April 02, 2008

2008 Budget: Presidency denies receiving harmonised copy

By Ihuoma Chiedozie, Abuja
Published: Wednesday, 2 Apr 2008

Indications of further delays in the passage of the 2008 Appropriation Bill emerged on Tuesday when the Presidency denied reports that the National Assembly has sent the harmonised copy of the budget to the President for assent.

There were reports on Tuesday that the National Assembly has at last forwarded a full document of the Appropriation Bill to President Umaru Yar’Adua following his insistence on scrutinising the entire budget document before signing it into law.

The reports had it that the Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, said that the budget had been sent to the President.

However, contrary to these reports, a source in the Presidency informed our correspondent on Tuesday that the Presidency had not received the document.

According to the source, “The document is yet to reach the President through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice for vetting and final assent.”

The source went ahead to suggest that reports that the harmonised budget was in the President’s possession could be part of attempts to blackmail Yar’Adua, and lay the blame for late passage of the budget on him.

He said, “The document has not reached the President or any of his ministers. We do not know who is peddling this rumour and I think it is all designed to put the blame for the delay in signing the budget on the President.”

The source added that the President was worried over the continuing delay in the passage of the 2008 Appropriation Bill.

“The President himself is really getting worried over the whole thing. We do not really know what the problems are that the lawmakers are delaying the submission of the comprehensive copy of the harmonised budget,” he said.

The latest development has cast doubts on expectations in the Presidential Villa that the budget would be passed this week.

The continuing impasse over the 2008 Appropriation Bill ensued after the President demanded that the lawmakers must review the budget after they raised it from the original N2.5tn to N2.8tn.

The two institutions seemed to have found a middle ground after the National Assembly conceded to this demand and reduced the budget to N2.7tn on March 12, 2008, but that was only the beginning of another stalemate as the President refused to sign the Appropriation Bill without receiving the full copy of the harmonised document, which the National Assembly had not been able to provide.

In the same vein, there were also indications in the Presidential Villa on Tuesday that the Federal Government may soon begin the prosecution of public officials found culpable in the ongoing probe by the House of Representatives into the power sector.

The source said that the Federal Government may not wait for the report of the House of Representatives Committee on Power, which is currently probing about $16bn spent in the power sector between 1999 and 2007 without commensurate result.

The source said that the Ministry of Justice would still go ahead with the prosecution even if the committee failed to make its report available to the President.

According to him, the AGF would not need any prior authorisation from the President since the Yar’Adua administration believes in the rule of law.

The source said that the Federal Ministry of Justice stationed some of its officials at the public hearing sessions to record every bit of information that emerged from the proceedings.

The source said that these recordings, as well as documents gathered in the course of the hearings, would come in handy during the prosecutions.

“It is now that Nigerians will see the real war against corruption. We are going to use what people said during the probe against them.

“The Attorney-General of the Federation is poised to show Nigerians how a genuine war against corruption can be fought. Nobody who has a case to answer from that probe will be left out,” he said.

Posted by Publisher at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)

March 26, 2008

FG to reduce military presence in N’Delta – Kingibe

The heavy military presence in the Niger Delta will soon be reduced, the Secretary of the Government of Federation, Ambassador Baba Gana-Kingibe, said on Tuesday.

By Obinna Ezeobi, Abuja
Published: Wednesday, 26 Mar 2008

Delivering the opening address at the 9th gathering of the Gulf of Guinea Security Strategy meeting in Abuja, Kingibe said the Federal Government would soon announce a programme of action to scale down military presence in the region.

According to him, the programme was a product of the dialogue which government held with the restive groups in the Niger Delta.

“The security situation in the region has considerably improved although there are occasional cases of criminal attacks and clashes with security personnel,” he added.

The SGF said that the Federal Government would continue with President Umaru Yar’ Adua’s code of accountability in the allocation and application of funds voted in the 2008 budget for the Niger Delta Developmet Commission.

He added, “The present administration believes that issues of sustainable development, engagement of the militia, economic empowerment, the security of persons, installations and properties and the enthronement of law and order constitute the vital levers of creating the necessary environment for sustainable development.

“The key pillar of this environment is the question of law and order. In this regard, the revitalisation programme of the Joint Task Force is ongoing and continuously being reviewed.”

Posted by Publisher at 02:25 PM | Comments (0)

August 25, 2007

National Assembly to amend NYSC law –Rep

A member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dele Obadina, on Friday said the National Assembly would amend the law that established the National Youth Service Corps.

By Niyi Odebode, Abeokuta
Published: Saturday, 25 Aug 2007

Obadina, in an interview with journalists in Abeokuta, said the law would be amended to make the NYSC scheme more responsive to current realities in the country. The lawmaker, who represents Ifo/Ewekoro Constituency in the House of Representatives, said, “The law is the same as it was 25 years ago. You cannot compare the number of graduates now to what we had 25 years ago. Definitely, the law must be amended.”

Obadina, a member of the House Committee on Science and Technology, identified poor implementation of budgets as a major problem in Nigeria. He said the Federal Government must improve its budget implementation record while the National Assembly must intensify its oversight functions on the executive.

The lawmaker expressed confidence in President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, saying, “Mr. President is an embodiment of a new Nigeria. He handles serious issues with less talk. There are a lot of things that are happening behind the scene. He has set his agenda.”

Posted by Publisher at 03:13 PM | Comments (0)

We should avoid sentiment –NESG DG

The Director-General, Nigeria Economic Summit Group, Mansur Ahmed, said: “It may not be right to make comments based on sentiments or immediate reactions. That is why when issues like that come up, we prefer to study the proposal very carefully.

By Agncy Reporter
Published: Saturday, 25 Aug 2007

“On its own, the currency reform issue is not a major issue because it does not really change anything. But our concern is that the extent of its effect on the economic sector will depend on how people perceive it. If people perceive it wrongly, then of course, it will have a counter-productive result.

“In the market, and especially among the ordinary people, this movement may not be fully understood. And if it is not properly understood, it can generate unnecessary inflationary pressure.

“Secondly, we feel that right now, there are a lot more strategic issues that we need to concentrate on to stabilise the economy and to put it on a firm holding.

“The key issue affecting our economy is the low level of production, especially in the manufacturing sector. And I do not see that this particular policy will have any immediate impact on that. It may have some benefits to the banking industry because their costs will come down considerably.

“But if it does not really impact the productive sector positively and therefore not contribute to improved productivity in the economy, its immediate value has to be seen in the context of what costs did we incur in putting it in place in the first instance.”

What are the risks underlying the implementation of that policy?

“If people do not understand it and if they are not able to adjust their behaviour in response to the change, it may also have a negative impact on productivity.

“On the whole, we believe that even if the policy has some benefits, perhaps, it is not the most important thing we should be focusing on right now. We should be focusing of policies that have positive impact on productivity and on employment.”

Posted by Publisher at 03:12 PM | Comments (0)

Yar’Adua pledges better security

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on Friday assured the international community that his administration was working to improve the security situation across the country.

By Ihuoma Chiedozie
Saturday, 25 Aug 2007

The President made the pledge when he received the out-going Ambassador of the Republic of Finland, Ms. Anna-Liisa Korhonen, at the State House. Yar’Adua also expressed the conviction that his administration’s efforts to restore normalcy to the Niger Delta region will soon begin to yield the desired results.

He thanked Korhonen for bringing “a new lease of life to Nigerian-Finnish” relations through the strengthening of bilateral cooperation. He informed the outgoing ambassador that the current economic reforms and his administration’s insistence on the rule of law were geared toward providing a “solid foundation for the transformation of our economy and reaching the set-goal of making the country one of the 20 biggest economies in the world by 2020.”

Korhonen had earlier expressed delight at the prominent positions being occupied by women in the current administration and promised to invite more Finnish companies to Nigeria.

In a related development, Rivers State Governor, Chief Celestine Omehia on Friday restated that the security situation in Port Harcourt was under control. Omehia, who spoke at the State House, Abuja after a closed door meeting with the President, said there was no cause for an emergency rule in the state.

He said security agencies would hunt for the hoodlums who fled the city in the wake of the recent military operation by the armed forces. He said, “It is true that all of them have not been arrested; some of them are on the run. But the fact remains that they have escaped for their dear lives.”

Commenting on the continued call for emergency rule in Rivers State from an Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, Omehia noted that the the former Information minister was not even an indigene of Rivers State. He said, “But he is an elder statesman. I wouldn’t say that he was naïve or ignorant or senseless in what he is calling for, or that he is a political enemy. I would only say that he is not being properly informed.”

Also on Friday, Saturday Punch gathered that about 12 suspected cultists were killed on Thursday night by men of the Joint Task Force during an operation in Tombia, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Saturday Punch gathered from a source in the area that the JTF operatives had embarked on a patrol through the Iwofe axis of the city on Thursday evening. He said they went towards the Iwofe Jetty, which leads to Tombia and some other riverine communities of the state, in search of suspected cultists.

He said, “We saw two vehicles filled with the (JTF) men, one bearing a red flag and the other bearing a white flag. They went to board through the Iwofe Jetty. It was this morning that we started hearing that they actually went for suspected cultists and that they killed many of them in the process.”

The spokesman of the 2 Amphibious Brigade in Port Harcourt, Major Sagir Musa, confirmed there was an operation in the area and that it was part of the ongoing peace and security arrangement in the state. He, however, could not confirm the number of casualties or arrests.

Posted by Publisher at 02:44 PM | Comments (0)

July 30, 2007

I lost my certificates to inferno – VP

Vice-president Goodluck Jonathan has said that he lost his certificates during the attack on his country home, Otuoke, Bayelsa State by gunmen in May.

By Agency Reporter
Published: Monday, 30 Jul 2007

Jonathan, at an interactive session with newsmen in Yenagoa on Saturday, also debunked rumours that he lost thousands of foreign currencies to the incident.

He said, “I kept my certificates here (Yenagoa) until after the Independent National Electoral Commission’s screening of the candidates for the April 21 elections.

“When I wanted to travel to the United States, I said that they should send my certificates to my house in Kpansia.

“But the young person I gave the directive misunderstood me. So, he took the certificates to my village house.

