₦airaland Forum

Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has accused his Rivers State counterpart, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, of misleading his people by refusing to tell them the truth about the ownership of the Soku oil fields. Dickson said contrary to the impression being created by Amaechi, the Rivers State Government had received about N120 billion revenue illegally from the field in the past few years to the detriment of Bayelsa State. The governor said this in Yenagoa, while inaugurating a 14-member State Boundary Committee headed by his deputy, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd), at the Government House, Yenagoa. He said: “Since my counterpart in Rivers State has made it a communal affair, I believe that he will help us at this point to tell the people of Rivers State, and particularly the people of Kalabari kingdom, whom he claimed he is fighting for the basis of our recent claims that the government of Rivers State in the past couple of years has wrongly received about N120 billion that shouldn’t have been paid to state. He added that “I hope he will also tell the government and the people of Rivers State and particularly the Kalabari people about the refund that was contentiously agreed and effected in favour of Rivers State to the tune of about N15 or N16 billion thereabout, which he got about a month ago.” Continuing, he said: “I want to therefore use this opportunity to call on our law abiding people, the Nembe clan and Kalabari kingdom, both of whom are Ijaw people not to allow the unity of the ijaw nation to be affected by the antics of people who want to play politics with anything and everything. I want to assure you all that we have existing structures to resolve our differences.” Dickson said the boundary issues were sensitive matters and urged the Rivers State Government to allow the appropriate federal agency responsible for proper delineation to determine the boundary between the Kalabari people of Soku and Oluasiri in Nembe. He stated that it was wrong for the Rivers State Government to be making unnecessary claims despite ongoing meeting and resolution over the years involving derivation from states with complaints. He stated that the N15 billion paid to Bayelsa State recently was a justified payment from its oil revenue and called on the people of Kalabari and Nembe not allow themselves be drawn against each other over the matter that is receiving attention at the federal level. Dickson noted that the two clans are both of ijaw extraction and should not be seen engaging in communal clashes. While charging the state Boundary Committee to sensitise the communities involved not to take laws into their hands, Dickson urged them to follow the laid down rules in resolving the disputes. Responding, Jonah had assured the governor that members of the committee would work on facts and knowledge to help in proper delineation of the various communities, particularly the ones along the coastal lines.
www.thisdaylive.com/articles/oil-wells-dispute-dickson-accuses-amaechi-of-misleading-people/129910/

Tonto Dike has appeared in our
faces again barely a month after
that messy fight with fans on the
battle grounds of twitter, this
time with a tweet not about her
music, movies or tattoo, but rather, on the state of her
virginity which she’s publicly
announced was lost to Mavin
crew Boss Don Jazzy. Her tweet read ‘I got disvirgined
by @DONJAZZY” i think this a lil bit
Too Much info.’ She is not alone on this thought
as a lot of her followers on
twitter also think the same way
and it’s beginning to generate an
uproar.
Already Don Jazzy has tried
making a joke of it by quickly re-
tweeting ‘lol me dat im still a
V,’ (‘V’ standing in as Virgin). Fans, however, are not sniffing
the lighter side of this
development as many have
pounced on the tweet by Tonto
alleging she’s going low and
desperately trying to remain in the public eye with such tweets.
Others claim it was unnecessary,
joke or no joke. As another army of willing
fighters grow again, Tonto Dike
has thankfully remained silent. This writer hopes she does, for
just one counter word from her
and another bitter, messy war
with fans could begin again. Fans had attacked her in
October after she reacted to
tweets about her new single.
Both sides had called each other
names until Tonto Dike stopped
responding.
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/fight-fans-vs-tonto-dike-brewing-again/

Help Me Ask Dem O

Obama and Romney target key states
in last-minute scramble for votes Barack Obama and Mitt Romney go to
the polls neck and neck tomorrow
after a final sprint through crucial
states where the result – as in the
country as a whole – is too close to
call. Poll after poll over the weekend
confirmed it would be one of the
closest presidential elections in US
history, putting the two White House
contenders in a dead heat. The pair were neck and neck in four
swing states which are likely to
determine the winner of the White
House, according to a Reuters/Ipsos
poll. In one of the biggest prizes of the
election, Ohio, Mr Obama has a slight
lead over Mr Romney with 48 per cent
compared to 44 per cent support
among likely voters, the poll showed.
On Saturday Mr Obama had been ahead by a point in the same poll. In Florida, another big prize, Mr Obama
was on 48 per cent and Mr Romney on
46 per cent.
Rally: Mitt Romney waves to the
Republican faithful in Cleveland, Ohio,
as he pushes for votes in the crucial swing state Rally: Mitt Romney waves to the
Republican faithful in Cleveland, Ohio,
as he pushes for votes in the crucial
swing state In Virginia, Mr Obama leads Mr Romney
47 per cent to 46 per cent among likely
voters. In Colorado, the candidates
were tied. Nationally, 48 per cent said they would
vote for Mr Obama and 47 per cent for
Mr Romney. Given the closeness of the
race, it means the result is now down
to which party can ensure their
supporters get to polling stations in the ten or so ‘battleground’ states. More than 27million people have
already voted in 34 states and the
District of Columbia. So far, Democratic
voters outnumber Republicans in
Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and
Ohio. Republicans have the edge in only one swing state, Colorado, which Mr
Obama won in 2008. Both sides said they were confident of
victory as their candidates flitted
back and forth across the US trying to
fit in as many target states as
possible. But in what Republicans claimed was
an illustration of Mr Romney’s growing
popularity – and Democrats said was a
‘desperate ploy’ to stave off defeat –
the challenger has started targeting
states that were previously seen as safely pro-Obama. Yesterday Mr Romney not only
stopped off in swing states Virginia
and Ohio, but also in Pennsylvania and
Iowa, two states where Democrats
have far more registered supporters. Speaking in Des Moines, Iowa, Mr
Romney said the President had fallen
short of his promises and vowed the
country was ‘two days from a new
beginning’ and ‘a better future’. He told supporters: ‘We’re Americans.
We can do anything. The only thing
that stands between us and some of
the best years we can imagine is a lack
of leadership – and that’s why we
have elections.’ Making use of the presidential plane,
Air Force One, Mr Obama was able to
spend yesterday stopping off in four
battleground states – New Hampshire,
Florida, Ohio and Colorado. He has been joined in these final rallies
by Bill Clinton, who has put aside his
previous bitterness at the way Mr
Obama deprived his wife Hillary of the
2008 party nomination. Joined by Mr Clinton in front of a
roaring crowd in Concord, New
Hampshire, Mr Obama once again tried
to compare his economic policies with
those of the previous Democrat
President. He said: ‘We have come too far to turn
back now. We have come too far to let
our hearts grow faint. It’s time to
keep pushing forward.’
Israel war game On Saturday night in Virginia, Mr
Clinton attacked Mr Romney’s habit of
shifting positions on key issues, saying:
‘He could be the chief contortionist
for Cirque du Soleil.’ Despite the narrow gap separating
the candidates in most polls, Mr Obama
is clinging to a narrow lead in a
majority of swing states. Most pundits
suspect this will give him a crucial
advantage tomorrow. Attention remains focused on one
battleground state above all others.
According to the number crunchers, Mr
Romney will find it very difficult to win
the 270 votes he needs in the electoral
college that decides the victor unless he carries Ohio. But polls have shown this midwestern
state, many of whose voters rely for
jobs on a car industry which the
President bailed out, remains in favour
of Mr Obama by at least three
percentage points. More than eight in ten voters across
the globe would keep Mr Obama as
President if they had a say in the US
elections, a major poll has found. The MSN survey of more than 570,000
people in 36 countries found that only
19 per cent favoured Mr Romney. The only country that preferred him
was China, giving him 52 per cent of the
vote. In Britain, Mr Obama took 85 per
cent of the vote.

