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IRIN-WA Update 411 of Events in West Africa (Friday 26 February)
NIGERIA: Preparations underway for presidential poll
Electoral preparations were underway today (Friday) ahead of tomorrow's presidential elections pitting Olusegun Obasanjo of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Olu Falae of the joint Alliance for Democracy/All People's Party (AD/APP). AFP said some 60 million ballot papers were distributed to 110,000 polling stations around the country, and just under half a million electoral workers will oversee the polls.
Obasanjo outlines policies in live TV interview
Presidential frontrunner, Obasanjo, who was interviewed live on Nigerian television yesterday (Thursday), spoke of the need to boost investor confidence, rehabilitate the infrastructure, improve fuel supplies and pursue the adoption of "appropriate technolgy". He also pledged, if elected, to set up an anti-corruption agency with the power to recover money at home and abroad.
On foreign relations, he stressed the whole question of peacekeeping and conflict resolution in West Africa must be addressed. "I wonder why the United Nations is not doing as much as it should," he said. "Is it because they believe Nigeria can bear the burden alone?" He said that if he became president "Nigerian troops will not remain anywhere a day longer than they should remain".
Babangida denies sponsoring Obasanjo
Former military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida, has denied funding Obasanjo's campaign, the British 'Independent' daily reported. In an interview with the newspaper, Babangida - who ruled from 1985 to 1993 - said he had given "nothing" to the campaign. "Nigerians thrive on allegations and rumours and innuendoes," he said. He added that the military were "looking forward to a democratic Nigeria". "They will be willing at all times to subordinate themselves to the constitutive legally-elected authority. I am positive of this," he said.
Central Bank to be accountable to parliament
Current military leader, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, yesterday announced that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would be made accountable to parliament under the country's new constitution. In a speech read out by Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Jibril Ayinla in Abuja, he said the CBN would be legally required to make periodic reports to parliament, AFP reported, quoting 'This Day' newspaper. He said it was hoped this arrangement would "not only insulate the bank from undue political interference, but also substantially enhance the performance of its statutory functions".
SIERRA LEONE: Rebel RUF pledges to ensure humanitarian access
A joint communique between the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the UN Special Representative for Sierra Leone, Francis Okelo, received by IRIN today, stressed the need to provide unhindered humanitarian assistance, where needed, to all parts of the country.
The statement, issued after last weekend's talks between the two sides in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, expressed the RUF's pledge to "take necessary practical steps" aimed at facilitating the work of humanitarian organisations. The RUF would designate senior humanitarian liaison officers as points of contact to ensure free access to the needy in all areas, inclduing those under RUF control.
Humanitarian organisations should "observe the principle of neutrality in the conduct of their operations," the statement added.
It also said that the issue of a venue and format for talks between the RUF and its jailed leader, Foday Sankoh, "should not delay the start of substantive dialogue". The RUF has put forward Ougadougou as its preferred venue, (followed by Abidjan and Lome, Togo), but the Sierra Leone government has rejected the Burkinabe capital, accusing the Burkina Faso president of backing the rebels.
In the statement, the RUF said it had never questioned the legitimacy of President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's government, neither was it fighting against the innocent civilian population "but against [the West African intervention force] ECOMOG and CDF [Civil Defence Force]". The rebels have been widely accused of killing and mutilating thousands of people.
Ogata in Freetown
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata arrived in Freetown today as part of an eight-day tour of West Africa, news reports said. Later in the day, she travelled to Liberia.
GUINEA BISSAU: Loyalists want troop withdrawal rescheduled
Loyalist forces in Guinea Bissau have proposed a longer withdrawal timetable for foreign troops allied to them, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reported today. Loyalist armed forces spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Arsenio Balde said over state radio today that the proposal had been handed to the Joint Military Commission, which includes the former foes of President Joao Bernardo Vieira - the Military Junta - and the West African peacekeeping force, ECOMOG.
Some of the estimated 3,000 Senegalese and Guinean troops, who came to support Vieira against the military uprising, still remain in the country. Under the peace accord signed in November 1998 between Junta leader General Ansumane Mane and Vieira, the Guineans and Senegalese should leave by 28 February at the latest, as ECOMOG troops arrive. So far, 600 ECOMOG troops have been deployed in Guinea Bissau. It is unclear if more will be arriving.
Senegal announced that 300 of its troops had left Guinea Bissau yesterday. This, the third withdrawal this month, brings close to 900 the number of troops Dakar has brought home since the end of fighting in the capital earlier this month.
LIBERIA: Taylor claims dissidents training in Guinea
President Charles Taylor yesterday claimed Liberian dissidents were undergoing training in Guinea, Star radio reported today. He told a news conference the dissidents were training in the southern Guinean town of Macenta, and that he would soon send a special delegation to Conakry for talks with the authorities. He denied the presence of Guinean dissidents in Liberia, describing such allegations as "misinformation". Taylor added he was ready to fully cooperate with Guinea.
CAMEROON: Biya denounces central African "spectacle of horror"
Cameroonian President Paul Biya yesterday denounced the "spectacle of horror" in central Africa at summit meeting held in Yaounde to discuss security in the region. According to a UN report, he urged regional leaders to nurture a culture of peace in their respective countries. Heads of state or their representatives from Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe and Equatorial Guinea - members of a UN consultative committee - were present at the meeting. Biya said the end of the cold war had raised hopes of peace and greater solidarity among nations, but in central Africa "not only did old conflicts continue, new ones broke out".
AFP said participants decided to create a Central African Peace and Security Council aimed at promoting, consolidating and maintaining peace.
TOGO: Parliamentary poll postponed
Parliamentary elections, slated for 7 March, have been postponed for two weeks to enable the opposition to take part, AFP reported. Opposition parties had ignored registration deadlines, challenging the results of last June's presidential election in which President Gnassingbe Eyadema was re-elected. Communications Minister Koffi Panou yesterday announced the legislative poll would now be held on 21 March after opposition parties held seven hours of talks with the president.
MALI: IMF hails economic progress
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) considers that Mali has made "considerable progress" in its economy since 1994, but says it still needs outside assistance to achieve its social and economic goals. According to an IMF report, Mali - under economic programmes governed by the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility - sustained its economic growth in 1998, despite adverse weather conditions. However, as the economy was still "fragile", the IMF recommended additional debt relief for the country. It also urged the Malian authorities to continue with their policy of fiscal consolidation, including modernisation of the tax system, and to accelerate structural reforms.
Abidjan, 26 February 1999, 17:15 gmt
[ENDS]
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 17:22:52 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.ocha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 411 for 1999.2.26
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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