Find below the link to download free Nigeria immigration Service Sample past test questions.
http://jobmasternigeria.org/nigeria-immigration-aptitude-test-questions/

ABUJA— AMIDST series of ongoing meetings and moves for realignment of forces, the Abubakar Kawu Baraje-led splitter group of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, said that it was more comfortable with the leadership and members of All Progressive Congress, APC.

The group, meanwhile, added that doors of reconciliation with the National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and the National Working Committee, NWC were still open.

On Atiku, G7 govs

In another development, the PDP has described the former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the seven rebel governors and other aggrieved members of the party as ingrates.

The party said that their action was synonymous to an act of biting the fingers that fed them, saying that the party was not bothered by the recent intensified efforts being made by APC to woo some of its governors.

6,000 decampees

PDP National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo, weekend, shortly after he received about 6,000 members of the ruling APC and the Labour Party, who defected to the party at the reunion rally for its members in Ogun West Senatorial District, in Idiroko, Ipokia Local Government Area, Ogun State, said that it took Atiku and his allies only four months to hatch the plot that resulted in the current crisis in PDP.
Oladipo argued that the former vice president had bitten the finger that fed him, saying that it was unthinkable that Abubakar and his allies, who had benefitted so much from their membership of the ruling party would not only turn their back on their benefactor but also plot its downfall.

PDP and S-West

“As far as the South West is concerned, you can see that PDP is waxing stronger by the day, particularly since the last mini-convention of the South West that we had in Ibadan. I don’t want to over-dramatize the situation.

“The PDP has not fallen and will not fall, but as for Abubakar, I will still love to believe that he was misquoted. In case he was not misquoted and if we believe what the media reported that the plot to split the PDP was hatched actually four months before our last mini-convention, that will be most unfortunate for someone of his status within the party.”

nPDP’s statement

However, nPDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Chukwuemeka Eze, said: “Even though we remain hopeful that wise counsel would prevail and our demands would be granted by the PDP, we, at the same time, feel comfortable in the company of APC, since we share the same goal of rescuing our dear country, Nigeria, from the edge of the precipice and putting her firmly on the path of sustainable development.

Sokoto Varsity inauguration

“The presence of APC and PDP leaders in large numbers at the Sokoto State University inauguration is a positive development, which raises hope for our fledging democracy. It is a good example of politics of tolerance and cooperation which we consider necessary if the country is to experience peace and tranquility, without which there could be no development.

APC, nPDP closeness

“The increasing closeness between leaders of nPDP and APC has raised questions in the minds of many Nigerians and fuelled speculations on the possible merger of the two parties. Speculations along this line have heightened since last Tuesday’s inauguration of the Sokoto State University, where both APC and nPDP put up a strong presence, with our National Chairman, Alhaji Baraje, leading a high-powered team that included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Governors Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, Musa Kwankwaso of Kano, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers and Sule Lamido of Jigawa; as well as our National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former Osun State governor, to the event.

Chemistry between Buhari, Tinubu

“The chemistry between the team and that of APC led by General Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was indeed unmistakable. The APC leaders have since then intensified the lobby for a marriage between both parties, even visiting some of our governors to directly invite them to join the party.

“All these visits on our state governors simply demonstrates our new status in the politics of Nigeria as the new bride of Nigerian politics and we hope to play the role as expected of us as we hold the key to Aso Rock come 2015.”
http://infonigeria24.com/were-more-comfortable-with-apc-g7-govs-npdp/

ABUJA—IT was another round of startling revelations yesterday as the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation continued the suspended investigative hearing into an alleged purchase of two armoured BMW cars at N255 million by the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah.

Despite the fact that the minister was absent at the hearing, the Nigeria Customs Service, NSC, First Bank PLC and Coscharis made presentations on their involvement in the purchase of the cars.

According to Committee’s Chairperson, Rep Nkeiruka Onyejeocha “tomorrow (today), is sacrosanct, the minister must appear by 10.am.

The minister’s letter, requesting to appear by noon was ignored by the committee.

Lagos N10m waiver used to clear armoured cars — Customs

Stakeholders were, however, startled when the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, DCG, Mannasseh Daniel Jatau, who represented the Customs C-G, Abdulahi Dikko said a N10 million waiver given to Lagos State Government as waiver to purchase vehicles for Eko 2012 Sports Festival was used to clear the cars.

Jatau said “the N10 million import duty payable on the 300 vehicles meant for Eko 2012 festival was used to clear the armoured cars.”

He explained that since the waiver was still effective the Customs had no choice than to allow the cars clear from the ports.
Jatau also noted that the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, endorsed the clearance of the armoured cars.

At this point, Rep Zakari Mohammed asked the DC-G to explain the procedure for such a waiver and the exact number of vehicles cleared by the Customs.

Responding Jatau said “the armoured vehicles were cleared because there was an authorisation letter from the Minister of Finance.”

Asked whether such a waiver was transferable, Jatau said, “to the best of my knowledge it is not transferrable and the total vehicles were 300 units.”

Rep Ahmed Ali queried Jatau further whether it is possible to use such an exemption for another purpose other than what it was meant for as in the case of NCAA.

Rep Jerry Manwe also demanded for evidence to show that such a waiver was granted by the Minister of Finance.

Jatau replied, saying “among the 300 vehicles only three were armoured cars and whether another beneficiary enjoyed the waiver I cannot tell you that because we are not magicians.

“At the clearance point, all the requirements of the law were met and we are under the Ministry of Finance. If you give us till tomorrow, (today) we will provide the evidence you demanded for.”

But a copy of the letter authorising the Customs was eventually presented which said “I am directed to refer to your letter dated June 23, 2012, in the above subject matter and to convey the approval of Mr. President and Commander-in-Chief to the Lagos State Government for the waiver of Import Duty, Value Added Tax, (VAT, ETLS, CISS, and other port charges in respect of the importation of 300 units of BMW, Ford, Land Rover, Range Rover, Lexus, Mercedes, Escalade, Jaguar and buses (Petrol/Diesel) for use during the 18th National Sports Festival (EKO 2012) to be imported through Messrs Coscharis Motors Nigeria Limited, as indicated in the duly attached list.”

He further said that but for the waiver, the Customs Service would have generated the sum of N10, 133, 533. He explained that if the Customs Service knew the diversion of beneficiaries before the vehicles left the port, it would have demanded that import duty be paid on them.

The lenders, First Bank of Nigeria in its testimony refuted claims by NCAA that it was not committed to the bank as regards the loan of N643 million for the cars.

Group Head, Retail Services of the bank, Seyi Oyefeso, told the committee that NCAA is committed to the bank having agreed to, and signed all the documents for the loan that was meant to cover 52 units of vehicles which does not include the BMW armoured cars.

In its own evidence, Coscharis Nig Ltd has maintained that due process was followed in the purchase of the cars and that regarding the exemption of duty, the President of the company, Cosmas Maduka, said it had an agreement with the Federal Government to waive import duties on cars it purchases for the government at a given time.

While the committee insisted that the current price of the vehicle shouldn’t have ordinarily exceeded N50 million each, Coscharis outrightly rejected it, saying that could never be the case with BMW B7 series anywhere in the world.

NCAA demanded jerk-up of armoured cars prices — Coscharis

But in a bid to state the fact, Coscharis revealed that the NCAA demanded a jerk up of the prices of the controversial vehicles from what the company had submitted earlier.

According to the Chairman of the company, Mr. Cosmas Maduka “NCAA told us that the initial price is not proper.”

The hearing further revealed that the controversial cars were originally purchased on behalf of the Lagos State Government for the 2012 18th National Sports Festival and later sold to NCAA.

Explaining the controversy, Maduka said that the delay encountered when the company sought clearance from the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, when the demand came made it necessary to sell the cars to NCAA. But the Committee insisted that Coscharis deceived the public and the government by saying that the cars were bought for NCAA when actually they were purchased on behalf of the Lagos State government.

Reps Committee accuses Coscharis of ripping off Nigerians

The committee also accused the company of ripping Nigerians off.

According to the Committee, the change in the prices of the vehicle from the initial amount of N70 million to N127.5 million even when the company had admitted that it got waivers from government not to pay Customs duties on the cars cast aspersion on the company’s position on the prices.

Similarly, the hearing later took a dramatic turn when the committee discovered that the vehicles supplied were of different make and types.

For instance, a member of the committee and spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Zakari Mohammed said that the chassis of one of the vehicles inspected by a delegation from the committee was DW68011. He argued that the number differed from what Coscharis gave in their correspondences with the office of the NSA.

But in a swift response, the company refuted it. It quoted the chasis numbers as 68044 and 68432 respectively. It however promised to send the NSA certificate on the cars to the committee.

Earlier, the company had requested to play a video to demonstrate how exotic the cars were in a bid to justify the prices but was turned down by the committee.

FAAN procures two bullet proof cars for MD — Sen. Uzodinma

In a related development, as condemnation continues to trail the purchase of two armoured cars by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, for the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, there was a startling revelation yesterday that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, equally procured another two for its Managing Director.

Meantime the Nigeria Meteorological Agency, NIMET and the Accident Investigations & Prevention Bureau, AIPB, have distanced themselves from the controversy surrounding the purchase of armoured vehicles, saying they were not involved in transactions on bullet proof cars.

Director -General of NIMET, Dr. Anthony Anuforom and his counterpart in AIPB, Captain Muhktar Usman, who exonerated their agencies when they appeared before the senate committee on aviation led by its Chairman, Senator Hope Uzodima when they were asked on oath, how many armoured vehicles they bought like their sister agencies within the aviation sector.

Senator Uzodima in an interview, confirmed to newsmen that the Managing Director of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, Mr. George Uriesi, had confirmed on oath that his agency bought 202 operational vehicles and two bullet-proof cars for the MD.

He said: “Investigation is still on-going and it will not be fair for me to pre-empt the outcome. FAAN did confirm that among the operational vehicles they purchased, four of them are armoured vehicles, two for the MD and two for the minister.

“We told them to go back and put everything in writing and make comprehensive statements on all vehicles purchased so until they come back on Monday we cannot rush into conclusion.

“The FAAN MD said they did a funding arrangement with a commercial bank. This investigation will be a very deep one so that at the end of the day, we do a holistic approach and look at how the sector will be repositioned so that all anomalies will be corrected.”

The Senate Committee on Aviation had on Tuesday queried FAAN over the purchase of four bullet-proof cars in the agency’s inventory.

The FAAN MD, George Uriesi told the Uzodinma-led committee that the vehicles included two Lexus limousine cars and two Prado SUVs, adding that the limousines were bought at the cost of N60 million each and not N70 million being insinuated.
http://infonigeria24.com/n255m-cars-firstbank-coscharis-customs-state-cases-at-hearing/

The World Bank has ranked Nigeria 147th among the best places for doing business. It also ranked the country as the 122nd for best countries to start a business.

The report released, yesterday, said Nigeria’s low ranking is mainly caused by electricity problems, where the country is ranked 185th out of 189 countries evaluated. The first African country on the list is Rwanda, ranked 32nd.

The report said in Africa, 66 per cent of countries enacted at least one reform last year, against 33 per cent in 2005, adding that nine African countries make up the top 20 most improved in terms of business regulations since 2009: Benin, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

The report said economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 – 189. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

This index averages the country’s percentile rankings on 10 topics, made up of a variety of indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. The rankings for all economies are bench-marked to June 2013.
http://infonigeria24.com/world-bank-ranks-nigeria-122nd-best-place-for-business/

ABUJA—Embattled Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, who is facing separate probe panels set up by President Goodluck Jonathan as well as the National Assembly over the purchase of N255 million armoured cars has written the president to explain her side of the story.

The President on Tuesday issued query to her to explain her role in the purchase of the armoured cars.

In her response which Vanguard obtained exclusively, the minister said procurement of the cars followed due process and was provided for in the NCAA 2013 budget.

Defence

In her defence titled: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ON THE PROCUREMENT OF NCAA OPERATIONAL VEHICLES, she wrote: “The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, is the statutory regulator of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Industry.

Consequently, the NCAA is charged with oversight responsibilities over all civil aviation operations in the country, including safety, security and strict compliance with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices, SARPs, and Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations, NCARs.

2. Towards the effective implementation of its statutory regulatory responsibilities, therefore, it is imperative that the NCAA is fully equipped with highly specialised tools and facilities, including adequate operational vehicles to cover all 22 national airports and over 400 airstrips. In keeping with standard practice, provision is therefore made annually for the replacement of obsolete, inadequate and unreliable monitoring equipment.

3.In the 2013 budgetary appropriation, provision was made for the procurement of specialised equipment (including operational vehicles) to complement and in some cases replace obsolete ones.

Furthermore, the fact that NCAA, as the regulator of the industry, often plays host to dignitaries from ICAO, IATA, US FAA, AFRAA, AFCAC BAGASO, CANSO, ACI and a host of others makes it necessary to have specialised operational vehicles.

4.With regard to the procurement of additional operational vehicles (including BMW Security Vehicles), the following due process was observed:

(I) By letter dated April 15, 2013, NCAA officially requested authorisation from the Federal Ministry of Aviation to procure 56 operational vehicles through lease financing. This option was proposed to the ministry to enable the NCAA make 36 monthly payments based on receipts from Internally Generated Revenue, IGR.

Approval

The Ministry therefore granted due approval.

(ii)Based on the ministry’s approval, the NCAA invited Expressions of Interest from all Banks in Nigeria for the financing of the said vehicles. EOI was adopted because the procurement is two sided. First, the financier would have to be selected before the supplier is determined. This is in line with procurement best practices.

(iii) On May 24, 2013, the response received from the various banks to the Expression of Interest, EOI, request was opened publicly and minutes of the opening exercise was duly documented. During the EOI opening exercise, NCAA got commendation from one of the Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, approved by BPP who were invited for the opening exercise.

(iv) The evaluation of the expression of interests was held on May 31, 2013 during which First Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc and Stanbic IBTC emerged most responsive. On the June 10, 2013 the above three banks were invited to submit Financial Proposals. Thereafter, First Bank emerged the highest rated responsive bidder.

(v)Between June 20 and 25, 2013, invoices were received from various accredited motor vehicle dealers during which only Coscharis Motors Limited quoted for BMW Security Vehicles.

