₦airaland Forum

Quote
A security expert told the Nigerian Tribune that the deposed Libyan leader had a network through which he identified young Nigerians who could be recruited into the Libyan army and other forces.

Another source said that the former Libyan leader usually offered those recruits scholarships and opportunity to pursue lifetime career in the Libyan Armed Forces.

It was learnt that the Libyan leader deliberately did not restrict the recruitment drive to a section of the country and that while many from the North and South-East took up offers in the military, those from the South-West and South-South usually did not take up the offer.

It was also gathered that the development lasted many years and that many of those recruited were encouraged to leave the youth service for a more promising career in the Libyan Armed Forces.

A source said that one young man  from the South-East approached by Gaddafi’s agents  once asked for advice after receiving a letter of offer to serve in the Libyan army.

"You have to note that the anger of the militants, who are fighting Gaddafi, against Nigerians initially was largely fuelled by the realisation that many Nigerians were actually recruited by Gaddafi and were part of the last vestiges of resistance for Libya’s long-standing leader," a source told the Nigerian Tribune.

The source further said that the Libyan leader was told that Nigerian youths generally faced difficulties of unemployment after graduation. He was said to usually target graduating students, who fulfilled the requirements for military recruitment.

"He (Gaddafi) saw the  advantage of getting Nigerians into his armed forces  since he knew that many of them were aware they would be roaming the streets of Nigeria after graduation. Through the process he got many recruits,” the source said, adding that many northern youths, who also travelled to Libya for studies, ended up in the military.

just unconfirmed sources,no proofs. . .d source might just be his mind spewing lies.what kind of journalism is that? Undecided

Of course, the journalist was informed of the ethnicities of the soldiers from an unconfirmed Yoruba boy who lived in Libya and was angry with the people from the named ethnicities he lived with in Libya. However, I am telling you from a confirmed source that  Akin, Okoro, Abubakir and Osaro were all in the Libyan military,which was a good thing, as they probably would all have become armed robbers had they not been employed by Gadhaffi.

ndu_chucks:
I maintain that it is junk journalism.

Of course it is junk, like most articles written by SW journalists.

Aloy you no sabi arithmetic?
Are those two different figures or the same?lol

He said government had spent N357, 795 million on pilgrims’ accommodation as subsidy for this year’s hajj exercise, saying accommodations has already been secured in both Makkah and Madinah.

However, I agree with the main gist of the article that Yorubas have become endangered species in Nigeria
Their king, Tinubu, is docked
They have no representation in the entire fed govt
NLNG and other oil/gas companies are moving outta Lagos
Wetin dey happen?

Some journalists work with sentiments. That is very bad for accurate and reliable reportage.

hercules07:
That is my hometown my friend, I should recognise the town, by the way I also recognised Owerri from Abagworo's thread.

Are you sure you are Yoruba
Anyways, what means do you prefer for me to send you the 100 bucks with?

Few evidence of SW penchant for document forgery to counter the claim of the reporter.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-715388.0.html

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-463545.0.html
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-131518.0.html
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-1613.0.html
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-750807.0.html
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-631761.0.html
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-444411.0.html
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/certificate-forgery-lautech-sacks-40/81903/
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-659827.0.html

The boldened paragraph got me chocking up. Imagine the masters of document forgery accusing others. These Yoruba journalists no go kill person oh!!!

How North sidelines S/West in civil service * No South Westerner in top ten of federal protocol

Written by Taiwo Adisa, Group Politics Editor
Sunday, October 2, 2011

Notwithstanding the constitutional inviolability of the Federal Character Principle, which provides that no section of the country will be perpetuated in office above the other in a determined effort at ensuring equity, balance and fairness in the sharing of the nation's resources, investigations have shown that the South-West geopolitical zone has consistently been shortchanged in the application of Federal character over the years.


Incidentally, the fault is not traceable to lack of competent hands by the zone; rather, investigations revealed that the zone has always presented its best and the best hands for the job at hand.

Sources confirmed that a cabal in the Federal Civil Service, working hand in hand with some influential forces in the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) and the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) has combined to consistently execute an agenda against candidates of the South-West.

Three instances stand out

Of the myriads of infraction against candidates of the South-West, three major appointments in recent history stand out. The appointment of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF) in 2009, the appointment of the Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA) in 2010 and the appointment of the new Head of Service of the Federation to replace Professor Oladapo Afolabi, who retired on September 29, are the classic instances of direct marginalisation of the South-West in the Federal Civil Service.

