15 perm secs quit in Kano

Malam Ibrahim Shekarau

Ten days before Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso resumes as governor of Kano State, fifteen permanent secretaries in the state civil service including Alhaji Dahiru Shekarau of the Science and Technology Ministry, elder brother of the outgoing governor Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, have tendered their letters to the state Head of Service to retire from service, Daily Trust learnt in Kano yesterday. Also quitting at month’s end is Alhaji Sabo Abdurrahman of the all important Water Resources Ministry, under whose watch the Shekarau administration spent billions of naira to execute gigantic water contracts. Dahiru Shekarau and Sabo Abdurrahman are among the most powerful government figures in Kano civil service during the Shekarau era.

Of the 15 permanent secretaries reported to have signified their intension to quit, 12 have already forwarded their resignation letters to the Head of Service, Daily Trust learnt.

Competent government sources told Daily Trust that the decision of the top civil servants to resign followed the victory of Engineer Rabiu Kwankwaso in the April 16 governorship election in Kano. Their fear, according to the source, was that they might either be demoted or sacked out rightly because of their open political partisanship.

Governor Ibrahim Shekarau’s media aide Sule Ya’u Sule confirmed the exodus of the senior public servants but was not sure of the total number who are resigning from service.  Most of the permanent secretaries were appointed by the outgoing governor. PDP members allege that some of the appointments were on the basis of patronage or personal closeness to the Shekarau government.

It was gathered that since the civil service rules allow for either three months in lieu of notice before resignation or payment of three months’ salary to proceed instantly for those who served pensionable years, those top government officials have mostly opted to choose the latter by giving three months’ salary which is not less than N1 million per person.

Daily Trust also learnt that another dilemma for the permanent secretaries is whether or not the state ministry of finance can pay up their severance gratuity and service gratuity amounting to close to N15 million for each one of them.

However, the governor-elect Rabiu Kwankwaso has been allaying the fears since his victory, saying his administration would not witch-hunt public servants because of their perceived partisanship in last elections. He said his government will carry everybody along in the discharge of its responsibilities.

It will be recalled that in 2003 when Kwankwaso lost to Shekarau, a similar fate engulfed six permanent secretaries whose loyalty to the Shekarau administration was in doubt. They were therefore given the option of either to remain in service but revert to the rank of directors or proceed on premature retirement.

Three of them, it was gathered, accepted demotion to directors while the other three proceeded on premature retirement.

Even though efforts to get the state Head of Service to confirm the development proved abortive, a highly credible source in the office of the head of service confirmed that permanent secretaries in the state have been forwarding their resignation letters since the announcement of April governorship election results in the state. The source also said their request had been graciously granted.

Government spokesperson Sule Ya’u Sule said even though he was not certain about the number of the permanent secretaries resigning, a lot of civil servants in the state would rather resign during the present administration given Shekarau’s good pension policy in Kano.

“I know a lot of senior civil servants will resign even prematurely for fear that they may not be paid their service gratuity in good time if they leave service during the incoming administration,” Sule said.

Tension is high between the outgoing and the incoming governments in Kano because Kwankwaso was defeated by Shekarau in the 2003 elections. In the years that followed, Kwankwaso was probed by the Shekarau regime and indicted by a judicial commission of inquiry, which he rejected and fought all the way through the courts.

Why I can’t reduce ‘large’ cabinet, by Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said it would be impossible for his government to prune down federal cabinet to a sizeable one because the constitution stipulates that each state of the country must produce a minister. Jonathan said this in Abuja at a valedictory session with members of the T.Y. Danjuma-led Presidential Advisory Committee who wound up their assignment yesterday.

The 26-member Danjuma committee, set up March last year by Jonathan when he was acting president, had urged the president to reduce federal ministries to 18 at most and to rationalise all non-ministerial agencies to eliminate overlap, duplication and redundancies.

It frowned at a situation where there are 30 federal ministries and a plethora of extra-ministerial departments, 42 ministers and special advisers and assistants.

