tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730596987387960387.post2646096535677279441..comments2023-10-03T10:06:43.840-07:00Comments on ICHEOKU: GHANA, CONGRATULATIONS ON THIS MILESTONE!EBEKUOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12634012877434160861noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730596987387960387.post-66749727878416895852009-01-14T14:16:00.000-08:002009-01-14T14:16:00.000-08:00ELECTION IN NIGERIA AND GHANAWhen Nigerian politi...ELECTION IN NIGERIA AND GHANA<BR/><BR/><BR/>When Nigerian politicians, mischief makers, thugs, trouble makers, elected officials, candidates and International observers/monitors discredit the election authorities like INEC in Nigeria working under the difficult conditions of over-heated transitions like in Nigeria ever unstable nation, it becomes humanly impossible for the natives or ordinary people to respect the law and order in place, if not the election outcome as well. <BR/><BR/><BR/>How can you expect your citizens to respect poll results declared by electoral umpires that have already been discredited by all manners of foreigners and Nigerians with doubtful intentions towards your country? No election is perfect and also cannot be expected to reflect values foreign to the locale where it is conducted like in Nigeria with their contempt for law and order and where breaking laws and corruption has taken over the nation in every sphere of the nation operation justifying the classification of Nigeria as a FAILED STATE in the mode and league with Somalia, Zimbabwe and Congo.<BR/><BR/><BR/>The Europeans learned from their mistakes and so, they should encourage Africans to learn from their own mistakes as well. Disparagement or reckless assessments intended to isolate the INEC and the electoral leadership will never cut it.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Part of the effort therefore is to encourage aggressive information management on the part of African governments of the day to counter any negative misinformation that attempts to discredit our electoral umpires and the institutions we have in place at the given point in time. Lessons can be learned from India, Taiwan, South Africa,Ghana and other emerging democracies which have done well at countering negative press and succeeded in projecting an acceptable level of some electoral purity. And most importantly, we must understand that electoral tribunals (and judgments issuing from them) are part of the overall process of all elections even in advanced democracies.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Therefore, we must refrain from this infantile tendency to celebrate yet another nullification of an election as further proof of how rotten our elections are. In our system of phased electoral process, INEC is merely the agency of original jurisdiction (much like a trial court with original jurisdiction), with finality of election outcomes residing with the tribunals and other higher courts. Thus, it will not be fair to call for resignation or attacking of an INEC boss merely because a result he declared had been overturned without also calling for the mass resignation of all trial judges whose judgments are overturned on appeal in case of River State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and in Anambra in case of Governor peter Obi.<BR/><BR/>Ugo Harris Ukandu<BR/>Nigeria Democracy and Justice Project<BR/>Washington, DCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730596987387960387.post-33227541886323255302009-01-04T23:25:00.000-08:002009-01-04T23:25:00.000-08:00Opposition Parties, Groups Hail Ghana over PollFro...Opposition Parties, Groups Hail Ghana over Poll<BR/>From Chuks Okocha in Abuja, 01.05.2009<BR/><BR/> Add To Favorites <BR/> Print This Article <BR/> Post Comment <BR/> <BR/>Torrents of accolades have continued to trail Ghana’s successful transitory elections which climaxed with Friday’s declaration of 64-year old Professor John Evans Atta Mills as President-elect. The new president is scheduled to be inaugurated on Wednesday, January 7. <BR/>Among groups and politicians that have hailed Ghanaians are the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Human Rights Groups and a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart, Chief Sunny Iroche. In their separate reactions, they commended the sister West African of Nigeria for successfully holding its fifth consecutive fair and transparent general elections since 1992. <BR/>The CNPP, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, said: “We salute Ghanaians for their exemplary, principled stand and unwavering commitment in upholding the sanctity of the ballot box, thus making their votes count, in the midst of a close election.”<BR/>The conference added: “Our commendation also goes to the Judiciary in Ghana for serving the cause of justice, upholding the independence of the judiciary, the doctrine of separation of powers and resisting the temptation of the National Patriotic Party (NPP) to collaborate in truncating the election.”