NIGERIA: POL/ECON GRAB BAG

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ABUJA 001438 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT PASS TO USAID FOR AFR/ATWOOD DEPT PASS USTR-AGAMA DOE FOR GPERSON, CHAYLOCK TREASURY FOR PETERS AND IERONIMO LABOR FOR SHALEY USDA/FAS/OTP FOR MCKENZIE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ECON SENV KGHG ENGR EAID ELAB EPET EFIN NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: POL/ECON GRAB BAG Ref: A. Abuja 950 ¶B. Abuja 968 ¶C. Abuja 1272 ¶1. (U) The Following is an Embassy Abuja-ConGen Lagos compilation of July 23 through August 7, 2009 political/economic highlights not previously reported. ECONOMIC -------------- ¶2. (SBU) GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA MOVES TO CHECK E-WASTE DUMPING: On July 20, addressing an international conference on the hazards of electronic waste, Nigerian Minister of Justice Michael Aondoakaa expressed the GON's concern over the dumping of potentially toxic electronic waste in the country. According to the Ministry of Environment, an average of 400,000 used computers is brought into the country to be salvaged primarily for parts. Aondoakaa added that the growing trade in hazardous waste in Africa is a result of failure by western electronic companies to recycle their products, which he said constitutes a crime against humanity. Dino Meneye, Chairman of the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Environment, stated that foreign electronic companies exploit Nigeria's poverty and weak border controls. Aondoakaa declared the GON would fight illegal imports of e-waste through active monitoring by customs, security and environmental agencies and by imposing stiff tariffs on imports of obsolete electronics products. ¶3. (U) USAID ENCOURAGES ALTERNATIVE ENERGY: On July 29, USAID Restructured Economic Framework for Openness, Reform and Macroeconomic Stability (REFORMS) Project held a workshop in Abuja on alternative energy in Nigeria. Experts pointed out that the country cannot achieve its targets for electricity generation without considering alternative energy sources. Proper exploration of alternative energy sources and their utilization is especially important at the state level to power rural communities, encourage sustainable development, and create jobs. USAID REFORMS Project assisted Ebonyi and Cross River states to develop a citizens' handbook on alternative energy, which educates the public about alternative sources of energy and opportunities in the country that could be harnessed to meet the energy needs of rural communities in a sustainable way. ¶4. (U) NIGERIA STEPS UP COPYRIGHT ENFORCEMENT: The Nigeria Copyrights Commission (NCC) told Econoff on July 31 that it has stepped up copyrights enforcement by carrying out four major night raids on 11 optical disc plants and nine software pirating companies in Lagos since April. Akeem Aponmade, Technical Adviser on Enforcement, said there are 15 CD producing plants in Nigeria with a combined annual capacity of over 800 million CDs for the Nigerian and West African markets. Two plants in Lagos were shut down recently, with each incurring a monthly revenue loss of about 25 million naira ($166,667). Aponmade also claimed the NCC is aggressively enforcing the Nigerian Copyrights Law of 2006 through annual renewal requirements for operating licenses, licenses requirements for the procurement of new equipment, and the installation of the Source Identification Code (SID) on all equipment. (Note: Through SID, all pirated CDs can be easily indentified and traced to the manufacturing source. End note). Aponmade lamented that rights owners seldom report violation to the NCC. He also advised foreign rights owners, particularly the Movie Producers' Association, to establish a local presence in order to report rights infringements. AVIATION -------------- ¶5. (SBU) BETTER OVERSIGHT AND RADAR COVERAGE IN THE QUEST FOR FAA CATEGORY 1: According to Dr. H. Demuren, the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA),his agency is implementing a formal review process of aircraft maintenance procedures and practices as well as requirements for the licensing of pilots and mechanics to fulfill FAA Category 1 status requirements. He said that to ensure safety in the country's airspace, the NCAA, in conjunction with the Ministry of Aviation, has begun a monthly ABUJA 00001438 002 OF 004 review of the airworthiness of all aircraft that operate in the country's airspace. The NCAA is also monitoring the safety and security practices of operators. Demuren said that the review was in part to make sure that the carriers do not default on their maintenance checks, as there is concern that the airlines may begin to cut corners as a result of the global economic slowdown. In addition to the increased oversight of airline operators, the NCAA acknowledges the need to upgrade the nation's radar and other navigation systems. POWER -------------- ¶6. (U) GON RELEASES $436 MILLION FOR POWER PROJECTS: The GON has released 67.48 billion naira ($436 million) for power projects in the first, second and third quarters of