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Jonathan gives scorecard, faults assessment of his ministers

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday in Abuja said that while assessing his government, he had discovered that a number of comments of his critics were 'based on heartbeats and not any visible criteria', as he implored Nigerians to assess his administration based on individual scorecards.

Jonathan said this while presenting the mid-term report of his four-year Transformation Agenda.

He specifically referred to an assessment done by a national newspaper which scored the Minister of National Planning and the Minister of Trade and Investment an average in terms of performance.

Jonathan said contrary to that assessment, the performances of the two ministers remained the best among the three ministers that had so far been in charge of those ministries under his leadership.

On the Ministry of Trade and Investment, the President said because of the hard work of Dr. Olusegun Aganga, foreign investors had been investing heavily in the country despite the security challenges facing the nation and that until Usman came on board, the Ministry of National Planning had remained relatively not in existence.

Sambo had earlier in his welcome remarks said all members of the Jonathan administration were united in their aspiration to transform Nigeria to a nation that would be respected worldwide.

He said the Democracy Day was not all about a public holiday but a day to look inwards and give account of stewardship, adding that was why the administration was using the opportunity to give account of its actions to the nation that gave them the mandate to serve.

Sambo urged all Nigerians to join hands to build a nation that would fulfil the promise of the past and work for the good of the present and the future generation.

He said constitutional and moral burdens were on all of them in government to uphold democratic tenets.

He said, 'To whom much is given, much is expected. We are grateful to the nation for the mandate we received from the freest and fairest election in recent time. The transformation agenda is decided on those things that should be done to reposition the country. In the last two years, we have pursued a resolute course to widen the political space.

'Our public institutions are being rebuilt. The National Assembly is very vibrant, the judiciary is truly independent. There is a general onsensus that democracy and government in Nigeria are getting better. We have laid a foundation of change in the last two years.

'In the face of unprecedented security challenges, the challenges call for caution from all of us. Nobody should make political capital on the issue. We seek your support and honest counsel in the areas we can improve upon. A bright future beckons on this land and its people. We assure generations unborn of a nation that will meet their needs.'

Anyim said the mid-term report presented by the President provided verifiable achievements of his administration.

He said the administration had protected the rights of citizens and the rule of law in its two years of existence.

He scored the administration high in the expansion of civic space, entrenchment of checks and balances, sanitisation of electoral process, federal character in appointments and anti-corruption fight, among others.

Okonjo-Iweala, on her part, said the administration's transformation agenda had been tailored towards addressing some of the nation's problems, including insufficient jobs, rising debt, high recurrent expenditure and falling reserves, among others.

She said in its two years, the administration had made the economy strong, exchange rate stable, and reduced inflation to 9.1 per cent from 12.4 per cent in May 2011.

The minister said the  Federal Government had started retiring its past debts and changed waiver and tariff policies from focusing on individuals alone to the entire sector.

She added that the government hired 50 forensic auditors to probe the fraud in the fuel subsidy regime, adding that sanity had so far been restored to the system.

She said following the audit, N14bn had been recovered out of the N234bn diverted funds while oil marketers had been reduced to 32, making it easier for government to monitor them.

'The contributory pension scheme is sound and it is being reformed to prevent fraud. Nigeria's credit rating has improved. International investors are investing more in Nigeria. Our banks are strong and the stock market is also strong with stock exchange index rising to 71 per cent,' she said.

Okonjo-Iweala said the administration had done well in the areas of rail rehabilitation, inland ports construction and the overhauling of airports.

The Founder/President, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Rev. Jesse Jackson, observed that leadership was not just about winning elections but about transforming the people.

He urged Nigeria to continue to deepen its democracy because the nation mattered to the international community.

He urged Nigerian leaders and followers to dream big about the nation, saying their resources must unite and not divide them.

'Nigeria must deepen democracy. Nigeria matters. In peacekeeping around the world, Nigeria matters. Dream, keep dreaming big. Dream Nigeria. Dream of one Nigeria,' he said.

Construction of Lagos-Ibadan rail to commence soon

The contract for the construction of  Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge double track has been awarded and the construction will soon  commence, Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, has said.

According to Umar, the government is currently carrying out necessary feasibility studies to create seven additional standard gauge lines in the country.