Jonathan said his personal preferences tilt towards a leaner and highly efficient cabinet but noted that it was virtually impossible due to extant constitutional provisions.

He said: “Your suggestion for a smaller cabinet is excellent and I agree with you, but this cannot be achieved without constitutional amendment.”

The President, however, said suggestions and advice which PAC offered to the government played a key role in stabilizing the administration, and that its final report would form part of the policy direction of the incoming administration.

He thanked them for accepting to serve the nation in spite of their individual schedules, and informed them that the Federal Government would continue to tap from their wealth of experience in the years ahead.

Earlier, Danjuma, said they were privileged to have been selected to proffer advice to the new administration, adding that all members had contributed immensely to the committee’s work.

The committee recommended that recurrent expenditure should not exceed 40% of the national budget and this should determine the size of the government. The committee also recommended a pruning of the budget deficit to no more than 3% of GDP; limiting borrowing by federal and state governments to only productive projects; stopping the legislature from hiking budget proposals; strict adherence to a policy of zero tolerance for corruption, among others.

The committee had lawyer Ben Nwabueze, as the deputy chairman and Permanent Secretary (Special Duties) in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation as Secretary.

Other members were Fola Adeola; Abubakar Gimba; Basil Omiyi; M. D. Yusuf; Emeka Anyaoku; G. B. Preware; Bartholomew Nnaji; Kase Lawal; Muhammed Hayatuddeen; Alfa Belgore; Chibudom Nwuche; Mobola Johnson; Halita Aliyu; Magaji Dambatta; B. G. Bajoga; Sally Bolujoko; Mariam Uwais, and Kanu Agabi.

Presidency, PDP plot to defeat anti-zoning MPs

The presidency and National Working Committee of the People’s Democratic Party are angry that anti-zoning members of the House of Representatives are inching closer to embarrassing the party by acting contrary to its decision to zone the position of speaker to the South West. The presidency has therefore planned a counter move to unsettle the anti zoning group that is fronting for the election of Deputy House Leader Aminu Tambuwal as Speaker, Daily Trust has learnt. 

A presidency source said Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo has been saddled with the responsibility of backing the acting na-tional chairman of the party Dr. Bello Haliru to ensure that the interest of the PDP in the new leadership of the National Assembly is achieved to the latter.

“They are worried that Tambuwal has allowed himself to be used by the opposition to embarrass the party during the inauguration and the presidency is saying it is not acceptable,” the source said yesterday.

As part of the plot, the Vice President met last week with newly elected House members under the aegis of the Seventh Assembly Group in Abuja to persuade them to respect the zoning formula. At the meeting which was attended by some top party leaders including the National Vice Chairman, South-West, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo, the Vice President harped on party discipline and stressed the need to respect the zoning formula agreed on by the party’s caucus of PDP.

But according to the source, attempts to sit with Rep Tambuwal whose electioneering so far has unsettled the presidency has proved very difficult as he has made himself ‘incommunicado’. Rep Tambuwal could not be reached at press time but a close ally who preferred to speak off record confirmed that the lawmaker has not met with the party’s leadership so far.

He described the Tambuwal project as a popular movement that emerged from among members in view of his sterling leadership qualities.

Meanwhile, the presidency source said three lawmakers being touted to replace the current House leadership last week had an interactive session with some top officials in the villa. Though the party had earlier endorsed Rep Ajibola Muraina, who is believed to be sponsored by former president Olusegun Obasanjo, the leaders who engaged the aspirants last week were said to have expressed some reservation about his candidacy after the interaction.

The source said the leaders may have started looking the way of Rep Mulikat Adeola, also from Oyo State as Muraina to stick to the zoning arrangement even though Obasanjo has stamped his feet on the godson of his late political ally, Lamidi Adedibu. Adeola was also said to have met with the leaders at the villa.

The leaders are said to have approved Rep Yakubu Dogara from Bauchi State to team up with the speaker as Deputy Speaker believing that he would serve as a stabilising force for the leadership.