“Of course, the keys used to stay with the housekeeper. So, I don‘t think that I will get that kind of money (foreign currencies) to go and dump there (Otuoke) and then leave the house open.”

Jonathan said that the whole building would have been brought down if not for sympathisers who used pumping machines with long hoses to put out the inferno.

He said, “Everything in my bedroom was burnt but people say that there was money, and that only the money did not burn. I don‘t know whether there was a safe in that house.

The gunmen invaded the home of the vice-president shortly after his election and burnt a part of the building.

A security post in the house was also burnt and a Honda Accord in the premises vandalised.

The incident forced the VP’s mother to flee to a neighbouring community on a speed boat.

Posted by Publisher at 09:38 AM | Comments (0)

ICPC may investigate NNPC over alleged N300bn deal

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission may soon launch a probe into the activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission over an alleged N300bn shady deal.

By Olalekan Adetayo
Published: Monday, 23 Jul 2007

A human rights organisation, Campaign for Democracy, had in 2006 petitioned the former President of the Senate, Chief Ken Nnamani, that although 450,000 barrel per day of crude oil were allocated to the NNPC to be refined for local consumption, however all the refineries in the country as at the time could only refine 150,000 barrel daily.

Specifically, the CD cited as a constitutional breach ”the N300bn shady deal in the NNPC when 450,000 barrel per day of crude oil were allocated to NNPC to be refined for local consumption whereas all the refineries in the country could only refine 150,000 barrel per day.”

The organisation, in the petition by its President, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin; and Secretary, Mr. Solomon Sobade, further alleged that the sale of the balance of 300,000 barrel per day could not be properly accounted for.

This and many other allegations were what the CD compiled as constitutional breaches by the Executive arm of government under former President Olusegun Obasanjo and forwarded to Nnamani.

The then Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Masari, as well as the chairmen of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the ICPC and the Code of Conduct Bureau were also copied.

The ICPC, in its response, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent on Sunday, said it could only look into the NNPC‘s case as other constitutional breaches mentioned in the petition did not fall under the purview of the commission‘s enabling act, the ICPC Act 2000.

In the reply by Ibrahim A. Garba on behalf of the commission‘s chairman and dated April 26, 2007, the ICPC said, ”Only the allegation that NNPC is being allocated 450, 000 barrels of crude oil and not accounting for 300,000 barrels out of this number points to a probable breach of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act.

”The commission is therefore giving it serious consideration. While commending you for your interest in ensuring a better and more decent Nigeria, please accept the assurances of the Hon. Chairman‘s highest regards and esteem.”

Joe-Odumakin told our correspondent that she took delivery of the ICPC‘s response on Wednesday.

She recalled that her organisation‘s role in the country and enthroning democracy.

She regretted that the situation in the country as at last year when the CD wrote the petition was an aberration and far from the type of democracy envisaged by those who sacrificed for an end to military rule.

Posted by Publisher at 09:37 AM | Comments (0)

Daramola: OPC leader opens up on Fayose

The Ekiti State Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress, Mr. Adeniyi Adedipe, on Sunday confessed that he and some elders of the state cooked up spurious allegations against a former governor of the state, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, to ensure his removal from office.

By Olalekan Adetayo
Published: Monday, 30 Jul 2007

Specifically, Adedipe said the elders prevailed on him to make confessional statements to the police in order to make Nigerians believe that the former governor was responsible for the killing of a governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Dr. Ayo Daramola, and an attack on a former Executive Chairman of Ado-Ekiti Local Government, Mr. Taiye Fasuba.

But, in her reaction to the development, Daramola‘s widow, Kehinde, said she had left everything to God who would fight for her.

”I am leaving everything to God. I don‘t want to get involved in all this. I don‘t even know this Adeniyi Adedipe you are talking about…I am not a politician and I don‘t want to get involved. I believe that my God will fight for me,” she said.

Adedipe, who was one of the personal aides to Fayose‘s Chief of Staff, spoke and made available to journalists in Lagos a 23-paragraph affidavit he swore to at the Lagos High Court to back up his confession.

The OPC leader, who spoke in the presence of his lawyer, Mr. Segun Arowoyele, said, ”The time has come for me to set my conscience free from the burden of evil and malice for which I have involved myself with some powerful individuals in Ekiti. It is without doubt that Governor Ayo Fayose offended some of us and some leaders with which I pitted my tent and we agreed to deal with him.”

He alleged he was taken to the Presidency where he was told that the attacks on Daramola and Fasuba were opportunities to ”influence, intimidate and manipulate” the state House of Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against the former governor.

He said he was advised by some officials in the Presidency to present some members of the OPC who would give statements to the police that he and Fayose conspired with them to carry out the nefarious acts.

This, he added, was done with an agreement that the OPC members would be released from police custody and the case closed immediately after the ex-governor was removed.

Adedipe added that it was in the light of the agreement that he contacted these OPC members — Akinwale Fadairo, Babatunde Adebayo, Dele Ogunleye, Ariwajoye Francis, Ajayi Ola, Adedomi Odunayo and Deji Abegunde.

These OPC members are currently standing trial for attempted murder at the Ekiti State High Court.

He said he was shocked that contrary to their earlier agreement, after the removal of Fayose, Adebayo, Ogunleye, Francis, Ola, Odunayo and Abegunde were charged to court for attempted murder.

He said that when he and an elder of the state approached the police management on the issue, a former police officer said that ”there was pressure from Ekiti people” and as such, he could not ask that they be released.

Adedipe said that having handed over the case to the state government, the government wanted him to be its star witness and establish that Fayose conspired to attack Fasuba in a case pending at the Ekiti State High Court.

The OPC leader insisted that Fayose did not at any time conspire with him to attack Fasuba and Daramola.

He said that Fasuba confirmed during a parade of the OPC members in Abuja that none of the men paraded was part of those who attacked him.

He vowed to mention venues of meetings and individuals present at every meeting if there was any denial of the confessions he made by the police because ”I can‘t die of this guilt without confession.”

He apologised to the people of the state for the role he played in the crisis.

Posted by Publisher at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)

Probe ThisDay deputy editor’s death

The Lagos State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists has called for a thorough investigation by security agencies into the circumstances surrounding the sudden and mysterious death of Mr. Samuel Famakinwa, deputy editor of ThisDay.

By Agency Reporter
Published: Monday, 30 Jul 2007

In a statement, the Council said the investigation was expedient as the body of Famakinwa was discovered on the night of Thursday, July 26, 2007, 24 clear hours after his return to his hotel room in Maiduguri, by his host, the Borno State government and the management of the hotel.

The council said, “While we await the outcome of the autopsy report, we ask God to give his immediate family and the ThisDay family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”

In commiserating with the family of the deceased and the entire staff and management of ThisDay Newspapers, Lagos NUJ implores government to beef up security in the country, as Nigeria is increasingly sliding into a jungle.

Meanwhile, Dr. Andy Uba has commiserated with ThisDay management on the death of Famakinwa.

He said in a statement, “May I, on behalf my family, convey my condolences over the death of your deputy editor, Mr. Samuel Famakinwa, late Thursday night in Maiduguri, Borno State.

“The death of your deputy editor in yet-to-be ascertained circumstances, no doubt, is a huge loss to his family, THISDAY and journalism practice in Nigeria, nay Africa.”

Posted by Publisher at 09:35 AM | Comments (0)

We are ignorant about energy sector –Ministers

The three newly appointed ministers of state in the energy sector confessed on Friday that they were ignorant of the intricacies of the industry.

By Obinna Ezeobi, Abuja
Published: Monday, 30 Jul 2007

Speaking after a meeting with the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy, Alhaji Sadiq Mahmud and other key officials, the ministers said that they had different backgrounds which they admitted, were not related to energy.

They said they would, therefore, rely on the staff and experts in the ministry and its parastatals to achieve results.

Some industry analysts had earlier expressed worry over the appointments, wondering why Yar’Adua did not appoint energy technocrats to man the sector, considering its importance and the ailing state of the facilities in sector.

The ministers are, Mrs. Fatima Balaraba Ibrahim (Power); Mr. Henry Odein Ajumogobia (Petroleum); and Emmanuel Olatunde Odusina (Gas).

But despite their handicap, the ministers promised to pursue the Federal Government’s policy thrust on energy and bring about the most desired results as soon as possible.

They added that a retreat with Yar’Adua at the weekend, would reveal the minds and direction of government on how the results would be achieved.

According to the Minister of State for Power, Ibrahim, “The importance of the energy ministry cannot be overemphasised. Nigerians are very impatient people who are interested in seeing results within a short time.

“The sector has been erratic but we must deliver. Power is strategic without which nothing functions in this country and is the vehicle for economic development. It is not going to be easy but we must try to fix it.”

On his part, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ajumogobia, said, “We are all new to this business but we are all bringing fresh perspectives to the sector. What we need is a road map on the way forward.”

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Gas, Odusina said the team must make things happen.

According to him, “The Yar’Adua’s administration has a seven-point agenda. This sector contributes 95 per cent to the revenue of the nation. In order to accelerate the execution of these policies, we are going to ensure that things are done as soon as possible.”

In his presentation to the ministers, Mahmud said the portfolios in the energy sector were extensive and that this was the reason behind the appointment of three ministers with the President himself as the substantive minister.

He said, “In the power sector, we are looking at generating 25,000 megawatts but we are still hovering between 3,000MW.

“In petroleum, even though oil was discovered in 1958, we are yet to get to our desired level and the challenges are daunting. In gas, our gas resource is bigger than the rest of the world with Nigeria being next to Venezuela. It is of utmost importance that we develop our resources.”

Posted by Publisher at 09:34 AM | Comments (0)

July 23, 2007

Burnt palace: PDP, AC trade insults

The Peoples Democratic Party and the Action Congress in Osun State on Sunday traded insults on the burnt palace of the Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran.

By Geoffrey Ekenna and Muskiliu Mojeed
Published: Monday, 23 Jul 2007

While the PDP absolved itself of any blames and called for urgent investigation into the matter, the Oranmiyan, the political group of the Action Congress governorship candidate in the April 14 election in the state, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, alleged that Ijesha people might have been punished for voting massively for the AC in the election.

