By Dayo Benson, Samuel Oyadongha & Gbenga Ariyibi   September 2, 2010

LAGOS—AMID speculations that next year’s governorship election will not take place in states where by-elections were conducted following nullification of elections by Courts of Appeal, the Independent National Electoral Commission, yesterday, clarified that governorship poll will take place in only 32 states.

States where governorship election will not take place in January 2011 are Edo, Ondo, Rivers and Anambra. Rivers poll will, however, hold June 2011 while Edo and Ondo are scheduled for 2012 and that of Anambra is 2014.

INEC clarification followed amendment of Section 180 of the 1999 Constitution and the recent Jos High Court judgment which confirmed that the tenure of Governor Segun Oni of Ekiti State would end in 2011.

Ekiti was one of the states where fresh election took place following the voiding of 2007 mandate by Court of Appeal. Other affected states were Sokoto, Adamawa, Cross River and Bayelsa. While elections held in all the wards of these four states, that of Ekiti took place in 61 out of
its 177 wards.

A statement signed by INEC Secretary, Abdullahi A Kaugama, said: “Pursuant to the powers on the Independent National Electoral Commission by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2010 and all other powers conferred on it in that behalf, the Independent National Electoral Commission hereby informs all the stakeholders and the general public that governorship election will hold in all the states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in January, 2011 except in Rivers, Edo, Ondo and Anambra States where governorship elections will hold as indicated below:

Asher                                    29 August 2010

A gang of four armed men last Friday night kidnapped the son of first Republic Prime Minister, Dr Jhailil Tafawa Balewa in Abuja. Dr. Jhailil is also the leader of one of the Goodluck Jonathan 2011 campaign groups.

The Kidnappers who are still keeping the medical doctor turned politician in their hideout as at the time of filing this report are said to be demanding a ransom of N100m.

According to sources close to the Balewa family, the kidnappers stormed his 29, Ashirk Jarma Street residence in the Jabi area of Abuja at about 7pm all armed with action riffles and took him away after seizing their mobile phones, even as his wife, Mrs Afsat Tafawa Balewa, daughter of one time Premier of Western Region, Chief Samuel Akintola, pleaded with her husband's abductors.

Dr Jhailil Tafawa Balewa said to be a close friend of President Goodluck Jonathan, has been working with a non-political Pressure Group, "GOODLUCK NAKOWA" (GOODLUCK FOR ALL) to drum support for the President to contest the 2011 Presidential elections. He had also led the group to Lagos last Wednesday to interface with Journalists ahead of its formal launch in Abuja September, 8.

Dr Jhalil Tafawa Balewa was said to have purchased his air tickets that Friday, ready to lead the Goodluck Na kowa Group to put up a show at Umuahia, where the State Governor Orji was defecting to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Although efforts to reach the National Secretary of the GoodLuck Na Kowa Group, Mallam Mohammed Bala Abdullahi failed as he was said to have probably gone to the Umuahia Jamboree of the PDP, sources close to the group confirmed that their National Chairman Dr Jhailil Tafawa Balewa had been kidnapped and the kidnappers are demanding 100 million naira ransom.

The source disclosed to LEADERSHIP SUNDAY that the kidnappers gained entrance into the house due to lapses on the part of the security men who allowed them in with out proper scrutiny.

"They immediately ordered everyone to lie face down and so we could not see their faces", he said. He disclosed that the kidnappers took away some money before fleeing with Dr. Jhailil. He disclosed that the kidnappers demanded for N100m, pointing out that the motive for the kidnap could be economic. The source said everything was being done to get the Jhailil released.

FCT police PRO Mr. jimoh Moshood said he was yet to get any details of the kidnap.

Ahamefula Ogbu                       25 August 2010

Information available to THISDAY said Soboma went to play football and was on his way out of the field around Nembe street, town Area, Port Harcourt, Rivers State when four men in French suit and driving a Corolla car accosted him.

Unsuspecting Soboma was said to have spurned their bold attempt to intimidate him and they shot him at close range with the automatic weapons concealed in their wears and immediately left the environment.

His aides who were too stunned for the attack could not react on time as some were wounded and are receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.

Port Harcourt — A major blow was yesterday evening dealt on the federal government amnesty programme when the leader of "Outlaws" and major urban guerrilla, Mr. Soboma George, was killed by four men while two of his close aides were injured.

Conflicting reports said two girls who were in his company also lost their lives though it is not yet clear what led to the attack and by which group.

Jide Ajani            22 August 2010

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is now stalled in preparing a time-table for next year's election following the power play between the Presidency and the National Assembly over the amended 1999 Constitution.

Not even a tentative time table has been prepared by INEC.

The reason, Sunday Vanguard gathered, is the continuing controversy over the effective date of the amended constitution.

Saturday, 21 August 2010 00:00 From Martin Oloja, Abuja Bureau Chief News - National

Urges Electorate To Defend Votes  
FG Releases N87.7b To INEC

ONE of the uncertainties surrounding the 2011 elections was partially removed yesterday as President Goodluck Jonathan signed the Electoral Bill into law, saying the ceremony was a demonstration of his administration’s commitment to free, fair and credible polls.
Jonathan who signed the bill into law in his office in the presence of the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, representative of the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole and Ministers of Justice and Finance, called on Nigerians to take advantage of the law to ensure their votes count, warning that tomorrow will not excuse avoidable failures that could be corrected today.
Also, the Federal Government said the approved N87.7 billion for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the polls was released to the commission yesterday.  
In his address after signing the Act, Jonathan said: “At my inauguration on the 6th of May, I made commitments to Nigerians that I would do all within my powers to preserve the sovereignty by guaranteeing the sanctity of the ballots. This commitment was made because of my belief that unless the right of our people to decide who governs them is enforced and protected, politicians and government officials will not be persuaded to act at all times for the common good of all.

Abuja — A REPORT published by an international news agency, Reuters, quoting a Presidency source as having declared that President Goodluck Jonathan was considering not contesting the presidential elections due next January may have unsettled the Presidency, yesterday, as the government immediately reacted saying President Jonathan was yet to make a commitment.

The news agency in the report quoted the Presidency source as having said that President Jonathan will, however, make his intentions known by the end of the month.

Henry Umoru      3 August 2010

Abuja — Former Minister of Police Affairs, Major-General David Jemibewon (rtd) said yesterday that if the present political imbroglio on zoning must be nipped in the bud to allow President Goodluck Jonathan contest the 2011 presidential election, the leadership of the People's Democratic Party, PDP, must make a special case for zoning.

By Joe Nwankwo (Abuja) and Emmanuel Nzomiwu (Enugu)

Attahiru Jega repeated on Tuesday that Nigerians in the Diaspora cannot vote in the election next year, but their expertise will be handy for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

3 death row inmates ask court to stop execution

Published 20/07/2010 23:35:02 Vanguard  

By Chris Ochayi

ABUJA—The Federal Government said yesterday that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, would conduct next year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, online nationwide.
Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu  Rufa’i, who said this at the submission of Implementation Committee on e-learning draft report in Abuja, added that the government was ready to deploy e-learning infrastructure across the education sector to ensure the purpose is achieved.

She said electronic learning is now a common platform to enhancing education delivery all over the world, adding, “our country must keep abreast of the current trends in education sector to meet our diverse developmental objectives.”

According to her: “it is as a result of this that the Federal Ministry of Education sought the approval of the Federal Government to deploy e-learning infrastructure across the education sector.”