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July 29, 2005
Falae, Balarabe Musa oppose Obasanjo’s 3rdterm; Nigeria not a banana republic - Falae; Obasanjo may go to prison if... - Musa
Former finance minister and APP presidential aspirant in the 1999 general elections, Chief Olu Falae, has cautioned President Olusegun Obasanjo against attempts to extend his tenure beyond 2007, saying that “Nigeria is not a banana republic for the people to be taken for granted.”
From Sani Babadoko & Abdullahi M. Gulloma
This is coming on the heels of remarks by the chairman, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Alhaji Balarabe Musa, that president Obasanjo will do everything possible to hang on to power beyond 2007 because the President would be sent to prison on account of his constitutional misdemea-nours since 1999.
Speaking at the inauguration of the newly elected members of the Association of Tipper and Quarry Owners of Nigeria (ATQON), in Abuja yesterday, Chief Falae said that the president should vacate office in 2007 as stipulated in the 1999 constitution so that the country can have peace and move forward.
He said that Nigerians would resist attempts by anybody to extend the tenure of the present administration beyond 2007.
“We are one of the most intelligent people in the world. We shall oppose attempts by any group or individual to distort our constitution. Though there have been a lot of denials from government but in Nigeria, there is no smoke without fire. And we are ready to put off that fire immediately,” he said.
On his part, Alhaji Balarabe Musa told Daily Trust in Kaduna yesterday that “if you take into account the number of Obasanjo’s misdeeds, their impact, their unconstitutionality since 1999, if you take all these into account, do you expect Obasanjo to hand over in 2007 only to be sent back to prison again.?
“Let me give you an example of the latest in his litany of misdeeds. He submitted a bill to the National Assembly asking them to cover up his unconstitutionality and illegality over the N7 billion Obasanjo library. This man is in complete contempt of every Nigerian.
“He also knows that he came to office with moral claims which has been exposed for its hypocricy. He has undermind every Head of State since after 1979 when he handed over. He even attempted to imprison former Heads of state. Now, naturally, he knows what he did to others will have implications on himself when he hands over and the only way he can stop that happening to him is to cling on to power by any means.
“Obasanjo does not need to tell anybody that he does not have a hidden agenda. He has said on a number of occasions that he does not care what Nigerians say. You can see the way he submitted the conference report to the National Assembly was very contemptuous and the way the assembly also received the report also shows how irrelevant the legislature is.
“The same legislature which was opposed to the conference so much so that they refused to approve funds for it are the same people who were falling over themselves to receive the report,” he observed.
The leader of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), said what Nigerians expected the National Assembly to do was to probe the president’s illegal securing of over N3 billion to fund the conference.
“In fact what we expected the National Assembly to do is to query him on how he secured illegal funds to carry out a public function.
“We expect them to query him about the propriety of this action which has implications for fraud and corruption. The implication is that he received funds from corrupt sources that compromise the government and the presidency,” he submitted.
Balarabe Musa said there is no longer any separation of powers between the executive and the legislature and the judiciary as stipulated in the constitution.
“The National Assembly and the judiciary have now been subordinated to the executive. Even the executive is no more. Obasanjo is everything and Nigerians should resist this arrogant dictatorship,” he insisted.
He said one of three things must happen if Obasanjo insists on clinging on to power. First, Nigerians will continue to suffer as slaves. Secondly, a military coup which he said will be unacceptable or thirdly anarchy will set in.
He suggested that people’s power should be embarked on by Nigerians to force Obasanjo out of office and the convocation of an interim government to organise a free and fair elections.
Posted by Publisher at 04:09 PM | Comments (0)
IG admits culpability of police chief, others in Apo killings
ACTING Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, yesterday admitted that his men facing trial over the controversial Apo killings are guilty as charged. He pleaded for understanding from Nigerians.
From Alifa Daniel, Abuja
Ehindero, while briefing the Senate Committee on the Police at the National Assembly complex, named Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Danjuma Ibrahim, as responsible for the killing of four of the six citizens, while the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Mr. Abdulsalam Othman,
issued the order to an assistant superintendent of police for the two others to be killed.
But the chairman of the committee, Senator David Mark, cautioned against giving the event an ethnic colouration as some people are trying to make political fortunes out of the sad incident.
Ehindero disclosed that the men were found culpable after an investigation by a team of detectives led by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police at the Force Criminal Investigations Department, Mr. Ogbonnaya O. Onovo, adding that others recommended for prosecution were Assistant Superintendent of Police, N. J. Zakariah who led the team that killed Miss Tina Arebun and Anthony Nwokike by giving orders for their execution.
Others to face prosecution are Police Constable Ezekiel Acheneje who allegedly shot and killed Nwokike, while another constable, Emmanuel Baba, shot Arebun on the orders of Zakariah.
Ehindero named another police constable, Sadiq Salami, as the first shooter of Nwokike but he survived until Acheneje finished him off.
A Chief Superintendent of Police, Mr. Lawan Ado, who was responsible for the custody of the DPO before he escaped, is facing disciplinary measures from the police, Ehindero said.
In his own remarks, Onovo said that he was in Jos with the Police Inspector-General when words reached him that the DPO had escaped.
"It was when I made the second call that I was told he had escaped. On getting the details, I discovered that it was a case of total negligence." he said.
Othman asked to be allowed to go and pray when he took off, according to Onovo. He, however, said the normal procedure was for a detainee to pray in his detention room and not outside it.
Onovo said when attempts were made to reach the escapee DPO on phone, he initially claimed he was at the Villa, but the second time he said: "I have gone far, nobody can get me now. That was the last time we heard from him."
At the same time, he said, some policemen went to the DPO's office where they met his wife who spoke with him but he only assured her that he would be back soon.
Ehindero said the report before him showed that a distress call from a hotel that armed robbers attacked guests started off the macabre dance of horror.
The police, the report said, responded to the call and stopped a car
with six passengers who allegedly fired at the police team.
"They suddenly wanted to reverse and escape, a gunbattle ensued and seven other patrol vehicles quickly responded to the distress call to assist their colleagues.
"During the exchange of fire, four hoodlums were gunned down with two others injured. They later died in the General hospital, Garki.
"The 406 car was recovered in addition to two locally made pistols, two live ammunition and two expended cartridges, which were taken to Garki Police Station."
Attempts to bury the six led to a riot by spare parts dealers at Apo who hijacked the bodies and the government vehicles that conveyed them.
This led to the constitution of an administrative board of inquiry to investigate the death of the six.
Fourteen policemen, including a commissioner of police and five civilians, testified, Ehindero said, adding that at the end of the inquiry, 10 officers whose "professional judgment in the handling of the situation was adjudged inappropriate" were directed to report to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police "D" Department for further investigation.
Further investigations established that the officers and men mentioned in the killings actually carried out the act and should be prosecuted.
Posted by Publisher at 03:59 PM | Comments (0)
Quit politics now, Gov Adamu urges Buhari
GOVERNOR Abdullahi Adamu of Nas- arawa State yesterday came down heavily on the 2003 presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Gen, Muhammadu Buhari over his recent outburst on the Supreme Court judgement which upheld the election of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
COSMAS EKPUNOBI
Governor Adamu in a lecture at the 2005 Senators Forum in Abuja did not only ask the ANPP to call the retired army general to order but insisted that the defeated presidential candidate should quit politics if he cannot accept the simple tenet of democracy,
Gen. Buhari had in an outburst described the Supreme Court ruling which upheld the election as President Obasanjo as an attempt to legalise political violence, thuggery and rigging as a means of winning an election in the land.
But Governor Adamu, at a public forum yesterday explained that the remark by the retired army general was an aspersion on the apex court of the land which should be condemned in strong terms.
According to him the presidential candidate should be called to order now in the interest of the nascent democracy, adding that the outburst called for the re-examination of the ANPP chieftain.
The Governor said that Gen. Buhari utterances are capable of undermining the democratic experiment. "If he (Buhari) cannot accept the tenet of democracy he should quit politic for politicians.
He said that it was sad for the same Gen. Buhari who had the courage to go to Supreme Court to now turn round to reject the verdict of the apex court.
According to him the presidential candidate should accept the verdict of the court in good faith, adding that democracy itself is based on rule of law.
Governor Adamu told the forum that Gen. Buhari can not continue to display contempt for the highest court of the land.
Also speaking the chairman of the Senators forum Senator Alex Kadir however asked the political parties to look for credible and qualified candidates to stand for election in 2007 as a way forward.
According to him the forum will continue to sensitize the people on the need to vote for people of sound mind who can serve them better.
But a second republic senator, Senator Jack Tily Giado in a remark that may have jolted some of the dignitaries at the forum said that some of the serving top government officials who served under military also contributed bringing the nation to its knees.
According him, the same people who encouraged the military to remain in power are today serving in a democrtic goverment.
Posted by Publisher at 03:50 PM | Comments (0)
Third term Agenda: Obasanjo on his own – Afenifere
Despite denials by Aso Rock, opinion leaders, among them Abia State Governor, Orji Uzo Kalu and former Presidential candidate Olu Falae, still expressed worry on Thursday over the third term plot President Olusegun Obasanjo is alleged to be sketching.
By Felix Ofou, Ben Alaiya,
Tunde Abatan (Lagos)
Uwakwe Abugu (Benin) and Augustine Madu-West (Kano)
Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, declared that he is “very close” to the number one citizen and vouched for him, yet Afenifere also joined in firing the salvos.
It criticised the plan after its meeting in Ijebu Igbo, saying Obasanjo is on his own. The parley was attended by Afenifere members from all the six states in the South West.
It asked the President to demonstrate his seriousness against the project by publicly denouncing his campaigners so as to instill confidence in his government.
A communiqué read to journalists by Afenifere National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, said a third term by Obasanjo is an embarrassment and an impediment to the growth of democracy.
The crescendo which the campaign has reached, in his view, is enough for genuine lovers of democracy to smell a rat and “the best thing the President could do is to call the elements campaigning for him to order if he is not desirous of embarking on the project”.
But Daniel described as mischievous speculation that the President has an agenda to remain in office behind 2007.
He said the man has concluded arrangement to quit Aso Rock at the end of his second term in 2007.
