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February 28, 2006
Army hopeful of Nigeria releases
The head of the Nigerian military unit seeking the release of nine kidnapped foreign oil workers says there is no military solution to the crisis.
By Alex Last
BBC News, Niger Delta
Brigadier Gen Elias Zamani told the BBC that the government hoped mediation efforts would see their release soon.
They were seized in the Niger Delta in one of a series of attacks by militants on the oil industry last week.
The militants have been demanding a greater share of the region's oil wealth for local Ijaw people.
Their attacks have led to a 20% drop in Nigeria's oil exports.
'Round the clock'
For now the Nigerian military in the Niger Delta has its hands tied, warned off by the government from taking any offensive action that would antagonise the militants holding the nine foreign hostages.
Brigadier Gen Zamani, the head of the Nigerian military task force in the Niger Delta, said negotiation efforts were going well.
"The civil authorities are working hard. They're not relenting in their efforts," he told the BBC.
"Since this has happened the government has been working round the clock to ensure they are released. There is hope they'll be released."
But one of the main concerns of both local leaders and the militants is that a military option will be considered once the hostages are free, and that, it seems, is delaying their release.
Brigadier Gen Zamani refused to rule out a military response saying specific situations on the ground would dictate if any actions were taken.
The problem is that usually it is not the militants who end up paying the price for the conflict in the Delta but rather it is the civilians caught in the middle.
Posted by Publisher at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)
I'm ready to die for Nigeria - OBASANJO; Senators at war over 3rd term
ABUJA— PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo said yesterday that he was prepared to die in protecting Nigeria’s interest.
President Obasanjo receiving a delegation of Chinese investors in Abuja said “everything I do now is to protect Nigeria’s interest and if that will cost me my life, so be it.”
By Charles Ozoemena, Emmanuel Aziken & Habib Yacoob
Posted to the Web: Tuesday, February 28, 2006
He spoke on a day senators launched into a hot debate on the alleged third term agenda with some of them vowing that the constitution amendment to pave the way for a third term would scale through the National Assembly.
President Obasanjo at his meeting with the Chinese said: “All efforts to check smuggling, corruption and ensure that other people respect the country would continue. We shall woo all the investors and create a conducive atmosphere for them to make a profit, but they should respect our laws. We believe we can grow our economy by 10 per cent every year, and if we sustain that for 15 years, we will become a middle strength country industrially,” he said.
Senators at war over third term
The alleged third term agenda of President Obasanjo yesterday sparked off a hot debate among Senators with Senator Kola Ogunwale vowing that the third term amendment would scale through the National Assembly and the President re-elected for another four-year term.
He was contradicted by Senators Saidu Dansadau and Sule Yari Gandi who in separate interviews affirmed a sustained strategy by opposition elements to derail the third term agenda.
The Senators spoke against the background of insinuations by Senator Arthur Nzeribe that the third term amendment would scale through the National Assembly if brought at this time.
Speaking to newsmen yesterday, Senator Ogunwale (PDP, Osun) said: “Third term is a realistic issue that should happen now because we need it. I am a Nigerian and I am entitled to my opinion and from all what I have come across since I came to the National Assembly, we need the gentleman to be there for another term of four years and of course, Nigerians have endorsed that.
“The public sitting has come and gone. It was not riotous, it was peaceful. People have aired their opinion and people we thought would be against it came out supporting it. So what are we saying about somebody coming against it?”
Affirming that the third term amendment was the wish of the generality of Nigerians as expressed during the concluded public hearing, Ogunwale said the only impediment to President Obasanjo’s re-election would be for the electorate to reject him at the polls. He dismissed perceptions of opposition to the third term from civil society and rival political parties, saying: “I wonder what you will expect your perceived enemy to say about you when you are achieving greater heights. The people who are saying this are merely rumour-mongers.”
Contradicting the possibility of an easy sail for the third term amendment, Senators Dansadau (ANPP, Zamfara) said: “Definitely, those of us that oppose it have not been sleeping and during the public hearings were strategising. So, I am optimistic that the third term will not go through the National Assembly. We have not been sleeping, we have been talking to our colleagues. We have mapped out our strategies and we are seriously working towards achieving our objective.”
Dansadau who boycotted the public hearing said holding the hearing at the zones contradicted the spirit and letter of the Constitution which did not recognise the zonal structure just as he added that the third term amendment was to serve the interest of the president and governors.
“Third term is not designed to serve the interest of this country. It is designed to serve the interest of President Olusegun Obasanjo and proponents of third term agenda and, therefore, I cannot be a party to it,” he said.
Senator Gandi, while dismissing the prospect of the third amendment in the National Assembly said: “Nzeribe is expressing his own personal view. He cannot speak on behalf of the Senate and each Senator represents a constituency. Every Senator will answer his father’s name and every Senator will speak exactly the mandate of his own constituents. No Senator can speak for another on this issue.”
Okediran doubts Reps on 3rd term
However, a member of the House of Representatives, Dr Wale Okediran, has expressed reservations about whether the House can stop the third term plot, saying many of the members were in the pockets of their governors.
He said even though he could not categorically say whether any one had been offered money or not to support the project, he was sure that there were moves to actualise it through the recent public hearings.
“Let me tell you that if the report of the public hearings comes to us, I am afraid that a lot of members may just opt for the third term,” he said on telephone yesterday.
“They are under the control of their various governors, and as you know a good number of these governors are also interested in going for another term,” Okediran said.
The legislator who is a member of the 2007 Movement opposed to the actualisation of the third term in the National Assembly said some members were determined, however, to stall the move. “We are going to stand against it nevertheless as a matter of principle by making sure that any attempt to amend the constitution under whatever guise is blocked,” he said.
Okediran who represents the Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Akola/Iwojowa constituency of Oyo State denounced the third term plot, saying leaders should take a bow without causing any controversy to themselves.
Posted by Publisher at 10:16 AM | Comments (1)
Bomb scare in Abuja bound flight
Anxiety gripped passengers inside an Abuja bound Aero aircraft yesterday when a business class passenger announced that he was in possession of a bomb.
by Shakirat Abdulmajeed / 2006-02-28
The incident happened at about 1.15pm at the domestic terminal of the Murtala Muhammed airport, Lagos; as the airline, Eero Contractors was about to take off for Abuja.
According to a witness, the passenger simply identified as B. Mok, told the man seated next to him that all the passengers inside the aircraft needed to pray hard because he had a bomb with him.
This scared the passenger who informed the others. They called the attention of the cabin crew to the development.
All the 78 passengers inside the B737 were asked to disembark for re- screening while the entire luggage was taken to the Aero terminal for a second screening.
Confirming the incident yesterday, Aero Fixed Wing Manager, Captain Dapo Olumide, said the passenger (Mok) was taken away immediately by men of the State Security Services (SSS) for interrogation.
He said, the passengers were identified through the manifest and screened for the second time. The incident had been reported to the aviation regulatory authority.
According to Captain Olumide, no bomb was found on the man during the course of interrogation and the aircraft departed for Abuja after the re- screening exercise.
Captain Olumide said such incident is common, especially in the United States of America when a passenger can raise a false alarm to frustrate an airline to make it lose a day’s revenue.
Meanwhile, Daily Trust was reliably informed that the passenger Mok, was released around 4pm when the men of SSS found out that the man was a “loose speaker” and has no connection with terrorism.
Mok was said to have been working with an insurance company and was heard complaining that his boss may sack him because he has missed an appointment in Abuja.
Posted by Publisher at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)
Niger shuns 'bird flu' chickens
A day after the deadly strain of bird flu was confirmed in Niger, there are hardly any chickens on sale in the capital's markets.
A BBC correspondent says consumers have been wary of buying poultry since the H5N1 strain was confirmed in neighbouring Nigeria.
Despite public concern, the government is making no official comment until after Tuesday's cabinet meeting.
There has been no culling of poultry in the areas where bird flu was confirmed.
The BBC's Souleymane Issa Maiga in Niamey says the bodies of some 1,100 dead chickens and ducks have been incinerated in the two areas where the H5N1 strain was found.
These are both near the border with Nigeria.
In other developments:
Nigeria is due to start paying compensation to poultry farmers affected by bird flu;
The results of bird flu tests are due in Kenya;
Ethiopia is carrying out tests after the suspicious deaths of some 6,000 birds.
Nigerian officials have also urged people to carry on eating chickens and eggs, as long as they are cooked properly, to reduce the economic impact, reports the AFP news agency;
A farm affected by bird flu in northern Nigeria has been raided by villagers, who stole thousands of birds;
No human cases of the H5N1 strain have yet been found in Africa but the UN has warned of a possible regional disaster if the disease continues to spread.
'No transparency'
Our correspondent says that with a 1,200km border between Niger and Nigeria and many families divided between the two countries, it comes as no surprise that bird flu has crossed over.
This was echoed by Bernard Vallat, director of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
"The measures of confinement were not taken and transparency was not applied from the beginning [in Nigeria]," he said.
"Now we know that all of the neighbouring countries of Nigeria are under a very big threat."
Niger, like most West African countries, had banned poultry imports from Nigeria, where some 300,000 chickens have reportedly died.
Bird flu has also been found in Egypt.
But Nigerian officials stress that well cooked chicken and eggs are safe to eat.
"The panic is actually causing more problems and if we continue this way, in the next week, our economy would be badly affected," said the head of the state-run food and drug administration and control, Dora Akunyili.
Some hungry villagers in northern Bauchi state appear to be unconcerned and have stole thousands of birds suspected to have been infected with bird flu. Police have made several arrests.
The Nigerian government is to start paying affected poultry farmers in order to encourage them to report suspicious deaths and stop the spread of the disease.
But the farmers say the amount on offer - 250 naira ($2) per chicken - is less than half of the market value, leading to fears they might not tell the authorities if their birds fall ill.
More than 90 people have died of H5N1 bird flu since the disease's resurgence in December 2003 - most of them in South-East Asia.
Experts say that cross-infection to humans is still relatively rare and usually occurs where people have been in close contact with infected birds.
But they say if the H5N1 strain mutates so it can be passed between humans, it could become a global pandemic, killing millions.
Posted by Publisher at 09:59 AM | Comments (0)
No More Supplementary Budgets, Says FG
Supplementary budgeting by the government has been cancelled in order to promote fiscal responsibility and eliminate distortion in economic policy framework.
By Emele Onu
Snr Finance Correspondent
Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said at the Breakfast Meeting of Corporate Nigeria on Monday that the government would stick to the 2006 budget, which it hopes to implement to the hilt, and that a supplementary vote is not necessary as all development needs have been provided for in the budget.