In a statement made available to our correspondent on Sunday, the Chairman of the PDP in the state, Alhaji Ademola Rasaq, also condemned Aregbesola for insinuating that the inferno might have been politically motivated.

Rasaq, who said that the fire incident should be seen as a tragedy and general loss to all Yoruba people, also called on the state government and the relevant security agencies to urgently investigate the cause of the incident and bring those found guilty to book.

He, however, said it was unfair for Aregbesola to insinuate in a newspaper interview, (not THE PUNCH) that he knew those behind the incident.

Rasaq said,”Mr. Aregbesola said he knew the perpetrators. Security agencies should then get him to furnish them with the relevant information on the culprits. His statement was as irresponsible as it was clearly pre-emptive of police investigations.

”We have every cause to believe that this desperate politician can go to any length to pursue his inordinate ambition to be governor. That is why we ask the police and other security agencies to invite him to shed light on what he claimed he knew on the unfortunate incident.”

The party further said that the palaces of monarchs were sacred places to an average Yoruba man which could not be destroyed for mere political reasons.

But in its statement, Oranmiyan also called for an urgent investigation of the inferno.

It also called on well-meaning sons and daughters of Ijeshaland and their friends to come to the aid of the monarch.

It said,”Oranmiyan hoped that the Ijesha people are not being targetted and severely punished for their decision to vote massively for the Action Congress and its governorship candidate, Engineer Rauf Aregbesola, in the last general elections.

Posted by Publisher at 12:23 PM | Comments (0)

July 17, 2007

Aikpitanhi: Etteh protests to Spanish ambassador

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Patricia Etteh, on Monday, protested the death of a Nigerian citizen, Mr. Osamuyi Aikpitanhi, while being deported by Spanish authorities.

By Chiawo Nwankwo and Mudiaga Affe
Published: Tuesday, 17 Jul 2007

She added that despite Aikpitanhi’s alleged offences, he did not deserve to be manacled and gagged while aboard an Iberian airline, which ultimately led to his death.

Etteh made her protest before the Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Angel Losada, who paid her a courtesy call in her office in Abuja.

Her disapproval of the manner Aikpitanhi died came just as she told the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Jacob Buba Gyang, to initiate a programme of decongesting Lagos ports and others.

Assaults on Aikpitanhi that resulted in his death and the return of his corpse to Spain had, in the last three weeks, been a subject of diplomatic altercation between Nigeria and the House on the one hand and Spain on the other.

She said, “It is good for the(Nigerian) government to know what has really gone wrong and what he did that warranted his death.

“If you have a law that says that anybody (who allegedly) rapes (a person) or refuses to be deported should be killed, so be it.

“But I think he has a country he can be deported to rather than being killed. It is pertinent for us to go there and see things for ourselves. Tying his hands and gagging him, leading to his death, is not the best.”

She further advised the Spanish authorities to immediately return the corpse to Nigeria, in order to assuage agony of his parents and relations.

Losada had earlier expressed regrets over Aikpitanhi’s death, saying that the circumstances leading to his transition were not justifiable.

He hoped that the ugly development would not affect the good bilateral relations between the two countries.

He disclosed that the incident was being investigated by both the Spanish Senate and a court.

The ambassador also used the occasion of his visit to hand over to Etteh an official letter from the Spanish legislature, inviting her to a forum where multi-lateral issues concerning the West African sub-region would be addressed.

Meanwhile, Ette has denied that there was rancour in the lower chamber of the National Assembly.

Ette, who disclosed this on Monday at the presidential lounge of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, said there was no rancour. She said there were systems and procedures for forestalling any such development.

She added that there was a measure of peace in the House, and that the lawmakers were working to sustain it.

The Speaker was reacting to perceived problems that might come up in the selection of different committees in the House.

Posted by Publisher at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)

World Bank cautions Nigeria against debts

IN spite of the historic exit of Nigeria from the London and Paris Club debts, the country still carries a high risk of relapsing into a debtor nation, the World Bank Country Representative in Nigeria, Mr. Hafez Ghanem, has said.

By Everest Amaefule, Abuja
Published: Tuesday, 17 Jul 2007

Ghanem spoke at the National Debt Strategy and New Financing Analysis Workshop organised by the Debt Management Office in Abuja on Monday.

At the event, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, unfolded plans to integrate cash and debt management operations in order to reduce the cost of funding to government.

The World Bank chief said although Nigeria’s debt ratio had become very comfortable, the risk of over borrowing and relapsing into unsustainable debt was still very high.

The immediate past DG of DMO, Dr. Mansur Muhtar, had in May disclosed that the nation had, between 1999 and April 2007, taken fresh loans totalling $5.6bn.

Of the current debts, $2.9bn was borrowed from multilateral resources; $2.5bn came from China, while $200m came from unidentified sources.

Ghanem said because of the high risk, which the nation faces with over borrowing, the work of DMO after the debt exit was now more central in ensuring that Nigeria did not get back into unsustainable debt position.

Nwankwo, on the other hand, said nations that have experienced a relapse after debt relief share a number of characteristics.

He listed them to include considering the debt profile of only the central government when calculating their debt ratio; paying less attention to fundamental issues like resort to ways and means, and the failure to acknowledge the important linkages between domestic and external debts and between sub-national debts and those by the private sector.

He said, “One of the major challenges for debt managers in a post-relief period, therefore, is to integrate external, domestic and sub-national debt management in such a way that debt could, in addition to its traditional objective of financing fiscal gaps, be used for funding development projects at national and sub-national levels.

“With the retirement of Paris and London Club debts, it is important that new external borrowings are properly managed within an appropriate debt management framework.”

The DMO boss said the new agenda would focus on mobilising additional financing such as grants and concessional loans targeted at accelerating growth and poverty reduction and meeting other Millennium Development Goals related targets.

According to him, it will also focus on accessing the international capital market on terms favourable to Nigeria for resource mobilisation towards the financing of key infrastructure projects and creatively using FGN guarantees to finance joint venture schemes and lending to sub-national levels.

Posted by Publisher at 04:27 PM | Comments (0)

Police intercept 62 victims of human trafficking

The police in Edo State have rescued 62 young people who were being allegedly trafficked to the Western part of the country.

By Emmanuel Obe, Benin
Published: Tuesday, 17 Jul 2007

The Police Commissioner, Edo State Command, Mr. Bala Hassan, who briefed journalists on the matter on Monday in Benin, also said the police raided the hideouts of campus cults around the University of Benin and arrested 10 suspected cultists.

Hassan added that the 62 people — 37 males and 24 females, were packed in a container and were being transported by a trailer to Sagamu when the police intercepted them at the Ekiadolor checkpoint.

He said the people, who were mainly infants and teenagers, were taken from their respective homes at Ukele, Yala in Cross River State.

The commissioner said the police immediately suspected that they were being trafficked because most of them did not know where they were being taken to.

He added that the police would investigate the matter and charge people found culpable to court accordingly.

But the eldest person caught with them, Mr. Godfrey Ajima, said he was a farmer at Owode in Ogun State and was actually returning from his hometown in Yala.

He said the other pasengers, who he said were to disembark at Sagamu, were going to different places.

A teenage girl, Miss Udu Christiana Gogo, who said she was a JS3 student of Comprehensive High School, Ekwok in Yala area, said she and her sister were travelling to Lagos to collect money from a brother as they were on holidays.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Peter Ogboi, said none of the trafficked people had more than N500 on them.

He said those who drove the trailer claimed ignorance of the actual destination of the passengers as they were to be dropped at Sagamu.

Ogboi added that the police would hand over the rescued people to the National Agency for the Prohibition and Traffic in Persons which would rehabilitate them and reunite them with their families.

On the suspected cultists, the police commissioner said the police carried out a search at suspected hideouts around the UNIBEN and arrested 10 young men belonging to different cult groups.

He added that a bow, arrows and a battle axe were found in the home of one of the suspects.

Hassan said the operation was carried out by 100 mobile policemen and plainclothes men.

He explained that the operation would be a continuous one to rid the state capital of cultists who he said had been responsible for a number of killings in Benin in recent times.

The commissioner also said that the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma axis of the state had been peaceful for sometime now, after the command carried out operations to reduce the activities of cultists in the area.

He said the suspects would be charged to court after investigations on their culpability were concluded.

Posted by Publisher at 04:27 PM | Comments (0)

Shell has not reconciled with Ogoni people –MOSOP

The frosty relationship between Shell Petroleum Development Company and the Ogoni people has taken another sour turn with the leadership of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People saying that it has not reconciled with the multinational oil firm.

By Ibanga Isine, Port Harcourt
Published: Tuesday, 17 Jul 2007

The group also berated the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on the Reconciliation of Ogoni and the SPDC, Fr. Matthew Kuka, for misinforming the public that Ogoni people had reconciled with the oil firm.

In a statement by MOSOP’s Information Officer, Bariara Kpalap, which was made available to our correspondent in Port Harcourt on Monday, the group indicated that Kuka failed in addressing the major grouse of the Ogoni people.

The statement reads, “The truth is that Father Kuka has held the position of facilitator of the Ogoni-Shell Reconciliation initiative for over two years and we are worried that his claims of progress are now bordering on delusion.

“On several occasions, his efforts to publicly exaggerate his progress have bordered on causing a major crisis in Ogoni. For the record, MOSOP would welcome a balanced dialogue on the future of Ogoni but none of the manoeuvres of the past two years have resembled anything like a frank and open discussion, which we specifically sought two years back.”

MOSOP insisted that efforts to reconcile Ogoni with the SPDC were not new but that all of them had not yielded positive results due to insincerity on the part of the multinational oil firm.

It added that Kuka never kept to the terms of the reconciliation agenda, stating that while the Ogoni team was waiting for the agenda, the people were given SPDC’s clean-up plan without prior consultation.

It also accused the cleric of rejecting the people selected by Ogoni to represent them at the committee but instead picked those who did not have the backing of the people.

The body said that the Justice Chukwudifu Oputa’s panel was more transparent in dealing with the Ogoni/Shell crisis and could claim credit for reconciling the people and not the Kuka-led panel.