Omotola 4 me.

THE Federal Ministry of Environment, FMEnv, has placed on public display a draft report of an Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA, study of the effects of the implementation of proposals for the expansion and modernization of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The report was submitted by Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited. The public can read the report at FMEnv offices at the Green Building, Maitama and the Brown Building, Airport Road, Abuja; Games Village, Surulere, Lagos as well as in FMEnv state offices in Ibadan and Abeokuta.

The report is also available at State Ministry of Environment offices in Alausa, Lagos; Ibadan, Oyo State and Abeokuta, Ogun State as well as at Local Government Area Headquarters in Ikeja and Kosofe in Lagos State; Owode, Ifo, Odeda, Odogbolu, Isara and Sagamu in Ogun State and Idi Ayunre, Oyo State.

The report is on display in order to give the public an opportunity to comment on issues related to the reconstruction and which issues could potentially affect them.

Also, comments should be made on how the reconstructed expressway could best serve motorists, transporters, industrial/commercial interests and communities whose primary access is on the expressway.

The report indicates that the reconstructed expressway will have three lanes on each of the north-bound and south-bound carriageways between the interchange at Ojota, Lagos and the interchange by the former toll-gate in Ibadan.

Toll plazas will be provided on both sides of the expressway at Warewa, Sagamu interchange and Dekkit Quarry near Ibadan. There will also be interchanges at Ibafo, Mowe and Ogere. The project cost is put at N120 billion but the report does not mention the probable level of toll charges that would sustain loans to be obtained for the reconstruction.

Any new construction is expected to be environmentally and socially sound and economically viable. With interest rates at about 20 per cent, loans for construction would aggregate to about N170 billion by the end of a three-year construction period.

Income from toll charges on this expressway would have to be between N30 billion per annum and N40 billion per annum for the project to be viable within the concession period of 25 years granted to Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited.

An alternative route would have to be provided for motorists who do not want to pay toU charges.

Fortunately, the Lagos State Government has commenced work on the reconstruction of the road link between Mile 12, lkorodu Road and the Ikorodu Town Roundabout as a dual carriageway with a Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, corridor in the centre of the road.

This will be the first leg of an alternative route and the Federal Government should reconstruct the road link from Ikorodu Town Roundabout to Sagamu as a dual carriageway which will serve as the second leg of an alternative route from Ojota to Sagamu and onwards.

Traffic delays that are sometimes observed on the expressway in the region of the Redemption Camp should be permanently removed.

The Redeemed Christian Church of God has, from its own resources, provided a bitumen-surfaced road link from Simawa, crossing the River Owuru at Ebute Bonwu and thus establishing the first road link between the expressway and the Ikorodu-Sagamu road.

An interchange should be provided on the expressway where the road from Simawa joins the expressway at the southern gate of Redeemer’s University and u-turns should no longer be permitted on this portion of the expressway.

The Ogun State Government, OGSG, has an industrial estate at Ogijo, a town on the Ikorodu-Sagamu road in Ogun State, near the border with Lagos State. The Ogun State Government has previously considered an east-west road link from Ogijo to the expressway.

There exists a good opportunity now for the OGSG to identify and acquire the land corridor for the route from Ogijo to an interchange on the expressway somewhere between Arepo, Punchplace and Magboro.

There are benefits from a second road crossing River Owuru and any motorists using the interchange will pay toll charges at Warewa if travelling southwards and just before entering the expressway if travelling northwards.


www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/toll-charges-on-a-reconstructed-lagos-ibadan-expressway/

God help us all.

36 States of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory Abuja on Saturday hoisted their flags to confirm their participation at the games with the Vice President Namadi Sambo restating the commitment of the Federal Government to sports development in the country. The Vice President, who spoke as a
representative of President Goodluck
Jonathan, said the commitment informed the
recent hosting of a Presidential retreat on
sports by the President. Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola
(SAN) said rather than engender crisis, the
creation of State identities like flags can only
strengthen the nation’s unity wondering
what would have been the colour and value
of the flag hoisting event if there was only one flag to be hoisted for the National Sports
Festival. “And so to those who make a hue and cry
about states having flags and colours, what
would you have, if there were not these
brilliant colours behind us this morning. I tell
them that it is not the flags that threaten the
unity of Nigeria, on the contrary, they cement the unity of the country”. Governor Fashola said Lagos is ready as all
the infrastructure are in place substantially
with just the I’s being dotted and the T’s
being crossed, adding that in the next few
weeks and days Lagos would not only be
ready to receive thousands of athletes but would make them experience the classy Lagos
hospitality. He recalled that 43 days ago, he was in Abuja
to formally join in receiving the festival torch
from the last host, the Rivers State
Government to signal the formal commencement of the opening of the 18th edition of the games in Lagos. The Governor commended the members of the
Local Organising Committee for the
wonderful preparation and also singled out
the Chairman of the Local Organising
Committee, the Deputy Governor, Hon (Mrs)
Adejoke Orelope- Adefulire for her efforts. The Vice President, who said he is at the flag
hoisting ceremony to hoist the national flag
as a mark of support of the Federal
Government for the festival, added that 43
days ago he handed over the Torch of Unity
over for it to be taken round the 35 other participating States and FCT before finally
arriving in Lagos. He explained that the Torch handing over
ceremony represented the official commencement of the 18th National Sports Festival tagged Eko 2012. Chairman of the Local Organising Committee
of the Games and Deputy Governor, Hon (Mrs)
Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire said the hoisting
of flag is a symbolic event that represented
the unity of the nation. She said “as the flags are raised, the unity and
togetherness of Nigeria will be emphasized as
the hoisting of the flags signifies the
participation of the States in the federation
in the games”. The LOC Chairman urged all the participating
states to play fair and demonstrate
sportsmanship in victory or in defeat at the
games. Speaking on behalf of the Sports Minister and
Chairman of the National Sports Commission,
Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the Director General
of the National Sports Commission, Dr Patrick
Ekeji said the successful hoisting of flags in
Lagos for the festival represented the second time it would form part of the opening
ceremonies with the first being at Rivers 2010. He said the success and hardwork of the
games is a validation of the commitment of the
nation’s leaders to use sports as a vehicle for
achieving the transformational agenda of the
Federal Government. The highpoint of the ceremony was the
hoisting of the Nigerian flag by Vice President,
Namadi Sambo to indicate the support of the
Federal Government while that of the host
State was hoisted by Governor Babatunde
Fashola (SAN) just as the festival flag was also hoisted before each of the 35 States flags
and that of the FCT were hoisted in a batch
of six States each by the Deputy Governors
and Sports Commissioners of the various
States.
www.channelstv.com/home/2012/11/03/fg-state-governments-indicate-participation-in-18th-sports-festival/