Supplementary budget is an estimate of public revenue and expenditure made by the executive and passed by the National Assembly for projects not contained in the main budget.
Analysts have argued that making expenditure commitments outside the initial budget smacks of indiscipline and is responsible for the lack of focus in the budgetary system.
Okonjo-Iweala explained in an exclusive interview that the government is conscious of exigencies that may call for funding outside the budget and has provided a contingency vote of N6 billion for minor items.
How to sustain the international credit ratings received by the country recently dominated discussion at the breakfast meeting.
She pledged that the government would ensure that the global confidence in Nigeria’s policy reforms, which informed the favorable ratings, would endure beyond the present administration.
The country’s first international currency and credit ratings were received early this year.
The rating agencies, Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S&P), assigned to Nigeria a “BB-” for long term foreign currency rating and a “BB” for long term local currency rating.
S&P gave it a “B” for short term sovereign credit rating.
The grades are interpreted to mean that Nigeria’s socio economic and political outlook is stable.
Corporate Nigeria is concerned about the sustainability of the ratings on the ground that they are crucial assessment tools for investors and businesses seeking information about the financial risks in developed and emerging markets.
The ratings are also important to local companies that borrow or seek to borrow on international financial markets.
Good sovereign credit ratings mean that indigenous companies can borrow at a lower rate from such markets.
Giving the advantages of the ratings, speakers at the event, including former Minister of Finance, Kalu Idika Kalu, argued for their sustenance through adherence to policy and political reforms as well as improvement in social infrastructure and legal processes.
Possible drawbacks to the sustenance of the ratings, analysts noted, are developments after next year’s general elections when the chief reformers, President Olusegun Obasanjo and his economic team, led by Okonjo-Iweala, are expected to leave office.
Officials of the rating agencies have maintained that in the event of worsening security that threatens oil production or deviation from policy reforms, the ratings could become lower.
But Okonjo-Iweala stressed that the government is keen on bequeathing an enduring policy that would ensure that all the landmarks recorded now would last.
The administration does this by building institutions that will transcend regimes, Iweala stated, and that it lays emphasis on issues like the rule of law, fiscal responsibility and due diligence so that even if personalities change, those foundations for an enduring and progressive state structure would remain.
Posted by Publisher at 09:55 AM | Comments (0)
Police Reforms Com’tte Commences Public Hearing
The Presidential Com-mittee on Police Reform yesterday commenced public hearing in Abuja with corporate organisations and individuals making submissions on how the Nigeria Police Force could be re-positioned to meet modern standards of policing.
From Funmi Peter-Omale in Abuja, 02.27.2006
Speaking at the opening of the two-day event, Chairman of the Committee, Alhaji Muhammadu Danmadami, a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, said the decision of government to set up the committee was because of the rot evident in the Force, noting that the various problems bedevilling the Nigeria Police had hampered its efficiency and effectiveness.
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Commissioner, Mr. Lawrence Alobi appealed to members of the Committee to pay special attention to the needs of the Command, because Abuja is the nation’s capital.
He said, “Abuja being the Federal Capital of Nigeria deserves a special attention in the areas of security and policing. That is why officers and men of the Abuja Police Command work 24/7 to ensure that Abuja is safe and secured for all law abiding citizens. We know that the task of repositioning and re-engineering the Nigeria Police is both daunting and challenging.”
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el Rufai lauded the public hearing, saying it was coming on the heels of a recent threat by junior officers to go on strike, a situation that he described as not auguring well for the nation.
El Rufai who was represented by Engr. Sani Alhassan, Director FCDA, noted that Nigerians, especially residents of the FCT are being given an opportunity to contribute their ideas on the type of Police they desire. “This shows Mr. President as a leader who believes in dialogue and consensus, which are the hall marks of democracy.”
He added that “Since this government came into power in 1999, it has been doing its best to improve the lot of the Police, who were badly treated by the military that saw them as rivals. It was no wonder that Police personnel were forced to stagnate for years without promotion, or training programmes.”
He pledged the FCT Administration’s support to the FCT Command adding that in recent times, the FCTA had donated vehicles, communications equipment and allow-ances, all geared towards ensuring that crimes are either nipped in the bud or detected at points of occurrence.
Groups that made presentations yesterday include the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigeria Police Officers Wives Association (NIPOWA) and Road Transport Employers Association etc.
Posted by Publisher at 09:35 AM | Comments (0)
February 24, 2006
Shell told to pay Nigeria $1.5bn
A Nigerian court has ordered oil giant Shell's local operation to pay $1.5bn to the Ijaw people of the Delta region.
The Ijaw have been fighting since 2000 for compensation for environmental degradation in the oil-rich region.
They took the case to court after Shell refused to make the payment ordered by Nigeria's parliament.
Ijaw militants have staged a spate of attacks against Shell facilities recently and are holding seven foreign oil workers hostage.
Following the violence, Shell - the biggest oil producer in Nigeria - has halved its output from the country.
Shell says it believes there is no evidence to support the claim, and will appeal against the ruling.
A statement said: "We remain committed to dialogue with the Ijaw people."
Warning
Lawyers for the Shell Petroleum Development Company argued in the federal court in Port Harcourt that the joint committee of the National Assembly that made the order in 2000 did not have the power to compel the oil company to make the payment.
But Judge Okechukwu Okeke ruled that since both sides had agreed to go before the National Assembly, the order was binding on both sides.
Ijaw community leader Ngo Nac-Eteli said that if Shell wanted to buy time by taking the case to the appeal court, the company would not be allowed to operate on Ijaw land until the case was settled.
He did not elaborate on how the community would stop Shell's operations.
The BBC's Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar in Port Harcourt says the case has the support both of community elders and the militant groups that have been attacking oil installations in the Delta region.
But our correspondent warns that even if the money is paid, the region would not necessarily be pacified unless the various groups were happy with how it was distributed.
Nigeria is one of the world's biggest oil exporters but despite its oil wealth, many Nigerians live in abject poverty.
Posted by Publisher at 03:27 PM | Comments (1)
Nigeria 'hostage pictures' shown
A Nigerian rebel group has released photographs that appear to show seven of the nine foreign oil workers recently kidnapped in the Niger Delta.
The pictures show men, believed to be the hostages, sitting on a bench with masked gunmen behind them.
The militants - who are campaigning for the rights of the local Ijaw people - have demanded more local control over the region's oil revenues.
Their attacks have led to a 20% drop in Nigeria's oil exports.
The foreign workers - three Americans, two Thais, two Egyptians, a Briton and a Filipino - were seized last Saturday while laying a Shell pipeline.
Earlier this week Nigeria's government said it had assembled a team to negotiate their release.
The nine hostages were working for Willbros, a US engineering firm which is a Shell sub-contractor, in the Forcados river, 50km (30 miles) west of the oil port city of Warri, when they were abducted.
The rebel Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said it launched Saturday's attacks to avenge a series of helicopter strikes on local Ijaw villages.
The Nigerian military said it targeted barges being used by militants to smuggle stolen oil.
Nigeria is Africa's leading oil exporter and the fifth-biggest source of US oil imports.
Posted by Publisher at 03:22 PM | Comments (0)
Steer clear of N/Delta, Ijaw militants warn U.S
IJAW militants yesterday alleged that the United States of America (USA) military personnel have stormed the Niger Delta region following the crises that engulfed the area in recent times.
BISIRIYU OLAOYE, Deputy News Editor
Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) and Warri-Ijaw Peace Monitoring Group, made the allegation in separate statements and warned U.S government to steer clear of the Niger Delta so as not to aggravate the situation.
But the Federal Government reacted swiftly saying that there is absolutely no truth in it.
The groups gave the warning just as another groups, Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) claimed that 40 persons were killed by the operatives of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) in the two attacks on Okerekoko last week.
MEND in a statement signed by Gen. Brutus Ebipadei, threatened not to spare any embassy if any village is attacked by the American soldiers in "Izonland."
"The world should know that we are aware of the American military presence in the Black Wastes of the Niger Delta an issue we consider food for the gods of Izonland!
"Unstiffled as we are, we worry for the families and friends of paratrooper Americans who had been forced to do battle against defenceless Niger Delta widows in the tricky creeks of the Niger Delta region.
Posted by Publisher at 03:12 PM | Comments (0)
Obasanjo orders soldiers to quell riots
* Civil Liberties Organisation puts death toll at 80
* Southerners invade barracks for cover in Katsina
* Onitsha calm, business, social activities resume
* 20 prison inmates return;Abuja police forestall riot
By Kingsley Omonobi, Anayo Okoli & Sam Eyoboka
Posted to the Web: Friday, February 24, 2006
ABUJA — THE Federal Government, yesterday, directed the General Officers Commanding the Army divisions to team up with the police immediately to stop the wave of religious attacks and/or reprisals in parts of the country. Already, soldiers have been deployed on the streets of Onitsha, which was the scene of two days of reprisals against northerners, to check further violence.
The human rights group, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), said yesterday that over 80 people died in the attacks. However, the commercial city was generally calm yesterday.
Meanwhile, hundreds of southerners were still taking refuge in army barracks in Katsina, Maiduguri, Bauchi and Gombe, fearing reprisals after the Onitsha attacks.
Vanguard gathered that the Presidency fearing that the attacks might spread to other parts of the country directed the Chief of Defence Staff, General Alexander Ogomudia, to activate the internal security apparatus of the military for the purpose of quelling the sectarian/religious violence.
Consequently, the Service Chiefs were told to deploy troops to flash points at the slightest hint of possible confrontation.
Army divisions in the North-East and the South-East are particularly to ensure that the violence and killings are brought to an end forthwith.
Explaining why it took long for security agencies to move to quell the religious attacks in Maiduguri and Bauchi which led to the killing of some Christians which led to a reprisal attacks in other parts of the country, the source said: "The truth is that the Police which is the first line of defence reacted slowly to the outbreak of the attacks and this was because they (policemen on ground) were still wondering if their so-called strike would hold or not.
"So, while they were contemplating, the miscreants took advantage of the situation to wreak havoc. What I am telling you started very early and in just about five minutes a lot of damage had been done."
Onitsha calm
However, after two days of the mayhem in Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra State that left in its trail no fewer than 80 persons dead and properties worth millions of Naira destroyed, normalcy has returned to the commercial city. Commercial and social activities resumed yesterday. Markets in Onitsha which were hurriedly shut on Tuesday and Wednesday opened for business yesterday.