Daniel told reporters in Kano: “I am close to Obasanjo; he has not discussed any third term agenda with me. In fact, as I am talking to you, he is already building a special resting home that would accommodate him at the end of his tenure as President in 2007”.
Daniel had himself condemned the tenure extension plan earlier this month, if at all in the works.
Noneheless, Kalu joined the fray late on Wednesday and is emphatic that the project would not work as Nigeria is rather too large for one man to ride roughshod.
Besides Daniel and Kalu, two other Governors – Bukola Saraki (Kwara) and Lucky Igbinedion (Edo) – have also denounced the plan.
Kalu said on the VOA ‘Straight Talk Africa’ programme that no amount of constitutional twist will allow Obasanjo extend his tenure beyond 2007.
“Babangida tried it in 1992, he failed. Abacha did it in 1999, he failed. I warned before that Obasanjo will make the same attempt, but I was not taken seriously. In any case, I am sure he will fail, even if it means divine intervention as was the case with Abacha”, he said.
He challenged Obasanjo to make public his assets prior to his election in 1999 because it is the only way to lead by example and to ensure the success of his anti-corruption crusade. “Otherwise, the war on corruption will be treated as mere propaganda directed against political enemies”.
Falae also bared his mind in Abuja, where he called for opposition to any third term bid.
He did at the inauguration of the Association of Tipper and Quarry Owners of Nigeria (ATQON), an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
His words: “Though there has been a lot of denials from the government, we shall oppose any attempt by any group to distort the Constitution to suit its purpose. Nigeria is not a banana republic that its people will be taken for granted .
“We all know that in this country, there is no smoke without fire. We are ready to put the fire out immediately”.
He counselled members of ATQON to shun partisan politics and concentrate on the growth of the new union.
Despite the furore over the alleged third term plot, TUC National President, Nkiru Obiajulu, found time to applaud Obasanjo for securing a 60 per cent debt relief for Nigeria.
Yet Benin Youth Congress Worldwide (BYCW) threw its own hat into the ring with a warning to the President to shun the plot which “portends a doomsday”.
BYCW advised Obasanjo in a statement to ignore the agitators for a third term or set up a commission to investigate the doomsday prophets.
“In a country with over 120 million people, we know frankly that there are over 50 million patriotic leaders who can do better than Obasanjo.
“So, why the lie that he is the only one to consolidate the gains of democracy and, in any case, the Obasanjo-led government is falling far short of the expectations of Nigerians”, the statement said.
It was signed by BCYW Coordinator, Aiyamenkhue Edokpolo and its Chief Correspondence Officer, Osagunwenro Igawe.
Posted by Publisher at 03:49 PM | Comments (0)
Lagos reverts to 20 councils
‘Now they know that we have a lion in the villa who would do what is right, no matter whose ox is gored’ — FG
By Olasunkanmi Akoni, Emmanuel Aziken & Bola Owolabi
Posted to the Web: Friday, July 29, 2005
LAGOS — THE Lagos State Government, agreed, yesterday, to the proposal of the Prince Bola Ajibola-led mediation committee to amend the law on the creation of 37 new local government areas in the state, which had pitched the state against the federal authorities.
The Federal Government had, in its reaction to the creation of the local government areas withheld allocations due to the councils. However, following the latest development, the 37 local government areas will transform into Local Council Development Areas to be solely funded by the state government.
Meanwhile, two bills that may deny Lagos State billions of naira in taxes are now before the Senate. The bills seek to amend the personal income tax to stop the state from collecting taxes from companies with headquarters there.
Following the decision of the state government to review its position on the new local government areas, the state Assembly at a special sitting yesterday amended the New Local Government Areas 2004 Bill, now cited the Creation of New Local Government Areas (Amendment) (No. 2) Law of 2005.
Addressing newsmen in Ikeja, state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Dele Alake, said with the new development, the statutory allocation accruable to Lagos State from Abuja would be used for the funding of the old 20 local government areas as recognised by the constitution while the state would be responsible for the funding of the 37 local development areas which he affirmed were still legal as elections conducted into them were declared by competent court to be legal.
He announced that the new councils had been structured to perform and referred to as Local Council Development Areas. The state government, he said, arrived at the decision to agree to the terms of the proposal not out of cowardice, but to clear the minds of the public as well as the international community of any doubt.
According to Mr Alake, the resolution read to the Consultative Assembly, had agreed with the core issues in the proposal. Said he: "We were not compelled in any way to do this. It is just a way of showing our commitment to the early resolution of the logjam in the spirit of true democracy and also to remove any doubt from the minds of the public and the international community.
"Before the 2003 election into the councils, the Federal Government had been paying the funds. It was just immediately after the elections were conducted that they stopped the funds. Moreover, we have never asked the Federal Government at any time to pay for the funding of the 57 but the 20 councils. We have agreed pending when the National Assembly formally enlists the new councils.
The December 2004 Supreme Court judgment, which was in our favour, ruled that the state government had the right to create new councils."
He further said the state government had in the wake of the recent victory in the courts been considering filing a contempt charge against the Federal Government but for the wise advice of the mediators led by Prince Bola Ajibola against such move.
The Bill just passed by the state House of Assembly amending Section 2 of the Creation of the New Local Government Areas reads:
Amendment to section 1: Section 1 of the Creation of New Local Government Areas Amendment Law 2004, referred to in this law as the Principal Law is amended by inserting sub-section (2) as follows:
(2) The additional Local Government Areas listed in Schedule II to this law are inchoate until such time as the National Assembly shall pass an Act to make consequential provisions with respect to the names of the said additional local government areas as provided in section 8 (5) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.
Amendment to section 2: A new section 2A shall be inserted immediately below section 2 of the Principal Law as follows:
(2A) Pending the consequential Act of the National Assembly referred to in section 1 (2) of this law, the local government areas for the time being listed in part 1 of schedule I to the 1999 constitution and in the schedule I to the amendment law are hereby re-established.
All other local government areas referred to in schedule II to the amendment law shall in the meantime operate as Local Council Development Areas, the funding of which shall be borne by the state government.
Citation and commencement: This law may be cited as the Creation of New Local Government Areas (Amendment) )No. 2) Law of 2005.
FG reacts
Reacting to the action of the Lagos State government, Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo on Public Affairs, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said it was a victory for Nigeria, democracy and the rule of law.
He said although there was no victor or vanquished in the protracted legal battle that lasted for over a year, "the decision by the Lagos State Government to revert is a vindication of the position of Mr. President and the Federal Government.
"It is a victory for the whole of Nigeria, democracy and the rule of law. I do not think there is any victor or vanquished in this matter. I think all of us have gained from it. We also have to commend the courage of the Lagos State Government for doing the right thing and lining up with the rest of Nigeria. Now they know that we have a lion in the villa who would do what is right no matter whose ox is gored."
Senate moves to deny Lagos tax revenue
Meanwhile, two bills seeking to amend the Personal Income Tax Act with the implication of Lagos State losing its advantage in collecting billions of naira in taxes accruing from companies with headquarters in the state received strong support in the Senate yesterday.
While Senators raised strong objections to the Federal Government’s bill to impose taxes on previously tax free allowances including housing and transportation, they gave strong support to the privately sponsored bill aiming to link residency to tax collection.
The PIT Amendment Bill sponsored by Senator Inantimi Rufus Spiff (PDP, Bayelsa) is to ensure that workers pay their personal income taxes where they live and work instead of such being paid in the headquarters of their organisations.
Introducing the Federal Government’s Personal Income Tax Act (Amendment) Bill 2005, Senate Leader, Dr. Dalhatu Tafida, said the bill aimed strengthening the tax base.
Clause three of the amendment bill aims to remove the N5,000 non-taxable safety net in the assessment of personal income tax and replace same with a 40 per cent safety net under which personal income will be shielded from taxes.
The removal of the N5,000 safety net was criticised by several of the Senators mainly Senators Kassim Oyofo (PDP, Edo North), Udoma Udo Udoma (PDP, Akwa Ibom South), Tawar Wada (PDP, Gombe South) and Bassey Ewa-Henshaw (PDP, Cross River).
Senator Oyofo said the idea of the bill which was to ensure proper succour for workers would be undermined by the controversial clause three as he called for caution in addressing the issue.
Senator Ewa-Henshaw said in taxing the allowances of workers, government was inadvertently withdrawing the benefits that would to accrue to them through the monetisation policy."What we should be doing is to raise more taxes from those who are earning more. You monetise benefits and say you are giving the benefits in cash and you at the same time turn around to say you are taxing the same benefits, it will further impoverish the people," Senator Ewa-Henshaw, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labour, said. Senator Iyiola Omisore (PDP, Osun) also contributing to the debate on the same government bill urged government to strengthen its collection processes with punitive measures to stop tax evasion.
Presenting the bill, Senator Spiff said it was regrettable that workers were paying taxes to states where they don't reside e or carry out their daily work. "A situation where the personal income tax of (such) workers are computed and paid at headquarters to the states hosting their headquarters is manifestly unjust and calls for immediate redressing.
"A very clear case in point is the situation that exists in the banking industry today in the country. All bank workers, irrespective of where they work, whether at headquarters or in branch offices, pay taxes to the states in which their headquarters are located. As a result, states where banks operate only branch offices are denied the right to tax the personnel that work in them," Senator Spiff said.
Besides banks, he equally cited oil workers who even though they carry out most of their operations in the Niger Delta area pay their taxes in states where their headquarters are located outside the region. Senator Spiff was supported in his bill by Senators David Brigidi (PDP, Bayelsa), Mohammed Anka (ANPP, Zamfara),Udo Udoma (PDP, Akwa Ibom) and Jubril Aminu (PDP, Adamawa).
Following an exhaustive debate on the two bills, they were read the second time and forwarded to the Senate Committee on Finance for further action.
Posted by Publisher at 03:42 PM | Comments (0)
FG insists on downsizing workforce
The Federal Government on Thursday said the planned purge in the public service is a must but would be done in phases.
By Fabian Ozor
Senior Correspondent, Lagos
The Director General, Bureau of Public Reforms, Goke Adegoroye, disclosed this at the 18th national workshop for chief executives of public and private sector enterprises, held at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos.
Adegoroye denied the insinuation that the World Bank and other international agencies are dictating the tune of the reform in the public service but said all the programmes of the reform are the initiatives of the Federal Government.