Somehow, the instances of marginalis- ation were orchestrated by forces believed to be working for the interest of the North.

Only last week, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed the replacement for Professor Afolabi from the North-East zone, contrary to widespread indication that the president was set to appoint a candidate from the South-West, in line with the desired balancing act in the federation as designed by the constitution.

Taking the Head of Service post to the North-East, the Federal Government has, thus, completed the routing of the South-West from the top 10 of the federal protocol, the zone having earlier lost the number four slot allotted to it by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) through some insider connivance traceable to the politics of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which won majority of the House of Representatives seats from the zone.

In 2009, activities were flagged off when it was discovered that the two most senior directors in the office of Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr. Gabriel Ogunsina and Mr. Timothy Osonuga are from the South-West. By the rule guiding the service from independence, the two were supposed to take office one after the other.

But the unseen hands that wanted to the two South-West candidates invented a policy which indicates that the Auditor-General position could be advertised and the age classification contained in the advert deliberately sidelined the two, apparently to sideline them.

The administration of President Umaru Yar'Adua, which adopted the policy, in November 2009, forwarded the name of the then Auditor-General of Benue State, Samuel Ukura, to the Senate for confirmation, thus, striking out the two most senior directors in the office who had risen to positions of second and third in command to the Auditor-General at the time.

The case ofAuditor-General of the Federation

The FCSC had prepared a position which laid the foundation for the marginalisation of the South-West in the appointment of the Auditor-General, insinuating that the two most senior officers in the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation might not be competent to hold the substantive post.

But a career staff had stated then: "If the two most senior directors in the office of the Auditor-General, Mr. Gabriel Ogunsina and Mr. Timothy Osonuga, are not competent enough to be Auditor-General, as the Civil Service Commission tends to infer, how did they manage to rise to the position of directors? Would it not amount to self-indictment on the part of the commission that promoted them to the directorate cadre just as other civil servants in the service?"

Also in attempting to set the records straight, career auditors in the Federal Civil Service, in a petition to the president of the Senate, Senator David Mark, in November 2009, signed by Messrs Kabiru Iliya, Uzor Chimezie and James Ologbon, said the nomination of Ukura was against the rule of law and due process.

They also claimed that contrary to established procedures, the FCSC bypassed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the Head of Service (HOS) of the Federation in making the appointment.

According to them, the appointment also sidelined the career auditors in the system as the FCSC only advertised the position, against the laid down procedure.

The career auditors protested that only the position of the Auditor-General was being so treated in history, while all other positions in the service are occupied by career personnel.

The auditors wrote: "Why did the Federal Government which has been professing the principles of the rule of law and due process suddenly jettison a set of rules and guidelines collectively set by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) when it came to appointing an Auditor-General for the federation?

"Contrary to insinuations that there are no qualified officers in the office of the AGF who are eligible for the position, the committee is enjoined to investigate the educational background and experience of officers in the directorate cadre in the office of the AGF.

"This will enable the committee to confirm that there is, indeed, a conspiracy against the staff of the office. For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state here that apart from the officer currently in acting capacity as Auditor-General and who has just submitted the annual audit report in record time, as required by the constitution, there is also a director who had his first degree in 1983 and who qualified as a chartered accountant in 1988. These officers have served all their careers as federal auditors and are still being regarded as 'not qualified.'

"On the other hand, the nominee, Mr. Ukura, graduated in 1986 and qualified as a chartered accountant in 1992. We can all see through the thick veil.

"We also want the PAC to note that the work in the office of the Auditor-General is not done by the Auditor-General himself, but by the staff of the office. The government is now bringing somebody who may need between two to three years to learn on the job. It is instructive to note that the job at the state where Mr. Ukura is coming from is different from that of the federal level.

"For instance, a state Auditor-General has never handled matters relating to the Federation Account. We also state that it is morally wrong for any government for whatever reasons, to jeopardize the career of all the officers in the directorate cadre of an establishment just to favour one individual.

"The adverse implication is that the entire directorate cadre from assistant directors upward may likely retire before the expiration of the tenure of the nominee under consideration.

"This is in view of the fact that while he stated his date of birth as June 5, 1956, in his curriculum vitae, his date of birth was given as June 5, 1959 in the security reports issued on him. This has made it difficult for anyone to know which of the two dates represents his true date of birth."

