Chichi & friends002

Chichi & friends002, originally uploaded by helen ogbu.

AFRICAN LADIES AT THE PRESENTATION SCHOOL, GALWAY INTERNATIONAL DAY.

NAIJA NEWS: June 6-June 9

''Genital mutilation leads to more child birth deaths''

A new Australian study has shows female genital mutilation leads to an increased risk of death in newborn babies. The study has been published in medical journal, The Lancet, and involved more than 28,000 women in six African countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan. The author of the study, Australian National University Associate Professor Emily Banks, says the procedure causes an extra one to two deaths per 100 deliveries. Professor Banks says the study's results are being used in campaigns to try to stamp out the practice. "What we're seeing here is something that's happening during labour, so I think it's fair to say that there's something about women who've had female genital mutilation that means that their labours don't go as well and their babies are more likely to be distressed and they're more likely to die," she said. Professor Banks says it is the most reliable study on the topic to date. "There was quite a lot of questions about whether female genital mutilation really did impact on child birth, and now we know that it does," she said.


I N B R I E F

President Olusegun Obasanjo says uninterrupted power supply in the country will be a reality by the end of next year. Power supply has dipped to an all time low with several parts of the country thrown into constant darkness. “We are not resting on our oars...in the past there was no planning, while for 10 years, there was no investment at all in power generation.

Salary arrears for employees of troubled NITEL is to cost the federal government N1.7billion.The employees had gone on strike, distrupting telephony services in the country. “The sum of N1.7billion will be released by the Ministry of Finance, in compliance with the deduction from source policy earlier approved by Mr. President, spokesperson for the Minister of Communications, Akinloye Oyebanji, said. The federal government, ministries and parastatals owe NITEL N5billion out of the over N80billion debt owed it by various agencies and institutions.

The Alliance For Democracy (AD), All Nigerian People's Party (ANPP); Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD); Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and the Progressive Alliance Party are holding merger talks the first of which is taking place in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Key politicians in support of the merger talks include Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Governor Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Governor Orji Kalu and Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.The Peoples National Conference, organised by the Pro-National Conference Organisations, yesterday failed to adopt the report of its Constitution Drafting Committee following a disagreement among the conference delegates. The conference has adjourned till further notice.

The feud between Oyo State governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala, and his deputy, Hazeem Gbolarumi, boiled over yesterday as aides of the duo engaged in fisticuffs to settle their differences.

Nigeria and South Korea yesterday reaffirmed their commitment to a $6 billion (N792 billion) deal on the development of energy and mineral resources in the country. The meeting in Seoul, under the auspices of the first Nigeria-Korea Joint Committee for Energy and Minerals Resources Co-operation, was on how Nigeria's oil, gas and other mineral resources could be better harnessed for the benefit of the two countries. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Edmund Daukoru, led the Nigerian delegation, made up of government and industry officials as well as private sector players. The Korean team was headed by the country's Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy, Chung Sye-Kyun.

About nine local council chairmen in Imo State have now been arrested by the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of fraud. Those arrested include Gerald Irona (Oguta Council), Simeon Iwunze (Isiala Mbano), Nwabueze Oguchienti (Oru West), Raymond Emerenini (Obowo), Samuel Anyanwu (Ikeduru), Emma Ogbenta (Oru East), Charles Okeke (Orsu) and Nobert Agbasi (Njaba). Others who received invitation from the EFCC have gone underground. Some travelled out of the country.Crude oil futures rose 77 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $73.15 per barrel yesterday after hints from Iran that it might use oil production as a weapon in its nuclear dispute with the West. Shares of Caterpillar fell 2.2 percent to $71.20, while GE lost 0.4 percent to $34.52.


Nitel disrupts telephonyservice for 2nd day running

Several thousand workers at state-run telecoms firm Nitel have gone on strike over months of unpaid wages, paralysing telephone service across the country yesterday for a second day. Nitel subscribers and those who use its facilities said they have been unable to make or receive local or international calls since the strike began on Monday. President Olusegun Obasanjo has directed the finance ministry to immediately release 1.7 billion naira ($13m) to offset the salaries of the workers who are owed about four months' pay."The minister of communications, Cornelius Adebayo, has appealed to the workers to go back to work as efforts are being made to pay the salary arrears," spokesperson of the minister, Akinloye Oyebanji said. The federal government is preparing Nitel for privatisation. The nation's privatisation agency said last month that it was hurrying to conclude a negotiated sale of the firm to a preferred investor before the end of June. The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) said it had shortlisted seven prospective investors from the 27 expressions of interest it had received. The shortlist includes Trans-national Corporation/BT, Globacom, Afro Telecommunications Limited/Korean Telecomm, MTC/Celtel International, Investcom, Telkom SA and Etisal. In the past three years, the government has made three botched attempts to sell Nitel (Nigerian Telecommunications Limited). Investors International Limited (IIL) failed to make payments following a bid of $1.317bn, Pentascope failed to meet contract obligations, resulting in cancellation, while Orascom Telecom's bid of $256.53m was rejected by that government as unacceptable. The BPE is in a hurry to sell off Nitel to prevent a loss of value in the company, which might discourage potential investors as its liabilities increase, the BPE said. "In 2003, Nitel liabilities amounted to 73.8 billion naira. In October 2005, liabilities had increased to approximately 130 billion naira (about $1bn), and growing," the BPE said. In 2002, Nitel's mobile subsidiary, M-TEL, had an 11% market share but as of last December, the company's market share had fallen to 5%. Nitel and its subsidiary together have around 1.2 million subscribers while the three private mobile phone operators, who came into operation less than five years ago, have more than 22 million subscribers. Nitel has been a victim of corruption and mismanagement, especially under the military.


U.S. lawmakersays VP made demands

Vice President Atiku Abubakar made financial demands in connection with a business Technology venture in Nigeria by U.S. lawmaker Rep. William Jefferson, according to statements made to an FBI informant that were detailed in court documents filed in a bribery probe of the congressman. Abubakar has denied the allegations. Jefferson allegedly told an FBI informant that he had delivered "African art," which authorities believe was code for cash, to the Potomac, Md., home of Abubakar at midnight last July 31. Details of the alleged deal were included in an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court to secure a warrant to search Abubakar's house in Potomac. The affidavit was unsealed Monday by the federal court in Greenbelt. The affidavit says delivery of the money came shortly after Jefferson allegedly received $100,000 in cash from the FBI informant. That money was supposed to help smooth the way for a Kentucky telecommunications company, iGate Inc., to conduct business in Nigeria. None of the money was delivered to the vice president's home, and his possible role is described only by Jefferson in wiretaps the FBI made. According to another search warrant affidavit for Jefferson's congressional office, filed last month, $90,000 in cash was found in a freezer at Jefferson's Washington home. A briefcase similar to the one Jefferson used to carry the money was found in a later search of his New Orleans home, according to federal court documents filed there. The 39-page affidavit released Monday in Maryland, some sections of which remain sealed, does not mention Abubakar by name. But it does identify the Potomac home as the residence of Jennifer Douglas, Abubakar's wife. It also refers to "the Vice President of Nigeria" when detailing the alleged scheme. Although the search of the Potomac residence was mentioned in documents previously released by the courts, names and titles were redacted to keep them secret.


Obasanjo admits spending from federation account without approval by parliament

President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday admitted in a letter to the House of Representatives that he approved an unauthorised withdrawal of $17.3million from the excess crude funds to meet part of the costs of the 2006 census.

"You would recall that in the initial days, some delays were experienced in conducting the enumeration exercise for the 2006 national population. These delays, which were associated with logistical hitches, resulted in non-coverage of a sizeable population, particularly in rural and remote areas and threatened the success of the exercise. Several state governors contacted me during the period to express their concern about the situation and request my intervention to avert failure'' Obasanjo said in the letter to parliament.

''As no budgetary provision had been made by the government for this supplementary cost, and given the urgency of the situation, I convened an emergency meeting of stakeholders, including the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, to discuss possible funding options." The upper legislative chamber is currently investigating another incident of ''illegal'' withdrawal of $14 billion by the Presidency from the excess crude proceeds, without the approval of the National Assembly.


AIDS Toll May Reach 100 Million in Africa

It began quietly, when a statistical anomaly pointed to a mysterious syndrome that attacked the immune systems of gay men in California. No one imagined 25 years ago that AIDS would become the deadliest epidemic in history. Since June 5, 1981, HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has killed more than 25 million people, infected 40 million others and left a legacy of unspeakable loss, hardship, fear and despair.

Its spread was hastened by ignorance, prejudice, denial and the freedoms of the sexual revolution. Along the way from oddity to pandemic, AIDS changed they way people live and love. Slowed but unchecked, the epidemic's relentless march has established footholds in the world's most populous countries. Advances in medicine and prevention that have made the disease manageable in the developed world haven't reach the rest.

In the worst case, sub-Saharan Africa, it has been devastating. And the next 25 years of AIDS promise to be deadlier than the first. AIDS could kill 31 million people in India and 18 million in China by 2025, according to projections by U.N. population researchers. By then in Africa, where AIDS likely began and where the virus has wrought the most devastation, researchers said the toll could reach 100 million.

I N B R I E F

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Austin Opara yesterday survived an assassination attempt when some assailants threw a bomb into his two-storey home in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Reports said the ensuing blast destroyed two windows in the house. The parliamentarian was not in the house during the incident.

The Chairman of the Nigeria-Cameroon Mixed Commission, Prince Bola Ajibola, yesterday confirmed that Nigeria has handed over thirty villages to Cameroun in accordance with the International Court of Justice judgement.

July crude fell 95 cents, or 1.3%, to $71.65 a barrel in early dealings as traders eyed developments in Iran and Nigeria. "For prices to re-take the $75 level, it will take a palpable worsening of the Iran nuclear affair or a further disruption of Nigerian crude oil," said John Kilduff, an analyst at Fimat USA. Iran's European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana presented proposed incentives to the Iranian government.

And in Nigeria, a militant group freed hostages over the weekend, but threatened more kidnappings, according to news reports.


Militants say killed fivesoldiers in fresh ambushFive foreign oil workers abducted

Militants attacked a Shell-operated oil facility in the Niger Delta yesterday, killing at least five soldiers and kidnapping five South Korean contractors. The attack comes just three days after eight foreign oil workers were released by a different group of kidnappers, and is the latest sign of rising militancy across the oil heartland of the country. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which launched a series of attacks earlier this year that forced the closure of a quarter of Nigerian oil output, threatened strikes on crucial oil facilities in the next few weeks.

