₦airaland Forum

Onyekakeyah: IPPs: Need to meet set targets
Tuesday, 17 May 2011 00:00 By Luke Onyekakeyah Opinion - Columnists
 
RECENT media reports that technical hitches are threatening the realisation of the target set for the 1,074 megawatt Alaoji Independent Power Plant (IPP) in Aba, Abia State is unsettling. The development means that unless some urgent steps are taken to rectify whatever anomaly might have cropped up, the projections of the Jonathan administration to boost power supply based on the IPPs would be jeopardised. This should be avoided, as boosting power supply is a central thrust of this administration.

The IPPs, for now, form part of the strategic platform on which the Jonathan administration based its resolve to turn around the power sector. The other is the privatisation of the extant subsidiary companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), which is already in top gear. It would, therefore, be disappointing for the IPPs to be mismanaged, and thereby failing to meet the national expectation. Whatever should be done to ensure speedy and hitch-free completion and commissioning of the Alaoji IPP should be done. Nigerians are expecting nothing less than an improved power supply regime from the Jonathan administration.

Since the Jonathan administration has by word and action demonstrated its seriousness and determination to improve power supply in a manner distinct from what obtained in the past, it should take keener interest in what is happening on this front. Nigerians would be disappointed if at the end of the day nothing substantial is achieved like before. That shouldn’t be the take of this administration.

The Alaoji Power plant is one of the nine IPPs proposed for the country since the days of the Obasanjo administration, all in an attempt to boost power supply but without much success till date. Alaoji is the second biggest in the country after Egbin in Lagos State, which has installed capacity of 1,320 megawatt.

The others are Geregu, Kogi State (414 mw); Omotosho, Ondo State (335mw); Papalanto, Ogun State (335mw); Gbarian, Bayelsa (225mw); Ihovbor, Edo State (451mw); Egbema, Imo State (338mw); Calabar, Cross River State (561mw) and Ibom, Akwa Ibom (188mw). All these are supposed to be gas powered thermal plants. As a result, the availability and steady supply of gas is critical for their take off and efficient functioning.

It’s on this basis that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) awarded a N1.3 billion contract to an indigenous company for the laying of gas pipeline from the supply receptors in the Niger Delta to Alaoji. The contract was awarded in May 2010, and was scheduled for completion and commissioning in November, 2010. Unfortunately, six months after, the project has neither been completed nor ready for commissioning as earlier planned. This is the crux of the matter. What happened? What’s delaying the project commissioning?

According to reports, just at the time when the plant was already over due for commissioning, it was discovered that the gas pipelines being laid to Alaoji were not suitable for the plant. The contractor seems to have done a shoddy job. This development, the report added, may compel the NNPC to review the contract. The Guardian reported on Thursday, May 10 on its front-page that ‘the size and nature of the pipeline to transport gas to the plant cannot effectively convey the product because the pressure level is very low.”

Consequently, the workability of the pipeline has been put into question. For instance, it was reportedly discovered that whereas the ideal size of pipeline required for such a high-pressure facility is 24 inches, what has been laid instead were 18 inches pipeline that engineers of the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC), a subsidiary of the NNPC, have adjudged not workable. It simply means that Alaoji cannot come on stream now as earlier planned. There might be a delay of at least another six months before the issues are sorted out. This administration won’t achieve much through such lapses.

The NGC officials have categorically stated that, “it is technically not feasible for the new 18 inches pipeline, measuring 2.5 kilometers to carry gas efficiently from the existing 12 inches pipeline, which was built in the 1960s by Shell.”

[b]The extant pipeline, which are obsolete and of questionable integrity, were said to have been meant for transporting gas to manufacturing companies in Aba but not for a big power plant that requires a high pressure pipeline of 24 inches.

There are other controversies surrounding the project like the way and manner the contract was awarded without following due process but merely on the basis of a national emergency tag without competitive bidding. While this might constitute a breach of the contract awarding process in Nigeria, for me, that issue wouldn’t have arisen if the job had been completed on schedule satisfactorily.

The issue is that the contractor failed to deliver what is acceptable. If the Alaoji plant and indeed any of the IPPs were to be treated as a national emergency, with the objective of achieving quick result, so be it. Nigerians need improved power supply urgently. But problem arises when a supposedly national emergency is treated with levity after much hope and expectation have been placed on it.[/b]

[b]There are some pertinent questions that should be asked basing on the circumstances of the Alaoji project. For instance, is the NNPC the appropriate institution that should award the contract considering that there is a Presidential Task Force on Power that has the specific mandate of getting the electricity issue rolling? What role did the Task Force play? Why was the NGC, the officially recognised experts in gas technology, not carried along?

Furthermore, why was the contract elevated to the status of a national emergency when it was clear that it wasn’t going to be treated as such? A national emergency is something like a natural or man-made disaster that requires urgent mobilisation of available human and financial resources in order to achieve immediate remediation. If that were the case, why was the plant not handled with that urgency after it was given emergency status?

On the issue of appropriate sizing of the pipeline, why was the discovery made six months after the scheduled completion date? Were there no specifications in the contract on the size of pipeline that should be laid? If yes, why not? And if no, why? Also, were there no penalty clauses for failure to deliver on the part of the contractor?

It’s important to find out what went wrong to prevent recurrence. The people and the economy are suffering in this disgusting regime of national blackout. It’s not just enough for the NNPC to review the contract after it has contributed in frustrating the realisation of the target set for Alaoji. There should be sanctions where necessary.

