Former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, yesterday dared the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to begin his probe over his alleged involvement in monumental fraud while he held office as the state chief helmsman.

Politicians who either think the January 2011 polls might be postponed and those calling for the shift of the exercise don’t need to dissipate energy on the issue. Reason: The matter is foreclosed. President Goodluck Jonathan does not want the handover to be later than May 29, 2011, the Vanguard has learnt.

The Action Congress, AC, has challenged the Federal Government and the National Assembly to provide the required financial resources and the legal framework respectively to make it possible for INEC to organise successful general elections next year.

The Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream) has declared that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, is solvent thereby laying to rest claims and counter claims by government officials that the corporation is insolvent.

SECONDLY, the promise of a free and fair election must be strongly backed by concrete and clearly-independent actions. The exercise of presidential powers, when influenced significantly by political godfathers, casts a dark shadow on promises, and can only heighten the degree of distrust by the electorate in particular, and by all Nigerians in general, of the Federal Government.

The two firms approved by the Federal Government to carry out the new National Identity Management system for Nigeria have given their commitment to ensuring a more robust, secure and efficient identity card system using the most modern technologies for the country.

Christian Chukwu, arguably, the greatest sports ambassador from Enugu State, on July 15,.2010 won election in the state to run for the Nigeria Football Federation elections.
The election was free and fair.

A MILD drama played out at Government House, Umuahia, weekend, shortly after the South-East Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, leadership which came to woo Governor Theodore Orji had left, as the governor told the Progressive Peoples Alliance, PPA, team that came two hours later he had nothing to do with the party anymore.

As the new Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC chairman dusts his table for the task ahead alongside his new Resident Electoral Commissioners, veteran journalist and two time executive governor of Ogun State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba has joined some of the progressives who do not share the optimism that the new INEC umpire is capable of conducting a free and fair election merely because some of the electoral commissioners cannot be trusted.

As the 2011 general elections draw near, the Oyo State chapter of the Action Congress, AC, has disagreed with the National Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Athairu Jega, that the old voters’ register would be used in the election.