It further stated, “The facilitator has been exploiting his closeness with former President Olusegun Obasanjo to misrepresent the situation of a breakthrough in the Ogoni-Shell dialogue. That was the situation also last May when a Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Government, Shell, UNEP and Ogoni people was to be signed.

“The MoU, the terms of which have never been shown to or discussed with the Ogoni people, and which has also been presented in certain quarters as a reconciliation agreement with Shell, was to be surreptitiously introduced through a so-called spiritual cleansing service in Ogoni.

“It was MOSOP’s insistence against the plot that earned it and its leadership the tirades that we have seen from the supposed neutral facilitator and ‘Man of God,” the statement stated.

Posted by Publisher at 04:26 PM | Comments (0)

Rivers PDP primaries: Appeal Court gives ruling on Friday

The Court of Appeal on Monday had a marathon sitting, as it heard the appeal filed by the former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, over the substitution of his name with the state Governor, Chief Celestine Omeihia, as the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate for the state governorship race.

By Tobi Soniyi, Abuja
Published: Tuesday, 17 Jul 2007

The court sat for seven hours and heard all the parties in the case, including the Independent National Electoral Commission, after which it fixed judgment in the case for Friday, July 20, 2007.

Even though the case leading to the appeal was instituted before Omeihia was elected the governor of the state, he raised section 308 which grants serving governors immunity from suit, as a defence.

His lawyer, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), said that immunity was an issue to be considered before going into the appeal as it raised the fundamental issue on jurisdiction.

He said that the appropriate order the court should make was to send the case back to the trial court so that those issues in which evidence was not led could be heard.

Ukala added that the matter before the court was a civil cause, adding that section 308 of the constitution stipulates that a holder of the office of the governor is immune from prosecution.

Counsel to INEC, Amaechi Iwuewu (SAN), also raised the issue of indictment of the former Speaker of the House of Assembly by the EFCC and urged the court to allow him bring evidence to prove the allegation or indictment.

Replying, counsel to the appellant, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said the issue before the court was a pre-election matter.

Admitting the immunity of the governor, he, however, said that would violate the provision of section 34 (2) of the constitution.

Law, he said, was not an instrument of oppression nor of fraud and that once the action was in court before INEC conducted the election, it would be a fraudulent move to hide under immunity to cover the illegal act.

He stated that the court should not listen to ‘distractions’ as the order of the Supreme Court was very clear that the matter be heard on its merit, stating that the latest application on leave to furnish further evidence and the other one on immunity were mere irrelevancies capable of distracting the court from the course of justice.

According to him, if the evidence was important, the applicant should have raised it at the trial court and not when the whole world was waiting for the court to make a pronouncement.

Fagbemi said that the PDP failed to provide cogent and verifiable reasons at the trial court, contending that INEC should not be allowed to fish for reasons to justify its action and inaction.

Arguing his appeal, Fagbemi distinguished the case from that of Araraume, saying that in Araraume’s case, Charles Ugwu actually contested the primary election but in the appeal at the court, the second respondent (Omeihia) did not contest the primaries to bear the party‘s flag at the governorship election.

The Supreme Court had on Tuesday, July 10, berated the Court of Appeal for refusing to carry out its order asking it to hear and determine the appeal expeditiously.

Posted by Publisher at 04:26 PM | Comments (0)

Stop kidnapping in Niger Delta, militants tell colleagues

Militants in Rivers State have warned against further abduction of persons including children in the Niger Delta.

By Ibanga Isine, Port Harcourt
Published: Tuesday, 17 Jul 2007

The leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante, Mr. Ateke Tom, and the President of Wakirike United Peace Guide,Mr. Theophelus Fubara, gave the warning in Okochiri in Okirika Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Fubara is also the leader of the Green Landers, a militant group in Rivers State.

Having turned a new leaf, the duo vowed that nothing would make them go back to their past lives of violence, fighting and bloodshed.

They also attributed many of the violent attacks that took place in Port Harcourt and its environs to the activities of cult and militant groups that had their bases in Okirika.

Tom said, “We will not fight again. We will not use arms again. We have accepted peace. So let the kidnapping of people stop in the Niger Delta.

“Our members will no longer be involved in violence. Those who are engaged in the kidnapping of people should stop it.”

But Fubara said that as long as God is alive, the peace that had returned to Okirika and Rivers State would last.

He lamented that for over eight years, the government had employed divide and rule tactics to fuel violent crisis in many parts of the state, some of which led to loss of lives and property.

Posted by Publisher at 04:25 PM | Comments (0)

Ministerial screening: Nigerians free to contribute –Senate

The Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, on Monday said the Senate was open to constructive criticisms over the screening of ministerial nominees.

By John Alechenu, Abuja
Published: Tuesday, 17 Jul 2007

Ndoma-Egba said this in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Abuja. He was reacting to public criticisms over the handling of the exercise. He said, ”The issue of who becomes Minister should not be left for the Senate alone. The public can help us by being more specific on the type of question they want asked.

”All Nigerians should have interest in who becomes minister. It is because we want the public to be part of it, that is why we are televising it live at great cost to the Senate.”

On the controversy surrounding the issue of ”taking a bow”, the DSP said Nigerians needed to understand that the Senate was first a political arena.

He explained that parliamentary practice the world over recognises the rights and privileges often accorded former members of parliament. He said it was normal for ex-parliamentarians to be asked to take a bow and leave when they appear before the Senate for confirmation.

Ndoma-Egba said, ”Among those the Senate has so far screened, only four have had the privilege of taking a bow. Three of them were former parliamentarians while only one was not. There is nothing like praise singing, are you saying we should not recognise someone who has achieved?”

In a related development, the ministerial nominee from Adamawa State, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, has said that he was nominated by Governor Murtala Nyako, and not by senator Jibril Aminu as reported in the media.

Hong said this when he was fielding questiions from newsmen in Yola, on Monday.

Hong, who was reacting to media reports that his name was not on the ministerial list Nyako submitted to President Umaru Yar‘Adua, disclosed that his name was first on the list, followed by Gen. Muhammed Buba Marwa (rtd) and Comrade Pascal Bafyau.

”The governor submitted three names to Mr. President for selection and I believe I was selected by the president based on my credentials and not what some people want the public to believe”, he stated.

However, the Adamawa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Monday said President Umaru Yar‘Adua‘s choice of Dr. Aliyu Hong, as ministerial nominee from the state was a wise one.

The state chairman of the party, Aliyu Mijinyawa Kugama said this in a statement issued at the Senate on Monday. He disowned news making the rounds that Dr. Aliyu Hong was not among those earlier nominated from the state.

Posted by Publisher at 04:24 PM | Comments (0)

FG to relocate buyer of demolished judge’s house

THE Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Mrs. Chiristianah Okeke, on Monday, informed Justice Peter Olayiwola that the Implementation Committee on Sale of Federal Government Landed Property had stated that it was making an alternative accommodation for the purported buyer of the demolished residence of a judge of the FHC.

By Tony Amokeodo
Published: Tuesday, 17 Jul 2007

The demolished property was situated at No 17A, Macdonald Road, Ikoyi, Lagos and it was allocated to Justice Ahmed Mohammed.

Though there was a pending court order of Justice Olayiwola of the FHC that restrained the committee from interfering or selling the judge‘s residence, the committee was said to have demolished the property on Saturday, June 19.

Speaking through her lawyer, Mr. Chris Ekemezie, Okeke added that the parties met on July 9 in order to seek amicable settlement of the matter.

Ekemezie also told the court that the committee had requested for three weeks to enable it resolve the matter.

But the lawyer added that there was no proof to show that the demolished residence had been sold to the buyer, who was said to be a serving governor in one of the North Central states.

The FHC‘s lawyer also told the court that the parties would meet on July 30 while they would brief the court on the outcome of their meeting on July 31.

Okeke, the administrative head of the court, had also filed another suit No FHC/L/CS/574/07, where she is claiming N500m damages from the committee as specific damages for the value of her house, household appliances and goods that were destroyed and carted away by the committee at the judge‘s residence.

The FHC CR also alleged that some correspondences were exchanged between the FHC, the Head of Service of the Federation and the committee over the issue.

She added that the HOS had in a letter reference No HOSF /LLO/SQ/29807 affirmed that the residential quarters for FHC‘ judges should not be encroached upon by anybody.

The plaintiff also alleged that despite the directives from the HOS, the committee had continued to disturb her with a rabid desire to sell the property.

She also claimed that the development made her to write another letter to the Federal Controller of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in reference No FHC/328/C/Vol /98.

The CR also alleged that when she further complained to the HOS on the matter, the HOS stated in clear terms that ”all houses with judiciary should not be touched”.

But when there was no headway, the CR later initiated a suit on the matter.

The CR later filed an ex parte application and it was argued on May 15.

Justice Olayiwola consequently granted the application restrained the committee from interfering with the property, pending the determination of the chief registrar‘s motion on notice.

The judge also ordered that the plaintiff should remain in the property and directed the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command to break the locks used by the committee to lock up the gates and doors of the property.

Ekemezie later told the court that the committee had been served with the court‘s order. He added that the committee had refused to obey the order, saying that the committee was in contempt of the court.

He added that the committee had deployed riot policemen to the property.

Posted by Publisher at 04:17 PM | Comments (0)

Ex-governor Turaki looted N17bn, weeps in court

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday told a Federal High Court in Abuja, that a former Governor of Jigawa State, Saminu Turaki, allegedly looted N17bn from the state’s treasury in one day.

By Olusola Fabiyi and Tobi Soniyi, Abuja
Published: Tuesday, 17 Jul 2007

The sum, according to a charge sheet prepared by the commission, is only a part of the N33bn and another $20m Turaki allegedly misappropriated within a year.

According to the charge sheet, sighted by one of our correspondents, Turaki, who was arraigned alongside former Abia state governor, Chief Orji Kalu, allegedly began diverting the money on May 3, 2006.

The document, signed by one Isa Bature Gafai of the Legal and Prosecution unit of the Economic anf Financial Crimes Commission, showed that on May 3, 2006, alone 17 fraudulent bank transactions were carried out by him during which the N17bn was diverted.

