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| Abacha loot, MPs rivalry, soccer mixed grill dominate Nigerian papers
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Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) -
The seizure of the stolen money and assets belonging to
the family of the former Nigerian military
ruler Sani Abacha, the rivalry rocking the two chambers of the National Assembly
, qualification for South Africa 2010 as well
as the loss of the FIFA under-17 World Cup at home made interesting reading in N
igerian newspapers during the past one week.
While the Vanguard, ThisDay and the Tribune newspapers carried stories on the Ab
acha loot, almost all the papers in the country
reported the ego clash involving the Nigerian Senate and the House of Representa
tive, which forced a postponement of President
Umaru Yar'Adua's traditional presentation of the national budget to a joint sess
ion of the house. The papers also reported
the celebration-turned-sour soccer achievements at the turn of the week.
"Switzerland orders Abachaâ?s US$350m seized", was the headline of the Vanguard
, which quoted Swiss authorities as having
ordered the seizure of some US$350 million of assets from the son of the late Ni
gerian dictator for graft.
â?The first order of the sentence issued by the examining magistrate found that
Abba Abacha, born 9 November, 1968, to the late General
Sani Abacha, was guilty of participation in a criminal organisation,â? Geneva c
antonâ?s justice office said in a statement, according to the paper.
It said â?The examining magistrate sentenced him to a suspended jail term, and
ordered the confiscation of his assets of US$350 million
which is held by his criminal organisation and seized through international assi
stance in Luxembourg and the Bahamas.â?
The elder Abacha, who died in June 1998, is suspected of having siphoned some US
$2.2 billion from the Nigerian central bank between his
coming to power in November 1993 and his death four-and-a-half years later.
Some US$700 million of his loot, which was stashed in Swiss banks, have been ret
urned by Switzerland to Nigerian authorities.
ThisDay newspaper headlined its story "Swiss Authorities Convict Abachaâ?s Son,
Seize $350m Assets".
"Joint Budget Session Illegal, Senate Insists", was the headline of the Guardian
, which reported that as the face-off between the Senate and
the House of Representatives over the 2010 budget presentation continued Friday,
the Senate has declared that the practice of receiving budget
proposals from the President in joint sessions is unconstitutional.
But former Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ch
ief Tony Anenih, has called on the leadership of the Senate
and House of Representatives to put their differences aside and receive the 2010
Appropriation Bill for timely passage into law.
"Anenih blames PDP for National Assembly crisis", was how the Sun saw the crisis
in the national assembly.
The paper quoted Anenih, as saying "It would be an irony if a federal legislatur
e dominated by the PDP is seen to be undermining the capacity of
a PDP government to deliver on its electoral promises to the people."
The Vanguard newspaper, reporting under the headline "Budget 2011: Anenih appeal
s to Senate, Reps, blasts Ogbulafor", said Anenih had appealed to
Senate President David Mark and Speaker Dimeji Bankole to sheathe their swords t
o enable the President table the 2010 budget of the Federal Government.
ThisDay, writing under the headline "Budget 2010: Senate Faults PDP on Presentat
ion", reported that the Senate Friday set itself on a collision course with
the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in its supremacy battle with the House
of Representatives over the venue of the joint session of the National Assembly
to receive President Yarâ?Aduaâ?s 2010 budget proposal.
The Upper House chided the PDP, saying that the venue of a joint session was not
a constitutional issue, contrary to the position of the party as articulated
by the PDP spokesman, Professor Rufai Ahmed Alkali, on Thursday.
On football, almost all the papers highlighted Nigerians' celebration of the Sup
er Eagles' qualification for South Africa 2010 which lasted just 24 hours before
things
turned sour, when the Golden Eaglets lost the FIFA Under-17 Cup to debutants Swi
tzerland right under their nose.
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| Lagos - 21/11/2009 |
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