MEND said Wednesday's raid was in response to a court decision on Tuesday to deny bail to militant leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, who is on trial for treason. The group had previously cited Asari's release as one of its demands. "We are of the opinion that the government of Nigeria may be interested more in a prisoner exchange rather than releasing the person whose release we have demanded," the group said in an emailed statement. The kidnap of the South Koreans comes after Nigeria awarded companies from South Korea oil exploration rights in return for promises of investment in Nigerian infrastructure.

The abductions coincide with a visit to South Korea by the Minister of State for Petroleum Edmund Daukoru, who is also OPEC president. MEND said it had captured and burned a house boat used by army and police assigned to the protection of the Shell facility, and an unknown number of security forces had been killed in a fierce firefight. The militants then kidnapped the five South Koreans, whom they said had been taken to a MEND base where they were safe and would not be harmed unless the base was attacked.The group said that as the militants left the oil facility, they came under attack from four army boats. The militants said they sunk one of the boats, killing at least five of its six occupants, while the other boats suffered an unknown number of casualties. MEND said one of its fighters was killed. Earlier, a coalition of three militant groups calling itself the Joint Revolutionary Council claimed responsibility for the night-time attack.

The coalition includes MEND. In Seoul, a Foreign Ministry official confirmed that five South Koreans were kidnapped.Three of the South Korean workers are from Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co. and the other two were from Korea Gas Corp., a Foreign Ministry official said. A Korea Gas spokesman said one South Korean employee of the company and another at an affiliated company were taken captive in Nigeria. The workers were testing the operations at a gas plant, the spokesman said. Industry sources said the workers were under contract to Shell in Cawthorne Channel. A Shell spokesman was not immediately available to comment.



Bayelsa oil rig hostage says treated well by militants
A British oil worker is back home four days after he was kidnapped while working on an oil rig in Nigeria. Phillip Morris, from Liverpool, was abducted along with seven others from the drilling rig Bulford Dolphin. Morris said he was treated well by his kidnappers who he said were only trying to publicise their own problems. "They just wanted to work as there is no employment in their village," Morris said.

"They just wanted a chance to compete on an even keel." He was kidnapped along with seven others while on board the rig, which supplies oil to Nigerian company Peak Petroleum. The rig was operated by Aberdeen-based Dolphin Drilling, which employs six of the men who were taken hostage. "There were basically guns being fired into the air and a lot of guys shouting with people being manhandled down the stairs," said Morris, who added that his main thoughts were of survival. President Olusegun Obasanjo had joined in the mediation efforts to free the eight men who were finally released as a result of negotiations brokered by authorities in Bayelsa state.


I N B R I E F

Diamond Bank is to introduce Sunday banking for its customers at its new branch at the Palms Shopping Centre, Lekki, Lagos. The service is to be introduced at some other branches nation-wide. The branch will open from 12 noon to 4 pm every Sunday.

A reconciliation team of the PDP yesterday met with Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his supporters in a bid to mend fences after his public spat with President Olusegun Obasanjo over the third term controversy. Abubakar is believed to be the arrow head of the new political party Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) and is poised to quit the PDP over what analysts say is irreconcilable differences.

The Guardian newspaper reports that North American Airlines will on July 29 begin direct flights from the United States to Nigeria. The paper reports that this detail was disclosed by Nigeria's aviation minister Babalola Borishade. Virgin Nigeria has been embroiled in flight right controversy as the American government had told the airline that it would not fly into the U.S. because the United Kingdom (UK) has refused to sign the open skies agreements with Washington.

President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday admitted the inability of his government in providing basic infrastructure, particularly power supply, water and good roads for Nigerians which he promised in his electioneering campaigns of 1999 and 2003. I must concede that we are not where we would like to be in terms of development. The road to consolidated democracy and economic recovery in our land is still stretched far ahead of us. The state of our infrastructure especially power, roads, and water is still far from what they should be''.

Shell has shut down its Cawthorne Channel gas plant in the eastern Niger Delta following an attack by armed men early Wednesday morning, a company official reporters. "A gang of armed men attacked the plant between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. local time this morning," the official said. "There are reports of casualties but we cannot confirm the numbers now." He said the gas plant has capacity of 150 million cubic feet of gas a day.

Evolving Systems, Inc. a leading provider of software solutions and services to the wireless, wireline and IP carrier markets, and Wireless Trade Nigeria Limited (WTL), a systems integrator and distributor of wireless solutions and related consulting and support services, have entered into a partnership agreement to pursue the growing wireless market in Nigeria. Under the agreement WTL will provide sales support and first-line support and maintenance for Evolving Systems' customers in Africa.

The Tribune newspapers reports that over 11,000 Nigerians have been deported from Libya auhtorities while 23 others have been arrested for various offences ranging from drug trafficking, robbery, prostitution to stealing. Nigerian's envoy to that country Mohammed Ibrahim, says the North African desert has claimed the lives of Nigerian youths who died while trying to cross to Libya and from there to Europe.''About 270,000 Nigerians cross the desert to Libya yearly and 90 per cent of people in Libyan prisons are Nigerians''.

Nigerian carrier Bellview Airlines is to begin replacing its fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft with Airbus A320s from the end of this year. Bellview Airlines managing director Kayo de Odukoya says the aircraft will be leased, with deliveries beginning in the fourth quarter of 2006 and continuing to September next year. The engine type is unclear. The A320s will be used to replace directly the airline’s five Boeing 737-200s and its single 737-300. Odukoya insists that the fleet replacement was already in the airline's plans before the carrier suffered the loss of a Boeing 737 in October last year. Bellview operates primarily from Lagos to destinations in West and Central Africa but also serves a handful of routes in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The carrier's long-haul fleet comprises a pair of Boeing 767s.


Dokubo-Asari's plea leadsto release of foreign hostages

Five South Korean gas workers taken hostage in the Niger Delta on Wednesday were freed in good health yesterday after a plea by the jailed militant leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari in whose name they were abducted 40 hours earlier. Dozens of heavily armed rebels staged a bloody raid on a natural gas plant in the Niger Delta on Wednesday. They had demanded the release of jailed leader Dokubo-Asari in exchange for the Koreans' freedom. "All five Korean prisoners captured by our unit in the attack on the Daewoo camp were released … at the request of Dokubo-Asari," the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), one of three groups involved in the kidnapping, said in an email to media. The five men, employed by Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co. and Korea Gas Corp., walked into a government building in Port Harcourt looking relaxed. "I am very happy to be back. For the moment I will enjoy my freedom," said one of the released men, O.K. Kim. In Seoul, Yonhap News quoted the wife of one of the workers as saying: "I'm so happy and grateful that he's coming back. I won't let him leave South Korea again when he returns." The abduction was the latest incident in a wave of violence against the energy industry in the delta, where militancy is fueled by poverty. Dokubo-Asari, in prison on treason charges, had pleaded for their release in a letter to the militants earlier on Thursday. He said people in his native community where the kidnapping took place were being victimized for holding the Koreans. Several troops, police and militants were killed in two clashes during Wednesday's abduction, when dozens of men armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades attacked the Cawthorne Channel gas installation in speed boats. The delta has about 3,500 oil and gas installations spread across 74,000 sq km of swamp and forest, and military officials say it would be impossible to guard every one all the time.


Residents miffed by 'Occultic' practice in Osborne Phase 1 Estate Ikoyi

How will you react if you woke up in the dead of the night in a posh estate in Lagos to witness a procession of menacing cult members who usually undertake traditional religious sacrifice at a water front? Do you call the police or keep mum.

This is the dilemma some residents of Osborne Phase I Estate in Ikoyi, Lagos, had to contend with. As investigation shows, the practice is widespread in all the Islandcommunities in Lagos...The time is about 3.00 am, and it is the last Saturday of the month. From the precinct of Ibadan Street in the snub value estate on Osborne Phase 1 in Ikoyi, an abode proliferated originally by retired military men but now home to top level professionals, politicians and business-persons, this group of worshipers including men and sometimes women numbering about 20 file out of this posh edifice, most of them wearing white garment, some are in red while some carry unusually fat candles.

A man believed to be the chief priest of what is invariably a cult, along with his members, hum some strange tunes, the sort that sends your blood running cold or you're likely to hear in some cult films in the local home video acts, make their way slowly to the water front area of the estate. Most residents are asleep and are oblivious of the activities that will take place in the ensuing one hour. Peeping through their windows, some residents overawed by the event, watch in befuddlement, and are unable to understand why indeed such event is taking place in their highbrow dwelling. What really is the motivation? Is it prosperity, to avert danger through spiritual prosperity or just religious congregation? This event is not only peculiar to this estate, but is common in Lagos. From the famous Bar Beach shoreline in Victoria Island to Lekki Peninsula and Lagos Island, the outcome of such rituals are visible by the sacrificial objects that are deposited at major road intersections.

At the shoreline where the ritualists eventually terminate their procession, some sacrificial bowls is left behind. On one occasion before the waves washed away the objects, we discovered the following; slaughtered pigeons, a disembowelled dog, naira currency in different denominations, palm oil, boiled eggs, kolanuts, roasted yam, bush rats and fowls. Some residents who have been witnessing this event spoke to Island News on condition of anonymity, but vowed that they will dislodge this cult from continuing this practice in the estate. ''I don't want to name names, but I think I saw some recognisable society figures, businessmen, politicians and surprisingly an evangelist, who normally take part in this event in our estate'' one resident said. ''Most of the participants don't live here and the one who lives here that I saw is a very controversial man who sleeps when others are at work and is active at night. I really don't know what he does for a living. All I can say is that we are worried by this development. I just can't imagine that this sort of thing is taking place where I live. What I saw resembled the initiation of members and I was surprised that some topless so called dignified society women actually took part in this activity. It is a shame.''Ordinarilly, traditional worship is associated with the less previledged in the society.

But this may not be the case. The practice is very common in the nooks and crannies of the Island. Politicians, top civil servants, Imams and pastors and business persons are all involved. Perhaps, this explains why such practice takes place in Ikoyi. Osborne Phase 1 Estate is a new residential dwelling in Ikoyi. The land area was reclaimed from this marsh land and the original beneficiaries were public officers, mainly former military top brass. In recent times, the plots of land were sold to the noveau rich keen on residing in Ikoyi. The built up area is estimated to be about 70% and the completed buildings are a delight to behold. New ones, palatial in size and design, are springing up with quantum equanimity. Work on the estate's infrastructure began about eight years ago.When it is fully developed, there would be about 500 residential houses including block of flats. At present, the population of the estate is estimated at 950 persons. A standard plot of land goes for about N40 million depending on the location and bargaining power of the buyer while a house sells from N75 million and above. A four-bedroom house could be rented for N2.5 million per annum. This abridged version of this report was culled from the latest edition of Island News.