On July 31, 2006, he allegedly withdrew N91.8m from the state’s treasury and N32.5m on August 27.

On September 27 2006, he withdrew N3.46m; N417m on October 27, 2006; N32.5m on November 1, 2006; and N25.1m on November 28, 2006.

Ten months to May 29, 2007 when he left office, N9.2bn was siphoned from the state’s treasury by the former governor through three transactions.

Another N400m was withdrawn before the bubble finally burst.

As the charges were being read to him, Turaki, who looked tired, shook his head intermittently in the dock.

At a point, tears rolled down his cheeks. He quickly dipped his right hand into his pocket and brought out a white handkerchief with which he cleaned his face.

Turaki, who tenaciously held on to a copy of the Holy Quran, was accompanied to the court by his wife.

After the charges were read to him, his lawyer, Mr. Ayodele Olajide, moved an application for his bail.

Olajide, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, argued that the offences which Turaki allegedly committed were bailable.

He prayed the court to allow him to file a written application for bail since the prosecution was entitled to two days to respond to it.

The lawyer asked that his client be remanded in the custody of the EFCC instead of Kuje Prisons.

Responding, Mr. Rotimi Jacob, the EFCC lead counsel, said since he was served the application for bail on Monday, he needed time to study it.

Though Jacob did not oppose the request by the defence that Turaki be remanded in the EFCC custody, Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako, ordered that the former governor be remanded in Kuje Prisons till the next adjourned date of July 23.

Kalu was being charged with 107 offences, along with his mother, Eunice, and one Emeka Abone. Eunice and Abone are at large. Three of them allegedly laundrered about N3bn.

Kalu, who was all the while sitting at the lobby of the court under a heavily- armed security guard, was later brought to the courtroom.

Dressed in a blue suit with a light blue shirt and a brown tie to match, he was marched to the dock following which the charges were read to him.

It took about two hours and 20 minutes for the court clerk to finish reading them.

Kalu, who looked calm throughout the period, also pleaded not guilty to the charges.

His lead counsel, Mr. Livy Uzoukwu(SAN), asked for his bail but Jacob said he had just been served the application and would need some days to respond.

Murtala-Nyako, in her ruling, agreed and ordered the defence and prosecution to submit written briefs on the bail application.

The case was subsequently adjourned till July 25.

When Kalu returned to his seat after the adjournment, Turaki looked at him and said, ”My brother, you are strong.” Kalu laughed.

Earlier, the case involving former Plateau State Governor, Chief Joshua Dariye, was heard by Justice Babs Kuewumi.

Dariye, who is being accused of laundering about N1.2 billion, $110,000 and £20,000, was also refused bail.

His lawyer, Mr. Comrad Joseph(SAN), had argued that Dariye’s alleged offences were bailable and that, if convicted, he would only spend three years in prison.

The prosecutor, Mr. Joseph Uzor, however, said he needed time to study the application before reacting to it.

Uzor said, “This application is not due for hearing because we are entitled to fair hearing. This is because the accused came formally before the court, so we need time to react formally.”

Kuewumi, however, adjourned the case till Thursday.

Speaking with newsmen after the cases were heard, Jacob said the remanding of Turaki and Kalu in prison custody was a testimony that the war on corruption was total.

He also said that it showed that nobody was above the law.

Asked if the accounts of the former governors would be frozen, he said that the EFCC might approach the court for that.

He said, ”We must stamp out corruption in the country and what you have witnessed today is a testimony that nobody is above the law.”

Mr. Mike Ozekhome, who is on the defence team of Kalu, however, said there was nothing wrong in his client being remanded in prison custody.

Ozekhome said, “Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was there. Nelson Mandela of South Africa was also there for 27 years. He (Kalu) is in high spirits and good health. So, there is no problem.”

Kalu, who waved to his supporters at the end of the case, was like Turaki led into a waiting Peugeot Expert that took them to the prison.

There was, however, a mild drama outside the courtrooms as loyalists of Kalu and those opposed to him engaged themselves in a shouting match.

While his supporters, who carried different placards, claimed that he was ”an illustrious son of Abia State” who should be released, those opposed to his release said ”he should be imprisoned.”

Posted by Publisher at 04:01 PM | Comments (0)

Ojukwu discharged, doctor speaks

Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, was on Monday discharged from hospital in Onitsha, Anambra State, after his doctor confirmed that he was in a stable condition.

By John Ameh, Onitsha
Published: Tuesday, 17 Jul 2007

Investigations by our correspondent showed that he left the Holy Rosary Specialist Hospital and Maternity in a navy blue Toyota Land Cruiser at about noon on Monday.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu had been admitted into the hospital on Sunday after he collapsed twice at a thanksgiving service at the Basillica of the Holy Trinity, Onitsha.

Dr. M.F. Omutah, who attended to him, told our correspondent about 9.20am on Monday that the 74-year-old former Biafran warlord was in a stable condition.

When our correspondent visited the hospital again around 3.40pm, a senior official, who gave his name as Kene, said, “The Ikemba has been discharged.”

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amobi Ileka, and his Information and Culture counterpart, Prof. Stella Okunna, also confirmed that Odumegwu-Ojukwu had been discharged.

“He has been discharged. His health is stable. He is very stable and alright now. He has already gone back to his house in Enugu,” they said.

Before he left the hospital, Odumegwu-Ojukwu had told Anambra Government House correspondents that he was hale and hearty.

“I am not critically ill. I am alright,” he said.

The elderstatesman explained to the correspondents, who accompanied Governor Peter Obi to the hospital, that he collapsed because the church was stuffy.

Obi, who was making his second visit to the hospital, also told newsmen that the Ikemba was not ‘critically’ ill.

According to him, until the Sunday incident , there was nothing wrong with Odumegwu-Ojukwu medically.

The governor added that the several tests conducted on the former presidential candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance between Sunday and Monday morning showed that he was healthy.

Omutah had, during our correspondent’s first visit to the hospital, described Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s condition as ‘stable.’

The following dialogue ensued between Omutah, who attended to the Ikemba and our correspondent:

I am here to see the Ikemba. How is his health now?

Oh, he is stable. He slept well last night. I just came out of his room and you can see that I am attending to his medication.

We understand that his condition is critical. How stable is he?

I hope this is not a press conference? I hope I am not addressing a press conference here?

The Ikemba is not a small person. He is an elderstatesman, a very important figure. Nigerians care about him and they want to be assured that he is healthy.

In any case, who told you that his condition is critical?

Maybe they are referring to what happened yesterday (his collapse in the church on Sunday). I am his doctor. I have been attending to him since yesterday (Sunday). I know that he is well and fit.

Okay doctor, can I see him?

You want to see him because seeing is believing? Alright, hold on a minute.

The doctor, who is also a reverend, left our correspondent in her office and went to a private room where Odumegwu-Ojukwu was having a rest.

She reappeared barely two minutes later, saying, “He is alright; he is fine. No cause for alarm. That is all for now.”

But I thought I was to see him?

No, no, no. Just take it that he is very comfortable and healthy. That is all.

Posted by Publisher at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)

Nnamani arrested

A former Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, was on Monday arrested on his hospital bed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

By Geoffrey Ekenna and Olalekan Adetayo
Published: Tuesday, 17 Jul 2007

A statement by a former Commissioner for Information in Enugu State, Mr. Igbonekwu Ogazimorah, confirmed the arrest at around 9.10pm on Monday.

The statement reads, “Nnamani, a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has just been seized by the operatives of the EFCC, at 5. 42 p.m.

“Nnamani, who had been on admission at the National Hospital, Abuja since last Thursday, was apprehended, taken to an unknown destination, without the benefit of taking his drugs with him.

“In what appears as a sudden twist of schedule, the operatives swiftly told Nnamani that they were to keep him there, ignoring the fact of a bail bond signed for the former governor and whose specific terms had been kept.

“The EFCC neither allowed Nnamani’s friends and staff to come close nor understand what was going on.

“No doubt, Nnamani’s eventual arrest on Monday is the remarkable feat which certain adversaries of the former governor very strenuously sought since July 2, when they went into a media binge to demonise the man as they sought over the years.

“We expect that the former governor would be charged to court in the next forty-eight hours as required by the constitution.

“However, after appeals to the EFCC officials on the state of his health, the former governor was returned to his hospital bed at the National Hospital at around 8.00 pm.”

Reports had it that Nnamani went into hiding on Friday following the arrest of some of his former colleagues by the EFCC.

But another report said he was admitted at the hospital late on Thursday night for an undisclosed ailment.

EFCC operatives had traced him to the hospital and kept a close watch to forestall his escape.

They reportedly barred people, including his family members and friends, from visiting him.

Posted by Publisher at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)

February 05, 2007

Lagos rejects population commission’s figures. Announces state’s population as 17.5m

The Lagos State Government on Monday faulted the provisional figures recently released by the National Population Commission, which put the population of Lagos at 9.2 million.

By Kemi Obasola
Published: Monday, 5 Feb 2007

It said that data collected from its own parallel census, conducted during the NPC’s headcount in the state last March, had shown that the state has a population of 17,552,942 people.

The state also called for a recount of the people in the state and announced that it had concluded plans to write formally to the National Assembly on its position. It has decided, furthermore, to appear before the Census Tribunal to defend the results of its parallel census.

Governor Bola Tinubu made these announcements at the public presentation of a report titled, “Errors, Miscalculations and Omissions: The Falsification of the Lagos Census Figures,” produced by the state’s Ministry of Science and Technology.

The event, which took place at the MUSON Centre, Lagos, was witnessed by stakeholders from the different sectors of the economy.

Gov. Tinubu said it was a shame that Nigerians still lacked accurate and reliable data for planning and public administration in the 21st century, adding that the Federal Government could afford a total re-counting exercise.

He said, “We can afford a re-count throughout the country; we want a re-count in Lagos State.

“This is the height of corruption: falsifying census figures just to please some people. No amount of adjustment done to the [provisional] figures can make them right.

“The [provisional] figure is totally rejected. We have enough support and funding from the United Nations and the European Union. So let’s have a re-count.”