“The most salutary aspect of the ongoing initiative is that it is being internally driven by the public service as opposed to past initiatives which were either driven by political leadership or foster by donors as part of the requirements of structural adjustment,” the DG said.
He said the downsizing has become necessary because of the wastes in the system, saying it was discovered that in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a former minister was having 17 drivers attached to him and when he left office those drivers are still working in the ministry.According to him, while in office, a minister came with some relations as assistants. But when he was removed, he insisted that those assistants must be retained in the ministry.
“In solid Mineral Ministry people there were found to be sleeping, reading newspapers and doing nothing during work hours, an indication that they do not have work to do,” he said.
“Government service is not a social welfare. People do not come to work and while in public service they also engage in private business without permission. Those people who are in the system that are not doing anything must go,” he added.
Adegoroye enumerated the gains in the current reform as the monetisation in the core civil service, introduction of the contributory pension scheme, institution of more transparent and open procurement system as one of the means of curtailing wastes, rightsizing the civil service and the review of the public service rules, regulation and procedures.
In his welcome address, the ASCON DG, Professor Sheikh Abdullah, said in recognition of the pivotal role of public and private enterprises on the attainment of the commanding heights of the economy, the college decided to create a conducive avenue as a melting pot for chief executives in the public and private sectors.
Posted by Publisher at 03:40 PM | Comments (0)
Shell makes discoveries in Nigeria's Big Cat prospects
LAGOS—SHELL Nigeria Ultra Deep (SNUD) Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration Properties Alpha Limited, companies of the Shell Group, have made discoveries in two ‘Big Cat prospects’, and said further appraisal was required to determine the discoveries’ resource potential.
By Hector Igbikiowubo
Posted to the Web: Friday, July 29, 2005
The discoveries were made in blocks OPL 322 and the controversial OPL 245, both in frontier areas. In Shell parlance, a Big Cat prospect refers to oil wells with over 100 million barrels reserves potential.
A statement by the management of the Shell companies said Bu and the concession Bobo -1X was drilled in block OPL 322 to a total depth of 5,173 metres in 2,479 metres of water, making it the second deepest well in offshore Nigeria.
Drilling was completed on July 16, 2005, under budget, and found over 140 meters of hydrocarbon bearing sands. Shell Nigeria Exploration Properties Alpha Limited has a 40 per cent shareholding in OPL 322.
Etan-1X was drilled in block OPL 245 to a total depth of 4,574 metres in 1,720 metres of water. The well logged 120 metres of hydrocarbon bearing sands.
The company statement said OPL 245 was 100 per cent held by Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited. Drilling was completed on February 20, 2005.
Speaking on the development, a Shell spokesman who pleaded anonymity said OPL 245 was legally withdrawn from the former owners, Malabu Oil and Gas, by the Federal Government and re-awarded to Shell under a competitive tender. "Government has legally withdrawn the block from Malabu and the block was subsequently awarded to Shell. We are, therefore, legal title holders of OPL 245," a Shell spokesperson said.
The wells were drilled by Transocean’s rig, the Deepwater Pathfinder, under a unique rig sharing initiative with other Nigeria-based operators, fully supported by government through the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS). The rig sharing arrangement enables operators to achieve improved synergy, delivery time and cost efficiency.
Mr. Chima Ibeneche, Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited, an affiliate of the companies, said the company was thrilled by these exploration successes "We are naturally thrilled by these exploration successes in deepwater Nigeria, which could add new material oil to Shell’s portfolio. These recent discoveries have been made in a difficult geological frontier setting, and are the fruit of significant investments in local geological knowledge and application of Shell’s deepwater technology. Shell is proud of the contribution it is making towards the realisation of the potential of Nigeria’s frontier deepwater hydrocarbon province."
OPL 245 is a giant oil block in the deepwater area of the Niger Delta, with estimated reserves of more than one billion barrels and has been subject of litigation among Malabu, Shell and the Nigerian government.
Malabu had taken Shell to court in New York City in 2002, accusing the multinational of colluding with officials of the state to revoke its oil prospecting licence. Malabu was asking one billion dollars in compensation at the time.
Posted by Publisher at 03:39 PM | Comments (0)
NPRC: We made mistakes -Kukah
The leadership of the just-concluded National Political Reform Conference has admitted making mistakes in handling the proceedings of the NPRC.
Musikilu Mojeed and Gbade Ogunwale
The Secretary to the Conference, Rev. Father Matthew Kukah, told journalists in Abuja on Thursday that the mistakes should be left for history to judge.
He said, “I think we have to leave our leadership style at the conference to the judgment of history. We made mistakes genuinely and collectively. We made mistakes because we are human beings.
“But everybody who participated in this conference did his best. But as human beings we are prone to mistakes.”
Kukah said those who criticise the NPRC Chairman, Justice Niki Tobi, for the way he handled the proceedings failed to appreciate his patriotism and commitment to the unity of Nigeria.
He said, “We love the chairman because we found that he had an incredible love for the unity of Nigeria.
“Some of the criticisms arose because he did not behave in the typical Nigerian fashion, because he did not stand up for his people.”
The Conference Co-Secretary, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, said those condemning Tobi’s handling of the conference were doing so without considering the tenets of justice and fair play.
Oloyede said, “If justice Tobi had championed any sectional interest, he would have been condemned. He didn’t do that but he was still condemned because the critics already had a frame of mind.”
One of the sore points of the conference was the walkout by delegates from the South-South in protest against the procedure that was adopted in recommending 17 per cent as derivation formula.
But Kukah insisted that despite the walkout, the conference was a huge success.
He said, “With the recommendations that have been made, I am looking forward to a greater nation.
“Every member of the conference emphasised a united Nigeria. They all wanted a nation based on justice.”
He commended the National Assembly for the way it received the report of the conference from President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Meanwhile, the secretariat of the conference has announced that copies of the report of the NPRC were now ready for collection by the 400 delegates.
A statement by the facilitator of the conference, Mr. Bala Kaoje, advised delegates residing around Abuja to visit the International Conference Centre between August 1 and 5 for collection of their copies.
It added that the report would be made available through the state liaison offices for other delegates who reside outside Abuja.
The report is to be mass-produced and made available to all members of the National Assembly, universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
The PUNCH, Friday, July 29, 2005
Posted by Publisher at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)
Proposed fiscal law: Ministers, others to face music -Okonjo-Iweala
Finance ministers and commissioners risk a maximum of three years jail terms or a fine of N500,000 under a proposed fiscal responsibility bill.
The proposed executive bill seeks to bring more responsibility on public office holders in the implementation of the nation’s annual budgets.
The proposed bill has already gone through a lot of consultations with stakeholders including civil society groups and the private sector.
Finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, told State House correspondents after a stakeholders meeting yesterday that some minor amendments were made on the draft yesterday.
The meeting was attended by some governors, party executives and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Okonjo-Iweala said that the proposed jail terms would also affect other public officers, including Accountant-Generals and local council chairmen.
Anwering a question, the minister said that governors would not be affected by the provisions of the bill because of the immunity clause they currently enjoy.
She said the draft went through extensive consultations and that it was being proposed to correct the faulty manner by which annual budgets were being implemented at both the state and federal levels.
“Managing the economy requires the cooperation of the three tiers of government,’’ Okonjo Iweala said.
She said that the recurring failures in the effective implementation of budgets stemmed partly from their faulty preparation.
The minister said that under the proposed law which was already in place in countries like India, Brazil, Argentina and South Africa, the nation’s budget would be made more transparent.
“The budget would be monitored by an 11-member fiscal management council.
“This is designed to ensure that we budget in a transparent manner and with performance indicators put in place such that it would not be completely dependant on commodity and oil prices,’’ she said.
She said that part of the failure of past budgets stemmed from the fact that they were completely dependent on the price of oil and that any change in price had always adversely affected the budget.
“The bill shall put in place a fiscal rule independent of commodity prices and also ensure prudence in managing what is there,’’ Okonjo-Iweala said.
She said that provisions would be made “to curb and control budgeting beyond one year’’ in the bill which would soon be sent to the National Assembly.
The minister said that other provisions in the proposed bill include the need for “responsible borrowing” which must be approved by the legislature.
Posted by Publisher at 03:36 PM | Comments (0)
Nigeria 'll be in space in 2020 - OBASANJO
ABUJA— PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo said yesterday that Nigeria would be in space in the next 15 years. He spoke at a meeting with Nigerians In Diaspora Organisation (NIDO).
By Charles Ozoemena
Posted to the Web: Friday, July 29, 2005
He said the feat was achievable if the momentum of current development drive was sustained. "In 15 to 25 years, we will put Nigeria into space. We will get there. It is not as unattainable as it looks. And we have to do it. For if we are going to make progress, we are going to make it on the basis of commitment, service and sacrifice. And we are not going to be found wanting. We must not be found wanting. We are making efforts not to lag behind. We are not where we would want to be. But we must consistently and cumulatively industrialise. And to do this, infrastructure is a must. We just cannot do without it. Whether it is in terms of road, rail, energy or water. These are non-negotiable. Because of money, we may not be able to do everything at same speed and same time," Obasanjo said.
He challenged Nigerians in Diaspora to know that they have a greater stake in the great Nigerian future, pointing out that it is only in Nigeria that they can prosper and have the opportunity to aspire to the highest political office available.
He regretted that Nigerian universities were producing unemployable graduates and advised students to study professional courses rather than theory-based courses. He said Nigerians abroad had a stake to right the ugly situation.
His words: "We just have to have competent men and women. What I will say here, some people may not like it. I reckon that our universities should also be retooling and re-tuning. I will not go against anybody who goes to the university today to study sociology, but I will say the utilitarian value will not be as much as somebody who goes to the university to study computer science.
"Even yesterday, Wednesday, somebody came to me and said that ‘I have two Masters degree and I have no job’. I asked in which courses. The person said one is in Mass Communication and the other in Sociology. I said that person cannot get a job because he is mis-educated. You now have to go and be re-educated to make your skill be in demand."
The NIDO, led by former Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Barth Nnaji, had briefed the President on the resolution from the conference. These were in the areas of Information, Communications and Technology (CIT), engineering and infrastructure, space and nuclear technology, agriculture and biotechnology and health.
