₦airaland Forum

Russian parliamentary elections: rousing from a long slumber

If Vladimir Putin's popularity is on the wane, that of the party he created, United Russia, is in a nosedive

Editorial guardian.co.uk, Sunday 4 December 2011 19.49 GMT

Vladimir Putin made it crystal clear what he expected out of yesterday's parliamentary election – a national show of loyalty. Parliament was no place for the opposition. He told shipyard workers in St Petersburg: "If someone wants to watch a show, then they need to go to the circus, the movies or theatre." This is akin to the Duma speaker's comment that parliament was no place for debate. Putin naturally thought he would get his way. To combat a boycott of the Duma elections as a popular protest option, he needed to ensure a respectable turnout. It came. It always will, if you tell every bureaucrat, every public sector worker, every regional and local government, student, teacher, policemen, soldier that their job or regional grant or piece of tarmacked road depends on it.

[b]Golos, an EU and US financed Russian vote-monitoring group, clocked up more than 5,300 electoral violations and put them on a map, kartanarusheniy.ru, before that was taken down yesterday by a denial of service attack. Also crippled yesterday were the websites of Ekho Moskvy, Snob.ru, New Times, Livejournal and anyone else wishing to publish real-time evidence about how the vote was being rigged in favour of the ruling party, United Russia. Golos, in particular, faced a concerted campaign of harassment because it showed it was serious. It had 3,000 observers in about half of Russia's 83 regions. On Saturday its director was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport for 12 hours and had her laptop confiscated. The Russian deputy ambassador to Berlin issued a grovelling apology when summoned by the German foreign ministry last month, after a respected German political scientist who had helped Golos was refused entry at the same airport and put in a detention centre, even though he had a valid invitation and visa. But it is all part of the same campaign. Putin compared Golos to Judas, which makes him, by extension, Jesus.[/b]

Putin has no serious rivals, except the growing national fatigue with the semi-authoritarian system he created. Even those who welcomed the leadership he provided to stabilise Russia in his first two terms of president are growing weary at the prospect of another two terms, when he will be re-elected in March next year. If Putin's popularity is on the wane, that of the party he created, United Russia, is in a nosedive. In elections in 2007 it secured a landslide majority of 64.3% of the vote or 315 seats in the Duma. That majority was enhanced by the sort of vote rigging which was out in force yesterday, but if that had been entirely absent, pollsters and independent political analysts say their natural support would today be about 30% – way below what Putin needs to ensure a majority in a quiescent Duma. As it is, three exit polls last night showed a marked drop in support for United Russia. A poll for Russian TV showed 48.5% of support, which would give Putin's party 220 seats, and two polls, from Vtsiom and the Fom group gave United Russia 48% and 46% respectively.

If confirmed, this spells trouble. United Russia should lose its constitutional majority. Even after the bullying and blatant manipulation (election posters for United Russia bore an uncanny resemblance to the official posters of the Central Election Commission) ordinary voters were unwilling to play ball. It is not as if they trust anyone else. Anyone who thinks that the forlorn band of Yeltsin-era democrats will benefit from this is deluding themselves. Russians will take a long time to forget who created the system that turned government into a massive takeaway. But an electoral embarrassment could herald the breakup of United Russia as a party. It is quite possible for Putin to turn on his own creation. Although he was their presidential candidate, he himself never became a member. In the words of Marx (Groucho) he never joined a club that would have him as a member. The Duma should become an unexpectedly lively place.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/04/russia-elections-putin-editorial

Toll Collection on Lekki-Epe Expressway Begins Dec 18
02 Dec 2011

By Benneth Oghifo

Lagos State government Thursday said it would commence payment of tolls by motorists plying the Eti-Osa, Lekki-Epe Expressway redeveloped by Messrs Lekki Concession Company (LCC) from December 18.

The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, at a joint press conference with LCC’s team in Lagos, said government decided to go ahead with toll collection because some of the alternative routes created for people who don’t want to patronise the LCC facilities are now ready for use.

The state government had stayed action on the collection of tolls on the roads in the wake of demonstration and criticisms by stakeholders on the Lekki corridor.

However, Managing Director/ CEO of LCC, Mr. Opuiyo Oforiokuma, who expressed the readiness of his company to ensure road users get full benefits for their money said road users, can avoid the payment of tolls by using alternative routes created by the state government. Such people, according to him, can still make use of the expressway by gaining access to the road through some of the adjacent roads, which funnel into the expressway.

For instance, Toll Plaza 1 has an alternative road through Oniru Arch-City David Road-Market and back on the expressway. Dismissing the gale of criticisms that greeted the earlier attempts to introduce tolls on the road, Oforiokuma said infrastructure projects are capital intensive, adding that it is difficult for any government to meet all the infrastructural needs of the people. “It is about time we recognise the need to pay for what we use, infrastructure is not free,” he said.

According to him, the company process transactions in excess of 2 million month, explaining that the highest peak period of traffic flow recorded was in October when the figure hit approximately 8,000 vehicles. He said the delay over the project was caused by demographical challenge in the state.

To make things easy for users of the road, the LCCI chief said facilities like towing vehicle service, ambulance and a good security arrangement have been put in place by his company.

The state governor had earlier in the year explained that the initial resistance to the commencement of toll collection on the Eti-Osa, Lekki-Epe Expressway means that the state would have to part with N4 billion for this year, which could have been used to provide more schools, inner roads, hospitals and social needs in Eti-Osa, Ibeju-Lekki and Epe areas.”

He described the development as a sensible and necessary decision in order to maintain the much-needed and growing investor confidence in the Lagos economy, maintain credit rating and reduce credit risk.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/toll-collection-on-lekki-epe-expressway-begins-dec-18/104106/

Police charge Liato over K2.1bn

By Times Reporter

POLICE in Lusaka have charged and arrested former Labour Minister, Austin Liato, for receiving stolen property.

Mr Liato, who has remained in police custody since Tuesday after turning himself in, will appear in court today. Investigative wings had no knowledge of Mr Liato’s whereabouts since last week when a combined team of officers from the[b] Zambia Police, Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) unearthed K2.1 billion cash from his farm in Mwembeshi area.[/b]

Zambia Police Service spokesperson, Elizabeth Kanjela, confirmed Mr Liato’s arrest in an interview yesterday, saying the charge on the former minister was in accordance with provisions of Section 318 (1) of the Penal Code of the Laws of Zambia.