Posted by Publisher at 03:21 PM | Comments (0)

Onokpasa, PDP chieftain, murdered

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Delta State, Chief Lawson Onokpasa, was on Friday night assassinated by unknown gunmen.

By Sola Adebayo, Asaba
Published: Monday, 5 Feb 2007

Family sources put Onokpasa‘s age at 72 years before his tragic end.

Onokpasa was murdered at his residence in Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state at 9pm on the fateful day.

The police were yet to ascertain the circumstances leading to his death as at press time on Sunday.

Findings by our correspondent revealed that a seven-man gang scaled the fence of the residence of the deceased located along Onokopasa Street in Agbarho.

They thereafter found their way into the apartment and made desperate request to see the deceased from members of his family.

Oblivious of the mission of the unwanted guests, Onokpasa reportedly came out of his living room and gave himself up to the gang.

It was gathered that the leader of the gang later explained to Onokpasa that the group was hired to eliminate him and that they were in his house to carry out the assignment.

A source said the gang shunned entreaties by Onokpasa to offer them money and other valuable property to spare his life.

He was subsequently shot at close range.

It was gathered that members of the gang later fled the scene while Onokpasa was rushed to Agbarho General Hospital for possible medical attention to safe his life.

However, he died on the way to the hospital.

The Commissioner of Police, State Command, Mr. Udom Ekpoudom, confirmed the report, adding that Onokpasa was assassinated.

Ekpoudom, however, said that investigation into the incident had begun, adding that Onokpasa‘s killers would be brought to justice.

Posted by Publisher at 03:20 PM | Comments (0)

INEC seeks legal advice on Atiku

Indications emerged on Sunday that the Independent National Electoral Commission had started consulting some legal experts on the fate of Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

By Sola Imoru, John Alechenu and Musikilu Mojeed
Published: Sunday, 4 Feb 2007

A source in Abuja, who spoke in confidence with one of our correspondents, said INEC was seeking legal advice on whether to disqualify Abubakar or not.

The Peoples Democratic Party had petitioned the commission, asking it to disqualify Abubakar from the April 21 presidential poll.

The party based its petition on the alleged indictment of the vice-president by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and an Administrative Panel of Inquiry over the management of the funds of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund.

But when Abubakar appeared before the electoral body on January 23, 2007 for the verification of his credentials, he submitted a counter-petition asking INEC to disregard the petition of PDP.

He urged the electoral commission to clear him for the presidential election.

The Chairman of the commission, Prof Maurice Iwu, however, said that INEC would release a report on the outcome of the exercise on February 5, 2007.

A source in the commission, however, told one of our correspondents on Sunday that the report of the verification was not ready.

He said INEC was in a dilemma over what to do with Abubakar and was seeking independent legal opinion on the matter.

The source said, ”I can confirm to you that the result of the verification is not ready. We are still considering the petitions against some candidates.

“You know the PDP wrote a petition against the vice-president. We are yet to take a decision on the petition. Apart from asking our legal unit to give us advice on the matter, we are also seeking advice from legal experts outside the commission.

”We do not want to be arbitrary in whatever decision we eventually take. We want to be sure that whatever we do is constitutional.”

When contacted on Sunday, INEC‘s National Commissioner in charge of Political Party Monitoring, Dr. Ishmael Igbani, confirmed that the commission was yet to take a decision on the vice-president.

He also said the report of the verification was not ready.

He said, ”We are yet to take a decision on the petitions we received against the vice-president and some other candidates.

“For us to take a final decision, all the national commissioners must be present. But for now, some of them have travelled abroad. I just came back from South Africa too.

“But I am sure we will meet this week. Once we take a decision, we will pass our report to the political parties.”

Despite INEC’s legal dilemma over his fate, the vice-president on Sunday said that incumbency factor was not a threat to his presidential ambition.

Abubakar, who spoke at a breakfast session with journalists in Kano State Government House, said if the April poll was free and fair, the ruling PDP could be defeated.

He said, ”Please, gentlemen of the Press, remove this from your head. I told you one of the main objectives of this alliance is to work together to enlighten Nigerians to protect their votes and to stop the PDP from stealing their votes.

“Mobilise Nigerians; don‘t ever believe in your mind that an incumbent government cannot lose elections. I have on many occasions informed you on how lesser African countries have changed governments.

“Our immediate neighbour here is Benin Republic. The president of the country, Mathew Kerekou, was in power for almost 30 years – from military to a democratically elected president.

“He had all the instruments of power and incumbency. He lost not even to a political party but to an independent candidate who had no political platform. He lost an election to that candidate.

“I gave an example of Ghana. You know Rawlings was in power for almost 20 years and as powerful as Rawlings was, he lost to an opposition, which is today in power in Ghana.

“Please for God‘s sake, if Benin can do it, Ghana can do it, Senegal can do it, Zambia can do it, Mali can do it.

“Konare, who is today the chairman of the AU Commission, also lost an election to an opposition party in Mali. Now for God‘s sake, what should stop us from doing so in Nigeria?

“Didn‘t you throw out former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and bring in Mallam Shekarau here (in Kano)? Kwankwaso belonged to a ruling party. He had the police; he had the SSS; he had everybody to support him.”

He accused the Federal Government of mismanaging the funds earmarked for projects, saying that an AC-controlled Federal Government would do things differently.

He said, ”In the first four years of this administration, it had been said that this administration had awarded contracts for road construction and so on and so forth, more than N300b.

“Up till today, this construction has not been completed. Not a single road that I am aware of did either the President or anyone else go to inaugurate. Where is this money?

“It is the belief of the AC that they can provide a better alternative by making sure that projects are conceived and implemented within budgetary provisions and within appropriated years.”

He blamed President Olusegun Obasanjo for the epileptic power supply in the country.

He added that the President ignored his advice that the nation should build captive power stations in order to address outage in the country.

“He said, ”For eight years now, we have been battling with the issue of power. Let me tell you a story. In the year 2000, I went to the President and said, ‘Look, Mr. President, we have so many sources of energy in this country. We have hydro, we have thermal, we have coal, name it, and all these are sources of power. In every part of the country, power has been provided by nature. Why can‘t we build captive power stations?’

“He asked, ‘What do you mean by captive stations?‘ I said, ‘Meaning that you go to a location like Kano area, we have so many rivers, and we have so many waters. You can build a medium-size power plant that can generate maybe 25 to 30 mega- watts which will give Kano all the power it needs.

“Then you move to another parts of the country. If it is coal they have, you use it to build another power station.‘ I gave him the example of President Ramos of Philippines.”

“The president said, ‘Well, I will look into that.‘ But the minister said, ‘Eh, you know if we rehabilitate NEPA and the existing power stations, we will have light.‘ I said if we rehabilitated the stations, what we were going to have would not guarantee because these power stations were so old that they would not last us two years before they broke down again.

“We pumped in $500m in rehabilitating those power stations. Exactly two years after, they all collapsed. It wasn‘t until last year that he said, ‘VP, why didn‘t you force me to implement this plan you told me?

“I said, ‘Mr. President, how can I force you? I am only an adviser.’

“We now came back to the same issue of trying to build captive power stations. But again, we made a tactical error there. All the power stations that we are now currently building are based on gas.

“What happens if the militants blow up all the gas lines? Which means there will also be no power? Instead of us to diversify the power generating system, we have now concentrated all the seven power stations we are building in the gas supplying areas where there is no stability of gas.”

Abubakar accused the PDP of bastardising our democracy and dragging the nation into a one-party state.

He, therefore, urged Nigerians to vote out the PDP.

He said, ”Allowing the ruling party to win elections again will amount to institutionalising dictatorship and one party rule in this country and is a recipe for chaos. It is a recipe for instability, and it is a recipe for underdevelopment. We can‘t afford to do that. Now, how do we do it?

“That is why we initiated the alliance talk.”

He said, ”The alliance talk is not about one man stepping down for the other. The alliance objectives are three. Unfortunately, the media has continued to narrow it down to one person stepping down for the other.

“Let me tell you three main objectives why we went into alliance, not only ANPP/AC but other parties. One is to make sure that the forth-coming elections are free, fair and credible.

“The second objective is to make sure that those who are in government now who do not want to go by institutionalising one party system, one-party rule, one-party dictatorship are forced to go by the wishes of the people.

“The third, how then do we make sure that we create an environment at the various levels of elections whether at the state Assembly; at the National Assembly; at the governorship and presidential levels; how we can harmonise or support consensus candidates so that we beat the ruling party.

”So, if you are talking about only the third aspect, the third objective, without achieving the first two objectives, the third one is not even realisable. Just don‘t talk about it, and forget it.”

Posted by Publisher at 03:18 PM | Comments (0)

No bugging device at N’ Assembly — Security chief

The Sergeant-at-Arms to the National Assembly, Col. Emeka Okere, on Sunday debunked claims that the cameras found inside the Senate chamber were bugging devices.

By Ibanga Isine, Abuja
Published: Monday, 5 Feb 2007

Okere told our correspondent on the phone that the cameras were mounted as part of measures to upgrade security at the National Assembly in a bid to forestall breaches.

Since terrorism was not restricted to certain parts of the world, he said that there was the need to watch people, especially visitors to the National Assembly.

”We can‘t say we are immune to terrorist activities when we know that the best thing to do is to prevent such activities,” he said.

He said that the cameras where not used to spy on the activities of the lawmakers but to prevent unlawful persons from entering or carrying out any activity that may cause a breach of security and peace at the Assembly.

According to him, the cameras were connected to a central monitor where dedicated staff were assigned to watch movements of people within the complex.

He drew attention to the new security arrangement at the gate of the Assembly, saying that even vehicles coming into the complex were being screened before they were allowed in.

But the spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Abike Dabiri, said that the leadership of the two chambers of the National Assembly would investigate the matter.

Dabiri said that the House would officially react to the matter on Tuesday, noting that there was a possibility that the cameras had also been installed in the House.

She confirmed that bugging devices were deployed in the National Assembly during the debate on the constitution amendment bill, which among other things, sought to extend the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Posted by Publisher at 03:18 PM | Comments (0)

Judiciary has sustained democracy– Belgore

Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Salihu Moddibo Alfa Belgore, has said that the judiciary is the pillar that has prevented the collapse of democracy in the country.