"We recognise the strength that this coming together can bring along in forging a partnership with your government for national development. This is why many of us have come from various places to participate in this and many are coming to invest in our country. You know that literally, there is no place on earth that you will not find a Nigerian and here in this hall you have Nigerians who have come to answer your call for national service. Many are eminent in their various fields.
"We voted unanimously yesterday, Wednesday, to ask that your government put in place legislation that will make science and technology a fundamental engine of national development. We came away with 37 recommendations which include that we recommend that we all, driven by the government should get Nigeria to industrialise within 10 years. And to do this, there are a number of things that need to be done. One of which is put in place appropriate infrastructure which we know that the government is diligently working to achieve, he said.
Posted by Publisher at 03:35 PM | Comments (0)
Govt protests abuse of Nigerians by Cameroun
NIGERIA yesterday protested the alleged ill-treatment of her nationals in some parts of Cameroun.
Particularly affected, the leader of the Nigerian delegation to the Cameroun/Nigeria Mixed Commission, Prince Bola Ajibola, explained that Nigerians in the oil rich Bakassi Peninsula who have been suffering untold hardship from the hands of Camerounian authorities.
Ajibola in Yaounde, the Cameroun capital, at the resumed sitting of the commission yesterday, also decried the "flagrant abuses of the rights of such Nigerians". He urged the Camerounian authorities to check such abuses.
The commission set up by the United Nations (UN) to implement the October 10, 2002 International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment on the two countries' boundary dispute, had suspended its activities after its 12th session in Abuja in October 2004.
Ajibola, a former justice of the ICJ and Attorney-General of the Federation declared: "The fishermen in Bakassi are complaining of being deprived of their means of livelihood by incessant seizures of their boats".
He said: "They are also complaining of some mass arrests of their members who are allegedly being killed, maimed or declared missing.
"In some other places, allegations of killings and mass arrests of some of them have been made and are supported by documentary evidence."
Ajibola added: "There are also allegations of exorbitant fees charged for resident permit and infringement of property rights.
"It is in anticipation of such problems that the sub-commission on affected population was set up."
The Nigerian delegation leader said that such signals were scaring to the affected population in spite of the ongoing negotiation to hand over Bakassi to Cameroun, as ruled by the ICJ.
Ajibola reiterated Nigeria's commitment to a policy of good neighbourliness while not shirking its responsibilities to its citizens.
He said Nigeria was committed to a peaceful resolution of the boundary dispute with Cameroun whose nationals, he said, "are all brothers and sisters".
Ajibola remarked that it was imperative for the governments of both nations to ensure that nothing was done to create doubts in their commitment to peace and harmony.
"It is in the light of this that Nigeria eagerly awaits the outcome of the reports of the UN observer team on its fact-finding mission in Bakassi," he said.
Ajibola commended members of the international community for their "wonderful support and commitment" in ensuring a speedy and amicable resolution of the boundary dispute.
The meeting, which started on Wednesday, is expected to discuss maritime boundary issues, reports of the joint technical team on demarcation and the fate of the affected populations.
Also on the agenda is a new time-table for Nigeria's withdrawal from the disputed Bakassi.
At the last session held in Abuja in October 2004, members of the tripartite commission involving both nations and chaired by the UN representative, Mr. Ould Abdallah, resolved to hand over the issue of oil-rich Bakassi to their two heads of state.
The two leaders were expected to work along with UN Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan to resolve the grey areas.
Pursuant to this, the trio met in Geneva in May where they resolved all the grey areas and directed the mixed commission to resume their bi-monthly rotational sessions.
Speaking at the 13th session in Yaounde, Abdallah reminded both nations that the judgment would be three years in October and called for a quick resolution of all outstanding issues, to conclude the hand-over processes.
He said that both nations had achieved a lot in the handover processes, having completed the aspect that affected the Lake Chad area.
He commended Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Paul Biya for their commitment to resolving the issue.
Abdallah regretted the skirmishes, which occurred in Bakassi that led to some deaths in June, but praised both nations for the matured handling of the situation without allowing it to escalate.
He urged them to ensure that all disagreements were amicably resolved, noting that history and geography had destined that both nations would always have to be together.
In his speech, Ajibola expressed happiness at the resumption of the regular session and the negotiation process, and commended Abdallah for making this possible.
He blamed the lull on"some misgivings and misconceptions", which he said, were gradually being cleared.
Ajibola however noted that some of the activities had continued even during the lull, pointing out that the demarcation technical committee had continued to hold its meetings.
He said it was necessary to carry the affected population along, warning that failure to do so would result in fresh difficulties in implementing all the agreements entered into by the two countries.
Ajibola also noted the difficulties in implementing the ICJ judgment as it affected the maritime issue.
Earlier in his remark, leader of the Camerounian delegation, Mr. Ahmadu Ali, had called for a quick resolution of all obstacles to a speedy handover of the Bakassi Peninsula.
He described both nations as "leading lights in Africa", which must strive to show good example to other nations by resolving the dispute peacefully.
The Nigerian delegation to the three-day meeting also included Alhaji Dahiru Bobbo, the director-general of the National Boundary Commission. Others are the Nigerian Ambassador to Canada, Mr. Femi George and the Permanent Secretary in the Works Ministry, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed.
Posted by Publisher at 02:58 PM | Comments (0)
July 28, 2005
'How Police Violate Detainees Rights'; It's a lie, says Presidency
A report released yesterday by the human rights group, the Human Rights Watch, stated that Nigeria police violate rights of detainees in their custody through the use of torture tactics to obtain confessional statements from them.
From Josephine Lohor in Abuja and Godwin Haruna in Lagos, 07.28.2005
But the Presidency also yesterday dismissed the report and said it has no iota of truth.
Presenting the 76-page report titled "Rest in Pieces" in Lagos, Ms. Sonya Maldar stated that in the course of her research for the report across seven states of the federation, she found out that police freely employ torture tactics on detainees as a means of extracting confessional statements from them.
Maldar compiled graphic accounts of detainees who were given the crude treatment.
She said despite Nigeria’s progress on democratic reforms, Nigerian police routinely commit brutal acts of torture that have endured since the country’s era of military rule.
"For too long, the police in Nigeria have gotten away with murder and brutality. If President Olusegun Obasanjo wants to show the world that he is serious about pursuing justice, he should ensure that police torturers are held accountable for their crimes", said Peter Takiram-budde, executive director of the Africa Division of the organisation.
He said across Nigeria, both senior and lower-level police officers routinely commit or order the torture and maltreatment of criminal suspects.
Human Rights Watch urged foreign governments funding police reform in Nigeria to be more critical about rights abuses, such as torture.
"Most victims were arrested within the context of an aggressive government campaign against common crime and were tortured to obtain confessions. They were tortured in local and state police stations across Nigeria, often in interrogation rooms especially equipped for the purpose", the report alleged.
Forms of torture documented by Human Rights Watch include the tying of arms and legs behind the body, suspension by hands and legs from the ceiling, severe beatings with metal or wooden objects, spraying of tear gas in the eyes, shooting in the foot or leg, raping female detainees, and using pliers or electric shocks on the penis.
In addition, witnesses reported that dozens of suspects died as a result of injuries sustained during the torture sessions and others were summarily executed in police custody.
In his comment, Mr. Lance Lattig, an offical of the rights organisation from New York, United States, said although Nigerian contigents to peace keeping operations has performed creditably well abroad, their performace at home leaves much to be desired.
But Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Frank Nweke, jnr, while reacting to the report on behalf of the administration, said contrary to the report of the Human Rights Watch the Federal Government wanted “to say without fear of contradiction that torture is not routinely practiced in Nigeria”.
The Presidency also noted that the report of the Human Rights Watch had not given detailed accounts of the persons who are alleging that they have been brutalised by the Nigeria Police.
He added that “President Olusegun Obasanjo has demonstrated times without number that he is committed to the enthronement of rights and respect for the rule of law.
“It is known that the practice in Nigeria is that reported cases of abuse or abuses by any law enforcement agent or agencies is fully investigated and culprits brought to book”, he added.
Nweke, while speaking with State House Correspondents, said “it is important to state that President Olusegun Obasanjo is very mush aware of the problems within the criminal justice administration in the country including the Police Force.
“Not only has the Federal Government included police reforms in the on-going internationally-acclaimed reform agenda but the entire administration of justice is also undergoing far-reaching reforms. Human Rights Watch ought to realise that for a country that had undergone military distatorship for so long the task of repositioning an institution like the police is not only daunting but must be done thoroughly”, he added.
The Information Minister also stated that “not only has the number of police officers been doubled since 1999, but the administration has also invested very heavily in training, equipment, monitoring and the introduction of police community relations”.
While emphasising that the reforms embarked by the Federal Government included that of the Nigeria Police, Nweke said “part of the reforms include community policing which is already being piloted in Enugu State. The Government has through its many institutions continued to empower the populace to know and insist on their rights and expects them to also support the on-going efforts”.
Posted by Publisher at 04:37 PM | Comments (0)
Egypt slams Nigeria over UN seats;
Nigeria betrays African interest, says Egyptian Foreign Minister
The jostle for the United Nations Security Council seats is dividing Africa as Egypt and Nigeria are at logger heads over each other’s stance on the reform and enlargement of the Security Council.
By Jibrin Abubakar
Egypt accused Nigeria of abandoning African interests to increase its own chances of obtaining a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa are the main contenders for the two permanent African seats.
Nigeria, claimed it has contributed enormously to peacekeeping in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, as well as in Togo.
According to the Chief Press Secretary to Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Bernard C. Udeh, if the world takes stock of Nigeria’s achievements, its role will be recognised.
“Nigeria has been contributing to the maintenance of the UN intervention forces even before her independence in 1960”, he said.
He said when the UN first needed a Secretary General from Africa in 1992; it was through Nigeria’s effort that Egypt produced Boutros Boutros Ghali.
However, Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, criticised Nigeria for willing to back down on the African demand that its two permanent seats in the Security Council should have veto power.
He also regreted that Nigeria would also accept a total of four rather than five non-permanent seats for Africa in the council, adding that the intention was to boost its own chances of gaining a permanent seat.
Last week, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative, Ambassador Aminu Wali, submitted a draft resolution on behalf of the African group at the UN which reflected the African common position after a truce between the African Group and the G4 became slippery still.