An example from the OBJ days

Incidentally, the South-West has also suffered in areas it has comparative advantage. Under the leadership of Senator Anyim Pius Anyim as Senate president, the then Senate rejected the choice of Mr. Joseph Ajiboye as nominee for the AGF office on two occasions when he was presented by President Olusegun Obasanjo. The argument then was that the public finance sector at that time was lopsided in favour of the South-West, especially as the then governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the then minister of state for finance were from the South-West.

The situation in the National Assembly

In 2007, it was discovered that the time of the then CNA, Alhaji Nasiru Arab, was up since according to record, he had started work in the old Kaduna State in 1972 and should have retired in 2007 which marked his 35 years in service. But there was resistance by the NASC to let Arab go. Information later came into the open that Arab had consolidated his service records and that the new record showed that he started work in 1975.

A ding-dong was flagged off as it became obvious that a group within the NASC was actually attempting to prevent the emergence of the then Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly (DCNA), Prince Yemi Ogunyomi, who hails from Ondo State to emerge the substantive CNA. On record, no one from the South-West had served as the CNA, the chief accounting officer to the Nigerian legislature, since independence in 1960. Indeed, from 1979 to 2007, the North had held on to the position.

But Ogunyomi was in solid position to occupy the top post, having emerged the most senior civil servant in the legislature with nearly 30 years in direct service of that institution, compared to Arab, who as of then, had 15 years experience in the legislature. He (Ogunyomi) also remained the only Nigerian legislative bureaucrat who was part of the making of all Nigerian constitutions and constitution amendment processes from 1978.

Thus, it was a difficult task trying to sideline Ogunyomi. But the NASC accepted reports that Arab had consolidated his service, thereby removing the years he served as teacher between 1972 and 1975. It insisted that the then CNA would retire in 2009.

By October 2009, Arab spent one more day longer than permitted in the office, when he showed up on October 12. It took the intervention of Senate President Mark to ensure that the proper things were done and Ogunyomi named acting CNA.

Even at that, forces moving against the South-West further ensured that the letter authenticating his service as acting clerk was not released until January 2010, when his tenure had commenced as the substantive CNA.

Ogunyomi went on record as the clerk with the shortest period in office, 10 months in all, as he retired in August 2010.

Afolabi's tenure as HOS also short

Incidentally, the newly retired HOS, Professor Afolabi, also spent 10 months in office. He was named for the seat in November 2010 and left at the end of September 2011.

The scenario leading to his assumption of office was similar to that of the National Assembly and the making of the Auditor-General.

The FCSC had recommended that a thoroughbred civil servant, who grew through the ranks, should be picked as the HOS in its report to President Jonathan in 2010.

The president was, however, said to have called for a full report of the circumstances leading to the recommendations of the FCSC. He was said to have discovered that Professor Afolabi actually emerged the best for the job according to an assessment done by the same FCSC, but that a plot to perpetually sideline the Yoruba had informed the recommendation. He insisted that the best man must be given the job, a development that led to the appointment of Professor Afolabi.

Sources said the recurrence of the situation whereby South-West candidates don't last in office, even when they emerge at the top, is caused by sincerity on their age and records of service.

"Whereas many other officers from other geo-political zones would keep changing their records in the name of consolidation of service and other things, most top civil servants from the South-West present their true records and that is often used against them by certain forces which are perpetuating Yoruba marginalisation," a source said last week.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/sun/front-page-articles/5240-how-north-sidelines-swest-in-civil-service-no-south-westerner-in-top-ten-of-federal-protocol

Igbo Boko Haram indeed. I no fit laugh

Point B
Could be a typo from the reporter. You know Naija type of journalism. Just reverse the figures for the test and total investment and you get the true sense.

Bliss4Lyfe:
This is wat I love about the igbos, [b]as soon as oil is discovered in their region. Their brains go to work and day want to build everything from oil rig to refinery. Expect more indigenous oil refinery companies in Anambra as they too in three months time will join the list of oil producing States. Imo to follow as well as Abia.  [/b]

Abia and Imo has been oil-producing states since the ''creation'' of Nigerian oil.

Wow!!!!

