₦airaland Forum

THE SSS seems to underrate the evil machinations of the real sponsor of the Oct 1 bombing. The SSS should not be suprised that some officers and men are too loyal to the real sponsor. That may make the work and prosecution of Dokpesi very difficult.

The Chairman of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida Campaign Organisation, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, has informed a Federal High Court in Abuja that he had nothing to do with the Independence Day bomb blasts which claimed the lives of 12 people in Abuja.



Dokpesi’s claim was contained in a sworn affidavit which he filed on Friday in response to a preliminary objection by the State Security Service.



Dokpesi had filed the action to enforce his fundamental human rights against the SSS and to stop the agency from further harassing or intimidating him.



Dokpesi was also seeking N100m damages.



The SSS had in its objection by its lawyer, Dr. Alex Iziyon (SAN), asked the court to dismiss Dokpesi’s suit on the grounds that it was frivolous and baseless.



The SSS had earlier invited Dokpesi for questioning over the October 1 explosions on the premise of some text messages which allegedly established a nexus between him and some persons suspected of complicity in the act.



But Dokpesi had in his response, said he was not aware of the person referred to in the text messages as there were several persons bearing the name, Dokpesi.



The parties will appear in court on November 11 for the hearing of Dokpesi’s application.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2010110814224870

I had found time to analyse all the aspirants to the office of the president and found out that it is only Buhari that can save Nigeria from the grip of these vampires called PDP members. Jonathern is a good man no doubt but he had already started compromising even before election, so it is better to choose Buhari who has no political God father or mother

National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, has said that the South-West must remain in the mainstream politics of Nigeria.



Nwodo, who said this in Iresi, Osun State, stated that the zone had much to gain by remaining in the mainstream politics and in the PDP.



The PDP chairman and his wife, Dorothy, were on Saturday conferred with the traditional titles of Bobare and Yeye Bobare, respectively, of Iresi Kingdom.



In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Ike Abonyi, Nwodo described the Action Congress of Nigeria as the winner of the 2007 gubernatorial election in Ekiti state as a temporary set-back.



He urged the PDP members to present popular candidates to ensure victory for the party in 2011 and beyond.



According to Nwodo, the South West, like every other zone is very strategic to the party and every effort must be put in by all to sustain it.



The chairman said that the party would reclaim Ekiti in subsequent elections.



Nwodo urged party members in the zone to unite and sustain the true position of the party in the region.



He warned that “only harmony and spirit of accommodation in the party can help them realise the dream and aspiration of numerous party members.”



The chairman advised the PDP leaders to play an inclusive- politics and give members sense of belonging.



During the occasion, the statue of President Goodluck Jonathan who did his National Youth Service in the town in 1981 was unveiled.



The community erected the carved statue of the then youthful President wearing his National Youth Service uniforms.



Nwodo commended the National Youth Service Corps for making it possible for the President and the community to meet. The communityhad adopted President Jonathan as their child.



The ceremony, which was also marked as Iresi Day, was witnessed by many dignitaries led by the Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola; his deputy, Erelu Obada; representative of President Jonathan, who is also the Minister of state for FCT, Navy Capt Caleb Omoniyi Olubolade ; and South -West party officials among others.



But in a swift reaction, the National Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the PDP had left the South-West worse than it found it.



“The question we should ask them is, ‘What has South-West gained from the PDP government? What has happened to Lagos—Ibadan Road, Lagos-Abeokuta Road, Ogbomosho-Ilorin Road?” he asked.



Mohammed said that except for building Nigerian National Petroluem Corporation mega stations, the PDP government had not impacted positively on the zone.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2010110814114837

They just keeping recycling themselves!!! All these nonperforming govs want to be in the senate to continue looting. Is there hope for this country?

Bornu State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, on Wednesday opted to seek the nomination of the All Nigeria Peoples Party to represent Borno Central Constituency in the Senate in 2011.



Sheriff said this in Maiduguri while receiving the ANPP nomination form, jointly presented to him by 10 members of the House of Representatives from the state.



He said “The presentation of the form came as a big surprise to me because I only got to know about it yesterday night.



“My intention was to retire from politics after completing my two-term tenure as governor but today’s event has changed everything.”



Sheriff said he was satisfied with his achievements in life after being a three-time senator and a two-term Governor of Borno State.



“As a politician, you have to make some sacrifices even when you are not too comfortable and since the people have decided that I should go back to the Senate, I have no choice but to follow their wishes,” he said.



The Governor added that the development was an indication that the people appreciated his contributions to the development of the state.



He said: “I must say that I appreciate their efforts in presenting the form to me, I think that they are worried that if I leave now they might not have a strong person to lead the state in the National Assembly in 2011.



“They have indeed succeeded in changing my mind from retirement.”














http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101105111180

The founding fathers of Nigeria at independence in their togetherness said: “Though tribes and tongues may differ in brotherhood we stand, Nigerians all are proud to serve our sovereign motherland.” but years after, our leaders/politicians deviated from the true spirit of one Nigeria due to selfishness. Today, Nigerian Democracy is characterized with do or die affairs, not of peace. It is made up of Politics of acrimony and hatred and mudslinging, not of love and brotherhood Politics of anarchy

When, on January 14, 2009 President Barack Obama took the dais for his inauguration as the 44th President of the United States, his popularity hovered at eighty per cent. Here was a man elected with barely fifty five per cent of the votes cast, with an overwhelming popularity. Clearly, for just that one day, Americans were united behind their new President.



