FOI Bill, AT LAST!

Passed. Since everyone is congratulating the Senate, we must join in to say bravo! We still have to await the harmonization of the nine areas of differences with the House. Any reluctance on our part on this matter is suspended because the presidency has refuted reports of any “adversarial ambush” at the Villa! Do we have a perfect/preferred law yet? Nah.  But let dem sign this one, first. We wait.

How then do we put the point that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has yet to be treated in an economy that totally relies on this sector for survival? Not passing this all-important law before going for reelection was grossly insensitive on the part of parliament. After the polls, you can imagine the hard times ahead for things like “quorum“, “punctuality“, “kola“, “vested interests”, “blackmail”, etc. You know the story, and the insinuations, and all dem Wikileaks stuff! But again, we wait.

Kudos then to the National Assembly on the FoI Bill. Because they have a way of rising to the occasion (as with INEC case, Constitution Amendment, Third Term saga, Acting President issue, Minimum Wage matter, et al), we can safely say Kudos-in-Advance for the PIB Bill as well. Bravo!

VOTER-REGISTRATION Progress

I am not losing sleep over the ongoing voter-registration exercise. It will be ultra-successful.

We should be grateful that it didn’t take-off smoothly. The hitches and hiccups were a salutary baptism of fire for us all. And I love it!

Lessons: INEC now knows better. Take nothing on face value; take nothing for granted. Nigerians now know better. We have a role, crucial role to play, in this democracy. Register. Vote. Protect your franchise. Defend your vote.

Forecast: We will be proud, very proud, of the NYSC Members deployed for this momentous and monumental project. We will applaud and reward their service, and their patriotism.

Interim Laugh: I wonder how The “Great” Iwu feels right now!

Last Line: This INEC and Nigerians will succeed this 2011. No matter the odds.