The Senate
election bid of former governor of Abia State and business mogul, Dr.
Orji Uzor Kalu received further boost yesterday when a coalition of
pressure groups in the state resolved to back his candidacy for Abia
North senatorial rerun.
In a release, Coordinating Secretary of
the group, Mba C. I. Kalu, said the coalition, after its meeting held in
Aba yesterday which was attended by over 240 of their members from Old
Bende zone resolved to give Kalu full support.
Kalu said the decision was taken after
members x-rayed the contemporary political situation in Nigeria as it
affects the Igbo man and were convinced that no effort would be spared
to see that only men who have the will power and determination to face
challenges affecting Igbo interests in Nigeria are allowed to represent
them.
“Having x-rayed the contemporary
political situation in Nigeria as it effects the Igbo man, we are
convinced that no effort will be spared to see that the people we
project as leaders or representatives are men who have the will-power,
determination and the capacity to face the challenges affecting Igbo
interest in Nigeria.
“We are convinced that Kalu is one man
who has the quality we need at the Senate now, hence, we have resolved
to give him our unwavering support.”
The release further stated that the
coalition’s choice of Kalu over and above other contestants was
predicated on his “outspoken nature and parameters of thought which
places public good over personal interest. Ndigbo needs a man with such
quality in the Senate,” the groups stated.
Nigerian students under the aegis of the Academic forum of
the Islamic movement in Nigeria (IMN) staged a peaceful protest at the
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) headquarters, Abuja.
IMN students staging a protest in Abuja
On Tuesday January, 19 the IMN students staged a protest pressing for the unconditional release of Sheikh Zakzaky.
The well attended protest which lasted for over an hour has attracted
protesters from different tertiary institutions around Nigeria
comprising students, lecturers and other movers and shakers of the
academia.
Shiites protest the continued detention of their leader.
ABNA reports that the protesters holding placards inscribed ‘Free
Zakzaky Now’, ‘We demand the unconditional release of our leader’ and
banners carrying the pictures, names, institutions and course of study
of students killed by the Nigerian military in Zaria.
Mr Muhammad Bello Anyingba, a lecturer at Kogi state University, told
journalists shortly after the protest that the purpose of the march was
to demand the absolute release of Sheikh Zakzaky.
He further called on the Nigerian government to get the corpses of
those killed for proper Islamic burial and free those in various
military detention facilities.
In reply to allegations about the video clip aired by military, he said the video was edited to justify their inhumane acts.
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“American President Barack Obama was stoned somewhere and nobody
was killed. Former Nigerian President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was pelted
in Bauchi while canvassing for votes but nobody was killed,” the lecturer buttressed.
A statement signed by the Chairman of the Academic forum of the
Islamic movement in Nigeria (AFIMN), Shu’aibu Isah Ahmad called on the
Nigerian authorities to accept the atrocities in Zaria and compensate
the families of those affected. “We call on the government to summon courage and live up to its
morality and accept its crime by paying compensation to all affected
families and relations” the statement said.
The head of the commission, Prof Ben Agwe has promised to probe the
Zaria massacre, inviting some members of movement on Wednesday, January
20 for an official address of the memorandum filed in last week.
Biafrans Hail Governor Arthur Okowa Ifeanyi non-violence stance towards IPOB FAMILY
BIAFRA: Okowa’s aide commends members of IPOB over peaceful protest in Delta
The Political Adviser to Delta State Governor, Hon. Ocho Ochonogor has commended members of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, for their peaceful protest against the continued detention of their leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Hon. Ochonogor who was addressing members of Indigenous People of
Biafra, IPOB who stormed Delta State capital Asaba, said that Delta
State government has no such power to effect the release of their
director.
The Governor’s aide noted that Nigeria needed peace, stressing that due
process should always be applied to ensure that laws of the land is not
infringed upon.
He urged them to always remain calm and use due process to press for their demand.
Members of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, stormed Delta State
capital Asaba even as they defied ban of public procession, staging
peaceful procession as they demanded the immediate release of Nnamdi
Kanu, the “Biafran Fame”.