President Jonathan had placed much confidence in the Alaoji Plant such that shortly after his inauguration in May, 2010, he paid an official visit to the plant as a way of underlining it importance. He had promised to ensure that Alaoji would be completed on schedule in order to have the over 1000 megawatt from the plant added to the national grid. The expectation was that by harnessing the 1,074 mw from the plant, there would be a boost in the electricity supply. Achieving that would boost the credibility of the administration and its Task Force on Power, which is working round the clock to make a difference.

Finally, it’s amazing that we’re talking of a shoddily done electric power project that doesn’t seem to have involved the Presidential Task Force on Power. A task force, by definition, is a group of people and resources put together to accomplish a particular mission. The mission in this case is to boost power supply in a shortest possible time using all the resources at its disposal.

President Jonathan has appointed an internationally recognised engineer in the person of Prof. Bart Nnaji as the head of the power supply task force. It would amount to double standards if the job the task force is supposed to do were still done through the laxity of the ministry and the NNPC. There should be visible difference arising from the action of the task force since it’s not going to be there forever.[/b]


http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48208:onyekakeyah-ipps-need-to-meet-set-targets-&catid=38:columnists&Itemid=615

Nigeria secures fresh $20b investment pledge for power sector
Tuesday, 17 May 2011 00:00 By Roseline Okere Business Services - Business News

THE Federal Government has secured additional firm investment commitment of about $20.1 billion (N3.2 trillion) from investors across the globe, for the country’s power revival project.

Already, the World Bank had offered up to $400 million for this programme and the Central Bank of Nigeria is also providing N300 billion in credit facilities for investments in the power sector.

Specifically, according to a release from the Ministry of Power, United States of America (USA), United Kingdom (UK), and the government of India have made a total financial commitment of $100 million, while the Commonwealth Business Council has also pledged $20 billion.

The release disclosed that Brazil, the European Union and Islamic Development Bank have also signified their interest to partner with the Federal Government in its bid to provide uninterrupted power supply.

It added that the government has completed and commenced some solar projects in Ogun, Bauchi, Katsina and Cross River State.

On the nation’s power generation, the release stated: “Reliable power has been provided throughout the year. The average of the average peak monthly generation was 3208mw compared to 2009 at 2642mw. A difference of about 566mw per month or about a 21 per cent increase.

“Average of average peak monthly to date in 2011 is 3563mw. To date in 2011 the average of the average peak generation was 3426mw in January; 3419mw in February; 3624mw in March and in April to date, it is 3772mw. “The annual average on the bar figures in 2009 were 2975mw, in 2010 3431mw and to date in 2011 3888mw”.

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) had projected $35 billion yearly investment in the power sector over the next 10 years, for effective power supply.

The Director-General of BPE, Bolanle Onagoruwa said that the nation required such yearly investment over the next 10 years to meet the Vision 20-2020 target of 40,000 megawatts.

The BPE is expected to release the list of selected bidders for the 17 power firms being offered for sale by the Federal Government as part of the reform of the power sector in the next one week.

Onagoruwa said that bidders would be chosen for the 11 distribution firms based on their ability to reduce transmission losses in the network.

She said: “Under the proposed privatisation strategy for distribution companies, a private sector operator will acquire controlling equity interest in any of the distribution firms with a view to rapidly improving its operational efficiency.

“So, unlike the traditional transaction approach when bidders merely bid on price for the equity shares, bidders will bid on the basis of a trajectory of technical, commercial and collection loss improvements, usually during the first five years of post-privatisation operation (or other number of years agreed with the regulator and advisers).”

The BPE received 174 expressions of interest for the four thermal and two hydro power stations, and 157 for the 11 distribution firms, in which investors will be allowed to take stakes of up to 51 per cent.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48216:nigeria-secures-fresh-20b-investment-pledge-for-power-sector&catid=31:business&Itemid=562

Speakership: Titanic race for Lagos Assembly hot seat
By SESAN OLUFOWOBI
Tuesday, 17 May 2011

Although the Action Congress of Nigeria won all the 40 seats in the Lagos State House of Assembly, there is a hot contest for the speakership of the House, SESAN OLUFOWOBI writes

When the elected members of the Lagos State House of Assembly sit for inauguration in June, the main issue that will be on the mind of the lawmakers and other stakeholders in the state is who becomes speaker out of the 40 members of the House.

There are ongoing permutations and horse -trading among the elected members of the House, leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria and other interested parties. Some names are being touted for speakership; some are seen as genuine and others are seen as mere rabble rousers, who just want to use the opportunity created by the squabbles to realise their selfish ambition of getting juicy appointments in the House.

However, serious attention is being given to four elected members of the house, who have, more or less, made their intention known. They include the incumbent Speaker of the House, Adeyemi Ikuforiji; former deputy speaker of the House, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Tejuoso; the Majority Leader, Mr. Kolawole Taiwo, and Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Ajibayo Adeyeye.

The ACN is lucky in one regard; it won all the 40 available seats in the assembly, so, the issue of who becomes the next Speaker of the Centre of excellence might be treated as a family affair.

A member of the House, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that the issue of speakership would be determined by the leaders of the party, who, he said had a firm grip on the members of the House.

He said, “Don’t forget that all of us are in the House by the grace of our leaders. The party primaries were practically selections. 22 of us are returning, while the rest are new members. I want to believe that apart from those who will get other political positions; others who did not return were those the leaders saw as becoming lone rangers instead of team players.”