Nigeria replies Gadhafi over Liberia's Charles Taylor

Nigeria's Ambassador to Libya, Mohammed Ibrahim, has defended Nigeria's decision to repatriate former Liberian President Charles Taylor to Liberia for war crimes trial, following the criticism of the action by Libyan leader Moammar Kadhafi. Reacting to a statement credited to Gadhafi that Nigeria betrayed the African continent by handing over Taylor to be tried for war crimes by the UN-backed special tribunal in Sierra Leone, Ibrahim said Nigeria acted in strict compliance with the request of the Liberian President.

"Let me say without any air of ambiguity that what the Nigerian government did concerning Charles Taylor was in strict compliance with the request of Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the new President of Liberia," the local media Thursday quoted Ambassador Ibrahim as saying to a group of Nigerian journalists in Tripoli, Libya. "Indeed, the agreement reached when Taylor was being taken to Nigeria was that if an elected government of Liberia should request for him, he should be promptly released to them. So, I wonder why the Libyan President is making such wild accusations," Ibrahim added. The Ambassador said President Olusegun Obasanjo should be "emulated and appreciated by every black person in the world" for having the courage to do that which is right, "no matter who is involved and irrespective of the circumstances".


I N B R I E F

Stockton City Council in the UK has formally established sister city relations with Asaba, capital of Delta State, the city's seventh such sisterhood. Asaba, a city of about 500,000 people on the western edge of the River Niger, is in some ways similar to Stockton: It is an inland port rich in agriculture. Stockton's other sisters are the merged Japanese cities of Shizuoka and Shimizu; Iloilo, the Philippines; Empalme, Mexico; Foshan, China; Battambang, Cambodia; and Parma, Italy.Most of those seeking to succeed President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2007 are empty barrels Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ahmadu Ali said yesterday. "As the Chairman of the PDP, let me warn that any presidential aspirant who knows that his feet are too small to fit into that of Obasanjo should better reconsider running because Nigerians will accept nothing short of what Obasanjo has given. We have a lot of empty barrels parading the airwaves with no concrete policy for the future of this country. Nigeria will have no more of those kind of people." Seven top members of the PDP have so far indicated interest in the 2007 Presidential elections. The aspirants are Governor Adamu Abdullahi of Nasarawa State, Professor Jerry Gana, a presidential adviser and Governor Saminu Turaki of Jigawa State, who is yet to formally dump his All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) for the PDP, but has recently been attending caucus meeting of the party at governor level, Governors Peter Odili (Rivers State), Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom State), Adama Muazu (Bauchi State), and Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna State).The House of Representatives Committee on electoral matters has summoned Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Accountant General of the Federation, Ibrahim Dankwabo and Director of the Budget Office, Bode Augusto to appear before the Committee next week Tuesday, to explain how much has so far been released to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The PDP bigwigs have no right to choose the party's presidential candidate from the ranks of governors, former Foreign Affairs Minister and member of the PDP, Sule Lamido said yesterday. ''This is part of the problem in the party. You do not simply appropriate the rights of the people. It is the right of members of the PDP to elect their flag bearer. Therefore, the idea of forming a club or whatever to shop for candidates further compounds our problem. There should be open, inclusive, transparent process, in which all members of the PDP as a family should be fully involved. When you appropriate their rights and apportion it to somebody else, they are being seen as ordinary subordinate not as equal partners, and the Nigerian voters have been effectively forgotten''. President Olusegun Obasanjo has suspended heads of ministries of foreign affairs, transport, health, education and internal affairs over the shoddy implementation of the Public Service Reform. Reports said they had not been cooperative with the Public Service Reform Committee.

NAIJA NEWS: 30-31 MAY 2006

naija_news: 30-31 May 2006, originally uploaded by helen ogbu.

Nigerians Reflect on
''Democracy Day''


As Nigerians mark seven unbroken years of democracy, President Olusegun Obasanjo is seeking support for his much-criticized reforms. A recent opinion survey says two-thirds of Nigerians believe democracy is a better form of government than any other. Surviving seven years of democracy is a record in Nigeria where frequent military interventions had thwarted previous attempts at democratic rule.

In a televised address to mark what is known in the country as Democracy Day, President Olusegun Obasanjo said Nigeria has made remarkable progress under his watch and appealed for more support for his reforms. "Today, we are beginning to see the results of the reform programme," Obasanjo said. "Let us not allow those that seem pathologically fixated on operating a system of anything goes and business as usual, to distract, confuse, intimidate, derail or compromise us as we lay solid foundations for a better future for all." The poll conducted by a civil society group, Afrobarometer, indicated that Obasanjo's popularity is at an all-time low, while almost two-thirds of Nigerians believe the economy is in worse shape. Critics say the reforms have created hardships for ordinary Nigerians.

Wunmi Bewaji, in the House of Representatives said "This government has had in seven years, more revenue than all the other administrations put together, yet you cannot find anything on the streets," Bewaji says. "This is a government that has so much opportunities, too much advantage but refused to make use of it and at the end of the day, the government has failed its people. And people cannot wait for May, 2007 to come and for them to say bye bye to this government that has failed them." With the stage set for elections, the next couple of months are considered very important for Nigeria's political future. With Obasanjo out of the picture, some analysts say the political scene is in a state of flux.



Obasanjo urges Nigerians
to seek good governance


President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday urged Nigerians never to compromise on good governance and to shun corruption, in a speech to the nation marking the return of democracy seven years earlier. "We must never compromise on the need for good governance. It is the key to democratic sustainability and consolidation. Good governance remains, in some respects, the most critical ingredient for eliminating poverty, instability, violence and underdevelopment," Obasanjo said in the anniversary address.

"With good governance, you can be assured of accountability, respect for the rule of law and human rights, transparency, sensitivity to the plight of the disadvantaged and the deepening and consolidation of democracy," he said in a nationwide broadcast. Nigeria returned to democratic rule on May 29 1999. "As a people and nation whose present and future was contaminated and compromised by corruption, misplaced priorities and waste, we are beginning to resolve that never again are we going to give room for such forms of resource mismanagement," he also said.

He said that in the process of reversing bad governance, corruption and bad leadership, "it is normal that vestiges, practices, agents and values of the ancient or discredited regime remain in some nook or corner". Although he did not disclose those at whom he was hitting out, observers noted that Obasanjo would be referring to old and serving politicians who have mismanaged the country's economy and engaged in corrupt practices. Nigerians will go to the polls in presidential and general elections between April 7 and 28 next year, the chairperson of the nation's electoral agency (INEC), Maurice Iwu, announced last week.

Thirty seven political parties are already registered with the INEC ahead of the vote for a successor to Obasanjo. The 2007 poll will be the third democratic election since the end of military rule in May 1999. Parliament in Abuja two weeks ago rejected a constitutional change that would have enabled Obasanjo to stand for a third term in office. With Obasanjo technically out of contention, it is expected that more presidential hopefuls will join the political fray shortly.


I N B R I E F


Disgraced former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, is reported to be ill and may need surgery to prevent sudden cardiac death. ''The detainee has hypertensive heart disease, coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus'' one expert said. Unfortunately, the facilities for interventional cardiology are not avaialbe in this country. Dr. Alamieyeseigha will have to travel abroad where these facilities are available.

EFCC boss Mallam Nuhu Ribadu says corrupt politicians would not be allowed to take part in next year;s elections. Deceit is too much in this country. Nobody will be spared in this anti-corruption crusade, including those who think they are coming to take over power. To rule Nigeria is not a joke. It is our responsibility to ensure that rogues or thieves will not be part of the future democratic process.....Nobody is above the law in this country, no matter how powerful or influential''.

Former chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Chief Olabode George may face criminal prosecution, EFCC boss Nuhu Ribadu said yesterday. "The first (Investigative) report was not a criminal investigation. It is now on the basis of the administrative investigation that we will initiate a criminal investigation. Yes, we have started and we will ensure that justice is done." George is the Deputy National Chairman (South-West) of the Peoples Democratic Party and a close political associate of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

An accident involving the convoy of Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Governor Boni Haruna of Adamawa State has led to the death of four persons. Reports said the accident occurred yesterday between Loko and Jabi Lamba while the duo were on their way back to the state capital Yola from Hong where they had gone on a condolence visit.

The ruling PDP says it is yet to take a decision on the zone that should produce the next president in 2007. "The PDP is yet to take a position concerning which of the six geopolitical zones will be encouraged to produce our presidential flag bearer. It is admitted, however, that a suggestion has been made that the South-West be exempted from processes leading up to the emergence of a PDP presidential candidate for the 2007 elections for reasons that are fairly obvious.We are committed in principle to an inclusive, non-restrictive approach in which the searchlights for a successor to President Olusegun Obasanjo will be both internal and external" the National Secretary of the PDP, Chief Ojo Maduekwe said.

How a huge python found its way into the concrete jungle in Ikoyi, Lagos is still a mystery. Residents said the snake could easily have ended up in any one's bedroom and hibernated for weeks without trace. Weighing about 150kg with a length of about 15 feet, the anaconda like snake, had been feeding on some domestic animals near St. Gregory's Road in Obalende, where labourers working for NITEL killed it while they were digging a trench to lay a cable in the area. ''My chicken had been disappearing and my neighbour had complained of some of his dogs getting lost'' one resident in the area said. The snake was killed by one of the labourers who chopped off its head with a cutlass. Its remains were feasted on, while the hide was sold to an expatriate.

Army Arrangement:
Obasanjo sacks key military chiefs


President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday sacked three of his key security chiefs in a major shake-up of the defence ministry, an official statement said. The chief of defence staff, General Alexander Ogomudia, was replaced by army chief Lieutenant Martin Luther Agwai, while Air Marshal Jonah Domfa Wuyep was replaced by Air Vice Marshal Paul Dike as chief of air staff, the statement from the president's office said.

Obasanjo replaced National Security Adviser Mohammed Aliyu Gusau with Major General Sarki Muktar. Major General Owoye Andrew Azazi is the new chief of army staff. Dike was head of a panel that probed the corruption and mismanagement that led to the liquidation of Nigeria Airways, the erstwhile national carrier. All the appointments take effects from June 1. Obasanjo promoted Agwai, Azazi and Dike respectively to the ranks of army general, army lieutenant general and air marshal.