                                              

Senate changes rules, rigs Mark in

The Senate yesterday amended sections of its standing rules pertaining to the election of new presiding and principal officers and paved the way for Senator David Mark to stand almost unopposed for the Senate President’s job when the Seventh Senate convenes early next month. At least 80 percent of the current senators are not returning to the chamber next month. Mark was expected to be challenged for the top job by incoming senators Muhammadu Danjuma Goje and Abubakar Bukola Saraki, currently governors of Gombe and Kwara States respectively, who are now shut out by the amended rules.

At yesterday’s session, the Senate deleted its rule 97 (1)(f) that deals with consideration of seniority in election of Presiding and Principal Officers and replaced it with a new section (3)(2) that provides strict guidelines for the emergence of Senate leaders based on sharply spelt out ranking procedures.

The old rules, which did not clearly spell out the ranking procedure, were set aside in 2007 to allow then brand new Senator George Akume of Benue to contest for the office of Senate President against Mark, who was then entering his third term in the Senate.

Mark won that contest with the heavy support of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, but this time around, despite his being endorsed by the PDP national leadership to reoccupy the position, Mark yesterday led his colleagues to amend the rules and thereby scuttle the ambitions of any fresh senators that may be eyeing his seat or those of any other ranking members of the Senate.

Adopting a motion moved by outgoing Senate Leader Teslim Folarin, the Senate passed the new rule that provides “nomination of senators to serve as presiding officers and appointments of principal officers and other officers of the senate or on any parliamentary delegations shall be in accordance with the ranking of senators; “(b) In determining ranking the following order shall apply: (i) senators returning based on number of times re-elected (ii) senators who had been members of the House of Representatives (iii) senators who have been members of a State House of Assembly or any other Legislative House (iv) Senators elected as senators for the first time.”

Speaking while ruling on the motion for the amendment, Mark said there is nothing new in the amendment as it already exists. He said the Senate “cannot be intimidated by some outsiders into dumping an amendment that aims at strengthening the institution of Senate.”

He said, “This is not a rule that is new. It exists. We want to move it from 97(1) (f) to 3(2). Any new senator who is not ranking today would be ranking tomorrow. It is for the strengthening of the senate as an institution. This has nothing to do with David Mark but the institution of Senate. Commentators outside are ignorant of the rules and they were trying to blackmail us.

“There is nothing wrong with what we are doing now. If we chicken out because a few people are not comfortable with, I think it is not the right thing to do.”

The practical import of yesterday’s rule changes are that when the new Senate is inaugurated on June 6 or 7, the race for Senate President will be open only to the two fourth-term senators, namely  Senator David Mark of Benue and Senator Bello Hayatu Gwarzo of Kano, unless both of them decline to show interest.

Gwarzo has so far not shown any interest in the job, but Mark is already campaigning to retain the job he held in the last four years, as evidenced by his speech at the senators’ induction course in Kano three days ago.

Under the new rule, if the two most senior senators decline the job, then third and second term senators could vie for it, followed by former members of the House of Representatives, then former members of state assemblies, followed by fresh senators who were not members of any legislative house. While Bukola Saraki has no legislative experience, Goje was a member of the House of Representatives in the Second Republic, but it is not clear whether the rules recognise that as seniority.

a source in the Senate told Daily Trust yesterday that the desperation by Mark and his supporters to amend the rules was because 80 percent of the new Senate’s members will be fresh termers and there is the fear that they could team up to defeat the older senators, as nearly happened in 2007. In particular, there is much fear of the two former governors Goje and Saraki, who are thought to be working through other governors to lock up the support of many freshmen senators, hence the changes to shut them out.

The Senate also amended rule 111 of its standing order to provide for continuity of legislative process in respect of bills and other activities of the chamber.

The new rule now provides that “the legislative business of the senate which remains undetermined at the close of a session of the Senate shall be resumed and proceeded with in same manner as if no adjournment of the senate had taken place and all papers referred to committees and not reported upon at the close of session of the Senate shall be returned to the office of the Clerk of the Senate and retained until the next session of the Senate when they shall be returned to the several committees to which they had previously been referred.”

