INEC Fixes Anambra Guber Poll For Next Year

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has begun preparations for re-run of the governorship election in the state Anambra State despite Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Dr. Andy Uba, seeking interpretation of the court’s ruling on the tenure of the state governor, Mr. Governor Peter Obi.

The exercise is scheduled to take place by January next year.
INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Information and Publicity, Mr. Philip Umeadi, said the commission was not oblivious of Uba’s suit at the apex court as well as its implications, but said since there has not been any restraint by any court of law, INEC would continue to gear up for the challenge of organising a credible governorship election in Anambra State next year.

Umeadi, who could not tell ascertain when the election would hold, said “since the tenure of Governor Obi is billed to end sometime in March, we should conduct the elections around January or February next year. But I can tell you that INEC is going ahead with the elections with the situation of things because nothing is stopping it, legally.”

He said expectations on Anambra election next year is high and that INEC would not disappoint the Nigerian people.

Meanwhile, as part of preparations ahead of 2011 general elections in the country, INEC has set fresh minimum qualification standard for its ad-hoc members of staff who would participate in the conduct of the election. And to strengthen its manpower, the commission also said it would have the staff go for refresher course at its special institute, INEC Electoral Institute, for a diploma certificate.

On INEC’s Electoral Institute, Umeadi said though, it is yet to be accredited; it has however churned out its first set of graduates. He said the institute is affiliated to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria.

He noted that the idea of sending members of INEC staff to electoral institute was part of the initiative designed to combat the tricks of the political class adding that the training of staff has already begun but before the process evolves, INEC would have been able to conduct subsequent elections.

UN Report Ready on Kenya Killings

A UN human rights investigator has released a draft report on extrajudicial killings in Kenya. Kenyan officials have rejected the report's recommendations, which include removing the country's police chief and attorney general.

In a report to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council next week, the UN's Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Philip Alston, recommends that Kenya's police chief, Hussein Ali, and attorney general Amos Wako resign.

The report repeats recommendations Alston made at the end of a trip to Kenya in February, where he investigated allegations of illegal killings by the police force.

"Any serious commitment to ending the impunity that currently reigns in relation to this issue by the police should begin with the immediate dismissal of the police commissioner. The resignation of the attorney general of Kenya is in my view an essential first step to restoring the integrity of the office and ending its role in promoting impunity," he said.

Alston is also recommending the creation of an independent commission to investigate human rights abuses. These include some 500 cases of police killing people suspected of belonging to the Mungiki criminal gang; alleged executions by the military in a campaign last year against the Sabaot Land Defense Force militia in western Kenya; and violence that erupted following Kenya's disputed elections in December 2007.

Kenyan officials have rejected Alston's allegations. Government spokesman Alfred Mutua has issued a statement calling the charges "paternalistic, unhelpful and uncalled for."

Forestry minister Noah Wekesa, an ally of President Mwai Kibaki, also rejected the report."We believe that a lot of it was too much politics in that report rather than fact, and therefore we have discounted that report completely. We believe that the steps the government has taken particularly to deal with Mungiki and like-minded organizations is the right one. We have a reform process within our police that is ongoing. We are not bound to go by this report in any way," he said.

But officials from Prime Minster Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement, which shares power with the president's party in Kenya's coalition government, have been more receptive to Alston's findings.

The report has also been welcomed by human rights advocates. Paul Muite, a prominent lawyer and former lawmaker, said the report contains little that should be surprising."It's merely reiterating what everybody knows, what we ourselves as Kenyans have been saying. That the judiciary is completely cowed to the executive as an instrument of oppression in the hands of the executive which has been responsible for sanitizing violations of human rights in this country and needs a complete overhaul," he said.

Human rights NGOs, including the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, have released their own detailed reports on extrajudicial killings. The head of the Oscar Foundation, an NGO that took the lead in accusing the police of illegal killings, was himself assassinated in Nairobi earlier this year.

Other recommendations in Alston's report include establishing an improved witness protection program and overhauling the judicial system.

The official report will be released next week when Alston presents his findings to the Human Rights Council. Members of the Kenyan government will also make a presentation. They are expected to argue that the report threatens Kenyan sovereignty.

Alston has also urged the International Criminal Court to consider conducting an investigation in Kenya.

Climate change huge challenge for Africa-minister

The challenges facing Africa to fight climate change are enormous and costs are huge though hard to quantify, South Africa's environment minister said on Friday.

Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said her peers from more than 30 African countries, meeting in Nairobi, had agreed a joint position on climate change, to be presented at negotiations in Copenhagen this December.