The Biafran escorted by Police took off from Hausa market/Abraka motor
park and marched through Osadebey way, Nnebisi and Anwai road to
government House, Asaba causing heavy traffic hold up.
The Co-Ordinator of the group, Mr. Jona Chukwurah said that they were
pressing for the immediate release of their leader Nnamdi Kanu.
According to him, we are protesting for the release of our director
Nnamdi Kanu, that the ‘zoo” people are still holding despite the court
pronouncement to the contrary. Let him be released. They should grant us
freedom, we are not slaves.
The Co-Ordinator said they were tired of the country called Nigeria and want their own country Biafra.
He continued, “we are agitating for Biafria. You can see we are peaceful
people and the whole world is watching that we are non-violent group”.
On why they were protesting in Asaba, he stated that Asaba was part of
Biafran land stressing, that 24 states in Nigeria are inclusive in
Biafran map.
He further called on Delta state government to prevail of President
Buhari to effect immediate release of Nnadi Kanu whom he described as a
freedom fighter.
Constitutional lawyers, Prof. Itse Shegay (SAN) and Barrister Olu-Ebun
Adegboruwa, have responded divergently to the Court of Appeal judgment
on Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Abia States gubernatorial elections.
They however reposed confidence on Supreme Court to correct the anomalies.
In an interview both legal practitioners granted, Prof. Sagay was of the view that the
Court of Appeal rulings on Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Taraba State were in
order but cautiously faulted that of Abia State on the grounds that he
has not fully studied the judgment, while Adegoruwa insisted that the
entire process and judgment were a miscarriage of justice.
Prof. Shegay opined that there was no election in Rivers State because
Governor Nyesom Wike climbed to power on the blood of innocent citizens,
where lives and properties were destroyed, including ballot boxes.
He said: “When we say there was no election, it is not that there was
total absence of ballot papers, but that there were so much
destructions, so much unauthorized activities in which armed gangs were
raiding the entire places going about terrorizing people and snatching
ballot boxes, driving away electoral officers, killing everybody and
took full control of the election rather than the Independent National
Electoral Commission and produced their own result.”
The former dean, Faculty of Law, University of Benin, who maintained
that he would be surprised if there is any change at the Supreme Court,
also noted that the one in Akwa Ibom involving, Governor Udom Emmanuel
was also very similar though not as bloody as that of Rivers State.
He said: “The election tribunal in Akwa Ibom State made a mistake in
canceling results in 18 Local Governments and still in effect uphold the
election.
Sagay said: “By the time you have 18 LGAs canceled, there is no way
anyone can score 25%. So for that technical reason alone, they should
not have given that type of judgment. It is clear that this is
substantial non-compliance. So the tribunal had nothing to uphold once
they canceled 18 LGAs.”
On the ruling of the Appeal Court on Abia State gubernatorial election,
the Professor of law admitted that he has not read it fully but said
based on what he heard that the cancellation of three LGAs of Obingwa,
Osisioma and Isialangwa and subtraction made were based on over voting
and card reader incident.
He said: “Though it is very difficult for me to conclude but from what I
heard, the implication was that based on Zamfara State Supreme Court
judgment on over- voting issue, where it ruled that Card Reader has no
binding effect over the electoral act. If the decision of Abia State
election was based on over voting and card reader incidents, then it
means that the decision of the Appeal court concerning Abia State is in
sort of danger.”
Sagay further said 300,000 genuine voters is quite large and if anything
has gone wrong in those constituencies or LGAs, the best thing to do
was to order for a supplementary election.
On his part however, except in Taraba, Barrister Adegboruwa berated the
Appeal Court on its judgment on Rivers, Akwa Ibom and especially Abia
State, asserting that the entire country and the legal profession are
becoming totally endangered by the decisions of the election petition
tribunals and Appeal Court.
He said; “It’s only an emerging scenario from the 2015 elections in
particular and it is very worrisome. The judgment of the court of Appeal
in respect to Abia governorship election is very unacceptable. It is
therefore important for the Supreme Court to take the election petitions
in Abia, Rivers and Akwa Ibom to make a statement of the global
precedent to be followed in election petition and correct all these
anomalies that had encrypt into our electoral jurisprudent.”