the 2009 budget cycle. The money is for planned and approved work that involves expanding the distribution and transmission grid to deliver added power to the nation as well as improving the maintenance of existing power plants. President Yar'Adua has established a committee to monitor the budget execution and to report any reported bottlenecks that could threaten the country's ability to generate 6,000 average megawatts (MW) of electricity by December 31, 2009. The committee is chaired by the Minister of Finance Mansur Muhtar, and other members include the chief operating officers of the various generation, (GENCOS),transmission (TRANSCOS) and distribution (DISCOS) companies within the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) as well as the Minister of Power. ¶7. (SBU) NERC AND MPSC CONTINUE PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE REGULATORY PRACTICES: During its third exchange, in a series of partnership activities between the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), held in Abuja August 3-7, participants focused on public outreach, efficiency, integrated resource planning, licensing, natural gas, and purchased power contracts. On August 4, NERC Administrator Mallam Talba escorted the visiting MPSC delegation, headed by Orjiakor Isiogu, to meet with the Minister of Power Lanre Babalola. The Minister thanked the USG, specifically USAID, for its support of NERC and partnership activities with MPSC. Chairman Isiogu said he finds the sharing of information, ideas, policy, and processes accelerating. (Note: National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' Energy Regulatory Partnership Program between the NERC and MPSC is sponsored by USAID. Their partnership serves as a vehicle for the exchange of experience and information between NERC and MPSC with the goals to improve regulatory practices, develop institutional and decision-making capacities, and foster sustainable relationships between the two partnering institutions. End Note). POLITICAL -------------- ¶8. (SBU) USAID PROMOTES RESEARCH IN THE NORTH TO REDUCE VIOLENCE: USAID is responding to increased violence in northern Nigeria. Along with its implementing partner, the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH),and the Conflict Mitigation and Management Regional Councils set up by USAID to address violence in the north, USAID is providing information to determine the extent of extremist Islamist influence and appropriate interventions needed to reduce violence. ¶9. (U) YAR'ADUA TRAVELS TO BRAZIL: On July 28, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua left Abuja for a three-day state visit to Brazil. He said the trip was important for the benefit of both countries in areas of trade, investment and multilateral cooperation. Defending his absence during the violence in northern Nigeria, Yar'Adua told reporters, "I believe this is an important trip because Brazil is a fast advancing economy and I believe that Nigeria can gain from the visit in terms of multilateral co-operations and in terms of our economy and investment, especially in places where they have made very striking advancement in agriculture, agriculture research and agro chemical." ¶10. (U) EFCC FAULTS UK COURT'S TERMS FOR EXTRADITING UDOAMAKA OKORONKWO: On July 29, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ABUJA 00001438 003 OF 004 (EFCC) publicly faulted the U.K.'s London Crown Court for imposing strident conditions for the extradition of Udoamaka Okoronkwo to Nigeria. Okoronkwo is the second accused person in the case between the EFCC and former Delta State governor James Ibori. At the resumed hearing at the Federal High Court in Asaba, Delta State, EFCC lead counsel Ibrahim Isiyaku argued that the position of the London Court, (holding the presiding judge responsible for Okoronkwo's conditional release from the U.K.),was insulting to the Nigerian judiciary. Presiding Judge, Justice Marcel Awokulehin previously issued a bench warrant on April 27 to answer to charges against her by the Federal Government. Isiyaku remarked that the EFCC was considering dropping or amending the 103-count charges against Okoronkwo "to enable the trial to commence properly." ¶11. (U) REP BLAMES BORNO CRISIS ON POVERTY AND ILLITERACY: On July 31, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Education Farouk Lawan identified poverty and lack of education as the principal causes of the Bokoh Haram-led violence in four northern states. He told reporters that "the only long-term solution to the ethno-religious crisis in the country was for the government to tackle the twin problems of illiteracy and deep level of poverty ravaging the country." ¶12. (U) SSS RAISES ALARM OVER 2011 POLLS: On July 31, State Security Service (SSS) Director General Afakriya Gadzama cautioned that if serious steps were not taken to arrest the spate of violence in the country before the next general election, the 2011 elections would have problems. (Note: this is the first known time that SSS publicly commented on Nigeria's electoral process. End Note.) Gadzama gave the warning at a session with members