<BR/>The CNPP was also full of praise for the out-going president, Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor. “We cannot forget the statesmanlike and noble role played by President John Kufuor in keeping his head above waters, refusing to manipulate the elections or allowing himself to be swayed in the face of his party’s defeat.” They recommended President Kufuor for Mo Ibrahim award for good governance.<BR/>The CNPP described the Ghanaian historic democratic growth as “a memorable lesson to democratic pretenders like Nigeria, where democracy is vanishing, where the electoral commission is a department of the executive, where the judiciary is manipulated and political culture of do-or-die reigns”. <BR/>According to the Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA), in a statement signed by Mr. Emmanuel Onwubiko, Ghanaians especially the outgoing President deserve commendations for overseeing a general election that has been internationally acclaimed as free, fair and peaceful. HURIWA said it was quite remarkable that Ghana’s recent presidential election witnessed the emergence of an opposition politicianas winner while the ruling party’s candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, accepted defeat.<BR/>The rights group called on President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to immediately set workable machinery in motion to implement the salient and strategic aspects of the recommendations of the Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais-led Electoral Reform Committee. <BR/>Along this line, it stressed the need for the strengthening and granting of true independence to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the sack of its incumbent chairman, Professor Maurice Iwu and other board members of the commission. <BR/>HURIWA argued that the continued stay in office of Iwu and his commissioners would sustain partiality and the kind of irregularities witnessed in the 2007 controversial polls in Nigeria.<BR/>In his own response, Iroche, who is also a banker, commended the Electoral Commission of Ghana while describing the successful election as a manifestation of the maturity of the electoral body. He called on INEC to emulate what its counterpart in Ghana has achieved.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730596987387960387.post-58771448621369273422009-01-04T22:35:00.000-08:002009-01-04T22:35:00.000-08:00Yar’Adua Commends Ghana Polls E-MAIL THIS PRINT ...Yar’Adua Commends Ghana Polls<BR/> E-MAIL THIS PRINT THIS MOST POPULAR PDF VERSION XML VERSION TXT version <BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>> As VP visits Bauchi tomorrow<BR/>January 5th, 2009<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>The election of Prof. John Atta-Mills as Ghana’s next president has vindicated Africa of alleged incompetence and unwillingness to conduct peaceful and hitch-free elections, Nigeria 's President,Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has said.<BR/><BR/>The President, in a congratulatory message to Mills yesterday, said the election of the opposition leader is exemplary and should serve as a guide for the African continent.<BR/><BR/>According to Yar'Adua, the Ghanian polls , 'Has once again allayed insinuations on Africa 's competence to conduct a hitch-free democratic elections.<BR/><BR/>Yar'Adua's message was relayed to the Ghanian President-elect through the Nigeria's High Commissioner to Ghana , Mr Musiliu Obanikoro. He added that the way the country was able to resolve the stalemate of the election has made the country and continent proud. 'I am highly delighted to congratulate you on behalf of the President and the good people of Nigeria for this hard won victory. As Africans, Ghana has done us proud. We hope and pray that the spirit with which the election was tough and won will be nurtured and promoted not only in Ghana, but also in West Africa.<BR/><BR/>Atta Mills was declared winner of Ghana 's Presidential run-off election of December 28, 2008 by the country's electoral commission on Saturday.<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, Vice President Goodluck Johnatan is to lead an inspection team to Bauchi State tomorrow to assess the football facilities in the state preparatory to the under 17 world football championship tagged Nigeria 2009.<BR/><BR/>Principal among the facilities the Vice President is expected to inspect are the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Zaranda and Awalah Hotels, Games Village , BACAS and The Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi.<BR/><BR/>While the stadium, the best of its kind in northeast sub-region, is expected to be one of the venues for the championship, the two hotels are to provide accommodation to players and officials. However spectators are expected to be accommodated at the Games Village while BACAS and The Federal Polytechnic will serve as training grounds for the players.