Ikuforiji is believed to to be most favoured because he has the support of a strong ACN leader and former governor of the state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

A former lecturer, Ikuforiji, who is from Epe became a member of the House in 2003. He contested the speakership position with Jokotola Pelumi, but lost. When Pelumi was removed by his colleagues in December 2005, Ikuforiji was elected Speaker. He was re-elected Speaker in June 2007 and was able to manage the House properly.

Shortly before the governorship/House of Assembly elections, Ikuforiji clinched the Ikeja State Constituency 1 ticket. On April 26, 2011, the ACN won the election in the constituency and he bounced back to become a force to reckon with for speakership position.

But it was gathered that the Tinubu factor might not be enough to ensure Ikuforiji emerges speaker again. While the party leaders are said to be tired of the faceoff between the executive and the legislative arms of the government and might persuade Tinubu to shift his support, other ambitious members of the House are desirous of a power shift.

One of them is Tejuoso from Mushin Constituency II. Born on March 25, 1965 to the family of Chief and late Mrs. Emmanuel Smith, the former deputy speaker has been in the House since 2003.

Apart from the fact that Tejuoso is returning to the House for the third time, she also has an axe to grind with Ikuforiji; she was impeached at an unusual emergency plenary session in August 2009.

When Ikuforiji put the matter to vote, 28 lawmakers voted in favour of Tejuoso’s removal, while three were against it and one abstained. Tejuoso was accused of gross misconduct bordering on disrespect to the House, high-handedness and violation of the assembly’s rules and ethics.

Ikuforiji said he was not happy about Tejuoso’s impeachment but added that his hands were tied.

But a source close to the former deputy speaker put the blame on Ikuforiji. She said, “He could have prevented it if he wanted, but he did not.”

Now Tejuoso is keen on becoming speaker. She is not coming as a noise maker; she is believed to have the support of one of Tinubu’s lieutenants and a political godfather in his own right, Dr. Muiz Banire, who is the state Commissioner for the Environment.

Tejuoso is using Banire to pressurise Tinubu to dump Ikuforiji, saying that since he has been in the position since 2005, it is time for another person to take over. It was learnt that she has the support of some of her returning colleagues in this venture.

Kolawole is another member, who has his eyes on the Speakership. He has told those close to him that his current office as the Majority Leader of the House placed him in good stead to mount the saddle as the next Speaker of the assembly.

It was gathered that while the going was sour between Fashola and his mentor, Tinubu, Ikuforiji was penciled as the next governor. Kolawole, who was said to be trusted by the ACN leaders, was subsequently positioned as Speaker.



He was allowed to handle proceedings in the House by the incumbent Speaker, which was seen as a growing process for the Majority Leader to take over the mantle of leadership as Speaker from Ikuforiji.



However, the eventual adoption of Fashola by Tinubu and other party elders scuttled the plan. But Kolawole is, however, unwilling to relinquish his dream of becoming the next Speaker. Members who are sympathetic to Kolawole are already questioning the rationale behind Ikuforiji’s continuous stay as the Speaker.



Kolawole is believed, by those close to him, to have “deep interest” in the post.



He is said to be working on the theory that he was prepared for the position as one of the principal officers in the House who had supported Ikuforiji over the years.



However, some other members are already bringing up the issue of zoning in the sharing of political offices and appointments in the state.

While the governor is from Lagos Central, his newly elected deputy is from Lagos West. The members are saying that the position of number three citizen in the state should naturally come from Lagos East.

If the zoning system is followed to the letter in the power sharing arrangement of the state, Adeyeye might benefit.

Adeyeye, who is currently the Deputy Majority Leader of the House has, however, shown little or no interest in becoming the Speaker.



http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201105172534078

Power distribution
By Agency Reporter
Tuesday, 17 May 2011


Vice-President Namadi Sambo on Monday gave indications that the Federal Government welcomed a proposal to involve the state governments in power distribution to enable them recoup their investments in the ongoing power projects.

As a result, the states could have shares in the incoming power companies.


A statement from the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Umar Sani, explained that the plan to involve states in power distribution was proposed by the Rivers State Government.

River State Government raised the proposal in a bid to take-over the Rivers State Distribution Network of the power project.

The objective of the proposal was to create an embedded generation zone in Rivers State to feed off power generated at Omoku, Trans-Amadi, Eleme and Afam/Ban Ogoi power stations.

The statement said Sambo gave indications of the Federal Government’s favourable disposition to the plan to involve states in power distribution.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201105172521231

^^^
Gbam!

We spent over ten minutes at the plaza.

pic 1: Joining the queue at the plaza.
pic 2: Four minutes later. Virtually no movement

Good news for commutters on the Lekki axis!

Seems LAGBUS has started operating on the route.

I noticed a few of the buses last week and decided to be on the look out for them this week to confirm that they have started operating on the route.

Here are some pictures from this morning:

Pic 1: At Femi Okunnu Estate taken at 7:10 a.m.
pic 2: Jakande (@ 7.14 a.m.)
pic 3:@ Oniru junction (mobil in the background) - 7.36 a.m.
pic 4: in front of Addax Petroleum - 7.37 a.m.

The time taken between Femi Okunnu and Addax was about 27 minutes. The delay was caused by traffic at the toll plaza.

I am very happy to hear this.

There are those who have been wondering if Nigeria could deny citizens of developed countries entry visa. Well, there you have it folks.

Here is a man who professes that Nigeria is a failed state that would disintegrate in a few years yet is on the board of an institution in that same country.

Good riddance to bad rubbish!

guseman:
I remember that the contractor was seriously working on the road weeks before the election, now election is over, we are own our own!   