of the House of Representatives committees on Police Affairs and National Security. Gadzama briefed the committees on the recent spate of violence in different parts of the country and robbery incidents in the South-East, saying that "We may likely have problem in 2011 if nothing is done to improve the security system in the country, especially in terms of number and the necessary tools to work with. We are over-stretched." ¶13. (SBU) BAUCHI STATE DEPUTY GOVERNOR TROUBLES CONTINUE: The Federal High Court in Bauchi refused Deputy Governor Alhaji Muhammad Garba Gadi's petition to restrain the Speaker of the state's House of Assembly and 16 members of the House and Independent National Electoral Commission from acting on the report of the panel constituted to investigate impeachable offenses against him (ref C). Gadi claimed that these lawmakers ceased to be members of the House when they decamped to the Peoples Democratic Party. According to the press, the Court said granting the petition would cripple the state House and delay justice. ¶14. (U) BILL TO OUTLAW TORTURE BEFORE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: Local press reported the use of torture by security agents, especially the police to obtain statements from suspects, may be outlawed in Nigeria before the end of the year. The federal government presented the bill to the National Assembly and it is now in committee. The Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Mr. Roland Ewubare, announced that the passage of this bill would bring Nigeria in line with the United Nations resolution on the prohibition of torture, to which Nigeria was a signatory. ¶15. (U) THE INVESTIGATION COMMISSION LOOKS INTO UNLAWFUL KILLINGS: The Investigation Commission met in Jos, Plateau State, to investigate the charges that police and soldiers unlawfully killed 133 persons, most of them Muslim men, during the November 2008 crisis, reported local press. Human Rights Watch (HRW) testified in front of the commission. The organization had also released a report that around 700 people were killed in the two day clash, more than three times as many as the official figure given by the government after the violence. The police denied all accusations. ¶16. (U) NIGERIA PRESENTS ACTION PLAN FOR THE PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS TO THE UNITED NATIONS: The Nigerian Television Authority reported that Nigeria has submitted the country's National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Nigeria at the United Nations in Geneva. ABUJA 00001438 004 OF 004 ¶17. (SBU) COMMUNAL CLASH CLAIMED LIVES IN EBONYI STATE: On July 26, 12 people were reportedly killed in a clash between two Ebonyi State communities - the Ezillo and Ezza-Ezillo - over a long-standing land and clan dispute. (Note: Ebonyi State Governor Martin Elechi requested military intervention in the October 2008 clash, and apparently soldiers are still there to maintain the peace. Elechi had also apportioned land to the Ezza-Ezillo clan as a placating measure. End note) Ndukwe Uduma, former Protocol Director to Governor Elechi, told PolSpec that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile these communities giving their level of animosity. ¶18. (SBU) DONOR COMMUNITY MEETS ON AMNESTY PROGRAM/USAID ATTENDED: On July 20, the United Nations Development Program hosted a donor community meeting on the GON's Niger Delta amnesty program; USAID attended for the U.S. Mission. Issues included concern that no peace agreement exists to lay out terms and conditions for amnesty and that reintegration sites have not been set. Donors agreed that their role in the amnesty program must be coordinated and calibrated, and a donor community technical group will develop a plan to include all assistance that donors can provide. ¶19. (U) NIGERIA AND BENIN BILATERAL: President Yar'Adua and Benin Republic President Boni Yayi met on August 4 in Nigeria, reportedly to discuss border disputes between the two countries. In a joint press conference, Yar'Adua stated that the two countries agreed to work out an amicable settlement of the boundary disputes in the north. He added that they had alsoo deliberated on power and energy, particularly the power supply to Benin and Togo, as well as the West African sub-region, ECOWAS, and other issues affecting the African Union. LABOR -------------- ¶20. (SBU) POLICE ARREST 2 SUSPECTS OVER MURDER OF BENUE TUC BOSS: Benue State Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Mohammed stated in Makurdi that police investigations revealed that the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Benue State chapter was murdered on July 28 by a three-man gang. He said the gang was apprehended in Makurdi, but the gang leader managed to escape. TUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) issued a communiqu blaming the police for "the lack of security in the state" and threatening a mass protest. Mohammed responded that the police would not guarantee the safety of anyone found to be involved in the planned protest, advising that the unions shelve the idea in view of its security implications. SANDERS