Tenders Board

(vi) On June 28, 2013, NCAA Parastatal Tenders Board approved the selection of First Bank Ltd for the Lease Financing as well as Metropolitan Motor Vehicles and Coscharis for the supply of the vehicles. All necessary approvals were duly sought and obtained accordingly.

(vii) Between July 8, 2013 to August, 12, 2013 various meetings were held with First Bank Ltd, contract agreement was signed and necessary documentation executed.

Your Excellency is respectfully invited to note:

(i) The crucial statutory role of the NCAA in regulating civil aviation operations in the country, including safety, security and strict compliance with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs).

(ii) The need for NCAA to be fully equipped with highly specialized tools and facilities (including operational vehicles) to enable the effective implementation of its statutory functions.

(iii) The procurement of specialized operational vehicles is duly provided for in the NCAA 2p 13 (IGR) Budget and the need for adopting instalmental lease payments over36rionths.

(iii) That Due Process was followed in the procurement of the said operational vehicles.

Please your Excellency my continued loyally and esteemed regards.

Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, OON, Honourable Minister.
http://infonigeria24.com/n255m-car-deal-my-story-by-stella-oduah/

It is doubtful if there are any other nationals that are as cocky as Americans and Nigerians. The only thing that seems to blunt Nigerians’ cockiness, especially abroad, is the not-too-exciting perception of Nigeria in international circles.

This cockiness stems from issues such as the sizes of the two countries in relation to their neighbours; the population of these nations; and the wealth of the nationals. The United States’ case is worsened by the fact that it leads the world in military might. An average American almost believes that the sun rises and sets in the US. The average Nigerian is almost like that. The only reason he is not fully so is because of the political and economic state of the nation.

To fuel this ego, the American loves to live life the big and glamorous way. He loves big cars and big houses, state-of-the-art electronic gadgets and phones, trendy shoes and clothes. The American could comfortably live the good life with materials obtained through loans and credit cards. The Nigerian loves to live big too. In spite of the statistics that about 70 per cent of Nigerians live below the poverty line, many Europeans would be filled with envy if they see the quality of cars that ply the streets of Lagos and other cities as well as the type of edifices that dot every available space in most Nigerian cities. You should not be surprised if your relative who is an unemployed graduate or an undergraduate, who looks up to you for financial support, owns more expensive phones, clothes and shoes than you.

That arrogance also shows in the attitude of the two countries towards language. Both countries were colonised by the United Kingdom. Therefore, they both have English as their national language. But interestingly, both countries live among countries that don’t speak English, except for Canada which is on the northern side of the US. Nigeria is surrounded on all sides by French countries, except on the southern side where there is the Atlantic Ocean. The US has mainly Spanish neighbours. Yet, the average Nigerian or American does not bother to learn any other foreign language. His mindset is that if any of his neighbours wants to communicate with him, the neighbour should learn English. Unlike in Europe where people try to learn one or two other languages to make communication with neighbours easier, Nigerians and Americans don’t bother much with such things.

Again, in terms of size, the US is the most populous country in the Americas – the North America and South America. Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa as well as in the Black world. This makes the two countries natural giants.

Moreover, the US has the largest economy in the Americas (as well as in the world). Nigeria would have had the largest economy in Africa but for missed opportunities caused by decades of poor governance. Currently, it is the number two in Africa, behind South Africa. Delightfully, Nigeria is projected to beat South Africa by 2025, according to a Morgan Stanley survey. Unfortunately for the US, it is projected to lose its number one spot to China in the next couple of years.

Furthermore, both countries practise the presidential system of government. Nigeria actually copied its system from the US, after it felt that the parliamentary system handed over to it by the UK was not effective. Nigeria also drives on the right side of the road like the Unites States.

In addition, both countries like to play the Big Brother to other countries. They like to solve the problems of other countries even when they have not finished solving their internal problems. They like to fight for peace and freedom in other countries. Sometimes it brings praise, but sometimes it brings condemnation. Curiously, in spite of their claim to championing democracy, freedom and equality in other countries, both countries have never been led by a woman. Some of their neighbours or countries close to them have had female heads of state, while the US and Nigeria are still hoping that such will be a possibility in future.

Also, both nations are currently being led by individuals from the minorities, for the first time. In 2008, the US made history by electing a Black man as its president; in 2010, by happenstance, Nigeria saw a minority becoming the president as a result of the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua. In 2011 – for the first time – Nigeria elected a minority as president. Coincidentally, Americans who hate Mr. Barack Obama’s policies or status as the American President call him “clueless”, while Nigerians who don’t like Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s policies and his position as President also call him “clueless”.

Another point is that both Nigeria and the US have each fought a civil war. Each of them was on the verge of disintegration during the war, but retained their unity after the war.

Furthermore, a person from the US is called an American, which has eight letters, while a person from Nigeria is called a Nigerian, which also has eight letters. Maybe, that is why both countries have a four-year tenure for their elected officers, with a maximum of two terms, which makes them rule for a maximum of eight years, except in a special case like that of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Another interesting similarity is that Americans have the largest film and music industries in the Americas and the world. They have spread the American culture across the world through these two channels. Nigeria also has the largest film industry and music industry in Africa. They have spread their culture across Africa and even Europe and the Americas through these two as well. Other African countries are copying them in music and movies.

However, it is not all about similarities. Nigerians are not as passionate about Nigeria as Americans are about the US. Americans are very proud of their citizenship. And they do everything within their power to uphold the integrity of the US wherever they are. Americans can quarrel among themselves but once there is an attack on the US, they unite as Americans to fight the aggressor. Maybe, Nigerians are not as passionate as the Americans because success has many fathers, while failure is an orphan. It is a fact that Nigeria has not lived up to expectations. It has terribly under-performed in spite of its potential. Citizens are therefore not as keen about the nation as they should. But any time there is something of success like a football success, that innate passion comes to the fore.

The US is showing leadership both at home and abroad. Its democracy is always quoted and imitated globally. Not so for Nigeria, which seems to do better at spreading democracy abroad than promoting it at home. There is ethnic tension in Nigeria, which has made many fear that disintegration is a possibility in the future. There is the crisis fomented by the extremist Boko Haram sect, which the government has not yet found an answer to.

The US has ensured that it is competitive in science and technology. Even though Japan, China and India are challenging America’s grip on technology, it has continued to do well in that area. It has invested heavily in thought leadership, ensuring that it is always ahead in new ideas. On the contrary, Nigeria has depended hugely on its oil resource, which has made it close its eyes to technological advancement and manufacturing.

But most importantly, the US has built a super-organised society, with infrastructure that works almost perfectly. Nigeria’s system is not organised, with infrastructure working poorly. Nigeria depends a lot on luck and hope for basic things that other nations take for granted. But fortunately, there seems to be some attention to the revamping of infrastructure. If it succeeds, it will be a fillip to Nigeria’s development.

The US and Nigeria are like identical twins raised in two different environments, whose fortunes have been shaped by the conditions around them. If Nigeria turns its economy and governance around, it will be difficult to find areas of disparity between her and the US. That should be our vision.
http://infonigeria24.com/nigerians-and-americans-have-similar-dna/

Abuja — The Federal Executive Council, yesterday, approved a new national automotive policy to check the country’s spending of over N550 billion in importing cars into Nigeria.

The council meeting which was presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan also approved N41 billion for the development of infrastructure for the Federal Capital Territory.

Minister of Information, Labaran Maku said government has identified and designated automotive clusters in Lagos/Ogun, Kaduna/Kano, and Anambra/Enugu states as the locations for the manufacturing of the new vehicles to enable them share resources and reduce cost of investments.

According to him, the development is expected to revive, expand and develop the petrochemical and metal/steel sectors which is expected to culminate in the return of tyre manufacturing industry to support the automotive sector.

Mr Labaran Maku, who was joined by the Minister of Trade and Investments, Olusegun Aganga, and FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, said the success of the policy will also mean a gradual phase out of fairly used (tokunboh) cars imported into Nigeria.

Speaking on the policy, Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegum Aganga said the national automotive policy will further encourage local manufacture of vehicles, adding that car import takes the biggest share of the country’s foreign reserves followed by other machinery.

He added that the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, is working with car-maker, Cena of Brazil, to open automotive training centres in Nigeria while two Nigerian universities have agreed to commence degree programmes in automechanical engineering to bridge the manpower challenge in the sector.

He noted “Council also approved that government should direct that all vehicle purchased by government should be from the local assembly plants unless it is specialized nature and NAC have certified that it is not produced in Nigeria”

“The Council approved that the approved recommendation should be backed by appropriate legislation to give comfort to investors that there will be no abrupt change in policy”

He explained that the policy was drawn over the last nine months and had the input of the National Automotive Council and foreign car manufacturing giants like Toyota and Nissan that are expected to soon start announcing their specific investments in the country.

The minister said “Banks will be encouraged to operate vehicle purchase schemes to enable Nigerians purchase cars on easy terms and the FRSC will kick off a new vehicle car registration/tracking system in the next two weeks to check the smuggling of used cars into the country”

“A transformed automotive industry will realize its potential as a major driver of economic growth and diversification , job creation, local value addition, and technology acquisition. These recommendation were adopted at various fora conferences and consultations with stakeholders including some original equipment manufacturers, OEM”

Council also appoved the memo seeking approval for the rehabilitation and expansion of the outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) from villa Round About to the OSEX / Ring Road 1(RR1) junction including five interchanges.

Minister of FCT, Bala Mohammed who addressed correspondents at the end of the meeting said “the existing segment of the OSEX from the villa roundabout to RR1is only partially developed with a 2-lane main carriage way and one 2-lane service carriageway as against the 10 lane expressway provided in the Abuja Master-Plan. The OSEX is an expressway that bounds the city on the eastern fringe and provides the major access to the city”

FEC also approved the provision of engineering infrastructure to plot 4075, Asokoro extension (comprising 50 plots), Abuja

The project employment generation opportunity that would emanate from the construction activities following the implementation of the project is expected to be in the neighourhood of 450 employees.
http://infonigeria24.com/fg-okays-new-policy-to-check-importation-of-cars/

SENATORS shifted their attention to blaming the woes of Nigeria in the past 53 years on leaders – obviously they did know they were part of the leadership that has stalled Nigeria’s development, if only in the 14 years that they have worn democracy as a mantra, without inclination to the development of the country.

“Congratulations to Nigerians on her 53rd Independence Anniversary,” a motion Victor Ndoma-Egba and 11 others sponsored was platform for senators to express their regrets about Nigeria lagging behind Malaysia and Brazil, which they called its “contemporaries”. The bases for the comparisons were mainly emotional contraptions about the promises Nigeria held at independence.

Without an understanding of issues marring Nigeria’s development – among them an intractable federalism, jumbo-sized corruption, and legislators who think only about their welfare – the solutions they proposed were not surprising at all.

Some thought regionalism was the answer to the nation’s challenges. Others spoke of post-independence leadership of Sir Ahmadu Bello, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and blamed subsequent leaders for destroying the foundations the trio laid.

Ethnicity, as some said, was not as responsible for Nigeria’s state, as the absence of competitiveness. A country that believes in sharing, rather than producing, a country that would not use its best human resources because of their origins, a country that admits students to its federal schools to complete numbers, not based on intellectual grounding would get worse, when products of these “new beginnings” mature.

Comparisons with Malaysia, Brazil and Singapore often fail to recognise the place of competitiveness and provision of basic infrastructure in improving the standards of living. These in turn generate demands for more goods and services, promote conducive environments for businesses, and create the jobs.

Senators are probably unaware that they are among the leadership that ruined the country in the past 14 years. Did they discuss their role in 53 years of Nigeria? The Senate is not the first attempt, for many of them, in leading Nigeria. What is their record of service?

Whether as local government officials, security officers, governors, ministers or commissioners in the States and various federal agencies, the Senate is populated with many who have made generous contributions to Nigeria’s parlous state. Are they unaware of their contributions to Nigeria, some dating more than 40 years? How could senators, in good conscience, join the lamentations?

These headline-tailored regrets would do Nigeria more harm. Which laws since 1999 did the National Assembly make to ensure Section 14 2b, “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government,” was actionable?

Nigerians expect the Senate to admit its poor care for Nigeria, followed with a plan for its atonement.
http://infonigeria24.com/53-leaders-blame-leaders/

mnesty International has called on the Nigerian government not just to track the killers of the Yobe College students but must also take urgent measures to protect schools and students in the north-east of the country following the attack that left dozens dead.

Between 21 February and 1 March 2012 alone, 10 primary schools were attacked in locations across Maiduguri, the state capital. In most attacks, the buildings were so badly damaged that they could no longer be used.

Since the beginning of 2013, attacks have appeared to have become more targeted and brutal. They frequently happen when schools are occupied, and teachers and pupils are now being directly targeted and killed.

The Yobe attack took place at around 1:00 am on Sunday, had gunmen enter the compound of the College of Agriculture in Yobe state and opened fire on students.

Several individuals told Amnesty International the attackers ordered students to assemble and then opened fire on them.

According to Lucy Freeman, Africa Deputy Director at Amnesty International “Since 2012, we have seen an escalation of lethal attacks against students and schools. On top of the tragic loss of lives, children are being prevented from accessing education. It is high time for the authorities not only to investigate these deplorable incidents and take those responsible to justice but to take measures to prevent them,”

One resident of Damaturu said that on Sunday they counted 62 bodies at the Sani Abacha General Hospital mortuary in Damaturu, Yobe state.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the Islamist armed group Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for attacks on schools, teachers and students in north-eastern Nigeria since 2012.

Freeman also asked the perpetrators of these acts to stop the attacks on students, children and teachers.

“Boko Haram and any affiliated armed groups or individuals in northern Nigeria must immediately stop all attacks on schools, students, teachers and pupils. This is a deplorable and absolute disregard for the right to life and the right to education,”
http://infonigeria24.com/nigeria-must-protect-students-from-incessant-killings-amnesty/

Ado Ekiti — UNIVERSITY students under the umbrella of National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, yesterday, took to the streets in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, calling on the Federal Government to accede to the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.

They equally threatened to shut down activities in the private universities in the country should the crisis linger on.

The students who displayed several placards with various inscriptions, lambasted the Federal Government for its failure to honour the agreement it entered into with ASUU since 2009.
Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Asafon Sunday, Director of Action and Mobilisation NANS, South–West, claimed between 2000 and 2011 the Nigerian government earned about N48.48 trillion from the sale of oil alone, against N3.10 trillion earned between 1979 and 1999

He said the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, in 2012 financial year alone generated N5.12 trillion from tax paid by the masses.