No official reason was given in the statement for the shake-up which came a year before the expiration of Obasanjo's mandate. "Obasanjo did not consult anybody before he appointed the military chiefs. So, he is at liberty to dispense with their service and he does not have to explain why he is doing so," a close aide of the president, who demanded anonymity, told reporters. The latest edition of TheNews magazine reported that Gusau, a northern Muslim and former army chief, is planning to contest presidential polls in April next year. He also had similar plans in 2003, it said. He was a member of the junta which ruled Nigeria from 1985 to 1993 and has also headed the intelligence service.

G8 invites Nigeria to
finance ministers' conference


The Group of Eight industrialized countries (G8) has invited Nigeria to its finance ministers' conference scheduled for June 1, 2006 in St Petersburg, Russia, according to a statement issued by Nigeria's Finance Ministry yesterday. The invitation, the first of its kind, is in recognition of the great strides made by Nigeria in its economic reform program implementation, said the statement, which was issued in Abuja by Paul Nwabuikwu, special assistant (Media) to Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

He said the invitation was contained in a letter addressed to Nigerian Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala by the Russian government, the current holder of the G8 presidency. Nwabuikwu said discussion at the summit would center on the issues of "good governance in public finance" and "the role of emerging donors in the global development community." Apart from participating in the discussion on the role of donors in global development, Okonjo-Iweala will also act as the lead discussant for the session on good governance in public finance. Okonjo-Iweala described the invitation as an additional proof that the international community is taking note of the progress being made in economic reform under President Olusegun Obasanjo.


I N B R I E F


Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, previously of the All Nigeria Peoples Party has joined the newly registered Democratic Peoples Party.

President Olusegun Obasanjo says the federal government will repay the $2.15 billion debt owed the London Club soon. "I am pleased to formally report to the Senate that the Paris Club debt deal has now been fully consummated and Nigeria is no longer indebted to Paris Club ..Taking into account the foreign exchange gains, interest income, transactions costs as well as administrative charges levied by the CBN, I am pleased to report to the Senate that the actual cost to the nation of the Paris Club exit was $12,123,652, 000 (that is, approximately $12.12 billion). This represents net savings amounting to $276.3 million, in relation to the $12.4 billion payment negotiated with the Paris Club creditors''.

Swiss hotel chain, Golden Tulip Hospitality has announced the signing of a management agreement for Golden Tulip Princess Emotan effective as per January 1st 2007. The Golden Tulip Princess Emotan will be operated by Golden Tulip West Africa Ltd., a joint venture between Lionstone Ltd. and Golden Tulip. The hotel will be a Superior First-Class International African-Style Business Hotel with 54 superior guestrooms and centrally located in the business district of Apapa, Lagos. The hotel is set in spacious grounds with surrounding tropical gardens ideal for both business and leisure guests. The hotel offers various business and relaxation facilities such as a Piano Lounge, an a la carte restaurant, and a pool bar.

World oil held firm above $71 a barrel yesterday, despite OPEC's assurance that it will do all it can to keep consumers well-supplied when it meets later this week. U.S. crude for July delivery was trading up 36 cents at $71.73 a barrel by 1030 GMT, after a high of $71.77. London Brent crude was up 34 cents at $70.93. Both markets were closed on Monday for holidays. OPEC President Nigeria's Edmund Daukoru told reporters that the cartel will probably keep output quotas unchanged at its ministerial meeting in Caracas tomorrow and keep pumping as much as it can to ease concern of a shortage.

Nigeria;s foreign direct investment inflow has reached $5.6bn, making it to lead the Ecowas sub-region in volume of foreign direct investment. The World Bank said Nigeria attracted US$2.48 billion (N335 billion) as FDI in 2002 and US$3.25 billion (N438 billion) in 2003.According to the report, the 13 other countries that make up Ecowas trailed far behind igeria as they collectively accounted for US$689 million (N93 billion) as FDI in 2002 and US$419 million (N57 billion) in 2003, respectively.A recent World Bank report entitled: "World Economic Indicators 2004/05", indicated that in 2002, the total amount of FDI the entire region (including Nigeria) received was US$3.17 billion (N428 billion), while it recorded US$3.67 billion (N496 billion) in 2003.According to the World Bank report, Cote D Ivoire followed Nigeria with US$316 million (N43 billion) worth of FDI within the period under review, while Liberia was at the bottom with just US$3 million (N 405 million).

A joint venture involving four Barbadian companies has started construction of a factory in Nigeria to manufacture solar water heaters. Approximately five million dollars has been invested into the project, Akwa Sol Nigerian Limited, which is also being financed by six Nigerian firms from the private and public sector. The local firms include African Enterprises Inc., Lee-Marrow-D Enterprises Limited, PDT Investment Inc. and water heater operator, Aqua-Sol Limited. CEO of Aqua Sol, Vincent McClean says the factory should be operational by November and is being built on 83 thousand square feet of land with an additional 65 thousand for future expansion. McClean says with the growing housing stock in Nigeria research is showing a strong demand for solar water technology. He says the company will capitalise on this demand through franchising.

More than 13 million children currently under age 15 have lost one or both parents to Aids, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa, President Olusegun Obasanjo said in Abuja. Nigeria currently has an estimated four million people living with HIV and Aids in a country where the disease has left three million orphans. "The impact of HIV and Aids on children and adolescents is tragic," Obasanjo said while addressing the nation for the annual Children's Day celebrations. He said the strategic focus of his government was to put young children and adolescents at the centre of its HIV and Aids agenda and to halt and begin to reverse the spread of the disease among children.

Messenger, a news service for mobile phones, has launched in Nigeria. Standard fare, but seen as a way to inform the public. Speaking with the news men while unfolding the technicalities of Messenger, spokesperson of the company, Mr Anthony Nwulu, said that the main aim of putting messenger together was to sensitize the Nigerian mobile subscribers on a lot of other benefits of the mobile phone other than making and receiving calls.The FIFA world cup will help get subscribers too.

NAIJA NEWS: 22 MAY-26 MAY2006

I N B R I E F

Vanguard newspaper says General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has struck a deal with Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani as his running mate for the 2007 Presidential elections. ''Babangida has brokered a deal with top politicians from the South-East to forge a North-Central-South East ticket.Under the arrangement, Babangida will run a joint ticket with the current President of the Senate'' the paper quoted party sources as saying.President Olusegun Obasanjo must conduct a free and fair election in 2007, in order to regain his political relevance. When I said it in 2003 that he wanted life presidency, they said I was a rascal. Nobody took me seriously. I told the nation then when I wrote a letter to Chief Anthony Anenih that people were planning for him (Obasanjo) to run a third term in office. That letter earned an indefinite ban on SLOK Airline. The airline has since remained banned from the Nigerian airspace. That was in 2003. The way out now is to conduct a free and fair election, where nobody will be seen to be the President man. Anybody he presents that is not seen as a candidate of the people will not win the election.

Divine intervention resolved the third term agenda, Senate President Ken Nnamani said yesterday. A burden has been lifted off me and off the nation because I think the constitutional amendment was something that appeared to have been bigger than the June 12 issue. It was being discussed in all parts of Nigeria. For instance, in my village, a certain person came to my constituency office not too long ago and said she had not been able to sell anything, that I should find her money. I asked why havent you been able to sell? She said there is something they call third term. I cannot say she was an educated person, so she could not understand what third term meant. But she saw it as if it was an influenza, a problem, something like June 12. I started wondering what third term has got to do with a market woman not being able to sell. So, it has permeated everywhere. The burden is not only off me but the entire country.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is yet to remit the N310 billion it has withheld from the Federation Account since early in the year. This is despite the warning by Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. However, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the weekend submitted N66 billion to the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), being the arrears it held back on each barrel of crude oil sold since the beginning of the year.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has started reconciliatory moves with enstranged members, following the death of the third tem agenda. Reports said the party has made moves to woo Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Adamawa State Governor, Boni Haruna and Abia State Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu. A party official charges of anti-party activities levelled against them have been dropped for a smooth reconciliation. The exodus of PDP members to the Advance Congress of Democrats (ACD) has threatened the party.

The death has been announced of the former Military Governor of the old Gongola and Benue States, and immediate past Legal Adviser to the Peoples democratic Party (PDP), Col. Yohanna Madaki (rtd). He was aged 63. He died in a London hospital after a brief illness.


EFCC to Investigate Charges of Political Corruption

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is investigating an alleged bribery scandal involving lawmakers and last week rejection of a constitutional amendment that would extend the presidential term limit from two to three.

Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Chairman of the EFCC, said in the last two weeks the Commission has made progress in tracking the claims of bribery as well as raising public awareness of this issue. I think the work we did in some way helped more or less in determining the outcome of the entire process, he said. We started the investigation about two weeks ago, and we've been to banks (in Abuja, particularly), and we have taken statements from different people. And we issued a statement requesting information from the members of the public.

A US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations heard testimony from Ribadu and others last Thursday, two days after the Senate vote. Ribadu said that US legislators can help Nigeria fight corruption, Maybe as much as 80 percent of corruption that takes place in Africa goes out, and it goes to the West. And indeed, some of it also finds its way into the US. Shut it out. Dont allow them. And I told them that corrupt people and corrupt leaders, particularly from Africa, are as bad as terrorists. If it is possible that a corrupt despot, a person who is looting the treasury of his own country, could be treated as a terrorist, it will make a huge difference in the fight we are waging back home. I also asked them for technical support because some of this criminal activity is very complex. We need technology that will assist us in the war.

Ribadu says his Commission investigation will continue, even though the National Assembly has dropped the bid to extend presidential term limits. If you fight corruption, and you successfully fight it to a standstill, you will be able to get good governance.


Thursday May 25, 2006
Lawmakers threatento impeach Obasanjo

Fresh from defeating a bid to keep President Olusegun Obasanjo in power, lawmakers yesterday threatened to impeach him if he shows any sign of trying to derail elections next year. Obasanjo, said last week he accepted the National Assembly's rejection of his tenure extension. He told the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) to heal the wounds of the divisive "third term campaign" and prepare for the 2007 polls.But some lawmakers fear that the retired general might launch an offensive against those responsible for the defeat or even try to hold onto power by wrecking the elections.

"If there is any victimisation of people because they were against the third term, or if he refuses to fund the electoral authority, or if people feel the president wants to abort the process, impeachment proceedings will start straight away," said a senior PDP lawmaker, adding that a long list of charges had already been prepared.He declined to comment publicly on the impeachment plan on the grounds he did not want to confront Obasanjo openly, but added that the president was aware of the threat. Senator Saidu Dansadau, of opposition party ANPP, said lawmakers were working on the basis that Obasanjo would live up to his public call for reconciliation. "If he does anything to undermine the National Assembly and its decisions, we would take unpleasant steps against him.

