Will Mali's Prime Minister Resign?

West African heads of state have restated their determination that no member of Mali’s transitional government will be allowed to stand in the country’s next presidential election. Their statement has fed a growing debate over who should be allowed to run.

Mali is expected to hold presidential elections in 2013, following the recapturing of the north of the country, which is currently occupied by armed Islamist groups. To regain control of the north, the Economic Community of West African States, whose leaders met most recently on Nov. 11 in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, have made an initial commitment to deploy a 3,000-strong military force to Mali for a year.

Image Credit: IPSnews

The decision to make members of the interim government of Mali ineligible to contest next year’s election was reached during a meeting of the ECOWAS contact group on Mali, held on Jul. 7 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and forwarded to a process of national consultations in Mali for confirmation.  Earlier discussions by Malian political forces had already arrived at the same decision in April.


But during a cabinet meeting on Oct. 31, Mali’s interim prime minister, Cheick Modibo Diarra, announced his intention to run for president, and blocked the release of a communique forbidding members of the transitional administration from presenting themselves as candidates. Questioned about this on national television on Nov. 10, he did not deny his intention to contest the election, saying only that it was too early to talk about it.

Malians are divided on whether the prime minister, the interim president, and other members of the transitional administration should be eligible. News of Diarra’s intention to run for president is a hot topic in the streets of Bamako, with a debate raging in the local press over whether he would need to resign his current post if he wants to stand.

“The prime minister is a citizen like all the others, so he has the right to present himself in the next elections,” Cheick Koné, an English teacher in a Bamako school, told IPS.

Many ordinary Malians feel those who don’t want the prime minister to stand are being unfair. “It’s not normal, because the prime minister is fighting hard against corruption,” Koné added. “And that’s why he must run for president.”

Oumou Berthé, a member of the National Civil Society Forum, believes that ECOWAS’s statement will help to clarify matters. “The fact that the heads of state of ECOWAS are repeating that members of the transitional government should not contest the next elections has relaunched the debate at the international level. And I think that the prime minister will have to take into account the concerns of the international community,” she told IPS.

The Malian prime minister is in charge of organising national consultations among the country’s political actors to resolve this question. But he is suspected by some political figures of manoeuvring with an eye to authorising his candidacy at the end of these meetings.

“The prime minister has realised that he loves power,” said Boubacar Diarra, an activist with the United Front to Safeguard Democracy and the Republic. “He wants to run for president, while those who supported him – like the members of the former junta – are not supportive of his candidacy.”

The United Front is a political coalition that opposed the Mar. 22 coup d’état which toppled the government of President Amadou Toumani Touré, and which has declined to participate in the consultations organised by the interim prime minister.

Dissatisfaction – both within the army and in the wider population – with the Touré government’s response to a January uprising in the north of the country was a key factor leading up to the coup, but an expanding cast of factions then took advantage of the instability and seized the northern part of the country.

Modibo Diarra, a 60-year-old astrophysicist who planned to run in presidential elections originally scheduled for April 2012, was appointed interim prime minister on Apr. 6 in a deal brokered between the coup plotters and ECOWAS.

The prime minister’s desire to stand for election appears to have created a crisis at the heart of the interim government. At the start of November, the minister for territorial administration, Moussa Sinko Coulibaly, who is in charge of organising the elections and is reputedly close to the former junta, told representatives of political parties he opposed Diarra’s candidacy.

“One can’t be part of this transitional government and have political ambitions. That won’t work, because in accepting that members of the transitional government can be in the race, we run the risk of distorting the game,” he said.

Responding to questions about the legitimacy of ruling that members of the transitional administration are ineligible, Mahamadou Sangaré, a political scientist at the University of Bamako, recalled the situation in 1992.

“There is a legal precedent from the transition organised by Amadou Toumani Touré in 1992, after the fall of the government of General Moussa Traoré. The president of that transition and his prime minister, Soumana Sacko, were not candidates in any election at the time,” he said.

“At the end of the day,” Sangaré continued, “the prime minister is in a difficult position, because he has convinced the United Front to participate in consultations on the one hand, while on the other, he has to achieve cohesion in the heart of the government on the question of ineligibility of members of the transition.”

Thanks IpsNews 

Read More...

Tribunal Dismises Airhiavbere's Petition Against Oshiomhole

The Election Petition Tribunal sitting in benin has dismissed the petition filed by Major General Charles Airhiavbere (Rtd)  challenging the educational qualifications of Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

Image Credit: InformationNigeria

In his ruling, the Tribunal Chairman, Suleiman Ambursa said the petition is a pre-election matter since it had to do with the educational qualification of the governor.

“Any person who has any reasonable ground to contest the educational qualification of the first respondent, should seek a declaration in the high court,” Suleiman explained.

After examining the affidavits, counter affidavits and submissions of the counsels for the respondents and petitioner, the  Suleiman said, the tribunal concluded it had no jurisdiction over what took place in 2007.
Mr. Ambursa averred that in line with the provisions of the constitution, candidates are expected to submit copies of their documents to the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) before the election and that the same constitution mandates the electoral body to publish the said documents in order that any other candidate that is not satisfied with the information therein contained might approach the Federal High Court for appropriate interpretation.