According to him: “With this tremendous upswing in the revenue at the disposal of the Nigerian government, one would have expected such to translate to commensurate improvement in the quality of Nigeria’s public education as well as other social services.”

He condemned the refusal of Federal Government to budget a reasonable amount of money to education sector as recommended by UNESCO which is 26 per cent of the country’s total budget.

Sunday noted that some countries with smaller Gross Domestic Product, GDP, like Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Morocco and Botswana had budgetary allocations to education sector as follow, 31 per cent,20 per cent,23 per cent ,17.7 per cent and 19 per cent respectively to 8.5 per cent that Nigeria government had budgeted for education in 2013.

Also speaking, Steven Adara ,a student leader from Ekiti State University, EKSU , lamented that government officials and prominent Nigerians were not bothered about the crisis in the public universities because their children were in private schools overseas.

According to him: “We will mobilise and disrupt academic activities in the private universities because it is the sons and daughters of the rich that are in these schools.”
http://infonigeria24.com/students-threaten-to-shut-private-varsities-over-ASUU-strike/#

NEW DELHI (AFP) – Doctors declared Wednesday that a pair of formerly conjoined twins were healthy and happy after they were successfully separated in a marathon “nerve-wracking” operation in India by a team of 40 specialists.

The one-year-old girls from Nigeria, sporting matching bright pink dresses, sat patiently on their parents’ laps as doctors explained the separation last month during an 18-hour operation at a New Delhi hospital.

“They were fused at their back when they came to us which is very rare,” paediatric surgeon Prashant Jain told AFP.
“Usually the twins are joined in the head or the upper body. It posed a huge challenge to our team of doctors,” Jain said.

Doctors held the media conference as the twins, Hussaina and Hassana, sat happily, grabbing at a mobile phone, clutching a rattle and trying to pull off their mother’s earrings.

Malama Badariyya Badaru, the mother of the twins, said she was overjoyed at finally being able to hold the girls in her arms “individually”.

The girls, sporting hair bands of different colours to make recognition easier, looked curiously at the cameras during the conference at the BLK Super Speciality hospital.

“It was all nerve-wracking work. But it feels great to see them happy, healthy and independent,” Jain said.

The single surgery was carried out in three stages, preparation, separation and then reconstruction of their shared organs which include the lower spine, lower intestinal and urinary tracts as well as genitals.

“We carried out rehearsals using dummies. All tubes, wires, injections and drugs were colour-coded in pink or blue (for each girl) to avoid any mistake,” he said.

Jain said only 15 percent of all conjoined twins are born with this type of condition, known medically as pygopagus. Medical literature lists just 32 such cases, he said.

The family, from Kano state in northwestern Nigeria, were told by doctors in their country that one of the girls may not survive if they went ahead with the surgery there.

An unnamed philanthropist then stepped in to help, and suggested they travel to India which offered good facilities at relatively low medical costs, Jain said.

The family can head home to Nigeria after a series of month-long check ups, he said.
http://infonigeria24.com/nigerian-conjoined-twins-healthy-after-operation-in-india/

The authorities of the Nigerian Army have retired some top generals of the Army.

It was gathered that those retired were ten in number.

Among those affected were the former Director of Training and Operations, Defence Headquarters, Maj.-Gen. Lawrence Ngugbane, the former Commander of Training, Doctrine and Command, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Mungonu, and the former Chief of Research and Development, Maj.-Gen. Obinali Ariahu.

A top military source said on Wednesday that the generals were retired because they had put in the maximum years in service.

The source said that the retirement exercise was routine and not punitive.

The source added that the retirement exercise was expected to take place every quarter of the year.

The source couldn’t give the names of the others affected in the exercise.

“It is true that some of our generals have been retired. The exercise is a routine one. It is not a punitive retirement, they have reached their terminal level.

“Some of them were asked to proceed on the compulsory terminal leave in June this year,” the source said.

Our correspondent could not contact the Director of Defence Information, Brig.- Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, for comments as the calls placed to his mobile telephone line indicated that it was switched off or in an area outside network coverage.
http://infonigeria24.com/nigerian-army-retires-10-generals/

There was a mild drama in the Taraba State House of Assembly on Monday as nine of its members rose from a brief plenary reiterating their earlier rejection of the letter transmitted to the assembly by Governor Danbaba Suntai that he had resumed work.

The nine legislators were among the 16, who had on Thursday asked Suntai to go back to a United States hospital for further treatment and allow his deputy, Alhaji Garba Umar, to continue to run the state in acting capacity.

Six lawmakers who were part of the 16 did not participate in the sitting done without the mace. The plenary was presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Tanko Makarfi, in the absence of the Speaker, Mr. Haruna Tsokwa, who had yet to return from Abuja where he attended the Peoples Democratic Party mini-convention.

However, the Majority Leader, Mr. Joseph Abasu, said that other members of the assembly would respond fully to the development on Tuesday (today).

“We have resolved that we will not talk until tomorrow (Tuesday). We just came back from Abuja and we are trying to gather our facts before saying anything,”Abasu said.

But another member of the assembly, Mr. Mark Useni, described the plenary as a ruse. He said the assembly was supposed to have ended its legislative calendar last Wednesday, but could not because the speaker was nowhere to be found.

Useni said, “Taraba House of Assembly was supposed to end the current legislative calendar on Wednesday, but was not officially closed because the Speaker who was to close the calendar was absent. The closure was supposed to be backed by two-thirds of the assembly and if there should be any extension, it should still be approved by two-thirds of the assembly. So their so-called plenary is a ruse. We were even told that they read from a prepared speech.”

However, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Aminu Jika, has dismissed a rumour that Suntai had travelled out of the state to continue his treatment.

Jika, who spoke with our correspondent in Jos, Plateau State on Monday, said the governor was in Jalingo and that the letter to the assembly still subsisted.

The Chief of Staff said, “There is only one governor in Taraba State. There can never be a governor and an acting governor in any state. It is an insult to even assume and claim that. Somebody is wrong somewhere and I think sooner than later, it will be sorted out.

“I see my boss on a daily basis and his improvement has been wonderful. Since he was taken to Germany and from there to the US after the plane crash , it has been a wonderful story and we thank God for that. “Yesterday (Sunday), I was with him and he was playing a game with his sister and he was very alert and active. He even watches television before he goes to bed.

“I am very satisfied with the state of his health. I think sooner than later, Governor Suntai will be doing more than he is doing now in terms of discharging his functions and in terms of giving leadership to the people of Taraba State. If not for the politics over his health condition, we would not have reached this situation. I still don’t understand why people are doing what they are doing. Why should people hide in Abuja and Lagos and be saying what they don’t know about. We want them to play the game by the rules. We will not rush him (Suntai) because of what people are saying.

“Leaders and chief executives don’t have to be in their offices before they can function. Governor Suntai is giving directive on the running of the state and he does not need to be physically present before things are done.

“After all, leaders who are well don’t do the work themselves, they can be anywhere and delegate functions. It is the prerogative of chief executives to work from anywhere in the world and anywhere in the country . In short, he is doing well; he is recuperating and we’re not going to rush him until he is medically advised.

“I have no doubt in my mind that the governor is on course and his transmission of the letter to the Speaker, House of Assembly, according to Section 190 (2) is valid; there is no contest over that act of the governor and we are doing everything possible to go through this initial challenge.”
http://infonigeria24.com/suntai-nine-taraba-lawmakers-meet-without-mace/

ENUGU — Kidnapping for ransom which has remained the quickest means of making money among criminals within the South-East zone has taken a new dimension as some dubious people now hide under the evil practice to dupe their wealthy relations.

One Samuel Ani, a casket (coffin) dealer from Ugwuaji community in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State was arrested by operatives of Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Enugu State Police Command, weekend, for attempting to dupe his brothers of N2 million under the guise that he was abducted by kidnappers.

Ani, whose coffin shop is at Garki, Awkunanaw area of Enugu, allegedly hid himself in a bush behind his shop for six days and alerted his brothers that he was in a kidnappers’ den.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the arrest, yesterday, said the suspect “never knew that his sin shall find him.”

He said: “Samuel Ani hid himself in a bush behind his shop for six days from where he was making phone calls to his two younger brothers in a very convincing tone that he had been abducted and that N2 million was required to get him out of the kidnappers’ den or else he would be killed.

”Following this, the case was reported to the state police command who mobilised its anti-kidnapping unit to rescue the victim. When Samuel intensified his call that the purported kidnappers were on the verge of killing him if his people could not bring the ransom, he later reduced the ransom to N1.2 million.

“Some money was then deposited into the account number provided by the purported kidnappers and a certain girl who went to cash the initial N100,000 sent through one of the new generation banks around Agbani Road on August 29, 2013 was arrested by the operatives.

”The girl was identified as one Oluchi Faith Ogbu from Akpugo in Nkanu West Local Government Area of the state and a fiancee to Samuel Ani.

“When interrogated, Oluchi Faith Ogbu said that the account belongs to her but was instructed by Samuel to supply the account number so that his brothers can pay the ransom via the account and that she was to cash it as soon as she receives alert of the payment and bring it to him.”

The police spokesman said Oluchi’s confession, however, led to the arrest of Samuel, who said he was not kidnapped but maintained that he kidnapped himself so that his wealthy younger brothers could pay ransom which he would use to sort out his business dealings.

He said apart from the trick he adopted, nothing would make his brothers give him any monetary assistance even though he regretted his actions.

Ani admitted that the step he took was not good in the sight of God, man or law and pleaded for forgiveness.

He said he is a father of five children but never revealed to Oluchi that he was married as he had promised to marry her.

Asked if he was not making ends meet from the construction and sale of coffins, Ani said he made low sales, and that he decided to trick the brothers to get money from them to address his immediate challenges which required huge amount of money.

Amaraizu said Oluchi and Ani had been detained while investigations into the ugly incident had commenced.
http://infonigeria24.com/casket-seller-kidnaps-self-demands-n2m-ranson-from-brothers/

FOR one who came to government from the field of business, it is understandable that Governor Peter Obi would explore all avenues to generate money for the state.

As it prepares to exit, the Obi administration has discovered that election is even a good way of generating internal revenue.

It is thus not surprising that the administration has recently notified candidates for the governorship election that they are to pay N1 million each for their posters being pasted in all parts of the state. This is in addition to unspecified amounts they are to pay for their bill boards.

Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Chief Joe Martins Uzodike said that the state government decided to wait for candidates to emerge so as not to bother those who lost at the primaries.

The charge, he said, is provided in the signage law passed by the state House of Assembly, adding that it is done everywhere.

The commissioner said the payment became necessary because of the mess created by the posters in public places, explaining that the state signage authorities would use the money to restore the walls the politicians would have defaced after the election.

He said: “The candidates are being notified already about the payment and they are expected to pay into a designated government account. In the next two weeks, we will begin to bring down the bill boards if they fail to pay the stipulated amount.”

Guber candidates: Ogbaru people excited at emerging trends
The people of Ogbaru area of Anambra North are excited about the emergence of governorship candidates of two major political parties from Anambra North senatorial zone.

The people say they are indeed grateful to Governor Peter Obi who championed the zoning of the next governor to the area to give them a sense of belonging.

Former secretary to the state government, Mr. Oseloka Obaze, who spoke when Mrs. Margaret Obi visited Ogbaru, said the area was grateful for what Governor Peter Obi has done for Ogbaru people during his two terms in office.

He said: “The governor has shown us love and support and we wish to acknowledge that today. We also thank him for his steadfast support in ensuring that the governorship candidate of APGA came from Anambra north senatorial zone.

“It is true that we all yearned for a candidate from Ogbaru; I was part of that intense effort and campaign, but that did not happen. But as Ndi Ogbaru, we must remain steadfast in our support for APGA and its candidate, my dear friend, brother and schoolmate, Chief Willie Maduabuchi Obiano.

“Let me say here that I have known Willie Obiano for forty-three years. He is a good, caring and God- fearing man. He was one year my junior at CKC Onitsha. We were boys scouts and belonged to the same troop.

“He comes from Aguleri, a part of Anambra that share a lot of identical values, needs and concerns with Ogbaru.

PPA spoils Ulasi’s fun
Suggestions had been rife that London based Mrs. Blessing Ulasi had been endorsed by the PPA hierarchy as the presumptive nominee of the party in the gubernatorial election.

Mrs. Ulasi, a lawyer has been all around the state campaigning not as an aspirant, but as a candidate.

Sources say that after Mrs. Uche Ekwunife exited the party following the 2010 gubernatorial election, that Mrs. Ulasi helped to revive the fortunes of the party.

However, her unrivalled claim to the ticket came under dispute yesterday after the national chairman of the party, Chief Sam Nkire put off yesterday’s governorship primary on the excuse that it was to enable more aspirants to pick up the party’s gubernatorial primary forms.

He was equally firm in disputing assertions that the party had anointed anyone as its candidate for the polls describing the speculations to the evil “handwork of other political parties that are afraid of facing PPA in the election.”

The governorship primary is now to hold on September 2.

Primaries: Dan Nwanyanwu urges parties to emulate LP
National chairman of the Labour Party, LP, Dan Nwanyanwu has been basking on the peaceful conduct of his party’s governorship primaries, urging other political parties to emulate LP in the way it conducts its activities in the interest of the country’s democracy.

Speaking in Awka after the oil magnet, Ifeanyi Ubah, was nominated as the party’s flag bearer for the forthcoming election, Nwanyanwu expressed delight at the way every member of the party accepted the choice of its candidate.

“This is how party primaries should be conducted. You can see how happy our members are and how they are exchanging banters because the exercise is very transparent, unlike what happened in some political parties where rancour had become the order of the day.

“What is happening in LP makes us happy and gives us hope that we will go into this election as a united political party. “Our opponents are already jittery because they know that our candidate is solid and has the support of a cross section of the people of Anambra.”

Ubah, in his acceptance speech, promised not to disappoint the people of Anambra State, if elected the next governor of the state.

He said that his government will be for all and will strive to meet the aspirations of the people, irrespective of their political leanings.