* Yvonne Nelson
* Omotola Jalade
* Nadia Buhari
* Tonto Dikeh
* Jackie Appiah
* Genevieve Nnaji
* Ini Edo

The two governors, Rotimi Amaechi and
Dickson Seriake were joined by delegations
from both states to discuss with the
president. The meeting is said to be on the dispute over
oil wells between the two states. A recent ruling by the Supreme Court affirmed
that the disputed oil wells which had been in
existence, even before the creation of Bayelsa
State out of the old Rivers State, actually
belong to Bayelsa. Based on the pronouncement of the apex
court, the Bayelsa State governor was
recently quoted to have stated that, there
was no need for his Rivers State counterpart
to dissipate energy on a matter that had
been laid to rest by the Supreme Court judgment, confirming that the oil wells belong
to Bayelsa State. Traditional rulers from Kalabari, earlier in the
week embarked on a protest march in Port
Harcourt against the ceding of some of their
communities to Bayelsa State. The Kalabari oil wells of Soku and Elem-
Sangama communities in Rivers State is said to
produce 300,000 of oil per day. We will bring details of the meeting in our
subsequent bulletin.
www.channelstv.com/home/2012/11/03/jonathan-meets-amaechi-and-dickson-over-kalabari-oil-well-dispute/

Obumneme Ali a.k.a. Smash and Nwachukwu Ozioko a.k.a. Vast popularly known as Bracket are the rave of the moment in the Nigerian music scene. With hit tracks like Yori Yori, Ada Owerri, Muah Muah, among others, the group has become a household name across Africa. Showtime celebrity recently engaged them at their Lekki home in a lot of issues, including the secret behind their parting ways with their long time friend and colleague, Bishop.

What was your growing up like?

It wasn’t easy . First of all, we both have National Diploma and degrees from different institutions. Smash had a Diploma in Social Works and a degree in Psychology from the University of Nigeria Nsukka, while Vast had a Diploma and degree both in Mass Communication from IMT, Enugu.

Are you in anyway related or you are just friends?

We are not related in any way. But we grew up together in the university town of Nsukka. Smash’s dad used to work in UNN while Vast’s parents lived within the neigbourhood .Then, we used to attend the campus shows when we were in secondary school.

How did it all start?

Those days, we use to have tape recorder. And each time, our mums purchase all these christian cassettes, we usually use the cassettes to record the songs of some of the great musicians in those days such as 2pac, Michael Jackson and others. Our parents would be wondering if anything was wrong with us.


Sometimes, after listening to the music, we usually write down the lyrics and memorise them. Later, we would mime such songs at school shows alongside other aspiring rappers. It was during one of such shows that we came in contact. The rest is history.

You were three in your group. What happened to the third person?

It is a long story. Igwebuike Amobi a.k.a Bistop was with me (Vast) before Smash later joined us. We had some issues that made him to take his leave. It wasn’t our fault that he left the group.

According to reports, he alleged that you people connived with your manager to kick him out?

Nobody kicked him out. We read most of those allegations he leveled against us, even the claim that he was the one that composed almost all our songs including Yori Yori.

Was he actually the one who composed Yori Yori?

If he was the one who truly composed it for us, we could not have released another album, we will be waiting for him to come and compose it again for us. It is normal for people to say all sorts of things but for him not to be in the group is his fault and he knows it. No matter what he is telling anybody, deep inside his heart, he knows the truth and we all know the truth and God knows better.

He made mention of taking you guys to Ape planet?

He was not and doesn’t know Ape Planet from Adam. I (Smash) was in the same class with Ape Planet.He didn’t know him. He just cooked up the story.

What was the name of your record label then and now?
It was and it is still Ape Planet


Marital status?
We are still single but we are not getting any younger. Please oh! You should advise us to go and get married, all we need is gingering.


So, are you guys planning to get married soon?
We do love to get married and we believe that most artistes’ think about it and they look forward to getting married as well as thinking of where they will be in the next twenty five years. Is it with my kids or am I going to be doing something different? You might be the biggest artiste today, tomorrow you might not be. Artistes come and go, so we believe we must think about it too.


Why did you relocate?
Hmm….We don’t know o! But we relocated because of the nature of our job. Most parents complained that we disturb the neigbourhood. But its not as if where we are staying now do not have their rules but it is far. We have our studio here in our house but we couldn’t do it there because of the complaints and we do everything without anybody complaining again. We never said we must stay in Lekki. It was a friend that secured it for us.


Is there anybody like Mr Odor whom they said sponsored Happy Day?
Mr Odor? No! This is the first time we are hearing such name. If it’s Mr Nazy, he is our manager, and talking about sponsorship we got was from Ape Planet and from a man who wanted to work with the person who gave us ten thousand Naira which we used to book a section that we never made use of. However, the only spon sorship Happy Day got was from Ape Planet. Before then there was no name like Ape Planet and Bracket. It was then that the whole name was created.


Is it true that it was you guys who bought a jeep for Mr Nazy?
Well, Mr Nazy bought a car for himself on his birthday and we all celebrated along with him.

How was your show in Germany?

It was a very nice show because we get to meet people, people who have not been to Nigeria for a very long time. They are really enjoying it because they believe you are taking them back home. Some of them at the end of the day cried because your bring back lost sweet memories.

You use that medium to reach to our fans that are over there. It was an awesome show, you know Germany is big. We went to just a place and few places in Europe. When you talk of all these outside concerts like Europe, America, it is not as massive as those in African countries. Africans pay you well and they are the ones that show true love.



Your relationship with P-Square?

We are like brothers, we are very close. We visit them and the repeat the visit as well. We even planned spending this year’s Christmas with them but we are to have a show at Equatorial-Guinea on 24th and we are meant to come back the next day and their President’s son said that we still have to play another concert on 25th. Its so sad we are not going to spend our Christmas in Nigeria.

But you guys were not sighted in their mother’s burial?