Did you notice that weeks to the elections, LASTMA officials became uncharacteristically polite. When motorists beat traffic lights, they only shook their heads unlike before when they would hop on an okada and catch up with the offender at the next traffic light or go slow.

That lasted until exactly a week after the elections when they went back to their old ways.

Made me think 'So these people can actually be controlled?"

Someone up there must have warned them that getting involved with any motorist who decided to make a public spectacle of the government would mean trouble for them.


--------------------

I follow one way, LASTMA gave me a salute!
By Abimbola Adelakun[b], Published: Monday, March 07, 2011 [/b]
     

One of the best things about living in a developing country like Nigeria is not democracy, it is election year. It is a crucial time in the life of any government so they tend to be extra nice.

There is a road leading to my house that has been under repairs for close to three years. Since they brought a caterpillar to run over the road sometime last year, nothing much has happened. In the dry season, the mountain of dust that this road conjures is worse than Mount Vesuvius erupting all over again. My house is full of dust. I clean but it makes no difference.

Until the road is fixed completely, we will suffer untold hardships. The rainy season was worse. The road became so muddy that it is hell either driving or walking through. Your feet and your shoes get caked with mud. I wrecked several pairs of shoes on that road. My friends no longer visit because it is hell driving through a bad road while their car tyres are covered with mud.

Some weeks ago, I came back home and found workmen working on the road! As I type this, work has advanced on the road so much that in another one week, they should be pouring tar on it. And this is a road that has been abandoned for a long time!

See why I love democracy? See why I love election year? I plan to make a recommendation to National Assembly to amend the Constitution so that we can have an election every year. That way, things will get done quicker and we get away with everything more. Suddenly, I began to understand why, the other day in Ojota, as I was about to cross the road, one of the Kai officials came to whisper to me not to so that I would not be arrested. He told me to use the flyover. Previously, they would have waited for me to do so and march me into the Green Maria.


Funny, I began to understand why LASTMA guys are friendlier these days and only a few Policemen still halfheartedly pursue you for not wearing a helmet. I am sure if I drive on a one way route, rather than pursue me, they will give a smart salute and say, “Well done, Madam.”

I love election year, ha-ha!!

Holy Mallam the comedian sang, “I follow one way, LASTMA find me reach house….”

Poor guy, he should have done it in an election year.

Right now, I plan to push my luck a little bit farther. I will put up a car sticker that says ‘I follow one way, LASTMA gave me a salute!”


http://www.google.punchontheweb.com/blog_read.aspx?read=241

Guseman, not doubting your integrity but check the date/clock on your camera.

It seems to be a day slow.

That picture could not have been taken on May 15 2011- a Sunday. The school girl couldn't have been on her way to school on Sunday. Could she?

On a lighter note, I also could not help "seeing" the following in the pictures:

Paddy,

dem still dey work there?

I hope some Nlanders will not see themselves in those pictures else they might descend on you o!



I feel your pain.

In a situation like this, who do we blame:

the government or the contractor?

^^^

Hear Hear!

The moral burden of mixing the old and the new.

Ahmadinejad must have grown a few white hairs from this.

Iran postpones acid blinding punishment

Court-ordered blinding of Iranian man who hurled acid in the face of a university classmate has been postponed.

The court-ordered blinding of an Iranian man who hurled acid in the face of university classmate Ameneh Bahrami has been postponed.

The sentence had been scheduled to be carried out at noon (7:30am GMT) on Saturday at the judiciary hospital in Tehran in the presence of a physician and representatives of the coroners' office and the prosecution.

Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabari, reporting from Tehran, said: "The victim showed up at the hospital this morning where she was told that because of various interviews she had granted western media, the judiciary officials had decided to postpone carrying out the punishment, which is five drops of sulfuric acid in each eye."

"The execution of qesas (retribution in kind) of Majid (Movahedi), has been postponed to an unknown date," the ISNA news agency reported on its website just hours before the appointed time.

Movahedi was sentenced to be blinded in both eyes in February 2009 after being convicted of hurling acid in the face of Bahrami when she repeatedly spurned his offer of marriage.

His victim, who has been the driving force behind the sentence, had travelled to the Iranian capital from Spain in the expectation of it being carried out and had even said she was ready to do the blinding herself.

"I was very happy that this was going to end today. And yes, I was going to carry out the punishment myself, but I was afraid that I would get acid on my hands, so a doctor is going to do it. It's been six years that I've been waiting for this day," Bahrami told Al Jazeera.

"The verdict is completely legal and I would like to carry it out. But if it is not possible, then the physician designated by the judiciary will do it," she said.

It would be first time such a penalty was carried out in Iran. Amnesty International had called on Friday for a stay of the sentence, which it described as "a cruel and inhuman punishment amounting to torture".

"Regardless of how horrific the crime suffered by Ameneh Bahrami, being blinded with acid is a cruel and inhuman punishment amounting to torture," the London-based human rights watchdog said.

"The Iranian authorities have a responsibility under international law to ensure it does not go ahead."

The Islamic sharia code in force in Iran provides for 'eye-for-an-eye'-style retributive justice, most commonly for murder, or those convicted of causing intentional physical injury.
Bahrami, who was 24 when she met Movahedi in 2002, now lives in Spain where she has been undergoing medical treatment for her disfigurement for years.

She is blind in both eyes and still has serious injuries to her face and body. She told ISNA that the implementation of qesas would serve as a lesson for other acid throwers in the country.