By Tobi Soniyi, Abuja
Published: Monday, 5 Feb 2007

The former chief justice spoke in Abuja at the weekend at a valedictory dinner held in his honour by the Board of Governors of the National Judicial Institute.

Belgore maintained that the judiciary was one arm of government that had retained its respect, dignity and honour in the face of the political situation in the country.

He observed that the judiciary and all judicial institutions in the country must be strengthened and well funded for the nation to make meaningful progress.

Speaking earlier, the chairman of the occasion, Dr. and Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki, said that though Justice Belgore spent a brief period as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, his tenure was remarkable and memorable.

He stated that the contributions of Belgore to the development of law and the sustenance of democracy would remain unforgettable in the history of the country.

The governor explained that Belgore‘s high sense of humility and commitment to work and pursuit of excellence were some of the virtues worthy of emulation for the young generation.

The Administrator of NJI, Justice Timothy Adepoju Oyeyipo, who read the citation of Belgore, described him as an enigma and indefatigable judge who spent most of his life to ensure that the judiciary was taken to greater heights.

He said the great achievements of Justice Belgore in the judiciary would be remembered by those in the legal profession.

Others who also spoke glowingly of Belgore were the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, Justice Lawal Gummi, the Vice- Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Professor Nuhu Yakub; NJI Director of Studies, Mrs. Phoebe Ayua; Delta State Chief Judge, Roseline Bozimo; NJI Secretary, Alhaji Rilwan Aikawa; and Justice Nasir Mamman (retd)

Posted by Publisher at 03:16 PM | Comments (0)

December 30, 2006

Anambra: Obi stays away from govt house

The reinstated Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, stayed away from the Government House, Awka, on Friday, contrary to speculations that he would assume office.

By Our correspondent
Published: Saturday, 30 Dec 2006

A High Court in the state capital, presided over by Justice Umegbolu Nri-Ezedi, had on Thursday annulled the impeachment of Obi by a faction of the state House of Assembly on November 2.

Tension mounted in the state after the judgment, following speculations that Obi would return to office on Friday and ask his successor, Mrs. Virgy Etiaba to return to her previous position of deputy governor.

Saturday Punch learnt that, Etiaba, who had already been picked by the All Progressives Grand Alliance to fly its flag at next year’s governorship election, was consolidating the gains of her administration rather than relinquishing power.

But, on Friday, the runoured confrontation between the two public officials did not take place as Obi failed to turn up at the Government House.

It was gathered that, the restored governor, on the advice of his lawyers, avoided coming to the office because the defendants (House Assembly Speaker, Mike Balonwu, and five others) in the suit had entered an appeal against the judgment at the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal.

“He is the patient type; Obi believes in the judicial process. If his lawyers have been duly served with the appeal processes, he is not likely to rush to office.

“There was also another matter they (defendants) instituted, praying for a stay of execution of the court judgment. So Obi is likely going to allow the processes go through first,” a source told Saturday Punch on Friday.

The source spoke just as the media aide to Etiaba, Mr. Mike Udah, denied that there was a rift between Obi and Etiaba.

He also said that Etiaba was not disposed to speaking on the outcome of the court’s decision because there was “really no basis for that.”

Udah, who incidentally, was the media aide to Obi before he was impeached, explained that the two public officials would not clash with each other because they had “a common agenda.”

He said, “The government’s position is that the governor will not speak on the issue.”

Etiaba worked till about 3.35pm in office on Friday, receiving visitors and presiding over a State Executive Council meeting before she left the Government House.

Saturday Punch tried without success to get Obi on his mobile telephone. A check at a residence he once stayed in Awka showed that he had checked out of the place.

Obi drove into Awka on Thursday, shortly after the judgment was delivered.

He later drove off to an undisclosed destination after he told journalists that he was prepared to forget the past and work with the House of Assembly to move the state ahead.

Posted by Publisher at 04:22 PM | Comments (0)

I’ve not gone into exile – Atiku

Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has denounced insinuations that he used the opportunity of his vacation to flee the country.

By Olusola Fabiyi
Published: Saturday, 30 Dec 2006

The vice-president, who assured that he would return to the country after his holidays, noted that it was wrong to assume that he had already gone on exile when it was certain that he actually went on a vacation that was approved by President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Speaking through the Head of his Media Campaign Office, Mallam Garba Shehu, on Thursday, Abubakar said he would return to the country mid-January 2007.

The Presidency on Wednesday filed a suit at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, asking that the seat of the vice-president be declared vacant following his defection to the Action Congress. The AC nominated Abubakar last Wednesday as its presidential candidate.

In the suit, which was filed by Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), the Presidency also urged the court to restrain Abubakar from parading himself as vice-president after abandoning the Peoples Democratic Party, under whose banner he assumed the position. Abubakar also on the same date filed a counter-suit asking the court to nullify his purported removal from office and the declaration of his seat as vacant.

Shehu said, “Vice-President Abubakar still remains the vice-president of the country. He is on vacation and not on exile as is erroneously believed in some quarters. He has said that he will return to the country and you don’t have to doubt that.”

Asked when the vice-president would return, he said he could not be specific; “but I can tell you that he will be back in the middle of January, next year, to resume fully in his office as the vice-president.”

Shehu said the reference to Abubakar as a former vice-president in the Presidency’s suit should be ignored.

He said, “If the Federal Government actually believes that the seat has become vacant, will it still go to court, asking the same court to declare his office vacant? If you are asking the court to give you permission to do something, that means that you believe that the action you have taken is illegal. So, you can see that the office of the vice-president is not vacant as they are claiming.”

Posted by Publisher at 04:20 PM | Comments (0)

December 27, 2006

Police, NNPC disagree

The Commissioner, Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Emmanuel Adebayo, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Funso Kupolokun, have disagreed on their prior awareness of the siphoning of fuel from the pipeline.

By Our correspondent
Published: Wednesday, 27 Dec 2006

While Adebayo, who arrived at the scene at about 10am, denied the allegation that the police had heard about the scooping in the area for weeks, Kupolokun said the NNPC was aware and police were aware.

The commissioner said he got the report on Tuesday morning and immediately called his men to move to the scene.

He said, “I got telephone calls this morning and sent my men to the scene. If anyone said reports had previously been made at the Oko-Oba police station, that would have to be investigated.

“No one ever told me that such a thing (scooping of fuel) was going on there, and if the DPO of Oko-Oba got the reports and he did not act, we know the appropriate action to take after investigation.”

Adebayo argued that what happened was only a fall-out of “disobedience” by those scooping fuel from vandalised pipelines.

He claimed that about 500 men have been detailed to the scene with another 2,000 expected to ward off the crowd, which had taken half of the Lagos- Abeokuta Expressway to watch the charred human bodies.

But Kupolokun, who arrived at the scene at about 12.30pm, in company with his top management staff, confirmed that the corporation was aware of the siphoning of fuel from the pipeline.

According to him, “We are aware and the police are aware, and we put securitymen to be patrolling the area. But they cannot do much except we station them 24 hours at the pipeline. So, the onus falls on everybody to keep surveillance at the place.”

As it is, all hopes for an early end to the current fuel scarcity, dimmed further with the pipeline explosion.

Kupolokun said, “The pipeline will take at least three days before it can be repaired.”

Posted by Publisher at 01:58 PM | Comments (0)

December 22, 2006

PDP may expel Atiku today

The National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party may at its meeting scheduled for Friday (today) expel Vice-President Atiku Abubakar from the party over his defection to the Action Congress.

By Musikilu Mojeed, Abuja
Published: Friday, 22 Dec 2006

The vice president had on Wednesday in Lagos emerged as the presidential candidate of the AC.

Abubakar was on September 28, 2006 suspended from the party over his alleged indictment for corruption by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

A party source told our correspondent on Thursday that the decision to call the NEC meeting was taken by the National Working Committee of the party at an emergency meeting in Abuja shortly after Abubakar emerged the candidate of the AC.

The source said the NWC meeting deliberated on the defection of the vice-president to the AC and his submission before the Senate‘s ad hoc committee probing the finances of the Petroleum Technology Trust Fund.

The meeting, our source said, resolved that Abubakar had terribly embarrassed the party by his actions and that there was no need to continue to tolerate him in the fold.

The parley also reportedly resolved that an emergency NEC meeting should be called to expel the vice president.

Our source said the NWC would also recommend to the meeting that the executive arm of government should find a way to sanction Abubakar.

He said the president would be advised to approach the court to demand that the vice presidential seat be declared vacant.

”The argument is that the presidential ticket is indivisible. It is a joint ticket and since the VP has abandoned the ticket, he cannot continue to remain in office.”

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. John Odey, confirmed that a NEC meeting had been fixed for Friday.

He, however, said he was not aware of the agenda of the meeting.

Odey explained that he was not at Wednesday‘s NWC meeting where the agenda of the NEC meeting was decided.

Also, the Legacy House Campaign headquarters used by the Obasanjo/Atiku campaign organisation was reopened on Thursday.

The office was reopened for the use of the Yar’Adua presidential campaign organisation.

Posted by Publisher at 01:56 PM | Comments (0)

December 19, 2006

Robbers, assassins seize Lagos, kill 7

Again, seven persons lost their lives in two separate shooting encounters in Lagos on Monday, as the metropolis came under siege of men of the underworld.

By Kunle Adeyemi
Published: Tuesday, 19 Dec 2006

The first incident happened at the Flour Mills Plc in Apapa where a gang of armed robbers went berserk. In an attempt to rob the company, five persons were shot dead.

The second tragedy occurred in the early hours of Monday when a politician, Ibrahim Bakare, and another person, whose identity was not known at press time, were shot dead by unknown gunmen at Adeyemo Alakija junction near the Falomo Bridge.

Although the police confirmed that only three persons were killed in the Apapa encounter, our correspondent gathered from commercial motorcycle riders in the area that five persons were lying dead after the shootings.

The armed robbers, numbering about 15, reportedly besieged the company‘s premises at about 7.30am when most business premises were opening for the day’s operation.