"Increased support to Africa should be based on priorities which include adaptation, capacity building, financing and technology development and transfer," she told a news conference.

The world's poorest continent is expected to be hardest hit by climate change, despite having the lowest emissions of greenhouse gases.

According to the United Nations, between 250 and 750 million people in Africa will face water shortages by 2020, while in some African countries, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 percent by 2020.

"Most of the work remains to be done, particularly with the cost of adaptation in Africa estimated between $1 billion to $50 billion per year," Sonjica said.

Sonjica, who is the president of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, urged rich countries not to attach conditions on assistance given to developing countries.

"African governments must commit certain amounts from their budget, but you cannot commit what you don't have. I get a sense that there is a push for us to over-commit," she said.



COSTS

The United Nations has estimated the costs of adapting to rising seas in Africa could amount to at least 5-to-10 percent of gross domestic product towards the end of this century.

It also projects an increase of 5-to-8 percent of arid and semi-arid lands in Africa by 2080.

Africa advocates expansion of categories so that countries can benefit from carbon credits, and other international incentives to include agriculture and forest management.

Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, said bigger countries such as China and Korea had won more funds than Africa from rich nations to help cut greenhouse gases.

Africa has received relatively little aid because the projects available in the continent were much smaller, he told a news conference.

"Because many economies in Africa are very small, not a lot can be done to reduce emissions gases, so reducing emissions in Africa is not as big an opportunity as it is in Asian countries," he said.

Nigeria Militant Apologizes To Oil Company

A Niger Delta militant leader Sunday took the unusual step of apologizing to oil companies and blaming political leaders for fueling unrest in the Nigerian region.

The statement comes as the government earlier this week renewed an amnesty offer to militants whose sabotages have cut at least 500,000 barrels a day from Nigerian production.

But Nigeria has also threatened to extend military operations against them from the western part of the Delta to the east, where the militant commander is based. In a text message to Dow Jones, Marvin, who would only identify himself by his first name, said "we [apologize] to the [multinational] companies for [ the] hard time they went through." "While we were addressing our problems" with the Nigerian government, we're asking [the companies] to come back," he said.

"We blame our political fathers and elders for feeding us with lies," Marvin said.

He said the political leaders had been "giving us wrong [advice] that will make us hate [the Nigerian government], buying guns for us and opening camps for us too and fight [the government] and destroy ourselves while they feed fat on sweat and blood."

The militant leader, who is based in Rivers state, the Delta's largest producing area, added "it is the elders that the military ought to [arrest] not the militants."

He didn't mention any names of political leaders. Marvin added that " currently, we are gathering our weapons for disarmament purposes, as directed by our commander."

A spokesman for the main militant umbrella, the Movement of the Emancipation of The Niger Delta, however, has formally rejected the government amnesty offer

At least six people die in Zanzibar boat sinking

ZANZIBAR, Tanzania (AP) Police say at least six people died when a boat capsized on reaching Zanzibar. More than a dozen people were believed to be missing.

Police Chief Khatib Shaban says a mother and her two children were among the victims when the boat went down on Friday night. He said on Sunday that the death toll was likely to rise.

The boat was carrying cargo and passengers from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city, when it capsized upon reaching port in the semiautonomous Indian Ocean archipelago of Zanzibar.

Zimbabwe's MDC demand resignation of central bank chief

Zimbabwe's MDC party demanded the resignation of the central bank governor and attorney general on Sunday, saying their continued tenure was sowing conflict and division in the new unity government with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF.
The parties are at odds over the fate of Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana, who are both allies of Mr Mugabe.

The MDC has been highly critical of the two men, blaming Mr Gono for fuelling hyperinflation through printing money to shore up Mr Mugabe's past governments, while accusing Mr Tomana of presiding over the prosecution of rights and opposition activists.
Mr Mugabe last week said Gono would not go, but the issue has been referred to a regional body for arbitration.

Tendai Biti, the MDC secretary-general and finance minister, told journalists that about 1,000 party delegates attending an annual party conference had passed a resolution that Mr Gono and Mr Tomana resign.

Mr Tsvangirai had earlier told party members that failure to resolve outstanding issues would affect the credibility of the new government as Western countries continue to withhold critical funds, demanding more reforms.

Zimbabwe has suffered a decade of economic collapse and political tensions, but the formation of the new government has raised hopes of recovery.

The party, formed in September 1999, says hundreds of its members have been killed in political violence by ZANU-PF supporters and on Sunday said it would continue to mobilise for elections, expected once a new constitution has been written.