Newsstand campaign begins
The emergence of the governorship candidates of the various political parties have emerged and campaigns appear to have shifted to the newspaper stands. Every morning in the major towns of Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi, Ekwulobia, Ihiala, Otuocha, among others, large numbers of people, mainly youths, gather and discuss the candidates and their chances.

While some argue that the state needs an untainted person to be elected governor, others argue that experience matters in every sphere of life.

Perhaps, what attracts the most heated argument is the unfolding events in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. For instance, some of the people say that they still find it difficult to believe that the controversy over the party’s rightful candidate should be raging between Senator Andy Uba and Comrade Tony Nwoye, knowing that both worked together in the past.

A long standing member of PDP tried desperately to make his listeners believe that both factional candidates are working together, recalling that it was Andy Uba, as President Obasanjo’s aide, that single handedly made Nwoye the state chairman of PDP.

For APC, some of the people said the confusion in the state was created by Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, who they accuse of not reasoning like a politician. To some of the people, the Imo governor, if he meant well for Senator Chris Ngige, should have ensured that primaries of the party was conducted before his coming to Awka to announce to the people that Ngige is the candidate of the party.

Those who watched Ngige speak on television after presenting his nomination forms to the party said that was an action he should have taken before coming with Okorocha to Awka.
http://infonigeria24.com/anambra-2013-candidates-to-pay-n1m-for-posters/

The Taraba State Governor, Mr. Danbaba Suntai, finally addressed the people on Wednesday , exactly four days after his return from a 10-month medical sojourn abroad.

The brief address was however not live but through a video shown on the state-owned television station in Jalingo.

His failure to do so earlier and appear before the state House Assembly to formally intimate its members of his desire to resume work had created suspicions that he was incapable of continuing to function as the state governor.

Before the video was brodcast, he met with the lawmakers and inaugurated the newly appointed Secretary to the State Government, Timothy Kataps, as well as the Chief of Staff, Mallam Aminu Jika.

The governor, who is recuperating from injuries he sustained last October when a small aircraft he flew crashed, had earlier dissolved the state Executive Council, leaving only his special assistants.

In the address, Suntai commended the people of the state for their prayers and for standing by him in his moment of trial.

“I thank the people of Taraba State for standing by me and my family.I also thank the commissioners for holding the fort while I was away. Also enjoin all of you to continue to live in peace,” he said.

Suntai, who wore a sky blue suit and a stripe shirt, also congratulated the people on the 22nd anniversary of the state which was on August 27.

He had while inaugurating the new SSG and the CoS enjoined them to to work in the interest of the people. The new SSG (Kataps), a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, took over from Mr. Garvey Yawe while Jika, who once served in the same capacity in 2007, replaced Alhmed Yusuf.

Yawe and Yusuf were among the members of the sacked state Executive Council. The others are all the commissioners and 22 special advisers.

The Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media, Sylvanus Giwa, had at a news conference in Jalingo, said that the appointments of Kataps and Jika were aimed at strengthening the machinery of government.

The governor also met on Wednesday evening with members of the House of Assembly led by their Speaker, Haruna Tsokwa.

The lawmakers had resolved at their sitting earlier on Wednesday to meet with the governor to confirm his true state of health before taking any position on his letter stating his intention to resume office.

Journalists, who were asked to wait at the assembly complex for the lawmakers to meet with the governor, were stunned when they returned, held a brief closed-door session, and said they would speak to the press on Thursday(today).

Suntai’s Chief Press Secretary, Hassan Mijinyawa, said the meeting was “meaningful.”

The Speaker had on Monday alleged that the House leaders were prevented from seeing the governor.

Our correspondents learnt that the news of the sack of the executive council members had worsened the political logjam in the state as Tsokwa said the governor had no right to do so.

Tsokwa had added that the assembly recognised the Acting Governor, Garba Umar, as the man in charge of the affairs of the state.

Also, Umar insisted that he remained the acting governor until there was a contrary directive from the assembly.

The acting governor, through his Chief Press Secretary, Kefas Sule, said the sacked executive council was worried that some individuals were bent on fomenting trouble in the state. He therefore urged the people to continue with their normal activities.

“We shall definitely resolve this crisis. It is only one government here – the Suntai administration,” he explained, adding that he would address the people of the state on the development.

Umar said since he was empowered in acting capacity, the lawmakers had the right to ask him to revert to his former position as deputy governor or still continue in acting capacity.

“I am waiting to hear from them. As I speak to you, if the assembly tells me to revert to the position of deputy, I will comply,” he said.

It was gathered that some of the sacked commissioners and aides accused Suntai’s wife, Hauwa, of spearheading the dissolution of the cabinet.

Our correspondents also learnt that a faction in the state assembly loyal to Umar insisted on Wednesday that Suntai must appear before them to personally tender the letter he wrote intimating the assembly of his desire to resume duty.

A source close to the faction told The PUNCH that the assembly would have no alternative but to initiate impeachment moves against Suntai and save the state from avoidable bloodshed. It was further gathered that some of the legislators close to the acting governor had started collecting signatures preparatory to the governor’s impeachment.

The source, who did not want his name in print, said the state could not afford any crisis at this point, more so when such could be avoided.

“The pro-Umar lawmakers are collating signatures to impeach the governor because we cannot afford this type of avoidable crisis,” he said.

Suntai’s letter seeking to resume duty had divided the political class as the Speaker of the state assembly had insisted that the governor needed to address the lawmakers or allow principal officers of the assembly to have an interaction with him.

But the Majority Leader, Mr. Joseph Albasu , asked the governor to start work with immediate effect.His position was shared by the attorney-general, who said that Suntai needed not appear before the lawmakers before resuming work
Source:http://infonigeria24.com/gov-suntai-speaks-briefly-on-videotape-%e2%80%a2tape-played-on-taraba-television-%e2%80%a2-cabinet-dissolved-lawmakers-meet-gov/

There was confusion in Taraba State on Wednesday as the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr. Haruna Tsokwa and the Majority Leader, Mr. Joseph Albasu, disagreed on who ran the affairs of the state as governor.
While Tsokwa said the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Alhaji Garba Umar, would continue to act as governor until the Assembly deliberated on the letter by the recuperating Governor Danbaba Suntai seeking to resume duty, Albasu claimed that Suntai had already taken charge as the state’s Chief Executive.

The Majority Leader told journalists at the assembly complex in Jalingo that the lawmakers gave the governor the nod to begin work since he had fulfilled the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

Albasu, who said he was speaking for all the lawmakers, added that the governor was mentally fit to carry out his duties.

He argued that the constitution did not make it mandatory for a governor to appear before the assembly on the matter in question.

The Majority Leader, also stated that it was against the spirit of the constitution for the assembly to debate the letter by Suntai.

But the Speaker faulted him, saying the governor must appear before the Assembly or be prepared to receive its principal officers in his office in the Government House, Jalingo.

He said, “Governor Suntai has transmitted a letter to the Assembly, but his deputy, Alhaji Umar, will continue to act, until this assembly deliberates on his letter.”

The PUNCH however learnt that the lawmakers might deliberate on the letter on Wednesday (today).

The speaker, who claimed that he was unaware of the claims by the Majority Leader, also confirmed earlier reports that Suntai’s wife blocked him from seeing her husband on Tuesday.

Tsokwa became the speaker when Istifanus Haruna Gbana –an ally of Suntai, was removed while Suntai was still receiving treatment abroad for injuries he sustained last October when a small plane he piloted crashed.

Findings by The PUNCH on Tuesday showed that apart from the speaker, who led a delegation to the Government House, Alhaji Umar; the Commissioner in charge of the state Police Command and the Director of State Security Service were prevented from seeing the governor by Suntai’s family members and influential associates on Tuesday.

There were reports on Monday that Umar, who acted as governor during the 10 months that Suntai was out of the country, was barred from seeing the governor on his arrival at the Jalingo Airport. But a credible source had told The PUNCH that the deputy governor met the governor in Jalingo even before he alighted from the aircraft that flew him there.

Sources close to the state government informed one of our correspondents on Tuesday that Umar, Tsokwa and the two security chiefs were told that Suntai would not be able to see them until he had rested for 72 hours.

One of the sources said, “What we have been told is that the governor will rest for 72 hours in compliance with the instructions of his doctors. This was the explanation they also gave to the D-G, SSS and the CP. They were there to see him, but they were stopped.”

According to another source, “the speaker’s delegation was kept waiting for about one hour and the governor’s wife (Hauwa) later told them that Suntai was resting.”

He added that because of the development, the state House of Assembly had resolved to sit on Wednesday (today) and debate the governor’s letter.

“What the members have decided is to sit tomorrow (today) and formally invite the governor to address the House. He has been away for about 10 months; so, coming to address them will at least put all the speculations and uncertainties surrounding his health to rest”, the source added.

Asked what Taraba stakeholders considered to be the way forward for the state, a top Peoples Democratic Party member from the state, said that much depended on the assembly’s decision.

He said, “This situation must be addressed with all the caution that it requires. There is no point rushing things or being unnecessarily preemptive.

“If the House say they are going to invite him, the right thing is to await the outcome of the decision of the House. Let them come up with their decision.”

In Abuja, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties and the Inter Party Advisory Council called on the state House of Assembly to set up a medical panel to examine Suntai’s state of health.

Both CNPP and IPAC, whose officials spoke separately with the News Agency of Nigeria, said this was in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

The CNPP National Publicity Secretary, Mr Osita Okechukwu, told NAN that the assembly should set up the panel immediately “to determine if Suntai is capable or incapable of carrying out his constitutional functions.”

IPAC, through its chairman, Mr. Yusuf Tanko, also said the governor’s health status must be established before any action could be taken.

It said, “It is in the interest of democracy that Suntai’s health situation is established. If he is found incapable, there are constitutional provisions that should be followed, otherwise we will continue to put democracy in danger.’’

In Lagos, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), gave a three-day ultimatum to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, to investigate the governor’s letter of intention to resume duty.

Falana, in a letter to Abubakar, which was obtained by one of our correspondents, threatened to go to court if his demand was not met before the expiration of the ultimatum.

The letter reads in part, “We therefore urge you, in the interest of the people of Taraba State and Nigeria as a whole, to use your good offices to cause a detailed investigation to confirm the authenticity of the letter of intention sent by the Governor of Taraba State. We believe that the letter of intention may have been forged by the governor’s handlers.”

Another civil rights lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, said Suntai’s medical fitness must be ascertained to avert “governance by proxy.”

Aturu said, “We thank God that he has returned. But it is not all about returning. We want to know if he is capable of performing the functions of his office. His state of health must be ascertained by a medical team otherwise Taraba State may be governed by somebody else we don’t know. That will amount to governance by proxy, which is not recognised by the constitution.”

Chairman, Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Monday Ubani, who described as worrisome “the secrecy that still surrounds Suntai’s health status”, argued that it was criminal to allow an ill person to govern a state.

Ubani said, “Why are these facts shrouded in secrecy and why are Nigerians, nay the citizens of his state, denied the opportunity of hearing from their governor. It will amount to fraud and ill governor to run the state contrary to the express provision of the constitution.”

Two civil society groups – Say No Campagin and United Action for Democracy – also criticised the politicisation of Suntai’s illness and return by “some people who are against the state.”

The groups, at a joint press conference in Abuja, described the hasty tranmission of the letter to the state House of Assembly as “the handiwork of political jobbers bent on satisfying selfish interest at the detriment of the state.”

The Convener of the SNC, Ezenwa Nwagwu, said, “While we sympathise with the Sunatais and the entire people of Taraba State, we however condemn unequivocally, the attempt by some political vultures within and outside the state who are bent on holding the whole state to ransom and making effective governance once again unrealistic.”

The UAD Director, Jaye Gaskia, likened what was happening in Taraba State to a repeat of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s saga when he was brought in by his associates to keep running the country even though he was incapable of doing so.

Also,the Conscience Nigeria and Northern Youth Assembly disagreed with those advising the state House of Assembly to invoke relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution to make Umar the state governor.

According to them, the deputy governor cannot be made a substantive governor, given the fact that he was not democratically elected alongside the governor in 2011.

They argued that Umar was handpicked by the governor after the impeachment of the former deputy governor, Alhaji Sani Abubakar.

The Executive Director of CN, Mr. Tosin Adeyanju, and Speaker of NYA, Mr Gideon Oband, who stated this at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, asked the state assembly to urgently treat Monday’s letter from the governor so that he could resume work in earnest.

Source:http://infonigeria24.com/confusion-in-taraba-%E2%80%A2-speaker-majority-leader-disagree-on-suntais-status-%E2%80%A2-deputy-gov-security-chiefs-barred-from-seeing-gov/

Jalingo—Human and vehicular movement in the Taraba State capital, Jalingo, was disrupted for about two hours, yesterday, following the return of injured Governor Danbaba Suntai to the state.

The aircraft, a Hawker 800, which brought Suntai, who had been away from the state since October last year, touched down at 3:40pm at the Jalingo Airport, amidst tight security.

Suntai sat in the plane with his aides and junior brother, Babangida Suntai.

*Suntai back in Nigeria: The ailing Governor of Taraba State, Dambaba Suntai arriving Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Abuja on Sunday. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan.

Two other small aircraft, a Dornier, with registration number 224 BA, ferried members of the governor’s family, while another one marked 5NBMR, conveyed his friends and associates and touched down at 3:45pm.



Deputy Governor

He was received by the Deputy Governor, Garba Umar, who has been acting since the absence of Suntai, and his wife, Hajia Hauwa Suntai, who arrived the state with his children last Friday ahead of the Governor’s return.

As the plane touched down, an excited Hauwa, assisted by the governor’s security aides, got into the aircraft and came out with Suntai, while the crowd that had taken over all available space in the medium airport, hailed.

Supported while disembarking from the aircraft, Suntai walked to his waiting car, waved to the cheering supporters and was immediately driven away in a convoy of cars to the Government House, Jalingo.

He did not address the hordes of party chieftains and supporters, who had gathered, apparently expecting him to speak to them or relive his experience since the unfortunate incident of October 25, 2012, when his plane went down, inflicting him with injury that took him to two countries— Germany and the United States of America— for treatment.

Traffic, crowd control

Security men had a hectic time trying to control the crowd within and outside the airport, as thousands of Taraba natives flocked out to welcome the governor to the capital.

Although it appeared that the governor was still in pains and unable to stand the rigours of addressing the large crowd, he smiled and motioned to the crowd in acknowledgement.

