republican
Party.

Reports from some
collating centres late last night put Mr. Ogboru in early lead, but
results from the riverside communities were yet to be known as at the
time of filing this report.

In all, the turnout
of voters was impressive at the various polls visited. Also observed
was the peaceful manner in which the electorate conducted themselves in
some of the polling centres visited. This does not, however, rule out
reports of minor skirmishes in some polling units where there was
attempt to snatch ballot boxes.

Quite a number of
registered voters who came out in their large numbers to exercise their
civic duty were stranded in some of the polling units as their names
did not appear on the records of the INEC officials assigned to the
polling unit where they had earlier registered.

George Timinimi, a
former commissioner of water resources expressed fear over the flaws
recorded in the voter registration, noting that with the lapses
inherent in the register, there’s no likelihood of a credible election.

The former
commissioner, whose name was in the register but his picture and age
were that of a 23 year-old student, called on INEC to provide a
credible voter register especially in the Ijaw area of the state.

Besides this, there
were also reports of violence recorded in some places as youth loyal to
the PDP and DPP clashed over electoral issues.

Not enough security

Although some
voters complain of inadequate security in some of the remote
communities, security was tight in some of the towns identified to be
volatile as armoured personnel carriers were deployed on the streets to
checkmate any breakdown of law and order even as security agents
conducted themselves with decorum.

Commanding Officer,
Nigeria Naval Ship (NNS), Henry Babalola, a Commodore, said the Navy
deployed MI 109 to lift materials and personnel to the riverside
communities, particularly Burutu , Ode-Itsekiri, and Bennet Island,
adding that manta and jetty boats were used to escort the materials to
the areas.

He denied
allegations that Naval officials stopped agents of the opposition
parties from going to the communities to exercise their voting rights.
According to Mr. Babalola, voters who could identify themselves and
workers of organisations were allowed a safe passage on the waterways
while those who could not identify themselves were turned back.

“There was no
incident of security breach. Security was beefed up so that we could
achieve a peaceful election as you know this is a test run for the
April general election,” he said.

A leader of RPN in
Warri South, Yemi Omawumi, lamented the hijack of materials by thugs
allegedly working for PDP, saying that they will send a protest letter
to INEC, calling for the cancellation of the results.

“Jega is not a
magician to know what is happening. Rather than taking one step
forward, we are taking many steps backward,” he lamented.

The PDP running
mate in the re-run election, Amos Utuama, has lauded the peaceful
conduct of the polls. The former deputy governor who cast his vote at
12.53 pm at Unit 4 of Jeremi Ward in Ughelli South local government
area made the remark while fielding questions from reporters.

He lauded INEC and the various security agencies for the orderly manner voting was conducted.

“INEC has done very
well in their mobilization since yesterday. The materials arrived quite
early and information reaching me is that all parts of the local
government (Ughelli South) have been covered,” he said.

Mr. Utuama also
commended the voters for conducting themselves orderly and also for
their diligence in keeping their voters register since 2007 when the
last voter registration exercise was held.

The Court of Appeal
sitting in Benin had on November 9, nullified the election of Mr.
Uduaghan and ordered INEC to conduct fresh elections in the state
within 90 days.

The nullification
was the result of the appeal brought by Mr. Ogboru against the election
of Mr. Uduaghan, who has governed the state since 2007.

The five-man
Election Tribunal sitting in Asaba had dismissed the petition filed by
Mr. Ogboru challenging the election, in an unanimous decision. The
tribunal held that the petitioner failed to prove that there was no
election in most of the voting centres, as alleged in his petition, and
that he also failed to prove a case of gross rigging. But the Appeal
Court heeded his prayer and nullified Mr. Uduaghan’s election.

Barely a week to
the presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the
Atiku Abubakar campaign organisation has alleged a plot to shut him out
of the exercise.

Mr. Abubakar, a
former vice president, who spoke through the director general of the
Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation (ACO), Ben Obi, in Abuja
yesterday, warned that preparations for conducting the party’s
primaries, scheduled for January 13, have been shrouded in secrecy,
leaving room for suspicion.