Commercial vehicles which were withdrawn from the roads at the peak of the mayhem resumed operations as residents and visitors to the commercial city freely went about their normal businesses.
However, schools in the city remained closed just as the dusk to dawn curfew imposed on the major cities of the state remained.
But the debris left behind by the mayhem were still seen all over the town. There were at least three burnt bodies on the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway between the Zik’s Roundabout and the New Motor spare parts market. One of the charred bodies was said to be that of a mobile policeman. He was said to have been lynched and burnt by miscreants after he allegedly shot at them.
Security in and around the city is still tight. Battle-ready soldiers were yesterday seen patrolling the city to ensure that nobody caused further trouble.
Meanwhile, the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe, yesterday visited the victims of the mayhem at the Onitsha Army Barracks to commiserate with them. Achebe sympathised with them and urged them to be calm, assuring them that help would soon come their way.
80 killed, says CLO
The CLO in Onitsha said no fewer than 80 people died in the Onitsha riots. "We counted 60 bodies on Tuesday and 20 on Wednesday and there could be more," said Emeka Umeh, head of the local chapter of the Lagos-based Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO).
"It was a great massacre that should be condemned by any right-thinking person. Human bodies littered the streets in Onitsha. Even now, bodies can still be found on Upper Iweka road," in the city.
He said the victims had been slaughtered "with machetes, knives, metal objects, clubs and in some instance, even guns." Umeh said two policemen were among the victims, adding that he thought they had died "while trying to save the lives of the Muslims."
20 inmates return
Besides, 20 inmates of the Onitsha prisons who were freed by the angry mob that invaded the prison on Tuesday have voluntarily returned to the prison. Acting Comptroller-General of Prisons, Mr. Uche Kalu, who paid a visit to the state to see for himself what happened commended the freed inmates who voluntary returned to the prison. He described the attack on the prison as devastating and a colossal damage. According to him, the property destroyed were estimated at millions of Naira and will be very difficulty for government to put in place.
Expressing fears and danger of releasing the inmates, Kalu said: "Those who came there and released the inmates were not patriotic. Who were they helping? Armed robbers and murderers and suspects have been released to the society. I can assured you that since yesterday some of them have started operation. Those who released them could be their first victims."
Southerners invade barracks for refuge
Hundreds of southerners sought refuge yesterday in army barracks in Katsina, Maiduguri, Bauchi and Gombe, fearing reprisals following the Onitsha riots. Some 7,000 people were holed up in police stations and military barracks in Katsina alone.
They also feared possible riots over on-going public hearings in Katsina on a possible constitutional amendment seeking to allow President Olusegun Obasanjo a third term.
The Onitsha riots on Tuesday and Wednesday were in response to an earlier attacks on southerners in the north following protests over cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed published in European newspapers.
The barracks presented a chaotic sight with men, women and children sitting under trees as vendors milled around vending food, soft drinks and water.
Police were yesterday also deployed across Katsina’s neighbouring towns, including Kano, Kaduna and Zaria.
"We are on red alert. All state commissioners of police are under instructions to monitor developments and prevent any violence," federal police spokesman Haz Iwendi said.
Abuja police forestall riot
Meanwhile, the Police in Abuja yesterday moved to forestall attempts by some religious groups to cause crisis in the Federal Capital City over what a Moslem cleric described as the circulation of a book written by a Lebanese Christian from Lebanon, containing some derogatory remarks about the holy Prophet Mohammed.
Commissioner of Police in charge of the Federal Capital, Mr Lawrence Alobi, who summoned a meeting with over 100 religious, traditional and community leaders including leaders of thought in Abuja, warned the leaders against inciting any religious or ethnic crisis in the city, pointing out that Police were alert to deal with anybody who takes the law into his hands.
"The purpose of our gathering is to call on residents of Abuja not to be part of the crisis that is happening in other parts of the country. We won’t allow that to happen here. I want to enjoin all FCT residents especially religious and community leaders to preach and ensure peace and tranquillity.
"We will not tolerate anybody bringing hoodlums from any where to come and cause problems here," Alobi said.
PFN tasks Obasanjo on riots
And reacting to the riots, the umbrella body of Pentecostal Christians in Nigeria, yesterday, held an emergency national executive meeting, at the end of which it asked President Olusegun Obasanjo to invoke the powers bestowed upon him to restore peace to the nation.
The PFN which said at least 36 churches were burnt in Maiduguri alone, condemned the reprisal action taken by youths in Onitsha, saying that as Christians, our faith does not accept such retaliatory actions, adding, however, that the said reprisal moves were precipitated by frustration on the part of the people.
It enjoined Christians in the country to remain calm and law-abiding, pointing out that "we cannot in the face of continued provocation guarantee that Christians will not be compelled to take their destiny in their own hands."
Posted by Publisher at 03:11 PM | Comments (1)
Calm return to Onitsha, schools remain shut
RELATIVE calm yesterday returned to Onitsha, Anambra State, after two days of sectarian violence. Other key cities like Awka and Nnewi were affected by the mayhem that broke out following reports of mass killings, looting and torching of Igbos and their property by Moslems in some Northern States.
From Chuks Collins (Awka), Gbenga Akinfenwa (Onitsha) and Biodun-Tomas Davids (Owerri)
But the bodies of dead victims of the crisis still littered Onitsha streets yesterday while public and some private schools remained closed, while students were asked to remain at home until further notice.
The Governor, Chris Ngige, is billed to visit parts of the state particularly Onitsha and Nnewi this morning to assess the situation and appeal to the people to keep the peace.
His earlier call on escaping prisoners to give themselves up yielded results as about 10 of them have reported back to the authorities. Others of northern extraction were said to have run to the 302 Artillery Regiment Onitsha for safety.
Miscreants suspected to be accomplices of the inmates attacked the prisons, overpowered the warders, destroyed the locks and set the in-mates free. The administrative block was also burnt down while valuable records, property and personal effects were set ablaze.
Yesterday, residents were seen counting their losses to the violence. Offices and markets, which were however closed when the riots broke out again opened for normal businesses. The banks still adopted a cautious approach all over the state.
The State Police Commissioner, Mr. Moses Anegbode, said that his men had taken full control of the situation and had been on a 24-hour patrol to ensure that no resident is molested. He declined comments on whether they arrested any suspect during the riots, as he maintained that their concern was to restore peace and security.
The Onitsha military Barracks is still flooded with displaced persons who still took refuge there. They are mostly Moslems, who ran away from their homes in the wake of the riots. They expressed doubts on their safety and chose to remain under the custody of the soldiers pending personal assurance from Ngige and President Olusegun Obasanjo. They were also worried that their Igbo brothers/hosts could become so bitter with them knowing that they had no hands in the killings up north.
Commuter vehicles, private cars returned to the deserted roads while social activities were gradually picking up in the markets.
Meanwhile the Obi of Onitsha, his Royal Majesty, Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe has appealed to the federal and state governments to invoke all the necessary machinery to investigate the causes of acts of violence in various parts of the country and to take necessary steps to prevent a future occurrence.
He also implored all residents of Onitsha to remain calm, peaceful, lawful and respect the rights of other to go about their normal business.
The monarch made appeal yesterday morning when he visited the Army Barrack 302 Artillery Regiment, Onitsha refugee camp for the Hausa.
He noted that the victims might not know the import of the controversy. The Obi added that it was unfortunate that riot happened at the period when the country should be seriously focused on the entrenchment of rule of law, democracy, mutual respect and economic reforms for the improvement in the general well-being of the population.
Earlier in his office, the Commander Onitsha 302 Artillery Regiment, Col. Lucas Logagwoma, said about 5,000 people were taking refuge in the barracks.
He said that Ngige had promised to send in more doctors to treat the injured at the military hospital.
Logagwoma however, denied the rumour that soldiers were used to kill primary school pupils in Awada, a suburb of Onitsha.
About 10 of the 585 inmates that escaped on Wednesday when the prison was set ablaze by youths have returned.
The inmates were set free by youths who claimed to be looking for Hausa in the prison as a reprisal attack of the religious crisis in Maiduguri, Borno State which led to the death of many people and destruction of property.
The Anambra State Deputy Comptroller of Prison Mr. Columbus Omenuko stated this yesterday when the state Comptroller, Alhaji Sule Danyaya visited the prison.
In neighbouring Owerri, the Imo State capital, Hausas are still taking refuge in police barracks, 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze and a few other places secured by the security operatives.
Meanwhile the Secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kaduna State, Reverend Joseph John Hayab, lamented that Nigerians were destroying their future. "What advice do you want me to give them, when they are busy destroying their future, burning their shops and people. What about the advice we had given them. You want me to tell them not to retaliate or what? What advise do you want me to give when some people are making themselves a monopoly of violence, my brother...
As at press time yesterday suya (stick meat) spots manned by Hausa in Owerri remained deserted.
Others selling confectionery in major streets of the state capital also abandoned their spots.
They however converged at Ama Quarters on Douglas Road and Relief Market on Ikenegbu Extension transacting their businesses.
There were no armoured tanks, armed policemen and soldiers in the areas.
Posted by Publisher at 03:10 PM | Comments (1)
Public Hearings End in Secret Meetings; Yoruba elders disown Sec-Gen, oppose 3rd Term
The zonal public hearings organized by the National Assembly Joint Consti-tution Review Committee (JCRC) for the proposed amendments into the 1999 constitution yesterday ended in secret meetings in most centres after opponents of the third term agenda were shut out, while in the North-central and North-west zones, the people stayed away.
By Our Reporters, 02.24.2006
But the JCRC Chairman, Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu, assured Nigerians that his committee had no hidden agenda and that the resolutions to be adopted would represent the views of the people on the contentious issues.
But the public hearings in all the zones disolved into secret meetings yesterday as proponents of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s third term plan lost out at the hearings. (The secret meetings THISDAY sources said were held to strategise on the way forward.
North-East
Despite opposition to the idea, civil society groups, governors of the North East geo-political zone have recommended the amendment of the constitution to extend the tenure of the President and the state governors.
At yesterday’s hearing, Nyame who was the only governor to make the state submission argued that since he had won election to govern the state three times, he was best placed to recommend the amendment to the constitution. He, therefore, suggested that the tenure of the president and state governors be extended to a two term of five years each.