Certainly, most Americans (Black, White or Brown) were justifiably proud that a nation once founded on racism and slavery could look beyond her own ever-present demon of prejudice to elect a black man as President. That day, as I worked, even an avowed redneck, which I happen to work with, could not help but be proud. In the end, he confided in me that he, indeed, was proud to be American, even though he somehow did not expect Obama to win or govern well for that matter.



In Nigeria, the minorities of the South-South and Middle Belt suffer the fate of Black Americans. It is on the backs of these peoples, and their mineral resources (be it oil, mineral deposits, oil palm or rubber) that both the pre-colonial and post-colonial Nigeria were built. In it all, they were pilloried and assaulted by the rest of the nation.



The psychological impact of being a minority in Nigeria can be shattering. The sense or the lack thereof belonging can be conflicting; this is especially true when Nigerian minority groups have no option but to seek the safety of a negotiated federation no matter how unfair when contrasted with the guaranteed oppression from their big three neighbours (Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo) or the legacy of divide and rule which was orchestrated to break the ranks of the minority groups.



This split “minority” personality revealed itself to be very present during and after the civil war. Indeed, the avowed support for one Nigeria by Nigeria’s ethnic minorities in the Niger Delta or Middle Belt (during and after the Biafran war) has hardly been a validation of the basic unfairness which exists in the Nigerian arrangement, but rather, an acknowledgement of the possibilities of making the union better. Even then, it always is an admission that the alternative of a fragmented state with the big three breathing down their necks without inter-rivalry is dangerous for the corporate existence of the minority.



The Willink Commission established before independence did look into the affairs of Nigeria‘s minorities and concluded that a federated state system, where the special needs of minority groups are factored into development programmes and where special areas (briefly in operation in the first republic) to see to these needs are operated is what will serve the people best.



This recommendation was virtually ignored in four of the five decades since that report, less for the politically-convenient favour of state creation albeit in a virtually unitary system. The communities of the Niger Delta have witnessed the worst incidences of environmental degradation, genocide, military occupation and the worst kind of pillaging (of human, natural and emotional resources). Indeed, the minority areas of Nigeria remain the open festering sore of the nation of Nigeria.



The minorities of Nigeria were virtually without a voice in the first and second republics. But as their patience wore thin with years, so did the level of crisis in their midst. As they fought intensely for the crumbs that fell from the table of the majority groups in the 90s, they increasingly saw the deck stacked against them and their destiny in the collectivity called Nigeria.



In response, all hell was let loose as the underpinnings of an emerging democratic society gave the Deltans and the Middle Belters the opportunity to express their misgivings about the internal hegemony that has kept the geese that laid the golden eggs in a cage. This response has provoked a cycle of crisis ranging from all-out-street battle with security operatives to kidnapping, piracy and bombing since 2000.



This evidently has been the case until the ascension of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, a Niger Deltan by birth, and President by destiny, whose ascension to that position was preceded by high-power intrigues of the Shakespearean mode. We must not forget that President Jonathan was not responsible (at least not directly) for the decades of economic deprivation that preceded the crisis in the region; and quite succinctly, the security disaster that the Niger Delta has become definitely preceded his stewardship at the national level.



Regardless of these facts, however, and rather than his ascension to our nation’s highest office to be celebrated (like Americans did Barack Obama), many of the same people that created the security hodgepodge the man is dealing with today are calling for his head. Most frightening is the fact that this cabal is spearheaded by elder statesmen who, ordinarily should be the nation’s rallying point for unity and peace but have relegated themselves to the altar of divisive ethnic politics.



They claim to be statesmen, but only to the limit of their selfish ambitions. Once disciples of the “One Nigeria” mantra, they have now, sadly, reduced themselves to champions of sectional interest; supposedly speaking from the mythical “north”. They are plotting against Nigeria, whipping up the embers of insecurity and blackmail, hoping the nation goes down with their warped ambitions. It is unfortunate that people who should know better are being led down the path of perdition by these men. But the good news is that they don‘t represent the collective interest of the north.



Every lover of democracy should come out heavily on the side of ordinary Nigerians who have suffered immensely in the hands of these fifth columnists. These old men who destroyed their dreams of their fathers at independence, frittered away the wealth of their children, and see nothing bad about destroying the future of their grandchildren must be stopped in their stride.



It was under them the worst economic programmes were implemented. They went to the best universities, and turned the same to citadels of prostitution. They took functional clinics and turned them into consulting rooms. They inherited a bustling infrastructure and turned them into death traps. It was under these men that the dreams of democracy were scuttled: first in 1979 and then in 1993. Never again!



We know their thoughts towards Nigeria are not good, but let it be clear: they are on the wrong side of history and the train of change is leaving them behind. But we need to guard our resolve jealously and sustain the current tempo. It is only when “We the people” speak with one voice regardless of states of origin, region, religion or creed that we will rescue ourselves and posterity from the claws of these lions.



Culled from Nigerian Village Square.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011050375185

Very soon there will be pensions for election riggers and thugs, when well meaning Nigerians can hardly earn $200 a month salary, the labor leaders should mobilize the people and fight the damn house members once and for all, to ensure this bill does not see the days light, so somebody like IBB should earn pension for stealing our common purse dry? same thing to Abachas family, then why and how do you want to stop kidnapping, armed roberry? it will never stop trust me, u water evil n want to

MIXED reactions on Thursday trailed the National Assembly’s passage of the bill providing remunerations for former Presidents and Heads of State.



While the Senate defended its action, Labour leaders criticised the bill as being in bad taste. However, a former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba and the President of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, supported the bill.



The upper legislature had on Wednesday passed a bill providing remunerations for former Presidents and Heads of State and after their death, their spouses should benefit.



