Constitution Reform: Buhari Opposes Electoral Reforms

Constitution Reform: Buhari Opposes Electoral Reforms
The two times Presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, General Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday disagreed with the House of Representatives that the electoral laws as provided in the various constitution were inadequate. Buhari who warned at the ongoing public hearings of the House of Representatives on certain bills to amend the 1999 constitution said the problems with the electoral process in the country was not the laws but the implementation.

According to him, poverty and hopelessness by citizens as experienced in the country today would have been things of the past were the existing laws fully implemented thus no need for the current reform calls by Nigerians. In his words: "What I have seen, and heard about this country makes me very sick. The level of poverty and illiteracy in India was the worst in the world. I know this because I was there in 1973 as Military Student. That time, every night, trucks would go round Mumbai, Calcuta, New Delhi and Bombay collecting dead bodies; bodies of Indians who have died of starvation. "But, ten years after, when I became President as a result of our coup, we were importing rice from India in 1984. In 2006, India had a successful election with 600 million electorates in three weeks.

In 2009, India again had a successful election of with 714 million voters. India has more people, tribes, religion and differences than we have, yet rural India today is better than urban Nigeria", he said. The former military head of state added that the problem with Nigeria is the "greed, selfishness and ineptitude of its elites, for which I also belong. I have complained that there is a gradual Somalianisation of Nigeria. Somalia is a country with about 98% Muslims but its leadership was corrupt and selfish. The result is that restiveness set in and for 19 years now Somalia has no government" Speaking further on why the current electoral laws reforms were not necessary, Buhari said "We conducted elections in 1999 based on our constitution. We conducted elections in 2003 based on the Electoral Reform Act of 2002.

In 2007, we conducted another election based on the Electoral Reform Act of 2006. "INEC is a derivative of our laws. There is nothing wrong with these laws. The problem is that we did not implement the law. Now we are reforming the same laws that we did not implement. So, our problem is not the law, but we the political elites. We have failed this country" In his contribution, Oshiomohle said both the president and the governors must as a matter of legislation hands off the appointment of electoral chiefs at the national and state levels. He suggested that the National Judicial Council (NJC) be made to nominate the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and probably have the final say on the appointment, adding that at the state level, State Judicial Council should handle the appointment.

According to him, the issue of electoral failure in the country has assumed a ridiculous and embarrassing dimension within African countries and Europe, saying that urgent steps must be taken to address the matter. He observed that that if the country fails to get it right in 2011, it should forget democracy, adding that no mantra will be accepted for any electoral failure in 2011, " we cannot be learning forever" He said it was a thing of shame and frustration for countries in Africa that were by all standard lower than Nigeria be setting pace for the country to follow and the country cannot even make any impact. He kicked against independent candidature as proposed by the electoral bill, explaining that it would create room for further confusion which would aggravate the electoral confusion in the country.

Akunyili Partners With Foundation on Ecological Problems
The Honourable Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, has promised to collaborate with the Ecological Disaster Foundation under the leadership of Senator Annie Okonkwo to come to grips with erosion challenges in Anambra State as well as the South-East geo-Political zone of our country. The Minister stated this on Tuesday when a delegation of the Ecological Disaster Foundation led by Senator Annie Okonkwo paid her a courtesy visit in her office in Abuja .

Professor Akunyili recalled the sad memories of the deleterious effects of erosion in Anambra State especially in Nanka Town and commended Senator Okonkwo and his Organisation for the well thought out initiative to frontally confront the menace of erosion which has led to the death of many people especially the poor, the collapse of houses, loss of property, farmlands, roads, and other valuables. The Minister likened the initiative of Senator Okonkwo and his Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO) on Erosion to a missionary work and enjoined them not only to think of checking the erosion but also to address issues of relocating the people and settling them in a more favourable environment.

