NAIJAFEED

Thursday, April 21, 2011

U.S. Congratulates Nigerians on Conduct of Presidential Election

The Obama administration says the conduct of Nigeria’s April 16 presidential election was historic and shows a significant improvement over the country’s flawed 2007 presidential contest.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner congratulated the declared winner, President Goodluck Jonathan, and said the United States sees the vote as “a positive new beginning for Nigeria.”

Speaking in Washington April 19, Toner said Nigerians had been given a real opportunity to select their senior leadership, and the election “sets Nigeria on a course toward solidifying and improving its democracy through strong governance and transparent institutions.”

Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, headed by Attahiru Jega, announced April 18 that Jonathan received 22.5 million votes, or approximately 57 percent of the total, which was high enough to avoid a runoff election with his nearest rival, General Muhammadu Buhari, who received 12.2 million votes.

According to press reports, news of Jonathan’s victory prompted riots in the north of the country, with charges of ballot rigging. The riots have reportedly displaced around 16,000 people and destroyed several churches.

Toner condemned the violence and called upon “all candidates, political parties and supporters to respect the results of the election” and to “channel any grievances or challenges peacefully” for redress by legal and administrative personnel in the country.

Observer teams from the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) reported that the presidential vote had met their criteria to be considered fair and transparent.

ECOWAS observer mission head and former Liberian President Amos Sawyer told reporters April 17 that his 300-member team “found no major incidents or irregularities” and described the vote as “a historic step for the strengthening of democracy and good governance in Nigeria.”

Former Ghanaian President John Kufuor headed the AU observer team. He said the election had been fair and credible, and that any questions of fraud would be misplaced, according to press reports.

Speaking on April 17, Kufuor said Nigerians all over the country had “shown determination to exercise [their] franchise and give themselves the leader they want, and it’s refreshing.”

“Nigeria hasn’t been served too well for decades electorally, but to our pleasant surprise we found the people of Nigeria generally are the security against this,” Kufuor said.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson praised the conduct of Nigeria’s National Assembly elections, which were held April 9, and wrote in an April 15 commentary that he and other U.S. officials “were heartened by what we saw” when observing the vote for the legislature.

“In sharp contrast to its elections of 2007, Nigeria was demonstrating that it can hold credible elections that allow the Nigerian people a meaningful opportunity to elect their leaders,” he wrote.

Carson said all Africans “deserve smooth, peaceful, transparent and credible elections” and that Nigeria’s presidential and National Assembly contests, as well as the April 26 vote for the country’s state governorships and state assemblies, “provide an historic opportunity for Nigeria to become a model for the rest of Africa and the world, especially for those citizens demanding democracy in their countries.”

U.S. Department of State

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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Super Eagles Player Olubayo Adefemi Dies in Car Accident

Super Eagles defender Olubayo Adefemi has died from a car accident in Greece.

According to a BBC report, quoting Greek police on Monday, said the Nigeria international defender died in a car accident.

The 25-year-old, who played for Skoda Xanthi, lost control of his car on the Egnatia motorway before the crash.

Adefemi was driving from Xanthi to Salonika in the Kavala region of northern Greece.

The player was said to be on his way to finalise details of his wedding when the accident happened.

The former Bendel Insurance and Hapoel Tel Aviv of Isreal player was a member of the Samson Siasia led Under 20-squad that played at the final with the Lionel Messi-led Argentina team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands.

He was also part of Nigeria's football team to the 2008 Olympic Games and he made his senior national team debut against Ireland on May 29, 2009.

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Foreign observers score presidential election high

The three major international observers, in separate preliminary press conferences, yesterday scored the conduct of the last Saturday presidential election across the country high. They, however, noted that some challenges remain to be addressed.

The leader of the European Union observers, Alojz Peterle, noted that there had been substantial improvement over the National Assembly elections.

Mariya Nedelcheva, head of the four-member strong delegation of the European Parliament, which joined the EU EOM before the presidential elections said: "Saturday's elections are a convincing proof that the Nigerian authorities, institution and electorate are determined to remain owners of their destiny and to run even better elections in the future."

According to the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs led by the former Prime Minister of Canada, Joe Clark, the election "represent a step forward with seriously flawed elections of the past and hold the promise of setting a new standard for integrity in Nigeria's electoral process."

The International Republican Institute (IRI) said the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to address some deficiencies in the electoral process between the April 9 National Assembly elections and the presidential election was praise-worthy.