Sources said when the matter comes up on which two countries to choose out of the three, Nigeria would likely emerge as number one choice among Africans, but outside of Africa is where Nigeria’s chances are still dicey.
However, just before that meeting, the African countries are insisting that Africa must have two new permanent members on the Security Council with the veto privilege. According to them, it is either this or nothing. African either gets all or nothing. This group of African nations are Libya, Algeria and Egypt.
On the other hand, Nigeria and South Africa are leading most of the other African countries to suggest that it might be worthwhile for Africa to negotiate with the G4 countries now and earn two permanent seats on the council and once Africa becomes established on the council, the issue of veto power can be pursued later. According to a source, this group of Africans are saying, without being a permanent member of the council, Africa cannot start to talk of veto. And so it is being advised that Africa should first take advantage and get what is immediately available now.
Nigeria’s actions came during a meeting in London, which it chaired, to hammer out a common African position.
The oil-producing state “tried to subjugate the African position to narrow interests in a way which does not reflect the required transparency in dealings between African states,” Gheit said.
“It would abandon the fifth seat to another continent while working for its direct interest, imagining that it would thus have a better chance of obtaining a permanent seat,” the minister added.
African officials were meeting in London to prepare for a meeting with foreign ministers from the Group of Four - Brazil, Germany, Japan and India, which are contenders for some of the new permanent seats.
The Group of Four needs African support for their plan, which is slightly different from the plan adopted by Africa.
Aboul Gheit’s remarks brought to the surface a dispute brewing for some weeks between the two big African countries.
He said the Nigerian position has caused a crisis between the African representatives at the London meeting. “Many African countries opposed this Nigerian approach,” he added.
While Nigeria had said the meeting reached consensus, the Egyptian delegate, Assistant Foreign Minister, Sameh Shukri, had denied that publicly, he added.
“If the Nigerian approach continues, it will lead to a fracture in the African position ... The consequences of that would be grave,” he added.
Posted by Publisher at 04:33 PM | Comments (0)
Onigbinde returns to Eagles
Former Super Eagles coach Adegboye Onigbinde will return to the Nigeria coaching set up as the NFA appear to have jettisoned the idea of a contracting a foreign coach following the embarrassment of Frenchman Phillipe Troussier’s volte-face.
Nigeria are desperately trying to rescue their 2006 World Cup dreams and NFA chairman Ibrahim Galadima told KICKOFF on Wednesday that Onigbinde and former international Sylvanus Okpala will form part of a Technical Study Group to offer advice to the Austin Eguavoen-led coaching crew.
“This was part of the recommendations that the Technical Committee set up after the Angola match made to the Sports Minister,” Galadima told KICKOFF. “When we decided to appoint a foreign coach, there was no need for that, but we have now decided to go back to those recommendations in view of the present developments.”
Onigbinde, who led the Super Eagles to the 2002 World Cup, was a member of the committee that made that recommendation and he told KICKOFF the rationale behind the thinking “Our reasoning was that there was no time to go through all the process of searching for a coach, interviewing different coaches and negotiating with them when we should be focused on the task at hand, but the board decided to go ahead and hire a foreign coach,” Onigbinde told KICKOFF.
The current development implies that the NFA have dropped the idea of a foreign manager for the Super Eagles, at least for the time being and Galadima explains why “It will create more confusion. The time isn’t there and we need to move forward. At the moment we are going ahead with preparations for our friendly matches. The first will be with a home-based team wile the second is against Libya in August.”
Posted by Publisher at 04:31 PM | Comments (0)
Boat capsizes, kills 200
A pregnant woman, a mother and her three children were among 10 bodies recovered following a boat mishap early Tuesday in the coastal areas of Ondo State.
AYODELE ONI, Akure
Shockwaves ripped through the state as 190 other persons on board the wooden boat who were missing as at press time were feared dead.
The boat was said to have taken off from Igbokoda along the waterways, which is linked to the Atlantic Ocean, and between Igbokoda and Awoye, it hit a sharp object and broke into pieces, throwing its human and other cargos into the angry sea.
The incident occurred close to a shrine housing the dreaded Ayelala deity.
Chairman of Ilaje local government (with headquarters in Igbokoda), Chief Adebambo Odoro, who was part of the rescue team confirmed that the accident occurred at a point very close to the Ayelala shrine.
According to the chairman, the boat was ferrying passengers, mostly market women and students travelling back to their towns for vacation.
Chief Odoro explained that the boat took off from Igbokoda before the accident happened between Igbokoda and Awoye close to the shrine.
Marine police and voluntary divers continued with the search to recover the remaining bodies of the victims.
The area close to the Ayelala shrine has become notorious for accidents on the sea.
Four officials of National Orientation Agency (NOA) lost their lives in a mishap at the same junction few years ago.
Contacted on the issue, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Adeniran Aremu told Daily Champion that the command had not got any official report on the matter from the Igbokoda division.
As at press time, there was no government reaction to the tragic incident as the State Executive Council was meeting.
Meanwhile the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. John Mafor, who confirmed the incident said government was expecting a full report of the incident from the local government boss.
Consequently he said the actual death toll could not be immediately ascertained.
Posted by Publisher at 04:30 PM | Comments (0)
Nobody manipulated us, S-South replies Obasanjo
ABUJA— SOUTH-SOUTH delegates to the concluded National Political Reform Conference have denied President Olusegun Obasanjo’s accusation of being manipulated by external forces, and declared that the zone’s quest for resource control is the quickest way to the economic development of the country.
By Emmanuel Aziken
Posted to the Web: Thursday, July 28, 2005
Responding to the President’s address to the joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, the South-South Delegates Forum said their track of consistency and courage was enough to show the zone’s selfless efforts.
Chief Mike Ozkekhome, Chairman of the South-South Delegates Forum Publicity Committee spoke on behalf of the delegates at a press briefing in Abuja.
President Obasanjo had in his address accused some delegates who walked out of the conference of being manipulated by unknown forces for strategic reasons.
"I think by now we have made it very clear that we are not the kind of people you can manipulate. We have shown courage, we have shown bravado, dogged bravado, we have shown consistency, we have shown patriotism and such people cannot be manipulated. No way. Rather, what we fought against was tyranny of the majority. That was what we fought against.
"Let it be on record that the chairman of the conference did himself admit that he made a mistake in the handling of the issue and that he was misled in handling the issue and that it was based on facts available to him then that all delegates had agreed by way of consensus to the decisions of the elders committee. So, if the chairman could admit that he made a mistake but based on available information, the question would be why wouldn’t the leadership then seek to correct that mistake by going back to the plenary session to correct it?
"So, we were not manipulated by anybody. The chairman’s statement showed that the step we took was the best option opened to us at that stage. So, Mr. President, humbly would be faulted along that line. Nobody manipulated us. The goals he sought were clear which he gave to us on the 21st of February 2005 when he inaugurated this conference and the goals were clear: to restructure Nigeria, to refine, to refocus, to redesign and to reassess Nigeria. In summary, that means restructuring Nigeria," he said.Affirming the logic of resource control as a panacea to the nation’s problems, he said: "Resource control and equitable derivation principle that we are fighting for are the best restructuring that you can do for Nigeria today because they will make all Nigerians go back to the land. They will unleash the bottled up potentials. They will lead all Nigerians back to begin to exploit and explore the vast mineral resources that abound in every state in this country.
"Up till January 1966, the per capita income of Nigeria was $2,000 per head, (but) today in spite of the oil boom, it is $200 per head. Meaning that there is no creativity again on the part of all Nigerians," he said.
Posted by Publisher at 04:29 PM | Comments (0)
Tambuwal emerges ANPP caucus leader; Salik’s removal illegal - Party
Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, representing Tambuwal federal constituency of Sokoto state, has emerged the new leader of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), in the House of Representatives.
By Hammeed M Bello
Tambuwal’s emergence was announced yesterday at a press conference addressed by the caucus, even as the national headquarters of the ANPP in a statement declared his election as illegal because it ran contrary to the party’s constitution.
A letter from the head-quarters of the party, signed by Dr. Anietie Umoren, Special Assistant to the National Chairman, Chief Don Etiebet, said the impeachment of former leader, Hon. Ahmed Salik, can only take effect if it is endorsed by the party. A statement issued by the caucus yesterday announced names of other members of the new leadership. They include Victor Lar elected the deputy leader; Almajir Geidam, the new Whip and former Deputy Leader, Ubong Etiebet, who is returned as the new Deputy Whip.
The statement said “following the resignation of three of the principal officers of the ANPP caucus in the House of Representatives and the impeachment of Hon (Dr.) Ahmed Salik as leader of the caucus, elections were held” during which the elected officers emerged.
“They are now our leaders and we therefore appeal for your cooperation”, the statement said.
Daily Trust learnt that the election which held 2:00 a.m. Thursday, was trailed by disagreements from a group which felt its interest was not protected.
The North-West where the position of the leader was zoned to split into two factions, each with its preferred candidate. One axis includes members from Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara while the other axis includes members from Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states. While the Sokoto axis unanimously produced Hon Tambuwal as their candidate for the election, the Kano axis could not produce a unanimous candidate and four aspirants had to go for a primary. At the primary, Bashir Nadabo scored one vote, Datti Baba Ahmed scored four votes, Umar el-Yakub got nine votes while Nasir Dantiye got ten votes.
In his inaugural speech, the new leader-elect, Hon Tambuwal, said the new leadership is committed to giving the caucus a new vision and that they will do their best to give the caucus a new lease of life. “By the grace of God, we will not let this caucus down.”
The ANPP letter addressed to the former leader, Hon Salik and copied the speaker, Aminu Bello Masari, chairman, ANPP committee on repositioning and reinvigorating the party, Governor Sani Yarima of Zamfara state and chairman, committee on new policy objectives of ANPP, Governor Bukar Abba Ibrahim of Yobe State.
The statement said it received instructions from the national chairman, Chief Don Etebet, to communicate the party’s decision to the caucus.
“He has directed me to send you this letter, to convey through you to the members of the party caucus that traditionally, any changes or election into party positions ought to be in consultations with the leadership of the party.