The new rule may however be at variance with provisions of the 1999 Constitution which provides that the life of every session of the National Assembly terminates at the end of the session. Matters pending at the end of the session were in the past adjudged to have terminated with the session.

Goodluck Jonathan Stoned By Crowd In Uganda, Police Kill One Attacker

KAMPALA, UGANDA—Ugandan police shot at a crowd in the capital Kampala after it attacked a car carrying Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan who had attended President Yoweri Museveni's inauguration, a government spokesman said.

At least one person was killed in the incident.

“The car belonging to Goodluck Jonathan was stoned by mobs,” said Fred Opolot, director of the government media centre. “The security shot around the area, and one person was shot dead.”

The 25-year leader was sworn in to a fourth term.

Opposition leader Kizza Besigye over the last month has been leading “walk to work” protests over the rising cost of food and fuel. Besigye, whom Museveni defeated in his February re-election win, said the marches are also to protest government corruption.

Those marches have been the most serious unrest in sub-Saharan Africa since protests swept out leaders in Egypt and Tunisia. Museveni says he will not be swept from office by Egypt-style protests.

A 21-gun salute rang out before a crowd of thousands who watched the country’s chief justice administer an oath to Museveni. Leaders from Kenya, Tanzania, Southern Sudan, Nigeria, Congo, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe attended the ceremony.

Museveni appeared to make reference to Besigye in a speech, saying that opponents wanted to cause chaos but that their “disruptive schemes” will be defeated.
Museveni said the country would begin pumping oil within three years, and that Uganda would no longer need to rely on imports.

He also sought to highlight the country’s progress in the last 25 years, saying that 8 million primary students are in school today compared with 2.5 million in 1986. He also promised to fight corruption.

Museveni also indulged in a moment of self-congratulations, saying: “I thank the Ugandans for overwhelmingly voting for me with 68.3 per cent.”

Although official returns showed Museveni winning that amount, Besigye says the results were falsified, and that Museveni and Besigye both received a bit under 50 per cent of the vote, an outcome that would have required a runoff.

Uganda has seen sharp spikes in food and fuel prices the last several months, making car or bus travel unaffordable for many. Anger over the increases has fuelled Besigye’s protests, and security forces have clashed with protesters around the country. Human Rights Watch says government forces have shot and killed nine people during crackdowns on protests.

Museveni, an ex-rebel commander who seized power at the head of a guerrilla army in 1986, once criticized African rulers who clung to power. In 2001 he promised to retire from politics despite lifting a two-term limit on the presidency so he could run again in 2006. But now Museveni says he is fostering peace, stability and growth.

African strongmen of old are under increasing pressure. Moammar Gadhafi, who has ruled Libya since 1969, is battling attacks from Libyan rebels and NATO. Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, who attended Thursday’s inauguration, has been in power since 1980. He has refused to accept a 2008 election defeat.

With files from the Associated Press.

Thieves ransack Emir Ado’s bedroom

Thieves broke into the palace of the Emir of Kano Alhaji Ado Bayero on Tuesday night and carted away large amounts of money, Daily Trust learnt from police and palace sources in Kano yesterday.

The thieves gained entry into the monarch’s apartment and removed money believed to be in millions while the emir was away in London, a palace source said.

A source said the thieves broke many wardrobes, trunk boxes and drawers and truned the whole apartment upside down.

More than a dozen persons have already been arrested by the police in Kano State over alleged complicity in the theft, among them one of Alhaji Ado Bayero’s sons and a lady, the sources also said. The suspects are being held at Kwalli Police Division in Kano metropolis. Also in the custody of the police are palace guards and other individuals accused of having a hand in the alleged theft.

The theft was said to have taken place late in the night at a room in the palace used specifically for keeping the emir’s valuables, including money. The suspected thieves did not break or damage any of doors in the apartment while making their way to the vault located in the highly guarded section of the palace, said the source, who further disclosed that the development raised suspicions of an insider job.