Mr. Obi had raised
a similar alarm on December 22 last year when he wrote the national
chairman of the PDP, Okwesilieze Nwodo, requesting the leadership of
the party to forward to his group the comprehensive guidelines for the
conduct of the presidential primary election. He also demanded for a
meeting between the leadership of the party and the organisation, so
that it could be better informed about the plan towards the conduct of
the primary election.

He said the
National Working Committee (NWC) of the party subsequently invited the
organisation to a meeting on December 28, during which it was agreed
that the meeting should be shifted to January 3.

“January 3 has come and gone without the meeting taking place,” Mr. Obi said.

“Since then, I
have placed several calls to the national chairman of the party and
sent several SMS messages. The national chairman kept telling me that
he is still consulting and revert to me on the proposed meeting,” he
added.

More worrying signs

The campaign
director also alerted that there are a number of troubling signals
surrounding the conduct of the presidential primaries. According to
him, precisely one week to the primaries, the party has not composed
the National Convention Committee, which he said has the overall
mandate of planning and executing the exercise.

He also said that
less than five days to the screening of the presidential aspirants,
slated for 11 January, 2011, the presidential screening panel is yet to
be constituted.

“In spite of our
unrelenting efforts and considerable pressure on the party leadership
to convene a meeting between it and all the presidential campaign
organisations, no date, to the best of our knowledge, has been chosen
for this dialogue to take place,” Mr. Obi said.

He said that the
organisation is yet to receive any official communication from the PDP
“on the guidelines and ground rules that will govern the conduct of the
primary election; about the time, location and method of screening
delegates; the issuance of passes to accredited officials; the security
arrangements for such a major political undertaking; a published list
of all delegates who will participate in the voting exercise; voting
method and procedures; counting and announcement of results; and a
thousand and one other details that must be clearly set out weeks
before the conduct of the election.”

The campaign group
further complained about the conduct of the primary election held so
far in some states, saying it is extremely troubling. He said his
organisation has information that in Plateau, Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom, Benue,
Ogun, and Yobe States, a significant membership of the party are either
pulling out of its fold or threatening to do so.

Mr. Obi said after
an exhaustive examination of the situation, the organisation is
demanding that a meeting between the leadership of the party and the
various campaign organisations should be convened as expeditiously as
possible, so that all matters relating to the conduct of the primary
election are thrashed out and agreed upon as a binding arrangement
between all the parties concerned. He explained that the proposed
meeting is a necessary condition towards the conduct of a free, fair,
credible, transparent and acceptable primary election.

He also said the list of delegates who will vote at the primaries should be published and widely advertised in the print media.

“This list is as
crucial to the successful conduct of the primary election as the list
of Nigerian voters which the INEC must publish before the conduct of
the general election,” he said.

Teslim Folarin,
Senate majority leader, and three other suspects remanded in prison
over the alleged killing of Lateef Salako (aka Eleweomo), factional
leader of the National Union of Road Transport Worker (NURTW), applied
for bail at an Oyo state High Court on Thursday.

An Oyo state chief
magistrate, Shakirat Badrudeen, ordered the four men to be remanded in
prison custody until January 14 when their case would be reopened for
mention.

They were arraigned
on Tuesday on a two-count charge of felony (conspiracy to murder) and
murder of Mr Salako who was gruesomely killed after the local
government congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at Ona Ara,
Oyo state, last Thursday.

Though the
magistrate agreed with the argument of Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, former
president of the Nigerian Bar Association who led the team of lawyers
defending Mr Folarin and others, that the court lacks the jurisdiction
to hear criminal matters, Ms Badrudeen, still adjourned the case till
January 14, for mention.

The other accused persons are Ramoni Jayeola Bankole, Olaide Raji and Raimi Ismaila.

Filing the bail
application on Thursday, Mr Akeredolu, supported the documents with a
44-page affidavit. In the application tagged M/8/2011, the applicants
joined the state attorney general and the state commissioner of police.