It would be fire for fire," he said, noting that funding of the electoral authority contained in the budget was critical.Nigerian politics have been thrown into a state of flux by the National Assembly's decision, and many power brokers are realigning their loyalties in the run-up to the elections, which are expected in March or April. The vote should mark the first time in Nigerian history that one elected president hands over to another.

Many of those who opposed the third term now want to ensure there is less fraud than in 2003 elections, when Obasanjo won a second term amid accusations of widespread rigging. Obasanjo's third term campaign reawakened fears of autocratic rule in Nigeria.It was promoted by a powerful lobby of ruling party grandees and business leaders with millions of dollars in bribes for lawmakers, according to those opposed to the third term. Obasanjo led the campaign from behind the scenes. The PDP was created in 1998 with no ideological bias as a vehicle for Obasanjo to win power. Since 2004 it had become an instrument of the third term campaign, alienating many powerful elements in the party including Vice President Atiku Abubakar. With the third term now ruled out, power is draining away from Obasanjo and many party members are calling for the removal of the party chairman. The 36 state governors, who fund and control the party machinery, have re-emerged as key players."There is a scramble right now. There are a million ways it could go and everyone is in consultations," a senior party member said, asking not to be named.

"If the President decides he wants to reinvent the PDP and appoint a new chairman, the PDP could produce a candidate who could beat anyone. If he keeps the chairman, 20 governors could come out and say this is not their party and that would be it." A majority in the party want free and fair elections, because that is the only way they can be guaranteed a chance of power, he added. "With the third term dead, people will support the president if he allows a new person to emerge, but they have nothing to gain from crisis," he said.


Govt hikes airline capital base after crashes

The federal government has raised the minimum capital required for domestic and international airlines by between 25 and 100 times after two crashes last year exposed serious problems in the industry, a top official said yesterday. The government has increased the capital base requirement for domestic airlines 25-fold to 500 million naira ($3.9 million), regional airlines 50-fold to 1 billion naira ($7.8 million) and international operators 100-fold to 2 billion naira ($15.6 million), Aviation Minister Babalola Borishade said.

"These deposits ... will be used to control access to the aviation industry," Borishade told reporters after a cabinet meeting in the capital Abuja. The measure takes effect in March 2007. The new capital requirement comes after two major crashes last year that killed 223 people, calling into question the safety of Nigeria's aviation industry. There has been no official report on the causes of either crash. The minister said cabinet also approved 19.5 billion naira in funding to improve safety at airports in the world's eighth biggest oil exporter, which had been announced previously. Borishade said last month that 6 billion naira of the total amount would go towards upgrading the air traffic control tower at Lagos airport, the busiest in Nigeria.

The funding will also allow for the renovation of the second runway at Lagos airport. At present there is only one functional runway for both international and domestic flights. Most Nigerian airlines have ageing fleets, and maintenance and operational procedures are often inadequate to ensure passenger safety, the U.S. State Department said in a travel warning in January. Last October an aircraft operated by private carrier Bellview crashed shortly after take-off from Lagos, killing all 117 people on board. It took authorities 15 hours to locate the crash site. On Dec. 10, a plane flown by another private airline, Sosoliso, crashed at Port Harcourt airport, killing 106 people of whom half were schoolchildren going home for Christmas. The plane burned on the runway because there were no functional fire engines at the airport.


Mbeki lauds Obasanjo's reconciliation call

South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki has commended President Olusegun Obasanjo, for the latter's call for national reconciliation in the aftermath of the parliamentary rejection of his tenure elongation agenda.

Remi Oyo, spokesperson to Obasanjo, said in a statement Wednesday in Abuja that the commendation was contained in a letter, which Mbeki sent to Obasanjo.Last Wednesday, parliament threw out the 116 proposed amendments to Nigeria's constitution one of which would have given Obasanjo a third four-year term in office. After the rejection of the amendments, Obasanjo called for national reconciliation over the issue.

Mbeki described Obasanjo's posture as "an outstanding act of statesmanship", Oyo said. Mbeki also praised Obasanjo for urging members of his party to accept the decision of the parliament as "a victory for democracy" and for urging all Nigerians to "heal the wounds of acrimony and march forward together".


Friday May 26, 2006
Rivers State GovernmentOffers Money for US Worker's Killers

Expatriate oil workers in Nigeria are still coming to terms with the recent killing of an American oil worker in Port Harcourt. State authorities are offering a sansom for information leading to the arrest of the killers. Rivers State Governor Peter Odili has appealed to local security agencies to speed up the investigation into the May 10 killing of American oil worker Ricky Wiginton. The state authorities have offered $40,000 to anyone who can assist in tracking down the killers.

Officials believe arresting the killers will re-assure expatriates of their personal safety in the city.The governor's spokesman, Emmanuel Orkar said the government would do everything possible to apprehend those behind the killing. "We have put down the sum of five million naira [about $40,000] to anybody who will volunteer useful information that will lead to the apprehension or arrest of the people who master-minded this dastardly act," he said. "In addition to that, we have also been talking to the security agencies and encouraging them, the way we have always done, to extend their reach and do a more thorough job, assuring them if they have any handicap, they should always feel free to come back for assistance, at least all is aimed at finding the killers of the American.

"Mr Wiginton, 51, a Texas native, was killed by a gunman in Port Harcourt where he worked as an operations manager of Houston-based oil drilling equipment maker Baker Hughes. Wiginton was riding to work when a motorcyclist pulled alongside his car and shot him. Journalist Kelvin Ebiri, who is based in Port Harcourt, says the Nigerian police have not shown themselves capable of handling the investigation. "Ordinary, the police are saying they are investigating, but when you look at their antecedent, the police has no track record," he said. "There has never been any record of any assassination case that the police had been able to unravel. A lawmaker was killed in the state in 2001, a member of the state house of assembly.

Up until today, the police had not come to tell us who and who are the actual killers of the man. The case is dead. There are several other instances. We know they are trying, but a lot of us do not have confidence in the police." Wiginton was killed a day after the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, the group responsible for recent attacks on the Nigerian oil industry, said it will would launch fresh attacks on oil workers. The group has since denied responsibility for his slaying. The group has previously kidnapped Americans and other foreign oil workers in Nigeria, but later released them unharmed. Baker Hughes has since evacuated its American workers from the city and invited international law enforcement agencies to investigate the case.


I N B R I E F

Edo State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Joe Atohengbe, was yesterday kidnapped by unknown gunmen and taken to an unknown location. Reports said Atohengbe was abducted from his official residence in Benin City, the state capital. Spokesperson for the state Kingsley Osadolor said The state government is shocked and as I am talking to you, we are all are worried. But I can assure you that he is safe wherever he is.When I spoke with him he did not disclose his whereabout but we are positive that he is fine.

Speaker of Delta State parliament, Young Igbrude, was yesterday impeached by 22 of the 29 lawmakers in the state assembly. Igbrude, is the third Speaker of the state parliament to be impeached since 1999. He was elected in 2003. Reports said a large contingent of mobile policemen was deployed to the parliament building during the impeachment exercise. No reason was given for the impeachment, but some sources said it may not be unconnected with alleged graft.

Ogun State commissioner for health, and daughter of President Olusegun Obasanjo, Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, says she would not resign from office because of her ambition to become a senator in 2007. "If the governor deems it fit to sack me, it is his prerogative. I am not going to resign until I feel so or my boss feels for some reason that I should resign. I know going by the Nigerian constitution, one needs to resign from office when it is six months to the election if one wants to contest for an elective post and it is not yet six months. At this point, I am carrying out my activities, I am carrying out my duties in my ministry and anybody that is not happy is on his own''.Controversy trails the new election timetable made public on Wednesday by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Lagos lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi says the timetable is mischievous because the 1999 Constitution stipulated that there should be at least 30 days between the gubernatorial election and the handover date and for the presidential election, it is 60 days. Fawehinmi said the electoral commission did not comply with the provision. Similarly, The Transition Monitoring Group, the Alliance for Democracy, the Advanced Congress of Democrats and other critics said they suspected a hidden agenda by the Obasanjo government. But the ruling PDP said it had no objection to the election dates.

An extraordinary congress of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) has been slated for July 18 in Abuja as part of an agreement to end the ongoing impasse at the football house. FIFA Secretary Urs Linsi said in a communique at the end of a reconciliatory meeting between the warring parties in Abuja that the congress would be held in full compliance with the statutes of the association. "The congress will be held in full compliance with the FA statutes, " Linsi said, adding that observers from both CAF and FIFA would supervise the event. He said the main agenda of the congress would be on the harmonization of the football family to heal the wound of the past.

Hundreds of demonstrators marched through Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo protesting election delays Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have arrested at least 26 foreign nationals from South Africa, the United States, and Nigeria, saying they are suspected of being involved in a coup plot. The events come amid preparations for the country's first elections in nearly four decades. DRC officials say the men are being held on charges of planning to destabilize the country. The officials say that seditious documents were found in the men's apartments and that they are being questioned by intelligence officers.