A source said ten palace guards are deployed on a daily basis to secure the said room. Police sources also said the emir’s son was suspected of having hand in the crime because was seen at the palace on the day the incident occurred, even though he is a Customs officer based in Kaduna. “This person left a day after the theft and when our officers trailed him to Kaduna, he was on a spending spree. So they arrested him and brought him to Kwalli Division,” said the source.

The only lady among the suspects was said to have been picked by the police because of the free access she enjoys around the palace. Others suspects in police net include senior palace guards, known as Dogorai. The source told Daily Trust that the arrests may not yet be over.

When contacted yesterday, the spokesperson of the Kano Emirate Council Professor Isa Hashim said he was not aware of the case. He said he had just returned to the country from Cairo, where he went for medical check-up. All attempts to speak to the Kano Police Command’s spokesperson ASP Musa Magaji Majiya on the issue failed.

.

Bankole survives suspension over secret loan

Speaker Dimeji Bankole yesterday survived moves by some members to suspend him over allegations that he took a loan of about N10 billion without approval of the House.

Bankole, who appeared at the House as demanded by members, forced the House into a closed session as several members insist that the matter should be discussed in the open.

At the end of the session, the Speaker said “the House in closed session discussed issues concerning the House and the Speaker offered explanation satisfactorily. Payment of emoluments to suspended members is being resolved.”

Several members protested the position by shouting ‘no’ but when the question was put by the Speaker; majority voted that they were satisfied by the explanations offered by Bankole on the contentious issues of House finances and the loan.

But a member who spoke to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity said the Speaker revealed that the House is indebted to some banks but that the issue is being resolved and members emoluments will soon be paid.

He said “I am surprised because the Speaker said he took the loan in May last year. I thought the loan was taken this year in view of the fact that the budget has not been signed so that when the budgetary allocation comes, they will use it to settle the loan. But that was not the case.”

The members said “the loan was collected May last year to subsidise House spending in anticipation of budgetary releases. When the anticipated money failed to come they now started rolling it over and over. In my own estimation this loan of about N10 billion is stealing.”

Senate: No contest against David Mark

There is no contest for the office of the President of the Senate to warrant any change of rules as the incumbent Senator David Mark is on the verge of emerging as an unopposed candidate for the top job, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Ayogu Eze said in Abuja yesterday.

Speaking on the outgoing Senate’s controversial moves to amend the Senate Standing Rules in order to shut out all new senators from eyeing the presiding and principal officers positions in the Red Chamber, Eze said there was no contest in the first place to warrant any rigging of the rules.
He said, “I want to say that the issue of ranking senators taking precedence on matters of presiding officers down to committee chairmanship is already in our rules. Section 97 (1f) of the rule is clear on that. What we are doing now is just to make clarification, which is not provided in the present rule.”

Eze denied any selfish motive behind the amendment saying, “it is not about David Mark or any other individual in the Senate. It is about deepening our democracy. It has nothing to do with Mark as a person, it is all about institutional integrity on how to stabilise our democracy.”

He said the incumbent Senate President has performed well enough to earn a return. “Do you really think there is a contest? There is no contest to warrant amendment for any individual,” he said.

Eze also said the proposed amendment is in line with Section 60 of the 1999 Constitution which empowers each chamber of the National Assembly to regulate its own proceedings. “You may be aware that some people that have not even come to the chamber are thinking of going to court to challenge our ability to exercise Section 60 of the Constitution,” he said.

He said experience matters much in the task of presiding over the Senate, saying “as a second term senator, if you make me a presiding officer it will be a major challenge, not to talk of someone who is just coming for the first time.”

Meanwhile, a meeting of all senators-elect has been scheduled for tomorrow in Abuja to further iron out the issues surrounding selection of presiding officers, principal officers and committee chairmen before the inauguration of the new Senate.

Sources among the incoming senators, who will form a majority in the next Senate, told Daily Trust yesterday that they are moving to throw overboard the controversial amendments being pushed by outgoing senators to the Senate rules in order to railroad a second tenure for David Mark. An incoming senator said, “they [the outgoing senators] are labouring in vain. They were there for four years and they did not amend the rules, until most of them were defeated in the elections and they are just about to depart. Mark is using them for his rigging plans, but it won’t work. We will throw out the new rule first thing in the new term.”