For the whole of
Wednesday, Mr Akeredolu and his team had brain-stormed on the
modalities to hasten the bail of the senate leader, who had been in
custody since Monday when he honoured the police invitation to come and
write his statement on the death of Mr Salako.

The Agodi prison,
where the accused were detained, was still bustling yesterday with Mr
Folarin’s sympathizers. It appeared as though the senate leader had the
support of prominent Ibadan political and business leaders. Prisons
officials faced a heavy volume of visitors calling at the prison
throughout the day to see the politician.

Baba Adisa Bolanta,
Oyo State commissioner of police, has, however hinted that more people
will be declared wanted by the police today (Friday) over Mr Salako’s
death.

Mr Bolanta, who
disclosed this to journalists in Ibadan on Thursday, said the police
are yet to close the case on the murder as many other suspects are yet
to be apprehended. He opined that the command should be commended for
its efforts in unraveling the mystery behind the killing of the
unionist in the past week

Police deny bias charges

In another
development, Lekan Balogun, leader of the opposition against the state
governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala, announced that he planned to hold a rally
on January 15 to push for the deployment of the commissioner of the
police from Oyo State. Mr Balogun accused Mr Bolanta of corruption and
bias in the murder case of Mr Salako. He said he would ensure that the
police commissioner was transferred from the state to allow for peace.
Denying the allegation of bias against Mr Folarin, the police boss said
the force established a case against him before arraigning him and
three others last Tuesday.

Saying he had given
the Ibadan high chief respect as a senior citizen and a former
lawmaker, he said, “We will not delay in dealing with him [Mr Balogun]
according to the law if he tries to incite the public against the
police.”

Mr Bolanta said
that none of the cases of crime reported since he took over his post in
Ibadan had gone uninvestigated, and that everything he did as police
chief was done with the consciousness that he would give account one
day “where the whole SANs in the world would not be able to defend me.”

He said
investigations conducted so far have shown that the Senate leader and
other accused persons were present at the scene of the incident. He
said the four police officers attached to the senate leader who were
also arrested and detained shortly after the killing of Mr Salako, are
assisting the police in their investigation of the matter.

He also said that Mukaila Lamidi (aka Auxiliary), Mr Salako’s
deputy, was interrogated at the Iyaganku Police station yesterday over
his alleged involvement in the vandalism of a filling station belonging
to Lateef Akinsola Oloruntoki (aka Tokyo), the state chairman of the
NURTW.

The national
chairman of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Okwesilieze
Nwodo, has declared that the party and its government are determined
and committed to ensuring that the will of Nigerians prevail in the
choice of their leaders during the forthcoming general elections in
April.

Mr Nwodo spoke
while receiving the South African minister of international relations
and cooperation, Maite Nkoanie Mashabane, who paid him a courtesy call
at his private residence in Abuja.

He said that the
on-going electoral process within the ruling PDP is a test for the
party and the country in the democratic journey, adding that the
country’s commitment to democracy is sacrosanct notwithstanding the
teething problems.

Mr Nwodo noted that Nigeria and South Africa have a lot in common as Africa’s leading nations and regional powers.

Earlier, Ms
Mashabanie told Mr Nwodo that she came to deliver a message from South
Africa’s President Jacob Zuma to President Goodluck Jonathan and was
directed to see the national chairman of the ruling party. She invited
Mr Nwodo to the African National Congress (ANC) centenary celebration
in January next year.

Ms Mashabanie also stated that South Africa is disposed to solving
Cote d’Ivoire’s political logjam using ECOWAS rather than the use of
force.

The former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Nuhu Ribadu, and former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, will be the pair to slug it out for the presidential ticket of the Action Congress of Nigeria, barring any delayed maneuverings.

While Mr. Ribadu will today pick up his nomination form at the party secretariat in Wuse Zone 6, Abuja, Mr. Bafarawa picked up his form yesterday. The party’s deadline for the purchase of the presidential nomination form is Sunday, April 9. The form is sold by the party for N5 million.