<BR/><BR/>Zaranda Hotels which is wholly owned by the state Government is already being renovated and upgraded while the Games Village training ground is also receiving attention as carpet grass and other necessary materials are being put in place. All the facilities needed for hosting the event are expected to be in place as the experience in hosting international events like the world cup. <BR/><BR/>Chairman,Publicity Committee for the VP's inspection, Alhaji Maigari Muhammad Khanna, confirmed the information about the VP's visit to our correspondent yesterday.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730596987387960387.post-25664351888142659962009-01-04T22:28:00.000-08:002009-01-04T22:28:00.000-08:00Ghana Election, Lesson For Nigeria, Say CNPP, CDBy...Ghana Election, Lesson For Nigeria, Say CNPP, CD<BR/>By Oladele Ogunsola (Ibadan) and Olisemeka Obeche (Lagos)<BR/><BR/>Ghana's election of John Atta Mills as President from an opposition party still fascinates Nigerian democracy agitators, who concluded on Sunday that their country indeed has a lot to learn.<BR/><BR/>The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) applauded Ghanaians for conducting a free, fair and transparent poll, which Campaign for Democracy (CD) says takes the shine out of Nigeria's claim as the giant of Africa.<BR/><BR/>To former Oyo State Governor, Lam Adesina, the election is an example of a growing democracy worthy of emulation by other African countries.<BR/><BR/>"We salute Ghanaians for their exemplary principled stand and unwavering commitment in upholding the sanctity of ballot box, thus making their votes to count, in the midst of a close election of 50.23 per cent to 49.77 per cent, respectively for the National Democratic Party (NDP) and National Patriotic Party (NPP)," CNPP National Publicity Secretary, Osita Okechukwu, said in a statement.<BR/><BR/>"Ghanaians have in no uncertain terms entered their names in the hall of fame as beacons of democracy on a rudderless and clueless, undemocratic African continent.<BR/><BR/>"Their historic democratic growth is a memorable lesson to democratic pretenders like Nigeria, where democracy is vanishing, where the Electoral Commission is a department of the executive, where the judiciary is manipulated and political culture of do-or-die reigns.<BR/><BR/>"Whereas no life was lost in the Ghanaian election; Nigeria lost over 2,000 lives in the 2007 election and 400 lives in Jos North Local Government election in November 2008."<BR/><BR/>CNPP commended outgoing Ghanaian President, John Kuffuor, for allowing the election to be determined by voters, instead of manipulating it.<BR/><BR/>"We cannot forget the statesmanly and noble role he played by keeping his head above water, refusing to manipulate the election. And he was not swayed in the face of his party's defeat."<BR/><BR/>Okechukwu noted that Kuffuor's conduct was in sharp contrast to that of former President Olusegun Obasanjo during the election in 2007 which he called a "do-or-die" affair, and campaigned for Umaru Yar'Adua to succeed him.<BR/><BR/>"Our commendation also goes to the judiciary in Ghana for serving the cause of justice, upholding the independence of the judiciary, the doctrine of separation of powers, and resisting the temptation of the (NPP) to collaborate in truncating the election."<BR/><BR/>CD President, Joe Okei-Odumakin, said it is rather shameful that while Nigerian politicians are in a cocoon of the politics of do-or-die and acquisition of illegal wealth, their counterparts in Ghana play by the rules.<BR/><BR/>"Frankly speaking," she insisted, "the successful outcome of the Ghanaian Presidential election is a big shame on the part of the people who manage Nigerian elections. For the fact that we had the opposition winning the closely contested election after the run-off is an indication that Nigeria had fallen far behind.<BR/><BR/>"The outcome of Ghanaian election should cause a sober reflection by every Nigerian, especially our political leaders who have by their self-centered actions and inactions, made the country to retrogress instead of progressing.<BR/><BR/>"Obasanjo who introduced and perfected do-or-die politics should take a cue from his Ghanaian counterpart who kept his cool and allowed the votes of the citizens to decide who would succeed him."<BR/><BR/>Adesina, who was Oyo State Governor between 1999 and 2003, praised the election in Ghana, saying: ''It is unfortunate that what Nigeria found so difficult to attain in the last two elections was attained in Ghana. I will be the happiest man on earth when such a thing happens in Nigeria.<BR/><BR/>"It has got to a level that some of us who have suffered for democracy in this country now wonder whether we have not laboured in vain when a National Chairman of a ruling but non-performing party would tell us that they would remain in office for as long as 60 years. <BR/><BR/>"Doing what? Looting, squandering our common wealth. There is a serious problem in the land."