"I still strongly stand with the carrying out of the qesas. I want qesas. I will become more serene," she told the news agency on May 11.

"This serenity will not stem from the culprit suffering hardship and pain but that (with the carrying out of the sentence) there is the probability of more deterrence regarding those who want to commit this crime."

A number of acid attacks have been reported in Iran in recent years.


http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/201151484341703853.html

An Eye for an Eye: Iran's Blinding Justice System
By Azadeh Moaveni Sunday, May 15, 2011

Iran's judiciary has postponed the blinding of a man as punishment for throwing acid in the face of a young woman in 2004, after she rejected his offer of marriage. The delay came in the face of mounting outcry both inside Iran and in the West over the sentencing, which is permissible under qesas, a principle of Islamic law allowing victims analogous retribution for violent crimes.

The case has stirred passionate interest in Iran since 2004, when Majid Movahedi, a university student, accosted Ameneh Bahrami on a Tehran street and tossed a red bucket of sulfuric acid in her face. Bahrami, an attractive young engineer, had repeatedly spurned Movahedi's proposals and reported his harassment to the police. She was blinded and severely disfigured in the attack, and has spent the intervening years between Iran and Spain undergoing numerous unsuccessful operations to reconstruct her face and repair her sight. (See photos of a semi-official view of Iran.)

Much of the public outcry in Iranian media, news websites, and blogs, surrounds the Iranian legal system, which produces such verdicts by practising an 'eye for an eye' approach to justice based on seventh century Islamic jurisprudence. These principles effectively offer victims of violent crime two legal choices, forgiveness or qesas, analogous retribution. "Bahrami must sit in the place of the judge and either forgive her attacker or take revenge" says Asieh Amini, an Iranian women's rights activist living in Europe? "The legal system pushes her into a dead-end, and it's really the law that's deficient here." Bahrami eventually chose qesas, determined that her experience would serve as deterrence for future crimes. "I want people like him to know that they will suffer forever if they cause someone such suffering," she said on BBC Persian television Saturday.

Speaking on the interactive television program Saturday, Bahrami said she favored a more modern course, suing for damages. "I want him to be punished foremost. But if there are human rights considerations, then I'll accept two million Euros and his life imprisonment," she said. The program featured an emotional exchange between Bahrami and Movahedi's weeping mother, who begged for her forgiveness. It drew a flood of callers from inside Iran, many of them concerned that Bahrami's "forgiveness," while perhaps the most humanitarian course, would encourage such a horrific crime by implying legal leniency. "Ameneh, daughter of Iran, we understand your joy and we support you," wrote a prominent Iranian blogger, Dalghak Irani, featured on the program. (See photos of health care in Tehran.)

Bahrami, who was scheduled to herself administer the blinding drops to an anaesthetized Movahedi, learned of the delay outside the Judiciary Hospital in Tehran.

[b]Human rights groups and Western governments pleaded with Iranian authorities last week to call off the punishment. Iran's government usually responds to such foreign pressure by lashing out rather than backing off, but Bahrami's case poses a unique dilemma: unlike many human rights cases which excite opinion primarily in the West, it has resonated deeply throughout Iranian society; the attention inside Iran raises the prospect of a public backlash at a time when the regime is deeply divided by political infighting. "There's no doubt public opinion inside Iran has been stirred up," says Amini. "There's been a huge outpouring of sympathy for both of them, and this puts pressure on the government."

Apart from its headline-grabbing story line, the case is transfixing Iranians because it reflects how their society's old mores are clashing with modern norms. This was no village crime committed by an illiterate, but a tragedy that unfolded in the nation's capital between two educated urbanites. It underscores how Iranian women's social standing — they are now in the majority at universities and active throughout society — fits awkwardly with deep-seated patriarchal attitudes. Women direct top-grossing films in Iran, run galleries, and write best-sellers, but are still covered by cultural mores that often approximate the severe conservatism of neighboring Afghanistan. "This case really highlights the sexist attitudes and double standards within Iran society," says Nayereh Tohidi, an Iran expert and a professor of women's studies at California State University, Northridge. "[Based on] such customs, a man sees it as his prerogative to want and possess the woman he desires, regardless of her feelings and mutual love." Tohidi adds, "This 'eye for an eye,' tribal approach to crimes underlies how the law reinforces a cycle of violence instead of reducing it. A young blind man is going to be added to a young blind woman for society to take care of."[/b]

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2071529,00.html#ixzz1MVWu68jG

Ameneh Bahrami, a victim of an acid attack sits in her Tehran apartment with her mother and the remains of the clothing she wore when she was attacked.

* Deleted*

Double Post!

Xammy,

Here's Keyamo for you:


https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-668241.0.html

Xammy, you wanted to know where Keyamo is?

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-640860.0.html

Here he is.

That would make things worse o!

I prefer this present system to a monarchy or miitary rule.

At least with this one, I am free to post like I am doing now. We can also write petitions against those we are not satified with (https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-667714.0.html#msg8329140)

At least we have government of the people, by some people, for some people.

Jammeh of Gambia is planning to make himself a monarch (one of the tricks of despots to hang on to power - remember Empreror Bokasa?):

johnie:
Gambian Opposition Leader Critical of Bid to Make President Jammeh 'King'

Ousainu Darbo of the United Democratic Party says those leading the campaign know President Jammeh cannot win re-election in 2011

James Butty | Washington, D.C. November 09, 2010

The leader of Gambia’s opposition United Democratic Party told VOA no leader can change Gambia from a republic to a monarchy without first going to a referendum.