The bill restored the status of former military leaders as beneficiaries.



It also included Presidents of the Senate and Speakers of the House of Representatives, Chief Justices, Deputy Senate President and Deputy Senate President and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.



The Senate had kicked against the inclusion of ex-military rulers in the list of beneficiaries when the bill came up for its second reading in March this year.



But with the passage of the harmonised bill on Wednesday, former military rulers, Gens. Yakubu Gowon, Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, are now to be remunerated for ruling the nation.



The bill, which is subject to the assent of President Goodluck Jonathan, however, excludes speakers of state houses of assembly.



Senate spokesman, Ayogu Eze, told THE PUNCH in Abuja that since the retired dictators were already receiving pensions, they would either choose to continue to receive their entitlements or the perquisites and allowances offered by the new bill.



He said, “So we thought that the substantive issue was to concentrate on the things that would deepen the practice of democracy and not on the issue of who gets remuneration and who doesn’t get.



“In any case in that law it is provided, because most of the people who you are referring to are also pensioners.



“It is provided that if you are already receiving a pension, you either receive the remuneration that has been recommended by that law or your pension. You can’t receive both.”



Eze also said the new position of the Senate did not compromise its stance against military dictatorship, arguing that instead it sent a strong message that the assumption of political power by force of arms was out of fashion.



Osoba, in his reaction, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, that “the world over, states take care of their leaders, past and present and Nigeria should not be an exception.



“We must not neglect our own. We do not want our past leaders to be living in penury and this must be done without fear or favour,” he said.



He said that in spite of all odds, especially with some past military heads of state, Nigerian past leaders should be allowed to have a good living.



“I am against military intervention but not all Nigeria” military heads of state were actually bad.



“Gen Yakubu Gowon (retd.) created a situation that allowed for the integration of Nigeria after the civil war and has comported himself well since leaving office.



“On the strength of the character of Gowon, one would say yes to the pension scheme,” Osoba added.



In the same vein, Adefaye told NAN that the pension should be for the living.



“The living should be fairly and equitably treated, but there cannot be pension for the dead,’’ he said.



Action Congress of Nigeria chieftain in Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, simply said, “I am a senator and if the senate agreed with it then I am for it.”



President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Peter Esele, said the bill was in bad taste and urged the President not to sign it into law.



He queried the rationale behind the approval of such perks at a time when the country’s workers were yet to be paid minimum wage of N18,000.



Esele expressed fears that the country’s economy would not be able to cope with such over-bloated allowances.



President, Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services Employees, Mr. Emmanuel Ajoku, described the allowances as unfair to ordinary Nigerians.



“Four or eight years in office is not a criterion for somebody to enjoy life allowance when many workers who have spent 35 years in service were yet to earn their pensions.”



He said he would not support the payment of allowances to past leaders because workers who had left the service usually got their gratuity six months after and some had died pursuing pension.



“We reject the idea totally. It is not in the interest of the nation.



“The cost of servicing the ex-political leaders will be too enormous for the country to bear,’’Ajoku told NAN.



The President, National Union of Textile and Garment Workers of Nigeria, Mr. Reginald Agulanna-Uwa, said the recommendation of the perks amounted to enslaving the people and workers.



“We are opposed to this because up till now, the government has yet to implement the national minimum wage of N18, 000.”










http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011053303651

WHY SARAKI, IS THIS A FAMILY BUSINESS, LET HIM LOOK FOR SOMETHING ELSE TO DO HE’S CONTRIBUTED HIS QUOTA ALREADY. WE NEED TO WAKE UP AS THESE PEOPLE HAS NOTHING FOR US, WHAT CHANGES HAS HE MADE IN KWARA STATE. LET IT BE SOMEONE ELSE. OR UNTIL WE ELIMINATE ALL OF THEM WITH THEIR FAMILY (RAWLINGS STYLE) BEFORE THEY LET US LIVE. THEY SHOULD NOT PUSH US TO THE LIMIT OOOOO

A stalwart of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Mrs. Temidayo Job, has condemned the removal of the 2011 presidential campaign billboards of the Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, from the state.



Job, who is the Campaign Coordinator of Abubakar Bukola Saraki Project 2011, while speaking in an interview with journalists in Abeokuta on Thursday, alleged that the action was taken by the perpetrators in anticipation of the proposed visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to the state.



The Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, it will be recalled, is the South-West Coordinator of the Goodluck Jonathan 2011 Presidential campaign project.



Job described removal of Saraki’s campaign billboards as an indication of political immaturity.



She, however, exonerated the PDP of any involvement in the removal of the billboards, blaming the action on the state advertising agency which she claimed might have acted under pressure from a government official in anticipation of the visit.



She said the space for the billboards was duly paid for, and necessary arrangements concluded before they were installed.



Job said, “One of the billboards was installed at Kuto Area of Abeokuta last week and less than 25 hours, the billboard was removed. The other one was installed at Shagamu interchange and we heard that as they were installing the billboard, some people attacked them and destroyed the artwork.”



“This is a condemnable act; it is an act of political immaturity. If the billboard of Saraki was allowed to stay in Bayelsa, I see no reason why similar thing should not be allowed here.”



She vowed to ensure the replacement of the billboards, adding that she had already given an instruction to the state advertising agency to ensure the re-installation of the billboards.



Job expressed the hope that Saraki might emerge the north’s consensus candidate for the presidential election in appreciation of his political programmes and policies and the influence his father, Dr. Olusola Saraki, wielded in the northern politics.