The expected arrival of the governor had caused serious traffic snarl, a development that made it impossible for them to be able to leave the airport, nearly two hours after the governor’s entourage had left.

The state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr. Emma Bello, described the safe return of Suntai as a vindication of the state government’s position that the governor was hale and hearty and able to perform his functions.

He said: “Today is a good day for Taraba people. The governor has returned to a tumultuous welcome and we are happy with his arrival in Jalingo.”

The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Ahmed Yusuf, thanked God for the safe arrival of Suntai and expressed happiness that it would lead to peace and stability in the state.

Cultural and religious groups decked in various attires, sang and danced in solidarity with the governor.

Roll call

Suntai, who arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport from the United States at 1pm in a chartered Gulfstream jet, was immediately taken to a VIP lounge at the airport where he rested for a while before being ferried by another aircraft to Jalingo later in the day.

At the airport to receive the governor, who was clad in a French Safari suit, were former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd.); former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana; Minister of State, Niger Delta, Darius Ishaku; Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, among others.

Source: http://infonigeria24.com/suntais-return-grounds-jalingo/

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been transferred from prison to house arrest at a military hospital.

The longtime autocrat, forced to quit in 2011, was flown by medical helicopter from Cairo’s Tora prison on Thursday. He will remain under house arrest as he stands trial on corruption and murder charges.

Footage on local television showed him transported from the helicopter to a hospital in the Maadi suburb in a heavily-guarded ambulance.

Mubarak spent several weeks in the same hospital during his two-year detention, after lawyers cited poor conditions in prison. Authorities renovated a ward in Tora where Mubarak was later held.

A small crowd of supporters gathered outside the prison and cheered as the helicopter took off.

Meanwhile, the April 6 youth movement called for protests on Friday against his release.
But his release was met with indifference from many Egyptians, who are more focused on the country’s recent political crisis and last week’s massacre of supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi.

“His release was widely covered, but after two years, at this time, many Egyptians see Hosni Mubarak as an irrelevance,” Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from Cairo, said.

Ongoing trials

Mubarak’s next court hearing is scheduled for Sunday. He still faces a retrial on charges of killing protesters during the 2011 revolution, and three corruption cases as well.

But he has already spent more than two years in pre-trial detention, the maximum allowed under Egyptian law, and so the courts ruled him eligible for release pending trial.

Hazem el-Beblawi, the prime minister, said on Wednesday night that Mubarak would be placed under house arrest following his release.

Mubarak chose to be held at the military hospital, the official MENA news agency reported.

At least one of the corruption cases against Mubarak could be close to a settlement.

Wednesday’s ruling ordering his release concerns the so-called “Ahram gifts” case, in which Mubarak allegedly accepted $11m worth of gifts, including jewelry and watches, from the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram.

He has allegedly already repaid the amount of the gifts, and the other defendants in the case have been released, suggesting that the charges against Mubarak could eventually be dropped.

He also faces charges of embezzling money from a fund earmarked for presidential palace renovations. A judge working on this case ordered him released on Monday, on the same procedural grounds. A separate charge accuses him of “illicit gains” during his presidency.
Mubarak was convicted last year of involvement in the murder of protesters during the 2011 uprising, and sentenced to life in prison, but was granted a retrial in January

Source: http://infonigeria24.com/egypts-hosni-mubarak-released-from-prison/

ABUJA—All Progressives Party, declared Wednesday, that a large part of its agenda will focus on the Nigerian youth with particular attention to education, job creation, entrepreneurship skills, and vocational training.

National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande disclosed this at a press conference addressed by the leaders of the party.

Chief Bisi Akande said, “It is common knowledge that Nigeria’s current population is now constituted in such a manner that if not carefully handled would, pose the biggest challenge that this country has ever confronted. According to many reliable reports, nearly two thirds of the over 160 million citizens of Nigeria are youth, meaning; people below the age of 35 years.

“Unfortunately, the process of governance in Nigeria, for all practical purposes, remains impervious to the aspirations of this category of Nigerians. Consequently, no priority is assigned to education, job creation, entrepreneurship skills, and vocational training that would have turned our youth into truly productive citizens. We in the APC see engagement with the youth on the above as a strategic imperative.”
He further stated that APC would also pay attention to the question of gender in-balance in governance and in the development processes in general. According to him: “The female members of our society constitute about half our country’s population. Yet women issues have been largely consigned to the back burners of governance. For the APC, the specific aspirations of women constitute a major ideological platform. Our party would not resort to the usual tokenism and sloganeering where the issue of women aspirations are concerned, but through this ideological platform transform itself into a party of true gender balance.”

Akande declared that the purpose of the party’s meeting which held earlier in the day was to sound out its members on the immediate areas of responsibility of the Interim Executive Committee, IEC, adding that the responsibility of the IEC was limited to mobilisation of “our teeming adherents and supporters for membership registration and conduct of congresses that will lead to producing a leadership that will be able to lead the party into 2015 general elections”.

He said: Added to these are countless incidents of religious, ethnic, political and civil unrests leading to the loss of millions of innocent lives. Trapped in a vicious cycle of political crises, social upheavals and economic under-development, Nigeria has become, not only one of the most unstable countries in the world, it is also, regrettably, one of the poorest despite its huge human and material resource endowments. Confronting these issues in a single minded manner is the raison de’tre for the formation of the APC.”

Akande further said that he remained confident that with the support and commitment of the party’s members, success was assured in APC’s efforts to deliver better governance to Nigerians

Meanwhile, former Governor of Anambra State Senator Chris Ngige is set to pick the ticket of the newly registered APC in next November’s governorship polls in the state.

This was disclosed by Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha when he announced that Ngige’s arch rival for the party’s ticket, Senator Annie Okonkwo had stepped down for the former governor.

Source: http://infonigeria24.com/apc-unveils-programmes-endorses-ngige-as-candidate-for-anambra-guber-poll/

I'll call my pilot now to move my private jet parked at Lagos airport to Enugu airport immediately... Tanx GEJ

ABUJA — TROUBLED by the crises his party and the emergence of more political parties, President Goodluck Jonathan has entreated former President Olusegun Obasanjo to throw his weight behind him to surmount the opposition to his re-election in 2015.

Vanguard learnt that Jonathan has also sought the forgiveness of Obasanjo over unbridled attacks unleashed on him by some of his aides in recent times.

This came as the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has scheduled a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting tomorrow where issues like recent registration of opposition parties, reconciliation efforts, Anambra, South-West crisis and ratification of convention date are expected to top the agenda.


It was gathered that Jonathan met privately with Obasanjo and solicited his assistance towards dislodging mounting opposition, particularly from the North, towards his re-election.

Competent presidential sources said that Jonathan initiated the meeting with Obasanjo following the withdrawal of the former president from the administration as a result of some irreconcilable differences.

The meeting was also said to have been necessitated by the complaints of five PDP governors against President Jonathan and the PDP leadership to Obasanjo and their claim that the nation and the party were adrift and needed urgent rescue.

The five governors were said to have given some stringent conditions under which they would back Jonathan, a move that was said to have jolted Jonathan and Obasanjo.

An impeccable source said that Jonathan, who felt slighted by the action of the five governors and worried that they could also sway their support to the opposition, appealed to Obasanjo to use his fatherly disposition to call the ‘rebel’ governors to order so as not to rob him of victory in the next election.

Rebuilding of PDP

Jonathan reportedly begged Obasanjo to ‘come back’ and help rebuild the party so that it would not be disgraced by the rampaging opposition.

The source said that at the meeting, Obasanjo drew the attention of the President to the spate of attacks unleashed by his aides on him despite the fact that he facilitated his emergence as President and asked him to call his aides to order. The former ruler was said to have, however, accepted Jonathan’s plea to step into the political imbroglio and bail him out.

According to findings by Vanguard, it was after the meeting with Jonathan that Obasanjo invited the five Northern governors to meet with him at the Presidential Villa to ‘sort out areas of disaffection’ with the President.

Although Jonathan was not directly involved in the meeting that stretched for two days and ended in a deadlock, he nonetheless, provided the platform for his mentor to gauge the feelings of the five governors and their Rivers State counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi.

Findings also showed that apart from meeting the aggrieved governors of the party at the Villa, Obasanjo also advised President Jonathan to take urgent steps to meet with former leaders of the party, one of them Dr. Ahmadu Ali, who was the chairman of the PDP under Obasanjo.

The former President also asked Jonathan to reach out to influential leaders from the Middle Belt to speak out against the clamour by the North to clinch the Presidency in 2015, a suggestion that the President bought into.

Reaching out to Middle Belt

“It is true that the President also met privately with Ahmadu Ali in his house in Abuja a few days ago and pleaded with him not to stand aloof while the party was boiling,” a source close to the meeting of the two men said.

“You can also see that many Middle Belt leaders, who have been tapped by the President to help him secure a second term ticket, have been taking turns in the media to castigate the core North of being hasty in taking another shot at the Presidency.

“The other day it was Ameh Ebute and today you may have seen the interview by General Lawrence Onoja arguing that it was not time for the North to take over power.”

But the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) said yesterday that it was aware of the recruitment of some Middle Belt leaders to speak against the core North so as to prevent them from clinching the Presidency in 2015.

A waste of time — Northern Elders

Secretary General of the NEF, Prof Ango Abdullahi, noted the resort by the Presidency to cheap tactics to divide the North for selfish political gains ahead of the 2015 election.

The former ABU Vice-Chancellor said, however, that the plot by the Presidency against the North will fail, as the tactics being employed do not add up.

“I can tell you that those Middle Belt voices speaking against the North know their limitation and that what they are doing will not help them in any way.

“In any case, time will tell if the Middle Belt can stop the North from getting the Presidency in 2015,” the NEF leader stated.

PDP holds emergency NEC tomorrow

Meanwhile, the PDP will tomorrow hold an emergency NEC meeting at the Wadata Plaza, National Secretariat of the party.

It was gathered that at the meeting which will have President Jonathan, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and other members in attendance, will deliberate on the crises rocking the party as well as assess the successes recorded so far by the Governor Seriake Dickson-led National Reconciliation Committee.

The PDP NEC will also strategize on the August 24 governorship primary election for Anambra State, the election itself and that of Ekiti.

The meeting which is a follow up to the one held on June 20, will have its members ratify the August 31 date fixed for the Special National Convention.

It will be recalled that NEC at its last meeting approved July 20 for the Special Congress but the Professor Jerry Gana-led Special Convention team changed the date to August 31 and will require NEC to approve it.

As gathered, members of NEC will discuss the crisis currently rocking the South-West zone of the party.

It became imperative for the NEC to discuss the South-West PDP political quagmire against the backdrop of speculations, yesterday, that some stakeholders have obtained a court injunction from an Osogbo high court stopping the special congress scheduled to hold in the zone this weekend.

Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the former National Secretary of PDP had obtained an injunction restraining the PDP from conducting the South West zonal congress on the grounds that he still has a pending matter at the Court of Appeal.

The court ruled that the status quo be maintained, pending the determination of the case.

The sacked National Auditor of the party, Chief Bode Mustapha, it will be recalled, is also challenging his removal from the party’s NWC at the Supreme Court.

He was sacked for violating the PDP constitution for holding the position of National Auditor of the party without being a professional accountant.

With the coming on board of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the recently approved Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), President Jonathan, PDP governors leaders and stakeholders are also expected to review political developments in the party with a view to positioning itself for the 2015 general election.

The NEC meeting was confirmed in a memo signed by the PDP Acting National Secretary, Dr. Charles Akintoye.

Source: http://infonigeria24.com/jonathan-courts-obasanjo-for-2015/

The development of another malaria vaccine by US scientists calls to question efforts being made by Nigerian stakeholders.

A group of scientists from the Vaccine Research Centre at the National Institutes of Health, in Maryland, United States earlier this month broke the news. According to them, they have found a vaccine, PfSPZ, that could protect 12 of every 15 persons from getting malaria infection. As a result, many people across Africa, known to be the ‘base’ of the disease, received the news with enthusiasm.

Of course, they have every reason to celebrate the feat knowing that malaria is one of the highest killer diseases on the continent. In fact, statistics have it that the disease kills over 600,000 persons annually in Africa, and parts of Asia.

In Nigeria, records also show that malaria kills about 300, 000 children under the age five and 7,000 pregnant women annually. Nigerians also spends about N480m for the treatment of malaria annually. So, for stakeholders, especially medical practitioners, the accomplishment is a welcome development as they want to see a turnaround in the health status of their people.

As stakeholders celebrate this, the lead author of the research, Dr. Robert Seder, insists that the results of the clinical trial of the vaccine done in about 57 persons in the US are very promising in the fight against malaria.

Seder, in an article in Journal of Science, said though the method they used could be regarded as unusual — as it involved injecting live but weakened malaria-causing parasites directly into the patient’s blood stream to trigger immunity — the result was 3 per cent effective.

Throwing light into their approach, Seder said they took lab-grown mosquitoes, irradiated them and then extracted the malaria-causing parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) and injected it into the bloodstream of 57 persons, who had never had malaria before.

The team, he added, found out that only three of every 15 persons given the highest dosage of the vaccine contracted the infection after exposure to malaria.

Seder said, “We are excited and thrilled by the result, but it is important that we repeat it, extend it and do it in larger numbers.

“It allows us in future studies to increase the dose and alter the schedule of the vaccine to further optimise it. The next critical questions will be whether the vaccine is durable over a long period of time and can the vaccine protect against other strains of malaria.”

Apart from this vaccine, scientists in developed countries, where a negligible fraction of their citizens contract malaria, have developed over 20 vaccines still in trial. Indeed, they are working hard to find a solution to a disease that is ravaging Africans — not Americans.

According to the 2010 World Malaria report of the World Health Organisation, Africa is home to more than 80 per cent of malaria infections and deaths in the world.

The report read, “Most malaria deaths occur among children living in Africa where a child dies every minute from the disease. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria account for over 40 per cent of the estimated total of malaria deaths globally.”

Though medical experts in Nigeria have commended the efforts of the scientists at the US institute, they also question why medical solutions to the disease that is killing more Nigerians and other Africans should be coming from abroad.

Appraising the development, the National President, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, Dr, Anthony Omolola, linked it to what he called the “curious situation” to poor funding of research institutions.

