Corruption Watch – Page 30

February 19, 2015

CACOL cautions INEC over use of NURTW buses to convey election personnel, materials

Posted by Editor on February 16, 2015 at 6:28 pm

Ralph Ige
Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Oyo State against using buses belonging to the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state to dispatch election officers and materials during the forthcoming general elections.

This came on the heels of a statement by the Director-General of the Ladoja Campaign Organisation, Adeolu Adeleke, that INEC had concluded arrangements with the NURTW to make use of buses belonging to its members to convey electoral officers to different polling units in the state during elections.
But the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Rufus Akeju, said that the arrangement was made at the national level with strong legal backing that was meant to eradicate incidences of moving electoral materials to polling units late.

In his reaction, the Executive Chairman of the Coalition, Comrade Debo Adeniran, averred that the alliance between the INEC and a highly politicized group like the NURTW, could cast aspersions on the result of the elections.

He said, “Signing agreement with a union that is so highly-politicized may mar the entire process and call to question the credibility of the elections. Such arrangement at the end of the day, may not guarantee fairness. INEC is already aware that some buses owners are partisan, as claimed by the REC, so there is no assurance that the Oyo State Chapter of the NURTW does not have allegiance with some politicians in the state. Going ahead with this agreement will adversely affect the credibility of the elections.

“In essence, INEC should desist from its plan to use the NURTW buses. Even if no problem comes up in the course of transporting the materials and the personnels, INEC may not be able to defend itself and the credibility of the elections. Therefore, it would be wise for the body to come up with an alternative plan to avoid any bickering and to make sure the election is free, fair and credible. If INEC should go ahead with its plan, they will be asking for more trouble than they bargained for.”

Comrade Adeniran, however urged INEC to come up with alternative plan for the movement of its personnel and election materials.

“INEC should explore other options than the NURTW. Instead of engaging the NURTW, electoral officers in each local government council could be given opportunity to hire buses without any condition. Also, there should be government agencies or private companies that such a contract could be awarded to. We don’t expect that such a contract could only be executed by the NURTW. INEC should look beyond the NURTW to get buses to convey their materials and people”, Adeniran stated.

SOURCE: Newsverge

February 19, 2015

When King, Beko preached non-violent change

By Sam Anokam, Assistant Editor

Ahead of the postponed elections, the need to conduct a non-violent election was again brought to the fore at the 2015 Black History Month and Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti memorial programme held at Rights House, Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday.

Organised by the Committee for the Defence for Human Rights (CDHR), Lagos State branch, in conjunction with the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate General, Lagos, and Centre for the Rule of Law (CENTROLAW), Nigeria, the event with the theme: “Non-violent democratic change,” saw the U.S. Consul General, Jeffrey Hawkins, as Keynote Speaker and Legal luminary, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) as guest speaker.

It was a full house as Hawkins regaled the gathering with the reason for the event and keyed it into the Nigerian situation. Continue reading “When King, Beko preached non-violent change”

February 16, 2015

Nigeria: The men behind the money

By Tolu Ogunlesi in Lagos

Nigerian elections demand big bucks, and many in industry stand to gain. But despite the ostentatious televised giving sprees and cheerleader consortiums, President Jonathan may still find he’s scraping the bottom of the (oil) barrel for the funding he needs.It was the grandest of events even by the standards of Nigerian pomp and ceremony.

More than 200 of the country’s plutocrats and their political friends gathered in the Old Banqueting Hall in the presidential villa at Aso Rock on 20 December to raise funds for the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

They simply can’t afford to take the risk of snubbing the ruling party

The tables were decked out in festive red, green and white – the party’s colours.

At the centre of proceedings were President Goodluck Jonathan, sporting his trademark fedora, and party chairman Adamu Mu’azu in a flowing blue agbada.

Welcoming his guests, Jonathan called the event a “fundraising dinner to help our party”. For good measure, he added: “as you all know, a business-friendly party”.

Such was the interest that national television channels carried a live feed.

As Jerry Gana, a former information minister turned fundraiser-in-chief, worked the room, businessmen and women stepped forward clutching cheques or promises of cash, claiming to rep- resent entire sectors of the economy.

Bola Shagaya, representing a group of oil and gas companies, contributed N5bn ($27m).

Transport and aviation companies added N1bn, while roads and construction, and food and agriculture put in around N500m each.