Ikoforiji in jail
Tiinubu turned to a living vegetable abroad
Fasola running helter skelter for nothing.
Wither ACN?
The party of thugs, rogues and drug pushers dies a natural death.lol

Alleged N7bn fraud: EFCC goes after Lagos speaker's hidden assets *Diplomatic, international passports seized *Auto office closed, cars moved *PDP wants Fashola probed *ACN leaders keep mum *The Tinubu, Muiz Banire angle

Written by Lanre Adewole, Soji Ajibola and Adewale Ajayi
Sunday, September 4, 2011

More trouble appears on the horizon for the embattled Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Sabitu Ikuforiji, over an alleged N7 billion fraud as operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have reportedly stormed Lagos to fish out his hidden assets.


Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Sabitu Ikuforiji


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Of particular interest to the operatives are said to be the expensive automobiles that had hitherto adorned his auto shop-Brown Motors-located at 2, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Maryland, Ikeja, Lagos.

A commission source told the Sunday Tribune that the auto shop was found closed down with the sign-post announcing the firm equally removed.

In the petition authored by Nigeria Anti-Corruption Vanguard which led to his arrest, Ikuforiji was alleged to have been diverting a monthly running cost of N500 million on a first line charge to abroad to buy properties through proxies as well as his automobile company.

The Commission's operatives were said to be combing the entire state to uncover the secret location of the hidden vehicles. If discovered, they might be confiscated.

Commission's spokesperson, Mr. Femi Babafemi, told the Sunday Tribune that investigation was on-going on the matter.

A source also revealed that Ikuforiji's diplomatic and international passports had been seized.

It was further learnt that he might have been be admitted to administrative bail yesterday, while he had been reportedly moved back to Lagos from Abuja at the weekend.

The seizure of his passports, especially the diplomatic passport, according to a source, was to forestall any attempt to tamper with the international aspect of the investigation as it involves the allegations of using stolen funds to acquire property abroad and double conviction in the United States of America.

It was learnt that the anti-corruption commission would explore working relationship with the United States of America to demand for his record of conviction if such truly exists.

Sunday Tribune source did not rule out a visit to the countries mentioned in the petition against him by the team handling his investigation.

Unconfirmed reports had linked the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, and the National Legal Adviser of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Muiz Banire, with the petition.

A source in the Commission however debunked the claim, noting that it was from one of the anti-corruption human rights groups.

However, Sunday Tribune gathered that his travail has opened up political insinuations that might not be unconnected with internal squabbles within the Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN) in the state, especially over the gubernatorial ambition of some notable members of the party.

A source who spoke under condition of anonymity said the speaker has scores to settle with the leadership of the party, but the national spokesperson of the Party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a telephone interview, said he had no comment on the arrest until the party heard from the speaker on the rationale behind his arrest.

Meanwhile, the arrest of Ikuforiji by EFCC has further rekindled the crisis in the Lagos State House of Assembly that started prior to his re-election as the speaker of the House last June. Sunday Tribune learnt that members of the House are now divided, with some speaking against the embattled speaker while some are saying that the probe of Ikuforiji was designed. Those who are holding onto the latter opinion are also alleging that those who masterminded the petition are those working for Dr. Muiz Banire, who was interested in the 2015 governorship race along with Ikuforiji,

Banire and Ikuforiji had showed interest in the race when the face-off between the leader of the ACN, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the state governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, was rife but when the two reconciled their differences and Fashola was picked for a second term, they suspended their ambitions till 2015.

Banire was said to have rallied the support of some leaders of the party such as Alhaji Tajudeen Olusi, Chief Bushura Alebiosu, some members of the state assembly such as Honourables Funmilayo Tejuosho, Ibrahim Layode, Suru Avoseh and some lawmakers.

The feeling among supporters of Ikuforiji was that Asiwaju Tinubu is giving tactical support to the Banire camp because Funmilayo Tejuosho was not picked as deputy speaker.

According to a source in the House, if Tinubu was not backing those that petitioned EFCC, the matter would have been resolved within the party, but since he decided to drop the speaker after he had been used to checkmate Fashola during their crisis, he has allowed him to face the music alone .

When Banire was contacted on phone to speak on the role he played in the petition, he did not pick his call but in a reaction to a text message sent to him, he said, "Please crosscheck with EFCC who the petitioner is."

Meanwhile, an aide to the speaker, who did not want his name in print, has leapt to the defence of his boss. He said, "Is it possible for the speaker to collect N500 million running cost and pocket it? Have lawmakers and staff of the House not been going abroad for training? Have they not been collecting their running cost? The essence of the probe is politically motivated and it has to do with his ambition to run for governorship race in 2015."

