April Poll - No Excuse for Failure -U.S

Abuja — Ahead of the April general elections, the United State of America (USA) has warned that the international community will not accept anything short of a free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria, even as it insisted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must live up to its responsibility of ensuring that nobody or group manipulates the process.

The position of the American government was made public when the US under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, Maria Otero led an eight-man delegation on a courtesy visit to the management of INEC yesterday in Abuja.

Even as the talks were held behind closed doors, Daily Champion gathered from reliable sources that the US envoy was full of praises for INEC for the way it has handled its activities so far, and also challenged the commission to be more proactive.

Daily Champion gathered that the delegation reminded INEC that all eyes were on Nigeria as she prepares for the elections adding that due to the strategic position of Nigeria, the elections must not be allowed to be flawed.

Before the discussions went into closed doors, leader of the delegation, Maria Otero said they were visiting INEC again as an important organization and as part of efforts to work closely with the bi-national commission that Nigeria and the US worked out together as recognition of the important partnership between the two countries.

She commended the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega for his commitment in delivering an election that will be able to stand the test of time.

She said: "I want to begin with commending you Mr. chairman the very important and very good work of INEC in preparing for this election and in carrying out very important responsibilities that are essential in order for Nigerians to be able to participate in a fair and free and transparent elections.

"This is a very good opportunity to acknowledge this important outcome of your work so far and to have an opportunity to also speak with you about what challenges you see that remain, what concerns you have as you move elements forward and also for us to be able to voice some of the questions that we have. Perhaps as a way of beginning one of the questions that I will ask you would be your assessment of how the voter registration process went".

Responding, Jega thanked the delegation for the interest shown in the electoral affairs of the nation adding that the presence of the team would afford the Commission and delegation an opportunity to go over some issues earlier discussed and to compare notes especially on the outcome of the voters registration exercise.

He reiterated the quest of his commission to deliver a credible election that will give Nigerians their true leader.

"Basically we wanted to do very good and credible voter registration exercise and to create a frame work for a continuous sustainable voter registration using the biometric capture and information technology to establish a good data base of register. It was very challenging but we were able to do it and we are satisfied with the results I must say that we will continue to remain grateful to all our development partners especially the US and the contributions that we have received through partnerships and collaborations with many institutions and agencies in whose contributions of expertise and consultancies and discussions and reports have really helped tremendously towards the success of the exercise".

He said it is the responsibility of Nigerians to insist that the right things were done to ensure that the dream of free, fair and credible election will be realized.

Meanwhile, Prince Adedeji Soyebi, INEC national commissioner in charge of Information, while answering questions from newsmen on the outcome of the meeting between INEC and the US delegation said the delegation was full of praise of the Commission on its performance so far.

He said: "The delegation brought goodwill message; they commented on the voter register and other electoral activities basically on how to achieve credible and successful elections, it was commendation and commendation, they were very happy with us".

He equally revealed that INEC was going through the figures recorded as number of registered voters during the registration exercise with a view to reconciling them with the final number released.

Soyebi said the commission will use the opportunity to look into some claims especially that of Niger state government who claimed that the number declared for the state was lower than the actually registered voters.

Nevertheless, the national commissioner insisted that on no account will INEC rely on the figures declared by the State government as purportedly recorded during the registration, but would instead reconcile the figures recorded during registration and the final figure declared to determine the true position of the number in the state.

Ten-year jail term for money launderers

The Senate yesterday passed the Anti-Money Laundering bill, with a recommendation of a maximum jail term of 10 years, but not less than five years, for offenders, in addition to fines that may be applicable.

Some financial crimes analysts, however, warned that the maximum punishments prescribed in the bill may not discourage offenders, especially compared to what is obtainable in other crimes.

However, the passage of the bill brings Nigeria to the verge of totally fulfilling the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), established by the G7 Summit in Paris in 1989.

The new anti-money laundering bill will replace the 2004 version of same bill, which is said to lack the relevant provisions that will make it fully compliant with FATF recommendation.

Full compliance will, however, depend on the speed with which the House of Representatives passes its own version of the bill, which is already awaiting final reading in the House.