The single largest donor was the automobile magnate and chairman of Skye Bank Olatunde Ayeni.

“This is the time for us to show that we love our PDP and we love our president,” declared Ayeni.

He went on to announce, on behalf of “myself and my partner”, a donation of N1bn and another N1bn on behalf of “our group of friends”.

At the end of the evening, smiling broadly, Gana announced that N21bn had been raised.

It was a far more ambitious – and successful – outing than the PDP’s first campaign fundraiser in 1999. That raised only N356m, well short of its N500m target.

The bigger ambitions of today’s fundraisers, critics say, point to the huge returns on campaign contributions or political investments.

“In Nigeria today, the only trade you can do that can guarantee better returns than oil and gas and telecoms is politics,” says Jide Ojo, a former programme manager with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems based in Washington DC.

“When you hear of import waivers, fuel subsidy scams, immunity from prosecution – that’s just payback for those who have supported the cause of a [winning] party.”

Was it a coincidence that only a day before the PDP fundraiser the government announced the creation of a special bailout fund to allow power companies to pay off their debts to gas suppliers?

Greed of the ruling class

Debo Adeniran, executive director of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) does not think so. He says that he sees a strong connection between lavish party payoffs and corporate excess.

“Nigerians are being made to pay for the greed of the ruling class through these underhand dealings. All the companies that took money for the fuel subsidy, none have been prosecuted. Nobody is in jail – nobody in court even.”

At the Aso Rock fundraiser, some of the more interesting conversations were off camera.

There was, The Africa Report was told, quiet speculation about whether the PDP – the juggernaut of Nigerian politics since 1999 – could face defeat in the February elections.

Questions were also asked about the absence of some of the corporate glitterati. In the past, Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola and Abdulsamad Rabiu were among the largest donors to the PDP.

In 1999, a relatively unknown Dangote donated a third of the funds raised at a party dinner for Olusegun Obasanjo’s election campaign.

In 2013, Dangote pulled in vice-president Namadi Sambo and petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke to attend the launching in Abuja of his $9bn oil refinery project.

Since then, insiders say, relations have cooled.

Dangote Group adviser Joseph Makoju, who stood in for Dangote at the fundraiser, would not disclose how much the company would contribute but said there were plans for a personal meeting between Dangote and Jonathan.

Dangote is still the richest person in Africa, but his coffers were depleted in recent months as Nigeria’s naira lost value with the fall of global oil prices.

Rabiu, who, like Dangote, hails from the northern commercial hub of Kano, announced a donation of N250m at a campaign fundraiser in October 2010.

Now, he is chairman of the state-owned Bank of Industry, a key position in the array of government financing organisations.

Otedola’s absence provoked the most comment.

Known as the ‘Diesel King,’ Otedola made a fortune from importing diesel at subsidised prices for the tens of millions of generators required because of Nigeria’s chronically unreliable electricity supply.

Although a close friend and supporter of Jonathan for a decade, Otedola is critical of the government’s economic management, according to some associates.

Like many fuel importers, Otedola’s businesses have suffered since the government started cutting fuel subsidies in 2012.

Businesses are simply pragmatic, says a political spin doctor working for Jonathan’s campaign: “Most of the big companies are contributing to the PDP, I can assure you. They simply can’t afford to take the risk of snubbing the ruling party. Of course, I’m fairly sure that many of them will give something to [Muhammadu] Buhari and the All Progressives Congress as a kind of insurance policy.”

Bismarck Rewane, who heads a financial services company in Lagos, says there has been a slowly moving kaleidoscope of financiers, from generals, oligarchs, bankers and state governors to fuel importers.

Bankers say the latest big beneficiaries of the PDP government were those companies that had been awarded oil blocks or concessions to run electricity companies under a privatisation scheme.

But, for now, both businesses are problematic.

Oil companies have been hit by the halving of the world oil price, and many of the new electricity companies have picked up huge debts as snags over tariffs and gas pricing have emerged.

They may need government help as much as the ruling party in government needs them.

Despite Nigeria becoming Africa’s largest economy last year, these twists in the market may force the PDP to be more frugal.

For the first time since 1999, it did not organise costly primary elections to choose its presidential candidate.

Instead, after high-level soundings with party cadres across the country, Jonathan got the candidacy unopposed.

With the presidential nomination over with little fuss and cost, the party barons turned their full attention to building a campaign war chest.