“Yes the former minister who was detained at Woodlands Police last night, was this afternoon officially arrested and charged with receiving stolen property which is contrary to Section 318 (1) of the Penal Code of the Laws of Zambia. He is expected to appear in court tomorrow,” said Ms Kanjela.

Security wings have been carrying out investigations, including interviewing a number of people, since the discovery of the money which was stashed underground.

Mr Liato was driven to his house in Kalundu soon after reporting at the Task Force offices on Tuesday where officers searched the premises for more than two hours.

The party later drove to Lusaka’s Woodlands Police Station where Mr Liato was detained awaiting charges. On Tuesday, Ms Kanjela had indicated that Mr Liato would only be charged and arrested after further investigations and once it had been established that there was reason for the police to do so.

Mr Liato, who has since been disowned and suspended as national executive committee member by his party, the MMD, arrived at the Task Force offices in the company of his lawyer, Nellie Mutti, Joseph Mulyata, family members and friends.

On Friday last week, a combined team from the Zambia Police Service, ACC and DEC raided Mr Liato’s farm at number 44, Mpampa Settlement Scheme in Mwembeshi area where they conducted an operation and dug out K2.1 billion cash.

http://www.times.co.zm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3270:police-charge-liato-over-k21bn&catid=46:other-headlines

Zambia’s former labour minister pleads not guilty
2011-12-01 15:13


Lusaka – Zambia’s former labour minister, Austin Liato, pleaded not guilty today to receiving stolen property after authorities found more than $400 000 (R3 266 358) in cash buried on his farm.

His arrest yesterday came one month after Zambia’s newly elected president, Michael Sata, vowed to weed out corruption.

Authorities last week found 2.1 billion kwacha (R3 397 012) in cash buried on his farm, but have given no indication as to how Liato might have obtained the money.

“I understand the charge and I plead not guilty,” Liato told the court today.

He was granted bail of 50 million kwacha and ordered to return to court on December 22.

His appearance caused scuffles at the court as his relatives beat photographers who tried to take his picture.

Since taking office after his September election victory, Sata has moved to strengthen anti-corruption legislation by putting back on the books the offence of abuse of office, which the previous government had repealed.

One of Sata’s first acts was to sack the head of the Anti-Corruption Commission, Godfrey Kayukwa, who had been accused of bungling graft investigations and was perceived as close to former president Rupiah Banda.

- Sapa - AFP

http://www.citypress.co.za/International/News/Zambias-former-labour-minister-pleads-not-guilty-20111201

Former “sheriff of the year” arrested and sent to jail named after him

By Eric Pfeiffer | The Sideshow – 22 hrs ago


Every civil servant wants to experience his or her legacy firsthand--but not the way that onetime Arapahoe Sheriff Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. has. Sullivan, a nationally renowned law enforcement leader, was arrested on drug charges and is now being detained in the Denver area jail that bears his name.

Local news station CBS4 began an investigation of Sullivan last month on a tip that he had agreed to meet a male informant, providing drugs in exchange for sex. He was subsequently arrested by the South Metro Drug Task Force and is currently being held on a $250,000 bond.

And in an incredible twist of fate, Sullivan now cooling his heels at The Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. Detention Facility, named in his honor.

"The allegations of criminal behavior involving Pat Sullivan are extraordinarily disturbing," said Grayson Robinson, Arapahoe County's current sheriff. "While the arrest of the former sheriff is very troubling, no one, and particularly a former peace officer, is above the law. This is the most shocking thing I've ever been involved with."

Sullivan, 68, has been retired for nine years, but had been serving as director of safety and security for Cherry Creek Schools.

"This is a very sad time for the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office and our community," Robinson said. The CBS4 report also found that for several years Sullivan has posted bond for multiple suspects held in drug cases at jail facilities across the state.

As recently as 2008, Sullivan was an active participant in state and local methamphetamine task forces, helping Colorado draft a plan to deal with the surge in meth-related crime.

In 1995 President Bill Clinton named Sullivan to the National Commission on Crime Prevention and Control. According to a 1995 White House news release, Sullivan was a consultant to U.S. House Subcommittee on Crime and served on two advisory councils affiliated with the Department of Justice.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/former-sheriff-arrested-sent-jail-named-him-153854700.html

CCECC gets approval to source for $500m loan to finance Abuja light rail project
On November 30, 2011 · In News , Tweet
By Favour Nnabugwu

Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed, has given Chinese construction firm, CCECC, the go ahead to source for $500million loan in their country to finance Abuja light rail project which is being delayed by lack of funds.

CCECC’s Project Manager, Engr. Charles Chang, lamented that lack of fund was the cause of the major delay in completing the project, stressing, however, that his firm was committed to the job.

Chang told the Minister who was represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Project Monitoring and Evaluation, Hon. Ahmed Wadada, at the project site in Abuja yesterday, that the project was very important to the government.

He explained that diplomatic processes had so far been responsible for the delay in sourcing for the $500million from his home country, adding that the firm would return to site and speed up work as soon as they got the funds.

The Chinese firm had only been able complete 26 culverts of the 96 agreed in the contract, while only 35 kilometres of 65km had already been completed.

Wadada also said the FCTA was committed to the early completion of the project, in line with President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda.

Senator Smart Adeyemi, Senate Committee on FCT, had during a recent tour of the project site, said: “I am very satisfied with the level of progress on the sight, and hopefully, the project will take off on schedule.

“Our people have suffered in an attempt to get to work. As representatives of the people, it is our duty to ensure that we alleviate the sufferings of the poor masses and this light rail is one of the measures government is working out to address that.”

He said the committee had directed the FCT administration to revoke the licence granted six transport operators who, after collecting the licence, failed to deliver.

He said “there are competent operators that have the resources to deliver, and we think there is no reason why some people would be granted licences and they would not perform. The committee would not tolerate that type of situation and we have told the officials in charge.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/11/ccecc-gets-approval-to-source-for-500m-loan-to-finance-abuja-light-rail-project/

ICPC members sworn in without chairman •He has questions to answer -Jonathan •How his inauguration was differed •President warns NDDC members against pilfering funds

Written by Taiwo Adisa and Leon Usigbe, Abuja
Wednesday, 30 November 2011


AS exclusively reported by the Nigerian Tribune, on Tuesday, President Goodluck Jonathan, on Tuesday, failed to swear in the designated chairman of the Board of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr Francis Elechi, because of pressure from concerned Nigerians, who are kicking against his appointment for the position.