“The constitution of the party in Article 17.3(iv) states that the legislative caucus should refer unresolved differences to the National Working Committee of the party for prompt arbitration.
“It is pertinent to let you know here that the National Caucus of the party only recently on the 7th of July, 2005, set up two committees, one on ways and means of repositioning and reinvigorating the party and the other on new policy objectives. These committees are yet to submit their reports.
“You are therefore to bring this to the notice and understanding of the members of your caucus immediately, that it will be inauspicious to effect any changes now in your caucus leadership.
“The national chairman therefore advices that any aggrieved member of the House should send their grievances to or meet with the two chairmen of the committees set up by the national caucus; namely H. E. Alhaji Ahmad Sani, chairman of the committee on Repositioning and Reinvigorating the party and H. E. Alhaji (Dr.) Bukar Abba Ibrahim, FNIQS, chairman of the Committee on New Policy Objectives for the party.”
“Any action otherwise would contravene our party’s constitution to which all your members are obligated, with dire consequences.
“Thank you and please convey the assurance of the national chairman’s readiness to listen to their grievances and solving them on his return,” the statement said.
Posted by Publisher at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)
Graft and foreign support
The prevailing global policy climate is especially favourable to the nation’s anti-graft war, as conceived by President Obasanjo.
The group of industrialized nations (G8), for instance, at its last meeting held in Scotland, pledged to translate the UN anti-graft Convention into effective actions, deny safe haven to corrupt officials found guilty of corruption, promote adherence to laws that criminalise the bribery of foreign officials, implement a new plan to detect, recover and return illicitly acquired proceeds of corruption. And as part of the mounting global assistance to Nigeria, President Obasanjo recently claimed that the club of creditors showed a list of highly placed officials who allegedly pillaged the nation’s coffers.
But as international assistance is geared up towards assisting Nigeria in fighting corruption and the recovery of looted public funds stashed abroad, complementary national efforts in meeting the goal have, again, been criticised. A UN expert and international fraud investigator, Mr. Jack Blum, recently offered the best line in the stream of international criticisms, by insisting that criminal justice must be brought to bear on the loot recovery efforts and anti-corruption crusade. He criticised the FG for protecting a particular former Nigerian military ruler, whom he claimed stole about $25 billion, from being investigated by experts like him.
Though the various FG’s anti-graft measures, including the setting up and strengthening of anti-corruption agencies, are acknowledged, not much is seen in the diligent prosecution of corrupt officials as often demanded by the Nigerian public and the international community. Given that the nation is always slow in detecting fraud and bringing looters to justice, the Paris Club has insisted that corrupt officials be prosecuted as a precondition for debt relief.
There is no doubt that the FG has taken occasional punitive measures in combating corruption. But such measures have not gone far enough. The government has not demonstrated the strong political will needed to tackle corruption head-on. This explains why no “big looter” has been successfully prosecuted, despite government’s rhetoric and occasional punitive measures. Why, for instance, as Blum claimed, should the nation’s investigative network offer a refuge to an unnamed military ruler from being investigated and exposed? How long will the trials of the National Identity Card scam and the bribe-for-budget scandal suspects take before justice is done?
Already, tongues have been wagging that the trial of the former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun, is a mere farce, as government’s plan is to shield him from an open court trial. The recent sacking and trial of South Africa’s Deputy President, Mr. Jacob Zuma, offers a good lesson for Nigeria’s anti-graft crusade.
No amount of international cooperation can yield results unless the FG takes another look at the homegrown efforts to curb corruption and recover stolen funds. Apart from tidying up the ongoing corruption trials, anti-graft agencies, including the Code of Conduct Bureau, ICPC and the EFCC, should be strengthened to perform their role without any political motive. Other platforms, such as public tolerance of corruption, low and untimely payment of salaries of public servants and the slow pace of privatisation programme, on which corruption thrives, should be critically examined and redressed.
Above all, the government should help itself to fight corruption by widening access to public records and accounts through appropriate legislations. Gains from debt relief and other reform efforts will amount to nothing if the massive leakage through official graft is not plugged.
The PUNCH, Thursday, July 28, 2005
Posted by Publisher at 04:11 PM | Comments (0)
Danjuma strangled female victim of Abuja killings - DCO
Panel of inquiry probing June 8 killing of six Igbo traders by the police in Abuja, was yesterday stunned when Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) at the Garki Police Station, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Idrisu Umaru, disclosed that Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Danjuma Ibrahim, personally twisted the neck of female victim of the group until she died.
ADELANI ASHAMU, Abuja
ASP Umaru, who testified before the panel, said, Danjuma also supervised the killings and actually stayed back at the stations to ensure that all the traders were dead even after run away Abdulsalami Othman had ordered that a male member of the group who survived the shooting be killed.
The witness further stunned the panel with testimony that fleeing Divisional Police Office, Abdulsalami Othman, observed the strangulation of the girl, Miss Augustina Arebu.
He said that contrary to denials by Mr. Nicholas Zakaria, leader of the station’s Ambush Squad that he (Zakaria) was not aware of what happened to the victims, the DPO actually handed over the surviving victims to Mr Zakaria "and ordered him to eliminate them."
His testimony put paid to denials by Danjuma, Zakaria and other suspects who had said they did not know what happened to the victims, as Umaru said he was physically present when the female victim was killed.
Although he denied participating in the killing, Umaru condemned the incident, adding that the DCP remained at the station until all the victims had died.
Yesterday’s sitting brought to an end public hearings by the panel as its chairman, Justice Olasunbo Goodluck explained that further hearing continue behind closed doors.
His words. "I was sleeping when DPO Othman came in and woke me up and said there is a case of robbery suspects. I went out and I saw DCP Danjuma Ibrahim standing outside. I saw four corpses on the ground.
"He called PC Assamoa and said he should search the Peaugeot 406. Assanmoa went to the front seat, passenger side and recovered two locally made pistols with two cartridges and the DPO said the other two people one female and one male should be eliminated. Then I asked if the authrities were aware and he (Othman) said yes.
"When DCP heard that one of them escaped, he got annoyed, and went to the lady in the vehicle where she was lying down, held her head and twisted it in the presence of the DPO. I told my superior officers at the force headquarters how this lady was killed," he added.
Posted by Publisher at 04:10 PM | Comments (0)
PDP official murdered
Gunmen on Wednesday in Abuja killed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Director of Planning and Research, Anthony Ozioko.
By Wisdom Patrick (Lagos)
Paul Mumeh and
Chesa Chesa (Abuja)
It galvanised the police into action to arrest the criminals and has put the PDP on the alert, with reports that the gang acted desperately to achieve its objective of raising the number of political assassinations.
A top PDP member said the killers first went to the house of a yet to be identified man whom they mistook for Ozioko and killed him.
When they realised that he was not the target, they combed the area for the house of Ozioko and pumped bullets into his body.
Officers at the Gwagwa police station are out to arrest the assassins. The corpse has been deposited at the National Hospital mortuary, Abuja.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, John Odey, confirmed the incident.
As the news broke on Wednesday, the government denied the report released by Human Rights Watch that torture is a common practice by the security agencies.
Information and National Orientation Minister, Frank Nweke, told journalists in Abuja that the report has no iota of truth.
The government wants “to say without fear of contraction that torture is not routinely practised in Nigeria”, he declared, and noted that the document did not give detailed accounts of the persons claimed to have been brutalised by the police.
He added: “President Olusegun Obasanjo has demonstrated times without number that he is committed to the enthronement of rights and respect for the rule of law.
“It is known that the practice in Nigeria is that reported cases of abuse or abuses by any law enforcement agent or agencies is fully investigated and culprits brought to book.
“It is important to state that … Obasanjo is very much aware of the problems within the criminal justice administration in the country, including the police.
“Not only has the government included police reform in the on-going internationally-acclaimed reform agenda but the entire administration of justice is also undergoing far-reaching reform.
“Human Rights Watch ought to realise that for a country that had undergone military dictatorship for so long the task of repositioning an institution like the police is not only daunting but must be done thoroughly.
“Not only has the number of police officers been doubled since 1999, but the administration has also invested very heavily in training, equipment, monitoring and the introduction of police community relations”.
Nweke disclosed that police reform includes community policing, the pilot scheme of which is already going on in Enugu State.
“The government has through its many institutions continued to empower the populace to know and insist on their rights and expects them to also support the on-going efforts”.
Ighodalo, stating the reaction of the police, stressed that it is “very unfortunate” if Human Rights Watch wants to write the United States and Britain to stop further assistance to the police.
“It is not the police tradition or convention to torture suspects”, he said, and that the police leadership has been championing the cause of identifying over zealous officers and dealing with them.
Regardless, Human Rights Watch accused Obasanjo of not being serious about pursuing justice.
Its officials, Sonya Maldar and Lance Latting, told a press conference in Lagos on Wednesday that the President has allowed the police to get away with a series of human rights violations in the last five years, including murder and brutality.
They said: “If Obasanjo wants to show the world that he is serious about pursuing justice, he should ensure that police torturers are held accountable for their crimes”.
Maldar, who studied human rights abuses in prisons and police cell across the country, said she interviewed 50 inmates, all of them awaiting trial, and documented the findings in a 76-page report, titled “Rest in Pieces”.
She stressed that most of the victims were arrested within the context of an aggressive government campaign against common crime and tortured to obtain confessions.
“They were tortured in local and state police stations across Nigeria, often in interrogation rooms, specially equipped for the purpose”, she insisted.
Maldar said the forms of torture include the tying of arms and legs behind the body, suspension by hands and legs from the ceiling, severe beatings with metal or wooden objects, spraying of tear gas, shooting in the foot or leg, raping female detainees and using pliers or electric shocks on the penis.
“In addition, witnesses reported that dozens of suspects died as a result of their injuries; others were summarily executed in police custody”.
According to her, an inmate narrated that “a policeman handcuffed me and tied me with my hands behind my knees, a wooden rod behind my knees, and hung me from hooks on the wall, like goal posts.
“Then they started beating me. They got a broomstick hair (bristle) and inserted it into my penis until there was blood coming out. They put tear gas powder on a cloth and tied it round my eyes. They said they were going to shoot me unless I admitted I was the robber. This went on for hours”.
The man, aged 23, was arrested in Enugu in June 2004.