This comes as reports say a number of tribal chiefs are rallying support throughout the country to give President Yahya Jammeh the title of king.


Opposition leader Ousainu Darbo said those seeking to make President Jammeh a king are doing so because they know the president cannot win next’s election.

“There’s not a single government official who has condemned their so-called campaign to convert the president of The Gambia to king of the Gambia or to convert the Gambia from a republican state to a monarchy. The majority leader (of the Gambian parliament) did say that the constitution is not the holy Koran; it can be changed. But, we know that this is not possible without going to a referendum,” he said.

Darbo described as averted thinking that, in this age and time, an African leader can be thinking of converting himself from president to an absolute monarch.

The Gambian president’s current titles include “His Excellency the President Sheik Professor Alhaji Doctor Yahya Jammeh.”

Darbo said if President Jammeh is allowed to get his new title of king, or His Majesty, it would lead to a Jammeh family dynasty in the Gambia.

“Obviously, when that happens, you will have a dynasty, a ruling dynasty and it would be from Yahya Jammeh to his son, and it is a pathetic. First of all, the sycophants in this country could say that, ‘Mr. President, we want you to rule until at such time when you are ready to hand over power to your son who is not even six years old,’” Darbo said.

The chiefs reportedly said they wanted to give President Jammeh the title of king to reward him for bringing development to the Gambia.

But, Darbo said President Jammeh has given nothing but hunger and poverty to the people of the Gambia

“What he has done is to deprive the Gambians of what they deserve. He is everything. He’s into butchery, he’s into poultry, he’s into animal husbandry, he’s into all sort of business that should be left to ordinary Gambians, and he has killed economic activity in this country. And now, he is trying to kill political plurality in this country,” Darbo said.

Darbo criticized the Gambian leader for also assuming the title of university professor.

“I have never heard in my life of somebody being made a professor. I think people work hard to become professors in universities,” he said.

He said those seeking to make President Jammeh a king are doing so because they know the president cannot win next year’s election.

“I strongly believe that President Jammeh knows that there’s every likelihood that the opposition will get together and that he will be flushed out of power in 2011, and he thinks that this a way of keeping himself in power,” Darbo said.


http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Butty-Gambia-Jammeh-Seeks-New-Title-Darbo-09november10-106938983.html

Look at what is happening in Egypt (after the military hijacked the revolution) and Bahrain.

There is no room for dissent in those places. It is government of some people, for some people and by some people.

Oops, Sorry.

BabaPupa is still very much around o!

Paddy_lo is back in Nigeria.

Eko Ile is definitely in Lagos!

I haven't heard from BabaPupa in a while. I suspect he transmuted into Eko Ile

Thank God, Hope Democratic Party is on that list!

The only thing I have come to know them for is filing frivolous petitions at election tribunals and throwing tantrums.

I have never heard of their party candidates campaigning - that is if they field candidates- yet they are among the first to file petitions!
------------------------------------

I don’t have CPC’s petition yet –Jonathan
Seven days after the Congress for Progessive Change (CPC) formally filed its petition challenging the results of the April 16 presidential poll, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said that he is yet to be served a copy of the petition.

President Jonathan emerged the winner of the poll beating all the other contenders, including the standard bearer of the CPC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in a landslide victory. But the President said that he had received a copy of the petition filed by the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) and its candidate, also challenging the outcome of the poll. Jonathan spoke yesterday through his lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN).

He said that his team had worked on the defence of the President to the petition filed by the HDP and that the papers would be filed at the tribunal before the end of the week. Olanipekun also told National Mirror that even though CPC was yet to serve its own petition on his client, he said that his team had begun work on the President ’s defence to the petition based on the snippets got from newspapers. “But we are waiting for them. As soon as they file, we will do our ‘I’ and cross our ‘t’ within the time provided by the law. “I don’t believe the legal battle will be long drawn as it happened in the Buhari/ Yar’Adua’s case.

This is because there is time limit under the law to prosecute this case. “I understand that the inaugural sitting of the Presidential Tribunal is Tuesday. Maybe, at the sitting venue, they will serve us the petition. But as soon as we get it, we will tackle it,” he said. The inaugural sitting of the Presidential Election Tribunal scheduled to hold last week was postponed till tomorrow.

At the inaugural sitting, preliminary issues including the application by the CPC to inspect electoral materials will be disposed of to pave way for the proper hearing of the substantive petition. As at press time, the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, is yet to make public the names of the five justices that will hear the presidential election petitions. The party asked the tribunal to nullify the election of President Goodluck Jonathan on the grounds of substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010.


http://nationalmirroronline.net/news/12173.html


Yar’Adua: S’Court Strikes Out Election Petition
From Tobi Soniyi in Abuja

06 Jul 2010
Views: 42

The Supreme Court on Monday struck out the petition filed by the Hope Democratic Party challenging the election in 2007 of the late Umaru Yar’Adua as president of Nigeria.
Justice Aloma Mukthar struck out the petition following an oral application by Mr. Gbenga Adeyemi a lawyer from the chambers of Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN.
Adeyemi told the court that it was common knowledge that Yar’Adua died on 5th of May 2010 and that by the Supreme Court’s Rules the petition against him ought to be struck out.

He cited Order 8 Rule 9(5) of the Supreme Court Rules which reads as follows, “Where an appeal has been set down for hearing and the court has become aware that a necessary party to the appeal is dead. The appeal shall be struck off the hearing list.”
Relying on this provision, Justice Mukthar consequently struck out the case.