He also blamed it on the lack of political will on the part of the government. According to Omolola, until there is adequate research funding on malaria prevention and control, Nigerian scientists may not able to find a homegrown solution to the disease.

He said, “That scientists abroad are fighting diseases killing Nigerians is not a new thing. In fact, we are getting used to it. They are virtually seeking solutions to many of our health problems. HIV is killing people. It is these same scientists with the financial and moral backing of their governments that are seeking a solution to stop it.

“Agreed, malaria is killing thousands of Nigerian babies and pregnant women but we cannot blame our scientists. The blame should be heaped on the government that is not doing much to fight it.”

Beyond this, he noted that many research efforts by Nigerian scientists had been frustrated due to no funds.

Omolola added, “Our research institutions are poorly funded. In fact, it is a reflection that government is not making enough budgetary provision for the health sector. There is no political will to provoke appropriate funding.

“There was a time in this country when every research institution focused on malaria control and prevention because the government then was concerned. They launched massive and aggressive initiatives to break the back of malaria but unfortunately that is no more.”

Omolola, who acknowledged that the country had national malaria control policy, frowned on its provisions, implementation and enforcement. The policy, according to him, is too weak.

He added, “It is not until we get a vaccine that we can eradicate malaria in Nigeria. We know what makes mosquitoes breed in Nigeria, the lack of drainage channels, bushes and dirty environment and poor sanitary conditions.

“If government puts its feet and money down that we are going to be fumigating every home; have good drainage systems and ensure that citizens keep their environment clean, then, we can say we have a leadership that wants to prevent its citizens from dying from a disease that is preventable and curable.”

Other stakeholders warn that delay in finding an indigenous breakthrough to malaria control is dangerous for Nigeria economically. A professor at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Lagos, Olukemi Odukoya, is one of them.

Speaking at a recent forum on Traditional Medicine in Nigeria, he said that there was the need to explore the use of herbs, plants and natural medicine in the prevention and control of malaria.

Odukoya, an apostle of the use of herbal medicines in orthodox treatment, also urged the government to defer all international pressure and embrace herbal medicine, which she said, was more cost-effective and available in the country.

She said,” We have many researches going on in Nigeria, on herbal medicine, plants. Agbo is effective in the prevention and treatment of malaria.

“However, is the government ready to incorporate it into the country’s health care policy? Will the authorities shun international pressure and do what is right? When will the government approve the use of herbal preparations in the treatment and prevention of malaria in hospitals? Will doctors recommend it?”

Odukoya added, “Malaria medications are got from plant-based sources which we have in abundance in Nigeria. It will be cheaper for government to sponsor herbal researches. It will be more affordable for the citizens.”

Also speaking on the efficacy of herbal preparations in the treatment of malaria, a question that is always posed by professionals on this aspect of medicine, the university teacher also called for a proper national policy on health.

According to her, the government can ensure the safety of traditional and herbal medicines by regulating the practice.

She said, “When there is no national guideline or policy on herbal use quacks are free to sell chalk or coloured water and claim it is a herb that treats malaria. This silence is exposing Nigerians to fake herbal medicines. But we must make no mistake about it. Nigerians still believe strongly that there is power in leaves and herbs.’

However, the Vice-President, Commonwealth Medical Association, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, looks at the issue from a different perspective. He believes that Nigerian scientists still have a lot to do in ensuring that the country develops an indigenous vaccine.

He said, “Scientists and researchers in Africa and Nigeria should focus on malaria. They can replicate the research done by the US scientists in Nigeria. They can even go further as we have the resources to conduct clinical trials on malaria treatment that we discover.”

But for the coordinator, the National Malaria Control Programme, Dr. Nnenna Ezeigwe, the FG is not relenting in its efforts to lift the health sector to loftier heights.

The government, she said, subsidised the cost of anti-malarial drug such as Artemisinin Combination Therapy by 75 per cent, and plans to distribute more than thirty million Insecticide Mosquito Treated Nets for children and pregnant women this year.

Ezeigwe added, “We would not stop doing what we are doing currently to prevent malaria, including use of long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets, appropriate treatment using malaria test kits in our hospitals and intermittent prevention in pregnant women, and other environmental measures we are taking.

“There are already 20 vaccines in line, including this one. If the ones we think would be successful prove not to be so, we would be hopeful that the others might be okay, knowing that we have others to access. We applaud the research but it does not mean we are going to sleep.”
Source: http://infonigeria24.com/malaria-vaccine-another-breakthrough-from-abroad/

former Minister of Education, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, on Monday said Nigeria had spent over N1tn on the National Assembly members in the last eight years.
Ezekwesili, in a keynote address she delivered during one-day dialogue session on the ‘Cost of governance in Nigeria, “ added that banks earned N699bn as interests last year on loans secured by the government.

“Since 2005, the National Assembly members alone have been allocated N1tr,’’she said while also lamenting that “82 per cent of Nigeria’s budgetary cost goes for recurrent expenditure.”

To buttress her claim that much was being spent servicing those in government, she said that “ a research conducted in the United Kingdom identified Nigerian legislators as being the highest paid in the world.”

Although she was applauded by participants at the session organised in Abuja by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre with support from Federal Public Administration Reform Programme in the UK, she drew flak from the National Assembly members, who said her claim amounted to blackmail.

But Ezekwesili, who was also a former minister of Solid Mineral and World Bank Vice-President for Africa Region, challenged civil society groups to demand a mini-national dialogue that centres on good governance and the the release of the Steve Oronsaye report on Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies.

“There should be effective demand by civil society groups of the report of the Oronsaye report. You should also demand a mini-national transparent dialogue because it touches on the heart of good governance”, she stated.

She also pointed out that one of the greatest mistakes of the Olusegun Obasanjo administration under which she served twice as a minister was that Nigeria delved into democracy without necessarily doing away with a military mindset.

“There is a drawback to the military era. One major mistake of the government under which I served was that we simply got into democracy and did not spend reasonable time getting every citizen; every leader and every institution to do away with militaristic ethos and principles from their minds,” Ezekwesili added.

According to her, the social dilemma which the country currently finds itself would be overcome if stakeholders, especially lawmakers, consider part-time legislation as a means of bringing down the cost of governance.

She said part-time lawmaking would ensure that the right people got into governance.

“Things will improve through part-time legislation. It will also reduce the number of people who will go into the National Assembly. You must have means of livelihood so that you won’t have to depend on public funds, ”she said.

The former minister argued that Nigeria’s problem was not the system of governance but more of the kind of people managing it.

Ezekwesili said while other countries were moving forward technologically, Nigeria was trapped by oil, a natural resource which it loses a revenue of about $1.6bn annually.

She said, “When I was in government, I was totally debating public policies. We must debate public policies as a nation because if we don’t do so, we will make silly mistakes because we don’t involve the stakeholders. So policy debates must be encouraged.

“The culture of personalising policy dialogues must stop. When you have a problem, you don’t leave the problem and begin to chase other matters.

“I feel sorry for any person who is fairly okay in this nation and doesn’t care about the poor because there will be an implosion. Whatever treatment that is given to the poor and vulnerable in the society must matter to everybody because except we have social inclusion in the society, we stand the danger of implosion. This has happened in other countries which ignored the vulnerable people.”

In his speech, the Executive Director of CISLAC, Ibrahim Rafsanjani, condemned the cost of governance in Nigeria.

He said, “There is recent media report of our National Assembly members being the highest paid in the world. The size of the cabinet at the executive level, including the retinue of superfluous aides and special assistants, is alarming. The fact that the 10 planes in the Presidential fleet gulp N9.08bn annually is something that must be looked into.”

But the Senate, through its Majority Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba(SAN), described the statement by the former minister as another blackmail against the National Assembly.

Ndoma-Egba told one of our correspondents that the National Assembly received far less than what the other arms of government were allocated in the national budget.

He said, “I don’t know how she arrived at the figure. But what is allocated to the National Assembly is known to the public. In the last four years, the National Assembly has been allocated N150bn, which has been the highest since 1999. It is another attempt to blackmail the National Assembly.

“They are saying cost of governance is high, what was the overheads when she was minister. Let her say it.

“Pick the budget and look at it without sentiments and compare the overheads of the Executive with that of the National Assembly. Nobody is saying anything about that.

“When President Goodluck Jonathan said there should be a reduction in the cost of governance, the National Assembly reduced its overheads, none of the other arms of government did that.

“If we say that cost of governance is high, we should sit down and look at all the aspects, instead of castigating the National Assembly.”

The House of Representatives also dismissed the former minister’s comments as “blackmail, which sole aim is to seek headlines.”

The House argued that her figure appeared to have been “conjured up for fancy as it simply does not add up.”

The Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Victor Afam-Ogene, who spoke for the legislators, said that in the last three years, the budget of the “entire National Assembly, including the bureaucracy and the National Assembly Commission, had remained at N150bn.”

He added that this meant that prior to 2010, the budget could have been less than N150bn.

“Now, a simple check will tell you that even at N150bn per year from 1999 till date will not give you anything near over N8tn. It, therefore, means that her figure is fallacious”, Afam-Ogene stated.

He expressed surprise that each time people talked about reducing the cost of governance, they only complained about the National Assembly and not the Executive arm.

Afam-Ogene asked, “What is the percentage of N150bn in a budget of N4.9trillion (2013 budget)?

“People think that this N150bn is just for salaries and allowances of legislators. This is not correct.

“It is for the entire institution of the National Assembly, including the capital projects for all the organs therein. We have always called for cutting cost of governance and the problem really is with the Executive. That is where the waste we often complain about is. But, nobody looks that way.

“Today(Monday), some papers reported that ministers were spending N2bn on air tickets alone. That is the waste we talk about.

“People always want to blackmail the National Assembly, the core of democracy, and leave out the real issues.”

Source: http://infonigeria24.com/n1tn-spent-on-nassembly-members-in-eight-years-ezekwesili/

The ancient city of Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, stood still Monday, as the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was inaugurated amidst funfare.

The venue of the occasion was Ake Palace ground, where members of the merging political parties – the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) were welcomed in anticipation of the plans for the 2015 general election in the state.

Representatives of the former parties, who took turn to speak at the occasion, expressed their readiness to work together as one big family in the coming elections in the state.

Shortly after the opening prayers by Deacon Poju Adeyemi, the National Vice-Chairman of CPC, Mr. Rasaq Muse, in his speech, said the wind of change had started blowing, stressing that the wind was blowing for positive change.

He added: “Today is the day we have been waiting for. The day we have set aside to get rid of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the presidency come 2013.”

Also speaking, the former Chairman of defunct CPC in the state, Mr. Kunle Mudashiru, vowed that the combination of the defunct parties would defeat the PDP in the coming elections.

Also, one of the national officers of the defunct ANPP, Mr. Wasiu Olalekan, pledged that the new party would give the people of the country good dividends of democracy, “compare to the dark fourteen years of the PDP at the national level.”

However, the Interim Chairman of the party in the state, Tajudeen Bello, did not make any comment, but rather sand two songs.

On his part, Governor Ibikunle Amosun assured the people of the state of better governance both at the state and the national level if the party is voted into office in the coming general elections.

Describing the party as the only party that had presence in all the six geo-political zones in the country, Amosun said the leaders of the merging parties voluntarily buried their personal interests for the benefit of the generality of Nigerians.

He said: “This is the party; I stand to be challenged, I stand to be corrected. There is no party in the whole nation that has representation in all parts of the country. If we talk of North-east, we have Zamfara State there, if we talk of North-west, we have Kebbi State, if we talk of North-central, we have Nasarawa State there, if we talk of South-east, we have Imo State, if we talk of South-south, we have Edo State there and if we talk if the South-west, we are everywhere there.

“When we started, people thought it was a joke. People said we needed only two weeks that we would collapse. They changed it to two months. They said we will not agree with ourselves. When the issue of name came up, we agreed within ourselves. On the flag issue, we agreed with ourselves, on the party symbol, we agreed too.

“They said the party will scatter when they were asked to present interim officers, do we scatter now, rather, we are becoming more stronger. APC now has answers to their problems, we have APC ointment, we have APC injection, we have APC soap, we have APC cream, we have APC drugs and we have APC drips.”

“For those who don’t want injection we will give them drips, so, this is the party that will give Nigerians god governance like good roads, electricity, health and other infrastructural amenities.”

Source: http://infonigeria24.com/ogun-stands-still-as-apc-is-launched/

“The Central Bank of Nigeria, on Wednesday began the implementation of its new 50 per cent Cash Reserve Requirement policy, which requires Deposit Money Banks to keep 50 per cent of all public sector funds with the Central Bank”.

THE PUNCH, Thursday, August 8, 2013 p 31).

The first major withdrawal of public funds from banks in recent memory took place during the Babangida administration in 1989. The country’s Economic Management Team and the Presidential Advisory Committee (Babangida was the only military ruler to give himself the title PRESIDENT) included Professor Oje Aboyade, Dr Kalu Idika Kalu, Dr Chu Okongwu – all former World Bank economists. The Governor of Central Bank was Alhaji Ahmed and the Minister for Budget was Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji.

By the time IBB became President, the price of crude oil had plummeted from a record price of $28 per barrel to less than $12 per barrel. Under Babangida, as the global economy went into a recession, it actually went down to $9.95 per barrel. Then, as now, the banking sector was heavily dependent on public funds for its deposit base and little effort was made to mobilise funds from individuals.

That meant that government funds were deposited with the banks at zero per cent interest and the same government turned around to borrow its own funds from the banks at 35 to 40 per cent. That was not permissible even when Nigeria had more money than sense to manage it. Interest rates became an unbearable burden for governments by 1989. Commonsense prevailed. Government withdrew its funds from the banks and a banking crisis was underway which ended with the collapse of several banks in the early 1990s.

With the withdrawal of government funds from banks, a fierce cutthroat competition developed among the banks. Unsustainably high interest rates were offered for fixed deposits – sometimes with the interest paid up-front. It made no economic sense and the collapse of the banks was predictable. In fact, one of my first predictions about banking crisis was made in a column titled FUNNY MONEY, which warned that a crisis was inevitable. It happened as foretold. All the 17 banks I said would collapse did – including COMMERCE BANK headed by two former heads of the Nigerian Institute of Bankers.

When Frederick the Great, 1712-1786, wrote that, “Whoever reads history, with application, will perceive that the same scenes are often repeated and that we need only change the names of the actors”. (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS), he must have had Nigeria in mind.