The leader of IRI, former Prime Minister of Slovenian, Hon Janez Jansa, noted the role of women during the election but said the extent to which women are fully participating in the political process needs to be addressed.

Both organisations also commended the professionalism and independence of INEC, the leadership ability of the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, and the overall integrity of the electoral process.

They, however, cited a number of problems that need to be addressed before the upcoming state elections and in the longer term. It recommended that actions be taken by INEC, political parties and security services before the next election, which are to split all polling places with over 500 voters into sub-units to improve efficiency and access to the process.

"Standardise implementation of procedures in all states and local government areas while ensuring security, sufficient staff and adequate facilities for collation centres, protect the rights of INEC accredited citizen observers, including their right to move freely on election day and rigorously follow and abide by provisions of the Code of Conduct prohibiting acts of violence, intimidation of voters and other violations of the Electoral Act.

Mr. Peterle encouraged voters to remain confident in the electoral process while calling on all stakeholders in the elections to maintain a peaceful and positive atmosphere and not to allow any intimidation. Some of the shortcomings, however, were the inconsistent implementation of procedures and attempts to influence voters. This, it said, could have negative impact on the trust of voters in the integrity of the electoral process.

Both observers promised to present it final findings after the whole elections in a final report reflecting a comprehensive analysis and suggestions.

The National Democratic Institute's (NDI) International observer mission has called on candidates and their supporters to utilise peaceful and legal means to resolve election-related complaints.

The delegation made this call yesterday at a press conference in Abuja even as it noted that pockets of violence trailed the just concluded presidential election in various cities.

Speaking through the co-leader of the delegation, the former President of Niger and former Speaker of ECOWAS, Mahamane Ousmane said the delegation notes with grave concern multiple incidents of violence in the post-election period that has resulted in the loss of lives and properties.

"On election day, two separate explosions struck Borno State. Two bombings occurred in Kaduna and a shooting in Jos left one person dead. Tensions between party supporters led to serious incidents of violence after the close of polls," Mahamane remarked.

He further noted that mob violence broke out in a number of states where party supporters damaged property and physically harmed and killed members of opposing parties or INEC officials.

Giving short-term recommendations, the co-leader and former prime minister of Canada, Joe Clark, submitted that political parties should rigorously follow and abide by provisions of the code of conduct prohibiting acts of violence, intimidation of voters and other violations of the Electoral Act.

He further recommended that political parties should adopt transparent candidate choosen, campaign and party finance processes in compliance with 2010 electoral act and to refrain on extra-judicial and violent rejection of election results but to use peaceful and legal means to resolve electoral disputes.

Some of the long-term recommendations include that the government should finalise the legal framework at least six months before the election as stipulated by article 2.1 of the ECOWAS protocol for democracy and good governance.

It advised INEC to organise regular capacity training for its permanent and ad hoc staff.

He further recommended that civil society organizations should build on the accomplishments of the 2011 elections to strengthen involvement in the political process.

Leadership

Video - Goodluck Jonathan - One year to change Nigeria

Goodluck Jonathan Declared Winner of Presidential Poll

President Goodluck Jonathan acceptance speech

My dear country men and women. This is a new dawn! Our nation has spoken. At the end of intense and hard fought campaigns by all the political parties, our people spoke through the ballot. In every city, town, village, ward and voting unit, Nigerians stood in the sun, some in the rain, some walked long distances and all waited patiently, to vote.

With a heart full of gratitude to Almighty God, I want to thank Nigerians for the great sacrifice and overwhelming national mandate you have just given to me, to preside over the affairs of this nation for the next four years.

We have, by this election, reaffirmed our unity as one nation under God; reiterated our faith in democracy; and underscored our determination to fully join the free world where only the will of the people is the foundation of governance. We will not let you down. We will not let Nigeria down.

My brothers and sisters, fellow citizens, we are all winners. In this context, there is no victor and no vanquished. Nigerians have proved to the world that we are capable of holding free, fair and credible elections. With the evident national spread of our victory, we have demonstrated that even in our diversity, the progress of Nigeria remains paramount to all.

This is a victory for the sustenance of our democracy; a victory which all Nigerians irrespective of creed, ethnicity, or state of origin should celebrate. It is a triumph for our common destiny as a people with shared ideals, shared dreams and shared hopes.

I congratulate the candidates of the other political parties. I regard them not as opponents, but as partners. Indeed, some of them have held high public office in the past.