Maldar stressed that the majority of the torture victims interviewed were ordinary criminals whose cases were characterised by an absence of the due process of law.
Posted by Publisher at 04:07 PM | Comments (0)
CBN insists on Dec. deadline for banks' recapitalisation
CENTRAL Bank of Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, yesterday declared that by midnight of December 2005, the Federal Government would down of any bank in the country which fails to meet the N25 billion re-capitalisation requirement set for them since July 6, last year.
From Mathias Okwe, Abuja
With only about four months to the deadline, Soludo disclosed that only seven banks have met the requirement, while the CBN is targeting 25 banks in the post-consolidation era.
Soludo was reacting to a plea by the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Alhaji Lateef Adebayo Owoyemi, that the CBN extends the deadline because of the huge cost of the consolidation exercise to the banks.
The CBN governor, who made the statement through his Special Adviser in Charge of Policy, Dr.Chigozie Emeluga, said: "Tell them that the deadline is not going to be shifted. By midnight of December 2005, any bank that fails to meet the re-capitalisation will cease to be a bank in Nigeria.''
He expressed concern about the way the banks were going about their re-capitalisation plans. He stated that the merger and acquisition plan of the financial sector consolidation was not conceived to have each bank source for funds for capitalisation and expressed fears that even if a year's extension was granted, it would still not be adequate for most of the banks.
Soludo recalled that in 2004 when the consolidation plan was announced, there were 89 banks out of which only seven were sound while the rest were either unsound or marginally distressed.
He blamed the external auditors for what he referred to as false financial reporting of the banks' accounts, which he said have been misleading. He charged them to change because there was no hiding place for any dubious financial adviser.
Owoyemi spoke in Abuja at the second conference of regulators and external auditors of financial institutions.
According to him, a review of the exercise among 15 banks showed that they spent an estimated N11 billion on fees to regulatory institutions for the consolidation. He asked that such funds be refunded the banks since the exercise was involuntary in the first instance.
He also suggested that the CBN rewarded well-managed banks as it did for the distressed ones where their 80 per cent debt stock with the apex bank were written off for them.
He also urged banks in the country to invest more on staff development as against the current practice, which subsists on poaching of staff. Unless the trend is changed, he said the on-going reform may produce "a pyrrhic; transient and unsustainable results.''
He also advocated a database of banks' debtors and that more publicity should be given on such defaulters with their photographs published to warn other unsuspecting bank against.
Posted by Publisher at 04:06 PM | Comments (0)
MASSOB insists census’ll reinforce Northern dominance
Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has described the forthcoming National Population Census as a deceit and fraudulent attempt to continue to legitimise Northern domination of the country.
By Ben Duru (Owerri)
and Rafiu Ajakaye (Lagos)
To this end, the body says it has fully mobilised its members across the former Eastern Region to resist any attempts to carry out the headcount in the area saying it is ready to pay the supreme price for the actualisation of their dreamland.
MASSOB also insist that a census that would be organised without state of origin and religion in the form, among other defects, is only intended to maintain the status quo which believes that the North is more populated than the rest of the country.
Speaking with newsmen in Owerri, Imo State shortly after a meeting of adherents from Orlu, Okigwe and Owerri directorates of the group, its director of Information, Uchenna Madu, urged the Igbo to boycott the census because of the various deceits intended in the implementation.
“MASSOB has declared the forthcoming census as anti-Igbo, a farce, an exercise of corruption and another subtle way of enslaving Biafrans.”
Meanwhile, in view of the failed national conference organised by the Federal Government, MASSOB has pledged support for the proposed Sovereign National Conference (SNC) by the Pro-National Conference Organisations (PRONACO) which begins in October. It has also expressed its willingness to participate in the talks.
A statement by PRONACO’s Director of Media and Public Affairs, Wale Okuniyi quoted MASSOB leader, Ralph Uwazurike, as saying that during his visit to Chief Anthony Enahoro on Monday, he was assured that the conference would serve as an avenue for true deliberations on the way forward for the country.
Reiterating MASSOB’s support for non-violent struggles, Uwazurike commended PRONACO for the transparency, inclusiveness and accessibility of the process of the SNC and pledged MASSOB’s commitment to the success of the peoples conference. However, speaking on the census, Madu insisted that ethnicity and religion are critical demographic attributes that can make any census figure become more credible and acceptable worldwide, He added that it is important to keep the census process transparent to allow the international community see the sincerity and accuracy of the exercise.
He, however, lamented that the Federal Government does not want any Nigerian to be identified by his ethnic origin or religious affiliation adding that by that singular action, it has shot itself on the foot. “Progressive countries have the urge to do things right. When they conduct censuses, they ensure that the instrument contains a whole gamut of demographic variables that would enhance both meaningful projects and constructive national planning.
“There would be no Nigerian census in Biafra land. MASSOB members are fully prepared to stop it even with our lives for the actualisation of Biafra,” Madu said, adding that previous censuses had tended to give an undue advantage to the North.
Putting the population of the former eastern region to about 55 million people, he said any census without the necessary ingredients is intended to further distort the facts about the population of the people as well as manipulate the figures to continue to make them subservient to the rest of the country.
Posted by Publisher at 04:00 PM | Comments (0)
July 27, 2005
Nigeria state segregates travel
The authorities in the northern Nigerian state of Kano have imposed a ban on Muslim men and women travelling together on public transport.
They say the ban is in accordance with Sharia law.
Men and women-only buses and motorcycle taxis were paraded in a mass rally at a stadium in the city of Kano.
Kano is one of several Muslim majority states that adopted Sharia law in 2000, a move which led to inter-religious riots that left thousands dead.
Under the ban, commercial motorcylists seen carrying women could be fined.
Correspondents say the scheme has been quite well-received by all communities as Christians will still be able to use existing non-segregated vehicles.
'Obey your leaders'
The governor of Kano state said a new force of 9,000 uniformed police would enforce the law.
"Our aim is to be at the forefront of conducting our activities decently and to protect Allah's Sharia," Ibrahim Shekerau told the rally.
Muslim cleric Ibrahim Kaliel had a warning for taxi drivers.
"You have no excuse to carry a woman who is neither your wife nor your mother on a motorcycle," he said. "The Holy Prophet Mohammed says you should obey your leaders in all circumstances."
But some drivers said they got most of their revenue from women.
"The government intends to put us out of business by this new law because we can't feed our family by relying on male customers who do not pay as much as women," moped operator Sahabi Malam told AFP news agency.
For and against
Kano is one of 12 northern states which have implemented Sharia law since 2000.
The move initially heightened tensions between Muslims and Christians and led to clashes which left thousands dead.
Human rights groups have condemned abuses sanctioned under the law including amputations and flogging, and say it discriminates against women.
Sharia law appears to have retained popular support in the north.
But there is significant opposition to the law, especially among the Christian minority.
While officially it does not apply to them, many say that in practice they are forced to comply.
Posted by Publisher at 07:39 PM | Comments (0)
Masari warns against 3rd term plot as Obj condemns walkout on Confab
SPEAKER of the House of Representatives, Hon. Bello Masari yesterday called on President Olusegun and other public office holders to get ready to vacate their respective positions after serving full tenure on May 29, 2007.
LERE OJEDOKUN, COSMAS EKPUNOBI and ABIODUN ADELAJA, Abuja
His admonition which attracted spontaneous applause and concurrence by federal lawmakers came even as the President tongue-lashed South South delegates who recently walked out on their colleagues at the just concluded National Political Reforms Conference (NPRC).
He described the protest as unfortunate and accused the delegate of allowing themselves to be manipulated and misled by people with little knowledge of the confab’s objectives.
Hon. Masari’s remarks which came as "vote of thanks" to cap President Obasanjo’s address to a joint session of the National - Assembly, attracted spontaneous reaction from lawmakers who commended the Speaker for speaking our minds.
"I hope that the zeal with which we started together God will give us the grace to carry on till the end of our tenure in 2007," Alhaji Masari told Obasanjo at the briefing.
Before now, delegates to the NPRC were sharply divided on the issue of tenure for the president and governors.
While some backed a single six-year term for the president and five-year tenure for governors, others voted for retention of maximum two terms of four years for both.
Addressing a joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja, however the President said he did not considers a walkout by aggrieved persons to press their demands "a desirable element of democratic practice."
Delegates from the South South geo-political zone had pulled out from the confab last month following their inability to push through their demand for 23 per cent oil derivation for oil bearing states.
The conference approved 17 per cent oil derivation which is an improvement on the existing 13 per cent derivation.
Apparently reacting to the walk-out by the South-South delegates, the President stated that such action was misguided in a modern world where negotiation, dialogue, give-and take and consensus were available.
"I believe that many that were involved in such situations were being maipulated and misled by persons who had little understanding of the goals or purposes of the conference and who might be mixing up the powers and functions of the conference with those of the legislature." He explained.
President Obasanjo said this was the reason he asked the National Assembly to keep off the conference since the legislature would ultimately have the privilege of working on the final outcome of the confab.
On debt relief, President Obasanjo said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) did not pre-condition any of its supervised programmes for the nation before the Paris Club of creditors granted the 60 per cent debt cancellation on June 29.
Government, he said, was also working on a bill that would regulate the process of obtaining foreign loans by all levels of government. One of the elements of the proposed law would seek to peg interest on such loans to ensure concession.
Recalling how the "debt trap had caught the nation and the frustrations to secure reprieve," he stated that a senior IMF official had once told him that "debt relief for Nigeria was more or less a pipe dream."
Posted by Publisher at 07:37 PM | Comments (0)
Enahoro in U.S, drums support for PRONACO confab
ELDER statesman, Chief Anthony Enahoro, who clocked 82 on Friday, has challenged Nigerians in the Diaspora to come home to make a difference with their fresh ideas. According to him, they should go beyond standing for what is right in Nigeria.
From Laolu Akande, New York
Besides, he said the Pro-National Conference Organisation's (PRONACO) confab should not be only about holding an ethnic nationalities conference, because holding the conference alone cannot solve Nigeria's problem.
Enahoro spoke over the weekend in New York at the PRONACO United States (U.S.) meeting where Nigerian professionals and activists came together to plan for their involvement and participation in the PRONACO talks scheduled for October. He warned that if PRONACO fails that would be playing into President Olusegun Obasanjo's hands and there may not be another opportunity.