At the scheduled ceremony  for the new chairman and members of the commission at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Jonathan shocked his audience by revealing that Elechi, though not dropped, would not be sworn in until allegations raised against him by unnamed callers to the president were investigated.

While the president swore in the members of the board and announced the appointment of one of them, Mr Nta Ekpo, as acting chairman, he explained that Elechi, who is from Rivers State could not be sworn in as a result of “disturbing calls,” he received.

Jonathan said “the chairman couldn’t follow the oath taking this morning, (yesterday) because from Wednesday last week, I started receiving disturbing calls and reports. And [for] a body like INEC, ICPC and EFCC, the president should be very careful about the opinions of people.”

According to him, “a minister can come in and go the next day, but INEC, EFCC and ICPC, you cannot gamble with them, and that is why when we were to inaugurate

the board of INEC, the same thing happened. There were protests that there were some PDP members. To make sure that people had a proper perception of INEC and to make sure that the perception is correct, we dropped those people.”



The president was quick to point out that Elechi had not been dropped, even before he was sworn in. He explained that he needed to be sure that the appropriate person had been appointed.

“I am not saying we are going to drop the chairman, but we are going to look into the reports we have and re-confirm,” he said, adding, “we do not do anything that will bring any stain to any of these bodies, no matter how painful [the tension] is to anybody.

“So the chairman is not taking his oath of office today, the SGF [Secretary to the Government of the Federation] will formally write a letter. But Nta Ekpo will act until we sort out the issue of the chairman. He will get a letter from the secretary of the government once we leave here.”


[b]Jonathan, who also swore in an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)  commissioner from Ebonyi State, Lawrence Nwuruku, congratulated the new appointees on their appointment and on  their new responsibilities, saying that “both ICPC and INEC are extremely sensitive bodies that you are not only watched by Nigerians but also by the whole international community.”

He stressed that as a result of their new positions they had ceased to be ordinary people as the searchlight would now be beamed on their actions.

“The moment you travel out of this country, they will be beaming searchlight on you. That is the cross all of us have to carry until you leave the board. For INEC, we welcome you on board. I charge you to work with the chairman to ensure that subsequent elections are even better than what we had in April this year,” the president remarked.

Jonathan reminded them of the sensitive nature of their assignments and  buttressed his point by saying “I remember after the elections when I travelled out, some of the world leaders, who chatted with me said, ‘Jonathan, we are very happy with the elections you conducted in Nigeria, but the remaining thing is corruption.’”

He added that “yes, we have done well in election, but until the monster called corruption is dealt with in this country, we will still not get our appropriate place in the comity of nations. So, ICPC and EFCC are all bodies that must work day and night. That is why we took pains to select you. We believe that you will work very hard to complement what the EFCC is doing to bring down corruption.

“Please, that is the only thing that you will do that Nigerians, both at home and abroad, will be able to move with dignity and pride wherever they go.”[/b]


Members of the board of ICPC sworn in were:  Ekpo Nta; Alhaji Ado Bayero; Julie Onum Nwariku; Professor Olu Aina and Isa Ozi Salami.



However, what happe-ned to Elechi confirmed the story in the Nigerian Tri-bune of Tuesday, which indicated that his inaugu-ration ws threatened.

Sources had said on Monday that a number of intelligence groups had indicated that Elechi was a politically exposed person (PEP).

It was learnt that Elechi was excused by security men at the gate of the Presidential Villa and was asked to come back later in the day.

It was, however, confir-med on Tuesday that the government, in suspending Elechi’s inauguration, liste-ned to submissions of local and international anti-graft insiders who probed into his personality.

Sources confirmed that the new enquiry ordered by the president would be carried out by top security chiefs who will be provided the barometers.

Meanwhile, President Jonathan has warned mem-bers of the newly constituted board of Niger Delta Deve-lopment Commission (NDDC) against stealing its funds to further their indi-vidual political ambitions.

Speaking at the inaugu-ration of the board in the State House, on Tuesday, he advised them to learn from the mistakes of their prede-cessors and avoid playing politics with their jobs.

According to him, “the past board was camping all kinds of criminals in hotels in the name of helping politicians. If I hear that, I will be very angry with you.

“Before this time, any-body who gets into NDDC wants to be governor of a state. I am beginning to see fight between actors in the NDDC and their states. This time round, we feel that we have to select people who we don’t know their political interests, because we want people who will go and develop the place.

“The day you feel you want to be the governor of your state or a senator, please let us know early enough, so that you can leave NDDC and pursue your political career. You can’t combine the two, because it is a sensitive body.”

He warned that “I don’t want to hear of NDDC camping political thugs in Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt or any other hotels in Port Harcourt. It has happened over the period and I will no longer accept it.”

Jonathan reminded them that Niger Delta issues were not just Nigerian issues, but issues of global interest, with high expectations.

In his remark, the chair-man of the new board, Dr Tarilah Tebepah, assured President Jonathan that its members would work together as a team, to meet the expectations of Nigerians, especially the people of the Niger Delta.

Other members of the board are Mr Edward Orubo; Dr Christian A. Obo; Dr Ibitamuno Aminigo; Chief Solomon Ogba; Mr L.E.J. Konboye; Mr Imaobong Johnson; Mr Edikan Eshett and Mr Aloysius Nwagboso.

The board also has Mr Omogbemi Oladele; Mr Peter Ezeobi; Mr Dominic Aqua Edem; Mr Osabon Imaru; Mr Joe Jakpa; Senator Garba Yakubu Lado; Rima Sha-wulu Kwewum; Senator Tunde Ogbeha; Minister of State (Finance) and Minister of Environment as members.


http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/32070-icpc-members-sworn-in-without-chairman-he-has-questions-to-answer-jonathan-how-his-inauguration-was-differed-president-warns-nddc-members-against-pilfering-funds

2 NY students surrender in exam cheating scandal
APBy FRANK ELTMAN | AP – 9 hrs ago

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) — T[b]he last of 20 students accused in a college entrance exam cheating ring in an affluent New York suburb surrendered to authorities on Monday.[/b]

Michael Pomerantz, 18, and an unidentified teenager turned themselves into Nassau County prosecutors before being taken to district court for arraignment. Pomerantz is one of five current or former students at Great Neck-area public and private high schools charged with accepting payments of between $500 and $3,600 to impersonate other students on SAT and ACT college entrance exams.