NAIJA NEWS: 17 MAY-19MAY2006

Wednesday May 17, 2006
Obasanjo's third term bid now dead and buried
With the Senate throwing out the third term bill, six months must elapse before President Olusegun Obasanjo's supporters can re-present the bill to the upper legislative chamber....that is if Obasanjo's tenure elongation supporters wish to. Senators opposing the third term said the only way Obasanjo could stay in power now would be to starve the Independent National Electoral Commission of funds and push the national assembly for a six-month extension while elections were delayed....The senate yesterday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that could have allowed President Olusegun Obasanjo a third term, a proposal that had widened regional, ethnic and religious rifts in Nigeria. To cheers from opponents, senate president Ken Nnamani ruled that the voice vote had defeated the measure introduced by Obasanjo's allies and that "the senate has said clearly and eloquently that we should discontinue other proceedings on this amendment". Nnamani's pronouncement triggered wild jubilation and back-patting among opponents. The debate shown live on AIT Television, continued in the lower House of Representatives but the procedure was considered a mere formality. The proposed amendment needed to pass by a two-thirds margin in the federal and state parliaments. Yesterday's floor vote in Abuja, appeared to cripple the drive by Obasanjo's supporters."Today Nigerians have spoken and they have defeated resoundingly the monster called third term," said Yari Gandi, a senator from northwest Sokoto State, said as he stepped out of the hall. ''It is a victory for Nigeria, it is a victory for democracy'' he added.The parliamentary debate had lasted several weeks. The scheme was opposed by some politicians, rights groups, organised labour and a large section of local and international opinion. Last week United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan urged African leaders, without naming Obasanjo, to "play by the rules" and resist the temptation to perpetuate their grip on power. "We need to play by the rules. We need to accept the constitution ... and we should not tamper with the constitution to perpetuate our rule," Annan told the The Guardian newspaper in an interview. Annan said a country's constitution should not be changed to satisfy individuals' political ambitions, warning that such a step could lead to instability. John Negroponte, US intelligence chief, said earlier this year that attempts to amend the Nigerian constitution and open the door to a third term threatened to unleash "major turmoil and chaos". He said there could be secession by regional governments, big refugee flows and instability in Nigeria.Shortly after yesterday's vote in the Senate, Obasanjo's adviser on National Assembly matters, Florence Ita-Giwa, said: "I am disappointed in the sense that they have allowed the issue of tenure elongation to becloud the debate." She asked rhetorically: "Why would they kill the bill without considering other fundamental issues like derivation, rotation and creation of new states that are contained in the amendment bill?" But human rights lawyer Gani Fawehinmi said "I am so delighted and happy about the outcome in the senate today (Tuesday). When I heard the news, I jumped up and danced like I won the lottery. Obasanjo's dream has been killed. It is the end of a sit-tight rule in Nigeria, political robbery and gangsterism," he said. "Democracy has triumphed over dictatorship," Fawehinmi added. The campaign to extend Obasanjo's tenure split not only the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) but also the government, with Vice President Atiku Abubakar rallying opponents and publicly accusing his boss of trying to institute life presidency. While the PDP officially supports extending Obasanjo's tenure, the party has been unable to get all party lawmakers, who command a comfortable majority, to support it with their vote.Obasanjo, who was on a visit to France as the lawmakers took the decision, has never stated he wants to run again when his second, four-year term comes to an end in 2007. But he has hinted he would like to complete economic and political reforms he has initiated. His supporters have rejected charges the third term drive was undemocratic and could open the way to dictatorship, saying Nigerians would still choose their president at the ballot box.The proposed amendment was part of a larger bill including proposals to rotate the presidency between Nigeria's six regions, create new states, and change how the oil wealth that makes up nearly 90% of Nigeria's foreign earnings is shared.


Police seek survivors of pipeline explosion in Lagos

The Nigerian police has called on the public to report any survivors of the recent pipeline explosion receiving medical treatment in any location within Lagos and Ogun state. In a statement made available yesterday, Lagos State Command Public Relations Officer Olubode Ojajuni said the police needed the public "to get first-hand information in its ongoing investigations to unravel the cause of the explosion." Around 250 persons were burned to death last Friday in an explosion while scooping fuel from a ruptured petroleum products pipeline at Inagbe village in the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos. The mutilated remains of the victims were immediately buried inmass graves at the beach by the Lagos state government on Saturday. Adeoye said information by the public would also assist the police to work toward averting any recurrence. "Any hospital, clinic or traditional medical home where any of the suspected accomplices is treated, without reporting to the police, will be made to face the law accordingly," he warned. He urged community and opinion leaders of areas traversed by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) product pipelines to warn their people to desist from the deadly act of pipeline vandalism.

New presidential aircraft in emergency landing

The Vanguard newspaper reports that the newly acquired $72 million Presidential jet yesterday made an emergency landing at Abuja Airport a few minutes after take-off with President Olusegun Obasanjo and some of his aides and top government officials on board. The Boeing Business Jet 737-800 was taking the President to Paris, France.The paper says the new plane had only last week returned from a trip to Indonesia and Kampala where President Obasanjo had gone to attend the D-8 meeting and the swearing-in of President Yoweri Museveni for a third term. ''The jet had loss of Cabin Pressure after only 15 minutes of take-off at about 2 a.m. Although the pilot was said to have attempted to manage the situation by releasing oxygen masks for the president and all those on board, the heat inside the aircraft was said to have become unbearable, forcing the pilot to return quickly to base for an emergency landing at the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport''.

Senate investigates death threats to members
The Senate has asked its National Security and Intelligence Committee to investigate allegations of death threat to its members. The committee is to submit its report in one week. One senator said his car was riddled with bullets by unknown assailants last weekend, while others confirmed receiving test messages, phone calls and letters indicating that their opposition to the third term will cost them their lives. Senator Saidu Dansadau (ANPP, Zamfara) had moved a motion to that effect and urged the Chamber to probe the allegation. Sule Yari Gandi (ANPP Sokoto), who seconded it, said he is not afraid to die, since "anybody who has no cause to die for his country has no cause to live". The anti-third termers vowed not to be cowed or intimidated in the defence of democracy.

Senate investigates death threats to members

The Senate has asked its National Security and Intelligence Committee to investigate allegations of death threat to its members. The committee is to submit its report in one week. One senator said his car was riddled with bullets by unknown assailants last weekend, while others confirmed receiving test messages, phone calls and letters indicating that their opposition to the third term will cost them their lives. Senator Saidu Dansadau (ANPP, Zamfara) had moved a motion to that effect and urged the Chamber to probe the allegation. Sule Yari Gandi (ANPP Sokoto), who seconded it, said he is not afraid to die, since "anybody who has no cause to die for his country has no cause to live". The anti-third termers vowed not to be cowed or intimidated in the defence of democracy.


Thursday May 18, 2006
House of Reps jettisonsObasanjo's third term bid

Several lawmakers celebrated yesterday after the lower house of parliament rejected a constitutional change that would have allowed President Olusegun Obasanjo to run for a third term in office in 2007. Senators voted against the bill on Tuesday and the lower house of parliament withdrew it from consideration yesterday. "The issue of third term and anything connected to it is hereby closed," the speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Bello Masari, said at yesterday's session. "The decision is one of the best things to happen to Nigeria. It confirms the place of the legislature as the true representative of the people," Vice President Atiku Abubakar's media aide Garba Shehu said in a statement. "It confirms that democracy has a teeming army of believers and converts who will defend it even in the face of inducement, blackmail, harassment, threat and intimidation," he said. Constitutional lawyer Itse Sagay described the Senate decision as "a great victory for Nigeria, democracy and the rule of law." "Let's thank God and rejoice. Nigeria is a lucky country. It is not one of the tiny countries where dictators can easily have their way." Lagos lawyer and human rights activist Mike Ozekhome agreed. "If Nigerians unite with one voice against an issue, they can always succeed," he said in an interview. Obasanjo's camp could not be immediately reached for comment on the issue yesterday.


Nigeria faces turbulent general elections in 2007

The nation's political elite is preparing for what could be a turbulent race to succeed President Olusegun Obasanjo, following a parliamentary defeat of his attempt to extend his mandate beyond two terms. On Tuesday, senators rejected a bill that would have paved the way for an amendment to allow Obasanjo to stand for president in elections early next year. The polls are set to mark the first time a civilian president hands over to another in Nigeria since independence in 1960.

The rejection of the bill has been welcomed by western governments who feared an extension could have provoked widespread turmoil and chaos in Nigeria. The nation's political elite is polarised after months of debate over the third term question and with no clear successor in sight with less than a year to go to the election, diplomats are nervously awaiting the fallout. Obasanjo was chosen as a consensus candidate for elections marking the end of military rule in 1999 but gradually alienated factions of his ruling party through his presidential style. Those supporting a third term argued he was the only candidate to carry forward Nigeria programme of economic reform, launched in 2003.Diplomats fear deep geopolitical divisions could resurface now the succession race is on. Nigeria is still beset by political thuggery, chronic corruption and bouts of politically motivated ethnic and religious violence.

This year alone, scores have been killed in religious violence in the north and southeast, while insurgents in the oil producing delta region have cut Nigeria oil output by a fifth. Many Muslim northerners feel the next president should be from the north. This has angered other regional politicians who say the north has dominated the presidency in the last four decades. The upheaval in party politics could exacerbate tensions across the country as politicians jockey for position and engage in horse trading to cling on to power.

Many regional politicians are busy re-arming private militias. The divisions within the ruling People Democratic party (PDP), which won a controversial landslide victories in 1999 and 2003 in elections widely seen as marred by rigging and violence, are rife. Already, factions of the PDP have decamped to form a rival political party (ACD) that, like the PDP, is looking to attract candidates who have clout. “At the end of the day, it will be those that can mobilise themselves and organise themselves that get the backing to run as candidates. We are not going to sit in a smoke-filled room and just pick people,said Ojo Maduekwe, PDP secretary general.Among those best placed to garner the greatest number of political factions to back their presidential bids will be prominent political figures who have served in government or been part of the military clique that has ruled Nigeria for most of its post independence life. In contrast, those who seek to push the candidacies of reformist technocrats may not have sufficient influence.

Among the most influential political playmakers will be Atiku Abubakar, Obasanjo estranged vice-president, who was instrumental in securing the PDP election victories, and Ibrahim Babangida, who annulled elections in 1993 and who was one of Obasanjo most powerful supporters in 1999. Nigeria will find it hard to escape the trap it is in. The contenders are really the same people who have dominated Nigeria for decades. Politics is not based around issues of competence but around power, said Dapo Oyewole, executive director of the Centre for African Policy and Peace Strategy in London.


Pfizer denies ''illegal''drug tests in Nigeria

The world's largest drugmaker, Pfizwe, this week again denied any wrongdoing when it gave the unproven Trovan antibiotic to 100 children -- five of whom died -- in Kano during a widespread 1996 outbreak of meningitis, an often fatal infection of the brain and spinal cord. The complaint by a Nigerian medical panel against Pfizer Inc. over the company's testing of an unapproved drug on children 10 years ago is another black eye for the pharmaceutical industry awash in negative publicity and legal woes.Pfizer said it obtained all necessary permission from patients and Nigerian authorities.

But the panel concluded, among other things, that Pfizer failed to obtain permission in writing, and claimed that an approval letter from a Nigerian ethics committee had been backdated by the company's lead researcher in Kano. "The perception of this is not going to be beneficial to Pfizer regardless of what the facts are," said David Webster, president of Webster Consulting Group, which focuses on the health-care industry.The accusations of ethically questionable activities involving drug testing in developing nations come at a time when the industry is reeling from charges that it hides dangerous side effects of lucrative drugs, conspires to fend off competition from cheap generics while prices of prescription drug are soaring, and is overly aggressive in its advertising tactics. Merck & Co. is facing more than 11,500 lawsuits over its withdrawn Vioxx painkiller after the drug was linked to increased risk of heart attack, and the U.S. Congress has stepped up investigations of practices of individual companies and the industry.