Except the Adamawa State Governor, Mr. Boni Haruna, who neither made an appearance nor sent a representative to the two-day public hearing for the North East zone held at Maiduguri, THISDAY gathered that Alhaji Sherrif Modu Alli of Borno State, Alhaji Muazu Adamu of Bauchi, and Alhaji Danjuma Goje of Gombe state advocated a third term in their presentations which were not read to the public.
Yobe State Governor, Alhaji Abba Ibrahim, in his presentation on the first day of the public hearing had suggested that the clause stipulating two terms of four years each that is currently in the constitution should be expunged so that no tenure will be fixed for the President and the governors.
Similarly, the Deputy National Vice Chairman of the PDP North East, Mr. Paul Wanpana, joined the governors to push for the third term option arguing there was need for continuity and sustainability of the country’s democracy.
Wanpana, whose remarks were punctuated with loud shouts of No! No! No! from the delegates, said he had the mandate of his party and the governors from the zone to present a proposal that the government and people of the zone supports third term. He announced, “they (governors) have made a case to continue because of their performance but that the people should vote them out if they fail in their promises through a democratic process.”
But representatives of civil societies and most of the individuals who made presentations yesterday opposed the option for an extension of tenure for the president and the state governors.
Alhaji Abdulkadir Mijin-yawa from Bauchi State, in his presentation said “We oppose any attempt to review or alter the 1999 constitution for now. It has not been allowed to work and six years is too short a time to discover genuine shortcomings. The framers of the 1999 Constitution did not envisage king-presidents."
South-west
In Osogbo, the event in the South-west geo-political zone ended with most of the individuals and groups, including Yoruba Council of Elders vehemently opposing the third term plot for the President and the governors in their presentations.
Yesterday's session was devoid of the glamour that characterised the opening event on Wednesday as people who commented on the exercise argued that unlike the first part of the event, it was the original public hearing, because it presented the people with the opportunity to air their own views.
The venue, however, became charged when human rights activist, Mr. Bamidele Aturu attacked the governors of the South-west who canvassed the amendment of the constitution to accommodate third term.
Aturu who stood up to represent the association of labour lawyers and coalition of civil society organisations, lambasted the governors, saying, "I sympathise with you governors here . I know that all of you have been handed to the Economic and (Financial Crimes Commission) EFCC. That is why you support third term."
The comment of Aturu hit the governors, Senator Ifeanyi Ararume who presided and the entire participants, most of whom okayed third term for President Obasanjo and governors.
Aturu, vexed by an attempt to shout him down, said the entire programme had been rehearsed while the entire auditorium was thrown into pandemonium until the time allotted to him expired and he had to leave the stage without being allowed to express his views.
Aturu, while condemning the entire exercise, described it as a charade. "You see, these are PDP people. When the President went to Abeokuta, they were all dancing. For me, it is immoral, it is unconstitutional for anybody to say that except a 70 year old man rule Nigeria, Nigeria can't progress.
"The truth is that these governors are being hounded by the EFCC to support third term and I stand by that. Their records are unclean. They can sue me, if they want. I'm opposed to this and I want it to be known to the whole world that there are people in the South-west who are opposed to this charade," Aturu said.
On its own part, the Yoruba Council of Elders, (YCE) yesterday dissociated itself from the purported support for the review of the constitution to accomondate a third term office for the present political office holders in nigeria
YCE after a stormy debate in Ibadan yesterday dissociated the council from the paper presented by its secretary general, Dr Kunle Olajide, during the Constitution review conference held in Osogbo last Wednesday where YCE was said to be in support of the Third term agenda
The Council's President, Major General Adeyinka Adebayo said yesterday in Ibadan that the Council was not in support of the third term agenda. The YCE position contradicted the position of the South west political office hoilders who canvassed for the third term in office during the conference in Osogbo.
The council in its communiqué issued at the end its emergency Central Working Committee meeting in Ibadan signed by Adebayo emphasized that YCE stands by the two term for President and governors as stipulated by the 1999 constitution.
Said he "YCE hereby categorically states that its position of two terms in any executive position of government for governors and president as enunciated in the 1999 constitution remains unchanged and is hereby reaffirmed".
According to YCE, its position on the two term agenda was firm and such be taken as the authentic stand of the council on the issue.
In Oshogbo, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, who represents the Lagos West senatorial district, described Wednesday's event as an organised one by both the federal and the state governments, all in an alleged pursuit of the third term plot. He added that only the individuals and groups who presented memoranda yesterday represented the feelings of the people on the third term agenda.
Speaking on behalf of Yoruba Ward in the South-west, Mr. Ade Osuntoyinbo said the third term agenda was uncalled for, asking: "Why do we need to extend the tenure of the President? The constitution is explanatory enough. We 've seen enough prejudice in the system. Political sentiment must be cast out," he said.
While presenting his memorandum on behalf World Farmers' Association of Nigeria, Ogun State chapter, Chief Femi Coker, who asked for the inclusion of the allocation of 15 per cent of the annual budget to agriculture, in the proposed amendment to the constitution, condemned the National Assembly's approach to the review exercise, saying "the issue of one personality has been brought into this review. Let the people of Nigeria decide what they want. Tying the review of the constitution to one personality is diversionary."
The National Conscience Party (NCP), represented by Alhaji Waheed Lawal lamented the high degree of poverty ravaging the land and canvassed the suspension of the review exercise till the next tenure of government.
According to him, in as much as the President and governors swore to an oath to uphold the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates two terms of four years, reviewing the constitution at this time to accommodate a fresh term amounts to a breach of the oath they swore to, stressing that "two terms of four years is enough for them."
In his closing remark, Hon. Bawa Bwari who presided over the exercise assured participants that the National Assembly would ensure that the wishes of the masses form the basis for the emergence of a reviewed constitution.
Meanwhile, about 32 persons including the leader of United Action for Democracy (UAD), Comrade Abiodun Aremu arrested by the Police on Wednesday, over anti-third term protest were still being detained yesterday.
Reacting to the development, the Oranmiyan group of Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the state condemned the arrest and called on the police to forthwith release the detainees or charge them to court. Also, Afikuyomi condemned the brutal act of the police, who stripped the protesters naked and tied them with their own dresses, saying it was never that bad during the regime of the late General Sani Abacha.
North-Central
In less than one hour, the public hearing on the review of the 1999 constitution holding in Lafia, Nassarawa State for the North Central geo-political zone ended following the dismally low turn out of people to the venue.
Outside the Governor of Nassarawa State, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu and the National Assembly members of the Senator Iyabo Anisulowo-led constitution review committee who arrived the venue of the sitting at about 10:30 am, not more that 100 people attended yesterday's short-lived sitting.
The few people who made presentations had only five minutes to make their contributions. Like Wednesday, the presenters who criticised tenure extension or third term attracted the regulation bell signaling the end of their presentation.
But Governor Adamu in response to a question on the absence of his colleague governors from the zone, affirmed that the exercise was a civic responsibility which did not require mandatory attendance of his colleagues.
"One, it is a civic responsibility. There is nothing compelling anybody or any senator, businessman or farmer from attending any public hearing. If you do not want to attend, it is not compulsory. If you are going to vote tomorrow, you can decide to vote tomorrow or not. Nobody is going to force you to vote. It is the same way that nobody is going to ask any governor why he did not come", he said.
Adamu added "but as a leaders, we have a moral responsibility and we must pass that moral pedestal to show example to our followers and you teach a lot of people and they learn from it. I also do not deceive myself that there are grumbles here and there by some of my colleagues, you cannot take that away from them, they have the right to think the way they want to think", he said.
In his closing remarks, Senator Patrick Osakwe representing Delta State commended the governor for the security arrangement during the exercise in spite of the pre-event security report.
"You will agree with me that we are doing our national duty. Our job as lawmakers is to either amend an existing law or make a new one. This is an example of participatory democracy. It is us and the people that should amend the constitution and at the end of the day, you will see what we will come out with. It is not something you dump in the dustbin", he said.
South-south
As the hearing on the review of the constitution in the South-south geo-political zone ended yesterday in the Rivers State capital, Port Harcourt, the Chairman of the National Assembly Joint Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu said the National Assembly would remain as transparent as possible in handling all issues relating to the review of the 1999 Constitution.
Mantu who gave the assurance yesterday while speaking at the South-south zonal public hearing on the review of the 1999 Constitution held in Port Harcourt, said those holding the wrong notion that there was a hidden agenda underlining the exercise should better do a rethink.
Mantu explained that all the processes involved in the amendment exercise were being done under the full glare of the public with the National Assembly acting as unbiased umpire.
He said when the report would be taken to the National Assembly the process would also be conducted in the open, stressing that their interest is to give Nigerians an enduring Constitution that would enhance and promote democracy in the country.
“The time has come for us to remove all those clauses that still have traces of military handover in the Constitution”, Mantu said and thanked the people of the South-South Geo-political zone for conducting a well attended, most organized and very peaceful public hearing and for showing what he called “sufficient interest” in the exercise.
Mantu told the people of the zone that they have the inalienable right to decide how they should be governed, emphasising that the issue of control of resources must be in the constitution. According to him, the constitution review exercise has given the people of the zone the opportunity to say how much they want to have and how much to be given to others, saying that such an understanding was bound to engender peace and unity in the country.
Mantu, who maintained that if the abundant human and natural resources were managed prudently, poverty would have no place in Nigeria, added that the responsibility for Nigerians now was to fashion a constitution that would be truly Nigerian in content.
In his remarks, the Rivers State Governor, Dr Peter Odili, told members of the committee to adequately reflect the views of the people of the South-south geo-political zone in the report to be submitted to the National Assembly, particularly the issue of resource control.
“Every speaker after speaker has made it clear to you that the issue of resource control is very dear to the hearts of the people”, the governor stressed, contending that their position is borne out of the God-fearing nature of the people.
He explained that the people’s absolute belief in God has given them the conviction that by being kept in the area with such a difficult and harsh terrain, God also decided to put the resources there to ameliorate their difficulties, insisting that in line with the aspiration of the people, God’s intention for them must be reflected in the upcoming constitution.
The Cross River State Governor, Mr. Donald Duke, while aligning himself with the position of some states in the zone on the three terms of four years for President and governors, contended that the argument should not be on tenure but on consistency and sustainability in governance.
Duke noted that the greatest pitfall in the Nation’s Constitution was the complete adoption of the American constitution without regards to the social economic development of both countries and enjoined Nigerians to look for a model that is most suited to its present circumstances.
Delta State governor also made a presentation proposing third term for President and governors.