Companies and politicians have formed themselves into rival gangs of cheerleaders, extolling their willingness to contribute to Jonathan’s campaign coffers.

They adopted grandiose titles redolent of patriotic fervour: the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, the Protectors of Nigerian Posterity, the Patriotic Supporters of Good Governance and, more enigmatically, the 2015 Project.

According to one of the many public relations firms hired by the PDP, these fundraising consortia compete to raise the biggest pot of cash and win over the most monied corporate bosses.

Reaching out to more than 60 million voters in 36 states and the federal capital is an expensive business.

The jostling to contribute to Jonathan’s campaign started early last year.

The most prominent group is the Transformation Ambassadors fronted by Ifeanyi Ubah, whose Capital Oil was named in the 2012
fuel subsidy scams.

The Transformation Ambassadors sponsored adverts on state television that earnestly compared Jonathan’s leadership to that of Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela and John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

It also organised nationwide rallies and a drive to get signatures endorsing the president’s bid for a second term.

In September 2014, the group announced that it had collected more than 20m signatures.

Around that time, the ruling party set up a committee to register and screen the almost 7,000 groups it said were supporting Jonathan’s bid.

Oduah’s aviation ovation

The history of the Neighbour To Neighbour (N2N) group shows the links between fundraising and political office.

In 2011, N2N was the best known and most aggressive group backing Jonathan’s presidential ambitions.

It was hugely successful in soliciting massive contributions from state and private companies, mainly due to the forceful personality of Stella Oduah, the brains behind N2N.

Within weeks of Jonathan’s election in May 2011, Oduah was appointed aviation minister, one of the most lucrative fiefdoms in the government.

There she stayed until 2013, when parliamentary pressure over her role in a car procurement scandal forced Jonathan to dismiss her.

After the president, the 36 state governors are the most powerful bloc of politicians, and their spending has risen exponentially since the return to civil rule in 1999.

At a fundraiser for Obasanjo that year, the PDP’s governors contributed N100,000 each.

At the December 2014 dinner, the state governors donated N50m each.

Jonathan’s most vocal supporters include Godswill Akpabio, who is chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and governor of Akwa Ibom State, Jonah Jang of Plateau State and Gabriel Suswam of Benue State.

Governor power

There is a simple quid pro quo between Aso Rock and governors’ offices: they back Jonathan’s campaign and they receive a presidential endorsement for a second term.

Only a few independent spirits such as Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi have broken away from the PDP.

Civic activists argue the political fundraising system has overtones of criminality. CACOL’s Adeniran describes the PDP fundraiser in December as “an exhibition of the high level of insensitivity and moral decadence of the ruling class”.

He adds that the donations might come from illegal financial deals. Such suspicions are backed up by the 2013 report of the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa, which calls political party financing a common means of money laundering in Nigeria.

There have been calls for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate political fundraising, but its spokesman Kayode Idowu says its remit is restricted: “INEC is tracking what the parties are spending so that when they reach the limit we can flag it.”

It is up to the Corporate Affairs Commission to monitor company donations to parties, he adds.

Eze Onyekpere of the Centre for Social Justice in Abuja says INEC and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have failed to punish breaches of the laws on party funding because they lack political will.

Some of the laws seem deliberately ambiguous, too.

Current laws set a limit of N1m for individual donations to a political candidate but no limits on donations to a political party.

They also set a N1bn limit for spending by a single candidate, but there are no limits on what a party can spend.

This might explain the belated announcement by fundraiser Jerry Gana that the N21bn collected during the December dinner at Aso Rock was absolutely not for Jonathan’s election campaign but to pay for the PDP’s new headquarters currently being built by Bouygues of France. ●

SOURCE: The Africa Report.

February 16, 2015

Lawyers, Civil Society Demand Full Investigation

Posted date: February 09, 2015in: NEWS No Comments

everal lawyers and civil society activists have urged the Nigeria government to embark on a thorough investigation of the audio recording revealing how some Peoples’ Democratic Party chieftains connived with security agencies to rig the gubernatorial election in Ekiti State.

At the meeting, as evidenced by the recording, prominent officials of the PDP were heard discussing strategies for rigging the 2014 Ekiti governorship election, a poll in which the party eventually won by a landslide.

But some of the actors, including Musiliu Obanikoro, a former Defence Minister, and Ayo Fayose, who defeated the incumbent governor, denied being a party to the plot to rig the election and questioned the authenticity of the recording.