Jega: Voters can wait for results

Prof. Attahiru Jega

Mogae: That’s good, but..

PDP: People should not wait

Voters in tomorrow’s elections should be allowed to stay behind at the polling centres until the ballots are counted and the results are declared in so far as they remain calm and law abiding, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Attahiru Jega said in Abuja yesterday. His latest declaration heightened the tug-of-war that has been raging on this matter since last week between INEC on the one hand and the Federal Government, security agencies and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] on the other.

Also speaking on the matter speaking on this issue yesterday, former Botswanan President Dr. Festus Mogae welcomed it, saying it will enhance transparency, but said the concerns of security agencies also valid. However, the ruling PDP’s acting national chairman condemned INEC’s stance, saying it could cause security problems at the polling stations.

Speaking when he received the Commonwealth election observer delegation led by Mr. Mogae in his office, Prof. Jega disagreed with the position of the police and other security agencies that voters must leave the polling stations after casting their ballots.

Mogae had told Jega that some stakeholders have raised concerns over possibility of violence if a large number of voters are kept at the polling stations for long hours for accreditation, voting and to also wait until votes are counted. He also asked Jega to make clarifications on the issue of the distance within which voters are to stay away from the balloting area. Mogae said, “There is the issue raised on how far should the voters stay away from the polling stations.

The police said 300 meters, while you said 30 meters are enough.” The INEC chairman replied, “The system of accreditation that we have adopted was used in 1993 and the result of that election is accepted as the most credible in our history, but it was unfortunately annulled by the military. We also used it recently for the re-run governorship election in Delta State and it was also successful. From our experience there is nothing that has shown that the procedure of accreditation will fail.”

On the issue of voters waiting behind to protect their votes, Jega said the police are relying on a provision of the Electoral Act which prohibits activities such as wearing of party attires, campaigns and loitering within 300 meters of the polling stations.

He said, “That is what the police is basing its own decision on but I believe that a voter that has been accredited to vote cannot be said to be loitering. Any voter that has cast his vote and is ready to wait patiently until the votes are counted and that remains calm and law abiding, I believe should be allowed to wait. That is why we say that 30 meters away is enough.”

He said the security agencies are apprehensive as a result of the spate of pre-election violence in some parts of the country. He said, “They probably know more than we do because it is the issue of security and it is their role. I think the final say on this matter, we will leave it to the security agencies to determine.”

The chairman however told the delegation that the people are committed to credible elections this time around, saying “Our experience shows that if there is transparency, which is what we want to bring into the system, the people will wait and get the result, accept it and go away.”

On the issue of military patrols, the INEC chairman said soldiers are to carry out their operations discretely unless where direct intervention becomes necessary. He said, “Even the policemen that will be at the polling stations will not carry arms. Most of the patrols would be by armed mobile police, sometimes assisted by the military.”

He said the security agencies will be on hand to deal with any security situation during the election and that any voter waiting behind for votes to be counted but becomes unruly would be removed from the polling station by the police.

Mogae expressed optimism that INEC under professor Jega is capable of conducting credible elections in the country, saying the resolve has been demonstrated in its preparation for the polls. He said the Commonwealth has deployed observers to seven locations in the country and is in constant interaction with stakeholders to ensure that the polls are credible and peaceful.

Daily Trust however gathered that top security officials in the country have raised concern on the security implications of keeping hundreds of voters within polling stations for hours, which they said could lead to conflicts. The security heads are said to be insisting on reversal of the procedure so that voters can get accredited and vote immediately, and then leave the polling stations.

Meanwhile, President Mogae told Daily Trust yesterday that the idea of voters staying back at the polling units after casting their votes so as to observe the counting process is good in itself because it would strengthen the transparency of the electoral process.

He however said the concerns raised by the security agencies over this was also justified, given that any little provocation could spark violence among the mass of people at the polling stations. He said there is a wave of excitement and confidence among the people ahead of the polls, but added that there is apprehension over the potentials of violence.