Expressing a different view, a former member of the House who was in the Assembly between 2003 to 2011, said people should stop reading political motive to the probe, while he added that the allegations against Ikuforiji might not be untrue afterall.

He explained that the decision of Ikuforiji to cheat on his colleagues has not just started but that it has been on for a while, stressing that "now his cup is full."

The lawmaker added that if people were saying the probe was an attempt to frustrate his ambition, he wondered about the crime he was alleged to have committed in America , if that was also politically motivated .

According to him Ikuforiji should account for how he has spent the money meant for the running of the House , because what each lawmaker gets as running cost was just about 400,000 Naira per month .He wondered how he spent the remaining amount .

Reacting to the arrest of Ikuforiji, the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) stated, Lagos state government, particularly, Governor Babatunde Fashola, is culpable for signing a budget, allocating N500m monthly to the speaker.

Its spokesperson, Barrister Taofik Gani, added, "no wonder obnoxious and ill-considered laws like, LCDA, KAI, LASTMA, Land Use Charge and the tenancy law abound in the state."

The most tolerant people on earth- mosque, church and brothel in one place, each doing their own thing, unmolested by the other

The Punch

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Panic as clients clash with sex workers

Terver Bendega

Residents of Ilogbo Road, Oju-Ore, Ota, Ogun State are not strangers to loud arguments and fights that often break out in the area. This is because there is a brothel located at Plot 5 along the road, which houses sex workers.


The brothel, Inset: Banner of the church

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The brothel, AJIP Hotel, which shares boundary with a mosque and is located in the same compound with a church, accommodates deportees from Italy and the UK and therefore plays host to fun seekers from surrounding communities and sometimes students.

As a result of people from different backgrounds that come to the hotel, there are often fights and arguments that have become second nature of the residents of the area.

However, the clash that broke out between the sex workers and some of their clients in the brothel penultimate week is still reverberating in the community.

Presently, the residents lock the door of their houses early in the evening for fear of reprisal from the customers. They also fear policemen that often come to ensure peace.

PUNCH METRO gathered that the latest fight was between the sex workers and some hoodlums, who also patronise them.

A resident of the community, identified simply as Bisi said the hoodlums had been having some quarrels with the sex workers before the attack.

According to her, the boys usually come for sex and after having their way with the girls, they would disagree on the charges and leave the girls without paying them.

She said, "They (hoodlums) constantly harass the girls. The area boys fight regularly with these girls. But that day, after drinking and having sex with the girls, they were asked to pay. Instead of paying, they started negotiating prices with them; some of them refused to pay. When the girls insisted on being paid, they flared up and started beating them up."

She said some people did not like what happened and came to the girls' rescue. It got to a point that bullets were fired and broken bottles were freely used. The brothel manager had no choice but to call Mobile policemen to ensure peace in the place.

"I think the MOPOL arrested them because they beat the girls up and even destroyed property in the brothel.

"This community has suffered terror due to the brothel's presence," Bisi said.

Other residents of the community have also expressed concern over the continuous presence of the brothel in the community.

One of the residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity said, "There are constant fights in the brothel, the majority of the boys that come here fight over girls. Whenever there is a misunderstanding between them they break bottles and even shoot into the air. We are scared of such incidents," the resident said.

He added that most of the girls are between the ages of 17 and 21. "They are all young girls. Sometimes they fight with the boys because some of the boys go to them and after having sex they refuse to pay. It is so bad because these girls charge just N500."

Another resident of the community who spoke with PUNCH METRO also explained that beyond being a problem to the community, the brothel was also a problem to the religious organisations in the area.

He said this was because the brothel shared the same compound with a Church and is located just beside a Mosque.

"This brothel is a nuisance to our community. Some of the sex workers even go to the church, Grace Inland Mission Church International."

The residents also claimed that whenever crisis occurred in the brothel, the police arrested some of the sex workers but would release them as soon as the brothel manager contacted them.

Neither the sex workers nor the manager was available to speak with our correspondent, but the spokesman for the Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, DSP, said he had no information on the residents' plight.

"The DPO in charge of the area said he did not arrest anybody from that place. Probably it was another police station," he said.

