The Nigerian military Government today annulled the presidential elections held 11 days ago and abandoned its promise to hand power back to elected civilians anytime soon.
General Sani Abacha's 33-member cabinet includes several people, such as the Petroleum Minister, Don Itiebet, the Finance Minister, Kalu Idika Kalu and the Agriculture Minister, Adamu Ciroma, who command respect among Western creditors; but its room for manoeuvre depends entirely on the military. Only a radical effort to clean up graft, slash the budget deficit, and reach a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could begin to halt the slide.
WITH each step Nigeria's military strongman, General Ibrahim Babangida, takes to escape from the political crisis sparked by last month's cancelled presidential elections he lands deeper in it.
NIGERIAN security forces killed at least 11 demonstrators yesterday, according to an African news agency, as protests against the cancellation of the 12 June election brought the centre of Lagos to a halt for the second day running.
PRESIDENT Ibrahim Babangida yesterday postponed without explanation a nationwide farewell address he was to have given today before handing power to an interim government. No new time was announced for the speech and there was no indication of how the decision would affect the hand-over.