South-East
Requests for where the additional state recommended for the South East zone by the National Political Reform Conference (NPRC) would be located in the zone dominated the memoranda presented on Thursday at the public hearing of the Sub-Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution at Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital.
In his presentation, President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Prof. Joe Irukwu, said the creation of an additional state for the zone would make for equity and fairness among all the six zones in the country.
While Irukwu would not be drawn to the argument about location, Senator Arthur Nzeribe, representing Orlu Senatorial Zone of Imo, canvassed that the additional state should be carved out from Imo and Anambra and called Orashi State. But Enugu State Deputy Governor, Mr. Okechukwu Itanyi, said the new state, he said should be named Adada State should be carved out from the Nsukka area of his state.
Meanwhile, delegates from Abia and Anambra states, also canvassed that the proposed state should be carved out from their states and named Aba or Ihiala respectively.
Former Senate President, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, in his memorandum requested for the creation of Equity or Etiti state from the five existing states in the zone. According to him, “Equity state is neither an agitation nor a movement. It represents the consciousness for equality, progress, peace and development.”
He said the proposed state should be centrally located with each of the five states of the South East contributing a part of the new state. He suggested that the whole or part of Awgu Division should be taken from Enugu; Okigwe from Imo; Isikwuato from Abia, Orumba from Anambra and Ohaozara from Ebonyi state.
Adding weight to Anyim’s proposal, the National Vice President of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Ozichukwu Fidelis Chukwu supported the creation of the Etiti state, but said that it should not be called Equity state; rather it should be known as Obigbo state.
He said that the proposal for additional state in the South East is not an agitation for state creation, but the resolution of Nigerians who agreed at the NPRC that Ndigbo have been shortchanged, adding that is when the new state is created in this part of the country, “we will have a sense of belonging and we will know that the South East is part of this country.”
However, other groups in the South East advocated for the new state to be carved out from their own states, instead of each of the five states contributing a part to make up the new state.
For instance, the Adada State Movement from Enugu state wanted the new state to be located in the Enugu North Senatorial zone comprising Nsukka, Isiuzo, Udenu, Igboetiti, Igoeze and Uzouwani local government areas.
But Aba people in Abia state insisted on the actualization of the creation of Aba state, which agitation was started by the late Jaja Nwachukwu, pointing out that the state was among the state listed for creation in 1983 by the then National Assembly.
Posted by Publisher at 03:09 PM | Comments (0)
Unite Against Third Term, Rimi Tells North
Former Communications Minister, Abubakar Rimi has asked the North to remain united in the opposition to a review of the 1999 Constitution, warning that to do otherwise may see President Olusegun Obasanjo securing a third term in violation of his oath of office.
By Our Reporters
He spoke as protests and allegations of underhand manipulation trailed the second day of the public hearing organised by the Joint Committee on Constitution Review (JCRC) of the National Assembly.
Ibrahim Mantu, Deputy Senate President and chairnman of the JCRC, however, declared that his committee has shamed its critics and performed creditably contrary to earlier predictions that it would fail.
He said: “We are not in a dark room, we are in the open. The only agenda we have is an open one. If not we would have entered the dark room and come to tell the people what we have decided. No, everybody has the freedom to air his view, at the end of the day, the winners will be those who are more in number”.
Rimi made the call at the second day session of the North West zonal public hearing on constitution review that took place in Katsina on Thursday, warning that without unity, the North and the nation was doomed.
Rimi, a second republic governor of old Kano State and chieftain of the Advanced Congress of Democrats said there was no hope for the North and “genuine democrats” once efforts to amend the constitution succeeds.
Governor Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, also speaking at the Katsina venue, called for inclusion of the enabling law setting up the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in the proposed amendment of the constitution.
Rimi’s advice did not deter proponents of the third term from speaking in favour of the agenda as they took center stage in the six zonal hearings and insisted that their wish for Obasanjo to extend his tenure was legitimate. They did amid protests.
Timothy Ochor, Majority leader of the Benue State House of Assembly kicked against the constitutionality of holding the North Central public hearing in Lafia Nassarawa State.
He did not get the opportunity to voice his anger as he met an empty hall with the business of the session hurriedly concluded.
Ochor, along with those who were at the venue of the hearing before 11am only met workers of the Ibrahim Abacha Youth Centre packing chairs and tidying up the place.
Participants who had been billed to present papers met an empty hall.
Senator Iyabode Anisulowo leader of the organizing team later said participants must not present their positions in person, reiterating that the committee would consider the presentations in the course of preparing its report.
In Abakaliki, Ebonyi State it was hard knocks for Professor Joe Irukwu, President of Ohanaeze who claimed Wednesday that over 50 million Igbo people were in support of Obasanjo extending his tenure beyond May 2007.
Chief Okey Muo Aroh, a chieftain of the Ohanaeze from Anambra state said: “ The position, regarding the three terms of four years each, as presented by Irukwu is his own prefabrication, not our position in Ohanaeze, it was an after thought”
He added: “ I used to respect him, he is one man I used to hold in high esteem. Yesterday, after his saying he had to align with positions of some of the South East Governors, I have not recovered from the shock, I was personally disappointed, he has no reason to alter the position of Ohanaeze, he owes nobody to sacrifice the reputation he built over years to a people that will not be good to him”.
Hyginus Nwanosike another Ohanaeze chieftain from Abia state noted: “But for Governors Orji Uzor Kalu and Chris Ngige of Abia and Anambra states, the Igbo nation would have been brought to total shame. I don’t know if Ohanaeze Ndigbo will survive this mess”.
Irukwu however found an ally in Charles Ugwu, President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) who backed an extension of the President’s tenure despite being booed repeatedly as he spoke at the Women Development Centre (WDC) venue of the event.
But the third term agenda generated more protests led by the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) in Osogbo, venue of the South West hearing, with 22 persons arrested still in police custody.
Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, in his reaction, described the arrest of the people as wicked, unlawful, and a rape of democracy and pledging to take the matter to the National Assembly for intervention.
He said: "It was the National Assembly that called for public hearing all over the six zones and those Houses of Assembly have become National Assembly. People come and watch our proceedings at the Assembly without being molested".
The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and those of Polytechnic [ASUP], National Conscience Party [NCP], religious groups as well as individuals further condemned the arrests in Osogbo.
Former Presidential candidate on the platform of AD/APP, Chief Olu Falae expressed further disappointment at the clamour for the extension of tenure of office of President Obasanjo saying the public sitting seems to have been stage-managed.
But the Deputy National Chairman [South], of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, [PDP], Olabode George faulted the claims of Falae saying they were not mobilised by anyone and said they came on their own.
Governors Jolly Nyame of Taraba State and Adamu Muazu of Bauchi who were absent at Wednesday’s session joined their counterparts from Yobe, Gombe and Borno in calling for tenure extension.
The governors were a minority though as other speakers were against it and called for outright rejection of the review of the constitution.
Twenty delegates to the recent National Political Reforms Conference (NPRC) from the North East jointly signed a document warning of the import of a constitution review and called for outright rejection.
The confab delegates asked the National Assembly and the state governors to distance themselves from “this dubious and criminal act, which is a betrayal of trust.... This country is not on fire and there is nothing in the furnace; any amendment to be made on the 1999 constitution should wait.”
The delegates included Professor Nur Alkali, former Borno Governor Muhammed Goni, Tanko Baba Andammi from Taraba state, Professor Musa Yakubu from Adamawa state, Professor Audu Iris from Borno state, Ibrahim B. Mai-sale from Yobe state and a host of others.
Posted by Publisher at 03:08 PM | Comments (0)
Amending constitution:Kano resolute on opposition
EMINENT persons from Kano state yesterday stormed the venue of the public hearing on 1999 Constitution amendment holding in Katsina and re-affirmed their stand against extension of tenure of the present administration.
Stories from MU’AWUYA B. IDRIS, Katsina
The delegation led by Alhaji Magaji Dambatta (OFR) expressed their view that it is a sheer fraud and rape of democracy for those elected into office on the basis of the definite terms provided for by the constitution to engage in the process of changing such provisions in order to extend their stay in office.
Alhaji Dambatta who read the stand of Kano people before the Joint Committee of National Assembly, explained that amendment of the constitution to extend tenure of political office holders does not only reek of corruption but actually amounts to a fatal subversion of the constitution and the people’s will.
He said it is part of the surreptitious agenda to perpetuate in power became particularly unfolded in the days of the National Conference where it was detected and vehemently opposed.’’
Alhaji Dambatta explained that Kano people opposed zoning of the event, adding: ‘’The limited nature of your public hearing is undemocratic and corrupt by any stretch of imagination and cannot be accepted or be seen to be a serious or well-intentioned attempt, even as a pilot scheme to gauge what view the public holds on the issue.’’
He told the committee members that ‘’conducting the hearing under the watchful eyes of security operatives who have swarmed the city of Katsina and in an atmosphere of intimidation and further curtailment of uninhibited movement of ordinary Nigerians who desire to make point could only dent the credibility of the entire exercise.’’
Dambatta, who is also the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) explained that should the National Assembly by any chance be presented with a recommendation from the Review Committee that was contrary to the popular views of Nigerian, ‘’we are hereby calling the respresentatives of Kano state at National Assembly to take note of Kano’s position and ensure that they abide by it as well as act as the vanguard for its actualisation,’’ he concluded.
Among Kano delegation at the public hearing included former civilian governor of the state, Alhaji (Dr.) Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi and Architect Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya, Alhaji Sule Yahaya Hamma, Alhaji Musa Gwadabe, Alhaji M.T. Bello and Malam Ibrahim Khalil.
Others were Prof. Auwalu Yadudu, Alhaji Kamisu Yola, Engr. Bashir Karaye among others.
Posted by Publisher at 03:08 PM | Comments (0)
Shell evacuates 854 workers
The Anglo-Dutch firm, Shell Petroleum Development Company, has evacuated 854 of its workers from the restive oil fields of the Niger Delta.
Sola Adebayo, Warri
The staff pull-out coincided with mounting pressure on the Delta State Government from the home governments of the nine hostages seized by militants last week.
The foreign governments reportedly wanted the state government to speed up the process of getting the hostages freed, unharmed.
Shell’s evacuation of its staff followed the abduction of the expatriates and destruction of oil installations. The evacuation continued on Thursday.
Although, SPDC did not officially give the number of workers that have been withdrawn, investigations showed that 854 staff were from various offshore locations in its Western Division in Delta State, and the E. A. Fields in Bayelsa State.
