US embassy cable - 04ABUJA1506

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001506 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, NI 
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MAKING WAVES 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR PUBLICATION ON THE 
INTRANET OR INTERNET. 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary:  Nigerian legislators are suddenly 
making news.  The House of Representatives was 
applauded for passing the Freedom of Information Bill, 
making government information open to the public and 
protecting whistle blowers.  The Senate yesterday 
unanimously demanded that President Obasanjo fire FCT 
Minister Nasir El-Rufai within 48 hours, and suspended 
work on all bills sought by Executive.  The Senate last 
week accused El-Rufai, an influential member of the GON 
Economic Team, of improperly employing two personal 
aides, although some Senators tell us that they would 
accept a public apology from El-Rufai.  In a separate 
action, the Senate also took upon itself court-like 
duties in ordering Royal Dutch Shell, one of the main 
companies pumping Nigerian crude, to pay 1.5 billion 
usdols to Nigerian communities as a fine for its 
causing "severe health hazards and economic hardship." 
End Summary. 
 
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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL 
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2. (SBU) The House passed on August 24 a Freedom of 
Information bill to ensure that citizens have access to 
public records.  In the past, all government 
information in Nigeria was classified, limiting 
transparency to what the GON decided to publish.  This 
bill criminalizes hoarding of information by public 
servants and institutions, and protects government 
workers from harassment if they disclose certain types 
of government information without authorization from 
their superiors.  Rep. Farouk Adamu, Vice Chair of the 
House Committee on Information, told us Section 3 (1) 
of the Bill states: "every person, whether or not a 
citizen of Nigeria, has a legally enforceable right to, 
and shall on request, be given access to records under 
the control of government or public institutions." 
 
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DEMANDING THE FCT MINISTER'S HEAD 
--------------------------------- 
 
3. (U) The Senate, on August 31, unanimously demanded 
that President Obasanjo fire Nasir El-Rufai, the 
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and also a 
senior member of Obasanjo's economic reform team, 
within 48 hours.  A week earlier, senators demanded El- 
Rufai resign or face charges concerning two personal 
aides the senators alleged were illegally hired.  El- 
Rufai responded to reporters that "Silence is the best 
answer to a fool," which the senators claimed was 
calling all of them fools.  President Obasanjo 
apologized in an August 31 letter to the Senate for 
Minister El-Rufai's words, but the Senate rejected the 
apology. 
 
4. (SBU) We spoke to Senator Mamora from the AD, and 
Senator Shuaibu of the ANPP in separate meetings 
September 1.  They said the Senate was infuriated by El- 
Rufai's attitude and public comments that were 
disrespectful of the Senate.  They made no mention of 
policy differences with El-Rufai or the GON as a whole, 
and Shuaibu said he thought the Senate might relent on 
demanding resignation if El-Rufai apologized publicly. 
 
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SHELL GAME 
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5. (U) On August 24, the Senate passed a resolution 
ordering Royal Dutch Shell to pay 1.5 billion usdols to 
Ijaw residents of Bayelsa State, in response to a 
petition from a group claiming to represent them.  The 
petitioners claimed environmental damage from oil 
spills and other oil operations had killed, injured and 
ruined the Ijaws economically.  Senators said they 
acted because violence in the Delta was getting out of 
hand, and this would appeal to Delta residents. 
 
6. (U) In a similar case, the Abia state assembly voted 
to call on another oil major, Agip, to appear before 
the assembly to explain how it would pay damages to 
Abia constituents.  Neither Shell nor Agip has agreed 
to pay, and Shell has taken out newspaper ads to 
explain that most of the oil spills resulted from 
sabotage by local communities in Bayelsa instead of 
Shell activities. 
 
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MEDIA BILL 
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7. (U) Members of the House of Representatives, 
including one ex-journalist, have tabled a bill that 
would establish a code of ethics for journalists.  The 
code would criminalize "irresponsible journalism" and 
force journalists to reveal their sources and provide 
other evidence if taken to court.  After some outcry 
comparing the bill to military-rule era decrees, the 
House stopped action on the bill. 
 
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COMMENT 
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8. (SBU) The House is also still working on the labor 
reform bill, and Senators mentioned specifically that 
they would take no action on the labor bill until the 
El-Rufai affair was settled.  (Our House and Senate 
contacts tell us the labor bill is unlikely to pass 
either house in its present form anyway.)  The various 
bills in play could affect U.S. interests in a variety 
of ways, and we will keep monitoring their progress. 
 
CAMPBELL