<BR/><BR/>Adesina frowned at the lack of character and principle among the political class in Nigeria that makes people to jump round the parties for government patronage.<BR/><BR/>''Look at what happened recently in Nigeria with All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) abandoning Muhammed Buhari, its Presidential candidate during the election held on April 21, 2007. All in the name of the so-called Government of National Unity (GNU). See what has become of the unholy alliance between the ANPP and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).<BR/><BR/>''What is the meaning of GNU if not for electoral exploitation and a subtle way of stifling the opposition? You can talk of a GNU if there is a national crisis, like war or any other thing, just for the country to stablise, not in our present circumstance when our democracy should be allowed to flourish and blossom.<BR/><BR/>"The PDP is capitalising on the inability of people to appreciate that you don't win election all the time to stifle the growth of democracy in Nigeria."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730596987387960387.post-53393459167535679682009-01-04T22:18:00.000-08:002009-01-04T22:18:00.000-08:00I’ll be president for all — Atta Mills By Agency R...I’ll be president for all — Atta Mills <BR/>By Agency Reporter<BR/>Published: Monday, 5 Jan 2009<BR/>Ghana’s President-Elect, Prof. John Atta Mills, on Saturday said he had accepted the challenge to be the President and gave the assurance that he would be the President for all Ghanaians.<BR/><BR/>Skip to next paragraph <BR/> <BR/>Photo file<BR/>Ata mills<BR/><BR/>“There will be no discrimination. Atta Mills will be father to everybody,” he said, as he delivered his victory speech to thousands of supporters, who thronged the Osu Kuku Hill Campaign Office of the Mills Campaign.<BR/><BR/>Mills expressed his appreciation to God for brining Ghana so far and said he was also grateful to outgoing President John Agyekum Kufuor for declaring his intention to hand over power to him on January 7, 2009.<BR/><BR/>Sporting a white shirt, a black pair of trousers and black pair of shoes, and standing on a dais adorned by Ghana national colours of red, gold and green, he also expressed appreciation to the people of Ghana for the mandate given to him to be President for the next four years.<BR/><BR/>Mills said it had been a long struggle with sacrifices and with the elections over, there was only one Ghana.<BR/><BR/>“With the elections over, there is only one Ghana. There is no NDC Ghana; there is no NPP Ghana; there is no CPP Ghana. There is one Ghana,” he said to the roar of the milling supporters.<BR/><BR/>He congratulated his main contender, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party and leaders of the other political parties that contested the December 7 elections.<BR/><BR/>Mills said he hoped that together with all Ghanaians, he would be able to work to build a better Ghana.<BR/><BR/>He also expressed his appreciation to the Electoral Commission, security agencies and the media for helping to keep politicians and the parties on their toes during the electioneering process.<BR/><BR/>The President-elect advised supporters of the NDC to be moderate in their celebrations and not to do anything that would provoke others.<BR/><BR/>“We have to be preparing for the task ahead. This is just one step of a journey of a million miles.”<BR/><BR/>He said he would pray for wisdom and humility to steer the affairs of Ghana, adding “May we pray to God to continue to shower his blessings on Ghana.”<BR/><BR/>Soon after the President-elect left the dais, a huge bottle of champagne was popped to the enthusiastic crowd to welcome the President-Elect.<BR/><BR/>Ghana’s largely peaceful and credible presidential election was a rare example of a functioning democracy in Africa and should be a model for the continent, African leaders and voters said on Sunday.<BR/><BR/>Much attention in Africa and elsewhere was focused on the Ghanaian vote after a year of political crises, many of them violent, tarnished Africa’s democratic credentials.<BR/><BR/>Opposition candidate, Atta Mills was declared the winner on Saturday after the closely fought election in the gold and cocoa exporter was settled by a run-off.<BR/><BR/>“John Atta Mills‘ victory and the conduct of the people of Ghana provides a rare example of democracy at work in Africa,” Kenya‘s prime minister Raila Odinga said in a statement.<BR/><BR/>While some violence was reported, international observers say the vote was mostly peaceful, in contrast with many other African countries, where democracy was battered in 2008.<BR/><BR/>More than 1,000 people were killed in post-election violence in Kenya last year and in Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have been deadlocked for months over a power-sharing agreement after disputed elections.