According to Adegboruwa, the worst that would have happened is to allow
the people of the cancelled three local governments – Obingwa, Osisioma
and Isialangwa – to exercise the right again and to choose between
Okezie Okpeazu and Alex Otti and not for the court to take away victory
from the Governor and then pass it to the opponent.
He said: “It is totally unacceptable. I verily believe that if the
election decision of the Appeal Court in Abia State relates to
over-voting then the opponent should not benefit from that exercise
because that will mean that there is an irregularity. A decision that
affirms over-voting cannot go to the benefit of the opponent.
“I believe that at the appropriate time, given the interference of the
CJN, these decisions in respect to election in Abia State and in
particular Rivers State would be upturned by the Supreme Court.”
The army has reported that about seventy Boko Haram
terrorists have been killed in several clashes with the Nigerian troops
in the northeastern region of the country.
Army continues to record successes against Boko Haram
According to a report by Major General
Lucky Irabor, the deputy theatre commander of Operation Lafiya Dole,
the army says 70 insurgents and about four officers have been killed in
different encounters.
In the Military’s update on successes recorded in operation Lafiya
dole, the army said on Sunday, January 17, the troops conducted a
clearance operation at Shentimari general area and cleared Boko Haram
enclaves and recovered 78 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.
Similarly, on Monday, January 18, at Chukun Gudu, troops encountered
and destroyed terrorist’s camps along Jillam, Bula Butube general areas.
During the exchange of fire, 10 terrorists were killed, 2 AK47 Rifles, 2
AK47 magazines, 2 solar panels and 2 GSM handsets were recovered, while
1 Isuzu vehicle was destroyed.
The statement further reveals that Wednesday, January 20, troops
cleared terrorist camps/enclaves at Ngwalimiri and Gazama in Damboa
Local Government Area. While conducting operations in Mufurundi village
along Damboa-Bale road, the army intercepted 10 Boko Haram suspects from
Bego, Mesemarri and Bale villages carrying bags containing food
condiments, soaps, and other items. The suspects are reportedly
undergoing interrogation.
Also, the troops had an encounter with terrorists during advance from
Wajirok to Ajigin. During the encounter, 3 of the terrorists were
killed.
The statement further reveals that: “In another development, one
of our units located in old Marte repelled an attacked by BHT and in the
process, killed 21 terrorists, while 3 soldiers were wounded during the
encounter. One Anti Air Gun, 10 AK47 rifles,1 FN rifle,7 x 60mm MOR
bombs, qty 342 rounds of 12.7mm, Qty 507 rounds of 7.62mm ammunitions, 1
Toyota Hilux, 1 Land Cruiser vehicle, 1 IED with charger were captured
from the terrorists.
“In a related development, troops took custody of 3 suspected BHT
who voluntarily surrendered themselves to Damboa Vigilante Group at
Kaya village. During interrogation, they claimed to have been forced to
join the BHT Group and also participated in the Group’s previous attacks
at Askira and other locations. As about 1719hrs yesterday, 21 January
2016, ahead of Cashew plantation near Maiduguri, an unknown civilian
tried to gain access into the village but was confronted by a civilian
JTF. In the process of the ensuing interrogation, he stabbed a member of
civilian JTF to death but was shot by another Civilian JTF. “In continuation of the ongoing operation, troops advancing to
clear Dure village, came under BHT ambush at Rugga Fulani but were
cleared. During the encounter, 8 BHTs were killed, 2 AK47 rifles,2
locally made Dane Guns, 3 AK47 Magazined with 38 rounds of ammunition
were recovered. Similarly, a unit of troops cleared BHT hideouts in
Wala, Tirkopytir, and Durubajuwe villages. During the operation, troops
recovered 1 rusty GPMG barrel, 1 grinding machine and 1 locally made
Dane gun. “Equally, troops conducted a fighting patrol in Afe, Kudiye,
Souma, Dika, Mijigeta and Mida. During the operation, the team made
contact with BHT at Kudiye, Mijigete and 20 BHT were killed, while 3
rifles, 41 motorcycles were destroyed, and 370 hostages rescued and
brought to IDP camp at Dikwa. Also, around Huyum, Jeje and Diba
villages. The terrorists sighting own troops, abandoned their families
behind which include 5 women, 12 children. However, own troops killed 4
of the BHTs. The women are currently undergoing interrogation.”