Despite their denials, the Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, who also attended the meeting, confirmed Sunday that the tape was authentic.

He however disagreed with the context of the discussion, saying the meeting was never about plans to rig the Ekiti State election.

Speaking in separate interviews on Monday, lawyers and activists said they were convinced the recording, which was leaked by Sagir Koli, a Captain in the Nigerian Army, is authentic.

Debo Adeniran, Executive Director of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, said he believed the incident actually took place.

“When people do such things, they normally do it in secrecy with a view to denying it when they are busted. Which is what Obanikoro and Fayose have done,” said Mr. Adeniran.

“But that will not deny the fact that the voices and mannerisms were for those whose voices were recorded, especially Obanikoro and Fayose. Their denial should not be taken as final. They should be tested in a court of competent jurisdiction so that at the end of the day people should not force themselves on the citizens.”

Mr. Adeniran urged the relevant authorities not to sweep the matter under the carpet, noting that the incident “portends a great danger for the future of Nigeria.”

“A democracy whereby people can stage a coup and get away with it. This time around, the police and DSS (Department of State Security) should promptly arrest those ones not covered by immunity, extract more information from them, and charge them to court. Those in the military should be made to face a court martial.

“If it is true that the election in Ekiti State was rigged, because the governor had no reason to win it in the first place, the situation should be reversed and impeachment proceedings instituted against the governor.”

In addition to Messrs Obanikoro and Fayose, others who participated in the alleged rigging plot include Iyiola Omisore, a former PDP gubernatorial candidate in Osun State, and Aliyu Momoh, a Brigadier General, among others.

Festus Keyamo, a human rights lawyer, said that the leaked tape was not meant for entertainment.

“That incident that was recorded is an incident that touches and goes to the very root of our democracy. It’s a tape that will dictate the survival of our democracy or otherwise.”

Mr. Keyamo called for a thorough investigation of all the dramatist personae involved, including the officer who recorded the conversation, and for the findings to be made public.

“Whoever is found culpable must be punished. The matter must not start and die with the denial of the people involved. There must be a thorough criminal investigation.”

Another human rights lawyer, Ebun Adegboruwa, however, said that the release of the audio recording was belated and therefore no longer useful to the Election Petitions Tribunal.

“I believe that the responsibility is on the person making the allegation to make himself available for investigation,” said Mr. Adegboruwa.

“Why did he wait until judgment was delivered at the (Election Petitions) tribunal? Having waited for the tribunal process to be completed it is of no relevance to the judicial process.

“It can’t be used for appeal because the Court of Appeal is not a court of evidence. It only reviews the judgment delivered by a lower court, you can’t smuggle in evidence at that stage.”

Mr. Adegboruwa also called for the arrest of those involved in the incident.

“If these allegations are true, it casts a shadow on the integrity of this government and that of the electoral process. I suspect that there may be more to it than meets the eye.”

In his reaction, Chino Obiagwu, National Coordinator, Legal Defence and Assistance Project, LEDAP, said that the development has justified calls for the setting up of an independent Electoral Offences Commission.

This Commission will be saddled specifically with the task of investigating incidents such as the one in the leaked audio tape, according to Mr. Obiagwu.

“If the meeting held, then all those involved must be prosecuted effectively such investigations should be the basis to annul that election for reason of premeditated interference and a use of power in the process.

“Only an independent prosecuting agency can handle it.”

