₦airaland Forum

jason123: But I'll give it a shot when next I pass by. Though an advance warning, it might not be of good quality because of the distance.

jason123: How much is the toll?

[size=14pt]Fashola assures on ongoing 1966 state projects[/size]

Posted on Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

By Ekene Okoro/Lagos

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola on Tuesday embarked on a tour of ongoing projects in Lekki and Ikoyi axis of the state with an assurance that his administration remains committed to completing about 1966 ongoing projects spread across the state.

The Governor along with a sizeable number of his cabinet members toured several projects including Ozumba Mbadiwe road construction, shoreline protection around Kuramo and Alpha beaches, construction of Arbitration Centre, Maternal and Child Care Centre, the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge as well as the Osborne Jetty.

Speaking to newsmen at the completion of the tour, the Governor said his administration is currently embarking on 1966 projects which they intend to complete within the next 812 days when his second term in office is due.

He said the tour was essential for he and his team to see the extent of work on several projects as well address challenges and problems encountered by the contractors which indirectly hampers or in some cases slows down projects.

He noted that so far about 300 out of the 1966 projects have been visited, with a bias for projects facing unforeseen challenges.

He affirmed, “All the project we have visited really are the ones that have problems, those are the projects we have been going to see what the problems are instead of just reading reports, we come to have a feel of it and see whose ministries is responsible and what we can do to ensure that the ministries and contractors are communicating. Sometimes there are local issues people go to court, but we have come out here to ensure that we get as many of those projects completed.”

Speaking on the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge, he said work was finished, except for a few finishing concerning installations of toll plaza before the bridge will be opened to motorists.

On the challenge at the Ozumba Mbadiwe road, he emphasized the importance of a major drainage work that has to be discharged to the lagoon through the premises of Bonny Camp saying he has sought permission from the Chief of Army Staff to allow the contractors construct the 300 metres drainage to discharge water from Bonny Camp.

The visibly elated governor said the projects when completed will further endear the party to the electorates, saying the party will beat opposition with a wider margin in 2015 general election in the state.

The governor who joined issues with the Minister of Information Mr. Labaran Maku over the on-going National Good Governance Tour said the argument that it was muted at the Governor’s Forum does not mean all the governors supported the initiative.

He said,” The question I asked was what the purpose of the Tour is. It does not matter what it costs or what it does not cost, that is another debate, and first of all I want to understand what it’s about.

“Do the people of Nigeria need a tour to know that they are being well governed? That’s the real question, what is the tour supposed to achieve? Are they resolving problems at project sites? Where are their projects? What is the value of a Good Governance Tour when you can’t implement a budget? I can go on tour of projects because my budget performed 89 percent last year.

“I am not on a good governance tour. I am on a project inspection tour trying to solve problems at project sites.

“Presently the Lagos State economy is being upgraded from stable to positive, that’s good governance, you don’t need any campaign to do that, so people should take themselves seriously and take all of us seriously when they talk about these things some of us listen and it offends us.

“The mediocre level to which governance is sometimes being taken and we hope they will take this criticism as a need to change the game, we can do better than this, I am convinced, my country can offer a lot better than it is giving now,” he said.

jason123: Those guys need to let us know whne it will be open nah!

jason123: Have you driven on the bridge??

jason123: Naptu2, I passed the bridge some few days back. It WAS BEAUTIFUL!!! Nice one Lagos state!!!

Pifa: I have a question for those who live in Lagos or are familiar with the details of this project:

1) Was there any technical development that dictated the roadway running almost entirely on water when they could have put 3/4 of its entire span on the piece of land that juts into the water, and then cross the water over a shorter distance?

It seems to me a rather costly way to construct a roadway. I would have thought that the government and its private partner could acquire parcels of land from the roundabout in the bottom right of the photograph to cut across the peninsula and connect to the roundabout on the left over a shorter span of water. That could have shaved a significant amount from the cost of this project.

2) Why is the clearance over water so low? Wouldn't this prevent large ferries from traversing that body of water?


It’s a good project for Lagos, but I can’t help wondering if it could have been done differently.

Ama28: One of the inherent beauty of human nature is our ability to perceive the same experience and event differently and that is why we have opinions and belief systems that differs.

We acquire education, not to make noise but to be able to read and understand people other than ourselves. If you do not believe in a thing, it does not make it non existent nor void.

Ranting and calling names on social media is not communication remember. Your smart so I assume you understand my line here, the difference between your comments and activism of boko haram members is just a thin line.
Mr don't shove your believe down our throat! Respect ours!