“There has been talk of defending the mandate; people saying they are going to vote and they are going to stay there to ensure that their votes count, which is good on one hand. On the other hand there are usual tensions of competition which also then gives rise to some apprehension of possibilities of violence given the apparent intense determination on the part of almost everybody to ensure that their votes count and apparent determination to try to do it even physically—sit there at the polling station to ensure that their votes count,” he said.

“On one hand, INEC has been very transparent and is anxious to assure everybody…that they are willing to be transparent…. And therefore if you say I want to be looking at what you are doing, they say ‘oh, by all means, come and watch what we are doing.’ Which is good. It’s reassuring.

“On the other hand, we as observers cannot help but share some of the trepidation, some of the nervousness of the law enforcement agencies that in a tense situation, if people are crowding around the whole table there could be a disturbance,” he said.

Mogae also said they were not comfortable with the procedure of conducting accreditation first before voting starts, which is likely to create chaos at the polling stations and also inadvertently deny voting chance for people who could not stand the long wait for one reason or the other.

The Commonwealth mission will be in Nigeria till April 15 to observe tomorrow’s National Assembly elections and the presidential poll on April 9. Mogae said his team is likely to make interim pronouncement after each of the elections and would also issue a report stating its findings and recommendations at the end of the two elections.

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Acting National Chairman Dr Bello Haliru Mohammed has explained the reasons why the party has picked holes in the advice given by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that voters may wait behind after accreditation or voting exercise.

But speaking at the PDP National Secretariat, PDP’s acting national chairman Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed said the voters-can-stay-behind stance of INEC is a recipe for chaos and an unfair action against the eligible voters who have other daily activities to do. The suggestion is likely to cause low turn-out, he said.

Asked if PDP is not be comfortable with the plan for people to remain behind after voting, Mohammed said, “I think this is a case of misrepresentation that has been going on. People have made up their mind that election is going to be rigged by PDP simply because they know they cannot win. We have nothing against people staying at the polling station to defend their votes. What we say is don’t make it mandatory and don’t create a system where it is essential for people to stay at the polling station. If you bring supporters who are reasonable and responsible people and these hoodlums are still there to provoke people, the way we see them breaking people’s cars, they will start insulting them. No matter how patient you are for four hours you are staying in one place and people are insulting you and shouting slogans, there may be fighting in some places where people are not restrained.”

Responding the suggestions that the presidential election may go into a run-off, Mohammed said CPC’s presidential candidate cannot win because he does not have national spread. He said President Goodluck Jonathan will get the majority of votes cast and will get the required 25 per cent in two-thirds of the states and FCT on the first ballot.

Apparently reacting to a statement by CPC chieftain Buba Galadima, Mohammed said he could not see where PDP’s competitors got the idea that they can win election or there will be a second ballot. “They are only preparing ground for dissent,” he said.

He also said, “We went to a meeting with the police and I read in the papers that one Buba Galadima of CPC said they will not recognize any winner other than Buhari and even if Buhari gets less than 80 per cent, they know that the election is rigged. I was surprised because anybody who knows this country and who knows the spread of the candidates, unless you have your head in a bag, will know that there is no way Buhari can win this election because Buhari’s stronghold is in a few states even in the North. He doesn’t have national spread. So where are the votes coming from to say that he will get 80 per cent?

“And for a politician to say that he doesn’t recognize any winner other than Buhari, that means they have a plan, if anybody emerges as winner, to perpetrate violence and create stalemate. That is not going to happen. That is why we complained to the security agents and to INEC to be mindful of utterances of politicians which is indicative of what they are planning.

“The opposition has not gone round even in the zone. Buhari, Shekarau and Nuhu are still struggling to go round the zone. We have gone round every state. They don’t have the spread. They are not prepared. They have not gone to meet the people.”