NEXT has learnt that the certainty of Messrs Bafarawa and Ribadu being the final contestants to vie for the ticket is due to the withdrawal of the former national secretary of the party, Usman Bugaje, and Saidu Malami from the presidential race.

“Dr Bugaje has pulled out from the race. He has written us (ACN secretariat) that he is no longer interested in contesting the presidential election,” an official of the party told NEXT.

When contacted, Mr Bugaje declined giving any information about his purported letter. “I will let you know what my decision is at the party primary,” Mr Bugaje told NEXT.

Mr Malami is also said to have withdrawn from the race after several meetings between himself and Mr Ribadu. Both men attended the interactive session organized by the Abuja chapter of the CAN. Both Mr. Malami and Mr. Bugaje are said to have decided to support Mr Ribadu. The party’s presidential primary has been fixed for January 14 in Abuja.

Chairman’s warning

Ahead of the primaries, ACN’s national chairman, Bisi Akande, has urged all members to ensure the best conduct and maintain the highest standards all through the primaries.

Mr Akande in a statement issued on Thursday, charged the party executives, party officials and aspirants to keep to the high standards and behaviour of the party.”

“Our party is a disciplined party and a party that is determined to install democracy and good governance,” he said. ” It will, therefore, not tolerate any corrupt practices or any behaviour that will undermine the integrity of our party and process.”

Mr Akande further warned that a monitoring system is in place to catch any illegal exchange of funds stating that “for the avoidance of doubt, a surveillance system has been put in place to monitor and detect any demands or exchange of funds other than that published in the guidelines. We are determined to ensure democracy and build a strong foundation for good governance,” he stated.

In one of the most keenly watched elections during the PDP primaries in Ogun State, the state deputy governor, Salimot Badru, yesterday defeated her main challenger to emerge candidate and flagbearer of the PDP for the House of Representatives election. Mrs Badru defeated Emmanuel Hosu, a former chairman of Ipokia Local Government at the congress which attracted delegates from Ipokia and Yewa local government areas which took place at the Gateway International Stadium, Ilaro.

The speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, emerged untouched following the disqualification of his opponents by the PDP verification team for the Abeokuta district.

In the Ilaro election, Mrs Badru polled 262 out of 840 votes, while Mr Hosu scored 212. Six of the total votes cast were foiled. The congress was conducted under the watchful eyes of security operatives, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission {INEC}, journalists and party officials.

The policemen, who mounted security round the premises, kept suspected hoodlums at bay.

The two contestants watched the exercise from a distance, as delegates filed out one by one to determine their fates through voting which lasted for about three hours. The results were announced publicly after.

The victory of Mrs Badru was followed by a wild celebration by her supporters. The deputy governor, who defeated her opponent with 50 votes, said her victory was for all members of the party.

Arrested armed suspects

Meanwhile, a son of a former local government chairman identified as Akinloye Bankole, was yesterday arrested by police over his alleged attempt to smuggle arms into the venue of the congress. The suspect was apprehended along with a few of his colleagues during a police check on the Mazda he was driving towards the Gateway International Stadium, Ilaro venue of the congress.

The police, suspecting foul play, insisted on searching the car and discovered guns and ammunition which the suspect could not successfully explain. He was subsequently taken to the police station for further interrogation, along with with the car and its contents. As news of his arrest filtered into the premises of the congress, his father, said to be a delegate, reportedly became crestfallen. He refused to speak about the incident. Police sources said the suspect will be transferred to the police headquarters at Eleweran, Abeokuta.

A number of locally-made amulets and other charms were also seized from some delegates at the congress by security operatives.

The federal
government on Thursday inaugurated an 18-member technical advisory
committee that will articulate and present Nigeria’s position at all
international Information and Communications Technology fora.
Inaugurating the committee, Stephen Willoughby, permanent secretary of
the ministry of information and communications, stated that Nigeria has
not always made adequate preparations before attending international
events and has been unable to reap maximally the gains of such
meetings.