Thereafter, major discrepancies between the House and Senate version of the bill will be harmonised in a clean copy that will be adopted by both chambers and forwarded to the president, who appears to be eagerly waiting to sign it into law.

Raised bars

The bill passed by the Senate is slightly different from the version forwarded to the legislators by the president. It raised the bars for cash transaction that can be made outside a financial institution from N500, 000 and N2 million to N5 million and N10 million for individuals and corporate bodies respectively.

The Senate also raised the amount of international transfers that ought to be reported to government agencies from $2,000 to $10, 000 for individuals. It places a duty on bankers and other financial institutions to report international transfers of funds exceeding $10,000 to the Central Bank of Nigeria, from where the records can be accessed by security operatives.

Transportation of cash or negotiable instruments in excess of $10,000 or its equivalent by individuals in or out of the country shall be declared to the Nigerian Custom Service, section 3 of the act prescribed.

Offenders of this section “shall be liable upon conviction to forfeit not less than 25% of the undeclared funds or negotiable instrument or to imprisonment of not less than two years or both.”

The bill also obligates casinos and jewellers, as well as bankers, to properly identify its customers, report transactions exceeding the stated amounts to the appropriate government agency, and subsequently hold their records for at least five years.

Section 9 of the Act requires all banks to designate compliance officers at management level, branches and local offices, who are expected to feed a centralised data base with information.

The Central Bank of Nigeria is empowered by the bill to impose a penalty of not less than N1 million or the suspension of any licence issued to the financial institution or designated non financial institution for failure to comply with this section.

Meanwhile, the Act raised the amount of individual and corporate transactions that all financial institution are mandated to report to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from N1 million and N5 million to N5 million and N10 million respectively.

Any financial institution or designated non financial institution that contravenes this provision of this section is liable to a fine of not less than N250, 000 and not more than N1 million for each day the contravention continues.

The Act prohibits numbered or anonymous accounts and empowers EFCC, CBN, and other regulatory authorities to place surveillance on suspected bank accounts, access to computer systems, and other records. It, however, denies them the right to tap suspects’ phone lines.

The bill covers offences including converting or transferring resources or properties derived directly from illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotic substances, and participation in organised criminal group, racketeering, terrorism, terrorist financing, bribery and corruption, tax evasion, sexual exploitation, and others.

A PDP vote is a wasted vote, says Fashola

The Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday said the People’s Democratic Party has consistently proved that a vote for the party is a vote for suffering.

He urged Nigerians to use their votes to protest this failure of governance by voting for the Action Congress of Nigeria in the forthcoming general polls.

Mr. Fashola said this while flagging off the senatorial campaign rally of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) at the Agege Township Stadium.

He complained that each time President Goodluck Jonathan visits Lagos, traffic along many routes are unnecessarily blocked leading to serious gridlock. “Because they are coming to campaign in Lagos today, the PDP has blocked the entire roads leading to Lagos Island. There is a heavy traffic congestion in different parts of the state because Jonathan is coming to campaign. That is how they subject people to untold suffering. Lagosians are suffering in the traffic caused by the security operatives of President Jonathan. If you vote for PDP, you vote for suffering. We have a lot of resources, but have nothing to show for it,” he said. The senatorial rally was held concurrently in the three senatorial districts of the state.

He described the party’s presidential candidate, Nuhu Ribadu and his deputy, Fola Adeola, as “true agents of positive change, whom Nigerians should vote in the next election.”

“Considering their antecedents,” said Mr. Fashola, who was accompanied by his running mate, Adejoke Orelope-Adefilure, “we believe the time has come to change the destiny of our country, and this is what the candidature of Ribadu and Adeola really represents.”

“The entire people of Nigeria irrespective of ethnic, political and religious affiliations need to rise against governance failure, which the ruling party has represented in the last twelve years. Vote for the duo of Ribadu and Adeola, both of whom have been tested and performed creditably well in their chosen fields,” the governor said.

Call for accountability

Mr. Fashola also asked Nigerians to demand that President Goodluck explains how a huge sum of $500 billion, which accrued to the country from oil sale in the last five years, was spent.

He said oil revenue, though huge, has had no impact on the country’s decaying and moribund social amenities and infrastructure.