According to him, “There is this awareness in the country today of the need for a change. A change that does not divide minority from majority; a change that will transform and modernize agriculture; a change that will fight poverty to the finish and unite people irrespective of race, tribes, or religion., a democratic projection for the emancipation of the vulnerable groups-the women and the youth, this is what our people are yearning for and this is what Abubakar Bukola Saraki stands for.”


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101105113332

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State, Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, has said that he is still optimistic that President Goodluck Jonathan would see reason and withdraw from the presidential race, even as he insisted that the party has deceived him.

Speaking to Daily Sun in Jos, he said the president has no business contesting the presidential election in 2011 because he is not a northerner: “I still believe that he will see the truth and withdraw. In the event he does not withdraw, Nigerians would tell him that he was wrong in the first place to have even indicated to contest.”
He said he was optimistic that he would be defeated at the primaries and nothing would happen to PDP as the party would remain intact:

”If the party has been a principled organization or a party that has a target and perception to assist Nigerians, it would have obeyed the constitution of the country and that of the party Jonathan belongs to and not allow Jonathan to contemplate running for the presidency on the party’s ticket.”
Kwande said that sycophants that are always at the corridors of power misleading leadership are the ones deceiving Jonathan, pushing him on to contest: “It is not a complicated matter because the constitution emphases federal character and the party’s constitution also talks of rotation of power between the South and the North.”

He insisted that after the South has had its slot, Jonathan cannot go into 2011 without respecting that aspect of the constitution. The PDP leadership, he said, was naïve in saying that Jonathan can contest because “they said we will maintain and sustain zonal arrangement and sharing power between the South and the North. They went further to deceive us that Jonathan can contest, but did not complete the statement by telling him that he can contest on any of the remaining political parties’ platform.”

He berated those saying that the Jonathan/ Sambo ticket has already been decided in heaven: “It is only those who have the mental capacity of people making such statements that would believe such a thing”
Kwande was optimistic that PDP aspirants from the North would agree on a consensus candidate despite all the machinery put in place by all of them to campaign for the presidential ticket under the same party:
“All of them are coming out strong to contest because they cannot go to bed and sleep until one of them is selected.” He promised that once one of them is selected, all the other campaign apparatus would collapse to give backing to the consensus candidate.

He said the Adamu Ciroma Committee working on the selection of the consensus candidate is being careful and responsible, “making serous consultations with all regions of the country, so that when a consensus candidate is named, majority of the people would agree that a thorough work had been done.”

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/nov/05/national-05-11-2010-024.htm

Against the background of overtures to labour by the Federal Government over the planned minimum wage nationwide-strike, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday said it has no deal with government over the matter, saying the labour has moved beyond the level of negotiation on the contentious issue.

To eliminate all doubts towards its seriousness to the course of the action, the congress announced a 12-member National Strike Committee (NSC) to organize, mobilize and ensure compliance with the strike scheduled to commence November 10 through 12, should government fail to initiate the process of payment of the N18, 000 new wage.

Chairman of the committee, Promise Adewusi, who is the deputy president of the NLC and national president of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), told newsmen that his committee had put preliminary measures on ground and deployed strike officers to coordinate the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) because the action would be total.

President of National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Mansur Musa, a member of the committee, whose union members were already aggrieved over perceived poor government handling of the privatization of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), declared that the entire nation would be thrown into darkness because the NUEE members had suffered untold hardship in the hand of government and were ready for full participation in the action.

Adewusi, explained that the congress was not unmindful of the antics of the government to politicize the strike but that the labour leaders would not fall cheaply for the government game. According to him, the labour had nothing to discuss with government over the new wage issue because the parties in the dispute had passed that stage of negotiation, warning that all that was required on the part of government was practical move to send the wage bill to the National Assembly for accelerated action.

He stated that sending the bill to the National Assembly by the executive would not just suffice but an assurance by the lawmakers that the bill would be expeditiously dealt with would be the only panacea to the impending action.

“The tendency is that government will in the eve of the action call for a meeting. I want to tell all Nigerians that we have passed the stage of negotiation. Negotiation has been concluded since April this year and we had expected that the president would do something by May, but that didn’t happen.

“In July, we formally presented the case and forwarded the resolutions of the tripartite committee, led by former chief justice of the federation, Alfa Belgore, to the government. On October 1, we had thought government would use the occasion of the National Day to do something concrete, but we were again disappointed.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/nov/05/national-05-11-2010-001.htm

True confession!!! After all the bragging of the South Africans. Goodluck to our Falcons.

Banyana Banyana coach Augustine Makalakalane admitted on Thursday that the Super Falcons were superior to the South Africans after the five-time African champions beat their hostesses 2-1 in the ongoing African Women‘s Championship.



The win took the Falcons to the top of Group A with six points, while South Africa follow with three points.



Makalakalane said that he was proud of his girls as they were not disgraced.



He said the Nigerians played a very physical game and commended the technical attributes of goal scorer, Perpetua Nkwocha, who scored Nigeria‘s two goals.



Makalakalane told the News Agency of Nigeria, “The Nigerian team played a physical game and were very compact in all areas and the two goals scored by Nkwocha were technical.



”I give it to them; they are a good side and deserved to win.”



His Nigerian counterpart, Eucharia Uche, blamed the weather for the low score line, saying she had targeted three goals from the Falcons.



Uche said the timing of the game, which was early in the morning, also played a role in the outcome of the match.



”I was expecting a wide goal margin, my target was at least three goals,” Uche said at the post-match briefing.



”I must say that the weather played a major role in the performance of the girls. We are in high altitude and the match was played in the morning with heavy wind.”



She said the players complained of choking during the game and commended her players‘ performance in spite of the odds they faced.