“At the moment our
preparations have not been at par or been not the best,” he said.” We
go into conferences blank…sometimes we defend common interests of
others or even interests that are partisan to others which
inadvertently we do not know. When we try to defend our interests, we
do not articulate and defend them robustly. We must have strong in
positions which we must present and defend at all regional and national
fora.”

Mr Willoughby said
the ministry places great importance in the committee with the hope
that it will assist in advancing the cause and mandate of the ministry
at international fora on telecommunication and ICT.

Coordinating strategy

The committee, he
said, is a result of the recommendations made by the Nigerian
delegation to the just-concluded International Telecommunication
Union’s Plenipotentiary Conference that took place in Guadalajara,
Mexico last year.

“It was discovered
at the conference that Nigeria had no major position of its own for
presentation to the conference. Instead, the country went to the
conference with only the African Common Position at hand to defend
while some African countries that are not of Nigeria standard, despite
the African Common position, went to the conference with their own
in-house prepared positions, which they presented to the conference and
defended those positions with passion,” he said. “A time has now come
that we as a country need to develop our in-house positions, which we
must present and defend at all regional and international fora. We must
ensure that we prepare adequately within the country before going out
to participate in any of the fora. We have to be seen to be taking our
leadership role now in all affairs of the African continent.”

The committee’s
term of reference included coordinating Nigeria’s strategy and input to
meetings on telecommunications and ICT with a view to optimizing the
benefits of such for a to Nigeria.

They will also consider issues that will arise at such meetings and
advise on Nigeria’s preparations, positions, plans and effective
participation in a manner that influences the outcomes of such fora.

Ahead of the
National Assembly congresses of the People’s Democratic Party that is
rescheduled to hold today, some incumbent senators are deploying
desperate last-minute tactics to lobby both delegates and the public.
The senators, who have been lobbying delegates after a legislative
attempt to give them the right of first refusal failed at the national
assembly, have embarked on desperate means of sending across their
messages.

As a last-minute
measure to convince delegates, some of the lawmakers have employed
unusual new media to reach them. While some have taken their last
campaign messages to popular social media networks like Facebook and
Twitter, some are sending unsolicited bulk Short Message Services (SMS)
to random telephone numbers hoping to catch a delegate.

Like most of his
colleagues facing serious re-election challenges, Nimi Bariye Amange, a
serving Bayelsa state senator, in an unsolicited bulk SMS sent to
random telephone numbers, directly solicited for delegate votes. Most
messages were written in the new but informal social media language.

“Dear delegates to
d Bayelsa East Senatorial primary elections,” Mr. Amange wrote. “Ur
vote to Amange will enhance ur brother/sister, daughter/son’s,
educational pursuit. In 3yrs he has paid WAEC/JAMB/NECO for 800
candidates and he will do more.”

Like Mr. Amange,
most senators and other senatorial aspirants base their public campaign
on either the capital projects they executed or attracted to their
communities and promising to do more rather than the effects or
efficiency of the laws they sponsored or supported or intend to sponsor
or support if (re)-elected.

Umoh Edet, a
political analyst with a special interest in the national assembly,
says the elements of these campaign messages are wrong and have the
potentials of misleading ignorant constituents on the core function of
lawmakers. He argues that lawmakers have no business initiating,
executing or promising capital projects except on philanthropic grounds.

“The core function
of the lawmaker is to make laws, not building roads or bore holes,” he
said. “That is the work of the executive arm of government. The
lawmakers are supposed to change the lives of their constituents
through the laws they make.”

The senators,
alongside their House of Representatives colleagues, late last year,
dropped the right of first refusal idea after they were caught in a web
criticism for attempting to insert in the electoral act, a clause which
would have made it mandatory for political parties to put the ambitions
of a serving lawmaker before rookies.