He said the  studies were expected to be completed by September this year after which the result would be advertised for potential investors for their development under the public private partnership.

Umar spoke during the inauguration of  the board of directors of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), headed by former national secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Kau Baraje in Abuja,.

He said  that efforts were on to ensure that the rehabilitation of the railway line from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri is completed this year.

He noted that the construction of Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri and Abuja-Kaduna are to completed and commissioned by next year.

The minister disclosed that the law establishing the Nigerian Railway Corporation is currently undergoing review with the aim of ensuring private sector, state and local government  participation in the rail transport sector.

Kano: JTF arrests foreigners, uncovers missiles, grenades

Operatives of Joint Task Force  on Tuesday night raided a warehouse at Gaya road of Bompai in Kano city where it found sophisticated military hardware.

The JTF  troops were said to have stormed the house following a tip off by a suspect who is under investigation.

Four foreign nationals, suspected to have hailed from Middle East, were arrested in the operation. Owner of the warehouse, who was identified as a Lebanese national, was among those arrested by the JTF, who put the  building  under surveillance.

Items said to have been recovered from the warehouse  included 40 air-to-surface missiles, 50 cluster bombs, 200 rocket-propel launchers, eight AK-47 rifles, 200 military hand grenades and some military hardware capable of destroying  Armoured Personnel Carriers.

The items  were said to have been carried away  to the headquarters of the 3rd Motorised Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Kano, alongside the foreign nationals.

Eyewitnesses estimated the number of  AK-47 riffles  evacuated from the scene at over 300.

Spokesman for the JTF Captain Ikedichi Iweha, promised to brief newsmen later on the issue, even as he declined comment on the incident, which occurred on Tuesday night.

'You would get the details tomorrow (Thursday) because of the Democracy Day celebration. We have resolved to talk to you after the break,' he said.

According to him, as a result of the Democracy Day celebration, security was fortified in the commercial city of Kano, with increased vehicular patrols by the military, JTF operatives and the police, as part of the measures to sustain relative peace in the city.

Governor Rochas Okorocha Sustains Head Injury In Car Accident

The convoy of the Governor of Imo State; Mr Rochas Okorocha has been involved in a head-on collision in Orlu local government area of the state and the governor sustained minor head injuries.

The Governor was on a scheduled inspection tour to some state projects in the area when the accident occurred.

A statement signed by the media aide to the Governor; Ebere Ozoukwa, stated that the Governor’s convoy was involved in the accident in Orlu town in Orlu Local government area of the state. According to Mr Ozoukwa, “the governor sustained a minor injury which is a minor cut on his head but he is presently in a good and stable condition and has been attended to by medical personnel.”

The statement advised the general public especially Imo citizens not to “panic and should go about with their normal duties since the Governor is in a good and stable condition and responding to necessary treatment.”

Constitution: Nigerians reject rotational presidency, immunity, state police

National Assembly building, Abuja
| credits: original

Nigerians have rejected the inclusion of rotational presidency, immunity for the President and governors as well as state police in the ongoing amendments to the 1999 Constitution.

They also kicked against the clamour for resource control by oil producing communities and the call to raise the derivation principle from the current 13 per cent to 20 per cent.

These views were in the collated results of their views on the amendment, made public by the House of Representatives in Abuja on Thursday.

The results came from the People’s Public Sessions conducted in the 360 Federal Constituencies on November 10, 2012 by its Ad-Hoc Committee on Constitution Review.

The committee, headed by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, produced a 43-item template for the public sessions, drawn from the memoranda submitted to it by many individuals and interest groups in the country.

According to the results, Nigerians neither want the presidency to rotate between the North and the South nor between the six geopolitical zones.

On a question, “Should a provision be inserted in the constitution for the rotation of the Office of the President between the Northern and Southern parts of the country”, 80  constituencies voted ‘Yes’, while 275 voted ‘No’. Five were undecided, making 360.

Similarly, 147 constituencies supported the rotation of the office between the six geopolitical zones, while the majority of 210 opposed it. Three constituencies were undecided on the issue.