Professor Akunyili endorsed the humanitarian gesture and initiatives of the organisation and promised that her Ministry will adequately publicise their activities with a view to getting relevant assistance from the Federal Government of Nigeria and the International Community to actualise desire goals. In an earlier remark, Senator Annie Okonkwo, Vice Chairman Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology commended the Minister for her commitment, patriotism and dedication to the ideals of rebranding Nigeria project. Senator Okonkwo highlighted the danger and evil effects of erosion in the entire South-Eastern part of this country especially in Anambra State and solicited for assistance to face the erosion challenges.

He noted that Government alone can not solve the erosion problem and requested for assistance from corporate organisations, international communities and other well meaning individuals to frontally confront the disaster which affects the poor more than any other category of people. The collaboration with the Sun Newspaper according to Senator Okonkwo would go a long way to publicising their initiative and facilitate the humanitarian work of the organisation. Mr. Dimgba Igwe, Deputy Managing Director/Editorin- Chief of the Sun Newspaper regretted that after 25 years he wrote a paper on erosion, the natural disaster has been getting worse especially in the South-East of our country, Nigeria . The erosion in the entire South-East according to Mr. Igwe is so pathetic that the zone should be declared a disaster area or a state of emergence.

He therefore, solicited the personal assistance of the Minister to draw the Federal Government’s attention to the area as well as reach out to international communities for intervention in the crusade to solve the erosion problems of the South-East

ASUU Accuses Govt of Prolonging Strike
The Academics Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has accused the Federal Government and its agents of using falsehood and arbitrary use of power to thwart the principles of industrial democracy and collective bargaining which is the reason the Union is still on strike for a couples weeks now. Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie, the President of ASUU Tuesday in Labour House Abuja, made the revelation while briefing the Media on the reason his members are still on strike they embarked upon for almost a month now.

According to professor Awuzie, "the main cause of the prolongation of the current crisis is this barefaced attempt to impose a change of rules on ASUU, Government wants to use state power to impose a change of rule on ASUU. And ASUU has made it clear that no party in any game has the right to change the rules unilaterally either during the game or when the game is over", Prof Awuzie disclosed. He accused Chief Gamaliel Onosode, the leader of the Federal Government negotiation team of unilaterally trying to alter the framework of the negotiation by announcing to the public that the proposed salaries and other matters covered by the provisional draft agreement are now to be concluded by individual university councils with their appropriate staff unions, stressing that ASUU will not accept state arbitrariness, imposition and industrial autocracy, for this we are ready to sacrifice everything we have if this is required, he noted.

Continuing , the ASUU boss, stated that it has come to the notice of their union, of plan to foil the conclusion of the negotiating process by inciting state Governors on the pretext that any agreement already reached will contravene the constitution but in their meeting with the Vice President on 29th July 2009, they made it clear that any agreement reached by it with the Federal Government, does not compel the states to do the same, rather it recommends benchmark for each university to meet the standards envisaged for the Nigerian university system, he averred. In his words,"our assurance to any state Governor who is worried about the Agreement is , your government will not be compelled, your university guides itself by reference to JAMB, JAMB tells you what the pass mark is but does not tell you what your cut-off point for the departments must be it does not tell you how many students you must take, NUC accredits courses in your universities.

But NUC cannot force you to mount courses that your universities do not have within their progammes. Lecturers from your universities will want to teach courses on adjunct in other universities, they will want to go on sabbatical in other universities, they will therefore need to be judged according to the standards that exist in your universities. Recommending standards to your universities, unless someone is misleading you, cannot reasonably be taken to be the same thing as imposing standards.

It is real mischief to incite state government on the basis of the distortion of facts; the Agreement will not violate the Constitution" On the issue of autonomy, the ASUU President noted that the Federal Government also told lies to the public, because the Acts borders on the composition of councils appointments and removals of Vice Chancellors, Acting Vice Chancellors, the composition of Senate, and Independence of councils, it says nothing about financial independence, he said , In addition, Professor Awuzie, stated that ASUU demand of 109% increase and Government 40% offer is a mere ruse by Minister of Information, Education, and Minister of Labour and challenged them to show the public any part of ASUU document of demands, the minutes of the meeting or the draft Agreement where there was reference to percentage in the discussion of salaries and allowances.