Yea, we were not around, we were in Paris then. We visited them before the burial rites and they even advised most artistes not to come to their village because they don’t want crowd. Rather friends and sympathisers were encouraged to visit them at their Lagos home.

It was reported that you were unable to perform with live band in America

They will tell you to come with a live band. But they won’t pay you for it. That doesn’t make any sense. First of all, the contract we had was that we were coming with a band of nine, they said, sorry , we can’t afford to pay flight ticket for nine persons,rather both of you should just come, so, what do we do? Even if you were doing it without your instrumentals, you do more of accapela.

They can listen to you and we do that a lot. Just stopping the song and just singing your song with no instrumentals, the fans will follow you up. If they pay for live band, we call our band members but when they check the cost, they will say no. When we went to South America, they paid for live band. P-square went to Zimbabwe and everything they needed was there for them and that made the show a very nice one.

Is live band better?

Live band is good because people will love to see you sing but on the other hand, you still need room for performance. Most times, when you perform live, it gets bored in such a way that your audience would want to see you do a different thing on stage.

Your kind of music?

We call it Afro high-life because most Igbo music cuts across Africa. When you listen to most of our tracks, you will see that it is evolving from that place, just that we made it a little hip-hop but it is still high-life.

That’s why when they listen to it, it reminds them of those people and sometimes most of our songs sound like their own. Nigerian music industry is the biggest in Africa now.

Your track Yori-Yori whats the message behind it?

Yori Yori means sweetness. We weren’t just singing for a girl, our music appeals to everybody. Anything that is precious to you is your Yori Yori. Your television set can be your Yori Yori.

The yori yori and its remix are not really saying the same thing?

Yes. That why it is called a remix because you have to pass a different message. After recording the track, it wasn’t meant to be called yori yori. After doing it in the studio, the name of the track was meant to be “remember” but before we knew it, it has already been mixed in Alaba. It leaked and they gave it that name yori yori remix.

Why most of your tracks have love theme?

Nigerians don’t understand the meaning of love because if they do, they will surely show it in their day-to -today dealing with their fellow Nigerians.

We mostly do love songs but that does not mean mean that we don’t do other songs. Just like P-square and 2face, we use our songs to preach love and understanding among Nigerians.we give people encouragement through our music.

Let’s know some of the African countries you guys have staged shows apart from Ivory Coast?

We have performed in Sierra-Leone, Uganda, South Africa, Rwanda and so many other countries that we can’t remember now.

The dream of most emerging Nigerian musicians is to break into international market. Are you having such notion?

Whatever we are doing we are doing it for our international audience. Let’s see how it goes by God’s grace. For now, we are targeting African audience. It is only Africa that will take one across borders.

Can you give example of a local music?

Yori yori is a good example, when it came out, people were like what is Yori Yori again? People said all sorts of rubbish about the song but at the end of the day it sold out.

Which western artiste will you people like to collaborate with?

Michael Jackson or 2pac if they were alive but since they are dead we are thinking of plan B.



www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/our-pain-our-gains-our-story-bracket/

The general challenge
experienced by virtually all
states in the federation remains
the undaunted task of how best
to tackle security. In the deep caves of the South
East, kidnappers and ritualists
hold sway, in the arid savannah
of the north, the dreaded
terrorist group, otherwise
known as Boko Haram operates with reckless brutality, but in the
valley of the Niger Delta,
kidnappers and political
gangsterism threatened the
existence of once a happy
people. Yet in the sprawling cities of the
south West, armed robbers
seemed to be in control. In the
middle of all these, the
commercial motorcycle
operators popularly known as okada riders have been fingered
as a major contributor to these
calamities. Against this backdrop, governors
of different states restricted
the operations of commercial
motorcycle operators by mere
pronouncement apparently to
checkmate the surging crime wave. Despite the essential
services that okada riders
provide, they remain the most
abused. The cab drivers swear at them,
the politicians see them as
cannon fodder to be used during
political campaigns, and
eventually dumped afterwards. Yet, provision of motorcycles to
the teeming unemployed youths
has become the only sure way of
tackling poverty among
Nigerians. In the same way, car
owners see okada operators as nuisance. Despite these bone deep
resentments, the okada riders
still operate under the merciless
whip of fate, a long lamentation
of the persecuted placed on the
edge of the abyss. Lagos, newly admitted into the
club of bourgeoisie cities made a
law to restrict okada riders
from plying highways. The dust generated by the
emergence of this law is yet to
settle in the public domain. For
most Lagosians, it was a
calculated attempt by the Lagos
State government to wipe away the average man from existence.
Yet for others, it will create
sanity on the ever busy Lagos
roads, particularly putting to
check the ubiquitous traffic
congestion. Since the enforcement of the
controversial law barely a week
ago, not less than ten thousand
motorcycles had been impounded
with over three thousand or
more of them destroyed by the Lagos State government for
flouting the rules. Additionally, a proportionate
number of okada riders while
trying to escape arrest were
injured and later hospitalised at
different hospitals in the city. Every passing day, large number
of commuters were seen
stranded at different bus-stops
in Lagos. The lingering fuel crisis
appears to further compound
the transport crisis in Lagos. All these state one fact, that the
transport system in the emerging
mega city has collapsed. Hence,
the okada riders still operate
with temerity under the watchful
eye of task force officials who combed the streets of Lagos for
okada riders like a praetorian
guard. For most Lagos residents the
bag of ironies behind this law,
need much to be desired. For
them, the government appeared
to be speaking with both sides
of its month. Government cannot be bogged
down by the problem of
provision of employment for its
teeming idled youths, at the same
time, gradually banning the
operations of commercial motorcycle. The multiplying effects of the
enforcement of this law cannot
be over-emphasised. There are
many Nigerians benefiting from
the operations of okada riders
apart from the commuters. No doubt, motorcycle mechanics
will suffer poor patronage, the
over 300,000 youths employed by
the nine commercial motorcycle
associations in Lagos to sell
tickets will surely be thrown out of job as well as the vulcanizers. Others also posited that if
Lagos must attain its mega city
status, then provisions must be
made for commercial motorcycle
operators on the highways same
as the BRT lane. In developed countries, this had
been the rule rather than the
exception where even pedestrian
walk ways and bicycle lane were
provided.
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/a-clog-in-the-wheels-of-okada-riders/