At the state level, the results indicated that Nigerians did not want the office of governor to rotate between the three senatorial districts either. One hundred and eight-one constituencies voted against the proposal, while 175 supported it. Four constituencies were undecided.

 However, they supported retaining the present two-term tenure of four years for president and governors in the constitution.

They also rejected immunity for the President, Vice-President and Governors when it relates to criminal offences.

However, they backed immunity for the affected political office-holders on matters relating to “civil proceedings while in office”.

Two hundred and twenty-five constituencies supported amending Section 308 of the constitution to allow immunity to cover “only civil proceedings”, while 132 opposed it.

Nigerians also rejected the contentious issue of state police, according to the results.

The majority of 307 constituencies kicked against amending Section 214 (1) of the constitution to establish state police. Fifty-three constituencies supported state police.

On resource control, voters rejected a proposal to “implement the practice of federalism that allows states to control up to 50 per cent of their resources and pay the remainder to the Federation”.

While 123 constituencies supported resource control, the majority of 236 constituencies opposed it. Five others were undecided.

Other contentious issues voted on included financial autonomy for local government councils, independent candidature, voting rights for Nigerians in the Diaspora and parliamentary versus presidential system of government.

At the presentation ceremonies on Thursday, the Speaker of the House, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, promised Nigerians that they would respect their views while considering the results.

 He stated that the review process would continue to be “transparent”, adding that the House was open to criticisms and further suggestions.

Anambra 2013: Parties come alive to replace Obi

Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi

As the campaigns for 2013 governorship election begin to take shape, EMMANUEL OBE, captures the mood among contending political parties and candidates jostling to replace Governor Peter Obi

Things are beginning to look up in the political firmament of Anambra State as political parties and candidates get set to present themselves for the governorship election tentatively slated for either November or December.

Events in the state in the past week have indicated that it is not going to be an easy ride for any of the parties or candidates. Before now, the arena was calm and quiet.

 The three leading political parties in the state — All Progressives Grand Alliance, Action Congress of Nigeria and the Peoples Democratic Party — also witnessed developments that have left pundits guessing.

Positive signals seem to be coming more from the Peoples Democratic Party, which literarily went into coma due to a vicious factional wrangling which gripped it after it lost the governorship seat to APGA 10 years ago.

In a well-attended rally at Emmaus House, Awka, the major factions of the PDP came together under the chairmanship of Mr. Kenneth Emeakayi, and constituted a harmonisation committee, made up of representatives of the major factions, as directed by the National Working Committee of the party.

The party has since gone to the wards to conduct a fresh registration of its members. Given the huge following the party enjoys in the state as well as the clout of its leaders, PDP could spring a surprise if the current momentum is maintained.

The big names have started stepping out. Nicholas Ukachukwu, a veteran of the governorship race since 2003, and a candidate with a deep pocket, has opened a high-profile campaign office along the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway. Senator Andy Uba, who, in the guise of constituency visits, has been subtly campaigning, is also among the contenders. President Goodluck Jonathan’s Special Assistant on Technical Matters, Chief Akachukwu Nwankpu, who oversees the SURE-P scheme, has also been campaigning for the governorship seat. Dr. Obinna Uzoh, who has inaugurated a charity foundation, is among the party’s aspirants. The list that also has Dr. Alex Obiogbolu, Senator Emma Anosike and a lot of others is growing with each passing day.

Something fresh is also coming out of the Action Congress of Nigeria which is neck deep in a proposed merger with some opposition parties. The prime mover of the party in Anambra State, Senator Chris Ngige, who had during the Christmas season, given an indication that he would use the Easter break to make pronouncements about his political plans went taciturn during the season.

Instead of the news about Ngige’s declaration for the governorship, the posters and billboards coming out in the name of ACN are those of Mr. Godwin Ezeemo, the publisher and Philanthropist, who recently built and handed a brand new NUJ Press Centre to the Anambra State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.

In the past, Ngige had served as the party’s sole governorship candidate.

If Ezeemo is stepping out, chances are that he has the backing of Ngige, who might have decided to hold on to his seat in the Senate, and not bother about the money guzzling race for Government House.

However, the main focus is on the All Progressives Grand Alliance, which before now appeared to be well favoured to carry the day in any election before it was thrown off balance by a self-inflicted crisis that is widening its divisions.

