Credible election is the most important thing. But you know that even the military when they wanted to hand over gave us the freest election after June 12. So, we must continue from there. The Presidency, the National Assembly and the Judiciary should be committed to making the dream of genuine democracy a reality. The judiciary should be up and doing because I am totally disappointed with the judiciary.

We are ready for yet another election. Abiola was a symbol of free and fair election. So, the fact remains that we are ready for election but whether we are ready for a free and fair election is another matter. I cannot speak on free and fair elections authoritatively.

There are so many things that are done by fiat and that fiat is what I’m talking about. We have a centre called federal government where the structure of the land included so many people from different parts of Nigeria but who are working under a unitarized situation. A unitary system of government is different from that of federal.

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wishes to express its delight at the choice of Professor Attahiru Jega as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR.
“The PDP congratulates the President and the National Council of State for this nomination of an erudite scholar, an accomplished administrator and a deeply committed patriot with a track record of integrity and national service.

Professor Attahiru Jega (OFR) is Professor of Political Science and Vice Chancellor at the Bayero University, Kano, BUK. He became the Vice Chancellor of the university in 2005. His tenure as Vice Chancellor is supposed to end in October this year.

President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to, announce, later this week, the new chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. But many believe that the announcement is not the main issue but the preparations for the 2011 general elections. Whoever the new INEC chairman is will have to contend with some challenges which are presented in this report.

Perhaps, when Nigerians embarked on the journey of democracy on May 29, 1999, the expectations were so high whereas the anxiety of a possible collapse of this Fourth republic also filled the air.

I was shocked when it was revealed in court that a single politician of Obasanjjo’s era was able to take from his own government fund 17 billion naira for himself and nothing has happened. I couldn’t imagine it.

Just when some Nigerians were getting agitated about the ability of President Goodluck Jonathan to be his own man, he shocks Nigerians with his choice of vice presidential nominee in the person of Architect Mohammed Namadi Sambo, the governor of Kaduna State. This report presents the pressures Jonathan has had to stave off.

President Jonathan may therefore decide to take the South African option. This option has gained support having worked when ex South African President, Thabo Mbeki, along with his deputy resigned in 2008, and the ANC Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, became Acting President. He conducted the elections as acting president and is today, South Africa’s Deputy President under President Jacob Zuma.

MOST Nigerian motorists never really pay attention to their spare tyres, until they get a flat in the middle of nowhere, or while racing to meet a crucial appointment. It is an attitude that is deployed in almost all spheres of life here.

The macro-economic goals any government seeks to achieve are full employment of human and material resources, price stability, economic growth, balance of payment position and stable exchange rate.

That land is one of the most cherished resource of Nigeria is a fact often taken for granted to the extent that not much care is given to adverse conditions that affect this vital resource either through man made causes or natural phenomena. Land is a symbol of identity in most African countries, a means of cultural affiliation, social and economic survival.

If there were doubts before, Maurice Iwu, knew his days as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, were numbered the day after he announced the provisional time-table for next year’s general elections in Abuja.

After the two time-tables announced by the INEC chairman, Sunday Vanguard learnt that Iwu got feelers that he ought to have consulted with Acting President Goodluck Jonathan before making the announcement. And whereas Jonathan was not known to have communicated his feelings to Iwu personally, Sunday Vanguard was informed by a source in Aso Rock Presidential Villa that the announcement of the time-tables “may have been targeted at Acting President Jonathan because the time-table as was made public did not leave so much room for the Acting President”.

One of the greatest defining characteristics of the historic Kingdom of Benin, now the capital of Edo State, is the bronze casting tradition. Established in the 14th century by Oba Oguola and placed under the hereditary leadership of the IneN’Igun Eronmwon, the art of bronze casting helped the ancient kingdom to produce some of the finest bronze heads, many of which were allegedly carted away by the invading British colonial forces during the Benin expedition of 1897.