Another bank crisis is on the way – what is not clear is whether it will be short or long and the ultimate impact on the banking sector. But, the withdrawal of large quantum of public funds from the banking system has always inevitably resulted in problems for Nigerian banks and for the economy as a whole.

Already, the bond market is feeling the pinch as many banks have started reducing their exposure to the fixed income financial instruments and inter-bank lending rates are also on the rise. That invariably means that borrowers will pay higher interest rates, even if they can access funds at all, and it also implies that businesses will face credit crunch.

And as Emperor Frederick had remarked, the only thing that has changed are the names of the actors. Unlike 1989, we now have President Jonathan, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Malam Sanusi Lamido. They mean no harm to anyone; they don’t even enjoy inflicting more pain on Nigerians – who are already crushed by economic, social and political burdens. But, this measure, inescapable as it is, will do just that. Nigeria, in 2013, is having to learn again the lessons which changing fortune taught us in the 1980s, but which we seem to have forgotten.

My co-columnist in the VANGUARD, and a good Old Igbobian, Henry Boyo, had been warning governments that it made no sense for governments to hand over public funds to banks at no interest only for the same government to turn around and borrow at 14 per cent or more from the same banks. That amounted to borrowing your own money at 14 per cent. The lesson Henry had tried to knock into block heads at the federal and state levels, without success until now, was already taught in 1989-1992. But, we operate a public sector in Nigeria, where the managers in one generation don’t have a sense of history about what had happened in the past.

But, if government is bad about remembering history, the banks are even worse. Most of the Managing Directors and Executive Directors of banks today were either not born, or, were still learning to put on their pants when the 1989-1992 banking crisis took place. It swept away many high-flying banks. This one too will at least shake the banks to their foundations and might even sweep away three or four.

The first question is: how did we get into this mess once again? Part of the answer lies in our unstated public policy of illusions and hidden corruption. One of the greatest illusions underpinning our economic policy rests on the notion that we can continue indefinitely to place public money in banks at zero interest and borrow them back at 14 per cent. “The most obstinate illusions are ultimately broken by facts”, said Trevor-Rooper. (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 100). One day, the purveyors of that fallacy of public funds management will realise that what they have been doing amounts to gradually giving public money to the banks for nothing; no services, no benefits to government or the people.

The corruption involves the undisclosed interest the banks actually pay for the deposits. It is a fact that the officials of government who make the decisions to deposit huge funds in selected banks are paid commissions for so doing. Those commissions, which are destined for private pockets, and are undeclared to the public, represent the lies government officials tell the rest of us. And, they run into billions every month. So, the public loses two ways. We will lose even more now that the party is over. Revenue this year is running way behind budget and governments are cash strapped. Commonsense will prevail again for a while; but at a cost to Nigerians.

The next question is: will the new measure work and what will it do to the Nigerian economy? The answers can partly be found in a glance at our history again. Almost immediately after IBB’s government removed public funds from the banks, the queues at banks for cash withdrawal got longer; people spent hours at banks to cash their own cheques even though they had money in their accounts. Banks started cutting back on overdraft facilities to companies and easy credit to good deposits stopped. Individuals cut back on non-essential items and retail trade nose-dived nationwide. To attract more deposits, banks paid increasing interest rates and lent at Shylock rates to the few fortunate to obtain credit – they were the people engaged in capital flight and money-laundering. A backlash was underway.

Unfortunately, the backlash leads to unintended consequences. Now more than ever, the banks need deposits because over 70 per cent of the money in circulation is still outside of the banking system. But, “free” money has lulled the banks into a sense of complacency. They forget that “the only free food is found on mouse-traps.” When they start again to scramble for deposits, the long queues in banking hall would have discouraged depositors from bringing money to banks. As in 1989-92, people learn quickly that hoarding money is the beginning of wisdom when cash in banks have been depleted by CBN.



Source:http://infonigeria24.com/cbn-withdraws-n1trn-from-banking-system/

RESULTS on ground in PDP congresses are often not reflected in the result sheets that come out of the PDP national secretariat.

So the practice is for diligent contestants and party officials to proceed to Abuja once the formality of the congress is over to monitor or police the results.

So, it was not surprising that once the ward congresses finished across the state that party officials and many aspirants proceeded to Abuja to mount vigil at the PDP national secretariat.
One of the first to check out was Mr. Ejike Oguebego, chairman of the faction led by Chief Chris Uba. 978 delegates were expected to have emerged from the congress conducted by the faction which remarkably is the one recognized by INEC but not by the party.

At least two of the aspirants disclosed that their joint agreement between 11 of the 12 aspirants who participated in the ward congress conducted by Ken Emeakayi was that they would all go to their wards for the congress and not influence the officials from neighbouring states.

“But we never knew that we had a Judas among us,” one of the aspirants told Vanguard yesterday as he alleged that one of the 11 hijacked officials from some of the neighbouring states and dazed them with money so that the officials lost their direction to the wards where they were supposed to supervise the congresses and rather went to the moneybag’s house where a list of delegates favourable to the moneybag was written.

Many of them going to Abuja are said to have gone with petitions against the “saboteur”.

PDP aspirants brave the odds against INEC

Fears that the PDP ward congresses conducted by the Ken Emekayi faction of the party could be declared invalid are being pooh-poohed by some party stakeholders who are standing on what they claim as the provisions of the Electoral Act which stipulates that INEC should observe the congresses quite unlike the provision of the former act which gives the commission the right to monitor.

“INEC can only observe and it has no role in the congresses,” one of the aspirants told Vanguard yesterday.

Meanwhile, one of the more formidable aspirants, Senator Andy Uba chose to sit it out and participate in the congress organized by the Ejike Oguebego faction loyal to Chief Chris Uba, younger brother of Senator Andy Uba.

Comrade Nwoye returns

The past two years have been undoubtedly challenging for Comrade Tony Nwoye, one time national president of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS and chairman of the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP during the 2007 elections.

In 2011, he contested for a seat in the House of Representatives and believing he won, he became one of the chief mobilisers for Aminu Waziri Tambuwal thinking that his action would give him a juicy committee position in the House of Representatives. He did not even get to see any juice as he was not inaugurated on account of legal and other intrigues characteristic of elections in Anambra State.

He has remained outside the chambers of the House of Representatives despite a court victory.

Comrade Nwoye subsequently set his eyes on the governorship and after paying the N11 million for the expression of interest and nomination forms, he was screened out by the Gubernatorial Screening Committee allegedly for irregularities in his tax papers.

That decision was reversed by the Appeal Committee, which upheld his claims and now Comrade Nwoye is back in contention to slug it out against 12 other nominees including his one time patron, Senator Andy Uba.

The Nwoye camp was buoyant following his clearance and are claiming to be in good position in the delegates count.

APGA aspirants move to Abuja

Tomorrow’s ward congresses to be conducted by APGA promises to be a fight to finish given the antecedents of some of the major contestants hoping to fly the party’s flag in the election.
Former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, erstwhile executive director of Fidelity Bank, Willy Obiano and former Secretary to the State Government, SSG Osalaka Obaze who also has a rich pedigree in academia are among the intellectuals in the field. Can they measure and slug it out with the same zeal that the professional politicians are likely to do?

Yesterday, the delegates took a break from their campaigns and strategizing sessions in Anambra to relocate to Abuja for the screening before the party’s screening committee which is meeting them today in Abuja.

How would Maxi have acted?

Maxi Okwu, many would remember was the veritable political activist who was with Chekwas Okorie and Victor Umeh in the first days of APGA. He subsequently lost out in the power struggle and proceeded to found the Citizens Peoples Party, CPP which did not fly.

Though he was ousted from APGA by Umeh and Governor Obi, but after many years when it became convenient, Obi sought him out, probably believing that he, Okwu was the only one with the political capacity and acumen to match Umeh.

They almost succeeded, but Umeh fought back and today Umeh is in full control of APGA and dictating the nomination process for the party’s gubernatorial candidate. Many are wondering where Okwu is now and how he could have directed APGA’s nomination process had he won the battle.

Orjiako to mediate between Ngige and Okonkwo

The former Anambra State chairman of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, Chief Pat Orjiakor has been named the interim state chairman of the brand new All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state.

In his position he is expected to lead the arbitration team when two of the party’s major contenders for the governorship, Senators Chris Ngige and Annie Okonkwo pull out their gloves. It would not be an easy task.

That is not to underestimate the prospects of the third known aspirant in the fledgling APC, Mr. Godwin Ezemo.

Remarkably, Orjikaor belonged to the former ANPP and would not be suspected of having politically primordial tendencies.

His adoption as the interim state chairman of APC was announced during a meeting of the party in Awka attended by two governorship aspirants of the party, Okonkwo and Ezemo.

Both aspirants said Orjiakor has worked very hard to keep APC together since the merger plans began and believe that he is eminently qualified to lead the party to victory in the governorship election.

Source: http://infonigeria24.com/anambra-guber-poll-11-pdp-aspirants-1-judas/

A retired police commissioner, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed Babankowa, Wednesday declared that “the steps taken by the Lagos State Government on the persecution of the former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, have the potential of consuming the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Babankowa urged the Lagos State Government to retrace its steps, pointing out that the issue has the capacity to rekindle the distrust between the people of Hausa/Fulani extraction, on one side, and the Yorubas, on the other.

“The way and manner the North received this serving military officer on his home coming and the calibre of highly placed individuals that received him in audience was instructive that the region and the silent majority are solidly sympathetic to him,” he said.
Addressing journalists at his residence, Babankowa added: “From what I have seen so far, I have no doubt in my mind that this current step would harm the relationship across borders against the backdrop of interpretation and understanding of a layman who are simply in the majority here.

“I have seen the case file and the grounds for appeal by the Lagos State Government. It would be safe to say that they are trying to exhaust all legal means to satisfy the Abiola family in particular and the Yoruba race in general. But the danger inherent in such judicial expedition is the risk of the relationship with our people.”

Babankowa said the decision of the Lagos State Government to appeal Al-Mustapha’s acquittal at the Supreme Court might not be unconnected to the resolve to satisfy Abiola family, but cautioned that “while doing that, conscious steps should be applied to avoid harming the larger interest.”

On the registration of APC, Alhaji Babankowa said: “The days of PDP in power are numbered, and we are waiting patiently for the right time to kick them out of power and we are doing our best to knit together a strong and united opposition party. We are equally conscious of saboteurs who feel threatened by the growing strength of the new mega opposition party across the country.

“PDP has nothing to show for the whole length of period they had dominated the political circus and we believe the time is ripe to call their bluff and save the system from further bastardisation.”

Meanwhile, following the disclosure by the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, that his ministry had appealed against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which discharged and acquitted al-Mustapha and Mr. Lateef Shofolahan, over the murder of Kudirat Abiola, a copy of the filed notices of appeal obtained by THISDAY yesterday, showed that the appeal was filed on 14 grounds at the Supreme Court.

Al-Mustapha and Shofolahan, a personal assistant to late Kudirat were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging for the murder by Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos High Court on January 30, 2012.

But the Court of Appeal, Lagos, on July 12, this year set aside the judgment and quashed the death sentence passed on both al-Mustapha and Shofolahan.

Though Ipaye had informed journalists, at his ministry’s monthly media briefing on Law and Order in the state that he had filed two separate notices of appeal against the judgment, he, however, declined to give details.

However, copies of the notices of appeal obtained showed that the state government had filed six grounds of appeal with respect to al-Mustapha and eight with respect to his co-defendant, Shofolahan.

Ipaye, in the appeal, brought pursuant to section 233(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), argued that the Court of Appeal erred in law by discharging and acquitting the two men, when the evidence linking them to the crime was not materially challenged.

He contended that the contradictions in the testimonies of the prosecution’s star witnesses, Barnbas Jabila (Sgt. Rogers) and Abdul Mohammed (Katako), were not sufficiently substantial to warrant the acquittal of both al-Mustapha and Shofolahan.

According to him, the testimonies of PW2 (Jabila) and PW3 (Mohammed), were detailed, graphic and consistent, adding that the contradictions were immaterial and urged the Supreme Court to affirm the death penalty.

“DW1 (al-Mustapha) provided the logistics for killing the deceased in Lagos. PW3 (Mohammed) was assigned as driver to PW2 (Jabila) because of his knowledge of Lagos and PW3 gave graphic evidence of how he drove PW2 to the scene of the crime and how PW2 shot the deceased severally.

“PW2 admitted meeting DW2 (Shofolahan) to the killing of the deceased and testified that DW2 took them to the deceased’s house and provided information about the identification and movement of the deceased.

“The statements of PW2, PW3 and even DW1 tendered and admitted by the trial court showed that these three witnesses indeed met and had common intention to commit a crime.

“It was an undisputed fact that Alhaja Kudirat Abiola was shot and died on June 4, 1996. PW2 admitted he severally shot the deceased on June 4, 1996.

“There was unchallenged evidence that DW1 gave his gun to PW2 for killing the deceased and the insistence of PW2 that he would be surprised that he used 5.6mm gun instead of 9mm to kill the deceased. There was circumstantial evidence establishing the fact that DW1 and DW2 participated and aided the elimination of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola,” Ipaye stated.

Source: http://infonigeria24.com/al-mustapha-lagos-appeal-could-ignite-ethnic-distrust-says-ex-police-chief/#

Senator Ameh Ebute was merely one of the senators in the democratic experiment pushed by former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida in the botched Third Republic until, he, in 1993 teamed up with some other senators to unseat the then president of the Senate, Senator Iyorchia Ayu. His stay in office was, however, very brief as within months, General Sani Abacha struck to dismantle the country’s then nascent democratic institutions.

Following that, Ebute, in a daring rebuff of Abacha summoned a session of the Senate in Lagos to give legitimacy to the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Bashorun Moshood Abiola. For his action, he was thrown into detention alongside one of his fellow senators, Senator Ahmed Tinubu. On his release, Senator Ebute from the Idoma speaking area of Benue State in northern Nigeria laid low and reverted to his legal practice in Abuja.

In an interview session with newsmen in Lagos, Senator Ebute divorces himself and his people in the North-Central Nigeria from the increasing agitations against another term for President Goodluck Jonathan, who he claimed has performed excellently. He gives reasons the consolidation of three parties into the All Progressives Congress, APC will fail and warns his distinguished colleague, Senator Tinubu to beware of his new friends in the North. Excerpts:

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

What do you say to fellow stakeholders from the North who are saying that it is the turn of the North to produce the president?