SOURCE: Newsday

February 13, 2015

Activists remember Beko Ransome-Kuti

Posted: 7:22 am, February 11, 2015 by admin

Beko Rights Klub

Lagos – Mr. Debo Adeniran, the convener of Beko Rights Klub (BRK) yesterday described the late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti as a dedicated and committed icon who dedicated his life to the emancipation of Nigerian masses.
Adeniran spoke at the 9th Annual Beko Memorial Anniversary, organised by the Klub in collaboration with the Coalition against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) in Lagos.
The event was tagged: “Using Electoral Process as a Veritable Tool for Socio-Political Revolution in Nigeria.”
The late human rights activist died on February 10, 2006.
Adeniran, who is also the Chairman of CACOL, said that the late Beko died struggling to create an egalitarian society for all.
“The Nigeria that we have today is a Nigeria that we need to repair; we are not going to relent until we reengineer the Nigeria that we want.
“We are here again to remember the icon of our struggle, that courageous human being whose entire life was dedicated to the emancipation of Nigerian masses from enslavement.
“We will always be here to remember our hero until Nigeria of Beko’s dream comes to life,” he said.
According to him, Beko wanted a good society, good governance and a system without impunity, a system where justice prevails and where everybody is important.
Adeniran urged voters to use their ballots to elect good leaders in the nation.
Mr. Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, an activist and legal practitioner, said that the current political structure compelled people to two alternatives.
Olumide-Fusika said that Nigerians should use their strength and energy to usher in the kind of government they desire and which would implement masses-oriented programmes.
Mr. Bunmi Odeniyi, an activist and legal practitioner, said that the Nigerian masses had power in their hands in form of their votes.
“Power is in our hands, it is the masses that will determine who rule over us, let’s start organising ourselves,” he said.
Odeniyi said that Beko lived for the masses to create a better democratic environment for the common man.
Some activists, as part of the memorial, went in a procession from Obalende to the Ikoyi Cemetery in Lagos Island, where they laid wreaths at the graveside of the late Beko.

SOURCE: Nigerian Observer.

February 12, 2015

CACOL urges Nigerians to reject bad leadership

By Chukwudi Nweje

Acting Features Editor

The Nigerian electorate have been charged to use their votes to bring about the needed revolution that would put the county back on the path of growth.

Debo Adeniran, the executive chairman, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) gave the advice at the memorial anniversary for the late activist, Dr. Bekolari Ransome-Kuti, put together by the Beko Right Klub (BRK) on Tuesday in Lagos.

While condemning the postponement of the general elections earlier scheduled to begin this Saturday, he faulted the engagement of the military in operations in the North East which was adduced as one of the main reasons for shifting the polls. The polls were shifted by six weeks because the military said the ongoing operation in the North East would make it impossible for them to provide security during the polls. Continue reading “CACOL urges Nigerians to reject bad leadership”

February 12, 2015

Postponement of polls and security concerns

By Chukwudi Nweje / Acting Features Editor

The 2015 general elections earlier scheduled for February 14 and 28 for the Presidential and National Assembly polls have finally been postponed to March 28 and April 11 respectively. In postponing the polls by six weeks on Saturday, Independent National Electoral commission (INEC) chairman, Prof.

Attahiru Jega had insisted that “INEC is substantially ready for the general elections as scheduled, despite discernible challenges being encountered with some of its processes like the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) by registered members of the public… In the delivery and deployment of electoral materials, INEC is also at a comfort level in its readiness for the general elections as scheduled. The Commission’s preparations are not yet perfect or fully accomplished. But our level of preparedness, despite a few challenges, is sufficient to conduct free, fair and credible elections as scheduled on February 14th and February 28th… our processes are today better refined, more robust and therefore capable of delivering even better elections.”

According to Jega INEC is an Election Management Body and not a security agency. “It relies on the security services to provide a safe environment for personnel, voters, election observers and election materials to conduct elections wherever it deploys. Where the security services strongly advise otherwise, it would be unconscionable of the Commission to deploy personnel and call voters out in such a situation… Continue reading “Postponement of polls and security concerns”

February 5, 2015

Nigeria: Omonigho – Fresh Controversy Brews Between Govt, NGO

By Chukwudi NwejeIt was mixed reactions when Omonigho Abraham, the four year old boy who was attacked by dogs in the Igando area of Lagos State late last year came back to the country from India, where he was taken for repair surgery. For the family and friends of Omonigho, it was a time of celebration and thanksgiving as the four year old had overcome all the immediate threats emanating from the dogs attack on him.

Baby Omonigho was attacked by two dogs in their house on Adegboyega Street, Akesan Estate while he played with his brothers- Osemudiamen and Bobby. It had been reported that the dogs chased the victim and his two brothers as they took turns riding a bicycle in their compound. However, while Omonigho’s two elder brothers escaped, the dogs reportedly pounced on the four year old, eating off part of his scalp. The reports had it that that policemen and residents who rushed to the scene had stood and watched, perhaps in fear of the big dogs until the boy’s mother arrived, fought off the dogs and rescued her son.

Omonigho was taken to Igando General Hospital from where he was transferred to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital because of the severity of the attack. It would also be recalled that when the news broke out, the Lagos State Government had promised and issued a statement to the effect that it would foot all the medical expenses of the child.