The tribunal chairman, Suleiman took a jab at Airhiavbere, descring his petition as a “wild goose chase” for failing to follow the constitutional provisions, the tribuna therafter struck out the petition.

The ruling was received with mixed rections, as supporters of the ACN jubilated round the streets of the Tribunal venue. The Governor was however absent as he was away inspecting landmark projects being executed by his administration accoss the state capital. The deputy Governor, Dr. Odubu who was present at the venue was all smiles with the supporters and described the ruling as a victory for democracy and assured the people of Edo State of continued government presence.

The Tribuna is expected to deliver its ruling today on the motion by the petitioner that the governorship election itself was marred by irregularities. 

Read More...

N5000 Note: Jonathan Has No Brains - El rufai

Ex Minister of FCT and CPC chieftain, Malam El rufai has criticized the government of president Goodluck Jonaathan for being too indecisive and lacking direction. His remarks comes barely few days after the president ordered the suspension of the proposed implementation of the N5000 notes by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

El Rufai made a shock statement when he callously tweeted that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is the only person with a brain in the government of President Jonathan. Thus implying  that everyone within the president had lost touch of governance. When asked about the highly rated fiance  minister, Ngozi Okonjo Iwealla, Mallam El rufai replied that Mrs Iwealla “is equally intelligent maybe beclouded now,” but “nowhere near Sanusi Lamido Sanusi...I know both”.

Reeling from a barrage of public anger and disagreement, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) today buckled under pressure and suspended the planned introduction of the N5000 note following a directive from the presidency.

This amazing U-turn came after the presidency through the Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, yesterday declared that President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered that the planned introduction of N5,000 be put on hold.

But Mallam el rufai who is said to be related to Mallam Lamido Sanusi by marriage was not impressed. He tweeted:

"finally the emperor halted SLS's N5000 note, where do you now stand?"..his indecisive fickleness doesn't affect me!" and added:

"Oga El Rufai was supporting Sanusi before now."...& will ALWAYS will, SLS is the only brain in GEJ crew...."

Read More...

Kano Town was Founded by an Igbo Trader

Do You know that the Town Kwankwaso in Kano State, the Home of the State Governor, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso was founded by an Igbo Trader, Mr Okonkwo about 90years ago?

Img: Okuru

The Story.
An Igbo trader called Mr. Okonkwo found a convenient farm gate site along the railway track leading to Kano where he could buy, thresh and mill groundnut. He set up his thresher and mill and erected a signboard reading "OKONKWO & SONS ENTERPRISES". Soon he started getting patronage from neighboring villagers and farmers who found it convenient for trade because of proximity to the railway. With time, the spot became lively with business activities and people started erecting huts and market stalls.

By this time, OKONKWO AND SONS was being pronounced "Kwakwason" by the locals. Thus a famer or people from neighboring settlements would say "I am going over to kwankwason to thresh my groundnuts"

So it was that the town of KWANKWASO established. There is nobody born over 90years ago who would claim he was born in Kwankwaso. - Written by Danjuma Azemobo Musa [via Elombah perspectives]

Read More...

Reps Vow to Impeach Jonathan Over Non-Implementation of Budget

You would recall that members of the House of Representative had on the 2nd of July 2012 threatened to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan over failure to implement the 2012 budget. The lawmakers are still in pursuit of that course.

Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, speaker of the House of Representative had last week directed chairmen of all the 89 standing committees to submit reports on level of implementation of the 2012 budget by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) under their oversight. The action of the speaker suggests that the legislative arm of government is serious about the issue.

An anonymous source confirms the process;

“it is the resolve of the House that if the report of the committees on budget implementation indicates failure, the parliament will not collect the 2013 appropriation bill. The budget has to be implemented to a reasonable degree”. “We are not just issuing threats but its our resolve that anybody who refused to implement the 2012 Appropriations Act will be impeached because we won’t allow them to continue violating the law with impunity.

Despite the non-implementation of the 2012 budget, the upper arm of the National Assembly have hinted at quick passage of the 2013 budget. 

Read More...

Fuel Scarcity Rocks Kwara, Lagos, Oyo

Several South-West states in Nigeria have been hit with fuel scarcity, this is largely attributed to the failure of the NNPC to repair the Arepo distribution pipeline, which erupted in flames following a vandalisation.

According  to OsunDefender , NNPC isn't wiling to send more men to effect repairs at the damaged site reason being that the last bath of men, the corporation had earlier sent to checkmate the crises were abducted and killed.

The General Manager, Media, NNPC, Dr. Farouk Ibrahim in a telephone chat had this to say;

“What is happening now is not fuel shortages but disruption of the distribution channels. With the damage of the Arepo pipeline it has become very difficult to evacuate petroleum products in Lagos and other neighbouring states.” He also noted that the damaged pipeline carries between 9 and 11 million litres of fuel daily, adding that efforts to evacuate products by trucking has not proved as effective and efficient as the pipelines, as “most of the private depots have not developed enough infrastructure for trucking.”

This recent development has caused a hike in petroleum prices across the affected states. In Lagos, there have been reports of redundant filling stations while others with the products sell at an outrageous price of between N100-N120/Liter

Read More...