My advice to them is that they should wait until President Goodluck Jonathan completes his second term since by divine providence, the zoning has automatically fallen on the South-South. So, the North whose definition I am not too sure includes the Middle Belt, should wait until the person God has given the presidency has completed his term. As soon as he completes his second term one can now argue that the turn should now come to the North and that North, should include all the zones in the North, not only the North-West. We have other zones in the North, but some people are now arguing or defining North as if it means only the North-West.

So do you say that when Ango Abdullahi speaks, he doesn’t represent you?
I am not a member of the Arewa Consultative Forum or the Northern Elders Forum. Whether he is speaking for Arewa Consultative Forum or Northern Elders Forum, it is left to Ango Abdullahi and I don’t know anything that is happening within those organizations.

Daily press conferences
But I assure you that apart from the members of the Northern Elders Forum and Arewa Consultative Forum, there are millions of other northerners that believe in the administration of Goodluck Jonathan. So, when one person representing a few people being funded by the governors and holding press conferences virtually everyday, he is putting up his own ideas, you cannot say that the ideas are supported by everybody within that zone. I agree that he must be speaking for some people, but they are not the majority in that zone.

So you don’t support the assertion that the North is disenchanted?
Why should the North be disenchanted? I am part of the North and that is why I ask whether I am part of the North they are speaking about? Why should the North be disenchanted? We started this presidential system in 1979 when President Shehu Shagari was the president for four years. He entered the second term when the military took over from him. The head of the military that took over from him (Buhari) was from the North, then one year into office, another northerner, IBB took over from Buhari and was in office for nine years. Then from IBB, you had Abacha who was in office for five years and Abacha died and Abdulsalami was in office for another one year and yet, nobody complained.

The people who were at the helm for 16 years were all northerners and there was no Boko Haram and nobody organized anything to distabilise the polity. So why should the North be bitter for the eight years that President Goodluck Jonathan is going to be in office? If Nigerians could be patient when these people I have mentioned were in office, then why shouldn’t they be patient when other persons are in office? Does that mean that the presidency belongs to them? Nigerians say no, the presidency does not belong to any particular zone.

Do you see the APC as a threat to your party, the PDP?
If I go into the history of Nigerian politics, you will agree with me that the merger will not work. I was in detention with Bola Tinubu in 1994 after I reconvened the Senate in Lagos after Abacha had taken over and (Senate) urged Abacha to hand over to Abiola and we were arrested and I was in detention with Bola Tinubu in Alagbon for 50 days. Bola knew what happened and I still know what happened and I am surprised that Bola can go into marriage with these people.

We were there in Alagbon Close when Abiola was arrested and there was hue and cry and the whole of Alagbon Close was full of people and we thought that Abiola was going to join us in detention when he declared himself the president. One hour later, people started wailing that Abiola was being taken to Abuja and that was what led to the end of his life and I don’t think that the Yoruba people have forgotten that incident to hobnob or have a marriage with people who will likely treat them the same way again. I don’t know.

Which people are you referring to?
You know them. You know the people that constituted the CPC, that is Buhari’s party. Buhari was the chief adviser to Abacha when Abacha was Head of State. As chairman of PTF, they were very hard on us. I am not saying that because of that they shouldn’t become leader again, but I am warning Bola Tinubu that what happened to us in 1994 could happen to him again, that he should be careful because he is my colleague.

Do you see General Buhari as a leader of the North?
From the way the 2011 election votes were cast, I now agree that Gen. Buhari is a leader of his zone, that is the North-West zone. He is in full control of his North-West zone politically.

What of your own area?
No, no, he is not in control of the North-Central.

Source: http://infonigeria24.com/jonathan-north-should-wait-till-2019-ameh-ebute/

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday told the interim Chairman of the newly-registered All Progressives Congress, Chief Bisi Akande, to respect his age.
The President’s admonition was in reaction to Akande’s description of Jonathan as an unserious-minded person running a kindergarten government.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President said it was “certainly rude, ill-mannered, uncharitable and hypocritical” for Akande to describe him on Saturday in such an uncharitable manner.

The statetement was titled,“President Jonathan to Akande: Respect the truth, your age and Nigeria.”

The statement pointed out that Akande did no justice to his age and status when he resorted to “propagating falsehood, wilfully insulting the President of his country, impugning his integrity and desecrating the office which his party wishes to take over in 2015 by fair or foul means.”

It reads in part, “We have noted with dismay, the continuation of efforts by leaders of the opposition to promote themselves and their party through the irresponsible denigration of President Jonathan and the exalted office of the President.

“The interim national chairman of the APC, Chief Akande sank to a new low in this regard when he rudely and falsely described President Jonathan as a ‘kindergarten’ leader who treats national issues with levity.

“We urge Chief Akande and his fellow-travellers to remember that there are laws against libel and defamation of character in this country even if there are no legal impediments to indecorous, hypocritical and unpatriotic vituperations.

“It is certainly rude, ill-mannered, uncharitable and hypocritical for Chief Akande to falsely and cavalierly allege that a President who toils tirelessly every day of the week, evolving and implementing workable solutions to Nigeria’s problems, is handling national issues with levity.

“By his very unguarded and intemperate outburst, Chief Akande exhibited not only an unbecoming lack of respect for the person and office of the President of his country, but also a complete disregard for the patriotic feelings of the millions of Nigerians who voted for President Jonathan and who continue to appreciate his sincere efforts to positively transform the nation.

“It is very sad and unfortunate that unbridled ambition for the office they constantly impugn and denigrate has blinded Chief Akande and his ilk to the visible accomplishments of the Jonathan Presidency.”

“Our advice to the APC is this: treat your party like a democratic association and don’t mistake it for the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) that someone used to force his way to power.”

The statement added that nothing else but “a manic and unscrupulous quest for power” could have led Akande to make such accusations against a President who, amongst other significant achievements, has been praised for his handling of the insurgency in some parts of Northern Nigeria.”

The Peoples Democratic Party was also not left out in defending the President as it alleged that the main agenda of Akande and other prominent members of the APC was to liquidate the nation’s economy.

Okeke said that Akande and el-Rufai were aggrieved because of the refusal of the President to join the APC when he was invited.

Advising Nigerians not to take the two APC chiefs seriously, he wondered why Akande, at his age, would be making such a statement about the President.

He said, “Chief Akande ought to be a man we would all respect because of his age. When they went and formed the APC, we advised them to focus on the economy and security and not name-calling. But unfortunately, it is sad that they are resorting to name-calling and abusing the President.

“We have no time for such banal talks from these people. This was a man (Akande) who was begging the President last week to come and join their party (APC). Now, he has realised that the President has rejected the offer and that is why he is bellyaching. It is a shame.”

On el-Rufai,whom he described as a bitter loser, Okeke said “it is when he is discharged and acquitted of the corruption case against him that we would be talking to him.”

Akande however reacted swiftly to the comment by the Presidency, saying the Jonathan administration had done grave damage to the country’s economy, through rudderless governance.

“Nigerians know who is doing damage to the economy. Nigerians know who is tying down development through visionless, inept, corrupt, directionless and ineffective leadership,” he said through his Media Assistant, Mr Lani Baderinwa, on Sunday.

The former Osun State governor maintained that Jonathan lacked solution to the challenges facing the country.

He argued that insecurity, unemployment, infrastructural decay, despair and poverty remained the greatest problems of Nigerians despite counter claims by the Presidency.

“The Presidency should talk on the basis of facts and not rub salt into injury by trying to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians with these tantrums and hysteria,” Akande added.

The Presidency also issued another statement in which it took a swipe at el-Rufai, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, for accusing Jonathan of playing ethnic and religious politics in order to divert attention from his bad governance.

It said in the statement by Abati, that el-Rufai’s latest comment, like others before it, only showed that he was a serial liar.

The Presidency added that it was wrong for el-Rufai to accuse the President of playing religious and ethnic politics when he (The President), though a Christian, took part in the just-concluded Ramadan fast and broke his fast with Muslim faithful every evening.

It said no Nigerian leader had spent the quantum of funds that Jonathan had spent on education specifically tailored for Islamic itinerant scholars known as the almajiris.

The statement added, “It is most curious that this allegation is coming from el-Rufai, a man who profaned the name of Jesus Christ on Twitter by tweeting a joke which is too indecent to mention in the presence of civilised persons. This same el-Rufai is the same man who in June of last year claimed that Christians were behind the bombings of their own churches rather than terrorists.

“It is only a measure of his inconsistency that el-Rufai is today accusing the Presidency of being afraid of Buhari whom the same el-Rufai said was ‘perpetually unelectable”. In fact, the accusation el-Rufai is now making against the President is precisely the same accusation he made against Buhari on October 4, 2010 when he said Buhari’s ‘insensitivity to Nigeria’s diversity and his parochial focus are already well-known’. Today, El-Rufai is serving this same Buhari.

“That el-Rufai is not above lying to the media to achieve his political objective was proven in Segun Adeniyi’s book, ‘Power, Politics and Death’ when El-Rufai was quoted to have confessed in the presence of multiple witnesses who are still alive today that ‘There was no cabal, we created the myth to neutralise Turai’(widow of former President Umaru Yar’Adua). El-Rufai sold Nigerians the dummy of a Turai cabal which was a lie used to further his own political ends.

“In any case, we have a record of what El-Rufai truly thinks of President Jonathan from the leaked secret diplomatic memo from the U.S. embassy in Abuja which revealed that just before the April 2007 Presidential election El-Rufai had told the then U.S. ambassador to Nigeria that the then Vice Presidential candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was ‘clean and honest’.”

Source: http://infonigeria24.com/jonathan-to-akande-respect-your-age/

EX-MILITANT leader and founder of the non-operational Movement for the Emancipation of Niger-Delta, MEND, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, has accused oil multinationals of telling lies and deceiving the Federal Government on the actual quantity of crude oil they produce daily.

Tompolo, who spoke to Vanguard through the Executive Secretary of Tompolo Foundation, Warri, Mr. Paul Bebenimibo, weekend, however, offered the Federal Government tips on how to tackle oil bandits in the Niger-Delta region.

He advised government, among other things, to increase shadowing activities in the oil-bearing states and restore its abandoned surveillance contracts in Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states.

Contrary to the thinking that he has a running multi-billion contract with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, on protection of crude oil pipelines in Delta State, he said the contract awarded to Oil Facility Surveillance Limited, OFSL, which he is the chair, was only for one year, and that it expired since February 2012.

Excerpts:

The Federal Government awarded a contract to Oil Facility Surveillance Limited, OFSL, which you are a principal owner, to secure oil pipelines, yet oil theft is escalating in Niger-Delta. What is wrong?

The Federal Government truly awarded a contract to Oil Facility Surveillance Limited, OFSL, a security company of which High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, is the chairman of the board of directors, including some prominent Itsekiri youths in February 2011.

The contract was for a one-year pilot scheme that covers only Delta State and that it is to say the contract expired February 2012, over a year ago.

The operations of OFSL in Delta State was successful within the one year the contract lasted, which many stakeholders in the oil industry, including the present Group Managing Director, GMD of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, attested to during one of his television interviews with journalists.

How much was this contract? We were told it was about N3.6 billion?

The contract sum is between OFSL and the Presidency, represented by NNPC. We would not like to disclose the contract sum because it is a security issue.

However, due process was followed in the award of the contract and invoice was usually sent to NNPC with evidence of work done each month before payment was made. About 5,000 workers were engaged.

You also have another multi-billion naira contract with the Federal Government through NIMASA, to secure the coastal borders. What is really the worth of this contract and the scope?

The Federal Government, through NIMASA, awarded a public private partnership, PPP, contract to Global West Vessel Specialist Limited, GWVSL, and not to Chief Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo. Tompolo is not on the board of GWVSL.

He was only approached by the management of the company to help it in carrying out its operations because of his vast knowledge of the coastal areas. The scope of the job is the area of the Nigerian territorial waters where shipping activities take place. One cannot give the worth of the contract because it is based on No-cure, no-pay.

What are the terms and value of this contract with Global West Vessel Specialist Limited? It is all over the place that you have collected over $103.4 million (about N15 billion).

Well, you have heard the truth and the whole truth from me now. Nevertheless, I know that in the contract terms, GWVSL is to provide a platform (made up of sea-going security vessels, technology for tracking ships, and so on).

No dime was given to GWVSL. It is what comes out of the operations that will be shared between the Federal Government/NIMASA and GWVSL. If there is no increase in the revenue of NIMASA, then GWVSL will not get any money. That is the meaning of no-cure, no-pay.

From the reports by the oil companies and government officials, oil bunkering across the boarders has increased. Why is your company unable to live up to expectation?

For the avoidance of doubt, I want to say that there is no contract now. OFSL fought crude oil bunkerers to a standstill during its operations in Delta State.

Clearly, it gave oil bunkerers the battle of their lives. Some of them are weeping till date.

Are the oil companies in particular telling the whole truth about sharp increase in oil theft?

The oil companies may not be telling the truth. They may be using this strategy to deceive the government since the actual amount of crude oil produced daily in the country is not known.

Who are those responsible for the theft and how do they operate?

The identity of those responsible for the theft of crude oil can only be unraveled through a high-powered investigation because it is a business for the rich.

How can government checkmate them?

The government can effectively check illegal crude oil activities by renewing the surveillance of oil facilities contract in Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states, as well as expand the job to other oil-bearing states.

Performance can be measured by regular meetings with stakeholders, while the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, must wake up and live up to expectation.

For the one year the contract lasted, there were threats to OFSL workers. What were the problems the company faced at the time?

You are correct. For the one year the contract lasted in Delta State, there were threats to the lives of operators of OFSL, inadequate salary for workers. NNPC only approved N30,000 for ordinary workers and N36,000 for supervisors against the proposed amount of N100,000 for ordinary workers and N120,000 for supervisors by the OFSL.

Even at that, OFSL was paying its proposed amount because no one working in a coastal area like ours will accept such paltry amount of money for one month. To do otherwise would be to the detriment of the company.

There were no storage facilities for impounded crude oil, as well as the refined products.

Source: http://infonigeria24.com/oil-firms-lie-over-crude-production-tompolo-ex-militant-leader/