However, the boy’s stay at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, was marred by complaints of neglect until his father, Mr. Odia Abraham raised an alarm that the poor boy’s condition was worsening because doctors were not attending to him despite the governor’s directive.

It was at this point that the Child Help in Legal Defence of Rights to Education in Nigeria (CHILDREN) Project, a developmental non-profit, non-governmental organisation (NGO), which specialises in cases affecting women and children wrote a letter to Governor Babatunde Fashola on the 3rd of November, 2014 asking him to compel LASUTH to do the needful on the boy.

Shortly afterwards in December, the boy’s father had announced that the Delta State Government and a non-governmental organization, Global Initiative for Peace, Love and Care had concluded plans to fly his son to India. Also a reported alternative plan by the Lagos State Government was turned down by the victim’s family, who said the India travel plan had already been concluded. Then finally on November 28, 2014 Omonigho departed for India despite concerns raised by the Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Mr. Jide Idris that his condition was delicate and needed special attention.

Omonigho has come back from India in high spirit but a bitter altercation may be brewing between the Lagos State Government and CHILDREN Project. The NGO has condemned what it called “the lackadaisical attitude of the Lagos State Government and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to children health care cases in the state.”

Debo Adeniran, National Coordinator of the CHILDREN Project said the actions of the Lagos State Government regarding Omonigho is a repeat of the case of Master Sodiq Adeleke, a former student of Lagos Model College, Meiran, who was reported to have got burnt in his right hand while he was serving as the ‘Torch of Unity’ during his school’s Inter-House Sports sometimes in December, 2012.

Adeniran said that in that particular case, the CHILDREN Project had equally informed the Lagos State Government which also promptly directed LASUTH to treat the boy on the bill of the state government. Sadly, Adeniran said that Adeleke has yet to be treated more than two years after.

“For the avoidance of doubt, there are other cases that had been pending even before the baby Omonigho’s case. For instance is the case of a teenager, Master Sodiq Adeleke, a former student of Lagos Model College, Meiran, who got his right hand burnt while he was bearing the ‘Torch of Unity’ during his school’s Inter-House Sports sometimes in December, 2012 and in whose case we informed the Lagos State Government who promptly intervened by directing the boy to be treated at LASUTH on the bill of the state government. Sadly up till now, Sodiq Adeleke is yet to be operated upon as prescribed while the injury on the poor boy’s burnt hand keeps festering; a development that is capable of rendering the affected hand permanently dysfunctional.”

He said that CHILDREN Project written the Lagos State Governor even after Baby Omonigho was taken to India as well as reminded it of the yet to be fulfilled promise made to Sodiq Adeleke “so that the case would not be prolonged any further. The Lagos State Government promised to get back to us, which they have not till date.”

CHILDREN Project believes that this negligence on the part of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in these two cases is uncalled for, noting that Omonigho’s transportation to India for treatment and his return within three weeks is less than the period of time that “LASUTH used in delaying. Children of such age are supposed to be entitled to good health care delivery that will be administered free of charge” the group stated.

He added: “CHILDREN Project frowns at this unwholesome attitude of the Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) which can be viewed, as not only a sheer of display of lack of respect to life, but also to the office of the Governor. We also want to be sound that the owner of the dogs that bite Baby Omonigho should be appositely prosecuted of whatever crime he might have committed.

Efforts to get the Lagos State Government, and authorities at LASUTH to react to the allegations raised by CHILDREN Project were unsuccessful as at the time of filing this report.

SOURCE: Daily Independent.

February 4, 2015

Poll postponement: APC, others seek UN, EU pressure on Jonathan

February 1, 2015 by NIYI ODEBODE, JOHN ALECHENU, OLUSOLA FABIYI, FRIDAY OLOKOR, Bayo Akinloye and Tobi Aworinde 48 Comments

National Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Lai Mohammed

Opposition parties, including the All Progressives Congress, are presently perfecting strategies to resist any attempt by the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Federal Government to shift the February general elections

Top on the game plan of the parties is to reach out to the international community to mount pressure on the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration not to shift the elections.

Another option the parties are exploring is to approach the courts to seek an injunction that will stop anyone from delaying the polls though INEC had said it was not contemplating a postponement of the elections slated for February 14 and 28.

Already, the United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, had at a meeting with the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and the APC last week, advised that the elections should hold as scheduled.