A longtime critic of the testing system notes that Nassau County is one of the few municipalities to file criminal charges in a school cheating scandal.

Pomerantz was facing felony charges including scheming to defraud, falsifying business records and criminal impersonation. He pleaded not guilty and was released without bail. His next court date was scheduled for Jan. 5. His attorney did not immediately respond to a call for comment.

Pomerantz and the other four face up to four years in prison if convicted.

Fifteen other students, including one who surrendered Monday, are facing undisclosed misdemeanor charges for having others stand in for them and take the college exams. Prosecutors say they are barred from identifying those 15 because they are being prosecuted as juveniles. Authorities say they can't even contact the students' colleges to inform them of the cheating allegations because of privacy laws.

Also Monday, a spokesman for District Attorney Kathleen Rice said that the case against[b] Samuel Eshaghoff, 19, the first of the five students arrested as alleged impostors[/b], was postponed Monday pending a possible grand jury investigation. The spokesman, John Byrne, would not elaborate.

Eshaghoff, a student at Emory University in Atlanta, has pleaded not guilty.

The scandal, which erupted in September, has prompted a review by a state Senate subcommittee on higher education. The panel held a hearing last month where it received assurances from The College Board and Educational Testing Service that a review of security procedures surrounding the tests was under way.

The ETS, which administers the SAT on behalf of the Princeton, N.J.-based College Board, said former FBI director Louis Freeh has been retained to offer recommendations on enhanced security. There was no indication on when recommendations would be made.

Bernard Kaplan, principal at Great Neck North High School is among those suggesting that digital photographs of each student be taken when they arrive to take the exams. Great Neck North is where the scandal first surfaced in the spring after faculty members looked into rumors that students had paid someone to take the SAT for them.

Authorities were particularly dubious after hearing that Eshaghoff allegedly stood in for a female student on one of the exams.

In testimony before the Senate subcommittee last month, Kaplan noted that all proctors require of a student arriving to take a test is a photo ID, "which any fifth grader with a computer can make." He also argues that the current system that allows students to take the SAT at a location other than their "home" school should be abolished.

He said the students implicated in the scandal all went to schools where they would not be recognized by faculty to take the exams. He said about 150 students who don't attend Great Neck North went to the school on a Saturday in the spring for an SAT exam.

"The others all had some sort of picture ID, but anyone of those could be completely made up or forged, and we would have no way of knowing and neither does ETS. The proctors take a look, it says Joe Schmoe from Hoover High School with his picture and that's that.

"It is ridiculously easy to take the test for someone else."

Defense attorneys for some of the students have questioned whether the courts are the proper venue for students suspected in the cheating scandal. FairTest, a group critical of standardized testing, "is aware of no other current case in which a district attorney is pursuing criminal charges," said spokesman Bob Schaeffer. He cited a 1992 case in Maryland, where a student was sentenced to six months for having a friend substitute for him on an SAT exam.

A spokesman for District Attorney Thomas Spota in neighboring Suffolk County, on Long Island, confirmed that the prosecutor sent a letter Monday to school administrators in that county seeking any information on suspected cheating, although there was no immediate information that students there had participated in any schemes.

Rice, the Nassau County prosecutor, argues that the students need to be dealt with in the criminal judicial system.

"Educating our children means more than teaching them facts and figures. It means teaching them honesty, integrity and a sense of fair play," she said last week. "The young men and women arrested today instead chose to scam the system and victimize their own friends and classmates, and for that they find themselves in handcuffs."

http://news.yahoo.com/2-ny-students-surrender-exam-cheating-scandal-154422631.html

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDisMlwlSgk[/flash]

Office Of Sierra Leone’s Vice-President Caught In Illegal Timber Business

November 23, 2011

Journalists working for Al Jazeera English have uncovered corruption in the office of Sierra Leone’s Vice-President, Samuel Sumana. The detailed undercover investigation features in the documentary Timber!, broadcast at 22h30 GMT on Wednesday 23 November 2011 as part of Al Jazeera’s Africa Investigates series.

A 2006 European Union report identified logging as the leading cause of environmental degradation in Sierra Leone. According to the Sierra Leone Forestry Ministry, unless immediate action is taken against logging, all of the country’s forests – as well as the many endangered animal and plant species they support – could disappear by 2018. The President, His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma, has made no secret of his concern about logging and his desire that it should cease. The government of Sierra Leone has officially outlawed the practice several times.

Emmy award-winning Sierra Leonean journalist Sorious Samura discovered illegal felling of rare hard wood in several parts of the country. In a number of meetings with illegal loggers, Samura posed as a businessman interested in illegal timber exporting. Despite laws prohibiting felling of trees without license, he found illicit logging taking place in all the forest areas he visited. He also met local officials all too willing to supply him with illegal wood. In one instance a local Paramount Chief not only offered to sell him several tons of illegally cut wood, but also to introduce Samura to high level contacts within the Sierra Leonean government to help him breach the ban on timber exports.

In the second half of the investigation, Samura’s colleague, the multiple-award-winning Ghanaian journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, visited the Vice-President’s office undercover. Anas and a colleague, againposing as businessmen, met with His Excellency The Vice-President Samuel Sumana and two of his friends, who claimed to be official advisors.

Later the two men, Alex Mansaray and Momoh Konte, sought and accepted cash payments from the ‘businessmen’, which they claimed would help secure the Vice-President’s support for a timber export business that the undercover reporters wished to establish.

Vice-President Sumana later admitted to Al Jazeera that he knew the men but said their claims to be his advisors were false and that he hadn’t received any money solicited by them on his behalf.

Of one attempt by Alex Monsaray to extract $50,000 from the undercover team, Vice-President Sumana said, “Alex was acting solely on his own accord without any prior discussion with me.”

His statement did not explain how Mansaray and Konte came to be using his office to secure bribes in the first place.

Commenting on the outcome of the investigation, Samura said, “As in many parts of Africa, timber has become the new diamonds. The country’s forests are at risk of being completely wiped out. For unscrupulous foreign investors their ultimate goal is getting their wood and making maximum profit. For the corrupt Sierra Leoneans, it’s about lining their pockets without any care for the future consequences for the innocent people who will have to pay the price.”