Former world heavyweight champion
Corrie Sanders has been shot dead
during an armed robbery at a
restaurant near Brits in South Africa. Sanders was shot in the stomach and
arm and died of these injuries later in
hospital. Sanders' friend, musician Kurt Darren,
confirmed the news on Sunday. "He was shot in the stomach by armed
robbers at his nephew's 21st
birthday," Darren said. "He passed away at 4am. He fought
hard for eight hours." Sanders, aged 47, was best known for
his second-round knockout of
Wladimir Klitschko in 2003 which saw
him claim the WBO heavyweight crown. His dominating performance, which
saw Klitschko floored four times, was
voted 'Upset of the Year' by Ring
Magazine. A year later the South African fought
Wladimir's brother Vitali Klitschko for
the vacant WBC title, losing a brutal
encounter in eight rounds. The Pretorian fighter ended his
career with a professional record of
42-4 (31 KOs). After retiring, Sanders juggled
several business interests with
motivational speaking tours.
www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-23/former-heavyweight-champion-killed-in-south-africa/4276398?section=sport

President Goodluck Jonathan is
to present the 2013 federal
budget to Nigerians and then
submit it to the National
Assembly about three months to
the end of the year on October 4, the Coordinating Minister for the
Economy and Minister of Finance,
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said. She also said that Federal
Government has paid petroleum
products marketers about N 394.
8 billion to settle subsidy claims. This is even
as
Jonathan
has
assured prospective investors in the
country of his administration’s
committment and total support
to reposition the nation’s
economy, making it one of the
leading economies by 2020. Dr Okoja- Iweala who spoke
about the 2013 budget in Abuja
yesterday said “We have been
meeting with members of the
National Assembly and having
fruitful discussions and we look forward to Mr. President
budget’s speech in October 4.” The minister who brought copies
of the budget to the conference,
which was also attended by the
Director-General of Budget, Dr.
Bright Okogu, explained that she
was satisfied that her team in her ministry and the Budget
Office worked round the clock
for the budget to be ready by
now, in line with the directive
that the budget be completed
early enough for submission to the Legislature.’’ On the implementation of the
2012 budget, she said that N710.4
billion, out of the N1.3 trillion
budgeted for capital expenses
had so far been released, adding
that, N553. 2 billion was cash- backed, with the autilization of
N320.9 billion, which is about 58
per cent of the amount cash-
backed. The Minister added that
implementation of the 2012
budget did not commence until
April, this year because the
ministries , departments and
agencies implemented the 2011 budget until the end of March,
2012. According to her,
“Implementation (of 2012
budget) could not begin till April
because MDAs were still
implementing 2011 budget up
until the end of March. This is why this is important; as
long as we delay implementation,
it is very difficult to talk about
ratio. If you want to talk about
implementation, you then have to
measure it from April, May, June, July, August and September. It
will be unfair to go and have a
ratio over the entire thing.” She further added that the issue
of the time the budget
commenced was key in the
evaluation of the 2012 budget
and urged analysts to always
bear in mind that it started in April, rather than January, the
beginning of the year. Okonjo-Iweala, said that her
team was however, still working
hard to ensure that substantial
gains were recorded in the
budget implementation between
now and the end of the year, pointing out that she had
discussed with the Legislature
on the need for the two arms of
governemtn to collaborate and
ensure that the implementation
of budget 2013 begins in January next year. On claims by petroleum
marketers that they were being
owed, the minister said, they
were paid the money in three
tranches in what she described
as a continuous process, since the government would continue
to pay all marketers cleared by
the Presidential Task Force,
headed by Mr Aig Imoukhuede. “As the Presidential Task Force
clears more, we will make further
payment”, Okonjo-Iweala
stressed adding that sometimes,
“they are able to clear all the
claims from the marketers at other time they are able to clear
some. They take the claims in batches.
We do not want to wait for all
the claims to be finished. We do
not want to wait till the end
before paying people”. According to her, the first
payment was N 259.3 billion,
followed by another N 78. 8
billion and the most recent, N 56. 7
billion. She said that those who
benefited from the last payment
included: Oando, Total,
Integrated Oil and Gad, MRS Oil
Plc and North-West Oil Ltd. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala then assured
that the Federal Government
would continue to administer the
subsidy regime in a very
transparent way in the interest
the Nigerian public. Meanwhile, Jonathan assured
prospective investors of his
administration’s support when
he declared open, the first
edition of the 2012 Oil and Gas
Trade and Investment Forum at Onne, Rivers State, Thursday.
Represented by the Rivers State
Governor and Chairman of the
Nigeria Governor’s Forum, NGF,
Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi,
Jonathan said the initiative was part of his administration’s
transformation agenda, based
on the belief that the private
sector was the engine of
economic growth as well as the
prime mover of the economic reform process. He explained that government
had come up with policies, plans
and programmes geared
towards the reduction or
outright elimination of
bottlenecks to business and investment through
harmonization of Nigeria’s trade
procedures and documentations,
while providing investment
friendly environment. “As you are already aware, our
gathering here today is to
showcase the success of the
Onne Oil and Gas Free Trade
Zone with a view to attracting
Domestic and Foreign Direct Investment to all the Free Trade
Zones in Nigeria and to enhance
the role of private sector in
driving the economy towards
sustainable development, wealth
and job creation”, he said, just as he expressed confidence in the
capability, imagination and
commitment of the operators of
the Free Trade Zones to achieve
the desired goal of putting the
country among the top 20 economies in the world by the
year 2020. “The support and sustainable
partnership of the Private
Sector is critical at this period so
as to strengthen, deepen and
sustain growth and economic
transformation of this country. I challenge the other Free Trade
Zones to leverage on the success
of Onne with a view to
understanding the vast benefits
and opportunities in their zones
and applying them to grow their businesses.” He commended the state
Governor, Amaechi for the
success of the Onne Free Trade
Zone, as well as the Federal
Ministry of Trade and Investment
for promoting public-private partnership through
collaboration and formation of
strategic alliance in promoting
Nigeria’s economic growth. On his part, Minister of Trade
and Investment, Mr. Olusegun
Aganga said, the Oil and Gas
industry has continued to play a
dominant role in the growth of
the Nigerian economy, as it is central and strategic to defining
transformation strategy for the
national economy just as the
zone had attracted several
investors and created about
30,000 jobs to date.
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/09/jonathan-presents-2013-budget-on-oct-4/

The Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on job creation, Josephine Washima on Friday promised to create more employment based on merit for Nigerians.
Ms Washima, who made the pledge at a news
conference in Abuja, said already the new
office has made available over five thousand
jobs in the last month. “Last week someone called me and was
offering me 5, 000 job vacancies. We are going
to have a website where people can upload
their CVs. I don’t need to know you; I don’t
need to know your face. Just go there, if you
qualify for that job, apply for it and be sure that you will be called up for an interview,”
she said. Ms Washima said her effort in job creation is
not something new in Nigeria. “We are not bringing anything new. We are not
trying to do something that has never been
done before. But we are going to build on
existing structure and strengthen the labour
laws of this country in such a way that we will
do away with bottle-necks. “We don’t need anybody asking any Nigerians
for a note to get a job from anybody,” she
added. The Special Adviser promised to work closely
with the National Bureau of Statistics to fish
out appropriate data of unemployed
Nigerians in the country in order to address
the root cause of the problem.