Kerry’s position was coming after the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), had last week advised INEC to postpone the elections to allow more people to collect their Permanent Voter Cards.

Speaking with one of our correspondents, the APC confirmed that it was discussing with Western nations on the growing calls for election postponement in Nigeria.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Lai Mohammed, said those pushing for the elections to be shifted were also seeking to instigate the National Youth Service Corps members who would serve as part of the ad-hoc staff for INEC during the polls to refuse to participate.

APC however vowed to resist any attempt by the ruling party to postpone the general elections.

Mohammed, who spoke in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, in Abuja on Friday said the party would leave nothing to chance.

He said, “We are aware that they have plans that by next week, they will send people to start demonstrating, asking for the postponement of the February elections.

“I can assure you that we also have our counter measures. Our major strategy is to appeal to the international community that this man (President Jonathan) must not postpone the elections.

“All the arguments that the elections be postponed because of the PVC are not correct. It is not lack of collection and if the government is sincere, it should declare two or three days’ holiday for people to go and collect their PVCs.”

Similarly, the Executive Director of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Mr. Adetokunbo Mumuni, called on the United Nations, European Union, African Union and ECOWAS to put pressure on Jonathan for the sake of the country’s peace and stability.

Noting that the world had become a global village, Mumuni said the idea of one man steering the internal affairs of a country was a philosophy of ancient times.

He said, “The problem I see in the postponement of the elections is the chaos that will arise from it. Remember, one of every four Africans is a Nigerian. If there is any problem in Nigeria, no one African country can contain us. That is why I believe that foreign bodies should continue to put pressure on the Nigerian government and President for him to give the assurance that the elections will go on as scheduled.

“They need to persuade him to come out and issue a public statement that these elections will not be postponed. There are various agencies under the United Nations that are concerned with these issues-democracy, civil and political rights. They should move through the UN to ensure the INEC timetable is maintained.

“There are European countries who are also interested in democracy and the stability of the Nigerian state. There are even bodies in West Africa, bodies under ECOWAS, and under the African Union that have mandates similar to what is happening now. They should speak up now so that chaos is not created in Nigeria.”

Also, the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party in Oyo State, Sunday Adelaja, has said that the postponement of the general election, as being rumoured in some quarters, will throw Nigeria backward.

Adelaja, who spoke with our correspondent in Ibadan on Saturday, said “If we have to call on the international community to ensure the election goes ahead, I see nothing wrong in that. But it should not get to that level if we actually love this country. If we want Nigeria to progress, no one should think of postponing the election.”

Similarly, the Executive Chairman of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said his organisation is ready to petition world bodies.

He said, “Anyone calling for the postponement of the election should be charged with treason.

“We will not hesitate to call on the UN, United Kingdom and ECOWAS to prevail on INEC not to delay the poll.”

Also, the Inter-Party Advisory Council, comprising all registered political parties, said the group would not take the postponement of the elections lightly.

The IPAC Chairman, Dr. Tanko Yunusa, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, said the council had not received any communication from INEC on the preparations for the elections.

But the Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, in a swift reaction in Abuja debunked allegations that the Presidency and the PDP were involved in schemes to postpone the elections.

SOURCE: The Punch.

February 2, 2015

Who is afraid of the presidential debate?

By Chukwudi Nweje Acting Features Editor

As the February elections campaigns intensify, it seems Nigerians will be denied the opportunity of watching and listening to the two leading presidential candidates of the main political parties, President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, engage each other in a robust debate on the real issues affecting the country and how they intend to address them. This will be opposed to the ongoing presidential campaigns that have centred mostly on mudslinging and names calling. The Presidential Debate would have offered the candidates opportunity to address some of the real issues like the economy, mass unemployment, insecurity and infrastructure deficit among others.

That will however not be. The APC has said it will not participate in the proposed electioneering public debates on national television and radio being organised by the Broadcast Organisation of Nigeria (BON). The party has accused key organisers of the programme of unhidden bias and campaign of calumny against the corporate political interest of the party and its candidates. The Director Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO), Garba Shehu, said in a statement on Thursday in Abuja that the Nigeria Election Debate Group (NEDG) that would power the debate was fraught with fundamental errors from the outset, by wearing the toga of government control, especially being composed mainly of agencies and allies of the PDP. Continue reading “Who is afraid of the presidential debate?”