The Nation August 11, 2011

Page 1

Nigeria’s truly national newspaper

Ojukwu is alive, says Obi

Page 7 Nigeria qualify for quarter-final beat England 1-0 NEWS -

NEWS – Page 10

•To meet winner of France,Ecuador tie

•Governor cautions against rumour

http://www.thenationonlineng.net

VOL. 7, NO. 1849 THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2011

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

Pressure on Jonathan to drop REC nominees ‘List full of PDP loyalists’

T

HE President may withdraw some names from the list of eight Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) nominees sent to the National Assembly last week. Major stakeholders have faulted the list, stating that some of the names are known to be card-carrying members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or loyalists of notable leaders of the party. Sources told our correspondent that some concerned stakeholders held a closed door meeting with a confidant of President Goodluck Jonathan over the issue. The meeting agreed to convince him to withdraw the controversial names on the list-in line with his promise to evolve a truly independent INEC. The stakeholders were said to have argued that by appointing those with links to his party or persons who played ignoble roles during past elections, Jonathan has violated Section 156 (1, a) of the Amended Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The section reads: “(1) No person shall be qualified for appointment as a member of any of the bodies aforesaid,

We all know that that would be a violation of the Constitution because it is specific that party men shall not be appointed into INEC.

From Yomi Odunuga, Abuja Bureau Chief

if (a) he is not qualified or if he is disqualified for election as member of the House of Representatives; provided that a member of these bodies shall not be required to belong to a political party, and in the case of the Independent National Electoral Commission, he shall not be a member of a political party.” The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) had, in a press statement, faulted the list for allegedly containing the names of card-carrying PDP members. A source at the meeting said: “We have impressed it on those we feel are close to the President to intimate him with the implication of this decision to smuggle his party

members onto the board of INEC as commissioners. We all know that that would be a violation of the Nigerian Constitution as amended because it is specific that party men shall not be appointed into INEC. “The emphasis is on the word ‘shall’ and we do not understand why a President who promises to engender a truly independent electoral body would pick his own party men as commissionernominees. That is not acceptable and it is totally against the letters of the constitution, which the President vowed to uphold and protect. “This is not about party A or party B. It is about equity and having a level playing field where one party would not feel that it has been shortchanged by a system where the electoral umpires pander to the whim of the ruling party. That was the essence of our meeting and we have been assured that the President would do the needful, if he is convinced that he has erred.” The ACN, in its statement, said it was shocked that Jonathan picked such names as that of Dr. George Ada, a former Speaker of the Cross Continued on page 2

•NICON Insurance Managing Director Emmanuel Jegede testifying during the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee public hearing on activities of the BPE in Abuja ... yesterday PHOTO: NAN

‘NICON sale fraudulent’

•It’s not true, says Ibrahim

Salami may sue NJC C

OURT of Appeal President Isa Ayo Salami and other justices who sat on the Ekiti and Osun states gubernatorial Election Petition Appeal Tribunals did no wrong, it was announced yesterday. The other Justices are: Clara Bata Ogunbiyi, O. Ariwoola, Chiman Centus Nweze and Adamu Jauro. The National Judicial Council (NJC) said Justice Salami and the others have no ‘issue’ to answer over al-

From Yusuf Alli and Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

legations of telephone calls between them and some leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and counsel. With this development, exGovernors Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun) and Segun Oni (Ekiti) have lost their bid to unseat the incumbent governors, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Rauf Aregbesola, whose victories were upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Court overrules al-Mustapha F

The NJC also said the Justices who served on the Sokoto State Governorship Appeal Panel - Justices Musa Dattijo Mohammad, Paul A. Galinje, John Inyang Okoro, Mas’oud Oredola and Regina O. Nwodo - are not guilty of any misdemeanour. But Justice Salami is said to be considering going to court over the decision of the NJC, which asked him to apologise to the Chief Justice of NigeContinued on page 2

•SEE PAGE 11

By Eric Ikhilae, Judicial Correponsdent

ORMER security chief Hamza al-Mustapha has lost his bid to thwart attempts by the state to confront him with his past statements. It was learnt that the statements, with which the state intends to test his credibility and the veracity of his claims, were made on October 13, 1999. They are devoid of his assertions, which are extraneous to the case of conspiracy and murder of Kudirat, the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola’s wife, for which he is standing trial.

•al-Mustapha

Continued on page 2

•POLITICS P17 •SPORTS P23 •EDUCATION P25 •NATURAL HEALTH P47


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.