Subsequently, most of the lawmakers are facing strong opposition
from fellow party members who either feel they did not perform very
well as lawmakers or perhaps ogling the perceived fat pay the lawmakers
earn.

Military
intervention in Cote d’Ivoire need not trigger civil war, presidential
claimant Alassane Ouattara said on Wednesday, as his rival seemed to
reverse a pledge to lift a blockade on his headquarters.

Mr Ouattara said he
preferred a peaceful solution to his post-election standoff with
incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo, but dismissed negotiations, telling
France 24 television “Mr Gbagbo must leave power to allow Cote d’Ivoire
to return to normal.”

Mr Gbagbo has
refused to cede power to Mr Ouattara, widely seen as winner of a
disputed November 28 election, despite international pressure,
sanctions and the threat of force, and he has accused world leaders of
meddling in Cote d’Ivoire’s internal affairs.

Mr Ouattara’s aides
have called for a regional West African force to make good on a threat
to kick out Mr Gbagbo if he refuses to go, but there are fears it may
not be able to attempt such action without getting bogged down in war.

“I think he will be
responsible for the situation that he will face. Military intervention
does not mean that Cote d’Ivoire will ignite,” Mr Ouattara said of his
rival, from inside the Golf Hotel, where he is under U.N. protection.

“All that needs to
be done, as has been done in other African countries, is to come and
get Mr Gbagbo and remove him from the presidential palace.” Mr Ouattara
said an offer this week by Mr Gbagbo to negotiate an end to the crisis
was just an attempt to “buy time in order to recruit mercenaries to
kill Ivoriens and smuggle money out”.

Blockade goes on

Cote d’Ivoire
security forces on Wednesday maintained a blockade of the Golf Hotel,
despite a promise by Mr Gbagbo to ease it. Mr Gbagbo’s foreign minister
Alcide Djedje told a news conference on Wednesday the blockade would
not be lifted while the 300 armed rebels loyal to Mr Ouattara remain
inside.

“That constitutes a
threat for the president. It’s a question of the soldiers of the New
Forces (rebels) leaving the hotel as a condition of lifting the
blockade,” he said.

A heavy military and police presence was still sealing off roads leading to the lagoon-side hotel on Wednesday.

“Mister, don’t try and come through here. Turn your car around and don’t argue,” a soldier wielding an AK-47 said.

Only U.N.
helicopters and supply trucks have access. Mr Gbagbo is backed by his
security forces, some Ivorien youth and militia groups, and the
Constitutional Council, which overturned Mr Ouattara’s 8-point election
win, alleging fraud.

He has refused
exile in South Africa, Nigeria and the United States. “President Gbagbo
doesn’t need to go to Washington. He’s fine where he is and he intends
to stay there,” Mr Djedje said.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson said on Wednesday he should cede power to Mr Ouattara.

“There is no question that the election in the Cote d’Ivoire was stolen by President Gbagbo and those around him,” he said.

After efforts at
mediation by four African leaders on Monday, Mr Gbagbo agreed to
continue talks to end the crisis. But an end to the standoff seems far
off.

More than 170
people have been killed since the dispute started, rekindling divisions
in the country that have festered since the civil war of 2002-03.

Diplomats and
security sources say many of the dead are victims of death squads
operating at night in neighbourhoods where Mr Ouattara is popular, and
the U.N. says hundreds more have been kidnapped by Ivorien forces and
allied militias.

Mr Gbagbo’s camp
says these are lies meant to discredit him. Despite the political
turmoil, cocoa for export is arriving at Cote d’Ivoire’s ports in
similar quantities to last season. Cote d’Ivoire is the world’s top
cocoa grower.

The country’s
Eurobond is trading at yield of 15 percent, after it failed to meet an
interest payment on Friday, although it will only be in default after a
month’s grace period.

In a statement on
Wednesday, the U.N. mission condemned what it called human rights
violations, including a raid by security forces on Mr Ouattara’s party
headquarters on Tuesday.

That raid killed an activist and left many people wounded, including some security forces, according to state media.

REUTERS