motorcycle
operators popularly called
‘Okada riders’, once again
yesterday stormed different parts of Lagos metropolis in
protest against restriction
placed on their operations by
the new traffic law enacted in
July. According to sources, the Okada
riders. numbering hundreds
stormed major highways, such as
Lagos Abeokuta Expressway,
Agege, Ajegunle, Apapa, and
Lagos Island areas, urging government to revert the
restriction order on their
operations. Despite the on going fuel
scarcity in the city, the
operators chanting anti-
government slogans, took over
the roads causing traffic
gridlock It took combined team of Rapid
Response Squad, RRS of the
Nigeria police to quell the
situation and restored normalcy.
Part of the new law restricts the
operations of Okada on 475 roads across the state.
An official of the state Ministry
of Transportation, who pleaded
anonymity, confirmed the
protest, saying the situation was
immediately put under check with no arrest made as the protesting
Okada riders retreated
accordingly.
Meantime, the Commissioner for
Transportation, Mr. Kayode
Opeifa, has disclosed that the government has added 15,000
road signs in addition to the
existing 10,000.
Opeifa said the massive
installation of the signs would
enable road-users to be conversant with the signs and
their significance, adding that it
would also assist road-users to
know the restricted routes for
motorcycles and tricycles,
designated bus-stops, among others.
He, however, warned
recalcitrant Okada riders and
tri-cyclists in their own interest,
to desist from plying the
restricted 475 routes as anyone found violating the law will be
appropriately sanctioned. Soldier, driver arrested; vehicle
impounded Meantime, the Lagos state
Government while enforcing the
new traffic law has arrested a
military officer and a truck
driver for driving against traffic
on the Third Mainland Bridge. The officer identified as Lance
Corporal Umar Usman, was
arrested along with a 33 year
old driver of an articulated
truck, Mr. Sagir Abubakar. It would be recalled that
Governor of the state,
Babatunde Fashola had in July
arrested Colonel K.I. Yusuf and
staff sergeant A.J. Adeomi for
driving on the dedicated Bus rapid Transit, BRT, lane. Speaking in an interview
yesterday in Alausa, the
Chairman of the Lagos State
Environment Sanitation and
Special Offences Agency,
Superintendent Bayo Sulaimon added that the state
government had in the last one week arrested over
60 motor park touts across the
state. According to Sulaimon, “Usman
and Abubakar were arrested on
the Third Mainland Bridge at
about 1:00 pm on Tuesday for
driving an articulated truck
against the traffic.” He added “At the time of their
arrest, all the vehicles moving on
Bridge were expected to drive
inward the Mainland and not
outward. But they were found
driving towards Marina.” “While Usman was handed over to
the Nigerian Army for disciplinary
action, Abubakar has been
charged to court and the vehicle
has been impounded along with
the goods found in the truck. They will be auctioned according
to the 2012 road traffic law of
the state. “The goods we found in the truck
were Rice, Sugar and Cements.” Sulaimon lamented that the act
showed that both men needed
urgent reorientation. According to him; “the Bullion Van
that was arrested last month
will also be auctioned
immediately after the expiration
of the two months stipulated by
the new law of the state.”
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/09/road-traffic-law-okada-riders-protest-across-lagos/

ABUJA—Minister of Agriculture
and Water Resources, Akinwunmi
Adeshina, has disclosed that
investors from the United States
of America, USA, have agreed to invest $6 billion in Nigeria’s
agricultural sector. Adeshina made the disclosure
while signing a Memorandum of
Understanding, MoU, with the
Tony Elumelu Foundation, TF, with
a view to boosting “Agri-
Business”, within the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja. According to the Minister, some
of the derivable dividends for
Nigeria in the partnership would
include the establishment of two
plants in the North which he said
would use about 100,000 hectares of land each for the
production of sugar-cane,
saying the Federal Government
had empowered 13 new rice
meals with a total capacity of
210, 000 metric tonnes in the last one year. He maintained that it was in a bid
to revolutionize the agricultural
sector so as to make it more
attractive to unemployed youths
in the country that the
administration of President Goodluck Jonathan decided to
enter into partnership with the
Tony Elumelu Foundation, saying
it would “increase labour
productivity and make it easier
for youths to participate in farming.” Meanwhile, in his speech, Elumelu,
said he would use his business
tentacles in the United Bank for
Africa, UBA, where he once
superintended, towards ensuring
that affordable loans were made available to farmers in
Nigeria. Elumelu however blamed wrong
agricultural polices by
governments of African
countries on ignorance. He argued that African countries
adopt wrong agricultural
policies due to lack of
awareness, so the foundation
seeks to provide capacity for
African government, which the foundation have done in Sierre
leone and Liberia and now
Nigeria. Elumelu said the foundation
would conduct a study on failed
agricultural projects in the
country, so that the information
would be available publicly to
Nigerian private investors and foreign direct investors who
seek to invest in agriculture to
take advantage of it. He also said the foundation has
just signed an MoU with a foreign
investor to setup a fertilizer
plant in the country. “This will be in the public domain
as part of our contribution to
grow agriculture in the country,”
he said. “The fellow we are sending to
the ministry is one of the most
accomplished fellows, we believe
as a foundation in the role of the
private sector, and we also
realize that the private sector cannot do much until it gets the
necessary back-up that will
unlock investment opportunities,”
Elumelu added Under the MoU, TF would station
an investment advisor with the
Ministry of Agriculture in order
to build capacity to engage
domestic and foreign direct
investors. Adeshina said the ministry has
made recommendation to the
Head of Service of the
federation to create a whole
department for Agribusiness in
the ministry to build internal capacity for agribusiness.
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/09/us-to-invest-6bn-in-nigerias-agric-sector/

Lagos Chief Judge, Justice
Ayotunde Philips yesterday
released 233 inmates, majority of
whom were awaiting trials at
the Kirikiri Prisons, Lagos. The exercise which formed part
of the on-going new legal year
programmes was also a step to
de-congest the prisons. Most of the lucky inmates have
stayed for over 12 years. The Chief Judge, who was
accompanied by senior members
of the judiciary including judges
and the Chief Registrar, released
133 inmates from the Kirikiri
Maximum Security Prison and 103 from the Medium Security Prison. She, however, shifted forward
the attempt to release inmates
from the women prisons, also
located at Kirikiri. Apart from the on-going legal
year programme, the Chief Judge
was empowered to release the
inmates pursuant to the powers
conferred on her under Section 1
(1) of the Criminal Justice Release from Custody Act, Laws of the
Federation of Nigeria 2007. In her remark, Justice Philips said,
“ there is a saying in the legal
circle that it is better for 10
guilty persons to be free than
for one innocent person to be
incarcerated. “We have gone through the list of
those recommended for release.
So for those of you qualified to
be released, you are very lucky
that your name has come up. So,
go and sin no more.” She urged those released to turn
a new leaf and go out to
contribute their quota to the
society, adding, “I promised
during my swearing-in ceremony
that I will do my best to decongest the prisons.” Welcoming the team, the Deputy
Comptroller of Prisons of the
Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Mr. Olu
Tinuoye disclosed that it is very
unusual for chief judges of
Lagos State to visit the prisons. Also, the Medium Security Prison,
Mr. Tunde Ladipo commended the
efforts of the State government
for taking care of the prisons.
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/09/lagos-cj-frees-236-kirikiri-prisons-inmates/