Uche noted that South Africa had improved tremendously, saying, ”I think they are in the process of building a new team like Nigeria.”



Falcons captain, Precious Dede, said there was no stopping them from clinching the title after the victory over the South Africans.



”We knew that the South African team would be tough for us, but with this victory no team can stop us from taking the trophy to Nigeria,” Dede said.



Dede admitted that she had a bad day, apparently in reference to the South African goal, which came from Van Wyk‘s 45th minute free kick.



”All players have their off days, I think today was my off day, but thank God we were able to win our most difficult match,” she said.



http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011051382721

I don’t know why? We all know dat condom is not 100% assurance. Why prosecuting?

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control on Thursday urged a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt to strike out a suit brought before it by some persons living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus.



The plaintiff had sought to stop the implementation of a national policy on HIV and the use of condoms.



NAFDAC told the court that the suit brought by the plaintiffs lacked competence.



The drug agency’s lawyer, Mr. Sebastine Hon (SAN), in a preliminary objection brought pursuant to section 27 of the NAFDAC Act, argued that section 97 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act and the inherent powers of the court rendered the writ of summons by the plaintiffs incompetent.



The plaintiffs, Mr. Sunday Emmanuel, Mr. Rosemary Ndifon, Mr. M.G. Bendi, HIV Research, Information and Treatment Foundation and nine others, had gone to court to restrain the government and its agencies from further importation, distribution and sales of condoms for the purpose of prevention of HIV/AIDS in the country.



But Hon noted that the issue for determination was whether the court had jurisdiction over the case, considering the inability of the plaintiffs to comply with the provisions of section 27 (1) and (2) of the NAFDAC Act, 2004 and section 97 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act, 2004.



According to the NAFDAC lawyer, the plaintiffs contravened the law by filing the suit before the court without issuing a pre-action notice to the agency, which is the third defendant in the matter.



Hon maintained that the plaintiffs neither issued nor served the required pre-action notice on the agency before instituting the suit.



“The provisions of section 27 are clear, direct and based on this, the failure of the plaintiffs to adhere to the Act renders their action incompetent, no matter how well conducted,” he argued.



The senior advocate recalled a similar case between NDC Limited and ASWB was voided by the Supreme Court because NAFDAC was not served with the mandatory notice before the commencement of the suit.



The defendant in the case are the Federal Ministry of Health, National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NAFDAC, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Society for Family Health, Family Health International, You Need Us Corporation and Contraceptive Research and Development, USA.



However, Justice Gladys Olotu adjourned the matter till January 20, 2011 for further hearing.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101105334565

Starting from Mr. President to the least people commenting on issue, I just want to ask them individually are they not workers as if they really believe that they are Nigerians? If yes how much is do they receive monthly as their salary? Do they think that no other persons can perform better than them in their current positions? 18,000 per month pleases is not an issue that should be prolonged. Remember that these workers are the one that put you all there. But see how you are deciding on them

Hopes by workers that the implementation of the N18,000 new minimum wage will begin this month have been dashed, as the National Council of State on Thursday deferred its approval.



Although the council, which comprises the President, vice-president, past Nigerian leaders and governors, said it was “sympathetic to the idea,” it, however, explained that its implementation had to be put on hold temporarily because of ‘technical and practical issues.’



Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole made this known in Abuja just as the Nigeria Labour Congress raised a committee to ensure effective mobilisation of workers for its three-day warning strike over the delay in the implementation of the new wage.



The governor, who briefed journalists after the meeting presided over by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, did not state what constituted the ‘technical and practical issues.’



But he said that the council raised a sub-committee headed by Sambo to “fine-tune those areas.”



Oshiomhole said the members of the committee were himself, Governors Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Gabriel Suswan (Benue) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa).



The committee has two weeks to submit its report to the NCS, which will meet in late November.



The Edo State governor said, “The council received the report (on the minimum wage) and was sympathetic to the idea, but it observed that there were a couple of technical and practical issues to be sorted out.



“It resolved to set up a sub-committee to be chaired by the vice-president with some governors as members. The committee will fine-tune those areas so that at the end of the day, we will have a package that can be implemented in a way that will not cause any crisis around the country.”



But Oshiomhole, a former NLC president, faulted the congress on the manner it announced the planned warning strike over the minimum wage.



He said, “When I was at the NLC, I always argued the case that it was disrespectful to inform your principals through the media. Those technical issues will be raised with the NLC and they will be raised directly, not through a third party, like the media.”



A few hours before the NCS meeting ended, the NLC constituted an 11-member committee to mobilise workers for the strike planned for November 10 – 12.



Members of the committee, led by a Vice- Chairman of the NLC, Mr. Promise Adewusi, are Owei Lakemfa, Isa Aremu, Ola Elijah, Marcus Omokhuale, Ben Basue, Uche Ekwu, Chris Uyot, Valentine Udeh, Obukese Orere and Mansur Musa.



Adewusi, who is also the national president of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, told journalists in Abuja that the congress was firm in its determination to ensure the implementation of the new wage.



He recalled that the NLC demanded a N52,200 minimum wage in 2008 to alleviate workers’ plight but had to accept N18,000 as the minimum wage.



Adewusi said, “Due to the very high cost of living, the NLC made a demand for N52,200 as minimum wage in 2008, to which the Federal Government agreed and set up a negotiating committee.



“The NLC out of patriotic zeal later agreed to a very low N18, 000 new minimum wage, which itself cannot take care of the worker, spouse and four children.



“It is instructive to note that the National Assembly has indicated readiness to give the minimum wage bill accelerated passage once the Executive presents it. But many months after, the government has refused to submit the bill to be passed into law.