"There are many things that have contributed to the current situation which finds the drug industry being the favorite pinata of the press and Washington politicians," said. "This is not a good thing to have happen at any time, but at this particular time that this story comes out, its import gets magnified because of everything else going on too'' Ira Loss of the Washington Analysis research group said. The accusation of testing an experimental drug on African people echoes parts of the plot of the fictional film "The Constant Gardener." In the 2005 film, a drug company is accused of testing an unproved tuberculosis drug on unsuspecting subjects and covering up side effects. Following the release of the film, Pfizer went so far as to suggest on an internal Web site that its employees boycott the movie for the way it portrays the drug industry, according to one employee who asked to remain anonymous. "What has happened since '96 is an increase in exporting of clinical trials to developing countries and we can expect there will be more Kanos to come," cautioned Peter Lurie of the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen.Lurie said it takes legal penalties big enough to hurt the bottom line to make large drug companies take notice, such as the $21 billion in litigation charges Wyeth has taken related to its harmful withdrawn diet drugs.

"The industry has shown no great appetite for policing itself and a large appetite for taking advantage of conditions in developing countries," he added. Chicago lawyer Kenneth Moll, who is involved in product liability litigation against Pfizer and Merck, including foreign class-action Vioxx suits, said changes are needed to hold drug companies more accountable for wrongdoing in developing nations.He said U.S. courts dismiss most foreign claims based on arguments that the cases should be tried where the incidents occurred. "That's basically telling these companies you're immune from suits here, so you can do what you want in those countries until foreign laws protect their own consumers," Moll said. Webster suggested the fallout from Nigeria could be a reluctance of people and nations to cooperate in important clinical testing of new medicines. "Potential patients may have second thoughts about participating in trials when they hear stories like these through the media," Webster said.

Friday May 19, 2006
Humiliated Obasanjo eventually acceptsdefeat on tenure elongation

President Olusegun Obasanjo never said where he stood on the third term agenda but he and his cronies were undoubtedly behind the campaign. Yesterday, Obasanjo said the decision of the Senate to jettison the tenure elongation bill, was a "victory for democracy".

Allegations that millions of dollars were spent to bribe lawmakers to support his third term tainted his image as a democrat and corruption fighter. Many now question whether the PDP, which became an instrument of the third term, can retain relevance as Obasanjo's powers wane. Some expect the party to collapse with him. Analysts think Obasanjo will fight to scupper the candidacies of his deputy Atiku Abubakar (who was absent at the PDP top hierarchy meeting yesterday) and former military rulers Ibrahim Babangida and Muhammadu Buhari, who all spoke against the third term and all want to succeed him.....An embarrassed President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday accepted the verdict of the national parliament ruling out an extension of his tenure and called on the ruling party to prepare for elections next year.

In a speech to party chieftains, Obasanjo as expected, blamed the media -- which had opposed the campaign to give him a third term -- for deepening divisions in the country, and condemned both sides for resorting to bribery and blackmail. "As a political party, we should accept the verdict of the National Assembly," Obasanjo told the People's Democratic Party's top brass at an emergency meeting in Abuja. "On the basis of the constitution in hand, we must start to plan for elections next year." Obasanjo called on the party to heal wounds caused by the divisive third-term campaign, which has emboldened the opposition and fuelled conflict across the nation. Vice-President Atiku Abukakar, who wants to succeed his boss and had accused Obasanjo of trying to subvert the constitution against the popular will, was absent from the meeting.

Senators changed the country's political landscape on Tuesday by throwing out a bill to amend the constitution that would have let Obasanjo stand for a third term in 2007.The surprise vote was greeted with dancing, shouts of joy and hugs among many senators, who had argued that the amendment was a threat to democracy in Africa's biggest oil producer. "Throughout the period, I resisted the invitation to be drawn on either side, I maintained studied silence. I was maligned, insulted and wrongly accused, but I remain where I am and what I am and I remain focused," he unconvincingly said. Analysts said the closure of the third term chapter should ease tensions across Nigeria, including the oil producing Niger Delta where militant attacks have curbed output, because every region now has a chance to take over in 2007. Elections next year should mark the first time in Nigerian history that a civilian president hands over to another through elections, but the third-term campaign had jeopardised that.

The bid failed because it was opposed by so many different power bases in multi-ethnic Nigeria. In the north, many thought they had a deal that power would return to their region in 2007 after eight years of Obasanjo, from the southwest. But he is in for a tough fight because these powerful figures are in the ascendancy and have a greater pool of political support than the president, who will have to rely on the powers of incumbency to frustrate them. Obasanjo has no heir-apparent because the third term campaign precluded it, but many in the party now hope some new faces will emerge with the president's blessing.

NAIJA NEWS: 17 MAY-19MAY2006

Wednesday May 17, 2006
Obasanjo's third term bid now dead and buried
With the Senate throwing out the third term bill, six months must elapse before President Olusegun Obasanjo's supporters can re-present the bill to the upper legislative chamber....that is if Obasanjo's tenure elongation supporters wish to. Senators opposing the third term said the only way Obasanjo could stay in power now would be to starve the Independent National Electoral Commission of funds and push the national assembly for a six-month extension while elections were delayed....The senate yesterday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that could have allowed President Olusegun Obasanjo a third term, a proposal that had widened regional, ethnic and religious rifts in Nigeria. To cheers from opponents, senate president Ken Nnamani ruled that the voice vote had defeated the measure introduced by Obasanjo's allies and that "the senate has said clearly and eloquently that we should discontinue other proceedings on this amendment". Nnamani's pronouncement triggered wild jubilation and back-patting among opponents. The debate shown live on AIT Television, continued in the lower House of Representatives but the procedure was considered a mere formality. The proposed amendment needed to pass by a two-thirds margin in the federal and state parliaments. Yesterday's floor vote in Abuja, appeared to cripple the drive by Obasanjo's supporters."Today Nigerians have spoken and they have defeated resoundingly the monster called third term," said Yari Gandi, a senator from northwest Sokoto State, said as he stepped out of the hall. ''It is a victory for Nigeria, it is a victory for democracy'' he added.The parliamentary debate had lasted several weeks. The scheme was opposed by some politicians, rights groups, organised labour and a large section of local and international opinion. Last week United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan urged African leaders, without naming Obasanjo, to "play by the rules" and resist the temptation to perpetuate their grip on power. "We need to play by the rules. We need to accept the constitution ... and we should not tamper with the constitution to perpetuate our rule," Annan told the The Guardian newspaper in an interview. Annan said a country's constitution should not be changed to satisfy individuals' political ambitions, warning that such a step could lead to instability. John Negroponte, US intelligence chief, said earlier this year that attempts to amend the Nigerian constitution and open the door to a third term threatened to unleash "major turmoil and chaos". He said there could be secession by regional governments, big refugee flows and instability in Nigeria.Shortly after yesterday's vote in the Senate, Obasanjo's adviser on National Assembly matters, Florence Ita-Giwa, said: "I am disappointed in the sense that they have allowed the issue of tenure elongation to becloud the debate." She asked rhetorically: "Why would they kill the bill without considering other fundamental issues like derivation, rotation and creation of new states that are contained in the amendment bill?" But human rights lawyer Gani Fawehinmi said "I am so delighted and happy about the outcome in the senate today (Tuesday). When I heard the news, I jumped up and danced like I won the lottery. Obasanjo's dream has been killed. It is the end of a sit-tight rule in Nigeria, political robbery and gangsterism," he said. "Democracy has triumphed over dictatorship," Fawehinmi added. The campaign to extend Obasanjo's tenure split not only the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) but also the government, with Vice President Atiku Abubakar rallying opponents and publicly accusing his boss of trying to institute life presidency. While the PDP officially supports extending Obasanjo's tenure, the party has been unable to get all party lawmakers, who command a comfortable majority, to support it with their vote.Obasanjo, who was on a visit to France as the lawmakers took the decision, has never stated he wants to run again when his second, four-year term comes to an end in 2007. But he has hinted he would like to complete economic and political reforms he has initiated. His supporters have rejected charges the third term drive was undemocratic and could open the way to dictatorship, saying Nigerians would still choose their president at the ballot box.The proposed amendment was part of a larger bill including proposals to rotate the presidency between Nigeria's six regions, create new states, and change how the oil wealth that makes up nearly 90% of Nigeria's foreign earnings is shared.


Police seek survivors of pipeline explosion in Lagos

The Nigerian police has called on the public to report any survivors of the recent pipeline explosion receiving medical treatment in any location within Lagos and Ogun state. In a statement made available yesterday, Lagos State Command Public Relations Officer Olubode Ojajuni said the police needed the public "to get first-hand information in its ongoing investigations to unravel the cause of the explosion." Around 250 persons were burned to death last Friday in an explosion while scooping fuel from a ruptured petroleum products pipeline at Inagbe village in the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos. The mutilated remains of the victims were immediately buried inmass graves at the beach by the Lagos state government on Saturday. Adeoye said information by the public would also assist the police to work toward averting any recurrence. "Any hospital, clinic or traditional medical home where any of the suspected accomplices is treated, without reporting to the police, will be made to face the law accordingly," he warned. He urged community and opinion leaders of areas traversed by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) product pipelines to warn their people to desist from the deadly act of pipeline vandalism.

New presidential aircraft in emergency landing

The Vanguard newspaper reports that the newly acquired $72 million Presidential jet yesterday made an emergency landing at Abuja Airport a few minutes after take-off with President Olusegun Obasanjo and some of his aides and top government officials on board. The Boeing Business Jet 737-800 was taking the President to Paris, France.The paper says the new plane had only last week returned from a trip to Indonesia and Kampala where President Obasanjo had gone to attend the D-8 meeting and the swearing-in of President Yoweri Museveni for a third term. ''The jet had loss of Cabin Pressure after only 15 minutes of take-off at about 2 a.m. Although the pilot was said to have attempted to manage the situation by releasing oxygen masks for the president and all those on board, the heat inside the aircraft was said to have become unbearable, forcing the pilot to return quickly to base for an emergency landing at the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport''.

Senate investigates death threats to members
The Senate has asked its National Security and Intelligence Committee to investigate allegations of death threat to its members. The committee is to submit its report in one week. One senator said his car was riddled with bullets by unknown assailants last weekend, while others confirmed receiving test messages, phone calls and letters indicating that their opposition to the third term will cost them their lives. Senator Saidu Dansadau (ANPP, Zamfara) had moved a motion to that effect and urged the Chamber to probe the allegation. Sule Yari Gandi (ANPP Sokoto), who seconded it, said he is not afraid to die, since "anybody who has no cause to die for his country has no cause to live". The anti-third termers vowed not to be cowed or intimidated in the defence of democracy.