South-EastReport
With 25 untapped solid minerals, Ebonyi woos investors
By IKENNA EMEWU
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
•Ugwuocha
Photo: Sun News Publishing

More Stories on This Section

The Ebonyi State Government seems bent on discovering its potentialities. The 15-year old state has been through hurdles of infancy, grooming and now at adolescence. It has been one of the lowest economically rated states, but it might be gearing towards saying ‘never again’.
The states of the nation live as beggars – arms stretched towards Abuja for the monthly stipend that keeps them going. But today, the state has resolved to create new avenues that would lift its standing and possibly place it on a pedestal of economic self-reliance.

The state is not known to be one of the heavyweights of the nation but the government says it is just in misrepresentation of facts. “The real and actual facts are rather the opposite of what Ebonyi is known for. The state is an economic hotbed with the natural endowments that dot the entire landscape. There is hardly any state in the nation that equals Ebonyi in natural resources. I can talk with full assurance and all vehemence that Ebonyi is naturally the richest state in the nation. There are over 25 solid minerals in the state at commercial quantity that wait to be explored.”

In a chat with Saturday Sun, the state Commissioner for Cement Production and Minerals Development, Prince Sunny Ugwuocha, sounded upbeat that the state has found its economic bearing and will soon be on the cruise for financial independence. The ministry he heads is a new one, and he said the reason the governor, Chief Martin Elechi created it is to make sure the policy of solid minerals development in the state gets full and unimpeded impetus.

“With the elaborate plans I was briefed of by Governor Elechi, there is serious business about to commence here in the state. The governor has clear ideas on how to leverage the natural potentials of the state to grow strong internal economy for the state. And in pursuit of such goals, you naturally start from the most available incentives you have. The notion that Ebonyi is a weak and poor state is just in conjecture. The state in history has endowments and those are the things the state governor wants to develop. The ministry I head is new and just created. That is why I have always seen my duty as extraordinary and tasking. But I might think he knows what he wants by sending me there. I have been a technical person all my career years, and coming from the private sector as an employer of labour who has weathered the economic rough terrain of Nigeria on my own, I have every expectation of a bright weather ahead. The governor has given and repeatedly emphasised to me his resolve to make the state stand out by developing the mineral resources.

Out of ignorance or because the people never applied their priorities right, the state has been seen over time economically poor and backward. While people say this, they forget that Nigercem, that unbeatable cement plant, the largest Nigeria had for over 40 unbroken years is located in the present Ebonyi State. Anything structure you can remember in the eastern part of Nigeria was built with cement from Nkalagu (Nigercem) The Niger Bridge at Onitsha, the city of Enugu, Onitsha, Abakaliki, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Calabar and beyond with the structures that make them were built with cement from Nigercem. It was unbeatable.

And ironically, the limestone and gypsum that ran the cement plant were mined in the state. I assure you factually that the seams have not been exhausted. The two principal raw materials are still lying idle and dormant there waiting to be tapped. In fact, in addition to the gypsum find that kept Nigercem going, another deposit has been found in Edda and Azu Inyaba in Izzi. The data available in my office is that there are well over 25 solid minerals in commercial quantity in the state ready for extraction.
In places like Enyigba, there is granite, gold and lead and the people know there are there as the federal government had in the past issued mining rights to people.”

Before Elechi created a full ministry of minerals development, there had been a sub ministry of solid minerals headed by a special adviser. In about 2008, Dr. Ifeanyi Ikeh was in charge of the portfolio, and he had something akin to a geology lab replete with a display of an array of minerals samples obtained from the mines in the state. The day Saturday Sun visited his office in Abakaliki in February 2008, he studiously showed the reporter round.

The issue today which Prince Ugwuocha champions has been the case in the past, but he assures that the intention is clearer and more serious today – it is to woo investors and miners to the state to tap the resources and keep the state busy.
“The procedure is easy and we want to implement it now. My duty is to work out the modality set by the governor – to scout for investors in the sector who will build their base in the state, extract the minerals and put them into use. Through that, there would be employment for idle hands and the state’s economy will be enriched. In the past there had been arrangements that never actually got much success where investors came and left thereafter. We have a better arrangement now.

The governor has spelt out what the state wants and he has made sure all the incentives that never existed before are in place now with the full compliments of the new ministry. I have an obligation to nurture it into growth, and that is why we urge investors to come. Just get in touch with the local community, indicate what you want and consult our office, we are there to make sure the processes of getting the licence in Abuja to mine is made easy for such investor. My office would do everything possible to facilitate easy and short procedure so that the investor can move into the site immediately. My promise from the mandate I have from the chief executives is that there would be no bottlenecks. I will oversee most of the processes to make sure it works, and fast too.
We want the Nigercem revived or an alternative plant built, and the governor made that very clear. We want more cement plants and we want miners to tap the limestone and gypsum.