It was not clear whether the robbers, who came in a black Volkswagen mini-bus, trailed a customer to the company or the mills was actually their target. But it was learnt that the robbers met police resistance after they entered the gate.

There was pandemonium as other business concerns, especially banks in the area, were put on the alert after the robbers fired the first round of gunshots to ease their way in.

According to an eyewitness, riot policemen attached to some of the banks responded and there ensued an exchange of gunfire.

As the “mini-battle” continued, distress calls were sent to the police and a detachment of anti-robbery policemen from Area ‘B’ Command was sent to the scene.

The shootings escalated on the arrival of the reinforcement and when the heat became too much, the robbers retreated and fled. None of them was either killed or arrested.

A riot policeman who was reportedly shot was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition.

However, the company’s management, on Monday, insisted that the robbers did not enter their premises.

The spokesman for the Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Olubode Ojajuni, a superintendent of police, confirmed the death of three persons in the attack. He also said the robbers merely passed by the company.

Ojajuni said stray bullets probably hit the victims, who included a beggar, and their bodies had been taken away from the scene and deposited at a public mortuary.

In the second incident, Bakare, who, our correspondent gathered, was in his car with two other persons, was killed at about 2am.

It was not clear where the Peoples Democratic Party member was coming from, but the third occupant of the ash-colour 3 series BMW car, who escaped the assassins’ bullets, allegedly said that the killers had been trailing Bakare before the attack.

Nobody has been able to establish whether the killers were armed robbers or assassins, but it was learnt that the men opened fire on Bakare’s car as it got to the Adeyemo Alakija junction.

The man and his companion were reportedly confirmed dead at a hospital they were taken to by some policemen from the Marine Police Station, where the incident was reported.

Bakare, a former secretary to the Eti-Osa Local Government Council, was said to be one of the arrowheads of the Senator Musiliu Obanikoro Campaign Organisation.

Ojajuni said the police had not come to any conclusion on the killings and would not say whether it was a robbery attack or an assassination.

“The report was made early this morning (Monday), and we have immediately commenced investigation. The car is still in our custody, and we are trying our best,” the police spokesman said.

Posted by Publisher at 08:04 AM | Comments (0)

November 15, 2006

FG moves to prohibit bigamy

The Federal Government has proposed a new law, which imposes five years, prison term on anyone who contracts a marriage with a married person.

By Tobi Soniyi, Abuja
Published: Wednesday, 15 Nov 2006

The proposed law, which was presented to members of the public in Abuja on Tuesday by the Nigerian Law Reform Commission, also stipulated 18 years as the age for anyone to qualify for marriage.

For anyone to get married at any age less than 18 years, the law requires that a court order be obtained first.

Section 62 of the proposed law stipulates two years jail term for anyone who marries at the age of 18 without the required court‘s order.

Similarly anyone who assists in procuring such marriage is also liable to the same jail term under the draft bill titled, ”An Act to make provisions for the celebration of monogamous marriages in licensed places of worship and marriage registries in Nigeria, and for the registration of such marriages; and to provide for the recognition in Nigeria of certain monogamous marriages contracted under foreign law.”

The law also forbids marriage between anyone who had already married under the customary law of Islamic law.

Section 60 of the proposed law reads, ”Any person who contracts a marriage under the provisions of this Act, being at the time married in accordance with customary law of Islamic law to any person other than the person with whom such marriage is contracted shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment of five years.”

Speaking at the public presentation of the proposed bill, the Chairman of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission, Justice Olukayode Somolu (rtd), said that there was a need to unify customary marriage law with Islamic law on marriage.

He noted that a situation where Nigeria would continue to rely on archaic British law for its marriage institution was no longer tenable.

Posted by Publisher at 09:41 AM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2006

Oil spill: Communities seek N55.8tn from Shell

The value of claims instituted by oil communities in the Niger Delta for environmental damages against the Shell Petroleum Development Company has risen to N55.79tn.

By Clara Nwachukwu
Published: Monday, 13 Nov 2006

Statistics obtained on Sunday by our correspondent from the SPDC andother sources indicated that the amount was derived from over 500 spill-related cases filed in some courts by oil communities in Shell’s areas of operations as at the end of 2004.

A source in the SPDC said, “The cases have been running for a couple of years.

“Most of the cases are still pending, they have not been decided.”

The amount, however, does not include the famous $1.5bn Ijaw Aborigine case, which has been pending for a couple of years, and has attracted the intervention of the National Assembly.

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt awarded the hefty sum against Shell, citing massive pollution of Ijaw lands.

Corroborating the statistics, a non-governmental organisation, Friends of the Earth noted that of the 4,000 oil spills recorded in the Niger Delta over the past four decades, 1,000 of them were filed against SPDC in the last decade.

While the oil company revels in the fact that “not even a fraction of these cases have been decided, its manner of operations has earned it the award for “Irresponsible Environmental Behaviour.”

The award was conferred on Shell by the Friends of the Earth in January last year at a ceremony outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

According to the international environment watchdog, “Shell was nominated for the award for its operations in Nigeria, which have created a legacy of destruction and pollution.”

A senior official in Shell told our correspondent on Friday, “Most of the spills were due to sabotage, although a few were also due to equipment failures.”

He alleged, “The people go and cut up the pipelines to siphon crude, then they run back to us that there has been a spill so that they could collect compensations.

“Sometimes, the communities deny us access to the site until the spill spreads so that the claims could be higher. But most of them are frivolous claims and we never paid a dime for them because their genuineness could not be determined.”

But the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, which produces more than 40 per cent of Nigeria’s 2.2m-barrels-per- day crude, did not admit carelessness in its operations based on the nature of the spills.

For instance, in 2003, of the 221 spill cases recorded, Shell claimed 141 were due to sabotage and 80 to “controllable errors arising from equipment failures or human errors.”

In 2004, there were 236 spills, of which 157 were said to be from sabotage and 79 from controllable sources.

In 2005, according to the company, it recorded 224 spills, 157 from sabotage and the balance of 86 from controllable factors.

But the company reiterated commitment to its aspirations of zero spill in all its operations.

Its environment expert, Dr. Akuro Adoki, observed, “Litigation in the oil industry has been in the increase in recent time, most of which resulted from environmental issues.”

Tracing the incident to the Ken Saro-Wiwa saga, Adoki noted that the increase in such oil spill litigations was partly due to the growing environmental awareness in the Niger Delta, particularly those who wanted to “exploit the perceived poor environmental reputation of the industry operators,” which he said accounted for about 70 per cent of such cases.

He stated that in view of the numerous litigations facing the industry, coupled with regulatory requirements, operators had initiated some studies to promote sustainable development in their areas of operations.

According to him, among these are environmental impact assessment for new facilities’ development; environmental evaluation report or studies for existing facilities; post-impact assessment for projects or incident impact assessment; and special studies.

He added that the PIA had become a very important weapon against litigants who might want to cash in on the “ignorance” of the operators.

Posted by Publisher at 01:57 PM | Comments (0)

October 31, 2006

Crashes: Masari seeks release of previous probe reports

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, on Monday asked the Federal Government to immediately release reports of four air disasters, which occurred in the last 12 months.

By Chiawo Nwankwo, Abuja
Published: Tuesday, 31 Oct 2006

Besides, he called for a thorough investigation of the ADC plane crash in Abuja, in which 96 passengers perished.

The reports are on the tragedy involving planes belonging to Bellview Airline, Sosoliso Airline, a Nigeria Air Force Dornier military jet, and a private jet. The accidents happened between October 2005 and October 2006.

Masari, who expressed shock over Sunday air crash, said findings of how and why previous mishaps happened, would help the country to stem a recurrence.

He described last Sunday‘s crash as ”a monumental disaster to the entire country, the people of Sokoto State and the Muslim Ummah in general.”

His reaction was contained in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Adamu Marshal.

According to Masari, only government‘s strict enforcement of aviation safety regulation will curb further disasters in the aviation sector.

Other lawmakers that spoke on the incident demanded government‘s implementation of reports of Air Vice Marshal Paul Dike led-ad-hoc committee, which investigated the Sosoliso crash in Port-Harcourt last year and general safety in the aviation industry.

A member of the House, Mr. Frank Ineke, said aviation laws must compel pilots to obey safety instructions from control towers and weather experts.

Ineke‘s comment came against the backdrop of a statement credited to the Minister of Aviation, Dr. Babalola Borisade, that the pilot of the ill-fated ADC plane, ignored cautions from the control towers.

”We need to insist that we have fundamental rules that must be obeyed. That is the responsibility of government. I don‘t see how we should continue to lose souls in air accident too often,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr, on Monday said the Federal Government was targeting a “safest skies” initiative in the aviation sector.

Posted by Publisher at 09:10 AM | Comments (0)

October 30, 2006

Corruption: Errant police men will be procecuted –Ehindero

Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, has stressed that any police officer that engage in corrupt practices will be prosecuted.

By Akin Oyedele, Ibadan
Published: Monday, 30 Oct 2006

He also warned that the new police force now had zero tolerance for corruption and its attendant ramifications.

Ehindero spoke in Ibadan on Friday while delivering the 26th annual alumni lecture of the University of Ibadan Alumni Association.

The lecture was entitled: ”The Nigeria police in the emerging democratic culture.”

He added that the force was committed to the enthronement of transparency, accountability and due process to gain the confidence of the civil populace.

He said, ”A corrupt police force is an ineffective, inefficient and disrespected police force. Any member of the force, no matter how highly or lowly placed , who dishonours his uniform by engaging in these despicable acts, will not only face dismissal, but will also be prosecuted.”

The police boss said the phenomenon of corruption in the force was a moral question, that required attitudinal change to reverse.

Ehindero said the challenges he faced before unravelling the identity of the suspected killers of Sa‘adatu, wife of the former Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, was remarkable.

He said his entire career as a police officer he had never been confronted with such daunting challenge, where the bereaved already passed a vote-of-no-confidence on the police even before the commencement of investigation.

He also said that many people criticised him when he took over investigations into the murder of a Peoples Democratic Party governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Dr. Ayo Daramola.

He said with the inroad made so far in the investigation, he had been vindicated, adding that high profile killings required