The army report further informed that on Friday, January 22, 3
suicide bombers attempted to infiltrate into Maiduguri a kilometer ahead
of Mafa roadblock. The troop of the theater shot one dead, while the
other detonated and in the process killed the third suicide bomber.
In his communique, Major General Hassan Umaru commended the efforts
of the troops and renewed call for the troops and the public to be more
vigilant and security conscious at all times, particularly at check
points, markets, worship centres, motor parks and schools.
He equally appreciated the support from the public in rendering
useful information on the activities of the terrorists. The public would
be kept informed of the situation as the need arises.
Reports from Sahara Reporters suggests that there are fears over President Muhammadu Buhari’s health.
President Muhammdu Buhari
According to a source from the presidency, some of President Buhari’s aides are concerned about his health.
The aides are of the thought that the president’s frequent travels might be taking a toll on his wellbeing.
A sources informs that the president’s personal physician, Dr Suhayb
Sanusi Rafindadi, now stands very close to him during and after public
events on foreign and sometimes domestic trips.
It is also gathered that Buhari’s chief security officer, Abdulkarim
Dauda, travels two days ahead of the president in order to spend two
days in hotel rooms where Mr. Buhari is expected to sleep. “It is a precautionary measure,” said the source.
The president will be embarking on another whirlwind of global travel
beginning with trips to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Nairobi, Kenya before
the end of January.
Starting from February, President Buhari is scheduled to visit Paris,
London, Qatar and Saudi Arabia for official visits. Some of the trips
are also related to conferences.
Buhari’s trip to Saudi Arabia comes on the heels of the Nigerian
Army’s alleged massacre of Shiite Muslims and the arrest of Shiite
leader, Ibrahim El Zakzaky.
Meanwhile, in carrying out his domestic responsibilities, President
Buhari will be in Ogun state as from Febraury 1 to celebrate 40 years of
the state existence. The celebration is said not to be just for the
state’s birthday, but to harvest some completed projects across the
three senatorial districts.
Financial Times UK calls ‘Buharinomics’ the height of foolishness
Leading international business publication, The Financial Times UK
has described the economic policies of the Buhari administration as the
‘height of foolishness’.
Steve Johnson, Deputy editor of the FT’s EM Squared section wrote
Copying Venezuela’s
exchange rate policy and China’s failed equity market strategy might seen the height of foolishness.
The entire article is reproduced here:
Nigeria plans to create a $25 billion fund with public and private financing to modernize infrastructure and avoid a recession.
Copying Venezuela’s exchange rate policy and China’s failed equity market strategy might seem the height of foolishness.
But, at least in the opinion of John Ashbourne, Africa economist at
Capital Economics, that is precisely what Nigeria, the continent’s
largest economy, has just done.
“Low oil prices are battering Nigeria’s export-dependent economy, but
it’s the government’s market-distorting response that risks pushing the
country into a Venezuela-style crisis,” Mr Ashbourne says.
“Nigeria is sliding towards a Venezuela-style FX regime and adopting a
Chinese-style stock market circuit breaker. Neither will reassure
foreign investors, many of whom seem to be eyeing the exits.”
Both measures were announced after markets closed on Friday, January 15.
The circuit breaker on the Nigerian stock exchange, one of the worst
performing in the world this year with a fall of 17.7 per cent, will
pause trading for 30 minutes if stock prices fall 5 per cent. Trading
will cease for the day if it is triggered twice in a session, or after
1.45pm.
This month, Beijing abandoned a similar policy after just four days,
concluding that in a falling market the existence of the circuit breaker
encouraged more selling as traders rushed to exit while they could.
“The effect is akin to calling last orders at a crowded bar,” Mr
Ashbourne says. “It is hardly confidence-inspiring that Nigeria is
copying a Chinese policy that is widely seen to have failed.”
He accepts that Nigeria’s circuit breaker may not be as badly
designed as the Chinese version. Whereas the NSE All Share index rarely
falls by 5 per cent a day, the Shanghai Composite did so a dozen times
in 2015. The NSE’s version has not yet been called into action.