Senate investigates death threats to members

The Senate has asked its National Security and Intelligence Committee to investigate allegations of death threat to its members. The committee is to submit its report in one week. One senator said his car was riddled with bullets by unknown assailants last weekend, while others confirmed receiving test messages, phone calls and letters indicating that their opposition to the third term will cost them their lives. Senator Saidu Dansadau (ANPP, Zamfara) had moved a motion to that effect and urged the Chamber to probe the allegation. Sule Yari Gandi (ANPP Sokoto), who seconded it, said he is not afraid to die, since "anybody who has no cause to die for his country has no cause to live". The anti-third termers vowed not to be cowed or intimidated in the defence of democracy.


Thursday May 18, 2006
House of Reps jettisonsObasanjo's third term bid

Several lawmakers celebrated yesterday after the lower house of parliament rejected a constitutional change that would have allowed President Olusegun Obasanjo to run for a third term in office in 2007. Senators voted against the bill on Tuesday and the lower house of parliament withdrew it from consideration yesterday. "The issue of third term and anything connected to it is hereby closed," the speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Bello Masari, said at yesterday's session. "The decision is one of the best things to happen to Nigeria. It confirms the place of the legislature as the true representative of the people," Vice President Atiku Abubakar's media aide Garba Shehu said in a statement. "It confirms that democracy has a teeming army of believers and converts who will defend it even in the face of inducement, blackmail, harassment, threat and intimidation," he said. Constitutional lawyer Itse Sagay described the Senate decision as "a great victory for Nigeria, democracy and the rule of law." "Let's thank God and rejoice. Nigeria is a lucky country. It is not one of the tiny countries where dictators can easily have their way." Lagos lawyer and human rights activist Mike Ozekhome agreed. "If Nigerians unite with one voice against an issue, they can always succeed," he said in an interview. Obasanjo's camp could not be immediately reached for comment on the issue yesterday.


Nigeria faces turbulent general elections in 2007

The nation's political elite is preparing for what could be a turbulent race to succeed President Olusegun Obasanjo, following a parliamentary defeat of his attempt to extend his mandate beyond two terms. On Tuesday, senators rejected a bill that would have paved the way for an amendment to allow Obasanjo to stand for president in elections early next year. The polls are set to mark the first time a civilian president hands over to another in Nigeria since independence in 1960.

The rejection of the bill has been welcomed by western governments who feared an extension could have provoked widespread turmoil and chaos in Nigeria. The nation's political elite is polarised after months of debate over the third term question and with no clear successor in sight with less than a year to go to the election, diplomats are nervously awaiting the fallout. Obasanjo was chosen as a consensus candidate for elections marking the end of military rule in 1999 but gradually alienated factions of his ruling party through his presidential style. Those supporting a third term argued he was the only candidate to carry forward Nigeria programme of economic reform, launched in 2003.Diplomats fear deep geopolitical divisions could resurface now the succession race is on. Nigeria is still beset by political thuggery, chronic corruption and bouts of politically motivated ethnic and religious violence.

This year alone, scores have been killed in religious violence in the north and southeast, while insurgents in the oil producing delta region have cut Nigeria oil output by a fifth. Many Muslim northerners feel the next president should be from the north. This has angered other regional politicians who say the north has dominated the presidency in the last four decades. The upheaval in party politics could exacerbate tensions across the country as politicians jockey for position and engage in horse trading to cling on to power.

Many regional politicians are busy re-arming private militias. The divisions within the ruling People Democratic party (PDP), which won a controversial landslide victories in 1999 and 2003 in elections widely seen as marred by rigging and violence, are rife. Already, factions of the PDP have decamped to form a rival political party (ACD) that, like the PDP, is looking to attract candidates who have clout. “At the end of the day, it will be those that can mobilise themselves and organise themselves that get the backing to run as candidates. We are not going to sit in a smoke-filled room and just pick people,said Ojo Maduekwe, PDP secretary general.Among those best placed to garner the greatest number of political factions to back their presidential bids will be prominent political figures who have served in government or been part of the military clique that has ruled Nigeria for most of its post independence life. In contrast, those who seek to push the candidacies of reformist technocrats may not have sufficient influence.

Among the most influential political playmakers will be Atiku Abubakar, Obasanjo estranged vice-president, who was instrumental in securing the PDP election victories, and Ibrahim Babangida, who annulled elections in 1993 and who was one of Obasanjo most powerful supporters in 1999. Nigeria will find it hard to escape the trap it is in. The contenders are really the same people who have dominated Nigeria for decades. Politics is not based around issues of competence but around power, said Dapo Oyewole, executive director of the Centre for African Policy and Peace Strategy in London.


Pfizer denies ''illegal''drug tests in Nigeria

The world's largest drugmaker, Pfizwe, this week again denied any wrongdoing when it gave the unproven Trovan antibiotic to 100 children -- five of whom died -- in Kano during a widespread 1996 outbreak of meningitis, an often fatal infection of the brain and spinal cord. The complaint by a Nigerian medical panel against Pfizer Inc. over the company's testing of an unapproved drug on children 10 years ago is another black eye for the pharmaceutical industry awash in negative publicity and legal woes.Pfizer said it obtained all necessary permission from patients and Nigerian authorities.

But the panel concluded, among other things, that Pfizer failed to obtain permission in writing, and claimed that an approval letter from a Nigerian ethics committee had been backdated by the company's lead researcher in Kano. "The perception of this is not going to be beneficial to Pfizer regardless of what the facts are," said David Webster, president of Webster Consulting Group, which focuses on the health-care industry.The accusations of ethically questionable activities involving drug testing in developing nations come at a time when the industry is reeling from charges that it hides dangerous side effects of lucrative drugs, conspires to fend off competition from cheap generics while prices of prescription drug are soaring, and is overly aggressive in its advertising tactics. Merck & Co. is facing more than 11,500 lawsuits over its withdrawn Vioxx painkiller after the drug was linked to increased risk of heart attack, and the U.S. Congress has stepped up investigations of practices of individual companies and the industry.

"There are many things that have contributed to the current situation which finds the drug industry being the favorite pinata of the press and Washington politicians," said. "This is not a good thing to have happen at any time, but at this particular time that this story comes out, its import gets magnified because of everything else going on too'' Ira Loss of the Washington Analysis research group said. The accusation of testing an experimental drug on African people echoes parts of the plot of the fictional film "The Constant Gardener." In the 2005 film, a drug company is accused of testing an unproved tuberculosis drug on unsuspecting subjects and covering up side effects. Following the release of the film, Pfizer went so far as to suggest on an internal Web site that its employees boycott the movie for the way it portrays the drug industry, according to one employee who asked to remain anonymous. "What has happened since '96 is an increase in exporting of clinical trials to developing countries and we can expect there will be more Kanos to come," cautioned Peter Lurie of the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen.Lurie said it takes legal penalties big enough to hurt the bottom line to make large drug companies take notice, such as the $21 billion in litigation charges Wyeth has taken related to its harmful withdrawn diet drugs.

"The industry has shown no great appetite for policing itself and a large appetite for taking advantage of conditions in developing countries," he added. Chicago lawyer Kenneth Moll, who is involved in product liability litigation against Pfizer and Merck, including foreign class-action Vioxx suits, said changes are needed to hold drug companies more accountable for wrongdoing in developing nations.He said U.S. courts dismiss most foreign claims based on arguments that the cases should be tried where the incidents occurred. "That's basically telling these companies you're immune from suits here, so you can do what you want in those countries until foreign laws protect their own consumers," Moll said. Webster suggested the fallout from Nigeria could be a reluctance of people and nations to cooperate in important clinical testing of new medicines. "Potential patients may have second thoughts about participating in trials when they hear stories like these through the media," Webster said.

Friday May 19, 2006
Humiliated Obasanjo eventually acceptsdefeat on tenure elongation

President Olusegun Obasanjo never said where he stood on the third term agenda but he and his cronies were undoubtedly behind the campaign. Yesterday, Obasanjo said the decision of the Senate to jettison the tenure elongation bill, was a "victory for democracy".

Allegations that millions of dollars were spent to bribe lawmakers to support his third term tainted his image as a democrat and corruption fighter. Many now question whether the PDP, which became an instrument of the third term, can retain relevance as Obasanjo's powers wane. Some expect the party to collapse with him. Analysts think Obasanjo will fight to scupper the candidacies of his deputy Atiku Abubakar (who was absent at the PDP top hierarchy meeting yesterday) and former military rulers Ibrahim Babangida and Muhammadu Buhari, who all spoke against the third term and all want to succeed him.....An embarrassed President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday accepted the verdict of the national parliament ruling out an extension of his tenure and called on the ruling party to prepare for elections next year.

In a speech to party chieftains, Obasanjo as expected, blamed the media -- which had opposed the campaign to give him a third term -- for deepening divisions in the country, and condemned both sides for resorting to bribery and blackmail. "As a political party, we should accept the verdict of the National Assembly," Obasanjo told the People's Democratic Party's top brass at an emergency meeting in Abuja. "On the basis of the constitution in hand, we must start to plan for elections next year." Obasanjo called on the party to heal wounds caused by the divisive third-term campaign, which has emboldened the opposition and fuelled conflict across the nation. Vice-President Atiku Abukakar, who wants to succeed his boss and had accused Obasanjo of trying to subvert the constitution against the popular will, was absent from the meeting.

Senators changed the country's political landscape on Tuesday by throwing out a bill to amend the constitution that would have let Obasanjo stand for a third term in 2007.The surprise vote was greeted with dancing, shouts of joy and hugs among many senators, who had argued that the amendment was a threat to democracy in Africa's biggest oil producer. "Throughout the period, I resisted the invitation to be drawn on either side, I maintained studied silence. I was maligned, insulted and wrongly accused, but I remain where I am and what I am and I remain focused," he unconvincingly said. Analysts said the closure of the third term chapter should ease tensions across Nigeria, including the oil producing Niger Delta where militant attacks have curbed output, because every region now has a chance to take over in 2007. Elections next year should mark the first time in Nigerian history that a civilian president hands over to another through elections, but the third-term campaign had jeopardised that.

The bid failed because it was opposed by so many different power bases in multi-ethnic Nigeria. In the north, many thought they had a deal that power would return to their region in 2007 after eight years of Obasanjo, from the southwest. But he is in for a tough fight because these powerful figures are in the ascendancy and have a greater pool of political support than the president, who will have to rely on the powers of incumbency to frustrate them. Obasanjo has no heir-apparent because the third term campaign precluded it, but many in the party now hope some new faces will emerge with the president's blessing.