“The National Assembly cannot even do anything because the bill is yet to be placed before it. So, in the event that by November 9, nothing happens, this committee will ensure that the strike is effected.”



He said the NLC had already opened channels of communication with its affiliates and state councils on the looming strike.



Adewusi said, “We are also saying that there is no going back. By the 10th of this month, every worker within Nigeria must stop work, the airplanes will not fly, we will make sure that the ports and the wharfs are shut down; but we hope it does not come to that.



“The roads will be closed and any worker who is found on the road on those three days will be treated as a traitor.



“The warning strike of three days is the first in the series of actions that will be embarked upon to actualise the minimum wage demand.” The Chairman of NSIWC, Chief Richard Egbule, had said at a news conference in Abuja that the report was before the council of state.



He had said, “It (report) is at the stage where I have been invited now to go to NCS now to talk on it. It has not been tampered with; it has gone through NEC and is now at the NCS. I have been called to go there .” Continued from page 2







Egbule explained that the commission played a very active role in all the processes that led to the review of remuneration in the Federal Public Service, through the provision of technical input and advice.



He said that the commission also “participated on government side in negotiations with staff unions such as the renegotiation of 2001 ASUU-FGN agreement, which was concluded in 2009.



“Following the efforts of the commission and other stakeholders, government recently approved increases in the pension of retirees from the public service in relation to salary, which occurred from 2001 to 2007,” the NSIWC chairman said.



The NLC received a major support for the strike from the Trade Union Congress, which said on Thursday that it would join in the work boycott.



TUC, in a statement by its President-General, Mr. Peter Esele, and Secretary-General, Mr. John Kolawole, said it had decided to be a part of the strike in order to ensure that government honoured standing agreements.



TUC said that the Federal Government had shown lack of commitment and unfaithfulness to the terms of agreement reached between it and labour.



There had been fears that the Federal Government currently lacked the resources to implement the scheme following a series of delay in its implementation.



The delay had made the leadership of the NLC to issue strike threats. For instance, the congress had on October, 27 issued a 14- day ultimatum to the government to implement the new wage or face a three-day work boycott by workers.



Meanwhile, NEC has said that some aspects of the National Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill should be streamlined before being sent to the National Assembly for passage in to law.



Katsina Governor, Ibrahim Shema, who briefed journalists on this, said the council agreed that the bill should be sent for further consultations.



NEC had in its April 20 meeting endorsed the formation of NSWF as a substitute to the Excess Crude Account, which currently manages the nation’s extra earnings from higher prices of crude oil.






http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101105343670

The trial of the former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Mr. Henry Okah, resumed at a magistrate’s court in Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday with the prosecution describing him as an illegal immigrant.



The prosecution said that Okah, who is being tried in connection with the October 1, 2010 twin car bombings in Abuja, had applied for a refugee status in South Africa, the Associated Press reports.



Lead prosecutor, Shaun Abrahams, added that the Bayelsa State-born terror suspect was scared that the Federal Government might apply for his extradition.



“He is also afraid that Nigerian authorities may apply for his extradition,” Abrahams said in his closing argument in Okah‘s bail application.



The prosecutor said the 45-year-old Nigerian faced administrative action from the Department of Home Affairs for alleged fraud relating to his permanent residency in the country.



He added that the state had a strong case and was confident that the MEND leader would be convicted during trial.



The MEND leader had earlier in his affidavit by his lawyer, Rudi Krause, told the court that the content of the (state’s) affidavit was not true.



Okah’s lawyer, Rudi Krause, closing his arguments, said his client was not a flight risk as the state alleged, and would not jump bail.



Okah also claimed to know Mr. Chima Orlu, one of the two men wanted by the police in Nigeria for the Abuja bombings.



He said that he rented an apartment in Johannesburg to Orlu, who according to him, had another name, Austin Malcolm Umejesi, in South Africa.



According to him, he became Orlu’s friend’ not knowing that he was planted by the Nigerian government to spy on him.



But the police in Nigeria said they had no information about Orlu using another name or living in South Africa.



Okah also told the court that the Nigerian authorities had no idea who was responsible for the terror attack and were simply using the incident as a political tool ahead of the 2011 elections.



Krause read to the court from a responding affidavit, including the extract, “My wife overheard the prosecutor saying: ‘Just get me something, I don’t care what it is.”



The affidavit further stated, “I deny that the Mazda 626 (allegedly used to help effect the October 1 bombings) was purchased on my (Okah) instructions.”



He repeated his assertion that the state was yet to produce any evidence linking his client with the crime .



Krause maintained Okah’s view that he was being detained by the South African authorities to ease relations with Nigeria.



“I’m simply being detained for political reasons,” Okah said through his lawyer.



He said that there was a political motive to keep him imprisoned until Nigeria’s next elections.



Throughout his bail application, Okah has maintained that the prosecution is yet to produce evidence linking him directly to the crime.



The magistrate, Hein Louw, had earlier conducted an enquiry after the state failed to give Okah’s lawyer copies of contents taken from his computer hard drives and cellphone data.



Two state witnesses — a Warrant Officer, Mufamadi and Lieutenant-Colonel Makhuza — gave contradicting evidence, explaining why they failed to hand over the copies to the defence.



The two men told the court that they could not comply with the order to hand over the document due to ‘technical reasons.’



“It is clear that one of the two witnesses is lying to this court. I order the state to open two cases of perjury and bring this to the attention of the police head for disciplinary action against the two,” Louw said.



The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Louw fixed November 9 for his ruling on the bail application after listening to arguments from both prosecution and defence counsel.