Ok let the rattling begin!!!!

linearity: Some people wicked oh! How can you call a human an hermaphrodite?

Human beings are incapable of been hermaphrodites. It is possible in some lower organisms like some species of snails, fishes, etc.

Hermaphrodite means, the ability to act as fully female or fully male. Being a male does not stop at having some organs dangling between your legs nor does been a female stops at having a full grown bossom.

There is more to being a female or male genetically, biologically and physiologically than some physical anatomy that are hormonally driven and controlled.

aminho: so u dey worship dis person were dey 4 photo how u know say na him be jesus!isnt dat obvious!?a person dat died a thousnd years ago were did u get his photo?oyinbo go bring one person say na him be Yessu and u all belived dem in africa?

ilugunboy: Naptu...point of correction, those two in bold actually attended the world famous Baptist Boys' High School (BBHS) Abeokuta and not the equally famous ABEOGRAMS..

Nulli Secondus!!!

davades: He's a cousin to Late Fela Anikulapo Kuti

[size=14pt]Jega: Opposition Merger Must Choose New Name[/size]

[img]http://serving.thisdaylive.com/0bef99d6-acf5-4e2c-9779-8fa02ba3fcd4/assets/161212F2.Attahiru-[/img]

24 Mar 2013
From John Shiklam in Kaduna and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja


Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega, said saturday in Kaduna that promoters of the opposition merger, All Progressives Congress, did not declare a formal intention to form a political party under the name of APC until a few days ago, after another group had approached the commission with a plan to register a party under a similar name. Jega stressed that the opposition merger, having ignored a crucial criterion that would have secured their use of the name, APC, must now choose another name if they are to actualise their dream of becoming a political party.
Jega spoke when he featured as a guest on the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Kaduna, Hausa phone-in programme, Hanu Dayawa.


But Jega’s comments came amid information at the weekend that sponsors of the three-party merger might not be willing to pick another name, as they have already produced a draft constitution and manifesto using the name of APC. The merger involves All Nigeria Peoples Party, Congress for Progressive Change, and Action Congress of Nigeria, as well as a faction of All Progressives Grand Alliance.


The draft constitution provides for a six-month transitional structure that would lead to the merger’s formal registration as a political party.


During the live audience participation programme monitored in Kaduna, Jega lashed out at the opposition merger’s sponsors for overlooking a fundamental condition for registration as a political party and declared that the negligence had cost them the name they currently maintain.


Promoters of the APC merger have accused INEC of sabotaging their bid to register as a political party by accepting an application from another group with acronymic similarity, African Peoples Congress.


But the INEC chairman explained, “This issue has generated controversy in the past few weeks. Firstly, the truth is that no political party has written to notify us that it is planning to merge with some other political parties until the past five days or so. Therefore, it not true that we have been notified. The issue became serious when one group came out to seek registration. I guess that was what made them to write and notify us.
“But that is not the issue. The main issue is that there are guidelines for registered political parties who want to merge to become a new party. There are also guidelines for individuals or groups who want to form a political party for registration. “The guideline for registering a new political party is different from that of registered political parties who want to merge.”


He gave details of the criteria for the formal registration of political parties.


“For registered political parties, who want to merge, they must have agreed to merge and each of the political parties in the merger must hold a convention and agree to withdraw their registration as a political party, to become part of the new party to be formed through the merger. After their conventions, they are expected to write and request INEC to withdraw their former registration and say they want to join a new party,” the INEC chairman stated.

“In spite of all the noise going on, none of these political parties who want to merge has held their convention. We only read in the newspapers that they have the intention of merging and nobody wrote us until about five or six days ago."


“If anybody wants to register a political party, you are expected to tell INEC of your intention by saying that you want to register a party with so and so name and you want to know the procedure for doing so.”


Jega said, “Only one group came. The group asked one lawyer to write INEC saying they want to form a political party with a particular name and they want to know the rules and procedure for registration as a political party."


“If this other group has done so, we would have replied them and told them the rules and the procedure they are supposed to follow to be registered.

“The issue of whether we have collected the name of this other group and whether we have agreed to register them does not even arise because we just replied to their letter by telling them the procedure."


“While this was going on, some people started making noise, saying that they wanted to merge with so, so name. Some of them were even saying that we have registered the other group with that name. It is not done like that."


“We have rules and guidelines for all these and we are determined to follow the rules to avoid any confusion. But we have not reached a stage where we can say a group has registered with so, so name. So all these noise is just our politics in Nigeria.”