Timber! is the third of six investigations in the Africa Investigates series that puts flesh on Al Jazeera’s ambition to give voice to the voiceless. In a world-first, Africa Investigates gives some of Africa’s best journalists the opportunity to pursue high-level investigative targets across the continent – using their unique perspective and local knowledge to put corruption, exploitation and abuse under the spotlight.

http://vibeghana.com/2011/11/23/office-of-sierra-leones-vice-president-caught-in-illegal-timber-business/

22 November 2011 Last updated at 19:49 GMT

Zimbabwe PM Morgan Tsvangirai breaks wedding taboo

By Brian Hungwe BBC Africa, Harare
Morgan Tsvangirai hinted to his supporters at a rally over the weekend that a wedding was on the cards

Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has broken a local taboo and married in November.

Culturally it is feared a November wedding will bring a couple bad luck.

But the PM wed businesswoman Locadia Tembo in a traditional ceremony on Monday, paying a bride price of $36,000 (£23,000) and 10 cows.

His first wife, Susan, died when they were involved in a car crash not long after he had joined President Robert Mugabe in a unity government in 2009.

The two leaders signed a coalition pact following the previous year's disputed elections, which were marred by widespread violence.

White wedding request
The first hint that Mr Tsvangirai was thinking of tying the knot came at a weekend rally of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party in Chitungwiza, just outside the capital, Harare.

The MDC leader, 59, joked with the crowd that journalists were always writing about him having girlfriends.

Why Zimbabweans won’t wed in November
"But can a bachelor be denied that right?" he asked to a roar of laughter and applause.

Ms Tembo, 39, is a commodity trader and sister of an MP in Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party - a source of controversy among some in the MDC.

But most MDC supporters seem happy for their leader, saying that with elections tentatively set for next year, a presidential candidate will benefit from having the help of a wife and companion on the campaign trail.

On the streets of Harare there were dissenting views, however, with some people concerned about the issue of a November wedding, which is considered a bad omen amongst Zimbabwe's majority Shona group - of which Mr Tsvangirai is a member.

"As an elder he should have led by example - they are the ones that are telling us not to marry in November," one man told the BBC.

After paying the bride price, known as lobola, to Ms Tembo's relatives at the traditional ceremony in Christon Bank, about 25km (15 miles) north of Harare, Mr Tsvangirai reportedly requested a white wedding to follow the traditional ceremony.

It is this celebration that may adhere more to Zimbabwean tradition, with indications that it will be held over the Christmas holidays.

Jameson Timba, a minister of state in the prime minister's office, told the BBC that Mr Tsvangirai would "make an appropriate announcement on his marriage plans at the right time".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15845597

Businessman slaps Indian minister over inflation and corruption

November 24, 2011 |  8:25 am   

REPORTING FROM NEW DELHI -- It was the slap heard around India.

An angry Delhi businessman hauled off and cuffed India’s septuagenarian agriculture minister on the cheek Thursday, sending hyperactive news programs into overdrive.

Video of the incident showed the irate businessman, Harvinder Singh, giving Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar the whack as he attended a literary event. “They are all thieves,” Singh yells. “I will rip them apart.” Then as security guards grab him, he takes out a kirpan, the small knife carried by adherents of the Sikh religion, and threatens to slit his own wrists in protest. Pawar appeared to lose his balance, but quickly regained his footing before heading out of the hall.

Singh, who was subsequently arrested, said he’d come with the intention of landing the slap and was angry about rising prices and corruption. Four days earlier, he’d been questioned and released after kicking octogenarian former telecom minister Sukh Ram outside the court where he was sentenced in a corruption case.

Pawar later said the incident was silly and he didn’t make much of it.

While analysts and ordinary citizens decried the use of violence, some said it underscored the growing frustration Indians feel at price rises, weak government and a wave of corruption scandals. These have surfaced in the telecommunications, sports, real estate and mining sectors in recent months, purportedly amounting to billions of dollars.

“The reality is, people on the street welcome this,” said Abeer Vajpayee, founder of a small media production company. “In India, the general perception is that all leaders are corrupt, and you need to elect the least corrupt out of the bunch of thieves.”
Asked about Thursday’s incident, anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare responded: “Only one slap?” to laughter, before clarifying later that hitting people was wrong.

A spokesman for the principal opposition Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the attack on Pawar before adding that the government wasn’t doing enough to stem price increases in gasoline and food.

“I don’t think it’s the right way to behave; violence begets violence,” said Debkanya Dhar Vyavaharkar, a Mumbai-based employee at a publicity firm. “But a lot of people are angry. People are throwing shoes at politicians, this is the latest of these.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/11/indian-minister-slapped-by-businessman-over-inflation-corruption.html

Photo: Indian Harvinder Singh looks out from inside a vehicle after being detained by policemen in New Delhi after slapping India's agriculture minister Sharad Pawar in the face, apparently to draw attention to corruption and rising prices. Credit: Associated Press

Yeah!

Anyone with an update on this?

Babasessy:
Initially, people in the ever-busy axis thought members of Boko Haram were on the rampage.

Describing the incident, a source told the Nigerian Compass: “It was a very loud explosion aboard the ship.

http://www.nigeriancompass.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8288:one-dead-as-explosion-rocks-lagos-&catid=54:nigeria-today&Itemid=594

It was a very loud explosion which shook the building (directly opposite the ship) I was in at the time of the incident. Many of the occupants of the building thought it was a Boko Haram attack.

Babasessy:
The incident occurred aboard a ship on Marina waters that is being worked on by an electric welder.

A  few minutes after the blast, the ever-busy CMS Bus Stop, extending to Ajah Motor Park, was deserted by commuters and motorists.

These our journalists sef!

Shouldn't that be "was?"

That place is Leventis Bus Stop not Ajah! Ajah is kilometers away!

Babasessy:
The incident occurred aboard a ship on Marina waters that is being worked on by an electric welder.

The explosion threw shrapnel that injured many people and damaged four cars at the car park of UBA.

The vehicles damaged in the incident included three Honda Civics with registration numbers, NQ 557KJA, LA510AAA, HT 478 EKY and a Hyundai vehicle.

Oke-Osayintolu , the GM of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA)  claimed  on radio last night that no vehicles were damaged.

You should have heard him boasting about how his men to contained the situation.

The guy is FULL of hype. 

When the building collapse at Maryland occurred, he claimed (on a radio programme I listened to) that his men were at the building and evacuated the occupants before the building came down whereas the occupants insist that they had left the building on their own before the emergency team arrived.