I remember very well reading in your paper in March this year the abandoned or neglected oil finds in South East Nigeria. One of the finds is in Edda, here in the state and your records which my office can attest as authentic has it that the Edda oil is the oldest in Nigeria. There is no dispute about it. These endowments have been lying idle for a long time, we want them tapped and the state developed.”
The commissioner said the present move would be the culmination of past efforts by the state government to take this decisive step of exposing the mineral resource base of the state by creating a full ministry to handle the task. It had in the past done some number of things in this direction right from the days of Governor Sam Egwu who also had an adviser on solid minerals. A good instance is the invitation of Chinese and Canadian experts in about 2007 that brought in equipment and manpower to aid in exploration and detection of the minerals in the state.

One of the few well-explored solid minerals in the state are granite and bitumen. The Crushed Rocks Company has been old in Ishiagu. With some other extraction companies, the state had in the past been reaping some gold from this solid endowment. It got heightened when some four years ago the giant Julius Berger discovered an endless seam of granite at Akpoha along the Abakaliki-Afikpo road. The company with its heavy machines has been tearing and searing the land surface and tens of truck-load of granite leave the quarry everyday. It is also the same in the Abakaliki metropolis where smaller granite mines are busy all year round extracting and crushing rocks for use in construction all over the east of the nation.
If Prince Ugwuocha’s ministry gets its acts right and with the right incentives, the state, with the higher aim of the governor, may be on the verge of better economic pedestal through minerals development and the cement production rave it targets.
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/aug/24/national-24-08-2011-0016.html

T

High_Chief:
You guys are known for your fraudulent ways. Are you trying to tell us they had coloured pictures during the civil war? Stop posting this somalian pics here before they come after your oily a.s.s

The first color photo is obviously not from the Biafra War. The second may be. But that is besides the point. The point is we look forward to the SW people killing   their leaders who helped kill abiola and took blood money in return. If by next years they are still alive,=============

Lagcity:::

Duh, if you weren't a blank-headed chipmunk, you would have known that  in war times people are underfed and malnourished. Those pictures of yours are equal to what you see in Kosovo, World Wars 1,2, Somalia, Congo, Darfur and in the several Yoruba internecine wars during the Oyo empire days.

However, what is more gory, in the 21st century, is that in peace time, some SW leaders colluded with the govt to kill one of their own and took blood bribe money to keep quiet. And we have some guys like you defending the bribe takers.

Really, we need to know who actually poisoned or suffocated Abiola to death. I wager that person is a Yoruba too.

May be the journalist, and not the subject of this topic, [b]misyarned [/b]about Obama
Arnold is the best example here

Andre Uweh:
Mike Okiro from Rivers state is in the regime of Rochas Okorocha in Imo state.

Just curious. Does Okiro live in Imo State?

Andre Uweh:
Mike Okiro from Rivers state is in the regime of Rochas Okorocha in Imo state.

I know, just excluded that because Okiro is an Igbo, though from Rivers.

Zik had won elections in Lagos
An Hausa/Fulani had been Mayor (Local Govt Chairman) of Enugu
A Yoruba was in Enugu government for 7-8 years during the regime of Nnamani
An Edo was in Imo govt during the regime of Ohakim
Both Igbo and Yoruba are in Kano govt now
An Igbo is in the govt of Lagos State now

What is the problem? What is new? What is unheard of? What is without precedence?

I remember only a few, so please help populate:

Numerous Transport companies (ABC, The Young Shall Grow, Dan Dollars, etc)
Numerous Highbrow Hotels
Emzor Pharmaceuticals
Ibeto Industries
Capital Oil
Coscharis Motors
Linkserve Ltd
Fidelity Bank
Diamond Bank
Other banks with substansive Igbo interest (UBA, AfriBank etc)
Alaba traders
Idumota traders
Ladipo traders
ASPAMDA traders
Sun Newspaper
Champion Newspapers
ThisDay news paper
Zinox computers
Eko Hospital one of the best in Lagos (owned by 2 Igbo and 1 Yoruba)

Given the above, exam malpractice is an issue that needs to be addressed before we can talk of quality data. Even those who perhaps did not do exam malpractice are suspect because of the pervasiveness of the practice in Nigeria.