Nevertheless, Mr Ashbourne says that using a circuit breaker to shore
up the market, rather than to avoid volatility, is “deeply flawed”.
Simultaneously, the central bank has said it will stop selling US dollars into the interbank FX market.
Nigeria has operated a de facto twin currency system for the naira
since February 2015, when the bank held the official interbank rate at
N199 to the dollar to avoid a spike in inflation. The unofficial rate,
available at bureaux de change, has plunged to N300/$, as the first
chart shows.
However Mr Ashbourne argues the latest move takes Nigeria a step
along the road to a Venezuela-style scenario, where the dollar now buys
913 bolívars on the black market, according to dolartoday.com, compared
with an unofficial rate of 6.28/$.
“Suspending US dollar sales to the interbank market will force
consumers and firms to source dollars at bureaux de change,” he says,
while providing an implicit subsidy for companies and individuals with
the connections needed to access the official rate.
As the second chart shows, Nigeria’s reluctance to let the naira’s
official exchange rate weaken means it has borne the brunt of the sharp
fall in oil prices since the middle of 2014.
In naira terms, the oil price has fallen from $115 a barrel to around
$35, with the modicum of weakening permitted so far doing little to
take the edge off the fall in oil prices to $28 in dollar terms.
In contrast, Russia, which has allowed the rouble to fall sharply, is
still seeing oil prices of around $65 in local currency terms, with
many other oil exporters such as Brazil and Azerbaijan also seeing more
cushioning of the blow than Nigeria.
Charles Robertson, chief global economist at Renaissance Capital, who
drew up the second chart, expects Nigeria to bow to the seemingly
inevitable and devalue the naira, given that his calculation of fair
value is N305/$, very close to the current black market rate.
He notes that frontier market funds are now underweight Nigerian
equities, and believes that international investors “are likely to
remain on the sidelines,” barring an obvious catalyst for change.
Nevertheless he believes a devaluation to N250/$, “while no longer
sufficient to ease all dollar shortages … would be good enough to
warrant investors taking a fresh look at Nigeria, especially if they
expect a rebound in the oil price”.
Daniel Salter, global equity strategist at RenCap, has been busy
analysing just when equity market investors should consider returning to
a freshly devalued Nigeria, if history is anything to go by.
Mr Salter analysed 13 emerging market currency devaluations since
1994 in countries ranging from Mexico and Turkey to Egypt and South
Korea.
His conclusions are that it is rarely worth buying in anticipation of
a currency devaluation and that, on average, equity markets do not hit
their low point (in dollar terms) until 99 days after the start of the
currency devaluation.
This delay can vary significantly, though, as the final chart shows.
In the case of South Korea in 1997 the stock market troughed the day
before the won started to fall. In Nigeria itself, in 2009, this point
was reached after 35 days.
However in the cases of Thailand (1997), the Philippines (1998) and
Egypt (2001), it would have paid equity market investors to stay out for
at least six months.
Mr Salter believes the lag is due to two factors: the initial
devaluation is often insufficient to stabilise the currency; and that
devaluations frequently coincide with banking crises.
Unfortunately, this analysis probably tells us little about how
Nigeria’s equity market is likely to behave in the year after any
devaluation.
In the 13 previous episodes, the stock market typically fell 3 per
cent in dollar terms in the three months after the start of the
devaluation. However, as the above chart shows, there has been huge
variability in this figure, from -56 per cent in Mexico in 1994-1995 to
+100 per cent in South Korea in 1997-98.
Likewise, on average the typical stock market gained 4 per cent in
dollar terms in the year after the devaluation, but once again this is
the average of a widely dispersed data set, with the returns ranging
from -86 per cent (Indonesia, 1997-98) to +172 per cent (South Korea).
The sector breakdown perhaps delivers a clearer message. RenCap found
that consumer staples stocks have tended to outperform in the 12 months
after the start of a devaluation, while consumer discretionary
companies and industrials tend to pick up once the currency has
bottomed.
Financial stocks, in contrast, tend to be the worst sector in the
year after a devaluation, probably due to declining credit quality.