He was also recently enmeshed in a controversy with those displaced last year by the overflow of Ogun River.

Someone should please call the guy to order.

Most of the major newspapers have refrained from publishing the names of the senator and former ambassador.

The State Security Service (SSS), yesterday paraded the man who claimed to be the spokesperson of the deadly Boke Haram sect, Ali Sanda Umar Konduga (A.K.A Usman Al-Zawahiri) with the suspect alleging that a serving Senator and an Ambassador were financiers of Boko Haram activities.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/11/boko-haram-spokesman-fingers-senator-ambassador-as-sponsors/

A man who confessed to be a spokesman of Boko Haram has said politicians are funding the activities of the group, according to the State Security Service (SSS).
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/politicians-funding-us-says-boko-haram-spokesman/103363/

Ogar said his arrest confirmed the position of the SSS that some of the Boko Haram extremists had political patronage and sponsorship.

She said that Konduga confessed during investigation that he was recruited by a party stalwart in Maiduguri, and that it was the politician who gave him the pseudonym ``Usman Al-Zawahiri''.
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5748280-146/boko_haram_spokesman_arrested__.csp

Parading the suspect at its headquarters in Abuja yesterday, the SSS Deputy Director of Public Relations, Marilyn Ogar, said that the agency, in the course of its investigations, established that some of the Boko Haram extremists allegedly enjoyed patronage from some high networth individuals, including members of the National Assembly.              .

Ogar, however, declined to mention the name of the lawmaker said to hail from Borno State. She also parried questions on whether the Service had begun move to invite the parliamentarian for interrogations.
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68338:sss-arrests-boko-harams-spokesman-&catid=1:national&Itemid=559



[size=14pt]Let's hope this does not turn into another comedy show (a la NDLEA-Baba Suwe)![/size]

kj_hova:
Why does our security operatives always deploy "CRIME FIGHTERS" approach to these matters?
And why do NL posters always take to "WINCH WEY CRY NA IM KILL PIKIN WEY DIE" when addressing matters of Intel and security?

Classic!

Northern ACN moves to split party

And I am expecting someone to link this to OBJ and/or GEJ very soon. . .

Beaf:
Beaf looks into crystal ball, throws the gnarled cowries unto the chalk marks and studies the divine configuration. . .

Out of the shrouded mists forms a dreamy vision:
A split within ACN, the Middle Belt and North find living with Tinubu's sectional / ethnically bigoted politics impossible.
The party is rent down the middle! In the SW, the throbbing heartland of ACN opportunities for freedom from tyranny are spotted; half the SW ACN drifts into marriage with Bafarawa for protection; battles rage, blood spills, ACN in the SW splits. The Tinubu faction and the [b]'national' faction.[/b]It is an energy sapping battle that ends in entropy and decay.

Not a vision. A dream indeed!

Most of the major newspapers have refrained from publishing the names of the senator and former ambassador.

The State Security Service (SSS), yesterday paraded the man who claimed to be the spokesperson of the deadly Boke Haram sect, Ali Sanda Umar Konduga (A.K.A Usman Al-Zawahiri) with the suspect alleging that a serving Senator and an Ambassador were financiers of Boko Haram activities.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/11/boko-haram-spokesman-fingers-senator-ambassador-as-sponsors/

A man who confessed to be a spokesman of Boko Haram has said politicians are funding the activities of the group, according to the State Security Service (SSS).
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/politicians-funding-us-says-boko-haram-spokesman/103363/

Ogar said his arrest confirmed the position of the SSS that some of the Boko Haram extremists had political patronage and sponsorship.

She said that Konduga confessed during investigation that he was recruited by a party stalwart in Maiduguri, and that it was the politician who gave him the pseudonym ``Usman Al-Zawahiri''.
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5748280-146/boko_haram_spokesman_arrested__.csp

Parading the suspect at its headquarters in Abuja yesterday, the SSS Deputy Director of Public Relations, Marilyn Ogar, said that the agency, in the course of its investigations, established that some of the Boko Haram extremists allegedly enjoyed patronage from some high networth individuals, including members of the National Assembly.             .

Ogar, however, declined to mention the name of the lawmaker said to hail from Borno State. She also parried questions on whether the Service had begun move to invite the parliamentarian for interrogations.
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68338:sss-arrests-boko-harams-spokesman-&catid=1:national&Itemid=559



[size=14pt]Let's hope this does not turn into another comedy show (a la NDLEA-Baba Suwe)![/size]

honeric01:
I think ACN and CPC should be regionally strong and 1 year before 2015, they should come together, form a very strong alliance and then take the country by force. one thing they should not do is take any ex-member of pdp into their folds, pdp is good with sending spies around other parties to make them weak and indecisive.

On paper, this is brilliant.

The reality however is what we saw (or didn't see) happen between ACN and CPC just before the last elections.

The two parties are too ego-ful to get together!

http://tribune.com.ng/sun/index.php/front-page-articles/3262-tinubu-lied-on-acncpc-alliance-bafarawa-as-acn-leaders-storm-ibadan-for-ajimobi-adewusi-soji-akanbi-absent-lam-shameless-alao-akala

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/02/how-personal-ambition-ruined-acncpc-planned-alliance/

johnie:
They also described as undemocratic a situation whereby they are not consulted to make inputs that affects the party, even when they constitute the highest voting power.

Is this true?

Northern ACN moves to split party
BY CHIMEZIE ENYIOCHA

November 21, 2011 06:13PM


Following what they perceived as discrimination against them by the national leadership, the 19 northern state chapters of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), have threatened to form a splinter faction of the party if the current trend was not addressed.

NEXT gathered that the decision by the northern chapters of the party was not unconnected with the recent exit of former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa from the party based on similar reasons.

The state chairmen of the party who met over the weekend expressed sadness over how the national leadership of the party sidelines them in some major decisions as well as starving them of funds to run the secretariats. They also described as undemocratic a situation whereby they are not consulted to make inputs that affects the party, even when they constitute the highest voting power.

A chieftain of the party, who spoke to NEXT on this matter and didn’t want his name mentioned, said the decision to form a faction within the ACN was borne out of the fact that the northern state chapters of the party were being schemed out of major activities carried out by the national leadership.

He said, “ACN is not owned by one person or zone, if it is regarded as a national party, the conduct and activities of members should exemplify such.”