The federal government “has made $500 billion from the sale of crude oil. We should ask the ruling party how the revenue was spent. The roads are bad. Social amenities are decayed. Electricity is not stable. The ruling PDP has been in power for twelve years, and has not been able to make them function. The time of PDP is up. We must no longer allow the ruling party to continue lead us on the path of failure and darkness.”

Nigeria’s ambassador to US at EFCC

Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States (US) Prof. Ade Adefuye has appeared before Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigators over the sale of Nigeria’s mission houses in the US.

The diplomat visited the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on Monday and yesterday when he appeared before the anti-graft investigators with documents relating to the sale of five houses belonging to the Nigerian Mission and the diversion of $1.35million allegedly paid as tax.

Nigerian US-based Attorney Emeka Ephraim Egwuonye has been in custody over the alleged fraudulent, bazaar-like sale of the houses.

It was learnt that from documents made available by Adefuye, the houses which were located in Maryland and Washington DC, were sold between 2005 and 2007.

It was also gathered that preliminary investigation has confirmed that the sale of the houses was “untidy and questionable.”

A source in the commission gave an insight into the brief by the Nigerian Embassy in the US.

The source said: “So far, it has been difficult to ascertain how much was the total sum realized from the sale and what was remitted to the Nigerian Embassy in the US or the Federal Government.

“And even what the suspect claimed he gave to the Embassy or the Federal Government was less tax of $1.350, 000.

“But the Embassy later found out that diplomatic missions do not pay tax. And when this fact was made available to the suspect, he said he would fight for the refund of the tax.

“When the suspect got the tax refund, he failed to remit it to the Embassy or the Federal Government. This is where the suspect’s problem lies.”

The source said Adefuye told the EFCC that he “inherited the case and reported it to the EFCC to avoid any legal web for the nation.”

The source added: “Adefuye has testified before the EFCC’s team and he has also made some useful documents available to us.

“He (Adefuye) gave in-depth details of how the business was transacted and the issues emanating from it.

“In order to enable us conclude investigations, we have secured a court order to extend the detention of the suspect by two weeks.

“With the Ambassador testifying, we hope to charge the suspect to court in the next one week or two.”

There were strong indications yesterday that the EFCC may invite a former Minister and some ex-Ambassadors to the United States over the issue.

“We have sufficient lead to invite this ex-Minister and the Ambassadors who knew about the transactions. We want them to explain the roles they played in it.

“It is a full-scale investigation that might provide further insight into what is going on in some of our Embassies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC Mr. Femi Babafemi said: “We are still investigating the suspect but we are having more petitions against him. We still have to investigate further before we take him to court.”

It was learnt that one of the petitions against the suspect came from Mrs Sola Adeeyo over alleged diversion of $94,000 kept in a “Client Trust Account” in Egwuonye’s chamber.

Adeeyo’s petition reads in part: “The detainee has represented me in the US, obtained money from my bank on my behalf as my Attorney, money which was expressly designated to be kept in an ‘Attorney Client Trust Account’ until such time I may be available to collect it but which Mr. Emeka Egwuonye has apparently misappropriated and has refused to release to me since 2007.

“In the year 2007, I assigned Egwuonye to represent me in a case in which my bank had erroneously released my funds to an impostor. The bank agreed to refund my money and I was not able to travel to the US at the time.

“I consented that the refund cheque could be released to Mr. Egwuonye Law Firm’s Client Trust Account. I deposed to an indemnity and a release at the US Embassy in Lagos on June 14, 2007 that my money could be released via cheque payable to “ECULAW Group Trust Account” for the benefit of Sola Adeeyo.

“Funds were indeed released subsequently but Mr. Emeka Egwuonye has refuses or unable to pay me my money in his care.

“Egwuonye is aware of the consequences of his malfeasance on his professional career and has continued to plead with me to give him time to pay.”

Ban on tinted glasses: FCT task force begins operation – Daily Trust

The task force set up by the FCT Commissioner of Police, Mr Haruna John, to enforce the ban on tinted motor glasses has begun operations.