Let me pay particular tribute to General Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and the other patriots and their running mates. They all did well and the nation expects their continued demonstration of leadership and commitment to our efforts at nation building.

The elections are not yet over. We still have to elect our Governors and members of our State Houses of Assembly. We must approach the remaining elections with the same level of enthusiasm and seriousness.

We have to remain vigilant. On our part, we continue to assure you that the mechanisms that were put in place to assure free and fair elections are maintained.

When I declared my intention to run for the office of President under the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, I reflected on my humble background and the long journey that brought me to that moment.

Eight months later, I stand before you as the winner of the 2011 Presidential election. I am humbled by your overwhelming mandate.

During that declaration, I said that I had no enemies. Let me say it again, I have no enemies to fight.

Indeed, I reassure all Nigerians that we would continue to run a government that is committed to fairness, equity and justice for all.

The progress we seek for our country is in our collective hands. I am confident that with this new spirit of national reawakening and our sense of collective ownership of the Nigerian project, a firm foundation has been laid for participatory governance and progress.

Together we will build a new economy that is strong and dynamic and underpinned by a patriotic work ethic. Together we will remake our society to emphasize the most noble of our national values, and together we shall recreate a great nation welded in unity and harmony; a nation marching towards collective progress in which no one is left behind.

This election is the renewal of hope. As we march towards our centenary as a nation in the year 2014, this election will be remembered as that which reaffirmed our faith and strengthened the bond of our union. We found within ourselves the basis for our national confidence. We demonstrated that we are making great strides in consolidating democratic governance. This election is further evidence that Nigeria is secure, that we are stable; and most of all, that the future of Nigeria is bright.

Now, we must all unite. We must quickly move away from partisan battlegrounds and find the national common ground. We must show the world that this nation of many people will always find the love, the courage and the path to move forward as one. Let us join hands to build a prosperous nation. This is the challenge of our generation. This is our unfinished task. On my part, I promise to run an all-inclusive government.

It is on this note that I am greatly pained at reports of incidences of unnecessary violence and loss of lives and property in some parts of the country over the past twenty four hours.

I enjoin our political and religious leaders, in their usual sense of patriotism to call on their followers to eschew all acts of bitterness and violence. As I have always stated, nobody's political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian.

I thank all the nations of the world, their leaders and our friends for their goodwill. I thank our friends from the national and international media, religious leaders, civil society, voluntary organizations, development partners and our talented diaspora Nigerians that are reporting, monitoring or participating in our elections. We have benefitted from their fair observations.

My special thanks go to all our public services, security agencies, academia, members of the National Youth Service Corps and emergency services. These men, women and youth are making huge sacrifices towards the success of the 2011 elections.

I wish to express my profound thanks to Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo. He brought strength and commitment to our ticket. I am equally grateful to the leadership and members of the PDP; the governors of the 36 states of the Federation; members of the Presidential Campaign Council and all our supporters across the nation for their great sense of dedication, faith and exemplary conduct.

Now is the time for all Nigerians to reach out to their neighbours. I want all of us to join hands in brotherhood, party affiliation or preferred candidate not withstanding. We are all Nigerians and I will President to all. This is the new dawn we crave. What is now required is a new commitment, national solidarity and rededication to service.

Come, join me, let's continue on the road of national transformation.

Let us all thank our merciful God for this day. Let us all continue to pray for God's guidance in the years ahead.

I thank you and May God bless Nigeria.

This Day

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Goodluck Jonathan Declared Winner of Presidential Poll

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Monday evening declared President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the winner of the presidential election held across the country last Saturday.

Jega, who declared Jonathan as winner of the poll at about 8.34 pm at a news briefing in Abuja, said the PDP candidate stands elected as President having satisfied the constitutional reguirements for the position.

The INEC Chairman said Jonathan apart from scoring the highest number of votes in the poll also scored more than the mandatory 25 percent of the total number of votes cast in two thirds of the 36 states of the federation and FCT.

According to him, Jonathan apart from scoring the highest number of votes cast - 22,495,187 - also scored more than 25 percent of the total votes cast in 31 states and FCT.

Jega, who announced the results in his capacity as Chief Returning Officer of the presidential election as provided for by both the nation's constitution and the Electoral Act, said other candidates and their total number of votes include:

Nuhu Ribadu of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, [2,079,151],

Ibrahim Shekarau of All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, [917,012], and

Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, who came a distant second with 12,214,853 votes.

This Day

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