But in a situation whereby a particular zone or individual tries to hijack the party or dictate the policies or programmes, such will spell doom for the party.

Although Bafarawa held a meeting with the northern state chairmen of the party, the former presidential candidate of Democratic People’s Party did not disclose the party he was decamping to, just as this medium gathered that he may likely form a new party which he intends to woo the aggrieved ACN members.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5748253-146/story.csp

Given the recent hoopla about the National Honours List, consider this . . .
---------------------

Labour donors '10,000 times more likely to receive knighthood'
By TIM SHIPMAN, Daily Mail
Last updated at 19:11 21 July 2006

Labour has sold honours for as little as £50,000 according to a new study which has been sent to Scotland Yard detectives probing the cash for honours scandal.

It also reported donors are 1,657 times more likely to receive an honour than those who have not given money to the party, a staggering 7,000 times more likely to get a peerage and 10,000 times more likely to get a knighthood than any other member of the public.

The report by the right of centre think tank the Bow Group found that anyone handing £50,000 to Labour had a better than 50-50 chance of receiving an MBE, OBE, CBE, knighthood or peerage.

That compares with one in every 2,857 members of the population as a whole who are recognised for their public service. The report found that peerages are for sale for around £1million a piece. It accuses Tony Blair and his chief henchmen of a 'blatant abuse' of the honours system that is 'bebasing' politics.

The study of Labour donations since 2001 shows that one in ten major Labour donors has received a peerage, one in four a knighthood and one in seven a CBE.

More damning is a clear correlation between the size of the donation given and the importance of the honour. Most donors awarded or nominated for peerages over the past five years gave between £1million and £2million. The Bow Group study found that a knighthood 'cost' £750,000 and a CBE £675,000, while the average for a peerage was £1,065,000.

That figure does not include the Sciernce Minister Lord Sainsbury, Labour's biggest donor, who has given the party more than £16m since 2001 when new laws made it necessary to register donations with the Electoral Commission.

The results suggest that Mr Blair is charging half as much for a peerage as David Lloyd George, the former Liberal Prime Minister who notoriously had a price list for the sale honours. Adjusted for inflation, Lloyd George sold peerages for £1.9m.

His bag man Maundy Gregory is the only person convicted under the 1925 Act outlawing the sale of honours, under which Mr Blair is expected to face questions later this summer.

His chief fundraiser Lord Levy has already been arrested by Scotland Yard detectives probing how four millionaires who made secret loans to Labour were then nominated for peerages shortly afterwards.

Sir Gulam Noon, Sir David Garrard, Barry Townsley and Dr Chai Patel had their nominations rejected by the House of Lords Appointments Commission when the financial transactions came to light.

The report's author Chris Philp said he yesterday sent the dossier to John Yates, the Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner, who is in charge of the cash for peerages probe, which is also considering possible conspiracy charges against No 10 officials. He said: "It is almost impossible to avoid the conclusion that the Labour Party has been selling honours, including places in the House of Lords.

"This practice is utterly reprehensible. It debases and devalues the honours system, most recipients of which are genuinely deserving. It undermines the integrity of public life.

"It corrupts the independence and stature of the House of Lords. And it suggests a level of dishonesty and venality amongst our leaders that calls into question their fitness to govern honestly and in the interests of all in society.

"This blatant abuse of the honours system is symptomatic of Labour?s general lack of concern for standards in public life. This is especially surprising given that Blair came to office promising to be "whiter than white".'

The Bow Group report recommends that "distribution of Honours should be placed in the hands of an Independent Honours Commission, who apply published criteria."

Anti-sleaze campaigner and Tory MP David Davies said: "This latest evidence makes it blindingly obvious that the government have been selling peerages to the highest bidder. The only surprise is that they don't publish a price list and stick it on the Internet."

The Labour Party and Downing Street have repeatedly denied selling peerages. In an interview last week Mr Blair said: "Nobody in the Labour Party to my knowledge has sold honours or sold peerages."

He claims he is entitled to nominate Labour supporters as 'working peers' to bolster his party's position in the Lords. Lord Levy is also under fire after it emerged that his former secretary was awarded the MBE for working for charities he heads.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: "It takes approximately two seconds to see through this rehashed so called research - actually a set of statistically misleading inferences - undertaken by a Tory think tank."

CHANCE OF GETTING AN HONOUR
Labour donor over £50,000
Peerage 9.76 per cent
Knighthood 24.39 per cent
CBE 14.63 per cent
OBE 9.76 per cent
Total 58.54 per cent
Member of the public
Peerage 0.001 per cent
Knighthood 0.002 per cent
CBE 0.009 per cent
OBE 0.022 per cent

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-397018/Labour-donors-10-000-times-likely-receive-knighthood.html

Good for him!

If Aganga, Adoke and co were on the list, why not Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala?

I wonder why Fashola was not on the list?

Follow update here:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-804007.0.html

15 November 2011

Philippines: Gloria Arroyo stopped from boarding plane

The Philippine government has defied a Supreme Court ruling that allowed former President Gloria Arroyo to travel abroad for medical treatment.

Mrs Arroyo, who says she is suffering from a bone disease, was prevented from boarding a plane at Manila airport.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court ruled that a travel ban imposed by the government was unconstitutional.

Mrs Arroyo faces corruption claims, and the government fears that if she leaves the country she will never return.

The 64-year-old arrived at the airport in an ambulance and - wearing a neck brace - was taken by wheelchair to the departure hall within hours of the Supreme Court ruling.

Mrs Arroyo and her husband had reportedly been due to fly out to Singapore and then on to Spain where she would receive treatment for a life-threatening bone disease, following three unsuccessful spine operations this year.

But immigration officials were ordered to prevent the couple from getting on a plane. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the government intended to appeal the court decision.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Arroyos would be treated with dignity but "we will be firm in our decision not to allow them to leave the country".

"This is all high drama. They want the public to sympathise with them," he was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.

Mrs Arroyo's lawyer Raul Lambino accused the government of inflicting "inhumane, cruel punishment" on his client.

Fugitive fears

Supreme Court spokesman Midas Marquez earlier told reporters the judges had ruled by eight votes to five that the ban was unconstitutional because Mrs Arroyo had not yet been charged with any crime.

He said the court's decision to overturn the ban was "consistent with the constitutional presumption of innocence".

But the decision was in direct contravention of the wishes of current President Benigno Aquino, says the BBC's Kate McGeown in Manila.