With the crisis that exist in the PDP and the total control of the ACN by Ngige, the next party that could provide candidates with a solid platform is APGA. The case for APGA is strong because the incumbent, Peter Obi, having served his two terms in office, is no longer eligible to contest and would therefore pose little problem to candidates seeking a fresh mandate.

The popular choice of APGA could be seen from the manner many aspirants have been jostling to catch the attention of the governor, who however made it clear that his choice of a successor would come from the less privileged senatorial zone, Anambra North, that has not produced a governor since the state was created in 1991.

The nestling around Obi was largely informed by the fact that he had yet to name a successor, thereby leaving the contest open. Many political observers in the state believe that Obi’s quarrel with Umeh was due to Umeh’s frolicking with multi-billionaire petroleum products marketer, Ifeanyi Ubah, who though hails from Anambra South, has insisted on running for the governorship against Obi’s declared position.

The quarrel between Obi and Umeh, who had all along forged a united front, has taken a huge toll on the party, which, only a few months ago, appeared to be the strongest party in the state. The refusal of any of the parties to back down has not helped matters.

Parading the powers and money that go with his office, Obi had borne the burden of ensuring that Umeh was kicked out of APGA, at a time when his brother governor from Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, had boxed himself into a critical situation by declaring for the yet to be registered All Progressives Congress, without as much as carrying his party men along.

The removal of Umeh by an Enugu High Court however provided the needed fillip for Obi and his faction of the APGA, who proceeded to take over the national leadership of the party.

They were already feeling home and dry when the Court of Appeal, Enugu, came out like a bolt from the blue, declaring that Umeh should continue to hold onto his office until his appeal is tried and dismissed. That appeal court ruling technically put paid to all the efforts that culminated in the election of a NWC of APGA led by Chief Maxi Okwu, and placed Obi’s faction in jeopardy.

From the look of things, both factions of APGA might just spend the rest of the party’s election year slugging it out in court to the detriment of their chances at the poll.

With virtually every other APGA national officer having crossed over to the Obi faction, leaving behind Umeh and his national secretary, Alhaji Sani Shinkafi, on the other side, it appears that APGA’s political travail just begins in Anambra State.

 But Umeh can fall back on the support of the Anambra State Executive Committee led by Chief Mike Kwentoh, who was purportedly removed from office by the Obi faction two days before the national convention that produced Okwu as national chairman. Another loyalist of Umeh is Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, the leader of the APGA caucus in the House of Representatives.

Ekwunife parted ways with Obi when her governorship ambition clashed with Obi’s insistence that APGA would entertain only aspirants from Anambra North Senatorial Zone. Ekwunife, who like Obi, comes from Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, says inasmuch as she is not opposed to  zoning as a formula for picking candidates for the party, the issue has not been previously discussed. Even at that, she says if zoning is going to be adopted; it should start alphabetically, with Anambra Central, her senatorial zone,  taking the first slot.

The crisis seems to have touched raw nerves in the South East where the Igbo-speaking people, irrespective of party affiliation, consider the party as their own, which they can always fall back on when they cannot find accommodation in other national parties.

But Dr. Okey Umeano, the Anambra State Chairman and governorship aspirant of the United Peoples Party, says there is no need to cry over the crisis in APGA as UPP has come to give the people of the South East a voice. UPP was founded by Chief Chekwas Okorie, the founding chairman of APGA. Umeano, a former member of the House of Representatives, was the founding chairman of APGA in Anambra State.

It would seem that the smaller parties would as usual be waiting in the wings to profit from the fallouts of the rough games that will play out in the big parties. The  PPN, ADC, Labour Party and ANPP have also been renovating their secretariats preparatory to the elections.

 In the meantime, the Obi camp appears yet undecided on who to back for the governorship. Several of his aides are jostling for the position including the current Secretary  to the State Government, Mr. Oseloka Obaze; his brother, Dubem, who is the immediate past Commissioner for Local Government; and the immediate past Secretary to the State Government, Chief Paul Odenigbo. Callistus Ilozumba, who has served as the Commissioner for Works in the last seven years, has been going round churches requesting the people to pray for a governor that will build on the records of Governor Obi.