Louw said if it was not possible for him to give the verdict on that day, he would roll it over to November 10.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011053441118

A man of over 70 yrs old like Olurin should not aspire for such post, he is among the old generation, if he has a vibrant son that falls within the new generation, i’ll give the son total support

A former ECOWAS Monitoring Group, Commander, Brig.-Gen. Adetunji Olurin (retd.), and a former military administrator of Lagos State, Brig.-Gen. Raji Rasaki (retd.), on Wednesday stormed Ogun State for the 2011 governorship election of Olurin.



Olurin had expressed interest to contest the governorship election on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, while Rasaki, who is from Oyo State, is nursing the ambition of going to the Senate in 2011.



The two former military officers, who were members of the defunct Armed Forces Ruling Council, were in Ilaro, headquarters of Yewa/Awori for the presentation of Olurin to traditional rulers at the palace of Olu of Ilaro.



Olurin stated that he was seeking to govern the state so as to use his wealth of experience in advancing the course of the state, while pledging to “reconstruct, re-unite and rebuild the state if elected the governor.”



According to him “My administration’s focus will be on the development of agriculture, creating employment for the teeming unemployed youths and provision of social amenities among others while I also promised to be fair and just to all people of the state.”



The former ECOMOG Commander who went down memory lane as a military officer, recanted how he was banished to Ebute, a rural community in the state for four years by a former Head of State Gen. Sani Abacha.



He stated that the military dictator decision later paid off as it rekindled his interest and loved for agriculture as he used the period of his banishment to engage in large scale farming.



According to him, “As I came back from my ECOMOG assignment the then Head of State Gen. Sani Abacha, who was not comfortable with the number of troops I controlled, fear I may be a risk to his administration. He, therefore, chose to banish me to Ebute for four years.”



Rasaki, while canvassing support for Olurin, recalled how the military background of the Senate President, David Mark, has helped in stabilizing not only the Senate but the National Assembly.



Rasaki, added that the track record of performance of the aspirant when he was “my state governor in Oyo strengthens my belief in him to deliver on good governance.”



Presenting him to the Adele Olu of Ilaro, High Chief Abiodun Oyekan, members of the Elders Forum of Ogun West, led by the Oga’lu of Ayetoro, Chief Ishola Olatunji, said the decision to present Olurin was arrived at after two years of brainstorming on who the entire indigenes of the state can trust.



Olatunji who led 14 other Elders from across the five local governments in Ogun West, also described the father of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alani Bankole, as one of the numerous elite and political bigwigs in the state who had agreed to work for the emergence of the former ECOMOG commander as the governor in 2011




http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011043292212

Nigeria Football Association (NFA) has pegged monthly takehome pay of the Super Eagles’new coach at N5 million with other allowances.

A member of the Technical Committee, who requested anonymity told Daily Sunsports that the association was not buoyant and did not want to bite more than it could chew.

The source disclosed that after the interview, members would go into negotiation with the coach who emerges as the winner, adding that it is doubtful if the NFA can afford to pay N5million, adding that unless the body has sponsors, it will be difficult for NFA to pay that much.

“We shall sound out the coaches and know what they want as salary, then we tell them what we can afford and if they agree to our offer, fine. If they reject it, we forge ahead' said the source.”

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/sportsonthehour/2010/nov/04/sportsbreak-04-11-2010-001.htm

Ahead of 2011 general elections, pressure is mounting on the Federal Government over the continued stay within the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the controversial Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ondo State, Mrs Ayoka Adebayo. Mrs Adebayo was accused of connivance in the Ekiti gubernatorial electoral fraud.

The pressure, this time, coming from the organized labour, which was insisting on the removal of the Abeokuta, Ogun State born commissioner was consequent upon a protest letter forwarded to the Presidency by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) calling for Mrs. Adebayo’s removal as REC.

Also, the labour had even commenced mobilization towards campaign rallies for her removal as agreed to at the meeting of the highest organ of the congress.
There had been calls from various groups and bodies on the need to disallow Mrs. Adebayo from conducting the 2011 elections in Ondo State, her new duty post, following the indictment of INEC under her in Ekiti State gubernatorial electoral malpractices.

Both NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had, in the wake of the nullification of the election of former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor Segun Oni of Ekiti State by the election petition appeal tribunal, joined the growing calls not only for the removal of the REC but also her prosecution.
The NLC had at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting last week decried the role played by Mrs Adebayo as the then resident electoral commissioner in Ekiti State, who supervised the state’s gubernatorial election re-run, which was marred by sharp practices and affirmed by the appeal tribunal and insisted that she had to be removed

To give vent to its position, the congress, Daily Sun learnt, had forwarded its resolution to President Goodluck Jonathan through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Yayale Ahmed, for action before labour takes to the streets, just as it had done in the case of the former INEC chairman, Prof. Maurice Iwu.


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/nov/04/national-04-11-2010-001.htm

Jega has been known to be a person of integrity but the INEC job is making him to exhibit that he is inexperienced. How on earth can a former vice chancellor approve a memo and later on claim that there were certain things that were not included initially, VAT for example? and this memo has gone to BPP am really surprised. He has been to be very careful

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega , on Wednesday appeared before the Federal Executive Council.



He was at the meeting to brief the council members on the level of INEC’s preparation for the 2011 general elections.



Although it was not clear if the briefing was at the instance of President Goodluck Jonathan, Jega was given an opportunity to explain some issues.



Details of his briefing were not made public but THE PUNCH learnt that during the meeting, Jega told the council the arrangements that had been put in place by the electoral body to purchase the Direct Data Capturing machines for the compilation of a new voter register.