Mr Jimoh Moshood, a superintendent of police and the command’s spokesman, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday that it was headed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of operations, Mr Umar Shehu.

Moshood said the Federal Road Safety Commission, the Directorate of Vehicle Inspection (VIO) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were also members of the task force.

He said members of the task force had already been deployed to strategic places in and around the city to enforce the ban since last week and advised motorists to remove their tint

Oshiomhole calls for removal of fraudulent RECs

Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has called for the removal of fraudulent Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).

He spoke at the 10th delegates’ conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Oshiomhole also said NLC is not vibrant.

He said: “To ask a brand new Prof. Attahiru Jega to head a house where the old cockroaches of rigging are present is not good enough. A lot of those fraudulent electoral commissioners who presided over fraudulent elections that were nullified by courts of law, upheld by the Court of Appeal must go. Everybody says one man, one vote, but they must watch their language.

“Anytime they say capture, that is a language of riggers.

“We are going to capture, that is not the language of one-man-one-vote. Capture

can only be done by rigging. Such RECs are wreckers, they cannot be allowed to continue to wreck the system. Jega will need more than two eyes and two ears to monitor these seasoned riggers, and most of them are members of the ruling

party. Jega must know this. He must watch them. Whatever comes out of this at the end of the day will be the result of your planning. I believe it is a mistake to leave those riggers, certified by court of law in the system. It is now the burden of the president and of course the responsibility of Comrade Jega to ensure their character. If they don’t conform with the norms, Cairo is not far from Abuja, Tripoli is not far from Abuja.

Speaking at the event Jega said an impartial electoral commission is the answer to credible polls.

He said: “We want to do our best to ensure that the current independent electoral commission is impartial, is non-partisan, and create a level playing field for everybody. We will also ensure that everybody does the right thing. We will obey the law. We will work within the legal framework and we will ensure that every participant and contestant do so, if we believe in the foundation of beginning to get things right in our country, and we are committed to that.

“We will never do anything, given our role and antecedent in the labour movement to make you feel ashamed of what we do, we will always do our best to make you proud of what we do for our country. And please continue to give us your best and your best to your country.

“I want to assure you that we, at the Independent National Electoral Commission, are doing our best, to use this opportunity to do the right things and to ensure that we create an upward framework to prepare credible elections.

“It is not easy. It has never been easy. It is a struggle. It is a continuous struggle. It is indeed a perpetual struggle. So the struggle continues, but we must struggle and we must keep on improving our democratic parties and our electoral processes,” Jega said.

(Jobs) National Consultant: Media Consultant – Abuja Nigeria

To assist the DGD in the planning and execution of the national workshop on Building Community Radio for Democracy and Development in Nigeria

• Assist the DGD in identifying relevant stakeholders for participation at the National Workshop on Building Community Radio Stations for Democracy in Nigeria;
• Assist the DGD in the contact and invitation of participants for the National Workshop on the Building of Community Radio Stations in Nigeria
• To maximize participants comprehension of key media issues in relation to January 2011 elections and coordinate active engagement of the group in discussing, raising issues, drawing conclusions, etc.
• To solicit feedback from meeting participants through informal and formal means to gauge reactions of participants and;.
• Prepare and present to the DGD a comprehensive report of the National Workshop on Building Community Radio for Democracy in Nigeria.

Deliverables

• The consultants are expected to deliver the following outputs:
• Smooth conduct of the National Workshop on Community Radio in Nigeria
• Submission of comprehensive report on the national workshop and;
• Submission of blueprint (roadmap) for the establishment and operations of six community radio stations in each of the geo political zones of the country.

Supervision

The Project Director of DGD will provide strategic guidance for the consultant in the discharge of the assignment while monitoring and supervision will be carried out by relevant progamme staff members.

Ducation:

• A minimum of a Master degree in the field of Communication, Media studies or other social science related subject.

Experience:

• At least 10 years progressive professional experience in work with Media in Nigeria
• Experience in Community Radio practice an advantage;
• Previous experience in facilitating media workshops and meetings required

Language Requirements:

• Strong skills in written communications in English;
• Excellent spoken English is also required.

Application closes on February 2nd, 2011.

Tp apply, visit the link below:

http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?job_id=21209