According to him, it is in the interest of all Nigerians that this conference succeeds especially after, according to the statesman, the failure of the government's own national dialogue. He said what PRONACO will organise would be the first truly people's conference in the history of Nigeria. He said he would try to persuade the PRONACO conference to suggest the adoption of a parliamentary system of government for Nigeria because of the heavy domination of money in the current presidential system. He wondered how somebody like him would have emerged a Federal lawmaker in the First Republic if so much money, as is now required was demanded from him then.
Turning to the Nigerians abroad he said, "you don't have a chance in the present political configuration of the presidential system since the question being asked of potential politicians is 'how much money are you putting down' and now 'what can you do?"
Present at the meeting with Chief Enahoro were Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, a leading human rights activists, Chief Jumoke Ogunkeyede, an Alliance for Democracy (AD) chieftain and former National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) activist in the U.S. Mrs. Sara Jubril, Mr. Kalu Idika Kalu, U.S.-based lawyer Kayode Oladele, Dr. Baba Adams, chairman of PRONACO-U.S. and Rev. Adebiyi, among others.
Enahoro said it was time for Nigerians abroad to take a more active interest in Nigeria beyond just supporting progressive movements and standing up for what is right.
According to him, when he was asked to visit and speak at the PRONACO-U.S. he was first unwilling querying: "What's the use?"
Enahoro who ignored his prepared speech and spoke from the heart in a moving and very profound manner said: "This is the third occasion that I recall that we are building an overseas structure...but we don't see anybody when the test comes." Noting that overseas structures are vital, he explained that Nigerians abroad were the ones who encouraged him to move the independence motion, which he did in the 50s at a time when leading Nigerian politicians felt it was too early.
"Diaspora people compelled me to move the motion for independence...but Diaspora groups fold up after a battle is won." As an example, he recalled that before his motion for independence in 1953, "we were in London, the Nigerians and the West African Students Union gave us a reception, Dr. Okpara, myself and a northern person, they challenged us. When we told them our leaders at home don't like it, they said they'll back us and they did, but afterwards they packed up."
He said the Abacha regime was the second time a progressive overseas structure was organised. According to him: "Again, after Abacha, not a single one of you held office, but we needed your fresh minds, "Enahoro told his audience of over a 100 Nigerians.
He said that was why when he was asked this time to address Nigerians abroad, "I asked, 'would they come home?' They are likely to win the battle and give the prize right back to the opponent. This has happened again and again," the 82-year old statesman lamented.
But he warned that this time around, Nigeria has its deepest battle cut out for her, "it's the deepest battle we have fought, we are much more ethnically wounded now like never before." According to him the current crisis facing Nigeria is half-military, half-civilian, deeper than any one crisis Nigeria has faced in the past. He said currently, the wealth of the nation is being held down in the hands of about 50 people wondering "but when we fight again, it might be taken over by those who don't believe in what we stand for."
Enahoro said it is the right time for Nigerians abroad to take the bull by the horns and come home and do the country proud, saying they have left Nigeria to the mercy of different "characters" for too long.
Said he "what do we do when these characters come in?" Nothing: "How won't it happen again and again."
Enahoro however expressed hope this would not happen again because PRONACO should not be just about the conference.
"Just the conference alone can't solve Nigeria's problems. We need people afterwards who will marshall the people like we do during crisis like now, otherwise it will be a failure," Enahoro declared.
He then announced that there would be nine delegates from Nigerians abroad representing seven organisations abroad at the PRONACO conference. He also said in all, 405 delegates have been planned for, the conference including 101 from ethnic associations, 16 from women groups, 24 from parties, 24 from professional bodies, 12 from religious groups, 12 from governmental agencies, and five from security groups.
Speaking earlier, Ransome-Kuti narrated how human rights activists and pro-democracy groups in Nigeria have been pursuing the issue of a national conference since the late 80s till now. He said it came to the point that it was felt there was no reason to wait for the government to organise one since President Obasanjo was then strongly opposed to a national conference.
Suddenly, according to Ransome-Kuti, Obasanjo realised the need for a national dialogue and "started rushing things." He explained why the PRONACO did not think the government's conference would be ideal even before the abrupt closure of the talks in Abuja recently.
Mrs. Jubril, the leader of PRONACO women's section also spoke saying Nigerians abroad must see themselves as stakeholders in Nigeria's future and should make their impact felt now. According to her "we've had brain drain in the past, we can have brain integration. She lamented that no one is talking about any leadership quality these days or ask to whom is a politician responsible.
On Sunday, Enahoro visited Delaware where he was hosted to a fundraising reception by Dr. Olusola Dada, a Nigerian medical doctor and owner of hospitals in the U.S. Fund-raising was also conducted in New York, where Omoyele Sowore, a member of PRONACO-U.S. mobilised Nigerians present to consider giving at least $20 each towards the organisation of the PRONACO conference in Nigeria.
Posted by Publisher at 07:36 PM | Comments (0)
Nigeria police accused of torture
Six years after a return to civilian rule, Nigeria's police still routinely torture detainees, a new report says.
By Anna Borzello
BBC News, Lagos
The study, carried out by the Human Rights Watch group, is entitled "Rest in Pieces - Police Torture and Deaths in Custody in Nigeria".
It is the first comprehensive documentation of alleged torture in the West African country.
Based on interviews with 50 victims, it argues that rape and mutilation are commonly used to extract confessions.
The Nigerian police have a poor reputation but the 74-page document still has the power to shock.
Suspects are suspended from the ceiling by their hands, beaten with metal objects, sprayed with tear gas in their eyes or shot in the feet, the report says.
The injuries sometimes result in death, it adds.
The report's title, "Rest in Pieces", comes from a phrase Human Rights Watch says is used by the Nigerian police to describe detainees who are killed in their custody.
The police have yet to respond to the report but it is likely to come as a blow to President Olusegun Obasanjo, who has been campaigning since the start of the year to convince creditor nations that the government is committed to political and economic reforms.
Posted by Publisher at 07:35 PM | Comments (0)
Don't vote for thieves in 2007—OBASANJO
ABUJA — PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo launched, yesterday, a campaign for the electorate to stop from succeeding him in 2007, those he called scavengers, kleptocrats and their offsprings as well as associates.
By Rotimi Ajayi, Ben Agande & Emma Aziken
Posted to the Web: Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Such people, he said, "detest due diligence, accountability, responsibility, fair competition, transparency, due process and social justice."
He spoke at a joint sitting of the National Assembly which he addressed on the twin issues of the report of the just concluded National Political Reform Conference and the debt relief granted Nigeria by the Paris Club.
President Obasanjo said he was sounding the note of warning in view of the labourious efforts it took his administration to secure the debt relief from the Paris Club.
He said: "This debt relief offered to us, I am pleased and proud to say, is the direct product of our relentless and persistent endeavour over the past six years. Let me say once more for those who say we did not get any relief or that the terms were ambiguous, the debt relief for Nigeria is real. I can only say to those that doubted we would ever get debt relief or those that felt that we were merely junketing around the world doing nothing, history and events have vindicated us.
"To get out of the debt trap and lay a new foundation for growth, development and democracy, we must join hands and resolve to break with bad past; identify new voices and new leaders; reject business as usual, vote for new values of accountability, transparency, fair competition, social justice and the upliftment of the living standards of Nigerians.
"We must protect our citizens from the scavengers and kleptocrats of the past and from their offsprings and associates, who continue to detest due diligence, accountability, responsibility, fair competition, transparency, due process and social justice.
"We must work hard to contain those tendencies, individuals and interest groups that wish to mortgage our future, undermine our foundations, contaminate our souls, squander our present and compromise our happiness as a people."
The president also advised the National Assembly members to complement the reforms embarked upon by government by ensuring speedy passage of some crucial bills some of which, he said, would soon be sent to the Assembly. He named them as Fiscal Responsibility Bill, Procurement Bill, and Tax Reform Bill among others. He said these bills needed to be in place to facilitate Nigeria’s clean and complete break with the past.
The President also announced that a bill, which would spell out the process of obtaining foreign loans by any tier of government in the country, would soon be forwarded to the National Assembly. The bill is expected to peg the interest on such loans.
"This is our story, our struggle, our success, our hopes and our best wishes for Nigeria today, tomorrow and forever. After six years of solid hard work, sometimes with encouraging and sometimes with discouraging signs from within and without, God has granted us success in a near miraculous way.
"Let us all savour the sweet taste of the success but knowing well that the determination and singleness of purpose that has brought success will continue to be required to take us through the reform agenda."
The President used the occasion to hand over the report of the recently concluded National Political Reform Conference which he said was a success to the National Assembly. He said it was unfortunate that those who walked out of the conference failed to understand the goals and purpose of the conference, which he said was an opportunity for Nigerians to get together to discuss issues of national importance.
"We in government were not naive enough to have thought that there would be no disagreements, rigorous discussion and debate of national issues, and that there would be no political posturing and some grandstanding. Of course, the use of walk-out in this age when the entire world is voting for negotiation, dialogue, give-and-take, consensus and understanding is unfortunate.
"I must stress the point, unpalatable as it may be, that the conference was called for the good of our dear country, to promote unity, stability, security, progress, development and prosperity."
He urged the National Assembly to look at the report and adopt any part of it for the Constitutional Review exercise being undertaken by the Joint Committee of the Assembly reviewing the 1999 Constitution.
In his closing remarks after the President’s address, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Masari, commended the President for the hard work put into securing the debt relief. He promised that members of the National Assembly would work hard to ensure the success of the reform agenda so that the tenure of the present government could end in 2007.
"The zeal with which we started, God will give us the grace to support you and carry on to the end of our tenure in 2007."
Reacting to the President’s speech, Minority Whip of the Senate, Senator Abba Aji, described it as a marked departure from the past. According to him, "I am impressed at the President’s capacity to research and to draw inferences from in-depth study of the development of our debt portfolio and how it developed into nearly insurmountable problem. His speech today (yesterday) is a complete departure from the rhetoric that is associated with Presidential statements. These are no rhetorics. He is certainly a practical person."
Posted by Publisher at 07:34 PM | Comments (0)
CBN in showdown with workers; FOS to sack 1,300
LAGOS—THE reform bei