Public Affairs Analyst

The signing into law of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) law by President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday, 19 July 2010 is long overdue. The bill which was recently passed by the two chambers of the National Assembly was initially part of the Prof. Chukwuma Soludo’s 13 point banking reform agenda way back July 2004. However, the bill was stalled in the parliament until the incumbent Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi re-introduced it at the National Assembly as part of the current banking reform measure which he kick-started in July 2009. The law, to my mind is highly desirable going by the several advantages that will likely accrue to our banking nay financial sector and concomitantly the nation’s economy. Some of the envisaged benefits of the bill as highlighted by the president during the signing ceremony are that: The new law will ensure the stability of Nigeria’s financial sector and stimulate national economic recovery. AMCON, according to ...

This is, indeed, an exciting time for Nigeria. After an initial lull in the preparation for the 2011 elections, two recent events have brought about some animations in the polity - the announcement on June 8, 2010, of the nominees for the chairman and board members of the Independent National Electoral Commission, and the successful alteration of the 1999 Constitution by the Senate and the House of Representatives on June 2 and 3, 2010. The presidential nomination and endorsement by the Council of State, of Professor Attahiru Jega and 10 other national commissioners, as well as 19 other resident electoral commissioners to fill the vacuum in INEC has been largely well received, except for the pocket of protests about the partisanship of few of the nominees. Good enough, the President promised to replace all the nominees with party affiliations. This is heart-warming. Attahiru Jega is the first northerner and Muslim to be appointed Chief Electoral Officer of Nigeria. The good thin...