Former Lagos State Governor and leader of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has made the call for the upper arm of legislature to scrapped. Tinubu made this known in Abuja on Tuesday
at the 2012 Annual Conference and Awards
ceremony of Leadership Newspapers, where
he stated that the House of Representatives
is better placed at representing the people
since its members are closer to the grass roots. The opposition leader who is a former
Senator, claimed this will go a great deal in
addressing the nation’s huge cost of
governance and recurrent expenditure. “We have kept complaining about the cost of
governance and the recurrent expenditure,
but we have never examined the structural
problem of even the constitution that we are
operating” he stated. “Why do we need two Houses of the National
Assembly, whereas the House of
Representatives representing the smaller
constituencies is enough in the same number
of population. “Why not get rid of the Senate for a slim and
better legislative activity? Let us start
examining that” a fiery Mr Tinubu suggested. Tinubu’s call is coming just as the Senegalese
parliament passed a law, last week to scrap
its Senate and the office of vice-president, as
both are considered too expensive for the
West-African nation’s budget. President Macky Sall last month announced
emergency legislation to scrap the Senate and
turn over its annual budget of almost $16
million to dealing with the impact of deadly
floods that recently inundated the country. Mr Tinubu also expressed his support for
moves by the Chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof.
Attahiru Jega, to take total full control of the
commission by asking that he be allowed to
pick the Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC). Absolute power for Jega The opposition leader stated it was wrong
for the RECs to be appointed by the President,
who he said, belongs to a political party. He noted that it was bad for President
Goodluck Jonathan, who is a member of the
Peoples Democratic Party, a party he said had
vowed that it would rule for 60 years or more,
to be the one appointing the RECs. Since Nigerians had given Prof Jega
permission to act on their behalf, he should be
allowed to pick his lieutenants. “Once you say somebody is Chairman/Chief
Executive of a corporation, you have given him
all the powers and authority to act on behalf
of the people” he stated. “We gave INEC the power and authority to act
on our behalf, to be an institution that will be
transparent and independent and the
commission is being funded directly from
source, from allocation, from tax and
expenditure from our commonwealth and the wealth of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “Why would we not allow the buck to stop on
the table of INEC Chairman so that if he
messes up, we have somebody to blame. “Why will an INEC chairman not be able to
appoint those in the branches in the states –
the Resident Electoral Commissioners who are
representatives of IEC in the states?”
www.channelstv.com/home/2012/09/19/tinubu-wants-the-senate-scrapped/

Governor Babatunde Fashola of
Lagos State has requested for
the amendment to the Year 2012
Budget Appropriation, to allow
the government access extra
N30billion. The state House of Assembly had
approved over N430 billion for
the year 2012 budget which was
signed into law. The supplementary budget was
contained in a letter from the
executive to the legislative house
and read by the Clerk of the
House, Mr. Segun Abiru at the
plenary session, yesterday, after resuming from a six week break. According to the Clerk, the state
Commissioner for Economic
Planning and Budget, Mr. Ben
Akabueze requested for the
amendment to the Year 2012
Budget Appropriation. Akabueze requested for the
amendment to access N30billion
facility provided for in the
budget due to the non-inclusion
of the facility in the Year 2012
foreign borrowing plan of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Commissioner further
explained in the letter that,
approval of the request by the
House of Assembly would prevent
disruption of the infrastructure
delivery programme of the state government. In another development, a
former Speaker of the House of
Assembly in the first Assembly,
Dimeji Longe who represented
Surulere in 1979-1983 legislative
dispensation is dead. The deaths of former speaker
and two other former members
were announced on the floor of
the House yesterday. Also, the demise of two other
former members, Tajudeen Ajayi
representing Ibeju-Lekki in the
fourth Assembly and Rasheed
Oluwo representing Epe
Constituency also in the first Assembly, was also reported.
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/09/fashola-requests-for-30bn-supplementary-budget/

Global phone manufacturer, Nokia
has launched in Nigeria, a new range
of Asha smartphones to further
expand its Asha family. With the launch, there are now 10
Asha devices available in more than
130 markets, providing young, social
consumers with a choice of phones to
match their lifestyles. Speaking at the launch of the new
range, Campaign Marketing Manager,
Mr Kesiena Ogbemi, said the two new
phones; Nokia Asha 305 and 311 are
full-touch devices designed to
provide an incredibly rich, smartphone-like experience to
consumers who want to be set free
from excessive data consumption
costs and short battery life. While the Nokia Asha 305 is a fun and
affordable phone, featuring the
exclusive Easy Swap dual SIM, Nokia
Asha 311 is a fast and fluid 3.5G
capacitive touchscreen device,
powered by a 1GHz processor to provide a great internet experience.
Both devices offer a new, fully re-
designed touch user interface,
combining the proved ease-of-use
from Nokia’s heritage with digital
design innovations specifically fit for the purpose. “By introducing the Nokia Asha 305
and 311 Touch phones to the Nigerian
market, we’re accelerating our
commitment to connect the next
billion consumers. These phones
deliver on what young, urban people value most, a great-looking device;
and an intuitive and affordable
experience for connecting through
the internet, to their friends and to a
world of entertainment, web apps
and content,” said Olajide Adeyemi, Retail Marketing Manager, Nokia
West- Africa. Adeyemi said buyers of Nokia Asha 305
and 311 will be qualified for an
amazing 30-day promo, starting from
18 September, 2012. Every day of the
promo, consumers who send the IMEI
numbers on the pack of their purchased phones to 20050 will
stand the chance of winning any of
these; a trip to Dubai, Children’s
school fees support, Lagos Business
School short course, a sofa set,
Airtime for six months, movie pass for two people for a year, a shopping
voucher at Shoprite or Twice as Nice,
a Nokia Lumia 9000, a Nokia 808
PureView, six months weekly voucher,
a 6kva generator, a luxury watch, a
DSTV PVR and one year subscription, an inverter, a High definition TV, a 5
burner gas cooker, a refrigerator, a
weekend stay at an Upscale hotel, a
laptop, a Home theatre system, a
microwave oven or luxury Swarovski
earrings among others.
www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2012/09/18/nokia-launches-new-asha-smartphones/