The INEC chairman disclosed that the commission had written to the three parties seeking to merge to change their name because a group had already applied for registration with a name that had the same acronym with theirs.


According to Jega, “We have told them to look for another name. If you want to register a company, before the company is registered, you will have to apply for a name with the Corporate Affairs Commission, which will take some time to search if the name is free."

“We don't operate like this in INEC, but because of this controversy, we have learnt a lesson. I think at the end of the day, we will also adopt the same system to avoid this problem."

“We must operate according to the rules and we will work with anybody who fulfils the provisions of the law. Somebody first came with the name and we have explained that we are already screening the person who first came with the name.”



APC Draft Constitution, Manifesto Ready

Despite Jega’s position, THISDAY learnt at the weekend that the opposition APC merger partners had come up with a draft constitution and manifesto for their proposed party.
THISDAY got the draft constitution and manifesto from a source who said the merging parties were insisting on registering under the name of APC.


As part of the process to actualise the merger, the coalition parties are said to have resolved through their constitution to set up transitional structures of APC at the national, state and local government levels throughout the federation.


In the constitution, which has been circulated among the parties for consideration, sharing of transitional offices at the national level is to be based on the strength of each party at the last National Assembly election.
Similarly filling of party positions at the state, local government and ward levels is to be based on the performance of the parties at the last elections into the states Houses of Assembly.


The draft constitution further states that where there are no members elected to the state assembly, the result of the last governorship election shall form the basis of the allocation of position.


One of the key provisions in the draft constitution is the modalities for the management and transfer of assets owned by the merging parties and groups. The parties are proposing in the constitution to have all their assets automatically transferred to the new party, APC, right from the date of its registration with INEC.


According to the manifesto, “APC in government shall muster the political will to wage strident war against corruption; otherwise our post-oil-era will be disastrous. It is our concerned view that none of our cardinal programmes will succeed if the current level of corruption and looting going on in the land is allowed to continue.”

naptu2: Kai! Nigeria!

This is a very simple thing. Punch decided to play up the Kano angle in order to get more sales/hits, but take a good look at what Soyinka and Clark wrote. They did not say that the bomb blast killed him. They said they wonder if it hastened the undermining of his will.

Basically, they are trying to use Achebe's death to highlight what happened in Kano (and has been happening in northern Nigeria for a while) which is the killing of innocent people (much like the way Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti used Fela's death to highlight the scourge of HIV/AIDS), something that Achebe would have been against.

Indeed, we cannot help wondering if the recent insensate massacre of Chinua's people in Kano, only a few days ago, hastened the fatal undermining of that resilient will that had sustained him so many years after his crippling accident.

nwando: Are they the repertoire of truth?
Did Wole Soyinka speak to the Guardian r the Guardian culled it from somewhere
Please send us a link
If Wole spoke with guardian UK correspondent then it is true

[size=14pt]Chinua Achebe's death: we have lost a brother - Wole Soyinka and JP Clark[/size]

Chinua was a man of resilient will. His works are testimony to the domination of the human spirit over the forces of repression

guardian.co.uk, Friday 22 March 2013 19.23 GMT

For us, the loss of Chinua Achebe is, above all else, intensely personal. We have lost a brother, a colleague, a trailblazer and a doughty fighter. Of the "pioneer quartet" of contemporary Nigerian literature, two voices have been silenced – one, of the poet Christopher Okigbo, and now, the novelist Chinua Achebe. It is perhaps difficult for outsiders of that intimate circle to appreciate this sense of depletion, but we take consolation in the young generation of writers to whom the baton has been passed, those who have already creatively ensured that there is no break in the continuum of the literary vocation.

We need to stress this at a critical time of Nigerian history, where the forces of darkness appear to overshadow the illumination of existence that literature represents. These are forces that arrogantly pride themselves implacable and brutal enemies of what Chinua and his pen represented, not merely for the African continent, but for humanity. Indeed, we cannot help wondering if the recent insensate massacre of Chinua's people in Kano, only a few days ago, hastened the fatal undermining of that resilient will that had sustained him so many years after his crippling accident.

No matter the reality, after the initial shock, and a sense of abandonment, we confidently assert that Chinua lives. His works provide their enduring testimony to the domination of the human spirit over the forces of repression, bigotry and retrogression.

nwando: The most sensible response
I doubt if Wole and JP Clark made such senseless statements
Newspapers in Nigeria are fond of misquoting people or making up quotes
You will soon see their denials by tomorrow's paper