<BR/><BR/>Mauritania‘s first freely elected leader was overthrown in a military coup in August and army officers in Guinea took power after the death of President Lansana Conte in December.<BR/><BR/>South Africa, is likely to go to the polls in March in what analysts expect will be its most tense vote since the end of apartheid in 1994, after a power struggle split the ruling African National Congress last year.<BR/><BR/>“The Ghanaian election bears testimony to the respect for democracy and good governance in Africa,” South African President Kgalema Motlanthe said. ”The people of Ghana ... have through the ballot paper showed their appreciation for democracy,” he said in a statement.<BR/><BR/>Ghana‘s neighbour and fellow cocoa producer Ivory Coast again postponed presidential elections last year and analysts say they are unlikely to be held before the end of 2009 due to delays in disarmament and voter registration.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730596987387960387.post-81902752978366326882009-01-04T22:10:00.000-08:002009-01-04T22:10:00.000-08:00UN chief commends Ghana on vote John Atta Mills ...UN chief commends Ghana on vote <BR/> <BR/>John Atta Mills attended a church service to give thanks for his victory <BR/>United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has praised the presidential election in Ghana as a democratic achievement and an example to others. <BR/><BR/>He congratulated the people and government for the orderly outcome of the vote which saw a narrow victory for opposition candidate John Atta Mills. <BR/><BR/>But losing candidate Nana Akufo-Addo is considering whether to challenge the result in the courts. <BR/><BR/>He told the BBC that results from some areas were questionable. <BR/><BR/>He said that intimidation had stopped his party, the ruling New Patriotic Party, from campaigning freely. <BR/><BR/>Mr Atta Mills has said he will be "a president for all". <BR/><BR/>Officials say there was no evidence of vote-rigging. <BR/><BR/>Analysts says Ghana's poll could help salvage the tarnished image of constitutional democracy in Africa after last year's flawed elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe and military coups in Mauritania and Guinea. <BR/><BR/>'No evidence of fraud' <BR/><BR/>Electoral officials announced the result after the last constituency to vote, Tain, showed him extending his lead over Mr Akufo-Addo. <BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>Street celebrations in Accra<BR/>The ruling party had boycotted the Tain constituency vote. <BR/><BR/>The electoral commission said the results of the run-off showed Mr Atta Mills had won narrowly with 50.23% of the votes, against 49.77% for Mr Akufo-Addo. <BR/><BR/>"On the basis of the official results given, it is my duty to declare Professor John Evans Atta Mills the president-elect of the Republic of Ghana," the commission's head, Kwado Afari-Gyan, said in the capital Accra. <BR/><BR/>He said the commission had considered allegations of vote-rigging by both sides but "did not find the evidence provided sufficient to invalidate the result". <BR/><BR/>Outgoing President John Kufuor earlier urged both candidates to respect the final result. <BR/><BR/>He appealed for calm and said any complaints of vote-rigging should be dealt with by the courts after the new president is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday. <BR/><BR/>'Good fight' <BR/><BR/>Addressing jubilant supporters on the streets of Accra around the NDC headquarters, Mr Atta Mills, who had failed twice before to become president, said: "The time has come to work together to build a better Ghana. <BR/><BR/>"I assure Ghanaians that I will be president for all." <BR/><BR/>He also congratulated "all other contestants, especially Nana Akufo-Addo, for giving us a good fight". <BR/><BR/>Although Ghana remains a very divided nation when it comes to choosing a president, it has proved that democracy can work, BBC correspondent Will Ross in Accra says. <BR/><BR/>Mr Atta Mills, aged 64, is a former vice-president. He lost two previous elections to President Kufuor. <BR/><BR/>Mr Akufo-Addo, also 64, from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) won the first round of the presidential election but not by enough to avoid the run-off. <BR/><BR/>On Saturday, he was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying: "I acknowledge the electoral commissioner's declaration and congratulate Professor Mills." <BR/><BR/>A spokesman later told the BBC that, contrary to earlier reports, he had not conceded defeat, and that the ruling party would go to court to contest the result. <BR/><BR/>The stakes have been raised in these elections because Ghana has just found oil, which is expected to start generating revenue in 2010.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com