One hundred (100) level students
of Lagos State University, LASU,
(Main campus) Tuesday,
protested alleged decision of
the school management not to
reduce their school fees. Our sources said the students
were reacting over the rumour
making the rounds on the campus
that the management had no
intention to effect a cut in
tuition as promised during their admission into the school. It would be recalled that the
Lagos State government, as part
of moves to douse the rising
tension caused by the increase
in the tuition of LASU students,
said the proposed fees would only be paid by incoming
students that would gain
admission into the school in years
to come. The student were however,
directed to pay N193,750 for
Arts/Education; N223,750 for
Social and Management Sciences;
N248,750 for Law while those in
Communication/Transport, Sciences, Engineering and College
of Medicine paid N238,750,
N258,750, N298,750 and N348,750
respectively as against old fees
which ranges between N25,000
and N62,500. The protesting students it was
gathered, were supposed to be
writing one of their GNS papers
today but have refused to take
the paper so as to register their
grievances. It was also gathered that the
Students Union Government, SUG,
the umbrella body of every
student in the institution has
dissociated itself from the
protest.
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/09/lasu-students-on-rampage-disrupt-exams/

Following the released images of weed infested pitch of the National Stadium Abuja on social media; the National Sports Commission has announced plans to install a culture of regular maintenance of all sports facilities in the country.

Speaking exclusively to Channels Television in Abuja, the Special Assistant on media to the Minister of Sports and chairman National Sports Commission, Mr Julius Ogunro stated that the on-going rehabilitation work that has commenced at the Abuja National Stadium is in line with this new resolve.

Mr Ogunro said the rehabilitation work being carried out on the main pitch of the Abuja national stadium will be extended to all parts of the stadium and other sporting facilities outside the Federal Capital Territory.

He further said that the Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi has expressed unhappiness over the state of the stadium and others under the management of the National Sports Commission.

The aide further revealed that the Ministry has put measures in place to ensure that all facilities are maintained regularly.

www.channelstv.com/home/2012/09/17/rehabilitation-commences-at-abuja-national-stadium/

The people of Kogi state have expressed displeasure over the recent declaration of the oil rich Ibaji area as a territory under Anambra state .They say they own the stretch of land where oil deposits are believed to have been found in the area. Some protesters in the community claim that
the oil deposits expected to service the oil
refinery inaugurated in Anambra by President
Goodluck Jonathan belongs to their state. The president had earlier declared Anambra
state an oil producing area, a pronouncement
that has been flatly rejected by the Kogi
state authorities.
www.channelstv.com/home/2012/09/13/kogi-state-claims-ownership-of-ibaji-oil-deposit/

A former Head of State and the national leader of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), has dismissed the call by South South leaders that it is Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 or no one else. “I don’t take the decision of South-south
leaders seriously. The South-South people said
it is Jonathan or nothing; I know they are
members of the Peoples Democratic Party, let
them vote for him,” Buhari said. He added that “In a free and fair election, let
us see if they can give him the ticket against
other geo-political zones. Let them give him
the primary ticket first. Let them vote for him
when 2015 comes and let us see if he would
win.” Buhari said this in Kaduna when the party’s
governorship candidate for the October 20
election in Ondo State, Soji Ehinlanwo received
him. While lamenting the delay in prosecution of
those indicted in the pension probe, subsidy
and other scams, Buhari maintained that “this
can only happen in Nigeria” He said “Why are those officials not
prosecuted to retrieve the stolen money? It is
only in Nigeria that fraud of this magnitude
takes place and this incompetent government
is doing nothing about it.”
www.channelstv.com/home/2012/09/11/buhari-says-jonathan-cannot-win-in-free-and-fair-election/

Civil rights groups and opposition parties in the country have described the 2012 national honours list released on Sunday by the Presidency as “an attestation to the decadence and show of shame of the Jonathan regime.” The groups queried that although some of
those nominated for this year’s national
honours were honest and credible Nigerians,
the committee in charge of the nomination
would have excluded people that were being
probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for fuel subsidy fraud and other
related offences. The Organised labour had in a related
development urged President Goodluck
Jonathan to honour persons like the Chief
MKO Abiola; his late wife, Kudirat; ace lawyer
and foremost human rights crusader, Chief
Gani Fawehinmi; labour activist, the late Chima Ubani; and Afrobeats legend, Fela Anikulapo-
Kuti among others. Trade Union Congress and the Nigerian
Labour Congress condemned the way awards
are given in Nigeria, maintaining that the
national honours were not meant for only
affluent Nigerians. President of the TUC, Peter Esele said, “Well,
there are people on the list who are of
impeccable character; these are some of the
Nigerians who have made serious
contributions to national development. “I mean people of integrity like the former
Supreme Court Justice, Kayode Esho, whose
works speak for him and others like him. “However, if there are people being
investigated by the EFCC for financial crimes, I
think, the right thing to do is not to nominate
them for such national award. “Those investigated by the EFCC should not be
given awards until they are cleared by the
commission. The way we churn out these
awards every year, it will reduce the
importance attached to them. Honestly, I think
they are becoming too many; this is not the situation in the United States where the
President nominates about nine people and
they are taken very seriously. “You know that Nigerians are rated by the
amount of money they have and not by the
level of service rendered.” Also condemning the honours list, the Acting
General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC), Chris Uyot said “Our view
generally is that the ruling class are only
taking care of themselves in terms of giving
awards to their colleagues, their partners, money bags and the rest of them, “A country that is so corrupt, where people
are stealing billions of Naira and awards are
giving to people who are maintaining the
status quo of corruption.” He said: “The President should not depend on
recommendations from party chieftains and
friends from the business society. He should
use his discretion to ensure that the
searchlight is beamed on other segments of
the society rather politicians and technocrats. Great Ubani, Gani Fawehinmi,
MKO, Kudirat, Fela, and others did a lot for
Nigeria.” Also, leading opposition parties, the Congress
for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN) also condemned the
honour’s list. The CPC through its National Publicity
Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin, said that national
honours had been bastardised. He said the list was “an attestation to the
decadence and show of shame of the
Jonathan regime.” The ACN also condemned the award list,
stating that credible people had been pushed
aside in the name of policking. The ACN, in a statement by its state publicity
secretary, Joe Igbokwe, said that “a careful
perusal of the latest names released for
national honours shows that it is a pot-pouri
of businessmen that have no scruples, friends
and associates of those in government, discredited contractors and acolytes of
those in power, especially at the federal level
and mainly PDP party members.” President of the Campaign for Democracy, Dr.
Joe Okei-Odumakin, said, “The bottom line is
that our national honour has become
dishonourable. Honest Nigerians who have the
misfortune of carrying the devalued honours
should throw their plaques in the waste bin.”
www.channelstv.com/home/2012/09/11/labour-acn-others-call-2012-national-honours-list-a-show-of-shame/