The court of appeal sitting in Abuja had on November 17th threw out the party’s petition filed by its  presidential candidate Ambrose Owuru challenging  Yar’Adu’s election.

Owuru was dissatisfied and appealed to the Supreme Court. That was the second time the party would appeal to the Supreme Court on the same subject matter.
The petitioner had in his statement of claim asked the court to hold that Yar’Adua’s election was fraught with irregularities and that his election did not follow the provisions of  the Electoral Act 2006.

The Supreme Court had in its judgment delivered on the 27th of March, 2009 ordered a re-trial of the petition filed by Hope Democratic Party.
The apex court had also ordered the president of the court of appeal to reconstitute another panel to hear the matter afresh while at the same time ordering accelerated hearing of the petition.

When the hearing began at the appeal court as ordered by the apex court, the petitioner, Owuru said that the appellate court had violated the order of the Supreme Court which directed that the appeal be heard on merit.

Consequent upon this claim,  Owuru, on October 19, 2009 staged a walk- out on the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

O
wuru had urged the five- man Appeal Court Panel led by Justice Rabiu Danlami Mohammed to hear his application that the appeal be heard on merit as ordered by the Supreme Court.

Ruling on the petition at the Court of Appeal,  Justice Ayobode Lokulo Sodipe noted that the petition was struck out because the petitioner failed to comply with the provisions of Section 3 (1) of the election petition’s practice direction.
Justice Sodipe stated that the petitioner never filed any application for a pre-trial conference as required by the court’s practice direction in relation with election matters and therefore “there is no petition before the court”.

The court in striking out the petition cited the Supreme Court decision in Okereke Versus Yar’Adua reported in FWLR 2008 where it noted that the issue of “Practice direction has been laidd to rest by the Supreme Court”.
The court went further to say that in election petition matters relating to presidential, governorship and National Assembly, it was mandatory for the petitioner to apply for pre-hearing conference within the stipulated time and that failure to do so could not even be cured by application for extension of time.

Aside from striking the petition out for lack of jurisdiction, Justice Sodipe condemned the action of Owuru in staging a walk out on a court of law.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/yar-adua-s-court-strikes-out-election-petition/83990/

Igbeke: The Serial Senator who Never Wins Elections
16 May 2011

By Tobi Soniyi in Abuja


This is the story of Senator Alphonsus Uba Igbeke – a third-term federal lawmaker who has never won an election but has consistently been granted victory by the courts.

An Abuja Magistrate Court has now issued a warrant for his arrest on the ground that his latest victory in court was procured through allegedly forged documents.

But his lawyer, Festus Keyamo, has raised the alarm that the senator-elect for Anambra North should not be arrested by the police.

In 2003, Igbeke was pronounced a member of the House of Representatives by the court, even though he did not participate in the election.

He had lost the nomination of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and defected to the Alliance for Democracy (AD). But, curiously, after the election, he got the court to rule that he was the candidate of the PDP.
Then in 2010, he was again pronounced senator-elect for Anambra North, three years after Joy Emordi (PDP) had been sworn in, even though Igbeke was not a candidate in the election.
The court again ruled that Igbeke, who had defected to the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), was the winner of the election. He promptly returned to the PDP.

He has done it again. An Abuja court recently awarded him the senate seat for Anambra North after last month’s polls, even though Igbeke did not participate in the election.
The warrant for his arrest was issued in Abuja on Friday, asking all police officers to arrest Igbeke anywhere he was found.
A copy of the warrant which was obtained by THISDAY said Igbeke stood charged with forgery and using forged documents as genuine.

Before the warrant was issued, the police had told a Federal High Court in Abuja that Igbeke forged the documents he presented to court to obtain the judgment that declared him as the candidate of the PDP for the  April 9 National Assembly elections.
Igbeke had filed an application for the enforcement of his rights at a Federal High Court in Abuja when police wrote to the Clerk of the National Assembly asking for Igbeke to be released for questioning.
But in a counter-affidavit filed by the police in reaction to Igbeke’s application for enforcement of his rights, the police said they were prepared to charge the senator with forgery.

In order to stop the police from arresting him, Igbeke had filed the application under the Fundamental Enforcement Procedure Rules where he claimed that the police were hunting him because they wanted to stop him from campaigning for the April 9 elections.
But in a swift reaction, the police filed a counter-affidavit deposed to by Mr. Jonah Wutu, a police officer attached to the Legal/Prosecution Section of the Force Criminal Investigation Department.
In the counter-affidavit, a copy of which was obtained from the Federal High Court by THISDAY, the police described how Igbeke altered the result of the PDP conducted primaries for selection of the candidate to fly the party’s flag for the Anambra North Senatorial District.

According to the police, the said primary was won by Mr. John Emeka jnr who polled 1,156 votes as against Igbeke’s 74 votes.
But in another suit filed by Igbeke at the Federal High Court in Abuja, he claimed that he was the one who scored the highest votes of 1,156 from the primary conducted by Benji Udeozor-led PDP Executive Committee in Anambra State.
The police however found as a fact that it was Emeka who won the said primaries.
But relying on these false depositions by Ugbeke, Justice Abdul Kafarati gave judgment in his favour.
When Emeka got wind of the claims by Ugbeke, he wrote a complaint to the police. After carrying out a preliminary investigation, the police said that they discovered that Ugbeke had committed forgery.
The police consequently wrote to the Clerk of the National Assembly to release Igbeke to them for questioning.

Rather than appear before the police, the senator went to court to file an application for enforcement of his rights. He joined the Inspector General of Police as a respondent.