The SPDC management had after a meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Sunday night shut down all its production facilities in the areas, resulting in production cutback of 455,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
A subsidiary of the Dutch firm, SNEPCO, also shut down its Sea Eagle Production and evacuated the staff for precautionary reason.
A memorandum by the SPDC’s management on Thursday acknowledged that the militants had suspended hostilities against its interests.
A reliable source in the Emergency Response Command in the SPDC, a unit set up to handle the crisis and evacuate the staff, confirmed in Warri on Thursday that 854 employees had been withdrawn.
The Emergency Response Commander of the SPDC, Mr. Joe Obiohu, could not be reached for comment.
But in a memo to all staff in Lagos, Warri, Port Harcourt and Abuja, on Thursday, Obiohu said the evacuation of field personnel was ongoing.
Investigations by our correspondent on Thursday revealed that diplomats attached to the missions of the embattled expatriates in Nigeria had visited Ibori, to ascertain when their nationals would be freed.
Some of the officials are those of the British High Commission as well as the embassies of the United States of America, Egypt and Thailand.
Our correspondent gathered that the pressure from the foreign countries might have informed the decision by Ibori to relocate temporarily to Warri.
The governor met behind closed doors on Thursday with the Deputy High Commissioner in charge of the British High Commission in Lagos, Mr. Peter Waterworth.
A reliable source at the meeting, told our correspondent that Waterworth said the British Government was demanding accelerated action to free the hostages.
But the Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Sunny Areh, denied that the state was under pressure from foreign countries.
He said, “The government is doing its best to see that the hostages were set free in the next few days.”
THE PUNCH, Friday, February 24, 2006
Posted by Publisher at 03:07 PM | Comments (0)
EFCC arrests Birnin Kudu LG chairman in Jigawa
Stunt looking security operatives from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abuja have stormed Jigawa State and arrested the chairman of Birnin Kudu local government area of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sa’adu Ayuba.
by Hassan A. Karofi / 2006-02-24
Daily Trust reports that the chairman have been entranged in a battle of alleged corruption with some youth organizations in the council that nearly led to break down of law and order some months ago.
Alhaji Sa’adu Ayuba’s arrest came shortly after he returned to Birnin-Kudu from Abuja where he led a deleg-ation to the Independent Elec-toral Commission (INEC) Abuja to submit a petition to recall the member representing Birnin Kudu/Buji federal constituency, Alhaji Farouk Adamu Aliyu.
Our reporter had yesterday spotted men of the commission in the state police headquarters were they were said to have secured the permission of the command who issued a warrant of arrest against the chairman before they swung into action.
Alhaji Sa’adu Ayuba, who is serving the local council for the third consecutive times on the platform of ANPP since it was created in early 70s, until lately a staunch member of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.
Posted by Publisher at 03:06 PM | Comments (0)
Ex-convict saga: Ibori knows fate May 19
The Supreme Court will on May 19 decide whether the incumbent governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, was convicted and sentenced in 1995 by a Bwari Upper Area Court, Abuja, for criminal breach of trust.
In its earlier judgment, the court held that a certain James Onanefe Ibori was, indeed, convicted in the certified true copy of the Bwari Upper Area Court and ordered a de novo trial by an Abuja High Court to unveil the identity of the said convict.
At the trial, presided over byJustice Husseini Mukhtar of the Abuja High Court, the judge, after considering the submissions of counsel for the parties in the suit, came to a conclusion that there was no sufficient evidence before him linking the Delta State governor to the same James Ibori that was convicted in 1995 by the Bwari Upper Area Court.
Justice Husseini also held that the evidence adduced by the star prosecution witness, Anwal Yusuf, who was the judge of the Bwari Upper Area Court, were “contradictory and not credible enough to be relied upon” in coming to a conclusion that it was Governor Ibori that was convicted by him in 1995.
Not satisfied with the decision of the trial court, the plaintiffs, two chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP], Messrs Goodnews Agbi and Anthony Alabi, through their counsel, Chief Gani Fawehinmi [SAN] appealed against the judgment at the Court of Appeal. In its judgment, the appellate court upheld the decision of the trial court while hammering on the inconsistencies and contradictions in the evidence of PWI as the basis of its judgment.
It was at this stage that the matter found its way back to the supreme court where the appellants are asking the apex court to overrule the decisions of the lower courts on the ground that the two courts derailed on the issues before them in reaching their decisions.
Posted by Publisher at 03:04 PM | Comments (0)
NIGERIA: Fighting misconceptions is first hurdle in battle against bird flu
KANO, 24 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - “It’s a government set-up,” “It’s a white man’s disease,” “Getting close to chickens kills.” Since Africa’s first cases of the deadly H5N1 virus were reported in northern Nigeria early this month, rumours, conspiracy theories and scepticism have been rife.
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
And as the federal government steps up the battle to stem the spread of the virus, many Nigerians are still puzzling over what to make of this strange poultry disease that has created such panic in the west.
With national information campaigns not yet off the ground, the leading question is: “Can one still eat chicken?” Yes, say experts interviewed on TV and quoted in national newspapers - bird flu cannot be transmitted even from eating an infected chicken. “Just boil and boil and boil until the flu demon is cooked to death,” one such expert advised.
But here in the mostly Muslim north, where at least 40 poultry farms have been infected, health officials are battling more than just plain ignorance. They also face the deep distrust that many Nigerians have toward their appointed leaders.
It is an attitude some say could contribute to the spread of the disease, which has now been confirmed in seven of the nation’s 36 states, including the capital territory.
“A lot of people think this bird flu is a set-up because they’ve had so many disappointments from the government,” said Faisal Lawal, who owns a business centre in the northern city of Kaduna. “Most people believe that anything from the government has to be self-interested and therefore it’s difficult to get them to believe this bird flu is real. Maybe they’ll believe it after a lot of campaigning. But ask them now and they will tell you: rubbish.”
With Nigeria for years listed as one of the world’s most corrupt countries, much suspicion greeted news of the first confirmed case of bird flu at a poultry farm owned by the country’s Sports Minister Samaila Sambawa. A taxi driver who gave his name only as Timothy said: “It was all stolen money. Now they’ll just steal more.”
And when the government offered to pay out 250 naira (less than two dollars) in compensation for every culled bird, reactions ranged from surprise to anger.
Business centre owner Lawal said he had finally come to believe in the existence of bird flu when officials announced the compensation package. “The government was actually going to pay money? I thought, in that case, it must be real,” he said, laughing.
But poultry farmers say the sum must be increased to keep farmers - 60 percent of them backyard producers - from continuing to bring infected birds onto the market, where they believe they can obtain a better price.
“This is economics,” said Haruna Awalu, chairman of the poultry farmers’ association of Kano. “It will come to a point where farmers will prefer to sell their chickens than declare they are sick, because they will get a bigger margin.”
Launching messages in local languages
Juggling with two mobile phones, Awalu took a steady stream of calls all day from worried farmers. One woman wanted to know how to continue to feed her chickens now, given it was known she would die if she entered the pens. “Really, you won’t die,” Awalu reassured her. “Just wash your hands properly and make sure others stay away from your poultry.”
A lack of campaigns in the local Hausa language remains a reason for concern, said David Heymann of the World Health Organisation (WHO), which is assisting the Nigerian government in combating the virus. “Community perception of this problem has been recognised as a difficult issue,” Heymann said. “Plans are being put together to come up with a message that will be understandable and appropriate - the campaigns clearly have to be tailored to the needs of the community.”
International health authorities fear the H5N1 strain could evolve into a virus affecting humans and have stepped up efforts to stave off a pandemic that could prove deadly. But few believe the Nigerian government is sufficiently equipped to stamp out the bird flu virus, let alone deal with a strain infecting humans.
“Disaster management in Nigeria is almost zero,” said Emmanuel Ijewere, former director of the national Red Cross. “If there’s a major disaster in Nigeria, we won’t be able to cope.”
Compounding the problem is the scepticism aired by some veterinary experts and health officials about the potential danger of the H5N1 virus. One veterinary assistant, for example, who had just destroyed hundreds of chickens on a farm outside Kano, told IRIN on condition of anonymity he didn’t believe it was bird flu at all.
Taking off his gloves and facemask, he opined that the sickness affecting this farm was probably a new strain of Newcastle, a different more common poultry disease.
And he added: “Okay, so everybody thinks it’s bird flu. Now, how many humans have died of that? Less than 200, right? Is that such a big deal?”
This is a point of view shared by many in the north, including poultry farmers, poultry farmers’ chairman Awalu said.
“We live with flu, we laugh about it,” he said. “Many see it as a white man’s disease. You are scared, but we are not. When we talk about health, you guys should be worried for us about malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis and the other diseases that are ravaging Africa.”
[ENDS]
Posted by Publisher at 02:48 PM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2006
Religious crises: Protesters attack Onitsha prisons; 585 inmates escape; Death toll hits 100
THE crisis in Onitsha, Anambra State, yesterday took a dramatic twist as youths still protesting the killings of their kinsmen in the North set ablaze Onitsha prisons and freed 585 inmates.
Also, casualty figure in the crisis which started Tuesday is said to have risen to 100. But in a bid to curtail its spread to other cities, the state government yesterday extended the dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on Onitsha to Awka and Nnewi.
Federal Government has however, appealed for calm, even as it claimed that security agencies have brought the situation in Borno, Katsina and Bauchi under control.
This is even as Lagos State government also yesterday raised alarm over plans by some people to exploit the religious tension in the country to cause violence in the state.
The Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido, has, however, condemned the burning of churches and killing of innocent persons by some Moslems in Borno State.
In Delta State, hundreds of Hausas are now taking refuge in police stations in Asaba, the state capital, for fear of further reprisal attacks by youths from the neighbouring Onitsha.
The Deputy Comptroller of Prisons , Onitsha, Mr. Columbus Omenuko, who confirmed the attack, said that out of 585 inmates in the prison, only nine came back on their own.
The offices in the prisons, including the Deputy Comptroller’s office, the gate lodge, welfare office, computer sets and mattresses numbering over 200, were also set ablaze.
Omenuko added that the mob numbering about 4, 000 attacked the prisons alleging that some Hausas were hiding in the cells.
The Comptroller said the youths insisted on entering the prison, in spite of efforts to convince them that what they had inside the cells were inmates who were all Southerners.
He, said that, despite explanations the mob went round the cells, opened them including the female cells and asked the inmates to escape.
On Tuesday, five people were reported dead while street kiosks belonging to Hausa petty traders scattered in different parts of Onitsha were destroyed.