He was said to have also said that INEC‘s initial projections which led to the unit price of $2,000 for the DDCMs, did not include Value Added Tax.



A source at the meeting said he explained that this was the major reasön for the delay in signing the contracts for the supply of the machines by cöntractors.



The source said the INEC chairman made a fresh presentation, which FEC would approve next week.



Sources said that at the end of his explanations, the council assured him of its commitment to ensure that INEC conducted a hitch- free elections in 2011.`



When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, explained that critical issues surrounding procurement formalities for the DDC machines were discussed.



Idowu said, “He (Jega) was at FEC but I was not there. However, I do not anticipate any likelihood that FEC will disapprove of anything on the DDC machines at this point.”



He, however, declined comments as to whether or not contracts for the supply of the DDCMs had been signed.



When pressed further, Idowu simply said, “The process is on. I spoke with the chairman this (Wednesday) morning and the information I have for you is that the process is virtually concluded.”



Idowu assured Nigerians that machines would be in the country before the commencement of voter registration in January.



He added, “The direct data capture machine will surely get into our hands before the January date when the voter registration is scheduled to begin. I can assure you that the processes for delivery of the machines have now been virtually concluded.



“It is now virtually a done deal and we do not have any apprehension about the machines being available for voter registration in January.”



He explained that the appearance of Jega before FEC was “part of the finalisation of the processes,” for the purchase of the machines.



On a newspaper report that INEC had that the contracts for the machines had been, Idowu said that he cannot confirm or deny whether it.



“As I said, I can neither confirm nor deny that. The newspaper quoted unnamed sources,” he said.



Although no exact estimate has been made given ,but feelers from INEC’s office indicated about N30m would be spent on the facility.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011044453515

So the Govs forum has remembered to condemn the october 1st bomb blast at Eagles square that is good news but coming after one month is an indication we have more of comedians as Govs. i detest the politicization of all matters that affect the average Nigerian. as for me that body called Govs. forum has ceased to exist and whoever emerges as its chairman is of no consequence until they apologize to the people of Nigeria.

Governors on Wednesday deferred a final decision on Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel’s chairmanship of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum by three weeks.



THE PUNCH learnt that at their meeting, which lasted almost three hours, the governors were unable to reach a consensus on Daniel’s controversial chairmanship of the forum. They finally decided to appoint a committee of five governors headed to harmonise the different positions on the issue while Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, would continue as the NGF chairman in the meantime.



The meeting, which held at the Kwara Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, lasted from 9pm till 11.30pm. Members of the five-man committee headed by Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), are the governors of Enugu (Sullivan Chime); Sokoto (Aliyu Wammako); Borno (Modu Sheriff); and Niger (Muazu Aliyu).



Also at the meeting were the governors of Delta (Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan); Ogun (Otunba Gbenga Daniel); Plateau (Jonah Jang); Rivers (Rotimi Amaechi); Kogi (Ibrahim Idris); Ekiti (Kayode Fayemi); Edo (Adams Oshiomhole); Benue (Gabriel Suswam); Kaduna (Patrick Yakowa); Adamawa (Murtala Nyako); Nasarawa (Akwe Doma); Imo (Ikedi Ohakim); and Bauchi (Isa Yuguda).



At the end of the meeting, Saraki informed newsmen that the committee would recommend modalities for a smooth transition from Saraki to another chairman. He said they congratulated Fayemi on his emergence as the governor of Ekiti State and discussed security challenges in the nation.



Saraki said the governors condemned the October 1 bomb blasts in Abuja and commended security agents for rising up to the challenges posed by criminals in the society.



Peoples Democratic Party governors had earlier met with members of the party’s National Working Committee at the Legacy House, Abuja for a short meeting. Sources said they discussed the succession crisis in the NGF and how it should be handled.



Meanwhile, Daniel has said he never sought to lead the Nigeria Governors’ Forum as its chairman.



In his first public reaction to his controversial election as the NGF chairman by a group of 10 Peoples Democratic Party governors at the weekend, Daniel described the criticisms from some of his colleagues as unfair.



The governor made the clarification in his closing remarks at the treasury board meeting and budget retreat, held in Abeokuta, the state capital on Wednesday.



He described the action of his colleagues on the matter as political, adding that the furore over his purported election as the NGF chairman had something to do with the forthcoming presidential elections.



According to him, “All that happened concerning the Governors’ Forum is political abracadabra. I assure you all that I’ve not at any point in time asked to be made the chairman of Governors’ Forum. It’s my colleagues playing political game.



“As you know, the position of chairman of Governors’ Forum is not a salaried appointment. My cup is full. I’m sorting out Ogun State matters and I am also the Jonathan’s campaign coordinator in the South-West.”



He, however, stated that if he eventually emerged the chairman of the forum, he would not resist or reject the position.



”If it comes, I will not say no. All this political abracadabra has to do with presidential election, it has nothing to do with OGD”, Daniel stated.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011044485435

I hope it is for the improvement of policing nationwide. Have replacement units been created to avoid an operational vacuum? Or is it all about the moneythe same disbanded units are “disbanded", then renamed. New sets of uniforms are prescribed, contracts awarded to suppliers, while 10% change hands ending up in private accounts. Then,timeconsuming probes whose value is to worsen our already battered, frosty national image.

It is barbaric that ibru is going 2 serve only six mnth in jail.that is the punishment 4 an executive criminal.a comon man wil b givn 20yrs in prisn 4 stealing a hen.Why?ibru stole de whole oF Niger n our judicial sector join her 2 rejoice.