One of his key priorities since coming to power has been to investigate claims of corruption and electoral fraud during Mrs Arroyo's term in office.

He denied her travel request because of concerns she might never come back to face any charges that were laid against her, offering instead to provide her with the necessary care at home.

But most of the Supreme Court judges were hired during Mrs Arroyo's term, and it is not the first time the court has overruled the current president.

Last year he tried to set up a Truth Commission to investigate Mrs Arroyo's administration, but the court ruled that such a panel would be unconstitutional.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15732351

johnie:
As a stakeholder in the greater Lagos project, it is our opinion that this is not the best time to stir rancour in any part of the state. It is not because the state needs all the goodwill it could garner to sustain its current tempo of development. It also needs peace to be able to execute all the developmental projects.

With the current insecurity in the country as signposted by the Boko Haram threat, Lagos can hardly afford to give envious enemies of the state the opportunity to wreak havoc in its domains.

This is why we are pleading for caution on the part of the government and residents of Lekki opposed to the introduction of tolls on the expressway.

We feel the best solution to resolve the disagreement is for both parties to show understanding and initiate a dialogue towards resolving the differences betweeen them.

Residents of Lekki should remember that the Fashola administration is their government and they contributed in putting it into power. They must not be seen to be doing anything that will undermine the stability of the government to fulfill its promises to them.

They should realise that government meant well for them and the introduction of toll was not meant to increase their burden but an avenue for the government to generate revenue to be ablle to fulfill its promises to them.

We also want the government to tread softly, softly in reintroducing toll on the expressway. Maybe what the government should do is to embark on an enlightenment campaign to educate Lekki residents once more on the imperatives of collecting toll on the road.

The governor can grant some concessions to commuter buses plying the route to prevent them passing the burden of toll to commuters in form of higher transport fares.

The government should also embark on the construction of hospitals, maternity centres, schools and provide potable water for residents to reassure them that it means well in the introduction of tolls on the expressway.

http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2011/11/15/lekki-toll-gate-residents-should-dialogue-with-fashola/

Who said this?

Is this a news report or an opinion?

Lekki Toll Gate: Residents Should Dialogue With Fashola

The calm which has pervaded the Lekki landscape in the last one year is about to be disrupted following the threat by the residents to resist collection of toll on the Lekki-Epe expressway.

This threat is coming on the heels of Governor Babatunde Fashola’s decison to formally lift the suspension on the collection of toll on the modernised expressway.

The governor who announced the lifting of the suspension of toll on the expressway while presenting the 2012 budget had posited that government could no longer bear the huge financial outlay on the expressway and that there is need to generate money to offset the billions of Naira use in constructing the road.

According to the governor, his administration had spent N4 billion this year alone to pay part of the toll which road users refused to pay.

“The politically motivated resistance to the commencement of toll collection on the Eti-Osa, Lekki-Epe expressway means that your government had to part with N4 billion this year.,” he stated.

The governor posited further that the money could have been used to provide more schools, inner roads, hospitals and social needs in Eti Osa, Ibeju-Lekki and Epe areas.

Concluding Governor Fashola said he was lifting the suspension on toll collection and directed the Lekki Concession Company, the concessionaire, to announce the date for commencement of collection of tolls on the expressway.

This announcement by the governor, we must say, did not go down well with some interests in the area and have started sensitising their supporters to resist the governor’s move.

As a stakeholder in the greater Lagos project, it is our opinion that this is not the best time to stir rancour in any part of the state. It is not because the state needs all the goodwill it could garner to sustain its current tempo of development. It also needs peace to be able to execute all the developmental projects.

With the current insecurity in the country as signposted by the Boko Haram threat, Lagos can hardly afford to give envious enemies of the state the opportunity to wreak havoc in its domains.

This is why we are pleading for caution on the part of the government and residents of Lekki opposed to the introduction of tolls on the expressway.

We feel the best solution to resolve the disagreement is for both parties to show understanding and initiate a dialogue towards resolving the differences betweeen them.

Residents of Lekki should remember that the Fashola administration is their government and they contributed in putting it into power. They must not be seen to be doing anything that will undermine the stability of the government to fulfill its promises to them.

They should realise that government meant well for them and the introduction of toll was not meant to increase their burden but an avenue for the government to generate revenue to be ablle to fulfill its promises to them.

We also want the government to tread softly, softly in reintroducing toll on the expressway. Maybe what the government should do is to embark on an enlightenment campaign to educate Lekki residents once more on the imperatives of collecting toll on the road.

The governor can grant some concessions to commuter buses plying the route to prevent them passing the burden of toll to commuters in form of higher transport fares.

The government should also embark on the construction of hospitals, maternity centres, schools and provide potable water for residents to reassure them that it means well in the introduction of tolls on the expressway.

http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2011/11/15/lekki-toll-gate-residents-should-dialogue-with-fashola/

Fashola re-introduces toll on Lekki-Epe road

Written by Kunle Awosiyan, Lagos
Tuesday, 15 November 2011

As part of effort to meet the 2012 revenue target, Lagos State governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has re-introduced toll on Lekki-Epe Expressway, saying that government lost N4 billion for failing to collect the toll in 2011.

He made this pronouncement at the presentation of the 2012 budget to the state House of Assembly, adding that the N4billion could have been used to provide other developmental projects across the state.

The government stopped the plan to collect toll on the road, following series of unrest and threat by the residents who described the idea as exploitation by the state government.

According to the governor, the concessionaire, Lekki Concession Company Limited (LCC), who financed the project will reserve the right to announce the new take-off of the toll which was earlier scheduled to commence on January 3, 2011 before the indefinite suspension.

Fashola said: “The politically motivated resistance to the commencement of toll collection on the Eti-Osa, Lekki-Epe Expressway means that the government had to part with N4billion for year 2011 which could have been used to provide more schools, inner roads, hospitals and social needs in Eti-Osa, Ibeju-Lekki and Epe areas. This decision was sensible and necessary in order to maintain much needed and growing investor confidence in the Lagos economy, in order to maintain our credit rating and reduce our credit risk. It was critical to maintaining the stream of emerging investments required to create business opportunity and jobs for young people.”

“Regrettably however, our financial realities cannot sustain such funding to the detriment of other developments that are crying out for funding in other parts of the state.”

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/31223-fashola-re-introduces-toll-on-lekki-epe-road