The crisis escalated yesterday following widespread rumour that some Hausas taking refuge at Onitsha Army Barracks had colluded with uniformed moslem men to kill school children at a primary school in Awada, a suburb of Onitsha, very close to the barracks.
Consequently, all the markets in and around the commercial city including multi-billion naira Onitsha Main Market, the Bridgehead, the market which was the centre of the riot and where the Northern traders have the highest concentration, Old Spare, Ugwagba, Obosi and other markets were closed down.
Pandemonium then ensued as parents rushed to withdraw their children from schools while youths clutching cutlasses, sticks and other dangerous weapons spontaneously started commandeering vehicles and motorbikes which took them to Awada, where the children were said to have been killed.
But efforts to confirm the alleged killing of school children in Awada were unsuccessful as both the Police Commissioner of Anambra State, Mr. Moses Anegbode and the Commander of 302 Artillary Regiment Onitsha, Col. Lucas Logagowoma denied the rumour.
Onitsha yesterday was like a theatre of war with vehicles, commercial motorcycle riders off the road, while street shops and business centres closed down.
Awada the centre of yesterday’s riot was something else as youths from different parts of Onitsha and environs trooped to the place, apparently to revenge the alleged killing of the school children by the Hausas and their uniformed Moslem brothers.
The youths who commandeered commercial vehicles and motorbikes to the area, clutching dangerous weapons were singing anti-Hausa and Military songs in Igbo "Army people will kill us today, they will be tired of killing us".
By yesterday morning, death toll in the Onitsha mayhem had increased with about 100 people feared killed even as soldiers had been drafted to safeguard the Onitsha Bridge.
Corpses littered between Bridgehead and Ogbefere Market Expressway, early yesterday morning. There were corpses at Oduwani Street, between Port-Harcourt Road and St. Jude, Kala, Arewa quarters, Atani Road, and other places.
As at yesterday morning, a large army of youths, took over the major streets of Onitsha, including the bridge through New Parks, Nkpor, Old Market Road, Awka Road, New Market Road searching every vehicle to know if there are Hausas inside, but that was before the rumour which literally shut down Onitsha.
However, the Commander of 302, Artillery Regiment, Onitsha, Col. Lucas Logagowoma, said in a telephone interview said that he has no comment to make now as the picture is not clear. "Please, I have no reaction for the press for now".
The Anambra State Police Commissioner of Police, Mr. Moses Anegbode denied the rumour of the killing of school children in Awada, saying "it is a lie". He said that the police cannot give the casualty figure in the crisis, but assured that the police was in control of the situation even as the youths were still parading the streets as at the time of this report.
Anegbode however said he was in Onitsha Wednesday morning to assess the situation, stating that the town was peaceful and his men were in control.
There was re-inforcement from Asaba Police Command as Anti-Riot Mobile Policemen from Delta State mounted guard at the Asaba end of the Bridge with Amoured Car to avoid further infiltration by rioters into the state.
A statement by senior special assistant on media and publicity to Anambra State governor, Mr Fred Chukwulobe, however, said that Governor Chris Ngige had extended the dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on Onitsha to Awka and Nnewi. The curfew starts from 7pm to 7am.
The statement warned members of the public to desist from spreading rumour mongering as it could escalate the violence, even as it added that the rumour of killing of school children was being investigated.
Information and National Orientation Minister, Mr. Frank Nweke while speaking on the spate of civil unrests stated that government was not expecting any more of such incidence.
Nweke while giving update on the disturbances in Borno, Katsina, Bauchi and Anambra States and the situation in the Niger Delta, appealed for calm and understanding and urged the citizenry to engage in dialogue rather than resort to violence.
"We should not allow matters which could be discussed amicably to move into violence and panic. When you see the details of Federal Government intervention in the Niger Delta area from 1958, you will see that from 1999, everything that has been done in the last six years, has increased to about 300 per cent more above everything the Government did in the preceeding 40 years.
"Frankly speaking one believes that a lot has been done in this area, a lot still needs to be done. The President acknowledges this and that is why he has shown the political will. He has provided the political leadership and the support needed to bring these things about", he noted.
The minister also disclosed that "information available to us is that the states where these disturbances occurred are quiet at the moment. Borno State Governor has shown tremendous leadership there and he has calmed the situation significantly. The same thing with Bauchi and Katsina. Only yesterday (Tuesday) it was Onitsha where the situation has been calmed. The security agencies have of course brought the situation under control and we do not expect any further skirmishes from these places".
Nweke however, appealed "to our people, our compatriots, that the Government of Nigeria has great respect for the faiths professed by different religious groups. However, Government’s position is that even as you profess your faith, you should shun violence and rather embrace peaceful co-existence.
"We believe that this is the way that it should be done. It is not in anybody’s interest that this violence should take place because it is being attended by loss of lives, by destruction of property and it has socio-economic implications. Let us not forget who we are. We are members of one family and in the course of our lives today, we have made friends and built relationships that transcends our various and individual ethnic, cultural and language groups", he added.
Lagos State government said security reports revealed that enemies of peace in the state intend to "aggravate the strong emotions generated by the negative cartoons of Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper to further provoke religious groups and set them against one another.
A statement by the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dele Alake, however, noted that in order to further strengthen the existing interreligious harmony and understanding in the state, Governor Bola Tinubu will meet with religious leaders of all persuasions from all local governments of the state today (Thursday) at state auditorium at 11am.
Addressing newsmen in Sokoto, the Sultan of Sokoto said the burning of churches by some muslims was uncalled for because the Nigerian christians just as their muslim counterparts condemned the blasphemous publication against Prophet Mohammed.
Posted by Publisher at 03:06 PM | Comments (5)
Hostages may be freed tomorrow; FG, Shell lose $27.3m per day
ABUJA— THERE were strong indications in Abuja yesterday that the nine foreign oil workers kidnapped by Ijaw militants may be released in the next 24 hours following Federal Government’s agreement not to carry out any military attack or arrest the kingpins and their foot-soldiers whenever the hostages are released.
By Funmi Komolafe, Omoh Gabriel, Kingsley Omonobi & Victor Ahiuma-Young
Posted to the Web: Thursday, February 23, 2006
The Federal Government is already losing a total of $27.3 million per day to the activities of militants youths in the Niger Delta. From Shell Petroleum Development Company alone, government may have lost a total of $819 million in revenue from oil export as a result of the decision of Shell to shut in a total of 455,000 barrel of crude oil export per day for the month of January alone even as it has evacuated all its 600 workers in its Western division
Reliable security sources told Vanguard that the militants are also basing their commitment to release the hostages on the grounds that a trusted ally of theirs whose identity should be protected is allowed to come for the hostages.
In addition, the hostage takers want the government to guarantee that there will be no reprisal of any sort on them since they kept their promise of not harming the hostages.
Already, President Olusegun Obasanjo who is said to be monitoring the situation closely, is said to have told the Military High Command to create the atmosphere of non-confrontation around the creeks where the hostages are suspected to be held up.
According to the source, “we have reasons to believe that the hostages are so frightened that one or two of them may have fallen ill and the militants knowing the implications of anything happening to them would not want to incur the wrath of the Nigerian government as well as the international community.
FG loses $27.3m
Given an average oil price of $60 per barrel, the country is losing an average of $27.3 million from non export of crude by Shell. In a week, the country would have lost a total of $191.1 million while in a month, the loss would rise to $819 million if the crisis is allowed to linger.
Nigeria, a developing country with a myriad of social economic problem, needs every cent it can earn for developmental purposes. Shell on Tuesday said it had extended force majeure on Nigerian exports from the EA and Forcados fields after a string of militants attacks at the weekend. Forcados and EA off takes have been extended as of today.
Shell declared force majeure on liftings in January after a wave of militants’ attacks but extended it Tuesday after another string of attacks on its facilities at the weekend. The company, which pumps over 40 per cent of Nigeria’s oil, has shut in a total of 455,000 barrels per day as a precaution after militants at the weekend bombed the Forcados terminal, sabotaged two pipelines and kidnapped nine foreign oil workers. The militants snatched the nine oil workers—three Americans, two Egyptians, two Thais, one Filipino, one Briton—from a barge operated by US services company, Willbros, that was working on a Shell project off Forcados.
President Obasanjo, fearing that more attacks against the oil industry will force oil giants to pull out from the winding creeks of the Niger Delta thus leading to greater loss of revenue for the country, has ruled out military action to free the hostages. According to President Obasanjo, “we believe that very, very soon we should be able to reach the hostage takers. We’ve put in place a very powerful committee,” said Abel Oshevire, a spokesman for the Delta State government.
The panel is chaired by Chief Edwin Clark and will seek to contact the Ijaw youths who are holding the oil workers. The Niger Delta militants, in statements to the media, have said the men will not be released, and attacks on oil facilities will not stop until Shell pays $1.5 billion in compensation to polluted Ijaw communities.
On the international oil market scene, European oil refiners were taking the latest disruption to Nigerian crude exports in their stride because of ample supply, despite delays of more than two weeks in Forcados loadings, traders said Monday. Royal Dutch Shell was forced to shut in production feeding Nigeria’s Forcados export terminal and its 115,000 EA oilfield after militants bombed the terminal and sabotaged two pipelines.
Nigerian oil output was reduced last month after armed gunmen kidnapped four oil workers from the offshore EA field. Buyers since then have been looking for replacement barrels. “Refineries have already started working to solve the shortage because the problem started on January11,” a trader said Last month, Shell told traders that loadings of Forcados in the second half of February would be pushed into March, according to market sources. For example, cargoes loading February 19-20 would load March 6-7, and those loading February 17-18 will load March 2-3. It was too early to say whether the rescheduled February loadings will be delayed further as a result of the latest disruption to supply.
In the meantime, refiners have taken measures to substitute the gaps in their supply of Nigerian crude. “There is lots of crude out there besides Forcados,” a trader said.
NLC appeals for hostages’ release
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has appealed to militants holding the oil workers hostage to release them and ensure that no harm is done to the workers even as it acknowledged the political marginalisation of the Niger-Delta people.
In a statement in Abuja yesterday, the NLC president, Mr Adams Oshiomhole said: “The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) wishes to once again passionately appeal for the release of the nine oil workers being held in captivity since last Saturday. We strongly appeal that no harm be done to these workers.
“Oil workers, irrespective of their nationalities, are not responsible for the situation in the Niger Delta or for the immediate grievances being canvassed by our compatriots.