In reply, the police filed a 22-papragraph counter affidavit. Some of the dispositions by the police are weighty and painted Senator Igbeke as an alleged criminal running from the long arm of the law.

The counter affidavit reads: “I Jonah Wutu, male, adult, Christian, Nigeria citizen and a police officer attached to the Legal/Prosecution Section, FCID, Area 11, Louis Edet House, Force Headquarters, Abuja, doth hereby make oath and state as follows:
“That the Applicant (Igbeke) along with one John Emeka Junior and four others contested the PDP primary elections into Anambra North Senatorial District on 10/01/2011.

“That the applicant failed woefully having scored only 74 votes against John Emeka Junior’s 1,156 votes.
“That INEC official monitored the primaries and wrote a report which confirmed John Emeka junior won the primaries.
“That the said John Emeka was duly returned as the PDP candidate to contest the April elections in his presence and knowledge.
“That the applicant (Igbeke) was not satisfied with his failure at the polls.

“He proceeded to alter the figures by allocating higher figures to himself and lesser to the John Emeka Junior i.e. 1,173 and 156 respectively.

“That armed with these fraudulent figures, Applicant proceeded to the Federal High Court.”
“We started investigation and got facts about the accused/applicant as a sitting senator.

“We then wrote the Clerk of the National assembly to produce him for investigation. We were expecting him to come and state what he knows about the forgery, but to our dismay, we got this civil process.

“He is running away from the long arm of the law. He presented the documents in question to the court by way of affidavit.
“We are ready to charge him to court with forgery under relevant laws including Section 118 of the Electoral Act.”

Meanwhile, Keyamo has said the actions of the Nigeria Police “are in complete violation of the Rule of Law, an existing court order and the fundamental rights of Senator Alphonsus Igbeke”, maintaining that Igbeke did not forge any documents.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/igbeke-the-serial-senator-who-never-wins-elections/91445/

Eko Ile and Babapupa also "bombard" us with a lot of information and pictures on the activities of the LASG.

Maybe they can also shed some light.

I haven't gone to the Lekki Phase I end of the project recently so I cannot comment.

Maybe Paddy_lo, Gareth, etc can help here.

Thanks AjanleKoko,

I am not trying to justiy the evils of our own politicians but simply want us to keep things in proper perspective - politicians are the same all over the world. They would lie, steal and kill if necessary. Unfortunately, some of us are too passionate in our support for tem to see them for what they really are.

That is not to say there aren't honourble men and women among them.

On the issue of receivig bribes to pass bills, it should come as no surprise. Since the early days of our "nascent" democracy, we have been told by the likes of El-Rufai about syndicates in the senate who allegedly collect bribes to approve nominations to ministerial positions. I first heard stories about senators collecting bribes to pass bills some years ago. It is sad.

Well, in some developed countries politicians collect campaign donations (from/through lobbyists) not bribes!

Please, let no one call for my head for saying that!

Ramtzy:
Even though his crooked colleagues said he had no to case answer, very credible sources have informed pointbklanknews.com that Speaker Dimeji Bankole spent part of the dodgy N10 Billion loan on Gbemi Saraki and sultry Nollywood actress, Ini Edo, the two mistresses that had long serviced the high libido needs of the out-going speaker of the House of Representatives.

Sources informed Pointblanknews.com that while Bankole bought a palatial home in Maitama for Ms. Edo in addition to a Prado Jeep before the Nollywood star got married, he allegedly bankrolled Ms. Saraki’s Governorship campaign. Ms. Saraki, a divorcee had become the living lover of the Speaker.

The whole drama, Pointblanknews.com learnt, is creating some head scratching moments in the Presidency .This is compounded by the fact that the report of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), on alleged misappropriation of N9 Billion, which indicted Bankole and his deputy, Nafada, is still nowhere to be found. Last year, he squandered N9billion of the House’s N11 Billion.

The House leadership was also accused of approving the purchase of 800 units of desktop (HP Compaq dc 5700) on May 28, 2008 at the cost of N330,000 per unit. The open market price of this product is N160, 000. A mark-up of 35 per cent on the product would bring the unit price to N216, 000.

“The sum of N264, 000,000 million was therefore expended on the purchase of the desktop instead of N172, 800,000 million.

Today, another N10 Billion has varnished, as a matter of fact, Pointblanknews.com learnt that he had requested N60 Billion but was turned down due to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), regulation. It was gathered that Bankole got the cash in three trances in May 2010. N6.1Billion, N2.5Billion and N1.5Billion, without the knowledge of members.

Said the source “ . He got the N10 Billion and gave some to Gbemi for her campaign and the rest into his campaign which he commenced last year. Gbemi had been living with him for a while. Since he sent his wife abroad Gbemi had taken over his Apo Quarters residence. He spent so much on her campaign; he is obsessed with her beauty. The House lived beyond its means, led by Bankole. They wanted an upward review of the allowance; part of the reason was so many of them needed tons of cash to campaign. Bankole too needed huge cash. “

Pointblanknews.com source hinted further that “he purchased over 30 new Toyota Camry cars for campaign, it was like he also had his eyes on the Ogun State Governorship, he spent billions on his return bid as well. It is not a lie that the House has no cash left. They can’t even pay the outstanding allowances for (Dino) Melaye and co. who were suspended.

[url][/url]http://www.pointblanknews.com/News/os4921.html

Did an editor actually read this "story" before publishing it?

.

.

Speculations.

No comment, until . . .

I commend those who have the courage to petition the EFCC as in the two cases above.

We need more of that.