[Malam Nasiru el-Rufai] Malam Nasiru el-Rufai The National Security Adviser retired Gen. Patrick Aziza must be joking for daring to oppose INEC’s recommendation that voters should wait at polling units after casting their votes to witness ballot counting and announcement of results, former Minister of the FCT, Malam Nasiru el-Rufai, has said. Leading the Good Governance Group (3G) at a press conference with the theme: “Voters must not be intimidated”, yesterday, el-Rufai urged voters to discountenance any position other than INEC’s, noting that the NSA must be living in the past when people would vote and walk away to allow space for election riggers to have a field day. “The NSA is living in the past and he will get to know on Saturday...vote and leave is the foundation for rigging. We are urging people to take big breakfast before going to polling units so that after voting they will stay there and see their votes being counted,” the former minister said. The 3G also frowned at the plan to deploy troops during the election, saying “the operation has little to do with security concerns but creating a climate of intimidation to rig the elections.” “The plan consists of intimidating voters and precluding them from coming out to freely elect candidates of their choice in the 2011 elections, particularly in areas where candidates having the support of the government of the day appear to be unpopular,” he said. 3G commended INEC for resolving “to disallow any public officers –be it President, vice president, governors, deputy governors, and ministers...from violating the restricted movement on Election Day directives under the guise of election monitoring.” He noted that Jega’s appointment was by accident and the PDP is already regretting that President Goodluck Jonathan took the decision to appoint the INEC chairman, who has currently built fire walls around the electoral commission. El-Rufai observed that the trend in majority of African elections in recent times have been to sack incumbent government, citing cases of Ghana, Ivory Coast and Kenya. “No Nigerian would wish to share the anguish that stolen elections have caused in Zimbabwe, Kenya, and is causing in Cote d’Ivoire,” the 3G said, stressing that the convulsions of June 12, 1993 should not be allowed to return. The 3G which was formed in 2009 also has former Senate President Ken Nnamani and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Bello Masari as members who took part in the Safe Nigeria Initiative that pushed for the observance of constitutional provisions in the terminal days of President Umaru Yar’adua.

retired General Muhammadu Buhari

The factional crisis in the Congress of progressive Change (CPC) in Katsina State deepened yesterday as the leader of the party, retired General Muhammadu Buhari  wound up his presidential tour in the country. Supporters of the party who went for the rally left in confusion on the authentic  candidates to face the ruling PDP in Saturday’s National Assembly polls.

Two factions of the party loyal to the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Bello Masari and those of the court-recognized Yakubu Lado Danmarke had mobilized supporters to the venue to receive the party’s presidential flag bearer with either side claiming legitimacy.

The confusion was accentuated after General Buhari at the podium raised the hands of the senatorial flag bearers of the party, Senator Abu Ibrahim (Funtua,Katsina South), Hadi Sirika(Daura, Katsina North) and Abubakar Saddiq Yar’adua(Katsina Central) constituencies.

The situation angered supporters of Senator Abdu Umar Yandoma (Daura) and Ahmed Sani Stores (Katsina Central) who are in the court-recognized list of 44 candidates against Sirika and Yar’adua, both of whom are in the Masari faction currently challenging the latter’s nomination at the appeal court.

Daily Trust learnt that before that incident, the police  had earlier stopped some youths who attempted to erect a billboard of Masari at the airport.  Masari, who only a day earlier lost a case at the Abuja Federal High Court to quash Lado’s status as authentic CPC candidate in the state, was not seen at the General’s convoy. Thousands of CPC supporters were seen chanting “Nigeria sai Buhari” and “Kama shi Lado.”

Buhari who earlier visited Governor Ibrahim Shema and the Emir of Katsina, Abdulmumini Kabir Usman, informed them that he would not raise the hands of the gubernatorial and other candidates because of the pending court cases to show his respect for the court. He praised the hands of the governor and the emir for personally staying back to welcome him at their offices as against other states where emirs on the instruction of their governors ran from their palaces in order not to receive him, saying he was not bothered due to his 2003 and 2007 experiences in the contest.  Buhari ended his tour with a pledge to tackle corruption, insecurity, power, health, transportation as well as infrastructure while promising to ensure fairness to all Nigerians irrespective of their socio-economic background if elected.