The NLC added that it “recognises that the political marginalisation and colossal injustices suffered by our compatriots in the Niger Delta area are real, legitimate and required to be redressed urgently.”
On efforts by the Federal Government, the NLC said: “While we endorse the strategy of negotiation adopted by the Federal Government, it bears emphasis that redressing the injustices requires fundamental political, welfarist and constitutional solution.”
Posted by Publisher at 02:47 PM | Comments (0)
NPA fraud: PDP challenges EFCC over Bode George
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to make public those involved in the alleged loss of funds at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) between 2001 and 2003 when the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the party, Chief Olabode George, was the chairman of the authority.
In a statement signed by Mr. Muyiwa Collins, publicity secretary of the Lagos State chapter of the party, and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday, the party declared that it was malicious to insinuate that Chief George was the culprit.
The party stated that the attention of its leadership had been drawn to some reports in the media captioned Fraud in NPA, Bode George implicated, published on Wednesday.
It declared that the report was not only malicious and defamatory, but “an attempt to ridicule and embarrass the person of Chief OlabodeGeorge, deputy national chairman (South) of our party.”
According to the PDP, “In as much as we welcome the decision of EFCC and its recommendations, we equally want the EFCC to make public the names of those who actually misappropriated or looted the funds of NPA between 2001 and 2003 and not just because the board was led by Chief George.”
It stated that the party was also not unaware of the fact that some people who were afraid of Chief George would want to use the allegations to smear Chief George’s “good name” before the 2007 elections.
It, therefore, urged its members and supporters nationwide to disregard the publication.
Posted by Publisher at 02:45 PM | Comments (0)
14 States For, 22 Against; Poor attendance nationwide; Adamu: Obasanjo'll go
The controversial issue of a third term of office for President Olusegun Obasanjo and state governors dominated discussions at the public hearings on the proposed amendment to the 1999 constitution yesterday in southern capitals of Osogbo, Abakaliki and Port Harcourt.
By Our Reporters, 02.22.2006
The situation was, however, different in the northern cities of Maiduguri, Katsina and Lafia where proponents of the agenda now sing discordant tunes with Nasarawa State Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, stating that the third term agenda is being canvassed by opponents of Obasanjo to discredit the President.
At the end of day one of the exercise, with states canvassing different positions on the issue, 14 states indicated support for the bid to have the constitution amended to accommodate the contentious proposal while 22 states expressed opposition.
SOUTH-WEST
In the South-west, the five states controlled by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) separately demanded for the deletion of Section 137 sub-section 1 (b) which stops the President and governors who have spent two terms in office from seeking a fresh election.
The Lagos State government and Afenifere, however, told the Senator Ifeanyi Araraume-led zonal sub-committee of the National Assembly Joint Committee on the 1999 Constitution Review (JCCR) that they oppose the amendment of the constitution to provide for a three terms of four years each for the offices of the president and governors.
Apart from the South-west governors, the Yoruba Council of Elders; the National Association of Nigerian Students; the Integrated Supporters of Obasanjo and several other nascent groupings also sought for a provision that will not limit terms of office for the president and governors.
But it was a rough day for the United Action for Democracy (UAD) convener, Comrade Abiodun Aremu; the South-west coordinator of the group, Comrade Wale Balogun, as well as about 30 members of the UAD who protested against third term at the gate of the Osun State House of Assembly.
Osun State Counsel, Otunba Kunle Kalejaiye, who presented the position of the state canvassed the deletion of Section 137 Sub-section 1 (b) arguing that “the choices of the electorate must not be hampered.
“The sifting and draining processes of our political system makes the present position not only limited in application but absolutely unwarranted. A previous holder ought to be allowed to contest and should be accepted if his popularity and acceptability rating is high,” he argued.
The Osun State counsel therefore sought for the amendment of Section 135 Sub-sections 1 and 2 to allow for two terms of five years each. For the position of the Vice President, the host state sought for the amendment of Section 141 thus; “there shall be for the federation two vice presidents. One from the zone of the President and the other from the opposite zone to the President.”
The State also sought the amendment of Section 146 Subsection 1 to read: “the Vice President from the same geo-political zone as the President shall hold office of President if the office of the President becomes vacant by reason of death or resignation, impeachment, permanent incapacity or the removal of the President from office in accordance with section 143 of this constitution.”
On the controversial Section 308 which dwells on immunity for the persons occupying the offices of the President and his deputy; state governors and their deputies, Kalejaiye argued that “there is no need for the removal of the immunity clause for governors. Time is no bar in criminal cases. More importantly the proviso to Section 308 (1) (C) defeats a plea of limitation in civil matters.
“A proviso is however suggested to Section 308 (1) (b) thus: “Provided and always that a person to whom this section may be investigated on account of an allegation or a complaint of corrupt practices or indictable offences during the period of office.”
However, Lagos State, which was represented at the hearing by the House of Assembly Speaker, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, apart from opposing the third term bid, canvassed the inclusion of VAT and Property Tax in the derivation allocation of the Federal Government.
Senator Femi Okunrounmu, who represented Afenifere, apart from calling for a 50 per cent increase in the derivation fund to states, also opposed third term while Ondo State asked for increase to 25 per cent.
Meanwhile, the members of UAD, who were arrested, had denounced third term and massed at the gate of the House of Assembly where they sang anti-Obasanjo administration songs.
Apart from the host governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, other governors present were; Olusegun Agagu (Ondo); Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose and his deputy, Hon. Biodun Olujinmi; the Deputy governor of Ogun State, Alhaja Salimotu Badaru.
NORTH CENTRAL
In the North central, governors of Niger, Plateau and Benue States yesterday boycotted the on-going public hearing on the review of the 1999 constitution holding in Lafia, the Nassarawa State capital. The governors did not send any representatives to the heavily guarded Ibrahim Abacha Youth Center, Lafia, venue of the hearing.
Although governors Bukola Saraki of Kwara, Deputy governor of Niger state, and the host governor of Nasarawa state Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu attended the public hearing, their counterparts in Kogi, Plateau and Benue states did not attend the occasion.
In a dramatic twist, however, the leader of the Niger State delegation, Major General Idris Garba (rtd) was rudely interrupted by the host Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, who ordered that he be walked out of the venue by security operatives.
Although Niger State Deputy Governor, Dr Shem Zagbayi Nuhu, was present and declared that the retired general was the leader of the state delegation, Governor Adamu insisted that he breached the protocol as he was neither the governor nor the deputy governor of Niger State.
General Garba had said that “Niger State is not in support of wholesome amendments and inclusion of new provisions that have not been subjected to wider consultations at the state and local government levels. Accordingly, Niger State supports only piecemeal approach to the proposed amendment to be limited to only those issues or areas, if which amended, will further foster unity, progress and stability in the country”, he said.
He further noted that it is the position of Niger State that in order for government to demonstrate its good faith and allay the fears and skepticism of the general public, the proposed amendments if made should not take effect during the life of the present administration. It should be left to the in-coming administration to effect it. In other words, the present administration should not be seen as beneficiaries of the amendment they have carried out”. This he said before he was whisked out of the venue by security operatives.
In his submission, Adamu who was flanked by Saraki said the exercise was not driven by the alleged desire to secure a third term for President Olusegun Obasanjo insisting that the President would leave office in 2007.
“As far as I know, he has not told anyone of his intention to extend the term limit imposed by the constitution. Indeed, he has repeatedly said that he would respect the constitution. But those who are bent on proving that he indeed is the unseen hand behind the constitutional amendments tell us that his body language is inconsistent with his tongue on this matter”, he said.
As one of the actors on the present political stage, he noted, “I know that the President always says what he means and means what he says. He is not given to speaking from both sides of the mouth. Bluntness has always been his trade mark. I believe that if he intends to sit tight, he would not be afraid to say so”.
He said “the third term agenda was sold by dissidents and former members of the PDP, bought by the press and sustained by those who chose to hitch their political relevance to this lonely wagon. When the time comes, the President will prove that the opponents of the third term agenda have spent their time and energy battling smoke without fire”.
The Benue State House of Assembly had Tuesday passed a motion declaring official boycott of the occasion by the state. They had faulted the procedure and the constitutionality of the entire event saying it violates the provisions of the constitution.
However despite the official boycott declared by the Benue Assembly, the leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in Benue defied the ban order and attended the review. Politicians and leadership of the ruling PDP in other where their governors did not attend also attended the occasion and made presentations.
The Benue PDP delegation was led by Secretary of the party Chief Samuel Ortom, while the people of the state were led by Chief Abu King Shuluwa. Even members of the State House of Assembly who had passed the motion also attended the occasion.
Leader Joint National Assembly Constitution Review Committee, Senator Iyabode Anisoluwo who led 13 other National Assembly members guide proceedings said the public hearing was being conducted at the zonal level because “in the last National Assembly, public hearing was conducted in each of the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), making it unnecessary to repeat the pattern now given the fact that we have enough evidence to flag off the review and necessary amendments desired for the Nigerian people.”
SOUTH EAST
In Abakaliki, the five governors of the South East openly disagreed on the controversial third term of the office of the president and the governors.
Three states of Ebonyi, Imo and Enugu advocated for three terms of office of four years each for the offices of the president and governors at the public hearing, while Abia and Anambra insisted on two terms of four years as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.
The position of the apex Igbo socio-political organization, Ohanaeze on the other hand was unclear as the memorandum earlier submitted by the body to the sub-committee supported two term of four years, whereas the President-General of the organization, Professor Joe Irukwu, in his oral presentation announced that the organization supports the position of the three states of Ebonyi, Imo and Enugu on the issue of the tenure of office for the president and the governors.
In the memorandum presented by Ebonyi state, which was read by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Ozo Nweke Ozo, the state justified its advocacy for another tenure of four years for the president and the governors, noting that that was a way of safeguarding the nation's new democracy and consolidating the on-going economic reform programmes of the President, citing examples from Malaysia and Singapore, stating that these countries had a similar experience and this was the strategy adopted to develop a virile, democratic system.
All the governors of the zone advocated that the presidency should rotate among the six geo-political zones of the South-South, South East, South West; North East, North West and North Central, adding that the South East would take the next shot at the presidency at the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent.
They also agree that the six zonal structures should be enshrined in the constitution as they have already been serving as a platform for political representation and interaction.
The states of the zone also unanimously advocated for creation of additional state in the South East, saying that Nigerians had consented to this request during the National Political Reform Conference last year, but there was a disagreement on where the proposed state would be carved out from.
But the location of the proposed state became a contentious issue as each state expre